Treasures-in-Law

While we were celebrating Mini~Dee's 13th birthday last month, Fred, one of my brothers-in-law, called me over. "Dee," he said quietly, "I have something for you. I know you'll put this to good use." He handed me a metal pencil case which I recognized immediately. It was the pencil case I gave him to house a special crochet hook he had loaned to me so I could send it to PieceWork magazine to photograph for an article Gwen Blakley Kinsler had written.

I held my breath in anticipation of what would be inside. Slowly I opened it, and even more slowly removed the tissue paper. Dare I guess? What if my guess is wrong? Once the tissue paper revealed the gem inside I think it was at that point I screamed with joy. Did someone catch that on film? If so, it might be worth something if it's sent to America's Funniest Home Videos...

Yes! YES! YES!! It was indeed the very hook he had lent me back in 2007!! He acquired it at a flea market (or tag sale) with the hope his wife would take to crochet (she hasn't yet -- I'm still working on that! {{grins}} ). The first time he showed me this hook I snapped a picture with my cell phone and sent the snapshot to Nancy Nehring who is an expert on crochet hooks. She proclaimed the hook to be made of cow shinbone, and dates the hook to the period of 1860-1880: The American Civil War period! Fred was thrilled with his find! So was I.

And so it was, last month, that he handed me this beautiful hook, origin unknown, to keep forever and ever! I have the best brother-in-law!

Or so I thought!

Today, I received an email from Lindsey:

I was with my weekly knit and crochet group at B&N in Waterbury
tonight. This guy stops by and he talks to us and says "Yeah, my
sister-in-law is really in to this. She has this group ..." and I
recognize the HHCC name and ask "what's her name" and he says "Dee
Stanziano". So [Dee] I met your brother-in-law tonight!

That would be my brother-in-law Robert, walking up to complete strangers to help promote the art of crochet!

So I take that back about having the best brother-in-law. I need to change that to plural form: I HAVE THE BEST BROTHERS-IN-LAW -- EVER! :)

The New Apple of my Eye

It's been a very busy time for the Dee family ... mid-terms, special school projects, Geography Bees (Dee Jr. won to represent his school and is waiting to see if he'll be competing on the state level), Mini~Dee's 13th birthday (let the Teen Saga begin), some computer melt-downs, and geesh, before I knew it we were well into the month of February!

Although my hook has not been as busy, and that I have not been on line as much as usual, this doesn't mean I've gone completely MIA from the crochet world. I've been sneaking it in when, and where, I can! In fact I was recently kidnapped, kicking & screaming shouting with glee all the way -- to enjoy a fabulous lunch last weekend with Prudence Mapstone and her husband who were visiting from Australia, Margaret Hubert, Phyllis Sandford, and Grace <--who kidnapped me, er, whisked me away for some much needed R&R to NYC... needlesless to say, although the weather was freezing cold, we all had a blast! It is amazing how time slips through our fingers. Sometimes time is much like a brillo-feeling yarn -- yuck! And sometimes it is smooth, silky -- bliss until you realize the project is done.

Take the pruning of our apple tree two years ago...I set aside some branches thinking maybe I could someday get a crochet hook made from one of the branches. A year passes. I then attend the CGOA Conference that was held in Buffalo, NY, last summer and show Brian of Brainsbarn crochet hooks my branches. (oh, come on, we all tote bits of branches/trees to conferences, right?!? if not, this would be my second time doing so ... but that's another story for another time) I ask if he could someday create me a hook ...

You know how it is, we get busy. Time passes and we forget things that are not immediately in front of our noses, or in this case in front of our yarn stashes...

A few weeks ago I was feeling a little low because my "Birthday Week Extravaganza" is a thing of the past (the kids school has opted to eliminate that week as a vacation, a time I treasured spending with them). I decide I need a new crochet hook to celebrate my upcoming birthday. I sent an email to Anne & Brian asking if they could create a beautiful crochet hook for me ... I barely had time to blink before my eyes wre able to feast upon what just arrived in my mail:

Size I Brainsbarn Crochet Hook made with (REAL AMERICAN!) apple wood from Dee's backyard: Birthday Special containing the birthstone for February (Amethyst), with sterling silver spheres & accents, and a captive ring. Clearly this hook is the New Apple of my eye!! Hugs to you, Brian & Anne! I LOVE IT!!!!

2010: Fresh off the Hook

Happy New Year!

I know, I know, I still need to blog about my Florida adventures! Soon I will! :)

I did want to share my first finished 2010 Crochet Project: it's a hat based upon one of the main characters, Bella actually, in the Twilight series. In the movie Bella wears a solid crocheted hat featuring raised stitches and cables. Being snowed in and with Mini~Dee's birthday around the corner I decided she needed her own "Twilight" themed cap ... all I needed was the right yarn and hook.

