Guest Blogger: Dee Jr. (again)

Mom has been working hard and decided she needed a break and wanted to go out for some supplies. No surprise here, more supplies means more yarn. She asked me if I wanted to go for a ride with her, maybe ask my friend "Bones" if he would like to join us. (Mom gave him that nickname to use here because his last name is McCoy and he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. Mom said there is guy named "Bones" with the last name of McCoy on Star Trek, and that's where she got the name from.)

Why would I want to ask Bones to go to a yarn shop? Good question! Maybe because she said we would stop at the Basketball Hall of Fame on the way home? I called Bones. He was game. Even my dad decided he wanted to go.

When we arrived at Bones house to pick him up his mom said he had a shopping list from his Grandma. She wanted him to pick out some yarn for her, in baby colors but not in baby weight.

When we arrived at Webs, the yarn store, it was my job to teach him about yarn. I taught him how to look at what the yarn is made out of, how many yards you get, and what dye lot is. Mom said I did a good job helping him. Bones picked out Berroco's "Comfort" yarn for his Grandma. With my dad, we headed outside and tossed a ball around in the parking lot while my mom stayed in the store, chatting with the owner, Kathy.

Afterwards the Basketball Hall of Fame was pretty cool to visit. There was a lot of hands on stuff to do. It was a fun way to spend the day. And when we dropped Bones off at his house, his mom said he made a good choice in picking out yarn for his Grandma! :)

Guest Blogger: NLS Stitches

"Crochet aha! moment" by Nancy of NLS Stitches:

I work for mass transit, and about 20 years ago one of the guys on my crew was waiting impatiently for his son to be born. When he was, there were some serious medical problems for the baby. They weren't sure if he would make it even after having surgery.

I was compelled to make that baby a blanket. Now I hadn't been crocheting that long, and hadn't really progressed past scarves and pot holders, but that blanket was going to be made! It was in greens for healing, yellows for warmth and sunshine, blues for serenity and peace, peaches and pinks for love, and reds for energy. Those were the colors that wanted out. Each stitch coming off my hook said "You will make it, little one. Keep fighting. Everything will be fine."

I really had no clue to the fact that yarns came in different weights and thicknesses that didn't always match up very well when mixed in the same project, but that was the fate of that blanket. I was proud I had gotten it done, somewhat embarrassed that it was a bit lopsided from the different weights/types of yarn used. But..........

I wrapped it up and presented it to Steve the next time I saw him and I received a big hug from him and a beautiful note from his wife.

As the ways of mass transit go, our crew broke up a few months after the birth of the baby, and I didn't see him for a few years. I heard thru the grapevine that the baby was doing well and pulling thru better than expected. I ran into him and his wife a couple of years ago at the store, and after some chitchat, was asked if I still crocheted. I said yes, and that I had improved considerably since the making of their son's blanket. That's when I was told he still had the blanket and little poem I had written to go along with it. It still sits on his bed to this day. I like to think that blanket helped the baby pull thru to grow into a gorgeous 20 year old man.

...going MIA ... Guest Bloggers Wanted

I was looking through a sewing magazine the other day and decided a concept I saw there seriously needed to be translated into crochet ... so I went shopping in my yarn stash and found 8 balls of Plymouth Yarn Sundae Swirl, a cotton/nylon combo. I grabbed my "L" Graydog crochet hook, used one of my favorite stitches, and within two days it was finished. I'm calling it, "Summer Sunday Envelope," and plan on wearing it at the Conference next month. I did not write the pattern down as while I was working on it ...

... I received a phone call from a yarn manufacturer ... with a designing assignment! UPS has delivered the yarn and now I must get to work with swatches until I come up with the right stitch combos I have pictured in my mind. I have a tight deadline. And they want the pattern developed in 4 sizes ...

This means while this is an exciting opportunity for me, I need to go "MIA" for a short bit. If you would like to be a Guest Blogger, please email me your post about your favorite crochet "Ah Ha!/eureka" moment. Off to go design...

Guest Blogger: Dee Jr.

