Life Update!!

It has been so long since the last time I posted in this forum! I have been living my life through Instagram lately. My sister got my hooked up when she was in town last month. I am still getting the hang of things, but it is nice to be able to snap a pic with my phone and upload it right then and there.

I am still working on the one Granny Burst Square afghan that I started last year. My hands become so sore from the lingering onset of arthritis that I have to put it down for a few months. Getting old really sucks!! I really only have a few squares left to make and then I begin joining. I will try and complete this project this month and will post the finish result!

My sister visited in May and we took a quick trip down to Moab, UT. We hiked Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. It was a great trip and we picked the perfect time of year. It wasn't too, too hot or crowded at the parks. Only time it was pretty busy was our first day at Arches, but it was a Sunday. We were honked and fussed at a few times while waiting on places to park. Luckily it did not ruin our hikes and all the glorious views we encountered. Not to mention the town itself was pretty empty so no long waits at restaurants. All and all it was a great trip and my sister loved the hikes and views. She wants to make it an annual adventure!! I am down for it since it is only a 4 hour drive from my home. 

I have so many pictures that I am still editing just from my camera. This little collage was created with pics I took with my phone. So not as great, but I know how long it takes me to edit pics. I figured I would snap a few with my phone as well so I could post on FaceBook. We had family members that were concerned that us little ladies went on a hiking trip alone. Really find it funny how old fashion some people are still. But we posted pics to show that we were doing great and having lots of fun.

One thing I have been doing a lot of is yard work. Now that the snow has melted and the hours of raining have lessened, I have spent many hours in the yard. The years we have been in this new home I have not really put much work into the backyard. The front yard flowerbeds needed so much work that I really spent the past couple of years getting them manageable. Now that I feel they are, I started working on the back area.

This is right off the back stoop. I had been depositing plants in the corner that did not survive the constant sunlight and heat from the front beds. This little spot stays shaded most of the day, so I decided to make a small shade garden. I must say it is hard to find plants that require more shade than sun in this area of Utah. I guess we do have so many sunny days in the summer that the garden centers sell more Full Sun plants.

I am also lucky (I guess) that my yard has plenty of large rocks to use as border. All of these rocks were gathered from the land around me. There has been a lot of utility construction and we had a septic issue this winter, so the ground has been dug up and lots of rocks are available. I did find some really cool looking rocks that look petrified on the land parcel further behind me. Plus some that look like they have their own little ecosystem growing upon them. I was able to use plenty of these rocks as filler and decor in the bed.

I plan on extending this bed all the way to the end of the house. I just wanted to get something completely done this weekend and I did. I started cleaning the area up on Saturday morning and then bought all the plants on Sunday. The bed was planted and fully decorated by the end of the day on Sunday!! This shows I can finish a project!!

WIP Wednesday - Same projects but with some progress

Happy Wednesday! Every Wednesday all I can think about is that Geico commercial with the camel...Woot! Woot! Hump Day!...LOL!! Okay if you haven't seen it, it is quite hilarious.

I have been steadily working on all my open projects. I squared up a few of the African Flowers for my afghan. I had about 16 that needed the white border. Then I crocheted about 16 more over the 4th of July holiday. I have about 40 squares total and need probably 100 more!

I found a great site to help calculate how many squares I would need for a queen size blanket. You can go here  and there is a chart that gives you the number of squares needed for your afghan according to the size you are wanting to make. Granted it might not be exact if you are planning to add border, but it gives a great idea of how many needed.



I tried using embroidery craft thread to make some flowers. They turned out really nice, but I am not use to using such a small hook and thin thread! It takes some getting use to that's for sure. I used this tutorial for a 5-petal flower and then added some buttons. Very crafty!!

No new projects this week, just trying to get some headway on the same ones.

Take a moment and check out Tami's Amis and Other Creations blog for other WIPs.

Now I will leave you with some gorgeous tree canopy pictures!

WIP Wednesday - Jar Cosies, Flower Collage, & Scarf

Happy Wednesday!! I have a few WIPs on my plate. I am still working on the African Flower Afghan and Dancing in Daisies Blanket. I have decided to go with the light blue and brown Red Heart Soft yarn for the color scheme on the Dancing in Daisies Blanket. I tried a couple of other colors, but they just didn't pan out.

