it's been a long time

needless to say, I got bored crocheting long panels, and used them for some yarn bombing.  On to other things, so many other things.  I have actually started multiple square afghan.  I have no idea why, I know that I hate joining squares.  I will finish the rainbow one for my daughter. Other than that, they will become other things.  This year, 2015, seems to be a cross stitch year.  I don't know why my desires change from crochet to needlepoint to cross stitch and back again.  But there it is.

mindless and wonderful

I have 6 scarves done, most fit the 6" by 54" diameters, a few are not so long as the  yarn ran out.  To keep it interesting I have done post treble crochets, stripes, vertical and horizontal.  There seems to a football team color thing going (Ravens black and purple, Skins red and gold and is it the Saints that are purple and gold?) so I think that  I will try to do each team's colors, which will require research.  I am enjoying this You Be the Judge challenge.

long time away

Not that I haven't been crocheting, just that I gave up on the mile thing.  It got boring, honestly.  So, for the fair this year I entered one large afghan, beautiful shades of green for Cat Carlson, two small striped afghans, one in Vanna's choice the other in cotton, one of the two big granny square baby afghans, and misc other stuff, a lovely stole, a shawl, a hat in twine, a purse, and about 60 baby hats for the you be the judge contest.  What a segue.  The 2014 YBTJ is scarves, ie, pieces about 6" wide by about 60 inches long.  So.... back to the mile!  I have done two already.  My heart is happier when I crochet. I know that, I just have to remember to do it.

I listened to the book, Carry the One, the other day, and while some of it was overwritten and a little long, the concept of carrying the one really resonated with me.  When I started the book, I thought that the title was from a song, one that kept itself on the edge of my brain.  Eventually I got to the explanation. The book was about a group of people who left a wedding and then the car in which they were riding hit and killed a young girl walking late at night. So, as one character says, whenever you count us all you have to carry the one.   It made me think of those that we carry, as a group, or individually.  My dad, how many people carry him?  Me and my mom, maybe his cousins on occasion.   My cousin Neil, who leaves a flag at his grave every Veteran's day. (kind of ironic, actually, as Dad was drafted, never really identified himself as part of the military, and for whatever reason, only very rarely spoke of his time in the military. And Neil has never been in the military.) But first I think that I thought of Mike Bloom and how many of us carry him. All those girls who remember Mike as their first love.  My daughter Maggie.  His parents and family.  So many friends. Will those numbers diminish over time?   The numbers won't, but the times that he is carried will. But then, someone will name a kid Mike and the carrying will continue on as the stories are told again. We all carry some people, I guess it is how we carry them that I am thinking about.  My Gramps died long before I had kids. She was the person who made me who I am. I tell my daughters about her, but have I told my other kids about her?  That they should honor her because without her there would have been no "house"?  Not harp on her, but mention her more.  And celebrate her every year on her birthday.  These ones that we carry have made us who we are, for better or for worse (and let's face it, some of it is worse and we need to remember, that, too).  So, in this times of darkness, remember who you carry.  I suspect that they still support us as we carry them.

new phone

means crocheting. I just got an iphone and ta -da, Craft magazine online has a piece on crocheting phone cases.  Clearly it was meant to be.  I had thought about getting a new phone for months, but last night it was an impulse thing coupled with a salesguy with a nice smile and a great attitude.

afghans and afghans, oh my

It's summer, which means that fair is just around the corner. My mile project will be on the back burner while I work on things to enter.  In the quest to use stuff up, I have made a baby blanket and a premie bonnet out of some Lion Brand stuff, used almost all that I have, yeah.  And then I started an adult afghan from the Vanna's choice...... and had to go buy more and that probably won't be enough, either.  I have a tendency to make large afghans, but that is because I used them and want to really be covered.   Oh, and a purse and hat and two coffee mug holders to felt.  I hope to get to that later today, after the needlepoint insanity.

International Yarn bombing day

Clearly I need to read more blogs, as I just found out about this on Friday, and the day itself was on Saturday. So, I hauled out some of my 6' lengths and frantically crocheted flowers.  Damascus, MD did get yarn bombed and if I had any idea of how to add pictures, you could see them.  Anyhow, go to the Damascus homepage on facebook.  Most have stayed up for a whole week, despite rain. As for the ones that I have disappeared, I truly hope that they will grace the neck of some chilly person next fall.

lots of crocheting, but no miles

Finished a dinosaur hat, for a kid named Oscar, whose mom, as a little girl, drew a picture of a dinosaur and named him Oscar.  So, after the fair, he will get it.  Also finished one of those great three layers at once potholders designed by my friend Barbara.  Working on the second one.  More needlepoint this year, in part, because my left thumb is kind of sore.  All in all, there is never enough time to stitch of any kind.

