I AM ADDICTED TO HEXAGONS!!

Before I start talking about knitting/crocheting, I must tell you all, today I became the proud mother of a Detroit Police Officer. My son passed the final test at the academy, as did his ENTIRE class, and officially became a police officer. Not only was he the president of his class from the beginning (which is huge), but he received the Outstanding Top Performance Award. I am SO proud of him.   


I will just say it, "I LOVE HEXAGONS"!!!  I always feel like my granny squares are a bit misshapen, but hexagons, they seem to turn out the way they are suppose to. I made 3 sample ones, out of the scraps from the "Ugly" blanket. GREAT!  Now I am going to have Ugly 1 and Ugly 2. Oh well, at least the little girlies love them. Wait, 4 girlies. I will need Ugly 3 and 4, so they all have one.

The real reason for the hexagons, my daughter fell in love with Lucy's, from Attic 24, Hexagon afghan. My Sarah normally doesn't care for crocheting, she prefers the look of something knitted, but loved Lucy's afghan. So, I ordered all that yarn I posted, and I am going to start it tonight. 


I am going to pick an "itty bitty" toy to begin this week, as well. I am leaning toward the Hippo, which is my favorite animal, but with Easter coming up, I might have to go with the Bunny. I REALLY want to make the Sheep, but the yarn is stopping me. I am not finding what I need. I love Susan Anderson's sheep.


I MUST show you what the 3 granddaughters built last night. While waiting for dinner, Sarah made Chicken Picata with Wild Rice and Raspberry Bars, the girls decided to build a shelter for the sidewalk ants. I was hoping they would move OUT of the neighborhood and the girls constructed a condo and FED THEM LICORICE! I think I saw 30,000 more ants moving in today. Wonderful!

See what looks like dirt? THATS ANTS!  Oh, and let me just say, Sarah's Raspberry Bars, you could serve them to royalty. My son and daughter-in-love LOVE the Chicken Picata. I am a vegetarian, so I ate roasted asparagus, but the smells coming from the kitchen, made me wish I could sample something.


Here are a few pictures of spring at my house....

"Ugly" is done!!!!

I am so excited. I have finished my first full size afghan. I have been working on my UGLY Granny Striped Afghan for a little under a month.  I would not have picked these colors to combine, but, these were in my yarn stash. I am bound and determined to get rid of all my misfit skeins of yarn. As far as the ends of skeins, GRANNY SQUARES! Back to the afghan, it reminds me of my hippie days in the late 60's, early 70's. As a matter of fact, my first refrigerator was Avocado Green. My other choices where Harvest Gold or Burnt Orange. Anyway, I am very pleased with the afghan, despite the colors.

This has been a crazy weather week in my area. We should be enjoying temperatures in the high 40's, which I love, but we are already in the 70's. They just showed the next 8 days weather forcast on TV, 5 days of 76 degrees. Since summer is my LEAST favorite season, this is not looking good to me. If we are at 76 in March, what pray tell will it be like in July, 110? Not to mention, our winter was very mild. We didn't have any snow storms and our temperatures hardly ever hit the teens. Needless to say, right now the germs are running rampant. 3 of my little ones are sick. One with a horrible ear infection and two with colds. 3 down, 3 to go. My one granddaugther, the little Russian, never gets sick. She has great Siberian genes. 


I was up at 2:30 a.m. the other morning, letting one of the old dogs outside. When I opened the door, it was so bright outside. I love looking up and seeing this:

I am hoping tomorrow will be a quiet day. I will be minus one granddaughter, the 3 year old who has the ear infection. I have already cleaned the family room, the turtle tank, the 4 dog's feeding stations, and the bathroom. Tomorrow will be the easy stuff, if the little ones are healthy. Then, I am going to finish the 4 Happy Flower decorations from Attic 24. The 3 girls beg for everything I make. I can tell you right now where Mia, the 5 year old's will be. In the bottom of her backpack with all the other things she couldn't live without. Luiza & Ella might actually hang their's in their rooms. I just hope their moms don't mind them sticking holes in their bedroom walls. Knowing those girls, they will move the Happy Flower a dozen times each.  



Tomorrow night is Scrapbooking/Knitting night at the Salvation Army. I think I will start making the hexagon squares (now that doesn't make sense, hexagon squares) for the Hexagon Afghan, again by Attic 24.


