August Crafting 2021

Welcome! Thanks for visiting!  I wish I could share the bounty of my friend's garden with you! She and her husband raised these lovely fruits/vegetables in their backyard. I have been enjoying the produce of their garden crafting and had enough to share with nearby neighbors as well. The bumpy purple and white roots by the vase are kohlrabi which you may already know but I didn't until my friend explained what they were.  She told me they peel them, slice them, and salt them, then eat the slices raw which is what I did. I enjoyed the crisp crunchy texture and mild flavor!  Have you eaten kohlrabi before? 

This month I was able to meet with crafting friends outside on my friend's patio as we worked on knitting/crocheting small blankets for patients at a nearby hospital. I'm about halfway done with crafting the mixed pastel acrylic crocheted blanket I showed you in prior posts over the last few months.

The birdhouse gourd vine I showed you in my last post is still stretching skyward, still producing flowers and at the base of some of the flowers, gourds are forming!!! Can you see the one in this photo?  My excitement is worth more exclamation points!!!  Will a gourd grow big enough to be crafted into a birdhouse???                                                                                                                                                                                                                

In this photo can you see two gourds along with some of the last of the pretty purple Clematis blooms? Also, if you look over the fence and down on the ground can you see a prolific cucumber vine a neighbor planted and some of us nearby have been watering whether or not we are garden crafters?

 This morning I picked five cucumbers.  All of us tending the vine have been rewarded with some yummy cucumbers.  I am enjoying our mini-community garden crafting efforts especially during this time when living productively and peacefully in healthy community in our world continues to be challenging.

Years ago my youngest daughter crafted the beautiful blue mug shown in this photo. I enjoyed drinking a cup of PG Tips decaffeinated tea from the mug this morning. Then I washed the mug and poured some homemade vegetable beef soup in it for lunch. In the basket on the left in the back of the photo is the blanket I am crocheting. Whether crafting or enjoying the crafts produced by others I am grateful as I type this on the last day of August... and I hope that when I press publish on Blogger I have crafted another post!!! 

Love and ((hugs)),

from Gracie :)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:13 NIV
 

Ahoy in August!

Welcome to some views of the wonderful days my youngest daughter and her husband helped me enjoy at Tillamook Oregon State Beach while camping in their trailer with them.

The weather was the best I have ever experienced in the years that I have gone there and we always have a great time visiting with cousins, aunts, and uncles as well.

On my first time down to the beach, I found this pretty sand dollar shell peeking out of the sand. The other side is broken in the middle, but I still think the shell is beautiful.  I brought it home and have it nested in a little basket of pinecones on my bedside table.

Just one day we had some rain.  On that day we went into the town of Tillamook and visited the museum.

The cabin living room exhibit is one of my favorites because of all the crafts and crafting equipment that is displayed.

One little stitching project I completed in August was this thick crocheted rectangular hot mat.  When you follow a free diagonal potholder pattern available on Ravelry, instead of sewing the potholder edge together on the diagonal, you keep stitching around and around until you have the size rectangle you want and then join the edge.

On one hot sunny August afternoon, I stopped by to visit with dear blogging friends, Teresa, Dayle and their sweet little dog, Mocha at their farm. They generously sent me home with a gorgeous dozen fresh eggs with shells of many pretty colors from their happy flock of hens. Yum! Then I drove a little further east along the mighty Columbia River and stopped at the Women's Forum viewpoint to enjoy this view.

 Thanks to the vision and hard work of many who came before us this amazing view is more accessible for many.

Several years ago I made a new friend, MJ,  at church.  She and her husband have a collection of antique sewing machines and they sold me this Featherweight model Singer.  After I had accidentally clogged the threading mechanism they serviced the machine for me and last week MJ sat with me coaching me how to avoid clogging the mechanism again!

Beginning August with glorious days at the ocean, I end August by using this lovely acrylic yarn to start crocheting a baby blanket in a double crochet stitch pattern that reminds me of beautiful iridescent ocean waves.

While much of the foliage around me is at the height of lushness, I have noted some leaves on the tips of branches that are turning red or brown as the season shifts...the ebb and flow of seasons that both please me and cause me to feel nostalgic. Do seasonal shifts tug at your feelings as well, and does the beauty of nature inspire the design of your crafting?



Gracie ((hugs))  :-)


Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.  Psalm 69:34 NKJV

By Candle Light

 The rain fell.  The wind blew.  Our electrical power went off for nearly eight hours.  I lit the beautiful beeswax candles Teresa made for me and admired the candles and the holly and greens her husband Dayle cut from their property to decorate the candles. I wrote a Christmas card.  I crocheted some on a red yarn bag for a granddaughter for Christmas.

