July 8 2017

Play (Five Minute Friday)

play

When was the last time you, as an adult, took the time to play? I have found that taking the time to do things just for me, like participate in groups related to my hobbies, helps recharge me.
I participate in 3 different monthly meetings with crochet groups. I attend weekly writing group meetings and really look forward to seeing the revolving group of writers each week. Not everyone makes it to every meeting, but there are always a few of us there to write together. For me, these meetings are play time. I look forward to them and really miss not going when my schedule keeps me from attending.
You need to decide what it is that you consider play and find ways to work those activities into your life. “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” and it makes me grumpy. This is why I make it a point to fit these meetings into my schedule before other things that I might enjoy less and not look forward to. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when something else is more important than attending one of my meetings and sometimes it is impossible to plan vacations so I don’t have to miss any of them, but it can be easier than you might think if you prioritize play. Take time to play and you will be glad you did!

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday link-up!
The prompt this week is: Play
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 | 3 Comments on Play (Five Minute Friday)
July 8 2017

Blessing (Five Minute Friday)

Blessing

I have been thinking a lot lately about blessings. I have been having trouble with my leg for the past couple of weeks since my knee decided it would be a good idea to try bending the wrong way while walking up the ramp after work to my car. Even when it first happened, it was a blessing that it was no worse than it was. It hurt, yes, but I could still walk on it ever so gently. I got the rest of the way up the ramp of the parking garage and into my car where I could sit and rest it for a while and consult Google to see what I might have just done to my leg and whether it was bad enough that I needed to get it looked at. Even Google was a blessing at that point. I was further blessed when I went to my writing group meeting because I could still use the leg to work the gas and brake and drive myself around. The meeting was very near a hospital that night, another blessing. There was nobody home to help me if I needed it, so hanging out where I could get dinner and sit and write while I rested my leg with friends around to help me if I needed it seemed like another blessing.
Two weeks later, it still hurts most of the time but is tolerable. I tell myself it is a blessing that, even with this pain, I still have both legs and they still work, although not as good as they once did. I can get up and down out of a chair and walk pretty much anywhere I need to. It still doesn’t feel strong enough to actually think about walking for exercise but at this point when it heals some then I tweek it again somehow, I am just glad it is still basically functioning. It is getting steadily better and that too is a blessing.
Your life is full of blessings every day. When you are feeling like you are a burden or life is not worth living for whatever reason, take a look around you and you can ALWAYS find someone else whose life is worse than yours who would trade you lives in a heartbeat if they could. Counting your blessings and thanking God for all of them is a great way to have a positive outlook on life. Give it a try.

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

The prompt this week is: Blessing

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.

Sorry, this one is over a week late. This was the prompt for Friday 6/30/2017.

Category: Five Minute Friday | 1 Comment on Blessing (Five Minute Friday)
July 6 2017

Aunt Mary’s Antique Crochet circa 1974

I was thinking about crochet and talking to someone about granny squares and that got me thinking about the things my favorite Aunt Mary made us when we were kids. It meant to much that she made these things especially for me, that I save them. I know I wasn’t given special treatment because she made them for all her nieces I think. I recall a photo that was taken at our grandfather’s funeral in 1974 with many of the girl cousins dresses in matching patriotic ponchos. The only difference was that I think some had blue fringe and trim and some had red like the one shown here. I was eight years old at the time and I would guess all three of these pieces were about the same size. The two granny square ones were made the same front and back, so there wasn’t the need to take so many photos to show measurements and such as there was with the little red vest.

If you are handy with figuring out patterns, please feel free to do so. I do ask that you share a copy of the pattern with me, link back to this blog post and that you not use my photos without my permission.

 

My sisters and I all had a tank vest like this but they were in different color combinations. One had bright yellow where the pink is on this one if I recall correctly.

 

I don’t know if Aunt Mary made this little red vest shown below or not because quite honestly, I don’t recall ever having seen it before. I thought it worthy of sharing anyway, and because it is more complex I tried to take the photos so anyone who wants to can make a pattern.

This is the back with side seams showing, though they are barely noticeable, really.

The right front has little ties to loop through the hole on the left front and tie it closed.

The edging is the same all the way around the neck, hem and front opening.

This shows the edging and side seam areas pretty well.

All three of these pieces appear to be made with acrylic yarn similar to Red Heart Super Saver, a worsted weight “4” size would be my guess. It suddenly dawns on me just how much time my aunts must have spent crocheting, but then again they didn’t have the internet or nearly as many television channels to distract them.

If I can find them, somewhere I also have several Barbie dresses made by my aunt Mary or Aunt Norma (Mom’s side). I also have a knitted Christmas stocking made by my grandmother (on Dad’s side) that is personalized with name and birth year. If these sound like something you would be interested in seeing photos of also, please leave a comment below. Subscribe to the blog using the box on the right side of this page so you won’t miss any future posts. Stay tuned!

Category: Crochet, Family | Comments Off on Aunt Mary’s Antique Crochet circa 1974
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)