Progress Report & New Queued Projects

Hello everyone!! We have had a very warm week here in the Wasatch Mountains. At least most of all the snow over my eaves have melted. I was starting to worry about the ice slab over my kitchen windows. We are expecting snow next week so yay!! It is a busy week in our town due to President's Week or Winter Break. Lots of people in town!! I think we have had maybe one week of little to no tourists here and luckily that was the week my son was visiting. It is what it is when you live in a resort town. I wouldn't change where I live for anything.

Just a quick progress report on how I am hooking along on my baby blanket. I am half way done and very pleased with how the colors are working up so lovely together.

I have also queued some new projects in my Ravelry account. My sister is going to Amsterdam next month and I wanted to make her a few items to keep her warm during her visit. She lives in Florida so really has no good beanies or scarves for wet cold weather.

A cute pairing of a cross over long double crochet stitch cowl and hat. A very well written pattern at Crochet n Crafts blog. I love finding matching items made by the same person who also writes great patterns. I plan on using a very pretty cardinal color. My sister has dark brown hair and looks great in all shades of reds.

Love this poncho by Garnstudio. The neck is actually knit so I will be using a rib crochet stitch for my neck instead. I plan on using a pretty oxford grey for both the poncho and cable twist beanie.
All patterns are free and have a link to the website or blog.

Everyone enjoy your weekend. I have a 3 day weekend, so I will be savoring every minute of it!!
I will leave you with some bright colored flowers. I have a few bulb plants on my kitchen counter absorbing all the luscious sunlight they can each day. This week my planter of daffodils bloomed and has just brighten my kitchen wonderfully.

Bright yellow daffodils with a nice hot mug of coffee to get my weekend started. Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day I thought the XOXO mug was appropriate.

Cheers,
Winnie

What's in the Project Bag?

Hello everyone! It has been unusually cold around here in the Wasatch Mountains, but this weekend it has warmed up considerably. Maybe some of the piles of snow will melt out of my courtyard.

I last wrote about working up a baby afghan for my boss. I finally received all the yarn I think I need. I had to order from 3 different websites, but finally received the colors that my boss likes. Also luckily today I received an email from Amazon showing that the Lion Brand Organic Cotton is in stock on their website as well. Bonus is that they are all available through Prime. So I might order a few more skeins just in case I need more.

So What's in the Project Bag?

I am loving the color combo! I was going to go with a ripple pattern but when I began hooking it up I just didn't like how this particular yarn looked. I decided to go with my Tried and True stitch the Linen Stitch. The bonus about this stitch is not only the stripey goodness it does, but it is a pattern that I can watch TV and hook at the same time without worrying about a missed stitch.

While waiting on the Lion Brand Natural Organic Cotton yarn to ship, I started on another project. I am using the gorgeous yarn my dear hubby gave me for Christmas. I did order another color through Craftsy. I really vibrant mustard yellow.

My camera didn't really pick up the yellow color all that well. I am working on a Spicy Diamond Blanket. It will be a long term project. This is one pattern that I cannot be distracted while working on. I came across the pattern on Pinterest and although I should have just pinned it I had to begin this project!!

This is the blanket that Kristen made up and provided such a wonderful pattern and tutorial on her website, Haak maar Raak.

I really loved that she also provided a layout template that you can print out blank. I played around with my layout and came up with the one you see in my project bin above. One thing I do love about searching for a project is the planning. 

On a different note, my son was in town this week and we were able to hang out and catch up. We enjoyed the empty slopes during the week.

He can be such a nut and always makes me laugh. But I am proud of the young man he has become.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Cheers,

Winnie

Linen Stitch Afghan

I finally completed my Linen Stitch Afghan!! I can say that this was a fun project and it turned out so comfy and cozy!

For the border I kept it simple with the oatmeal white as single crochet all around then the heather gray in a half double crochet and the denim blue I did in a crab stitch to keep the border from unraveling. The afghan ended up measuring 56 inches X 69 inches. The perfect size for curling up on the couch watching a good movie or reading a great book not to mention for working up a new crochet project as well!!

Enjoy your weekend! We have a long weekend for Labor Day and my son is in town for a visit. We will be heading out for some golf soon so I need to go start getting ready!!

Finished Linen Stitch Cushion!!

