Last Week: Felting & Finishing Projects

Last week my husband and I were on vacation.   We went to a little place called "accomplishment" -- meaning we spent the week catching up on items we've been putting off.   And what a great week!

I finished the scarves for the Kindergarten teachers -- even wrapped them!  They were to have been given as gifts this past holiday season but a wrist injury put me behind by six weeks -- you can see a picture of the scarves by visiting here: http://picturetrail.com/crochetwithdee.

I enjoyed crocheting swatches and felting them.  I made a bowl for the upcoming class in Stamford and am currently putting the finishing touches on a bag for the Bethel/Brookfield classes (I'm creating the pattern for it).  Normally playing in water does a number to my hands, but I've found a product that works for me.  Visit my "Pamper Yourself" webpage to find out what it is.

I'm also tickled that I made a couple more preemie blankets, and sorted out some of my stash.  I'm amazed at how much work I did this week; I certainly feel as though I'm making up for lost time!

I also read a news article discussing sailors boxes -- and the last line of the article caught my attention! -- it mentioned an old technique of crocheting with hair!    I've added a brief description to my "Types of Crochet" webpage, and have been busy researching this topic a bit further.  I still have some of my hair clippings from back in the day when my hair was really long, so hopefully I'll be able to experiment with this in the future.

Then this past Saturday I visited the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT.  There we watched a movie in the Imax theater (6 stories tall) of The Black Stallion.  The main character was a little girl who bonded with a black horse -- she was wearing a pretty filet crocheted hat in several of the scenes.  Then later as we strolled through the exhibits we spotted a blue/white granny square afghan on display in their Microbes exhibit. (http://www.maritimeaquarium.org/about_us/history.html) What a great way to spend the day together as a family! :)

I hope your week was just as fun!

 

Cleaning House

To help curb the invasion of yarn that apparently has started taking over our living room, my husband purchased me a beautiful chest and trunk to store them all in -- and to help get rid of the stray skeins, I've been busy crocheting afghans for preemies.

These blankets range in size from 18" to 24" and will be donated to the Danbury Hospital this summer.

If you'd like to help, or want to donate to your local hospital, that'd be great!  These blankets are given to babies just barely weighing a pound or two and are usually fighting for their lives.  The blankets help keep the babies warm, and help give comfort to the parents in this stressful time.

To add your donation to the Danbury Hospital, contact the Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club  at CrochetClubinCT@hotmail.com -- they'll be collected through the end of May.  Or to donate to your local hospital, just give them a call! :)

New Classes/Workshops Posted

I'm delighted to announce that the February and March Crochet Class/Workshop schedule has been completed! 

If you're not on the mailing list for being notified when new schedules are posted, you can email me to request to be added -- and likewise, you can email me to be removed if you so desire.

I was teaching a delightful group of ladies at the Adult Ed Class in Stamford this morning (the other classes were canceled due to weather), and we've already started deciding upon some upcoming workshops for April and May! 

I think this may be an indication of another year that will fly by!  Are you ready?    :)

Inspired

I enjoyed a visit to the Peabody Museum in New Haven this past weekend with my family.  While we were there, two exhibits caught my eye -- in the same display case: a bag and a garment worn by a member of an Indian tribe.  If I didn't know better, I'd think they were crocheted -- especially the garment!

After the museum we visited a mall, and there I saw many young ladies wearing scarves made with fun fur.  It appears that the eyelash types of yarn have really inspired a new fashion trend and I love it!  :)

My Scarf: An Eye Catcher

Yesterday I did some errands around town.  I was wearing a scarf I crocheted using ribbon yarn together with a sparce eye lash yarn.  Both in the color spectrum of cream with a hint of sparkling gold.  (I used a "N" hook and an open stitch).

No matter where I went yesterday I was stopped so people could examine the scarf.  Many were surprised to learn that it was crocheted and not knitted.  They said they thought that "high end looking scarves are knitted" -- I'm glad they had an opportunity to see that crochet can be too! :)

New Page Added: What's in a Name

I'm delighted to announce the addition of another page to my website.  It started as an innocent question from my daughter, but I thought the question was one that other's may be asking too.  So I did a little research, did a little asking around, and think many will benefit from the answer.  (Especially those that are doing term/research papers for school/college!)

I hope it helps! :)

Classes: Feb/March 2004

With the amount of phone calls and emails I've been receiving I can tell that everyone is just as excited as I am that I'll be resuming teaching classes and workshops in February!  Thank you for all the encouragement and support you all gave me while I was resting my wrist.

I will be dropping off the class proposals at Michaels Arts & Crafts, and at the Craft Basket later on today.  Knit Together already has been mailing out the class schedule (to get on their mailing list, contact them; they'd be happy to hear from you!)  I plan on getting my schedule to A Stitch in Time by early next week (if not sooner!).

Then comes the fun part of writing all the html code to list all the classes on my website... I think you'll be pleased.  Along with some favorites, there will be new stitches to learn, and new workshops to enjoy! :)

Stay tuned!