2020 Crafting in May and June

"Come, all of you who are gifted craftsmen.  Construct everything that the LORD has commanded:" Exodus 35:10 NLT

This is one of my favorite quotes.  It invites the six-year-old artist within me who dreams of being a gifted craftsman to express her primitive art style with simple stitches, splashes of paint, singing words, and planted plants...like these strawberry plants I inherited from the former owner of my unit.  I transplanted them from the garden by my front door to the back patio...and I am thrilled the plants have some blossoms on them now!  Just think.  The blossoms might grow into luscious, juicy red strawberries!

I was given this beautiful purple Clematis plant for Mother's Day and in the last few weeks, my youngest daughter has helped me purchase and plant two rectangular planters.

Besides the Clematis we planted some Sugar Snap pea plants, and Sweet Pea, Morning Glory, and mixed flower seeds.

Although I do not know the variety name of the rose bush in the front of the unit I live in I am grateful it is there and I am enjoying its blooms that have a delicate rose scent.  I wish you could smell the scent through your computer screen.  Do you have a rose bush near where you live?  When walking by rose bushes in my neighborhood I sometimes stop to sniff the blossoms~~~

Around Christmas, I made quite a few towel holders in red acrylic yarn.  Recently I had several folks ask me to make them in a different color.  One wanted theirs in beige so I made the holder below.  I only had a cotton blend yarn that works, but I do not like it as well as the acrylic because the cotton has less stretch and the stitches do not look as neat to me but the holder still holds a towel.

I almost did not show you this preemie baby blanket I am still working on once a week, because I thought I hadn't changed it much, but when I looked at the last photo of it I shared with you I realized I have made progress and added two colors.

In my mind's eye, I saw myself painting a botanically accurate view of a palm branch.  I thought I would try to paint a bird as well...but this is what I ended up with...totally different!

The realities of life can be quite a contrast to my artistic dreams and happily ever after convictions, and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have to be constructive.  I currently am working more on listening to God and others and I want to learn about and act on more practical projects to promote love in the world around me...a grand opus, life long work of art, isn't it?

((hugs))

Gracie :-)

Crocheting a Cocoon in Fall

We are looking forward to welcoming a new baby into our household in about four weeks!  My oldest son-in-law and daughter are expecting to birth Rosie, so this grandma has started crocheting a cocoon and cap to snuggle her in. I am using a free online Bernat pattern and Lion Brand 100% acrylic Jamie yarn in the Mardi Gras Stripes colorway.

The sheep buttons I bought months ago seemed a perfect finish for my cane coat, and have helped me have a better attitude about using the cane when I need to do so :)  If you decide to make a cane coat one thing I discovered about the one I made is that when I use the cane the coat slips down a bit.  So I took three straight pins, caught some of the top edge of the coat and inserted the pins under the handle of the cane which is some sort of rubber.  This has worked so far to keep the coat in place.

After driving back and forth to California several times this year, and then to and from Nebraska, it is good to be home.  There have been so many changes in this season of my life. Not only did my sister join me in widowhood in the last four months, but three friends from my church fellowship group became widows, also.  In August I marked the fourth year since my husband died. Then this past weekend, in her early nineties, my mother-in-law, who was a widow for nearly 4 years, died, after living a long good life. I  am so grateful she was a positive part of my life for over 40 years.

As I process the changes in and around my life now, the amber-red-gold colorway of fall is wrapping itself around me...a glowing cocoon as the rainy days of autumn have started. The local weather forecasters said yesterday that Mt. Hood  had snow showers...good weather for more stitching, I hope :)

What is happening in this season of your life?

Blessings to you and yours,
Gracie xx

  

From Bud to Bloom...Beginning a Blanket

We have two little Joseph's Coat rose bushes on either side of the front porch
and one of them had an
open bloom today :)

Thanks to each of you who helped me
sort out what pattern to use with
my Stylecraft yarn!
I have just typed out the pattern from the booklet I showed you in my last post.

 I am going to give it a go :)

 I was talking to my oldest daughter about it and mentioned that the pattern includes half double crochets.

"That's just a single crochet, right?" She asked.

Brilliant logic :)

I wonder why it is not so...

Do you know?

The Last Few Days...

Family friends visited!

We set up our test garden space. We think it gets 6 hours of sunshine...when the sun shines(:

One of the rhododendron bushes planted last year...bloomed!

Some of us had tea at Chariteas and enjoyed her flowers, too.

And I worked on the blog format a bit
read a bit
and knitted a bit
along with a bit of this and that including visiting my favorite blogs to see what is new with some of you(:

Joy!

Beginnings

The weekend was full of beginnings for me, and one little tadah.

I finished knitting a little dishcloth using two strands of cotton yarn instead of one...not sure I like its cushiness but want to try it out.

Then I started another dishcloth with one strand of purple yarn. I have a few friends whose favorite color is purple. One such friend asked me to make her a dishcloth twice the size of the one I just completed, so I started doing that.

Another friend asked me if I would be interested in doing some proof-reading for him.
Last year he took the four Gospels from an old Greek version and translated them into English. I really enjoyed helping with the proof-reading of those.
It is quite a process and the Greek is certainly Greek to me!
Now he is translating Acts.

I have also started knitting two Morehouse Original kits.

Oh! And our red rhododendren bush that I showed you last week as it was beginning to bloom now has a
TADAH
for you, too. <3

Grateful . . .

I am grateful for the beautiful Sosae Caetano hand-painted yarn I bought from her, and the pattern I found on Teresa's blog that I used to crochet this Queen Anne's Lace scarf.

I am grateful for the yellow wild iris in the pond and the ducks that dare to live there in spite of my visits to view them.

I am grateful that the rhododendrons are beginning to bloom around us.

But most of all today I am grateful that my four-year-old grandson is alive and not badly injured after having been hit by a car yesterday.  <3

Tulip Time

Late this afternoon the rain stopped, the sun came out, and my oldest daughter, the grand girls and I bolted to the car. My oldest daughter drove us 40 miles southwest of here to view the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, 40 acres of tulips and other lovely bulbs in bloom !

We had come just 30 minutes before the farm closed, but even so were refreshed by viewing so many beautiful blooms in one location.

If you have never visited Jane Brocket's Blog, Yarnstorm, I think you will enjoy visiting her there.  At the moment she is posting stunning photos of tulips and other bulbs blooming in her native England and other nearby areas.
Beyond that she has published a number of worthy books and giftedly writes about her many interests including knitting, cooking, crocheting, quilting, gardening, wine, and reading.

Are you enjoying viewing the blooms around you, too?