Winter Project Link Party at Thistlebear: January

Cheers for those of you who have already posted your progress reports on Jennifer's Link Party! I have been admiring the progress on your projects that some of you have posted about, and hope to visit more of you today...or soon.

While my Ruby Shawl and my Super Merino Blanket have been "basket cases" mostly hidden from my view this past month, I did make progress on the preemie blanket I am knitting, and am almost ready to start crocheting the blanket's border. Hooray!  Also I had fun crocheting a doll clothes bag for Joy, my three-year-old granddaughter.  I am fiddling around with some yarn to see if I can crochet some doll clothes for her to store in her bag, too :)

Happy Stitching until we check in with each other again!

Gracie xx

Winter Project Link Party at Thistlebear: December

 Knowing I am invited to Jennifer's party every month this winter is keeping me motivated to keep working on these three projects...and enjoy each one!  Since my November party post, I have only completed three or four rows on the blue Merino wool blanket, four to six rows on the crocheted shawl and maybe ten or more rows on the baby blanket, but each row is progress that has brought me closer to completing each project :)

 My favorite chair by our Christmas tree is where my current projects hang out.  I often take the baby blanket with me when running errands in case I have some spare time while waiting  to knit a row or so. I have also added another crochet project that I hope to complete this winter. I purchased a kit from Taci to crochet a pretty lacy edge on a decorative tea towel for my kitchen [or someone else's. :) ]

    

  In the past I have taken a cotton terry tea towel and crocheted a decorative top with cotton yarn forming a buttoned tab one can use to fasten the towel to a rack, but Taci's design is so pretty, I would love to learn to create it myself!  

I'm looking forward to seeing how you are coming along with your winter projects and I appreciate your encouragement as I work on mine :)

Wishing you happy creative days!
Gracie xx

Winter Project Link Party: October

Jennifer at Thistlebear is hostessing a Winter Project Link Party and I am daring to see if I can succeed in participating!

This Blanket's Story

Over three years ago I purchased this blanket in kit form from Morehouse Farm in Milan, NY.  About seventeen years ago I lived on the west bank of the Hudson River, nearly 100 miles north of N.Y. City.  During those fifteen years there, while I experimented with various needlecraft projects, I had no idea that Margrit Lohrer and Albrecht Pichler were creating the wonderful Morehouse Farm just a few miles south of me on the opposite side of the river.  Sigh...

So far I have only visited Morehouse Farm through my computer and Margrit's beautiful book, MOREHOUSE FARM Merino Knits. Even while I was visiting in NY last Fall I was unable to visit the farm.  

Recently I got an email announcing that Margrit and Albrecht are selling the business because of Margrit's ill health.  I pray for her healing, and I  thank both Margrit and Albrecht for investing their lives in the wonderful process of making incredibly soft merino wool yarn, along with developing clever patterns and kits for folks like me.

One quote from Margrit's book that really resonates with me is, "My approach to knitting is pretty simple: I want to knit, knit, and knit some more.  My favorite projects are yards of scarves and acres of blankets.  Stop and go projects bother me--stop and check, stop and read, stop and count--they don't give me time to think.  Knitting is the time when I digest the day's events, my life's and the world's."  

While I am not a daily knitter, Margrit's words describe what my mind likes to do as I knit or crochet.  I like to think about other things than stitching.  I like to listen to stories or think about stories about my life and the lives of others in the world.

In other posts I have despaired about my lack of progress on completing this blanket, but typing about it in this post has renewed my original pleasure in the color and style of it.  I am enjoying practicing continental knitting making it, and I am making progress, even if slowly.

Thanks for inviting me to the Winter Project Link Party.  I am enjoying attending, Jennifer, and am encouraged by your progress on your blanket.  I hope others join our celebration!

Gracie xx

Here is a link to  Jennifer's WPLP post

Around the World Blog Hop

 While I have done a bit of traveling around the world by plane, and boat, and car, and train, I have done far more armchair traveling through blogging.  It is a privilege to interact with creative folk in far flung locales as well as some very close by.  One special creative blogger, Teresa Kasner, actually lives very close by me in Corbett, Oregon, near Portland and has become a lovely face to face friend. Before we met I was delighted to be able to order a set of her beautiful hand painted cards from her blog site, and have two of them framed and hung where I can enjoy viewing them.  She is soooo artistically talented and posts amazing photos and interesting narratives about the world around her, including glimpses of her beading, painting, crocheting, knitting, sewing, and civic and family/friend activities.  Thank you for  asking me to participate in this Blog Hop, Teresa!

1. What am I working on?

I finally finished my first crocheted cotton basket (pictured above) and have the first panel done for a second basket.  I have a crocheted shawl started, one sock on circular knitting needles, a cap on another set of circular needles, and the blanket (pictured below) on another set of circular knitting needles.  I also am working on a little photo album for my youngest Grand, Rose, and am sketching some flowers in her album as well.

