Friday, December 13, 2013

Christmas Tea & Knitting

As always, it's a mad dash to the finish!
My days seem to be filled with constant
knitting,
crocheting,
&
endless
Cups of Tea.
The house is finally decorated
and the tree is trimmed.
I have put the finishing touches on one project,
have another half done
and one more to start.
Phew!!!
I am trying hard to stay a step ahead of St. Nick.
Next Tuesday Scott & I will celebrate our
 30th  Wedding Anniversary.
:)))
We are leaving early Monday morning for a get away to a
Victorian Bed & Breakfast.
We will not be home until Thursday afternoon.
I am SO EXCITED!!!
My last little project will travel along with me.
It will take us about 3 hours to get where we are going.
Between the trip there and back I should come home
with all my
Christmas Knitting
finally done.
In the meantime,
may you all make it to your own finish line
{as I know we are all making the same mad dash!},
may you all stay warm and cozy
and most of all
stay full of good cheer
as you enjoy this magical season.
Be Blessed,
Danette


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A New Little Monkey

Towards the end of May
we will have a new little monkey
in the family.
My sweet daughter Chelsea
is expecting her second baby.
She went shopping yesterday for this adorable outfit.
As it turns out we are going to have a
Grandson!!!
:)))
We are
SO VERY EXCITED!
Big Sister Gabby
{who, as you can see, is Grammy's biggest kitchen helper}
can hardly wait for her
Baby Brother
to enter the world.
She will be 7 just a few weeks before he is born.
They grow up fast, don't they?!
Ahhh...Grandchildren....what a BLESSING.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Crochet Craziness

Hello Friends!
I hope you are all feeling
fat
&
sassy
{from the recent day of feasting}
and full of
Holiday Cheer.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving here.
In the midst of it all I have entered into some kind of
Crochet Craziness!
Just last week I told a friend
"I have decided to give myself a break this Christmas.
I am not making many gifts this year."
Well....
somehow just after that I went nuts again!
I have crocheted 11
{that's right ~ I said eleven}
scarves in 9 days time.
My hook is already digging into another one
and there are at least 3 more I purchased new yarn for.
Many of them are infinity scarves.
They are done in
different yarns,
different weights,
different colors...
Fa~la~la~la~la~la~la~la~la!!!
Two of them, so far, are straight scarves.
Most are for Christmas gifts,
but this one,
plus a couple of the infinity scarves,
are for sale on my
I sure hope there are a lot of lovely ladies
on my Christmas list
who are in need of a new scarf!
Because I seem to have a few on hand :)))
Happy Day to You All!
XO
   XO
Danette

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Hmmm...Crochet or Piecrust?

Although I have an apron tied around my middle,
a cookbook opened on the table,
 ingredients all over the countertop,
and should by now be mixing pie dough
for tomorrow's festivities...
I keep reaching for my crochet hook
instead of my rolling pin!
Ah well...
surely there's time for both :)))
These lovely snowflakes and twinkly stars
just needed to be made.
The pattern for the snowflakes can be found in
Issue Eleven
of
Simply Crochet
The free gift on the front of this issue
is a packet containing the dk weight  yarn  with
a thread of sparkly silver running through it
&
a plastic crochet hook.
The pattern is inside the book.
You can find the star pattern
compliments of
 Leonie Morgan
at
I have not stiffened and blocked them yet;
just lightly steamed for the picture.
There are visions in my head of a flurry full
of the little beauty's
dancing over the French doors
between my dining room
and front room
on a lovely garland chain.
Hmmm......

I know I should be preparing for Thanksgiving
{as my whole family always gathers at my house}
but I really must take the time to show you one more thing.
This was yesterday's project.
It is destined to be a Christmas gift.
Guess you can tell
 I'd so much rather play with yarn
than mess with all that food stuff!
You can find the pattern for this scarf
 and it's sweet little flower
by paying a visit to
Michelle
at
where "granny goodness" always abounds.

Well...
I really must force myself to make a mess in the kitchen.
Before I leave you all though
I want to tell every one of you how very much
all of your kind words on the loss of my
Little Jose'
have meant to me.
You have all helped to heal my breaking heart
and reminded me  to remember the goodness
of the love I shared with a special little dog.
Thank You All
from the
Very Bottom of My Heart.
I will cherish your kindness and remember it forever.
May you all have the Happiest of Thanksgivings!


With Love,
Danette

P.S.
I would like to say
Welcome
to a couple of new followers~
Lisa
from
and
Serafina
from
I truly love making new friends :)))



Monday, November 25, 2013

Forever In Our Hearts

Jose'
February 4, 2002
to
November 10, 2013.
It is with a grieving heart that I let you all know
our
Sweet Little Jose'
passed away
 in the wee hours of
Sunday, November 10th.
He would have been 12 in February.
As I mentioned in earlier posts,
he hit a rough spot of repeated seizures
 and then he got pneumonia.
We did all we could for 2 weeks
but he was so fragile.
Thankfully,
he died here at home with his family
where he was much loved.
We had him cremated
{the first time we have ever done that}
and he has his home on the mantel now.
The funeral home was wonderful.
They gave me a paw print and a couple of hair clippings.
My Dad showed up with the Chihuahua ornament.
My sister came with a lovely card
and a gorgeous bouquet of roses.
Which are now being dried.