 I made tea light Celestial Imperial Tai Chai tea two cups at a time.  The teapot is sitting on a pretty doily, Tammy kindly made for me.  The teapot wrapped in the Christmas tea cozy Amanda made for me years ago helped the tea to brew more rapidly.

 Uncle Tim read a book about a sailor bear to Hayley and Joy, and read it again when requested to do so.

 It got darker.  We made sandwiches for dinner.  We sang some Christmas carols.

We ate candy kind friends had sent.  Aunt Lissie rocked baby Sarah.
The candles burned lower.

Just as we were getting ready to go to bed the Christmas tree lights came back on and the heater started filling the house with more warmth.

I had awakened in the morning with the beginnings of a cold I did not want.  I had other busy plans for the day.  I have been attending more gatherings than usual and enjoying seasonal celebrations. But this unexpected time of living in candlelight while challenging and worrisome in some ways, was simply wonderful.

During this season I have been listening to the modern Michael W. Smith Holiday channel on Pandora, and enjoying it very much, but as I'm typing this I am listening to ancient, classical styled "Till Morn Eternal Breaks" Sacred Choral Music of Benedict Sheehan performed by The Chamber Choir of St. Tikhon's Monastery, which my dear friend Becky sent me from NY, and I am enjoying it very much as well...its like a candle light versus electricity contrast for my ears!

Whatever circumstances you find yourself in this season, may God bless you.

xx

Gracie

In Gauge In July

So far in July I have had some wonderful celebrations with family and friends and I hope you have too.  I celebrated the freedom I have where I live. As part of the celebration on July 4th I made  fruit kabobs that we whirled around in canning jars full of homemade raspberry-lemonade spritzers...fun to make and yummy to drink and munch on.

Admiring flowers and the moon and having a tea/chocolate almond milk party with my granddaughters have occupied some of my time during the unusual stretch of very hot weather we have had so far in July.  Also,  water has figured prominently in my activities. I have continued to swim frequently at the gym pool, and I've watched others swim or play in kiddie pools, and my oldest granddaughter asked her pastor to baptize her as a Christian in the river by his house which I got to witness. [a bit of swimming and boating happened afterwards].

For those of you who crochet and or knit, do you crochet or knit a swatch to determine your gauge before you start a project like most patterns suggest you should?

I don't....or haven't....I know, but don't judge please :)

Monday night I joined a group of ladies at the church that I have been attending who gather to crochet or knit baby blankets for babies who arrive at a local neonatal unit. Before I came I had been told that we were asked to make blankets 16x22, or 22x28, or 28x34 inches in a non-lacy pattern, and if knitting use size 8 knitting needles with worsted weight, soft acrylic yarn.

Since I had appropriate yarn, I dug out my Knit Picks size  8 circular needles and attached them to a size 24" cord figuring that would be enough room for a small blanket. Then I cast on stitches until it looked like it would be big enough and started knitting.  I knit and knit and knit and knit...

I know :)

I completed very few rows before arriving.

When I showed the leader of the group what I had started she kindly told me that the blanket might be big enough to fit a twin size bed.  Really?

I started to frog my work, but before I had finished frogging she said, "Wait a minute.   Let's figure out your gauge." [I at least knew enough about "gauge" that I had brought my little ruler-knitting-needle-sizer-thingy with me so I efficiently whipped it out] [ahhh pride]

My new friend-teacher said, "See.  You have four stitches per inch so all you have to do is multiply the number of inches you want the width to be by four and you will know how many stitches to cast on."

See my enlightened mind?

In my over 44 years of knitting I am certain I have figured out how to figure out gauge before, but I am hopeful that this guided hands on experience will help me internalize the information forever and put it to use in a timely fashion in the future :)

So far July has had many exciting events, including the first awesome close up views of the dwarf planet,  Pluto, and devastating losses of life and property around the world, so my mind has not only been trying to wrap itself around stitching in gauge but also  thinking and feeling in gauge about life in and around me.

Life is engaging to me!  Is it to you?

Wishing you life engaged in love,

Gracie  xx

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother's womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  It is amazing to think about.  Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it."  Psalm 139:13-14 TLB

Just a Bit More Stitching In June

Little Rosie tries to keep up with her older sisters, but running through the sprinkler takes some careful consideration... 

although my great niece, Laura, who was visiting from Nebraska, Rosie's mom, Mary Kathrine, and I were there to cheer her on.  Before we took Laura to the airport to fly to visit her G'ma [my oldest sister] in California we had to get a picture of Laura with some of our clan at one of our favorite local sight-seeing sites :) :) :)

 Jonsrud Overlook, to admire Mt. Hood, and imagine how Native Americans and Pioneers traversed the terrain to establish homes for their families.

I am so pleased that the pretty primroses that were blooming in February when my good friend Fran gave them to me for my birthday are blooming again in June!  I did not know they could do that.

The fuschia starts we planted in Spring are showing more and more ballerina blossoms dancing down to delight us.

