Midsummer Crafting

Ahoy from 95F/35C weather near Portland, Oregon, USA!  I know some of you endure hotter temps than that on a routine basis, and I admire your ability to do that when I just want to complain about having to rarely cope with such heat!

July 1, 2021, I needed to supply a headshot jpg to apply for security clearance to potentially work with some students learning to crochet and knit in August so I crafted the above selfie that my phone camera labeled a portrait. When I attached the photo to an email to submit it I noted I did not know how to produce a jpg photo, but would the attached photo be acceptable?  It was!  I was relieved it was and glad that I passed the security clearance a few days later. Sadly for me, the classes were just canceled, though.

Some of you know I am particularly fond of the color purple, sheep, and processing wool.  A young friend saw these socks and sent them to me to enjoy!  Such fun!

This Spring my youngest daughter grew some Birdhouse Gourd seeds under grow lights inside her house and trusted me with this little vine to plant where the Sweet Pea vines had been a month ago.

The triple-digit weather we had at the end of June was very hard on plants, but so far these have survived and I am hoping they will thrive!

One day when the weather was perfect I was able to gather with some friends at a nearby friend's house for a luncheon backyard picnic...a lovely way to craft our friendships! 

On the way home from the picnic I was pleasantly surprised to see Mt. Hood!  The snowpack is quickly melting, but I enjoyed stopping to appreciate the view and craft a photo of it. 

Remember the little Birdhouse Gourd vine my youngest daughter gave me to plant? This is how big it is now at the end of July!

It is fascinating to see the tendrils that grow from vines to help them to climb. I have never grown or processed a gourd to craft it into a birdhouse. Have you ever tried to do that?

This month I have done a little stitching.  I crafted a few more rows on the crocheted baby blanket I am making, and I finished knitting this little Grandma's Dishcloth. Have you been stitching?

When I see Mt. Hood I often think of the Psalmist's observation:

"I look up to the mountains- does my help come from there?  My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 121:1-2NLT

Blessings and ((hugs)),

Gracie :)

 

Marching into Spring Crafts 2021

 

While the southern hemisphere is simmering in warm summer temps, the weather around me near Portland, Oregon, USA, is working its way from Winter to Spring. If you saw my February post you saw unusual drifts of snow on my patio!  It was challenging, and I think I admire the snow I see on Mt. Hood in this picture more!  This view is from Jonsrud viewpoint in Sandy, OR, which is about ten miles from my condominium community. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for folks to navigate this terrain in covered wagons?  To recharge the battery on my modern covered wagon [mini-van] since the car sits still for so many days I drove to the viewpoint after picking up groceries on March 3rd.

 During the first part of March, I finished crocheting this little baby blanket.  Unfolded it is about 24" x 27."

Then I started crocheting this little blanket. The yarn for the last blanket and this one is from the stash of my dear friend, Ellen, who did not survive heart surgery several months ago.  Somehow working with her yarn that her family gave me, now helps me celebrate our friendship and prompts good memories for me of our time together while I miss her.

Midway through the month of March, my Shamrock (Oxalis) Plant helped me celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  I saw an interesting program on TV that mentioned that Patrick used the Shamrock to help explain how God is One in three persons: Father, Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit.

One of the first signs of Spring for me was the appearance of these pretty purple Hyacinths by my front doorstep...such a strong sweet scent~~~

Last Saturday was so mild and lovely I spent much of the afternoon out on the sunny patio repotting, Pansies, Dianthus, and Primroses.  Have you spent time gardening lately?

Palm Sunday afternoon a young friend kindly shepherded me to and from the Convention Center to get the first dose of Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine. When we got back to her car in the parking garage, she offered me a reward of a doughnut for our efforts. Then even though I did not eat one she asked me to let her get a photo of the event.  When I looked at the photo later it looked to me like I had a white turtleneck on under my sweater, until I realized I was looking at my face mask I had pulled down for the photo (although she kept her face mask on!)

There was wind-driven rain on the way back to my house, and I felt bad my young friend had such poor driving conditions when heading home to her house although she was very gracious and brave about the challenge.

 At around 7pm the electricity went off in our neighborhood and I decided to crawl into bed early.  When the lights came back on at around 10:30pm I woke up long enough to turn them off before going back to a grateful sound sleep.

Have you Marched into any Spring crafting?

Gracie ((hugs))

Crafting in the New Year 2021

Seeing the natural beauty of Mt. Hood rising above the cluttering signs of civilization inspires me! While riding with my youngest daughter doing an errand last week I was able to craft this photo of the mountain with my cell phone.

Our condominium community is going through the process of replacing the old wooden fences.  The new synthetic fence around my patio was installed this week, and I hope it is crafted to wear well!

