Contrary to popular belief, I have not dropped off the face of the blogosphere. I have simply been swamped with life in general. Wedding plans have reached a contented lull. Crochet projects are in abundance, but completion rate is low - hence no recent pixies. Tomorrow, I leave on a dream trip with my Gramikins. We've been planning our trip for over five years now and are finally seeing it realized. I will be back sometime next weekend. Till then, may you live each dayfully and completely.

~Much Love~

Pew Decorations

This was a project I actually tackled the first week of January, but have only just now remembered to post! Shame on me... Oh, well. This was a project that came together much more quickly than I had originally anticipated 

(to the great thanks of Mimsie). 

I started with such accoutrements...

... first proceeding to untwist these sparkly dangles just so I could retwine them into smaller, more delicate bunches.

Then, I wrapped them onto these white berried branches.

Tying white organza ribbon at the tops hid the bunchy clustering effect where I had twisted everything together with metal wiring. The butterflies do this even better (as seen in very top picture).

Currently, I am working on an unforeseen crochet project that came to me on a whim this past week. Hope to post pixies by weekend's finish. I am so excited by the color scheme I created out of old bits from my stash. 

Hope your weekend is blessed with the spirit of ingenuity and that unfinished projects find a way of wrapping themselves up. Lord knows I have more than a few of those I wouldn't mind knocking out this weekend!

Till next time!

A Representation of My Thoughts Today

~ lovely but jumbled ~

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. 

May you find peace to renew you for the coming week. 

Blessings!

Final Round of Posies 

(for now, anyway)

~ smaller than most of my other posies despite the largeness of the picture ~

~ recognize me? this time jazzed up with a vintage button ~

~ required a lot of hand sewing to bring this one together ~

Hope you have enjoyed tiptoeing through the posies with me. I am fascinated by the workmanship involved with these patterns. My mind is always jumping ahead to the what ifs of a different color combo or a slightly more delicate yarn. However, my posie love must be put to the side for now as I busy my hands with new and exciting projects for the wedding. 
Only 112 more days now! 


Happy Saturday! 

A Gift for My Cutie

I designed and finished this blanket in just a week's time back during February's nearly endless litany of snow days. 

It was done just in time for presenting to my fiancé on Valentine's Day. 

I worked with Lion Brand Yarn's Wool Ease line for the first time and must say I was not disappointed. Using an L hook, this soft, cushy ghan whipped together in no time. I love when quality and ease unite for pleasing results. 

My pattern was pretty basic. 

I did a simple granny base worked in a 3 chain ring. 

For the second round, double crocheted across each double crochet from previous round and made 5 total in each corner. 

The final round consisted of treble crocheting across the double crochets, but this time working only 3 in the corners. 

Each square was hook joined. The border was two rows of single crochet turning for the second row to avoid having the edges cup. I also borrowed a fabulous idea found here and decided to single crochet two together across wherever two squares joined. 

Made for a more evenly edged finished product.

My Honey was thrilled by the warmth and softness of the blanket. He doesn't like ghans with a lot of space between the stitches (he says they are too "holey"), so this pattern was created with his dislike 

of all things holey in mind. 

I can hardly believe it has been a week since my last post. I have been swamped at work this week and was quite frankly on wedding overload. So I took the weekend to regroup. I didn't even check email (gasp!). Just traipsed around the house in my pj's all day (double gasp!!). I even found time to sleep in for a change (cue Hallelujah Chorus). 

It was a much needed respite that energized me for one long, hard work week rife with news of cutbacks for the coming school year. Needless to say, I also spent some of the weekend  in earnest soul searching. This quote by Wordsworth struck a chord:

Enough, if something from our hands have power to live and act and serve the future hour...

I am not sure what the future hours will bring. Looking from where I stand now, it appears bleak and dim. But I hold the power to transform the bleakness and depression. The tale of how I choose to spend my time now will be told for future generations to come. Regardless of how this year pans out, I know I serve a God who is bigger than all this mess. And through Him, I have a hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). I will cling to His promises and live to reflect His light. I feel like this blog is a catalyst toward doing this more perfectly, for it daily grants me the opportunity to focus on the positive aspects of life. No matter what is going on around me, Blogland is a safe and happy place. The more I blog, the more I realize the blessing it has been to my overall frame of mind, because it gives me lovely, joyful, simple pleasures to focus my mind on throughout the day (as opposed the doom and gloom tactics of mainstream media today). 

So thank you, Blogland for opening your doors to me. 

Thank you to the dear friends I have met along the way.

Here's to us!

Happy Blogging!

Of Posies and Calamity Days

Yesterday marked the 9th calamity day so far this school year! The Ohio weather has gotten stranger still. After the freak rain/sleet/ice/snow storm of last Friday, we had rain, tornadoes, hail, thunderstorms and subsequent flooding Monday. Oh, well. This past four day weekend allowed me to get even more delightful tasks accomplished for my wedding. 
(now with only 123 days left to go in case you were interested... it's probably just me, though. ;-)


This flower was a complete and utter delight to make from start to finish. In my previous post, I had slightly altered some of the posies from the patterns in Suzann Thomas' Crochet Bouquet merely to fit my taste and convenience. However, this sweet little darlin' was absolutely perfect for my needs from start to finish. The fanned, raspberry petal is made by gathering the slightly narrower side of the piece with a length of thread. Ungathered, it would have made a fun, retro-style edging for a lamp shade or  curtain. Hmmm... yet another project for me to stow away for future use. So many wonderful patterns and intriguing ideas! This blog will be chockful of photos for many, many years to come. 


Which brings me to more gladsome news. Today is my blog's 1st birthday! While this was one of the speediest years of my life, it was also one of the most exciting and inspiring I have ever lived. I have so enjoyed getting to meet all you talented bloggers and make many new friends along the way. Here's to many more posts chronicling my journey through a crafter's life.


Happy 1st Birthday, Aurora Blythe!