Hi. This is Dee Jr., Dee’s son. I'm filling in for her today so she can continue working on stuff for the Conference we'll be going to in August. This is my first time blogging for her.

I was thinking of writing a book called, "What It Is Like to Have Dee Stanziano as Your Mom." Sounds exciting right? (I hope. Otherwise it won't sell) (grins) Having her as my mom is actually quite interesting. Let me tell you about her...

First, she's a big time fan of crochet! There's her yarn stash, (the dreaded stash for most families) which has literally taken over the house! In order to navigate through it we need a compass and 2-way walkie talkie in case we need to call for help in the event of getting lost. (Oh all right! There's a slight chance of exaggeration, but not much!)

Second, my mom knows a lot of people! Through her I've met more famous crocheters than some people have in their lifetime -- and I bet they all have yarn stashes as big as hers! Maybe bigger! Now if only we can get her interested in professional baseball as I would like to meet Derek Jeter! ...

Third, I get to go to cool places I normally wouldn't get to see! I've been to many expositions and fairs such as the Big E (The Eastern States Exposition) and the Bridgewater Fair (a semi local fair), sheep and wool festivals too! I've even gone to the crochet conferences -- and modeled her crochet on the runway! And when my Mom is crocheting up a new cap and needs a head for gauge, she always seems to call my name first! I don't mind because she's crocheted me some great stuff like the tie I wore on St. Patrick's Day

Speaking of cool places, she loves to surprise us. One day she told us we were going out to a yarn shop. This doesn't excite us as much as it seems to excite her, but we go because you never know where we'll end up. One day she said she was lost and said she had to pull over to ask for directions. We weren't lost. It was a surprise for us -- she took us to a really cool truck museum! And another time she took us to a museum with a pedal-car exhibit with a cool park built on the side of a hill. My favorite time was when we stopped for some old fashion ice cream! YUM! And just this week, she slept out in the tent with us! That was fun!

Mom also likes to play games. She's good at chess and at Monopoly, and she likes to play Rummy too. Just don't ask her if she's "Smarter than a 5th Grader," because then she'll start telling stories of WHEN she was a 5th grader -- and yeah, that means stories of yarn and crochet.



She likes to read too. She often times reads crochet patterns like novels, but if we tell her a book is good, she'll read it along with us. Last summer we read "Yellow Fever" together. This summer we're reading "The Mysterious Benedict Society." If we tell her we're out of books to read she'll take us to our local library, to the Goodwill or second-hand store (they have books for $1 each), or to our local Borders. Our house has almost as many books in it as it does skeins of yarn!

She's funny too. Ask her how to spell any word in the world and she will! She'll spell it right out without any hesitation: "D-i-c-t-i-o-n-a-r-y." When she is hanging out with me and my friends, they'll ask her for answers to their homework. She's right there helping, offering answers like, "Pink should be in the rainbow," "R is to the right of the second moon," and of course she's ready to spell any word they can think of asking her to spell ... (Of course her answers are silly and way off base, but it's way better than hearing "do your own work!" My friends agree and we all giggle at her answers.)

I think the best part of having Dee Stanziano as your Mom is that she hugs us every day, letting us know how special we are to her. I wouldn't trade her for the world!

Jones'n

We enjoyed a nice quiet 4th of July picking strawberries at Jones Family Farm located in Shelton, CT. While many (including myself) have been grumbling about the unusual wet/rainy summer we've been having, the strawberries have been loving it! In fact, as one staff member of the farm put it, "These may be the best strawberries ever!" In looking around at the faces of people picking strawberries, the tell-tale signs of the sweet strawberry juice on their faces, hands, and clothing was a good indicator that this was true. And, I can attest, they were -- and are (as I sit here this morning enjoying some) absolutely delicious! Mmmmmmmmmmm

Along for our outing yesterday was my new finished project ... which is nameless at the moment. Sometimes names for projects are so obvious, you just KNOW it's the right name the moment you think it or say it out loud. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for the right name to come to you, and this is where I am at the moment -- waiting for just the right name to come to me.

