CareBears Afghan

I love Edgery Doo!
I was able to finish this fleece afghan in just about 4 hours. I used the edgery doo to measure and punch the holes, then finished the fleece with a row of sc, 2 rows of dc, and a row of alternating sc and picots. I think the colors are cheerful, and I hope a child will enjoy this one!

I just joined a new group called Project Rest Assured that donates afghans to children in foster care. If this afghan meets with their requirements, I hope to donate it there.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should

I try to be nice, but sometimes I just get opinionated, and I know that maybe I should keep my opinions to myself, but....heck....it's my blog.

I don't say this to be mean, but sometimes I see crocheted pieces that are so beautiful and so.....out there. I happen to love the site What Not To Crochet. Some people think it's a horribly mean site - I think it's funny. Most of the featured items are made with a lot of tallent, but sometimes a poor choice of color or a somewhat outrageous pattern makes the piece a bit ...out there.

Today, someone pointed out this bathing suit. The workmanship is beautiful. The color combination is lovely. The design is intricate and well done. Still.... I have to ask myself, why? Why would someone with so much tallent spend so much time on something that just can't be worn? Even if you're young and thin and have a model's figure - that piece just can't be worn. It's time and energy spent to show off - maybe that's reason enough for it to exist - when I saw it I thought "Wow", but what would I have thought if so much work and skill went into something that could be worn, and enjoyed and seen?

Note to self...

You are not able to crochet rectangles.

If a pattern calls for you to do even rows of dc, hdc or tc you increase, decrease or otherwise make a mess of this.

You continually waste yarn and frog when you try to do simple rows.

Stick to fancier patterns or do simple rows in sc only.

Grumble, grumble, frustration, annoyed, bah!

Day at the Beach

I recently posted an afghan that I made using the Lion Brand Homespun Openwork Afghan Pattern.

I had so much fun making that afghan, that I started this wavy afghan using an adaptation of the original pattern. I highly recommend Lion Brand's patten - it was fun to make and the afghan is beautiful, but this wavy pattern is fun, and in these colors it reminds me of waves and sun - I'm calling this baby blanket "Day at the Beach Blanket".

I don't claim this to be an original pattern. It is my adaptation of Lion's pattern, and I give them credit for the wavy design, but rather than complete their pattern, I just worked with interlocking waves.

To make my adaptation - take the foundation line from the pattern, and then just work line 2 in the opposite order to fill in the peaks and valleys.

I'm not sure if I can copy the line from their pattern here, so I suggest your read the original pattern for the foundation

Then, for my version:

Line 2 : *tc in first 2 sc, dc in hdc, hdc in dc, sc in next 2 TC, hdc in dc, dc in hdc, sc in the next 2 tc* repeat ** to end.

basically - after the foundation row, just alternate

sc goes in each TC of previous row

HDC goes in each DC of previous row

DC goes in each HDC of previous row

TC goes in each sc of previous row.

I changed colors every two rows to make the waves.

Remembering what's important

I've been more than a little stressed out lately at the new job. I'm working 10-14 hours a day and I've been somewhat tired, cranky, angry, depressed and a lot of other unattractive things.

Today I heard something that was a wake-up call.

Today was a very sad day. I worked a half-day and then I went to the funeral of a friend's husband. The friend is someone who I used to work with, someone that I care for deeply. She's smart, and good, and one of the most funny people I know. We haven't worked together in about 6 years, and our busy lives have kept us apart, so once we stopped working together, we didn't see much of each other. She has two great kids, one is 6 - he was born around the time my nephew was born, and the older boy is around 14. Great kids.

Last weekend they were out with friends, when her husband suddenly died of a massive heart attack. He was only 54 - far too young. I didn't know him, but his funeral was hard. It was hard seeing my friend in so much pain - though she is strong and is handling this so well. It was heartbreaking seeing those young boys who lost the dad they love so much.

Funerals are always sort of a wake up call. They remind us that life is fleeting and that we have to live it to the fullest. They remind us that family and friends are more important than the corporate ladder and a lot of other stressful things that interfere with the enjoyment of life.

The clergyman who led the service did a very good job. He talked of all the great qualities that my friend's husband had - how he so loved his family and never took his eye of how important they are, and how he enjoyed them. He then said one line that really stuck with me. He said "the important things in life are often sacrificed on the alter of urgency".

Wow. I needed to hear that. I've been allowing myself to get wrapped up in the urgency of work at the expense of the urgency of life. I hope that I can remember that message and that it will help me deal with the daily stress that, in the long run, is so unimportant.

And now I'm going to begin to crochet a comfortghan for my friend and her boys.

Pretty Popcorn Rim Cap

This is a new hat that I designed today. I wanted to do a basic cap, but with a textured edge. I first tried the cluster stitch, but the look was too subtle, so I switched to a popcorn. At first I really thought it was a bit too...extreme, but I kept going. After three rows of poporns I finished with a 2-color strand rim in reverse single crochet. When I tried the hat on, I just loved it! I really doubted it as I was working, but the finished product id probably my favorite of my original hat patterns to date! What I was afraid would be clown like is, in my opinion, rather fun and almost elegant.

