June 29 2017

Learn to Crochet Edging on Fleece Blankets

Rotary Cutter with Skip-Stitch Blade

Crochet edging is a great way to add a personal touch to a fleece blanket. There are so many options for fleece available. Here are two I have bought to edge as gifts for specific people. Both of these team prints were bought at Hancock Fabrics. I used black yarn to add trim to both. When making a blanket for an adult, I usually get 2 yards (60 x 72 inches)  or if the person is particularly tall, 2-1/4 yards (60 x 81 inches). These blankets are very snuggly and washable, perfect for car trips or watching TV under on a chilly night.

University of Cincinnati Bearcats Fleece Fabric
University of Alabama Crimson Tide Fleece Fabric

Shark Baby BlanketNote the stitches on this one mimic the teeth and gums on the sharks.

Learn to make these easy blankets yourself. Continue reading

Category: Crochet, Review | 1 Comment on Learn to Crochet Edging on Fleece Blankets
June 25 2017

Steady (Five Minute Friday)

Steady is something I think I have always tried to achieve. To me, steady means dependable, consistent and ongoing. I want to be a steady writer with a steady income and feel like that writing life is stable. I like the idea of working consistently toward a goal by breaking it down into baby steps that are manageable.

I have been making steady progress on a few of my goals for 2017. While I got off to a very slow start (5 months into the year before starting) on the office clean out project, I feel like I have gotten a great deal accomplished on that so far in June.

My goal of crocheting 26 hats this year for charity is one I jumped on very early and got ahead on. Now, before the year is even half over, I am finished with 25 of the 26 hats that I set as my yearly goal. If only I could make such steady progress on other things!

I have wanted, since November 2013 when I finished my first NaNoWriMo challenge, to become a year-round writer. To me, that means someone who writes during the other 11 months of the year, not just in November. It has taken almost 4 years, but I can honestly say that I AM a year-round writer now. I may not be writing books all year, but I am writing and publishing blog posts.
I feel like all of these little things helps me to make steady, albeit slow progress toward achieving my goals.

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!

The prompt this week is: Steady

The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write. 

Category: Five Minute Friday | 1 Comment on Steady (Five Minute Friday)
June 22 2017

Crochet for Better Mental Health

Have you ever considered learning to knit or crochet? Perhaps you should. It could help your all around mental health.

I have discovered that I like the mind-numbing meditative comfort of knowing I can make the hat pattern I make all the time. I have to focus a bit at the beginning of each hat and count the stitches in each row before moving on, but then I can just crochet and talk to those around me without fear of messing up. It is very relaxing and enjoyable as long as my carpel tunnel doesn’t act up too much.

The fact that most of the hats I make will be given to the homeless and help make them warmer and let them know that someone cares about them only makes it that much better.

I can carry the things I need to make each hat in either a quart or gallon sized slider plastic storage bag. Easy enough to tuck into my tote bag or toss in the trunk so I can always have something constructive to do. Much of the yarn I use to make the hats has been donated to me for this purpose. It is my pleasure to find ways to make almost every hat unique and beautiful. I especially enjoy using variegated yarns because you never know what sort of pattern you will end up with. Note the diagonal striping in the brown hat shown below. I have fun putting different yarns together to see how they will turn out. See some of the photos below to see how pair different solid color yarns with the same variegated yarn can drastically change the way it looks. Here are some of my latest creations. So far, I have made 24 hats in 2017.

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Category: Crochet, Review | 1 Comment on Crochet for Better Mental Health
June 17 2017

3rd Update on Office Project

On Wednesday, 6/14, I spent a total of about 3-1/2 hours working in the office. I didn’t intend to work so long, but I had pulled up a video on NetFlix to watch that didn’t really require much actual watching, just listening. It was a two-hour video and I told myself I would just putz around a bit while I watched so I wouldn’t feel so guilty about not doing anything constructive. I started out by moving the boxes of paper that were so overfilled they had become piles. I decided to disconnect my desktop computer and pull out all the wires. I wiped everything down to get rid of the thick coating of dust that had accumulated. I found I had tons of things connected to my computer. A few were disconnected but never reconnected because I want to reevaluate whether I even use them. I figure I will reconnect them if and when I need them.

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I could see some real progress. As the saying goes, things had to get much worse before they could get better. I felt like I was making a huge mess when I moved things out of the way to wipe the desktop and get rid of all dust bunnies hiding everywhere. Apparently, I don’t have a dust allergy. I tried arranging things a little differently but discovered they wouldn’t work in the new places I thought I would put them, so things went mostly back the way they were but without the piles of paper and clutter. Here are the before and after photos.

Right side under hutch (Before)

 

Scanner area of desktop (Before)

Desktop (After)

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June 16 2017

Worth (Five Minute Friday)

WORTH

What are you worth? I have discovered lately that I am worth having a clean space to call my own. It is worth the hours I will put in to sort through every single thing in my office to clean it out, organize it and make it mine again. I am worth having a clutter-free space to work in. As I sort through everything I am finding many things that cause me to question why I thought they were worth hanging on to at all. If you keep piles of paper long enough, eventually an awful lot of it will become trash and thus easier to part with.

The things that are worth keeping are sometimes hard to decide how they should be kept for easy retrieval later and where they will be kept. I have had to get brutal and peel the layers away one at a time to get down to what I really think is worth keeping. Do I love it? Does it bring me joy? Do I need it? Will I be able to find it when I do? Could I let Google find it for me the next time I need it? Could I maybe scan it or take a photo of it and store it on a computer or hard drive for future reference? How do I know which way is the best way and is it worth all this effort or would I be better off pitching it and moving on to the next piece of paper?

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!

The prompt this week is: Worth

The assignment: Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write. 

Category: Five Minute Friday | 9 Comments on Worth (Five Minute Friday)