It is so nice to finally complete a project for a change!! I am loving how it turned out as well. This project should not have taken me so long to complete, but creativity sometimes takes a backseat. I think the main reason it took longer is the weaving in the ends and deciding on what type of border to do. I really think the right border is essential. It is like the picture frame to your work. :))

Excuse the picture quality, it has been dark and gloomy so no good light to take the pics.

I worked the entire body as one and then connected each end. Then I closed up each of the smaller ends with 2 rows of grey single crochet with an accent of one row of red single crochet. The last row of the border is a picot stitch where I single crocheted into one of the single crochet stitches, chained 3, and single crocheted back into the same single crochet stitch from previous row. I skipped a stitch in between each picot stitch. It matches up so lovely with my chevron blanket that I completed last year.

Now it has found a happy home along side my other crochet items!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend! We have been bombarded with rain for the full month of May and our 3 day weekend is going to be a wet one! Hopefully in between rain showers the husband and I can get some biking in.

Another WIP Linen Stitch Cushion

Hello! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying some Spring time weather. We are going through a crazy weather pattern! It snowed yesterday!!

Snow on the tree and powerline outside my kitchen window.

So no outside fun this weekend. Instead I pulled out a project that has been waiting to be finished. I had ran out of charcoal yarn and had to end up ordering it. No local shops carried this particular color!!

My first plans were to make a small throw pillow, but I have decided to double the size and make a large pillow. I am reversing the red and white on the opposite side. I have 3/4 of it completed and hope to finish up and assemble it tonight!! It will feel so gratifying to finally have a completed project!!

So yesterday was full of crocheting and sipping on a nice hot cups of tea!

Linen Stitch Afghan Update

Hi everyone! Just a quick update on my linen stitch afghan. It is cruising along lovely. I really do enjoy the calming affect this afghan has on me. I don't have to constantly count, so it's such a stress reducing repetitive stitch.

Our weather has been so bipolar these past couple of months. One day we are in the high 60s and the next low 30s. Welcome to Spring in the Wasatch Mountains!! But we are having some lovely signs of Spring.

And with Spring I needed a renewed look in my family room. There had been this wonderful frame sale at Michael's Craft Store and I finally decided to frame all of our Ski Resort Trail Maps that we have collected throughout the years. Needless to say it was a daunting task when each trail map was odd sizes, but we did it and I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

These are just of Colorado and California and we still have a few more resorts to hit up in these states. Pretty much my whole family room is covered in trail maps. And we are missing a few from some of the East Coast slopes. I guess we will just have to revisit them!! I also will need to commission my father-in-law for another shot glass display. He did such an awesome job on these!

Enjoy the rest of your week! They are calling for rain and snow in our area this week. Although I am ready for biking season we do need as much rain and snow as we can get so our water table will be good during Summer.

March Musings

Saturday Crocheting while sipping on sweet tea and snacking on pretzels and almonds.

Thrift Store Shopping...collected a couple of pictures for my kitchen.

The beginning of a new project. A linen stitch afghan.

And the biggest thing to happen during the month of March...my son coming home from Air Force Tech School for a visit before heading to Colorado Springs for his assigned base. 

I hope everyone else had a great March with the beginning of Spring and the sense of renewal. I am enjoying the longer daylight and the warmer weather. Sprouts of Spring have begun in my area and I feel as if the fog of dark days are finally lifting.

Another Crochet Cushion

I completed my cushion using the linen stitch technique. I think it turned out rather snazzy! 

I'm thinking now a matching afghan would be nice with this little cushion! :))

Take a moment and hop over to Tami's Amis blog and checkout other great FOs!!! Have a great weekend!

Linen Stitch

I am currently working on another little cushion project. I am enjoying doing small projects that are teaching me a new stitch. This week the stitch I am honing my skills on is the crochet linen stitch. If you click on the link provided it will take you to a great tutorial by Dedri at Look at what I Made. The linen stitch is also known as the woven stitch and sometimes the moss stitch although I think the moss stitch is a wee bit different.

I am working with three colors and using the white as center accent color.

My plan is to place another row of grey in between two rows of white and then finish the pattern with alternating rows of grey and blue. After the cover is made I will add a few decorative buttons. I hope it turns out as cute as it is in my head.

Enjoy the rest of your week. My week is very busy with work, work, and more work. Take a moment and check out other WIPs over at Tami's Amis blog.