Showing posts with label not today. Show all posts
Showing posts with label not today. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2009
not today
Sorry, folks, not today. A dear friend of mine died last week and I am not in the mindset to list free patterns....
Sunday, December 07, 2008
not today
Sorry, folks, not today for Freebie Monday. We had to put our oldest cat (14 years) , Spike, to sleep and I am not in the mood for much of anything. We explored x-rays and ultrasound, but his lungs kept filling up with fluid. Tapping the lungs only bout a day or so of relief. So with great sorrow and regret, we put Spike to sleep.
Next week....
Next week....
Saturday, October 18, 2008
In Memory of My older Sister Bee
I wrote this back in 2006, talking about my older sister and how she taught me how to crochet. She died this past week and we are having a wake for her at my house on Sunday. Therefore, no Freebie Monday this week. Bee would have been 58 next month. I miss her terribly. This rant started off as a response to the "Not your Grandmother's crochet" phrase.
(-)
My older sister, Bee, taught me how to crochet (and knit). She took dress design in her vocational school and that's something the students had to learn. She struggled teaching me how to crochet because I was (still am) very impatient. It seemed to flow freely from her hands, but I just couldn't seem to grasp it. It took me about a few months of practicing and watching and Bee showing me time and time again for me to get that "aha" moment.
I had to make something for my Home Ec class, any project, but it had to be crocheted or knitted. The Home Ec teacher didn't show us _how_ to do it, we were supposed to know. And we were also supposed to bring the item into class so she could see us actually work on it.
I choose yellow and green yarn for the colors (it matched my bedroom). The yarn I bought was rug yarn, I think. It was the least expensive of the yarns in the five and dime I visited and the start of my love affair with Boye hooks, a size H.
Bee did the chain stitch to start. I had great difficulty starting the project. Now I realize I pulled the chains too tight and couldn't work stitches in them, but I didn't know that then. I don't remember if Bee tried to get me to make them looser or not. At any rate, I was stitching along. Horizontal green and yellow stripes, done in double crochet, that had a sort of "rib" effect. I didn't know I was supposed to put the hook under _both_the loops on the top of the stitch. Bee probably did about 30% or so of the afghan. But having to take it to school and show my work made me try to learn the stitches better.
The teacher had doubts (reasonably so) that I was actually doing the work. I was slow and it would be unreasonable to think I had gotten so much done so quickly. But the day finally came when I could whip the project out of my duffel bag and actually accomplish some rows while in class. After that, the teacher didn't question my ability to crochet. I honestly don't remember what other people made. I can't remember if there were amazingly complex patterns or just ponchos (it was the late 60s). But I was sure glad I got that project done. And it certainly kept me warm.
The afghan is long gone now, a victim of time and moving. It wasn't that beautiful a project, but it was important to me. The joy of actually creating a project that big has stayed with me. I still enjoy the accomplishing of any project, whether big or small. And I've made a ton of afghans since that time, but that first one remains in my memory as an extra special afghan.
After all, how many crochet projects keep you warm, co-ordinate with your room and get you a good grade in school?
My older sister, Bee, taught me how to crochet (and knit). She took dress design in her vocational school and that's something the students had to learn. She struggled teaching me how to crochet because I was (still am) very impatient. It seemed to flow freely from her hands, but I just couldn't seem to grasp it. It took me about a few months of practicing and watching and Bee showing me time and time again for me to get that "aha" moment.
I had to make something for my Home Ec class, any project, but it had to be crocheted or knitted. The Home Ec teacher didn't show us _how_ to do it, we were supposed to know. And we were also supposed to bring the item into class so she could see us actually work on it.
I choose yellow and green yarn for the colors (it matched my bedroom). The yarn I bought was rug yarn, I think. It was the least expensive of the yarns in the five and dime I visited and the start of my love affair with Boye hooks, a size H.
Bee did the chain stitch to start. I had great difficulty starting the project. Now I realize I pulled the chains too tight and couldn't work stitches in them, but I didn't know that then. I don't remember if Bee tried to get me to make them looser or not. At any rate, I was stitching along. Horizontal green and yellow stripes, done in double crochet, that had a sort of "rib" effect. I didn't know I was supposed to put the hook under _both_the loops on the top of the stitch. Bee probably did about 30% or so of the afghan. But having to take it to school and show my work made me try to learn the stitches better.
The teacher had doubts (reasonably so) that I was actually doing the work. I was slow and it would be unreasonable to think I had gotten so much done so quickly. But the day finally came when I could whip the project out of my duffel bag and actually accomplish some rows while in class. After that, the teacher didn't question my ability to crochet. I honestly don't remember what other people made. I can't remember if there were amazingly complex patterns or just ponchos (it was the late 60s). But I was sure glad I got that project done. And it certainly kept me warm.
The afghan is long gone now, a victim of time and moving. It wasn't that beautiful a project, but it was important to me. The joy of actually creating a project that big has stayed with me. I still enjoy the accomplishing of any project, whether big or small. And I've made a ton of afghans since that time, but that first one remains in my memory as an extra special afghan.
After all, how many crochet projects keep you warm, co-ordinate with your room and get you a good grade in school?
Monday, July 07, 2008
well...
No FM today. I am preparing for major surgery and I find I don't have the concentration to check links and sites today. I probably will not be here for at least 2 weeks (about 4 days in the hospital to start with) and obviously there won't be any FM or anything else posted here.
I will be trying to get a lot of crocheting done, depending on how I feel. I'm putting together a project bag so I won't have to search the house for the yarn of the pattern. I also have the new Bendy Carter book, a novel this time "Dying to Crochet". I have been holding off reading it until after surgery but it looks _good_. 10 projects in it (okay, I did take a peek at the projects. I'm not _that_ disciplined.)
I am very lucky to have my loving husband, Craig, to take care of me during this time of recovery. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my beloved. I don't want to send him through out the house saying "I want the fuzzy pink yarn, no, not that fuzzy pink yarn, the _other_ fuzzy pink yarn. No, the _other_ other_ fuzzy pink yarn" He's a sweetie, but I would think that would qualify as spousal abuse.
At any rate, check out some of the old listings and some of the sites listed and hopefully, see you in about 2 weeks.
I will be trying to get a lot of crocheting done, depending on how I feel. I'm putting together a project bag so I won't have to search the house for the yarn of the pattern. I also have the new Bendy Carter book, a novel this time "Dying to Crochet". I have been holding off reading it until after surgery but it looks _good_. 10 projects in it (okay, I did take a peek at the projects. I'm not _that_ disciplined.)
I am very lucky to have my loving husband, Craig, to take care of me during this time of recovery. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my beloved. I don't want to send him through out the house saying "I want the fuzzy pink yarn, no, not that fuzzy pink yarn, the _other_ fuzzy pink yarn. No, the _other_ other_ fuzzy pink yarn" He's a sweetie, but I would think that would qualify as spousal abuse.
At any rate, check out some of the old listings and some of the sites listed and hopefully, see you in about 2 weeks.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
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