ta da!

You may have wondered if I fell off the edge of the earth, but probably you didn't. I _did_ finish the lion curtain, here it is, to the left. It was taken on top of my bed, so you can see the stitches. You can't really see the stitches that well when it's against the window except later in the day. (Thanks to my beloved Kimba who took the photo and prepped it for me.)

It isn't perfectly straight, it couls stand to be blocked, but miracle of miracles, I have finished it;) . I had been thinking about it for _months_ but I tend to hesitate before I start any new project (unless it's a small one).

The book the chart came from is "101 Filet Crochet Charts" by Rita Weiss. It's published by American School of Needlework. I do know they sell it at Amazon, I would guess they would sell it at other bookstores. This particular chart is featured on the front cover, along with several other designs. I made this in Red Heart's baby sports yarn, in white, with a G hook. A few years ago, I made 2 of these panels with Caron's "Simply Soft" white with an "I" hook to produce an afghan for our bed. (If you want to know the significance of the white lion, you can click on the side of my blog, "Kimba the White Lion". There you will see the valance that my DH bought, machine made, with the Kimba and Kitty characters.)

It was cool to stretch out my "mad crochet skillz" in doing a chart. It was difficult for me to visualize the progress as I am used to doing patterns where I can see the progress I am making towards the goal. This project had to be handled row by row - at least for me. I imagine an experienced "threadie" could whip thru this chart in no time at all.

But I am happy with it, my DH is happy with it and that is what matters. I haven't tried any of the other charts, but they are definitely intriguing. I do particularly like the ducks and teddy bears charts, but I don't have any need for something like that right now. (My sons are 27 & 25, no grandbabies on the way.)

I did manage to squeeze in another project, not that big a deal. I used the self-striping sock yarn to make a little bag to hold my new MP3 player, so I can wear it around my neck in case I don't have a shirt pocket. Not a big deal but it works for me.