Inside I have been crocheting a new baby blanket during our church group online Zoom meetings. I am making double crochet rows using acrylic Red Heart yarn. The snowmen on the blanket on my couch attest to my mid-winter decorating. 🧶⛄️🧶⛄️🧶⛄️🧶⛄️🧶

 A friend brought me four Paper White flower bulbs I have planted in the middle pot shown above.  I have never grown any before, have you?  Ahhh...the craft of gardening...just enough moisture, light, and temperature to encourage the bulbs to bloom...  So far one bulb is enthusiastically growing!

 Most of the snow I see is on Mt. Hood and not down here where I live a little southeast of PortIand, Oregon.  I am glad to not have to shovel snow, but I have good memories of playing in the snow and crafting many snowmen. Have you ever made a snowman?⛄ Even though I am grateful to not have to shovel snow, I have been hoping we might get a little bit, and we did a few days ago.  It was wonderful watching the pretty snowflakes falling and accumulating for a few hours one afternoon.

Have you been crafting anything in January 2021? 

Gracie 🤗

"Commit your works to the LORD [submit and trust them to Him], And your plans will succeed [if you respond to His will and guidance]."

Proverbs 16:3 AMP

 

 

Crafting in July

Ahoy! Thanks for sailing in through cyberspace today to see where I am near the grand Mt. Hood close to Portland, Oregon, USA., and to learn a bit about what crafting I have been involved in July 2020.

February 21, 2020, just before we were asked to stay safe at home except when providing or getting essential services, I filled the gas tank of my 2005 minivan.   Mainly since then, I have gone out once a week for groceries. One Friday several months later my youngest daughter came to drive me to the grocery store because I had pulled something in my upper right arm and was having trouble driving.  She drove me to a grocery store that took us past this nearby view of Mt. Hood where I used my iPhone to craft a photo.  July 24, 2020, the gas gage in the car still said I had a little over a fourth of a tank of gas but I had it filled again, five months since the last fillup!

Day by day I crafted tried and true recipes like these GF dairy-free peanut butter chocolate chip cookies most of which are still in the freezer. I think I have concocted some sort of soup and salads every day as well.

In July when crafting a mile walk in our neighborhood I took a photo of these stunning purply blue Hydrangeas that are growing nearby.

From the tiny garden I crafted on the patio, the three Sugar Snap Pea plants I planted in the planter boxes produced these yummy pods and a few more.

Because I am not a very crafty gardener the hanging plant and the Cala Lilies at the front of the unit have been amazing to view and try to tend.

Although some of my Wednesday morning group of ladies who knit and crochet preemie blankets for a local NICU only met online in Zoom meetings these are one batch of blankets and hats that was dropped off in July!

A soothing satisfying craft for me is crocheting double-thickness potholders like the one in the photo above that I finished in July for a friend. The style is my favorite kind of potholder and one I made long ago and use all the time is in the photo with the cookies I showed you.

These blankets and hats were made by a new crocheter who is in her seventies.  Another friend from our Wednesday church group is a prolific knitter and crocheter and she also crafted these sweet rocks and dropped them off in my patio one day.  💕

During the hot days of July, I have also been crafting cool drinks of almond milk swirled with various kinds of frozen fruit. I am especially fond of melon and blueberries!

In this batch of blankets and hats that were dropped off are ones crafted on round plastic looms by a friend who has limited mobility in her hands. She enjoys making them and does so with love.

The little rose bush in the front of my unit is producing its second round of summer roses.  I crafted this display of some of them amidst blue glass on the kitchen windowsill.  You might really enjoy the rose's delicate lovely scent~ ~

One of my favorite spots on the patio is this corner where I crafted this pottery fountain made from a bowl that my mom bought from a potter in Nederland, Colorado where I lived for two and a half years in the early 1980s.

This morning I pulled the spent Sugar Snap Pea vines from the planter on the left leaving the Sweet Pea flower vines.   Do you think they will produce some colorful scented flowers? In the right planter, I have a Clematis vine mingled with Morning Glory vines. The Clematis has finished blooming for the season and the Morning Glory has not produced any flowers yet. I have had mixed results in crafting gardens throughout my years, but I am ever hopeful for good results!

The July online prompt I got from my Joy of Artful Worship facilitator focuses on crafting the following verses onto decorated index cards to share with others.

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 

1Corinthians 15: 1-4 NIV

16 For the Lord, himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thess. 4:16-18 NIV

Another thing I have been crafting in July is this blog post.  I have been using the new Blogger format and have not figured out how to sequence photos in the order I want, but other than that  I have survived😊

and you have too if you are reading this.  Bravo! Please let me know how you are crafting your life these days.