I was able to complete another jar cosie.

I still have two more jars to crochet cosies for. I am loving these quick crafty jar cosies. I am thinking of adding an applique to one of the jars. Maybe a flower or heart.

I have also steadily been working on the Flower Collage. I have added a couple more flowers and still working on some leaf ideas.

Placing the flowers on poster board to get an idea of placement and if I need anymore flowers.

Pretty red flower pattern with buttons. Croco Flower pattern by Bonita Patterns called for 7 petals but I like it with just 6 petals. I did make some sand colored ones with the 7 petals and they look nice.

I found this really pretty scarf pattern on Ravelry. It is called the Sweet Eleanor Scarf and designed by Quince Tart. It isn't a difficult pattern to follow, but (yeah a but) I think I messed up on it somewhere. So I will be frogging and retrying. I have a road trip scheduled at the end of the week and it will be my car ride project.

Take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog to check out other Wednesday WIPs. Have a great week!!



WIP Wednesday - Still Pushing Onward

Hello and Happy Wednesday!! I am still working on a few projects that seem to be very long-term.

African Flower Afghan project has really taken a backseat. I haven't made any new squares for it in the past month.

Dancing in Daisies Blanket is still a WIP. I have completed all the center daisies. I just haven't decided on the color scheme. I do love the brown and blue that I started with, but I'm thinking of a more denim blue to go with the brown. I'm also considering adding some black-eyed-susies to the mix for maybe the center portion of the blanket. Yes, a total WIP at this point.

Flower Collage is still a fun project. I have added a few crochet butterflies. I found a very easy pattern on Ravelry by Lindsay Haynie. They are so cute and quick to make.

I also decided to add some of the daisies to the collage. Tillie Tulip's Daisy Tutorial is still my go to daisy pattern. They just work up so quick and cute.

 

The next pattern I'm wanting to add to the collage is a few leaves. I just have to begin my research on Ravelry and Pinterest to find which patterns I like best. If anyone has a suggestion of a leaf pattern that they find easy and quick, please let me know in a comment.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Please take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog to check out other WIP's!

WIP Wednesday - Flower Collage

Happy Wednesday! All is quiet in my household. My kids are visiting their grandparents for the next three weeks! My son's graduation went great on Friday. I, of course, cried like a baby. Now two more years and my daughter will take that journey.

My Son the Graduate and my daughter!!

I have been steadily working on the Crochet Flower Collage. I have found many great patterns for all sorts of flowers! It has been so much fun. I have to give credit where credit is due for all the many patterns so you must bare with me while I provide all the links and designers.

This tri-color flower pattern was found through Pinterest. Yes, my go-to-site for inspiration!! The creative blogger who shared the pattern and tutorial is Rosie Rogers. This link is the picture tutorial I used.

The flower brooch pattern was found on Ravelry. The designer is Annette Petavy. I did mess up while doing this one. There should be 5 blue petals, but watching TV at the same time got the best of me. I will just make sure the next one has all petals.

 I also found the crochet-spring-flower-garland-pattern on Ravelry. A Hermit's Wish is the designer and it is a recent upload to Ravelry.

This is a pretty quick pattern and the end result is fantastic!

 I love the large rose pattern too. It is a rather quick pattern with another gorgeous end product! I found this pattern on Ravelry as well. It is by Annoo Crochet. A very good tutorial that is easy to follow. (Sorry for no picture, but I couldn't get it to upload. I will have more flowers with more pattern links next week.)

I have a few more flowers I need to crochet in order for the collage to be exactly how I want it. I do plan on adding a few embellishments to some of the flowers. I have been constantly picking out buttons for this one and that one. I'm also thinking about adding some beads to a few. It's just so much "crafty" fun! Then the real fun will begin with painting the canvas and gluing the flowers and leaves! I'm enjoying this project so much I might have to make another!

Please take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog. There are so many creative bloggers to enjoy. Check out what they are in the process of making!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Now let me get back to creating more beautiful flowers!