Back to say "hello"....

  It seems every time I post, that it has been such a long time and it has been.  A whole lot has gone on in our little corner of the world since the last time I posted.  

  My husband continues to have issues with his health.  Besides his MS, he now has a blood condition and is on chemotherapy pills for that.  These pills are very expensive and we have had a foundation that paid some on them but will not be continuing doing that.   We don't know what that is going to mean for him.  I am still on oxygen 24/7 and that will be continuing.  Our son-in-law has a scan done this week to see where his Mantle Cell Lymphoma stands.  It seems there is a lot of sickness all around us with friends and family.  We are trying to get up and make the best of each day.  My knitting, crocheting, and reading books helps.  I thought I would share some of those projects with you.

  This is a crocheted granny square pattern and I used Hobbii Tivoli Yarn that I purchased from Denmark.  It is such pretty yarn and easy to work with. It took 3 skeins. My husband wanted me to make it for the nurse at the cancer center.  He took it to her today and she was so excited and said that it made her day.  That really made me happy.  We always like to no that our work is appreciated. 

  This is another crocheted granny square baby blanket.  This is done with Knit Pick's Filici, in the Dove Heather and Cotton Candy colorway.  This was also a gift. Our son and his wife in California wanted it for a friend.  

  These socks were knitted for my husband.  The pattern is Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes.  I used Knit Pick's Filici in the steamer trunk colorway.

  These socks are for me. They are knitted using Knit Pick's Filici in the Jamboreo colorway. The pattern is Solar by Gill Slater.  Most of these patterns can be found on Ravelry. 

This is Canaletto Cowl by Megan Goodacre.  This pattern is on Ravelry.  I used Red Heart Soft yarn to knit this.  I made it for a Christmas gift.

  This is Toddler Hooded Cowl by Bethany Dearden. I did the cowl part different--I crocheted rows of hdc to make the band which is the cowl part.

  This is Serpentine Hat and Cowl by Premier Yarns Design Team.  I did not do the cowl.  I did this hat to be sold at our church festival to make money for missions.  I used Premier Yarns colorway Appalachic.  The pompom is made by wrapping yarn around two toilet paper rolls held side by side.

  I hope you enjoyed viewing what I have been knitting and crocheting.  I have also enjoy books.  I am so blessed that I can pick out books on line and the library brings them to me and picks them up when finished. Being able to order books, yarn, and groceries on line is such a wonderful blessing.

Thanks for stopping by,

Marie

Joy to a Knitter's heart....

What a wonderful surprise!  My husband went to the mailbox this morning and a beautifully wrapped gift had been left for us.  To my surprise, was these figures with knitted accessories.  I love, love, love them!  These are things that I have been knitting for gifts for Christmas.  I know the time that it takes to make them for people and I cannot imagine knitting these TINY scarf, hat, and mittens.  They are done perfectly and they must have been really fiddly to make.  Thank you to our friends for making our day--My Day. My husband watches me knitting and he also has an appreciation for the time and work that went into making them.  I love surprises!!!!!!!!!!!
Love to all from,
Marie

Late summer flowers and projects...

Where did the summer go?!!  Part of it found me going back and forth to the doctor.  In my last post,
I told you that I had fallen the week before and hurt my knee.  I should have gone to the ER the afternoon  that I fell, but I was doctoring myself.  My leg started swelling and then a wide red band developed above my ankle and was hot.  I called the doctor and they told me to go to Urgent Care.  The two doctors there
 x-rayed my knee and ankle and there were no fractures and then they sent me to the hospital for an
ultrasound of my leg so that blood clots could be ruled out and thank goodness that came out okay.  It ended up that I had an infection in my leg and was on antibiotics for two weeks.  The doctor explained that because of the swelling and fluid in my leg, bacteria got in through some cut or scratch and had a feast. 
On the visit back to the doctor, my blood pressure was too high.  He put me on a fluid pill with the blood pressure med in it.  He then sent me for blood work and all was okay except that after fasting, my blood sugar level was high.  Now, when I go back about my leg, the doctor says he will check the blood sugar again. I told the doctor if he keeps giving me pills, I won’t be able to close the top on my pill box.
  Even with all this going on, I have stayed busy knitting and crocheting.  The red bag and hat were crocheted for my daughter-in-law’s mother.  She had liked the one I did with yellow flowers and wanted hers done in red.  The little girl is wearing the sweater that I had shown in my last post.  She is the daughter of a friend of my son and his wife.  I had some extra Curious George fabric, so I decided to make Noah an appliqued tie shirt.  The crochet yellow blanket will go in gift box
ready for the next baby. 
  Fall is in the air here and I have begun to decorate for Fall—will share later.
Love,
Marie

Enjoying the summer flowers and knitting...

This little pitcher is filled with zinnias that I planted from seed that Gretchen at Bird House Cottage shared with me.  I call them "cut and come" because the more you cut them, the more blooms you will have.  The butterflies really do enjoy them too.

