U is for Ugly

U is for Ugly

 

I’m  making this Owl cushion from the pattern I bought. 

 

My first attempt was this. 

 

 

 

Ugly! Because as I said before I can’t always choose colors  So I went to her Etsy shop and studied the pix of the cushions and then I made this.

 

 

 

Ahh!  Much better and so pretty.   Even though this picture doesn't do the colors justice.  It's purples and pinks.

 Now I can’t wait to finish it and see it on my love seat on the porch. 

T is for Time

 

 

T is for Time

 

 

 

Which I never seem to have enough of.  Where does it go?  And why does the weekend seem to whiz by but the work week tends to drag.?  Why is an hour sitting and  knitting over in a flash, but an hour sitting at my desk at work making phone calls seem to last forever?  Why does ten minutes of pain from a migraine seem intolerable but ten minutes laughing with my daughter seem  over too quick?

 

 



Such and Stuff

P Q R S is for Such and Stuff

 

I’ve been buying a lot of patterns lately so P is for patterns.  You might wonder why I would need to buy patterns when I could probably figure it out myself.  But sometimes I don’t feel like figuring it out.  Sometimes I just want to sit and crochet and not have to pick colors or figure out sizing.  Plus buying others designer’s patterns, I’ve actually learned a few new things, like a neater ending for crochet or how to add crochet  flowers to a bunting.

Q is for Quicker.  I’m always looking for a way to streamline my knitting or crocheting so it takes less time.  But sometimes I just want to take my time and mosey along working on a more complicated design.

R is for Rainbow.  And though I love colors I’m not always good at combining them prettily.  So I’ve bought several patterns by ATERcrochet  because I love her use of color.  Plus her patterns are wonderful.

S is for Slip Stitch, my new favorite stitch in knitting.  With it you can make items look like plaid, or tweed or bricks.  It’s so fascinating and I have several things in the works using slip stitch. 

 

 

 

That’s what I’ve been doing lately, studying new patterns and new ways to knit and crochet, when I thought I “knew it all”.  I love learning new stuff so it’s been fun and relaxing.

OM

O and M is for Om.  Perhaps you've noticed I skipped the letter O and M.  I'm exhausted this week from the chaos surrounding events at work. 

I did this post to remind me:  Breathe in, I am calm, Breathe out, I smile. 

It's funny how you can forget to breathe sometimes. 
 

N is for New Jersey

N is for New Jersey

 

            I love New Jersey.  I was born and raised here.  I know it’s the brunt of a lot of jokes but in my mind it really is the best state.        

It’s right in the middle of the Northeast corridor and so it’s accessible to big cities like New York or Philadelphia, but there’s still a lot of farmland and open space.  At least in the area I live.  We’ve got the beaches and boardwalks in the summer (what’s left after Hurricane Sandy) and we usually  get just the right amount of snow in the winter for a little winter fun but not so much that we’re paralyzed by it.

            It’s only a 10 hour trip to Myrtle Beach, SC.  Florida is only a road trip away.  My mother drove us there every summer for a week of fun.

             And my claim to fame is I’m originally from Freehold , the home of the Boss, Bruce Springsteen.  He was a few years older than me so I never met him but I knew the woman who let him use her garage to practice in when he was a teen.  She went to my church. 

            My only complaint about NJ is while lilacs and forsythia herald Spring in other states, here you know it’s spring when the road work begins.  The sight of traffic cones and steam shovels tells you the warm weather has arrived.  At least we don’t have to pump our own gas.  And I like that!

 

L is for Little Man

Mazz little One's photography





Here's a picture of a baby wearing my top hat and bowtie set available in my Etsy Shop.  Isn't he the most adorable little man?

Please visit the link above to Mazz little One's Photography blog to see more of her work.  there are also more photos of the baby above wearing the bowtie and hat  under "Our Charming Boy T" on her blog.

K is for Knitting

Knitting  VS. Crochet

 

Here is an example of similar “looks” in knitting and crochet.  I’m designing something that looks like bricks.

 

 

 

 

 

I like the knitted example much better because it achieves the look of bricks better.  However it takes a lot longer to make than the same size piece in crochet.

 

 

 

 

The crochet sample is okay but doesn’t look as much like bricks as I was hoping.  Plus the pattern was fiddly.  You had to finish off at the end of every row which means a ton of ends to weave in when done.

And that's a look into how I design projects.