Well, I have a 170 pound Great Dane breathing down my neck, literally. He knows there is pizza in the kitchen and he is NOT going to go to bed until there isn't one piece left. He is so old and stubborn. I would like to say I will win this battle, but, I know the outcome of this story. Just look at this face, staring at the pizza.

I will leave you tonight with one last picture. This is 2 year old Nolan, playing dress-up. He loves his ladies vintage velvet hat with his bowtie. To see this everyday, is my life great or what?

THE YARN HAS LANDED!!!!!

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we receive packages from out of the country. I ordered this delicious yarn from Deramores, in England, and 5 days later it was sitting on my porch waiting for me.  I have to tell you, it arrived last Saturday, but I didn't open the packages for 2 days. I wanted to make sure the house was cleaned first. Once I got my hands on all the yarn, I might not lift a dust cloth or put a dish into water. I haven't started knitting/crocheting with this Stylecraft Special DK yarn yet, but it looks wonderful.


The other thing that arrived on Saturday, the book, "200 Crochet blocks" by Jan Eaton. I LOVE IT!!!!  Great granny squares and many other blocks. I can't wait to start making some.

I know I have mentioned before about this GREAT blog, Natural Suburbia. You must check out the wonderful giveaway that is going on until March 10th. Linda is giving away wonderful things to celebrate her 4th anniversary as a blogger. Also, check out her Etsy shop, Mamma4earth . Her patterns are so unique. 


I don't know if any of you have been watching the British show, Downton Abbey? In the USA it is being aired on the PBS channel. I had been hearing so much about it from so many people, I decided to buy season one. WOW! It was worth it. I am home all weekend with my 8 year old granddaughter and NO VEHICLE, so, I think I better go out and buy season two, just in case I need to unwind. I should probably buy chocolate and potato chips, too. 

I am SO excited, my son is almost done with his police academy. He is having a party at the academy tomorrow, to celebrate the accomplishments of his class. My daughter and I have been cooking for 2 days, a delicious recipe for this feast. I am a vegetarian, so, I have never tasted it. It is one of Sarah's specialties. You cook a chuck roast with pepperoncinis for 6 hours. Then you shred it and pile it on a crusty roll. Apparently, it is fantastic.  My son was voted president of his class back in September, when they started. Usually the position changes hands many times during the course of the training. However, he has held the presidency the entire time. I am so proud of him. Next month at his graduation ceremony, I will be pinning his badge on him (hopefully not sticking him while I am crying), and then he will officially be a Detroit Police Officer. Wow! My baby boy.


I have decided to set a goal for the next week, projects to complete by Monday, March 12, 2012: 
1.  My "ugly" Granny Striped afghan. It should be completed by Saturday.
2.  My 4 Happy Flower Decorations, by Lucy of Attic 24.
3.  My little Cat, by Mamma4earth. 

Can't Wait For The Mail Carrier To Arrive

I am sitting here, anxiously waiting for the mail carrier to get here. I am hoping that the 2 books I ordered about Granny Squares, come today. I am still waiting for the Stylecraft yarn from England, but, I am not thinking it will arrive for another week. I have a VERY obsessive personality, so lets just say,  I am really teaching my little ones about patience today. WAIT!!!!!  I hear the mail carrier........ ONE BOOK IS HERE!

Have any of you been watching the British TV series, Downton Abbey? It is being shown on the PBS channel. I have heard from so many people how good it is. Another obsession, I am trying to find season 1 in the stores, but, it has been sold out. 


I have been working steadily on my Granny Stripe Blanket. It is coming along, slowly. If I hadn't made it so long, I would have been done long ago. One nice thing, it will be so long that it will easily cover 2 people sitting at opposite ends of the couch. I am making this afghan with the group on Ravelry, "One A Day", and I am ahead of schedule. I committed to one row a day, but have surpassed that. Woo Hoo!

