Showers of April Crafting

This peachy-colored Sweet Pea bloom appeared in the first week of April out on my back patio. The vine it grew on had been buried under a huge snowdrift in February! Such beautiful determination deserved my admiration and care.  In earnest, I looked for a sturdier trellis than the wooden one I had used last year.  My youngest daughter spotted one she thought would work in a store near her. I drove to the store and agreed.  I bought a trellis for each of the two planters I have on the back patio.

On the way home from the store I saw one of my favorite views of Mt. Hood.  There is a plant nursery shown below Mt. Hood in this photo.  I have shopped there but resisted stopping there that day.  I was eager to get home and construct the trellises around the planters.

By God's grace, I was able to follow the wordless sketched assembly instructions.  In this case, a picture really was worth a thousand words!  The metal trellises surround the planters and should be a stable support for the Sweet Pea vines on the left and the Clematis vines on the right.

A few weeks ago Teresa inspired me to start knitting some more Grandma's Dishcloths.  In her post she showed the dishcloth she was knitting for her friend, Shirley.  I knit this little one for a dear friend who just had her 85th birthday.

I knit this one for a friend who has red as an accent color in her kitchen.  She is also fond of pink, so I hope she will enjoy using this...a simple gift stitched with loving thoughts of her.

This dishcloth flew off my knitting needles on the West Coast USA and landed safely on the East Coast USA to help my since kindergarten friend celebrate her 70th birthday.

Showers of blooms have been bursting out around me!  Currently, these Bleeding Heart blossoms by my front step are my favorite.  In our neighborhood, we have Azalea bushes blooming in red, pink, lavender, purple, white, yellow, and orange.  There are also Dogwood trees blooming in pink and white, Magnolias in pink and white, and Cherries in pink and white.  What varieties of blooms do you have around you in your season of Spring?

 In this last week of April, some of the ladies at church brought the beautiful crafting from their hands to gift folks who are patients at a nearby hospital.  While our focus has been producing blankets and hats for babies who spend time in the NICU, some of the ladies have been knitting and crocheting larger blankets that have been given to older children who have had to be in the ER.  The church also received a thank you note from a Hospice patient who found comfort in the blanket given to her from the ones the ladies made in the last collection of blankets we donated.  The hospital volunteer coordinator said that especially in this last year since hospital visitors have been so limited, they have been glad to have the homemade gifts to give to patients to encourage their healing...which encourages us to know as well!

Have you been enjoying showers of crafting in your life?

Gracie ((hugs)) 😃

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.                               I Thessalonians 5:18

Crafting Through Smokey Days

Looking out from the back patio on September 9, 2020, I saw this ominous cloud of smoke!  Wildfires broke out in a number of areas in Oregon, USA.  At one time I heard on the news that 38 areas in the state were fighting wildfires.

Around September 12, 2020, officials advised the public to stay inside with the windows closed if at all possible. We were told we had the worst air quality in the world...can I just say that being told that did not encourage my breathing!

Then one morning we had a blessed downpouring of rain so that by the afternoon of September 18, 2020, the air cleared.  I rushed outside to take this photo and celebrate...Thank you, Lord!!!

My plants survived my neglect during the smokey days when I did not water them and I was so excited when the Morning Glory vines began to bloom!

One day I crafted with woodless colored pencils on this coloring book page. I also used a yellow highlighter pen on the lettering.

The intense colors pleased me...maybe especially because they were such glorious contrast to the drab worrisome gray-brown smoke!

On this little coloring card, I experimented with fine point ink pens.  Although I had 20 colors to choose from I was not able to blend or shade what I colored effectively...but still enjoyed coloring!

192  handmade baby blankets and  50 hats were gathered at our church! Yesterday the project founder and her husband delivered them to a local hospital. The hospital volunteer coordinator was thrilled with the contributions!  She said that especially during this time of COVID-19 precautions patients are feeling isolated from family and friends while in hospital and it is wonderful to be able to offer them homemade blankets and hats for their babies.

 This morning I was one of four ladies who gathered...sitting six feet apart... to knit and crochet baby blankets. Two of the ladies brought in these blankets they had already completed.

While our nearby wildfires are under control,  many in the state are suffering much loss.

Our skies are hazier today due to smoke from California wildfires. In the early hours Monday morning, I woke up...prayed a bit, and when I could not go back to sleep I checked the weather app on my iPad and saw a report that some folks in the Santa Rosa area north of San Fransisco California had to evacuate due to the threat of wildfires.  I texted some family members and friends to see how they were affected.  They are all safe, but my nephew and his wife had to evacuate from their home in Calistoga, California, on a road that had a fire on both sides which my nephew typed was "very scary!"  They believe their home is okay but are not sure when they can return. 

My nephew has a little Orthodox Christian bookstore, Not of This World, online and in Santa Rosa, California, and he is able to work at the store in spite of the wildfires in the nearby area. 

This morning the Scripture readings I read for this date were from  1Corinthians 16:13-24 and Matthew 24:42-47. I have been especially thinking about parts of the verses today...