 

I hope you can see the butterfly.  They love this butterfly bush as much as they do the zinnia.

 

 

This is a knitted blanket and a couple of receiving blankets with crochet edge that I made for a couples first baby.

I knitted this little cap-sleeve sweaters for a couple of special little girls.

This set and bib was done for our daughter-in-law's brother and his wife.  They are expecting their first baby, a girl, and wanted the set done in this pale lavender.  There is more knitting to do but I am not able to get out right now.  I fell on Sunday a week ago and all the weight went on my right knee.  I am much better but think it is going to just take time and patience.  At least I did not break a bone--I found out there is something as hard as my head. Ha!

 

Enjoy

Love,

Marie



Needles have been clicking....

This is a sweater that I crocheted by our little guy.  I found the pattern

at redheart. com and it is pattern WR1987.  The pattern is shown for a girl

but I changed the bottom holes to make it for a boy.

Little guy all dressed up at a wedding banquet and he has his best
friend with him.  I could not help but laugh when I saw this
picture.  I said "I see Mr. Raccoon got an invitation too".  I found a free
pattern for a rabbit that is made like Mr. Raccoon and made it.  His wonderful
friend was a gift and they are kinda expensive, so we hope he will want to carry
the rabbit around and if something happens to it, I can just knit another one.
Below are pictures of the rabbit.  It is on it's way to CA and a friend is going to
embroidery the face for me. The pattern can by found as a free e-book of toys at
Knitting Daily

Below is a little sweetheart in an ear flap hat I crocheted for her.

Below are Winter crochet wristers.  I made a pair for a woman and then a
pair for a little girl and I  a hat to go with hers.  You can find the free pattern
at RedHeart.com.

Thanks for stopping by to visit.

Love,

Marie

Piddling......

 Another prayer shawl on the needles

 I have the wedding sampler finished except a few details

and names and date.  The colors are more muted than this shows.

 Sock yarn waiting to be knitted into Christmas gifts

These two tatting pieces are some piddling I was doing
working with the use of buttons.  I need much more
practice.

This hummingbird feeder is on our den window.  It is so much fun to watch them fight over it.
I had not filled it and placed it on the window and I looked and there was a
hummingbird hovering at the window looking for the feeder.  It is amazing to
me how they are able to travel so far and come back to the same feeder year
after year. 

Love,

Marie

Having fun with a new yarn to me...

   I had seen scarves made with Starbella and other yarns like it and wanted to try my hand at knitting with it.  At first it was difficult to find the yarn because the stores could not keep it in stock and some was back ordered.  I went on line and found some by searching for "Starbella".  I found the yarn available at several places and videos demonstrating how to make the scarves.  The yarn is flat and you roll it off the skein and spread it out and knit through the top loops. It is a fun yarn to work with and kinda addictive.  Below are some of the scarves I made.

Have fun if you try to make one!
Love,
Marie

Some Finishes...........

I saw the pattern for the hat and really liked it. It is a free pattern and you can find it here. The hat is knitted in the round and once you get the pattern in your mind, it is easy. I then made a scarf to go with it and it is not knit in the round so I had to turn the rows and at first I found it easier to write down what I needed to do. After doing a few patterns, I was able to move on fast. I did knit two sections of 30 inches and then used the Kitchener or grafting stitch to join the two pieces.




I found the pattern for this crochet snowman here.

It is a gift card cozy, but I made it as a fridge magnet. I did candlewick knots for the nose, mouth, and buttons. I had some some pom poms in different colors. Thank goodness there was orange in the group. I pull it apart and took a little white glue and rolled it in my fingers to form it into a nose. After it dried, I hot glued it on the face. I had some flat magnet sheets and I cut a piece to glue on the head and body.







Love,
Marie

Merry little snowmen...........

My husband tried to grow gourds this summer
but it was too hot and dry. I was able to get these
and decided to turn them into snowmen. I cleaned
them with bleach and sanded and dried them. I then
dabbed two goats of paint on and then drew the
features with a black marker. We sprayed a sealer to
protect them. I then knitted the hats and scarves. I made
the grapevine wreaths for them to stand in for balance.
A right cute mom and three children--I think!

More knitting and crocheting....

Three different knit dishcloth patterns. I find most of my patterns free online by using Google. There are tons of great patterns to be found. I don't use anything but a knitted cloth.

This is another prayer shawl I am knitting for the ministry. I decided to do two rows at the beginning and end with some fun fur added. I did this to get away from using fringe.

These are a couple of vintage potholders I made. I had seen these on another blog and loved them. I looked and looked and finally found the pattern at Annie's Attic. They are made using number 10 crochet cotton and size 7 crochet hook. There are other patterns that come with this, but this is my favorite.

♥Love,♥
Marie