I have mentioned the Etsy shop, Mamma4earth, in a past. I love Linda's creations. She designed the loveliest Swan last week, along with a beautiful Daffodil. Couldn't resist them. Had to buy the patterns. Then yesterday, she posts on her blog, another new pattern, Glider the Whale. Check them out. ADORABLE. I am in the process of knitting her Cat. It is so easy to knit. I made 2 sets of body parts in 2 hours. My only challenge at the moment, my yarn is a bit finer than what she used and my stuffing is showing through the stitches. I was disappointed, but not frustrated. Tonight I meet with my scrapbooking/knitting group. I will work on the Cat tonight. I will show you what I mean about my stitches. Also, I haven't put on the eyes or nose, yet. Don't judge Mamma4earth's patterns by my little cat. The yarn is SO wrong. 

And finally, I saved the best till last. We have a new member in our family. She joined us last Sunday. She is a big girl. About 1.5 lbs.

Introducing Shirlie Girlie, my Red Eared Slider turtle. I went to buy turtle food for Shellie, Shamus, Sheldon, & Sherman. I happened to look over at the turtle tank and there she was, BEGGING me to take her home. How could I say no to that face?


Have a GREAT weekend.

I am BEYOND excited!!!!!

I just made my first purchase of Stylecraft Special DK yarn from England. I am on pins and needles, or should I say hooks and needles, waiting for my 36 skeins to arrive. They have the most beautiful selection of colors. Can't wait to show them to you.


I have been having so much fun this week, working on quick little projects. I showed you my Happy Flower decoration, from Lucy at Attic 24. 

Of course, the 3 little munchkins have all requested one. I am finishing the leaves on the stems and the embellishments on the hangers and then I will stiffen them and they will be done.


I mentioned on my last post that I had joined 2 groups on Ravelry. I don't know if it is knowing that I joined One a Day, that I have become obsessed with getting 2 rows crocheted a day on my afghan, or if it is just relaxing. Haven't figured it out yet. I do know that I don't want to go to bed unless I get the next row of color completed. This "ugly" afghan might actually be done while we still have cold weather.

   
My new addiction, GRANNY SQUARES!  I don't know if it is because you start crocheting a square and in less than an hour you have a mini masterpiece. Well, not always a masterpiece, but, a very sweet little square. For whatever reason, I am hooked. Speaking of hooks, I am trying to find a specific crochet hook. It has a red handle with with polka dots. Anybody have any ideas? STOP!!! Get back on track. Granny Squares. What is so fun with these squares, I am learning new stitches and techniques. When I have a bunch of them, I will make an afghan. If the squares don't work in the afghan, they will be coasters. This is a win win project.

This hexagon is nothing special. Just wanted to see if I could make something fairly even on all sides. 


I started and finished my "itty bitty" baby mittens. OH MY GOSH!  They took me about an hour and a half to make. They will be perfect for taking David for walks on our cold spring mornings. These mittens are on page 33, in the "itty bitty nursery" book, by Susan Anderson. 

Saturday I did one of my favorite things, went to Eastern Market and Srodek's Polish Market. This time of year there aren't too many farmers at Eastern Market. The ones that are there are selling mostly eggs, root vegetables, apples, honey, beans, bakery goods, and firewood. There are a few vendors there from stores selling grocery store produce. This year, the market offered free spaces to new local entrepreneurs in hopes they will become regular vendors in the spring. I am addicted to 2 new items, Maria's Homemade Salsa, from Hamtramck, Michigan and The Brinery's fresh purple sauerkraut, from Ann Arbor, Michigan. OH MY GOSH!!! 
At Srodek's Polish Market, I can't resist the atmosphere. Even if I didn't need anything, I would go there just to chat with the owners and listen to the old and young Polish customers speaking in their native tongue. However, this trip was for shopping. The Srodek family makes the BEST pierogi's. Wait, my ex-husband's wife makes the best, AND, she taught me how to make them last year. Oops, getting off track again. The Srodek's pierogis are wonderful. I bought potato/cheese for Luiza, mushroom/sauerkraut for Sarah, and wild mushroom for me. As I was making them Luiza said she would TRY on of mine. I said "Oh no, you don't have to". Why would I want to share MY wild mushroom pierogis that cost more for fewer of them? So, while we are eating dinner, I cut one of mine into 4 bites, put one piece on Luiza's plate, and guess what? THATS RIGHT! She loves wild mushroom pierogis. Figures. 
The other thing I bought was Morski Polish cheese and horseradish cheese. All I can say, YUM!