Gracie xx

Early Spring Crafting

Welcome!  I'm so glad you stopped in for a visit and I hope you will leave a comment and let me know you were here.  February had some lovely sunny days and I was happy to see Mount Hood, near Portland, Oregon, peeking over the roof of my unit one day.  It looks tiny, but a few blocks away it is visually vast!  I don't understand the science behind the difference I see here and there.  I just love seeing Mt. Hood in all its snowy wonder and would love for you to see it in person if you haven't.

Bouquets of delightful cheery Daffodils like these at my neighbors are opening in the area around me.

The pretty purple Hyacinths by my front step are opening beautifully although I have not smelled them scenting the air yet.

These trees near where I park my car are beginning to beautifully bloom and I have been enjoying seeing other trees in the area around me fully displaying blooms of pink or white, promising Spring is coming.

My four Dianthus plants defied being frozen in their mid-sized clay pots on my patio this winter, and have been producing sweet-spicy scented blooms since last Spring!!!!  I currently enjoy this little posy of blooms balanced in a little clear jar on my kitchen windowsill.  Amazing!!!!

The facilitator of our once a month worship art group at church challenged us to choose a Bible verse about God as our Refuge and illustrate it.  I thought about the image of God hugging us in His embrace as a mother hen spreads her wings over her chicks.  That image prompted me to remember the chicken range on our research poultry farm when I was a child.  Little chicken coops dotted a fenced in field. They were closer to the ground and not solid wood like I painted, never-the-less whatever they actually looked like they were there so that someone could coax the chickens to huddle inside them at night to protect them from predators.  No baby chicks were ever out there although I painted in the lower right corner of the picture some primitive brown and yellow blobs that are meant to represent a mother hen with her wings outspread to her chicks. The process of meditating on God as my refuge, my Immanuel, with me in all my circumstances even if my pencil sketching, watercolor did not conform to the internal images I imagined, was humbling, comforting, leaving me ruefully smiling.

This past month, my stitching has been invested in five projects.  I added more rows to two blankets not pictured here.  The project on the left is my first attempt to make a provisional cast on for a sock that is to go on a 9-inch circular needle.  I looked at a YouTube video for instruction.  I started knitting another purple dishcloth and am closer to completing it than this photo shows.  Then the completed crocheted double thickness potholder on the right is my one little Ta-Dah!

This Oxalis (Shamrock) plant I purchased last Spring nearly expired.  I noted when reading my friend Teresa's posts that when her Oxalis plant was doing poorly she put it out on her patio to recover and it did! I tried similar treatment for my plant by putting my plant out on my patio in the summer. Can you see the plant's two little white flowers in this photo I took recently?  I like how this view highlights the pretty pink in the underside of the leaves as well.

How are you in the season of life you are in? 

I happened upon these promising words it is recorded Jesus spoke before his death and resurrection.  They encourage me, and I hope will encourage you.

““I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14:27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.14.27.nlt

Gracie xx

Thankfully Crafting

Dear Friends and Family and Guests,

 During our more frequent Fall rainy days, Mt. Hood collects more and more snow to the delight of skiers, snowboarders and those of us who just enjoy admiring the mountain when storm clouds lift.

 Although we had steady rain this morning with a few flashes of lightning and a rumble of thunder, our neighbor's tree I can see out of one of my windows is a wonder, glowing with golden light, a beacon in the storm...

 Even in the waning days of Autumn, there are still many trees in our neighborhood that are a joy to behold...I wish I could show them all to you.

 However, outside or inside, we are doing a lot of celebrating in our household this month:  My oldest granddaughter, Hayley is now ten!  My youngest daughter Elisabeth is now 34 and she and her husband Gary just celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary!

 On her birthday Elisabeth got stained glass making supplies and she made this lovely tree and has been mending three little stained glass pieces given to me which have suffered damage in the last forty years during our many moves. [her husband Gary admired her efforts...really he did!]

 Elisabeth was taught by one of Gary's aunts how to make quilted ball ornaments and then she coached me to make one, which was fun.  I found a Youtube tutorial for making a similar pattern HERE if you want to give it a try.

November 23, 2017, is our USA celebration of Thanksgiving.  It also happens to fall on my granddaughter, Sarah's second birthday!!  I found a set of 24 little board books for her which I have wrapped and put in a little pink plastic basket for her, but I also crocheted this little book bag for her in which she can carry a few of her little books should she wish to do so.

My youngest son Tim grew a wonderful crop of tomatoes this year.  I have the last of them in a basket on my dining table and they are so good I wish I could share them with you!

I have much for which to thank the Lord, even though, or perhaps especially because, I find myself an imperfect human being in an imperfect world, and yet miraculously, I am loved and can love and creatively pursue life, and I pray that you find this true for yourself as well.

Have you found yourself thankfully crafting?

Gracie xx