"I started photographing my domestic world and writing not just about what I had made,
but why I made it, examining the thoughts that accompany creativity and the act of making."
Jane Brocket from The Gentle Art of Domesticity p. 189 UK edition

Friday, April 30, 2021

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

12 comments:

  1. The trellis's that you bought and built are wonderful Gracie. I don't think I've seen one like it before that will support the vines so well. I love all of the beautiful dishcloths you made for your friends and also the piles and piles of knitted/crocheted blessings that your group has made for all ages. From what I can see, there are many talented stitchers in the group. How wonderful that you all take the time to share your talents with others in need.
    Thank you for sharing the picture of Mt. Hood. I miss seeing it in person, it seems like it's been a long time.
    Piper and I saw some beautiful tulips last night at the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery last night and we took Great Grandma there today so she could see them. I hope to get some pictures for my blog if I don't forget. There were beds and beds of different and multicolored tulips.
    I hope you're having a lovely Friday Gracie. Take care my dear friend and my warmest love to you.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Good job on finding those perfect trellises for your climbing flowers. Dayle got us a couple of pots of Sweet Peas too.. I hope they do okay as the last ones we got were a disappointment. Bravo on knitting the 3 dishcloths and thanks for the link. I think I need to use larger needles as mine was very tight on size 7 needles. I'm very impressed with all the blankets and hats you and your friends from the church have made. Good girl! Thanks for all your love and support through my hospitalization and start to recovery. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  3. Fabulous Trellis's Gracie. Nice to see Mt Hood and all your awesome knitting too.
    Wonderful donations made by lovely people including you

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  4. Oh, such an uplifting and encouraging post! I love the color of your sweet pea bloom--I've only seen pinks/purples before! I had a laugh at your instructions--in our international world, the instructions rarely use words anymore! The trellises look great, btw!

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  5. What a beautiful stack of handmade goodness. Glad to know the gifts are so much appreciated. Your dishcloths are lovely, too. I took so many pictures of flowers last week that I will post about soon. Temperatures during the day are already around 100 F so the a/c is on full-time. :/ Take care.

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  6. The bleeding hearts are very pretty and the trellises are brilliant, they'll look lovely covered in sweet peas and clematis in a few weeks' time. Amazing that you already have a sweet pea flower though. There's lots of flowering cherry blossom here at the moment, and I have a later flowering apple tree that's blooming as well. Also a camellia that is still flowering, although it hasn't liked the unseasonable frosts we've been having overnight.

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  7. Fabulous photo of Mount Hood. Lots of lovely makes Gracie such a handsome pile of blankets and pretty dishcloths. I am sure all that crafted loveliness is well appreciated by the people you take it to. My sister has been sending me knitted dishcloths from the UK they last so much longer than the manufactured ones. Keep well Amanda x

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  8. Nice trellis you got for your plants Gracie! Mt. Hood looks so beautiful. I like the dishcloths you knitted. That would be fun to send with tea to people as well. I have my lilacs blooming and a blooming young cherry tree we got last week. In posting that post later today. Roses and rhodie flowers blooming soon too. Take care. Good to read your post.

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  9. Those trellises do look nice. I didn't know Sweet Peas were climbers - how lovely the trellis will look with peachy blossoms going up it.

    I have a drawerful of Grandma's Favorite dishcloths that I knitted ages ago (some of them are around twenty years old). They seem to last forever! Your friends will get good use out of the ones you made for them.

    It's wonderful to know that the donations made to the hospital were so well appreciated.

    Magnificent photo of Mt. Hood!

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  10. Sweet Peas are my favorite! I like all flowers but Sweet Peas have the best scent and are tangled with my childhood memories. I must also so - you and your ladies of the church are amazing! Such good works!
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. Your trellis will be absolutely glorious in the summer, I look forward to seeing the photos of your sweet peas. I really love how you and your friends make little blankets and hats for wee babies, just wonderful. xx

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  12. It was fun to see your sweet peas; they are beautiful. I loved your photo of Mount Hood; it seems like evey time we drive to OR, that mountain is hiding in the clouds! thanks for the reminder to use up some of my "dishcloth yarn"!

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