Today will be a nice day. After church, 2 gals are coming over to hang out. One is a beautiful card maker. She is working on her Christmas cards for 2012. I can't imagine. I am still putting the finishing touches on my Christmas cards from 2006. Probably time to give up on mine. However, Rebecca is so talented. She got married this past December and made all her own table decorations for the reception. They were gorgeous. The other gal that is coming over, is coming to plan a vacation. Sarah decided to take Luiza to Disney World this summer and while talking to Marci, found out her family is planning on going, too. That will be fun. I have to stay home and daycare my other little ones AND watch all of our animals, so, this will be nice for Sarah. Ten days with a nine year old, need I say more? Marci's children and Luiza are great friends. They will have so much fun. Later today, my son and his family will be coming over for our weekly Sunday dinner and to bring the girls to sleepover. I think tonight's dinner, FAJITAS! Easy dinner for 9 people. 


I will leave you with some pictures of my cute estate sale finds. These are all Boyd's Bears.

Eleven Questions

I love the blog, Wooly Knits N Bits. I was reading it tonight and to my amazement, I was asked to participate in a fun online questionnaire. Here is what I was asked to do:

I've been tagged by Wooly Knits N Bits  to answer her 11 questions.

The rules are:

1. Post these rules.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you.

3. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag.

4. Tag 11 people, if possible and link them to your post.

5. Let them know that you tagged them.

So here goes!

1. What is your favorite movie?  It is impossible to come up with just one. I love the Bourne Identity series, Serendipity, and Julie & Julia. I started writing my blog after watching Julie & Julia, which I have watched AT LEAST 40 times.  
2. Bath or shower?  Bath. 
3. What makes you angry?  Right now, politicians. I do not understand how people think what they are fighting for is more important than the other person's conviction. We are all passionate about our cause, but we MUST learn to meet the other person in the middle or nothing gets done.  
4. Where do you feel most at peace?  I love camping at the Pinery in Canada.
5. What song touches you the most?  Shout to the Lord. Cry EVERY time.
6. How do you like your eggs?  Scrambled with grilled onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.
7. Is the size of your stash of yarn/fabric/craft supplies problematic?  NOPE!  I only buy when I am ready to start the project. Also, when I started knitting/crocheting, I decided to get rid of everything else. Sold or donated all my sewing patterns/fabric/notions. I do still have my sewing machine, but, only for emergencies. 
8. Do you eat the recommended amount of fruits and veggies every day?  Almost. I am a vegetarian. 
9. What colours do you like to wear?  Black with bright colors or Black with white. Fat girl mentality. 
10. What is the best meal you cook?  Depends who you ask. My favorite meal is a thick pasta sauce consisting of sauteed onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, grated carrots, tomato paste, & fresh basil over spaghetti. If you ask my son, he says Swedish Meatballs and noodles. He is 34 years old and only found out last year that my meatballs and gravy are purchased in the frozen section of a local market and not homemade. He was crushed.  
11. If you could build a house anywhere in the world and bring your loved ones with you...where would it be?   I usually tell people I would love to have a home in Tomsk, Siberia.  I must say, I love my state of Michigan. I would love to have a home on one of the Great Lakes.

Those were my answers. Here are my questions:

 1.  What is your favorite knitting/crochet book?

 2.  Bright or pastel?

 3.  Where is your favorite place to knit/crochet?

 4.  Favorite pizza topping?

 5.  Where is your favorite place to buy yarn?

 6.  When is your favorite time of day to knit/crochet?

 7.  What do you use more of, man-made or natural fiber yarn?

 8.  Favorite vacation spot?

 9.  Rain or snow?

10.  Sweet or savory?

11.  Favorite season? Why?


I invite the following bloggers to join in the fun:

www.littlewoollie.blogspot.com
www.fairytaleknits.blogspot.com
www.ertmantrowbridgefmily.blogspot.com
www.naturalsuburbia.blogspot.com
www.meme-rose.blogspot.com
www.marmaladerose.blogspot.com

And any other bloggers that would love to join in, please do so!

RELAXING weekend.