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.  Let all you do be done with love...Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming...O Lord, come!...the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you..."

Some of the original Christ-followers expected Jesus to return to earth and take them to heaven in their lifetime. They prayed that He would!  But while they watched and waited for Him they encouraged each other to stand fast in the faith, be brave and strong and let all they did be done in love. I want to follow their example.

What are you crafting in your days?

Gracie xx

  

Five On Friday: 💛 Hearts of Gold 💛

Ahoy, Mates!

1. This Saturday I am planning to attend a 50th Wedding Anniversary party for friends.  They do not want or need gifts, but I thought they might not mind having an ornament to remind them of their Golden Anniversary, so I used Teresa's great pattern to crochet a gold heart for them.  Teresa makes so many beautiful things including her blog!

2. Much to my surprise and delight I received these wonderful gifts from Deborah's giveaway on her blog.  She is a talented artist in many different mediums and I admire her work.  Visiting with her through her blog is a treat!

3. I have finished a dishcloth using the pretty yarn, Betsy sent me, and I'm glad I have enough yarn left to make several more.

4. This preemie blanket has six more rows for me to knit.  Do you think I should crochet a border around it?  Thanks to those of you who suggested what colors I should use for my quilt squares between the blue lighthouse pattern squares.  I am going to have to shop for some burnt red and maybe some white material, too...hmmmm and there is the backing...

5.See what's left of the sled launch some of the menfolk in our household shoveled up several weeks ago...it is our own little Mt. Hood in our front yard!  [Mt. Hood has been hiding under clouds lately, and I miss seeing her.]

Thanks for setting up our Five on Friday link, Amy.  I look forward to seeing what Fives other folks publish 🤗

Gracie 💞

Summer's Height

 The first Saturday in August, our family friend, Grantie, invited us to picnic with her at her favorite nearby Oregon state park, Wildwood near the base of Mt. Hood outside Portland.

 Under a huge  green canopy of leaves we stayed cool at Wildwood and wandered out in the sunshine when we wanted to warm up playing catch or soccer or just strolling about.

 Our little wildflower patch at home is featuring sunny golden flowers now.

 Our Sweet Pea vines are producing more seed pods than flowers now, and the Sun Gold cherry tomato plant [on the right] is giving us some sweet tomatoes.

 The preemie baby blanket I have been single crocheting with Deborah Norville Serenity  medium weight acrylic Baby yarn this summer is complete. I made an edging on the ends with Knit Picks gray acrylic yarn, 3 single crochet stitches in one stitch, slip stitch in the next stitch, repeat.

In the two years the ladies at our church have been making blankets they have made over 250 blankets.  It is a fun challenge to find patterns that are tight enough not to catch on the equipment needed to care for the NICU babies.  This is a photo of some of the last fifty blankets the ladies made.  The different colors and stitches inspire me!

 After "discovering" a nearby Japanese garden this past Spring I decided to try to visit the garden in each season and note the difference in colors of the plants.  These photos show more highlights of golden yellow at the height of Summer.

 There are touches of orangey reds here and there, too.

 And I love the different shapes and shadows I saw, too.

 Going out the Main Street Park from the Japanese Garden there is a sunny bank of Black Eyed Susans that I admired.

 At the height of Summer Mt. Hood often looks hazy, but I am thankful the haze is due more to heat than wildfires this year.

 From where I stopped to photograph Mt. Hood on 302nd Street, I saw this little tree sporting pretty Fall colors...a little ahead of schedule.

 One day recently I came home to discover a wonderful package from my dear blogging friend, Pat.  She spends part of the year living at her home in Turkey; and, thinking of photos of my tea table I sometimes show you, she decided to send me a set of Turkish Tea glasses with golden spoons to stir one's tea. She sent me two kinds of fruit teas, Pomegranate and Apple both of which are delicious.  She also sent the cobalt blue round glass piece that is hanging from my tea jar.  On the other side of it there is a teardrop shaped white shape on the blue with a little black round circle in the center.  When I Google imaged the piece I confirmed it is called by some the Eye of God. It reminded me of the blessing in Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." Thanks again Pat for your lovely gifts to me.

 Then a few days ago I came home and discovered another package from my blogging friend who lives in Kuwait, Tammy.  She sent me a pretty moon with palms notecard, a crocheted white coaster and a bookmark from Bethlehem. Thanks again for your lovely gifts, Tammy.

Through the messages I have received I felt that love has traveled around the world to me even though I have not traveled far from home. Then this past Wednesday Teresa and I were thrilled to spot the transport of others who we hope are lovingly traveling around our part of the world on the Columbia River in the American Queen Steamboat.

 We also saw the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler we have enjoyed riding on and would love for you to be able to float in as well if you have not done so.

 When Teresa and I looked down at our feet where we were standing to take photos of the boats we had fun admiring the acorns that had fallen.

The mighty oak above us is releasing acorns at the height of Summer...seeds for growth in the seasons to come...

What is a highlight of the season of year you are in?

Gracie xx