1/80th done

IN order to crochet a mile, I have calculated that I will need 880 strips, 6' long.  Above is a picture of my first 11.  I have decided to use roman numerals to label them, straight lines being easier than curves, and I will have to learn the numbers above 50....

Below are my first four placemats for you be the judge competition at the Home Arts Building, Montgomery county ag fair.   Yep, I don't trim the threads until the very end.  It's the part I like least, so if I die in the night, my friends will have to do that for me. Kind of like not washing the dishes before I go to bed, if I die in the night, I don't want to have spend part of my last hours doing dishes.  I am fine doing them when I first wake it, kind of nice to start the day cleaning.

more mile

finished another strip yesterday, along with a placemat for the You Be The Judge.  And better, my Stitch and Bitch group celebrated 18 years last night.  Two of us are originals, last night there were 15 creative woman around the table.  Are we lucky to have found each other, or what? Some are friends, some are friends of friends.  Jane, the person I have been most destined to meet, was a person in line and then a client. And some are just ladies that I have met on the internet.  Too special.

more crochet, no miles

One of my 15 starts for the first 15 days of 2011 was an afghan, but really more of a bedspread, but heavy fibers.  Stuff that was laying around the house for whatever reason. I have done a few more rounds of it. It's not laying flat, in part because of switching fibers, I think.  But it is still looking good and already is quite warm, to it is a basic success.   The other crocheted project is a ripple baby blanket. I have done more on that too, it seems awfully little, so really for a newborn.  And I have finally worked on a crocheted place mat for you be the judge.  I started one yesterday, am about 1/2 finished.   It's a nice pattern, one row of single, then a row of crossed double. Working up well.  I will use this pattern to make several. I have lots of Sugar and Cream weight around the house, good way to use it up.   But none of this counts in my mile.  I started off so well, then I did the math, I think that 880 strips is daunting.  But I keep telling myself there is no deadline.

On the needle note, I worked on the Charley Harper Needlepoint Duck, finished the cross stitch Funky Flower from By the Bay, and did a little on the Bee Line,  At work I am finishing a Subversive Stitch Thanks for Sharing piece, that I want to have done by Friday so that I can give it to Terri to frame.  I am doing the flowers on the edge now, might do some beads in the corners.

crochet slowdown

I have about 11 strips, 6 inches by 6 feet done. I need to start numbering them.   But I am not doing as many right now, I started - and finished - the start one new thing a day for the first 15 days of 2011 challenge, and it included 2 crochet projects, a baby blanket (lion brand pattern, Vanna's choice yarn that I bought ages ago on clearance) (another part of the challenge for me was to start only stuff that was already in the house).  The other, a single bed blanket, came to me in a vision!  I have not seen anything like it, I started with a rectangle and am now working in "circles" around it.  But occasionally turning so that it will be a little off -center (kind of like me). In blues and purples, stuff I already have, but  I will have to buy more to complete a blanket. Not sure where it will go, colors are too intense for the guest room, but then, maybe I will paint it. Kind of like the Pantene color of the year, I forget the name, a vibrant pink.  Today I am working on a Funky Flower from By the Bay. It's cross stitch and  I truly hope to get it finished today. We shall see. I barely started it last week.

crochet a mile in my shoes - introduction

For some reason, I feel the need to crochet a mile.  I have seen the knitted mile, and that is what started it, but more, I just want to have the tactile experience of crocheting a mile.  Not that I haven't already, mind you. I am 55 and have been crocheting, off and on, since I was about 10.  I just did 23 scarves for my mom's cousin luncheon, and have made an afghan for each kid that grew up in my house (this does not mean family, but those who were here during their formative years) as they graduated from college, and another when they got married and am now working on baby blankets.  And premie bonnets, lots and lots of them.

So, I am crocheting 6" by 6' (approximately) strips that can be joined into blankets for shelters, because I couldn't just do something useless. I am up to 10, needing 880 for the whole thing.  I wonder how long it will take?  Especially since my fingers are now turning to needlepoint.  My stitching does go in phases and includes needlepoint, cross stitch, smocking, battenburg lace and, of course, crocheting.  And a dabble in rug hooking.

This weekend, unfortunately, was not a weekend for crafting. Instead I watched almost all of the first season of Sons of Anarchy (my solstice gift from my daughters) and did laundry and made two pots of soup.  Not enough, but I never feel that I do enough.

This week, the last week of the year, should be a week of finishing and sorting and getting rid of so that the new year will start off fresh.  Wish me luck.