Finished with Monet...

Finally finished with the Monet afghan from this post and this one...

I just made myself sit down and finish that edging today. I love how this afghan looks now that it is done, but I sure can get bored with these things.

Here is a photo of the full afghan...

I finished the afghan while my Rosie Posie was sleeping and took it in to cover her (on the right)...

On the left, she is declaring it "so soft and pretty" when she woke up!

I hope that it will be treasured all her life...

Now, on to one for my big girl.  The yarn has been purchased...pink, grey, and black.  I wonder how long that one will take me to finish!  That will be the last afghan until I'm a Grandma, some far off day in the future!

130th Psalm Shawl in Teal and Gold...

Here is the shawl I finished this past week in all it's glory...I love how this came out...

I'll leave you with the namesake Psalm, as I said, it seems appropriate.  The recipient of a prayer shawl is often crying out to the Lord, waiting for answers, suffering in some way, and placing their hope in His mercy:

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
²     Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.

³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.
⁸ He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

Use it Up and Make it Do...

Here is a stitch pattern that my Grandmother (yes, the one who was the Tatter) taught me many many years ago...It's a great pattern for using up all those pretty bits of yarn and making something lovely of it...

It's a solid row of 1/2 double crochet followed by a row of three double crochet, skip one/chain one, repeat till end...and then a solid row again.  There was enough of this pretty pastel yarn in the stash to make a prayer shawl as shown here...

I once had enough fall colored yarn bits in the stash and a beautiful variegated yarn for the solid rows to make an afghan.  This is really one of those wonderful use it up and make it do patterns that has endless possibilities...so what can I say but "Use it Up and Make it Do".

130th Psalm Shawl pattern...

The first of these two shawls I photographed below is the granny square adaption that I have been calling my 130 Psalm shawl as it begins with chaining 130 stitches.  This is the 1st version of this pattern that I made...

Here you can see a bit better how this is put together...the center is created by chaining 130 stitches, then skip 3 and double crochet in the next 3 stitches (to make a group of 4), *then skip one stitch of the chain, chain one, and double crochet in the next 3 stitches (to make a group of 3), continue from the * until the end of the chain and end with a group of 4.  

The next row is formed by chaining 3, then turn and do 3 double crochet chain 1, 3 double crochet, chain 1, 3 double crochet, chain 1 all beneath the last double crochet formed in the 1st row.  This will create the beginnings of your two corners.  Continue by doing 3 double crochet in each chain one/skip on space, chaining one between until your reach the end, doing 3 groupings of 3 double crochet beneath the extra (4th) end "double crochet" to again create the corner and continue down the next side.  

Subsequent rows just have two groups of 3 double crochet in each corner.  Make the shawl as large as desired and end with whatever edging you like.

Here I did a fancy shell at the corners and a basic single crochet around the remainder of the shawl...

The other shawl shown is a simple V-stitch shawl, similar to one I posted about here, but without the color blocking, somewhat smaller in size, and a simple edging.  Sometimes simplicity is just right...

Both shawls used Dazzleaire yarn...this was my favorite synthetic yarn for years and years, then they stopped making it for a while.  I found some again about a year ago, and now I can't find it again...it is so soft and pretty too, if a bit fussy at times to work with as the skeins will tangle rather easily due to the soft fibers extending from the yarn body.

Still Hooking...

Well, I spent several more hours with a hook in hand again today...I am about half way done with the border on this afghan.  Truly a terrible photo, had to use the flash., but I think you can see how prettily the border is taking shape...

This prayer shawl is done, I just edged it with a solid row of 1/2 double crochet.  That fuzzy yarn would hide the effect of most borders and keeping it simple seemed to work the best with this one.  I'll have to see if older daughter will model it for me before I take it to Church on Sunday...it's very lovely on.  

This is a pattern I came up with, a granny square style adapted to be a long rectangle, I call it my 130 Psalm shawl...it seems appropriate for a prayer shawl and it begins with a chain of 130 stitches.

I will share more about the shawl pattern and some pictures of my tatting WIP stash hoard collection in the next few days...right now, I am afraid I am tired and ought to get to bed!

Owl and a Stripey bit...but a pussy cat would love them!

Here are two light summer blankets that I made for my girls, perfect for traveling about this summer.  I made these while up in Montana this summer, one for each girl, but never managed to blog about them. 

These are something special, but something usable...these are easily washable, fun to use, warm but not too warm...a kitten would love to cuddle on these, and my little kitten certainly enjoys hers!

 

The edging is the same on both, just utilizing two colors on the owl fabric and a solid color on the striped fabric...

 

These are fun to work up and I enjoy making them...I have another started, this one in a cream and red Christmas poinsettia fleece...I think it will make a pretty throw for on the couch during the winter season.

Blue Denim Cotton Afghan...

Here is an afghan that I started 2 years ago for the eldest son of my sister, right after finishing one for a new brother to be, and finished for my nephew while I was up in Montana recently... 

 

It is made from Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in blue denim and off white.  I chose cotton yarn as my sister is allergic/sensitive to many synthetic fibers and this makes it comfortable for her to use and snuggle with her boys while they are wrapped up in them.