What a great weekend this has been. All my little ones were picked up early on Friday, which is VERY unusual. They are normally gone by 5:30 p.m. each day, but Friday the baby was picked up at noon, 2 more at 3:00 p.m., and the last 2 at 5:00 p.m. WHOA!!!!  All this extra time to pack up my yarn, hooks, and books to take to Scrapbooking Night at our church. Yeah, I know it is called SCRAPBOOKING Night, but a few of us knitters decided to crash it one night, about 4 years ago. It was a huge success. Now it is more like "craft night". We have a blast. We meet the 1st & 3rd Fridays of each month, take turns bringing a dessert, and craft until midnight. About twice a year the girls have a weekend of fun. They either bring sleeping bags and stay at the church or leave at midnight and return the next morning for breakfast. Sometimes they go out to the Salvation Army Camp and scrap/craft there. I haven't been able to do that. My daughter, Sarah, is in charge of this group, so I stay home with Luiza, the 4 dogs, 2 birds, & 4 turtles. However, we have our own weekend of fun. YIKES!!!!....... off the subject. I was telling you about my weekend. ANYWAY, Friday night was fun, crocheting with friends. I did get a few flower heads made. I need to go buy some yarn for the stems.

Saturday morning Sarah, Luiza, and I went out to 3 craft stores. I bought some cheap cotton yarn to make more Happy Flowers. I am loving these flowers. I was thinking about making just the flower, leaving the stem and leaves off, bundling them up in groups of 6 with a ribbon, and giving them as a gift of coasters. They crochet together so fast. This is the pattern from Lucy at Attic24. It is called the Happy Flower Decoration. I love Lucy's designs. They are so cheerful.

I just realized I haven't finished making and hanging the crocheted circle and heart from the bottom of the flower, along with the beads. I still have to stiffen the flower by applying a thick layer of glue to the back of it. 

These are the yarns I bought to work on the stems and the pink and purple to add springy colors to my old stash. 

These are the beads that get added to the top of hanger and dangle from the bottom.

After shopping we had a wonderful lunch at a local pizzeria. They have the BEST greek salad and hot bread sticks made from the pizza dough. Need I say more? While we were eating my daughter decided it was time to get Luiza's hair cut. Just like that! One minute we are eating, the next minute we are rushing out the door to get EIGHT INCHES of Luiza's hair cut off. I still don't know where that came from. I must say, as much as this gramma cringed at the thought of cutting her beautiful hair, it looks darling. And to think, in one year it has grown 8 inches. ( couldn't find a before picture ).

I have decided to join 2 groups on Ravelry. One is called Granny Square a Day, which is self explanatory and the other is called One a Day. This one, you just complete one project or specific part of a project, a day. I am working on an afghan with yarn from my very small stash and my goal is to crochet one row a day. The afghan is much longer than I had planned, so, one row is a big accomplishment per day, since I am still working on other things. Because I am working from my stash, I sometimes crochet a row or two with an odd color combination and then decide that I can't live with it. Perfect example, this particular skein of HOT PINK yarn! I added the row, ripped it out, and then added it back. NOPE, it is coming out for good. I will use the hot pink for the Granny Square a Day project. I figure if I set a goal of 1 granny square a day and 1 row a day, before you know it, I will have 2 afghans made. Seeing that I have never made a full size afghan, this excites me. 

TOO FUNNY!!  My daughter just walked by and said that this afghan will be known as the "ugly afghan". Probably the favorite afghan, but also the ugliest. Yep, the hot pink row comes out. 

I have decided that I need to have one "itty bitty" project going at all times, since my blog IS knitting thru the "itty bittys". I have gotten side tracked. This week I plan on knitting the baby mittens on page 33 of "itty bitty nursery". Fast project.

Hopefully, it will inspire me to make the Circles Stroller Jacket on page 28 of the same book. 

Susan Anderson has SO many patterns that aren't in any  of the "itty bitty" books, that I am so anxious to make. I MUST get back on track.


I also want to get started on the Cat pattern from the Etsy store, Mamma4earth. I love Linda's patterns. Her blog, Natural Suburbia, is really interesting. She designs alot of wild animal knit patterns. She is from South Africa. 


It is getting late. The 3 granddaughters are sound asleep. I have to get up early to get them fed and 2 of them off to school. Then the 3 little ones will arrive around 8:00 a.m. and the day will begin with gusto. 


I will leave you with a photo of my new spring purchase. Good Night.