If you like it too, the pattern is below. This pattern isn't tested, so if you find any problems or errors, please let me know.

Pretty Popcorn Rim Cap, by Wormie

2 colors of worsted Weight Yarn (I used Caron Simply Soft I Light country Blue and Bone)
H Hook and K Hook

Using main color and H hook:
Ch 4, join w/ slip stitch to first chain to form a loop.

1) chain 3 (counts as first hdc), 11 hdc in loop. Join w/ slip stitch to top of ch 3 (12 hdc total)

2) chain 3, hdc in joining stitch, 2 hdc in each stitch around, join w/ slip stitch (22 hdc total)

3) chain 3, hdc in joining stitch, * 1 hdc in next stitch, 2 hdc in next stitch*, repeat ** around ending with 1 hdc, join w/ slip stitch (36 hdc total)

4) chain 3, hdc in joining stitch, * 1 hdc in next 2 stitches, 2 hdc in next stitch*, repeat ** around ending with 1 hdc, join w/ slip stitch (48 hdc total)

5) chain 3, hdc in joining stitch, * 1 hdc in next 3 stitches, 2 hdc in next stitch*, repeat ** around ending with 1 hdc, join w/ slip stitch (60 hdc total)

6) chain 3, hdc in joining stitch, , * 1 hdc in next 4 stitches, 2 hdc in next stitch*, repeat ** around ending with 1 hdc, join w/ slip stitch (72 hdc total)

7-11) chain 3, hdc around, (72 hdc)

12) chain 3, hdc around, join w/ slip stitch changing to contrast color

13) with contrast color, chain 3, dc in next stitch, *popcorn in next stitch, dc in next 2 stitches* repeat ** around ending with popcorn

(for instruction on the popcorn stitch go here: )

14) chain 3, *popcorn in next stitch, dc in next 2 stitches*, ** around, (the popcorn should NOT line up with that of the precious row – it will be one stitch sooner)

15) chain 3 (counts as first dc for popcorn) complete 4dc for popcorn, dc in next 2 stitches, * popcorn in next stitch, dc in next two stitches*, ** around. Join w/ slip stitch

16) Chain 1, sc around. Join w/ slip stitch and end off.

17) Now working with K hook, hold one strand of both color yarns together. Attach with a slip stitch, chain 1. Working from left to right, *skip one stitch and do a reverse sc in next stitch*. ** around. Slip stitch to join. Finish off and weave in ends.


This is an original and copyrighted pattern. Feel free to use it for charity and personal use. Do not sell the pattern or post it on any site, but you may link back to this site. Thank you!

Beaded Babushka

Today I made a kerchief using Nadia's Babushka pattern. I think that these kerhiefs may be great summer options for kids going through chemo. I see a lot of little girls wearing kerchiefs, and I hope that they may work for chemo patients who find full hats too warm for summer weather.

The pattern is fast and easy, and if there is a good reception to them at the Cancer Institute, these are a quick pattern to make for donations.

The little girl that I blogged about yesterday also wanted a hat with yellow and blue and beads and rainbows. Well.... that was hard, but I figured that I could add a rainbow of beads onto this pattern for a cute summer kerchief. This little girl has a beautiful full head of wavy hair, and if she likes it, I think this will look really cute on her.

Big dogs and little girls

Work continues to be really stressful. Long hours, too much to do, too little time, not enough help. There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel though - I'll have more staffing soon and we're getting some systems set up that should make life easier.

Today was, not surprisingly, another stressful day. One that brought this normally peace loving and docile worm to the brink of violence. I'm ashamed to admit that for a brief moment I wanted to inflict bodily harm on someone. Luckily, I wouldn't know how to throw a punch if I tried - and heaven forbid I break a nail in the process!!!

Anyway. The bosses brought in their little girl and their big puppy. What's better to brighten a day than a cute little girl and a big doofy dog?

So, the little girl was playing with beads, and I told her that I like beads too. We started talking and I told her that I crochet. She asked me to make her a hat. How could I refuse. She wanted light blue and yellow - and rainbows. Well, the rainbows were a bit much, but blue and yellow I can handle. We live in Florida so the only hat she could possibly need would be a cotton sun hat.

When I got home I pulled out some blue and yellow cotton, and made her a cap using my Textured Mesh Scully Pattern. I haven't made this hat since I posted the pattern, so I was pleased to see that it worked up easily, and that I actually like it more now than I did when I created it. I hope she likes it despite the lack of rainbows.

So a little girl and a big dog made me smile. Then the office closed early for Good Friday. That made me really smile. I went home, did my taxes, and should get a refund. Now I'm all smiles! Happy Weekend!