At the time I made this decision, well, let's just say having a fairly large yarn stash to "shop" in (day or night, during rain/sleet/snow storms) can be wonderful! I found a pretty self-striping wool/soy yarn in my stash that matched her new winter coat perfectly. I soon set to work. (Funny, I don't recall when or where I purchased the yarn!) It didn't take long for the hat to take shape, or for Mini~Dee to recognize the hat design for that matter. After weaving in the ends and blocking the hat, Mini~Dee couldn't wait to wear it to school! I've never seen her so excited over a hat before!

However, when she came home from school the next day she had a request for me: make it longer! See, I had created it just a wee bit short as she wanted to show off her nearly pierced ears. With our Connecticut winter weather reading in the teens (and wind chills in the single digits) she decided it was better to have a longer hat to help keep her ears warm! So, I added a bit of length and now she's even happier with the hat! (Why the wolf in the picture? She's on Team Jacob!)

We're seven days into the New Year; what crochet projects are you working on, or have already finished?

Holiday Greetings!

Handmade Gifts are Special

Are you feeling the holiday crunch like I am? The dashing around, trying to find the right gift for that special someone on your list? I'm feeling it a bit too! Plus, I'm preparing for the Crochet Workshop I'll be teaching at the Local Needle on Sunday, and the Crochet Meet-up in Jacksonville, FL, on Monday. Yes, indeed, it is holiday crunch time! And what better way to find a few quiet moments than to crochet up a gift, take a crochet class, or meet up with other crocheters?

And you know what makes me feel it's all worth while? When others comment that Crochet rocks! There I was in Old Navy, looking to purchase leggings to match the sweater you see on the right that I had crocheted for my 3-year old niece. As I held the sweater out to check the coloring of the leggings I received a ton of compliments on the sweater -- even some inquiries as to where I purchased it! When I explained I had made the sweater by hand the gushing just went on and on! :)

If you're looking for a last minute crochet gift to whip up with nearly any worsted weight yarn in your stash, that works up quick, all while you learn a new stitch and/or crochet technique -- and you've been looking to treat yourself to my PDF Tumbling Clusters Scarf pattern -- then you'll be happy to know that for the next 24-hours the pattern will be on sale at my website ... http://www.crochetwithdee.com/! Hurry though, the sale ends at 11:30 AM Eastern Time on December 18th.

Santa Delivers!

For the third straight year, Santa has delivered exactly what I wanted! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa, and yes, he does deliver people! Especially should that person be a crochet designer named Doris Chan!

Yesterday was my CGOA Chapter's Holiday Celebration; our last meeting of the year. There was food (oh my! was there food!), and gifts (oh my! were there gifts!), and DORIS CHAN!!

Doris brought with her the garments from her first two books, Amazing Crochet Lace: New Fashions Inspired by Old-Fashioned Lace, and Everyday Crochet: Wearable Designs Just for You, which were AMAZING to look at! (I teased her that my holiday shopping/packing is done as I eyed her collection; hey, I only said what everyone else there was thinking! LOL)

Doris also brought an uncorrected proof of her latest book <--this is a "dry run" of the book they send to editors and buyers to review, with no fancy colors or slick pages that we see once the book is published. That's right, Doris gave us a sneak peek! Even in it's uncorrected proof stage, and knowing it won't be out until April 2010, I fell in love with the book and added Crochet Lace Innovations: 20 Dazzling Designs in Broomstick, Hairpin, Tunisian, and Exploded Lace to my Wish List.

Of course Doris wasn't done spoiling us. She also had some door prizes ... one of them being the coveted Etimo crochet hooks everyone has been clamoring for ... the same hooks I was RAK'd with by my Fairy Crochet-Mother back in September! She showed us Tahki's new Cotton Classic LITE yarn line -- talk about yummy! and then she taught everyone how to do the Broomstick Lace technique featured in her upcoming book!

Thanks Santa, and thank you Doris! Everyone had a great time! :)

crocheted stitches wrapped with love

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Festivus (think Seinfeld) ... these holidays all boil down to one common thread: crocheting like mad to finish last minute gifts! Are you part of this tradition too?

For me, I just finished a crocheting marathon, working up child sweaters for two important little girls in my life, and am in the final stages of blocking and assembling. One of the sweaters will be parted with tomorrow, so it's important it is finished today.

Once I'm done with the sweaters comes two more last minute gifts ... something for my mother, which she requested; and something for my Mini~Dee which will be a surprise. For these two projects I will have less than five days to design/crochet them up.

The very last project I intend to crochet is a teddy bear -- for donation to my brother's Fire Station ... that project I'll have maybe a day or two to work on.

I haven't started to panic -- yet. Then again, I strongly advise you don't get caught alone in a room with me -- I just might press a crochet hook into your hand and demand you "crochet like your life depends upon it!" ... I'm just saying...

Is the rush worth it? I think so! I know the people who will receive my crocheted stitches wrapped with love will appreciate the time (even if it was done during a marathon) I put into their gifts. Just as my Auntie who loved receiving the crocheted hat she requested! :)