 2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?
My work is SIMPLE and SLOWLY COMPLETED :) [I admire and am inspired by those whose work is the opposite of mine :) ]


3. Why do I write/create what I do?
I find joy in the creative process, especially in highlighting or creating the beautiful. [ I told one of my junior high teachers that someday I was going to write a book, but to date I have just written three children's plays, and contributed some devotional material to a book. ]

4.  How does my writing/creative process work?
Sometimes I enjoy the challenge of taking on an assignment, especially a project fueled by need, but more often these days, I find that as I look at the work of others, I am inspired to try to either duplicate what they have created or use their work as a launching platform for a similar project...now if I could just speed up my production rate...especially for making the many gifts I would like to give :)

One of the wonderful bloggers I have met  through Teresa is Betsy Queen whose blog is entitled The Simple Life of a Queen.  She is one of the busiest, women I know!  Her knitting and crochet projects are prolific in number and usually given away.  She is a Christian who is happily married and is living in Spokane, Washington.  She has three adult children and three grandchildren all of whom she has to travel many miles to see. [One of her sons lives in Japan!]  She has agreed to post an Around the World Blog Hop post next Monday, July 21, 2014.  Have you visited her blog?

Gracie xx

WIP Wednesday: Friendship&Fiber&Flowers

 My friend, Teresa, met me at a new LYS in Gresham, Oregon, littlelambandEwe!  She has a great post about our adventure which I hope you will read, if you haven't already.  From littlelambandEwe, for my birthday my youngest daughter and my son-in-law bought me Babs, the little ewe, sewing caddy marketed by Lantern Moon.  My oldest daughter and her family bought me the book, the finer edge Crocheted Trims, Motifs & Borders, by Kristin Omdahl; and they also got a little black sheep tape measure, and a lovely ball of pink yarn. I bought myself some buttons from there with visions of attaching them to wonderful fiber gifts I make for family members and friends...ahhh that the dream will become reality :-)

Teresa and I had  yummy lunches in the restaurant across the street.  Then we wandered through an antique store back across the street.  I managed to resist some large too expensive for me cobalt blue beads.  Teresa wondered if they might be Indian trading beads.  But I did purchase a little inexpensive Japanese cobalt blue float that I balanced on two of my cobalt blue glasses to photograph.  A friend long ago who was a nurse, told me she had read an article that reported that some Russian scientist had conducted experiments that suggested that staring at deep purple blue for fifteen minutes a day acted as an anti-depressant and appetite suppressant.  I have been collecting cobalt blue glass ever since, but can't vouch for the Russian scientist's conclusions.

Since last Wednesday I have managed to put a few more rows on my merino blanket.  My youngest son gave me an Amazon gift card for Christmas and I got two fiber related books.  I started crocheting a basket from the pattern in one of the books.  I am using cotton, but the book suggests using a variety of other materials that look amazing.  I also started with Teresa's coaching, the Ruby shawl pattern sold on Ravelry by Anastasia Roberts.  Even though I have ripped out rows several times and need to rip the last row I started, I am very excited about the pattern!  I love the shawl Teresa made and the new one she has started...beautiful colors that will be practical for use for years to come.

I cleaned out some dead plants from the front garden, trimmed my two Joseph's Coat rose bushes, and purchased a deep purple African violet; I took a photo of it to share with you and cheer you on toward Spring :-)

This Saturday most of our household hopes to drive to CA to visit family members and friends and I may try to post from my iPhone, but no promises :-)

Meanwhile, I am wishing you happy days and wondering what works are in progress in your life?

Love with hugs from,
Gracie

Australian Tea on WIP Wednesday

When I signed up for Lucy's Grand Tea Swap, I anticipated that I would be introduced to bloggers new to me, and indeed I have!  I received a packet from Wendy who lives in Australia!  Wendy is interested in knitting, crochet, sewing, redecorating, family...and well, many of my interests :-)

I have had fun exploring Wendy's blog, Ruffs Adventures and look forward to visiting in the days ahead as well.

Along with some tea and a lovely card, she sent me some fingerless gloves [my first pair!] she had made for me.  They are purple, my favorite color, and a very pretty stitch pattern. Thank you again, Wendy!

This afternoon I made up a pot of Australian Afternoon Tea from one of the tea bags Wendy sent.  Mmmmmm, it is delicious, and I wish I could share it with you!

Tea, winding some yarn, and knitting more rows on my wip moreno blanket helped this to be a cozy, happy rainy day for me.

Did you work on any of your wips today?

xx,

Gracie

wip wednesday 2.13.2013

Sosae Caetano invited others to join her in posting about works in progress on Wednesday.  I do get excited seeing what others are creating and it encourages me to complete my long list of projects, so I decided to try to join in.  On the right sidebar I have links to others who are participating as well and I hope you will visit them.

The first picture in this post is of the moreno blanket I am knitting.  I have posted about it before, but it has grown since the last time I showed it to you...honest  =)  It is just simple straight knit knit knitting.  Most recently I watched Downton Abbey, and the State of the Union Address while knitting it.  I bought it as a kit from Morehouse Farm which is across the Hudson River and a bit south of where I lived for 15 years in Saugerties, NY.  I think that this February would be the perfect time to finish it and decide whether I am going to keep it for myself or gift it to someone.  For the photo I positioned it below the beautiful cotton blanket Shari crocheted and I won from her blog, Lauren's Closet.  She sent it to me around Christmas time along with a beautiful ceramic angel wishing Joy to the World.  I treasure Shari's generous gifts and she inspires me to want to complete more and more yarn projects.

Since tomorrow is a special time for some to give hearts and flowers, and our Oregon weather is a bit gray and misty, I thought I would share my first outdoor blooms of the new year with you, rosy red camellias!  I love that the bush is so close to my front window it benefits from the warmth of the house and rewards us with lovely blossoms in the middle of winter.

So Happy Valentine's Day, Family and Friends!!!

I am grateful for your part in my life.

Love with Hugs from,

Gracie 

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