I used nearly all of 3 ~ 14 gram cones of yarn for this afghan.  It is done in the giant granny pattern that I enjoy, as are most of my afghans.  I vary the pattern of the color rows to achieve different effects, and the final edging, but not the stitch pattern itself.  It's a pattern that I can work without looking at and still enjoy scenery on a drive or read while I am working it.  I hope that it will be something my nephew will treasure, enjoy, and use...

A Rose for Rosie...

These are another way I have used the rose pattern I used on the baskets...made in smaller yarn, this makes a lovely hair clip...this one is Rosie Posie's, though I have made another for my older daughter as well...

Summer Rose Shrug...

I showed you the start of this pretty shrug yesterday, and promised to share the result.  So, here are some photos of my older daughter modeling it. I found the pattern for this on the same blog, Crochet in Color, as the basket pattern I used for Mother's Day gifts.  The shrug pattern is another design of hers, titled "Spring Shrug" on her blog. 

 Really a simple pattern, took maybe 4 hours to work up...with some breaks.  It's just an easy V stitch...but it certainly makes a very pretty lacy looking fabric.  I used a stocking weight acrylic yarn that I had in my stash and the recommended hook size from the pattern.  The pattern says to use size 3 fashion cotton crochet thread, but I thought this would be a similar weight and the yarn I had on hand was a lovely rose color that I felt would be very pretty on my daughter.  I think it came out well, and more importantly, she likes it!

Not to be left out, little Rosie Posie had to have her picture taken too...so here are the girls together.

Today, we went hiking and enjoyed the beautiful day, gorgeous views, the wildflowers, and the clean air...so I didn't stitch a thing...but tomorrow I will have a couple of hours in the car.  I am hoping to fill that time with tatting...something just for my own pleasure this time!  Until later...

A Pretty Bed for the Babies...

Last Saturday, we struck proverbial gold while out yard sale-ing, at least in the mind of one little girl.  A little bit of paint, some sewing, and a bit of fussing...and I do believe I now agree with her...

This is now the "best ever" dolly bed in my Rosie Posie's own little words...

But it didn't start out that way.  I was a bit excited to get started when we got home with it...so I didn't think to get a before picture until I was ready to give the bottom side it's first coat of paint...

The whole thing was sort of an oakey brown color.  Not horrible, just not quite what I wanted to see...and it was a bit worse for the wear besides.

...and the bedding, well, that left a lot to be desired.

So on Monday, new pillows were made from batting and some fiberfill, and a couple of layers of batting were added to the "mattress" along with bright and pretty new gingham pillowcases and an envelope style "sheet" for the mattress'...and the bedding was much improved. 

This fabric was some that I had in my stash. It seemed perfect for this. I really do love how these came out.  Rosie Posie liked it too...

But, then she tapped her cheek with her finger and said "what missing, what missing, hmmm...."

Babies must have blankies...

These are, once again, my favorite giant granny square afghan pattern.  Fifteen rows and an edging is enough to cover a baby doll...but these still took most of my crafting time Tuesday and Wednesday to finish up.  They are each a little different, I like them both.  Thought about making matching ones, or contrasting like the sheets and pillows...but I got a little tired of that and had to play...so here they are...

There we go...all tucked in...

A kiss goodnight...

...and a hug.

The baby dolls are happy...and my baby is the happiest of all!

She's been playing with the babies and their new bed almost constantly...

Definitely a project worth the time spent.  I believe I am at least temporarily done, until the little Rosie Posie says "what missing, what missing..." and needs something else created for these babies.  Like a quilt, or a top sheet, or who knows what...my Rosie Posie is quite observant and likes her play things to be just like the real thing.  She is fun...

But for now...I think it's big sister's turn to have something made for her.  This is a pretty rose colored summer shrug in progress earlier this afternoon, finished it up this evening...perhaps my beloved older daughter will model it tomorrow.  Until then...

Paisley Swirls with Cream...

Here is something I did a little while back and never managed to share with all of you.  I loved this fabric from the moment I laid eyes on it, the colors are just beautiful and the design is so elegant...paisley fabrics are really lovely. 

The intricate paisley pattern with the cream background just called for a simple edging that highlighted the beauty of the fabric and let it just be what it is...

I chose to add a simple shell edging.  A foundation row of single crochet right on the fabric, piercing the fabric with the hook as I went.  The second row is three single crochet, skip one, four double crochet in the next stitch, skip one, three single crochet,etc.  The corner has eight double crochet.  This produces a nice simple edging that lays flat with no ruffling.  I think it was just the right accent to make this beautiful piece of fabric into a lovely throw...

It is so pretty, light for summer, and soft.  It is a favorite and I love having this one at hand.  That this is an easy care fleece just makes it even more so...it's been washed several times and still looks like the day it came off the hook.  I love that!

These are an easy, quick, project...just an edging on a beautiful piece of fleece.  It makes a nice gift, with out the enormous commitment of time that an afghan brings.  It still has that touch of handmade...and can easily be tailored to the recipients tastes.  These are my throw of choice to make these days...though I know I will still be working up at least a couple of full fledged afghans, I have two beautiful, well loved, daughters who seem to require one each (having not made one for either since I stitched their baby afghans)! 

There is more to share, progress on the baby doll beds and bedding, tatting, a beautiful new shuttle, etc...but it is late, and I would like better photos than I can take tonight...until tomorrow then...