However, taking pictures does not require waiting -- unless it is weather related. With yesterday being the first sunny day since the Age of Aquarius (sorry, I have that song stuck in my head), I wanted to take some shots of my project with the farm in the background, and dang blast it if it wasn't too sunny out!?! Ieeeee! LOL ... at least you get an idea what it looks like, right? ... and please note, I do NOT have the pattern available. And yes, it is made entirely of bamboo and merino wool and is very yummy to pet. (I plan on wearing it at the Conference next month.)

While we were at the Farm, we also visited their winery. I got to sample many delicious varieties and selected many (bottles) to come home with us. I also purchased a new pair of earrings made by my niece, Crista, well known as AmberTurtoise, to go with my newly completed project. Imagine my delight to find she's now blogging! You can visit her blog here: http://www.ambertortoisejewelry.blogspot.com/ (pictured with my new earrings is one of the closures I mentioned on Thursday.)

You know, I had so much fun at the Farm yesterday, I think that's what I'll name my new project: Jones'n Avenue. See, sometimes names do just come to you. :)

Happy 233rd Birthday, America!

We watched fireworks in Danbury last night, in the same place we've watched for the last 10 years. Due to people unable to behave last year the site owner decided to limit the number of people having access to his property -- and to make this the last year people can do so. It was bitter sweet watching from this location last night ... knowing that this will be the last year marking the end to our family tradition, while enjoying it more because there were fewer people (aka trouble makers). I'm not sure what causes folks to become rude and disrespectful when they are out & about, but I can take comfort in knowing there are people who care. Imagine how great our country would be with just a little more respect. Sing it for me Aretha ... R-E-S-P-E-C-T ... (btw, Aretha Franklin is a crocheter)

Perhaps next year we'll consider making the trek to Shelton and hang out with our nieces & nephews -- check out the awesome shot my nephew Jeremy took! ((to see more of his photography visit his flicker account))

I'm sure you're wondering how this is all crochet related? ... why, I worked on crocheting a swatch for a secret project while waiting! Happy 233rd Birthday, America!

buttons, buttons, buttons

Every morning this week Dee Jr. has assisted me on The Great Button Hunt. He is patient, has a good eye, and has no problem inquiring, "What were you thinking?" when I'd select a button a little 'off the wall.' I like that in an assistant! :)

We went to a local quilt shop figuring since they sell fabric they must sell buttons. Nope. They specialize in quilting, not in sewing. ((sounds like a yarn shop that specializes in knitting, excluding crochet. ahem, I'm just saying)) They had maybe 5 buttons.

We went to our local Joanns. They had two walls filled with buttons, and many were on clearance. Yes, I did adopt many, but sadly none that exclaimed "This is the one!" for my project.

I was offered some online shops to try ... but without seeing the button/closure against the work it is difficult to decide...

So we went to a local fabric shop that also sells yarn. Although there were many buttons, I didn't buy anything there. (although there was a hank of yarn there I wouldn't mind adopting...)

Maybe I'm being too picky. I decided, for now, I'll use the buttons I purchased at Nancy O's. However, since I am not 100% sure this is the route I want to take, I don't want to sew the buttons to the work. To get around this I decided to create closures like I did for Gloria's shawl. This meant I had to find matching beads, and this would mean another hunt.

I went to a fairly new bead shop in the area. Although the only employee there did not speak English, we eventually were able to communicate what I was looking for and wonderfully she had just the right beads! Yes!

I came home and created four closures. The open stitch work will allow me to insert the closures anywhere I'd like, and as many as I'd like to use, at a given time. And, since my project was already completed, meaning it was too late to crochet the 'Signet' Nancy O gave to me into my work, I decided to add it to one of the closures. (pictured)

My signet is a dragonfly. Some say the dragonfly is symbolic for change, and being OK with that change; this site has more info on the dragonfly symbolism. Interestingly enough, this is the second time I've chosen a dragonfly to be a part of my crochet work -- and to think all this time I thought I was a fan of giraffes!