One day after Laura left for California, I headed off to my favorite park, but when I saw this view, I knew I had made a wrong turn.  Mt. Hood and the foxglove and daisies were all very pretty to see, but I was lost.  There was NO traffic, so I stopped at the top of a hill and asked the 
"Google Map Girl" to tell me how to get to the park.

I managed to follow her directions and found my way to the peaceful Sandy River.  One day I want to set a chair in the shallow water and enjoy the cool rushing water running over my feet ~ ~ ~ 

Then my good friend, Teresa, invited me on an adventure, to cruise on the mighty Columbia River with her and some of her family members. As you can see, to get to the sternwheeler we had to bravely pass the wooden carving of Big Foot, a giant hairy beast who reportedly roams the forests of the Northwest!  Have you heard of him?

Isn't the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler beautiful?

I admired the paddle wheel made to resemble those used on paddle wheel ships of the 1800's .

Teresa had me stand at this angle for an interesting view as we floated further from the dock.

Teresa, Travis, Dayle, Hayden, and Caleb all helped me feel most welcome to enjoy adventuring with them.

For more details about what we saw up and down the river, check Teresa's beautiful and interesting post.

We are trying to grow a hydrangea bush at home like this gorgeous blue one we saw when we got off the ship. 

Then while driving through  beautiful Cascade Locks Park, Teresa stopped and took this photo with my camera of the bronze statues of Sacagawea her baby on her back and her dog who were made to commemorate the valuable help they gave Lewis and Clarke in the early 1800's on their journey to explore what is now the northwest USA;

and Teresa took this photo too of this statue made to remind folks of one of the very real dangers the expedition faced.

As we left the park, we enjoyed a parting view of the sternwheeler headed to the West, so that other passengers could enjoy the fresh air, sunshine, and natural beauty  like we did.  The memory of which will surely linger for them and for us, beckoning us all to come back as often as possible.

The next day I could not bear to stay inside, so my oldest daughter, Mary Kathrine, and her girls [Rosie and Molly in this photo] and I headed to another nearby favorite park.

Hayley enjoyed playing with two girls just her age.

I was thrilled to snap a photo of Joy smiling while she jumped for joy on the wonderful wobbly bridge!

We loved seeing the friendly tree roots reaching out to greet one another,

as we followed a path by the clear running creek over smooth brown rocks by the sturdy bridge on the way back to the car.

The next day I attended Vespers at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Portland.  With all my galavanting around and car troubles it had been many weeks since I had visited there.  It was good to worship with folks I have been missing,  but the next day found me homebound and unwell with some sort of achey flu [?] that I am praying I don't pass on to anyone.

Now several days later I finally have felt well enough to read, and hone my posting skills.  I signed up for PicMonkey.com and made my first collage!  So far I am still blogging not as means to earn an income, but because for me it is a creative pursuit that combines many of my artistic interests.  When I link to a site it is not because I am seeking income or favor with anyone, I'm just sharing my interests with others who have similar interests, and trying to give credit where credit is due.

In the process, I am building cyber friendships that have amazingly sometimes become face to face friendships!  I feel that God is blessing me tremendously in the process, and I am praying my interaction with others is a blessing for them as well.

Currently I am working on a red headband for Molly using Sue's pattern and using Stylecraft acrylic yarn from my Lucy [Attic 24] pack stash that I still want to make a blanket and bag from ........someday.......sigh.  Many of you Makers inspire me to not give up on my To Make List.
Thank you!

I have nearly finished reading "No Place of My Own" by Christine Laennec and am enjoying it on many levels.  The general locations mentioned in the book are places I have been near and my imagination is fired by May's [Christine's Great Granny's] description of living in those locations mentioned in her diary entries in the early 1920s, mainly in northern California.  Her life story is unvarnished [except for the pages that were never printed because she ripped them out!]  She was a physically hard worker with a poetic streak.   Her account of working on a river boat for a time and then on a mining camp make for adventure driven reading! Her wrestling with her sense of her place as a woman in her part of society worried and or frustrated me; but her appreciation for beauty and her humor are lively and propel her story forward, and I don't want the book to end.  In fact I have already re-read parts of it to savor her viewpoint or puzzle over her choices.
The author, Christine, lived in Portland, Oregon, and taught in several schools in the USA before she and her husband moved to Scotland to teach.  You can [and I hope you will] read more of Christine's writing on her blog Writing From Scotland.  

As I finish typing to you I hear "ka-thunking" on the roof above me!  Ripe wild cherries are falling from our massive tree!  So far various family members have climbed on ladders and up on the roof to try to gather ripe cherries; but maybe now the cherries are ready to fall into waiting buckets below... 

What do you think?

Wishing you Happy Summer Days and hoping you'll share some of your news with me, too :)

Gracie xx