We received cards from the Vet's office
and family members.
It is a loss we all feel deeply,
especially me.
He was truly
My Baby.
So tiny, always so dependent on me.
I will miss him on Christmas Eve.
We always give the dogs their stockings when everyone has gone home.
It is amazing that they remember from year to year what a
Christmas stocking is.
Jose' was always the most excited of all.
This picture was taken last Christmas.

I will also miss him when Springtime
arrives again.
He loved the porch swing as much as his Mommy does!

He also loved it when he could find one of my knitting baskets
to snuggle up in.

I still find myself looking around the house for him.
Sophie and Phoebe
have also looked for their missing companion.
They are sad to lose him too.

For being such a Little Fella,
his presence was very large.

Rest in Peace,
we love you.
You are
Forever In Our Hearts. 

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sweet Baby Shoes

Just a quicky post to show you the sweet baby shoes
I just finished crocheting.
They are to go along with the
sweater set I made
Her grandma is purchasing the sweater and hat from me,
but I wanted to throw in a little gift from me as well.
The pattern can be found in
Essential Crochet
by
Erika Knight.
It was very easy
and I really like the finished product.
I will make these again.
I added a tiny button to the center of the flower.
Plus I eliminated the ribbon
at the back of the shoe
the directions call for.
All in all ~
I think they are quite sweet indeed.
What are you working on in your corner of the world?

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Embroidered Mittens

Good Morning Everyone!
In my little corner of the world
it is raining
&
raining
&
raining.
So....
I am knitting
&
knitting
&
knitting.
First I knitted,
then felted,
then embroidered
these mittens.
They are a Christmas gift,
but I won't say who for
just in case she is peeking :)
While it continues to rain,
I put my feet up,
the dogs snuggle in,
and I keep working on Christmas gifts.
Today's project?
A second
Red Mitten.

Happy Day to You All!

Monday, November 4, 2013

From Roses to Wristers

The last couple weeks have been challenging.
Last weekend I had a touch of a virus.
Feeling bad that I was feeling bad,
Scott brought roses home.
Ahhh...
nothing compares to a
Wonderful Husband :)))
They were gorgeous on the dining room table.
They are now drying nicely.
I can never part with roses
and love them just as much
when they are dried.
 
While feeling icky,
I knitted up these
Mock Cable Wristers.
They took just one skein of
King George
made by
Bristol Yarn Gallery.
It's a divinely soft fiber of
Baby Alpaca, Merino Wool & Cashmere.
Yum ~ Yum!
I found the pattern in
60 Quick Knits.
They're heading for my Christmas gift stash.
 
 And on the doggie front:
I am keeping Jose's glucose level up with
regular feedings.
It is keeping the seizures at bay, Thank God.
However, he is still very sick.
It was discovered during a chest x~ray
and blood work on Friday
that he has
bacterial pneumonia.
Apparently, when he vomited early last week
he aspirated :(((
His Mommy is still giving him
lots
&
lots
 of
TLC.
He is on an antibiotic and diarrhea medication.
We are running a vaporizer to help with his breathing.
The vet says he is not out of the woods yet
but is pleased there is a tiny bit of improvement.
He is very weak and I have to help him stand at his water dish.
Then I tuck him back into his little bed,
which is in whatever room I am in.
{That is unless he is wanting Mommy to hold him and wrap him in her sweater}.
Thankfully being home is my full time job.
We have a long way to go.
We appreciate all of your prayers and positive healing thoughts.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

For Baby Catherine


I just finished another
Baby Shell Cardigan.
Remember the red one I crocheted in late Summer?
Here it is again in teal.
With white pearly buttons.
This one is a custom order.
A friend is happily awaiting a new granddaughter.
I little one who will be named after her.
So she ordered a sweater and hat set for
Baby Catherine.
I think this baby bonnet is a perfect match with the sweater,
though the patterns are not created by the same designer.
Something about a sweet little baby head
showing through the back of the bonnet
makes me practically swoon.
We thought teal would be nice
because we are sure she will get
plenty of pink
from others.
And my current project should be done in a jiffy...
another pair of fingerless mitts!
My daughters and sister just love
the darn things.
They like them in any pattern
and any color.
So they make nice Christmas gifts every year.
And one final note~
I have a sick little fella.
Jose' will be 12 in February.
He weighs 3 pounds and is quite fragile.
He has an enlarged heart, inflammatory bowel disease and seizure disorder.
On Sunday night he started having seizures close together.
Usually he will have one and then maybe another one in a couple of weeks.
Then he will go a year or more without any.
So Sunday and Monday were quite alarming.
We saw our vet {who is WONDERFUL}
first thing Monday morning.
It was discovered he is very hypoglycemic.
I was instructed to feed him every hour on Monday until bedtime
to see if raising his blood sugar would stop the seizures.
He is still eating every couple of hours,
and LOVING it I might add.
Mommy is giving him rice and eggs for now.
Way better than that colorless, odorless
tasteless hypoallergenic doggie stuff
he is used to!
He is perking up and has not had a seizure since 8p.m. Monday.
We go to the vet again on Friday
for another little paw prick.
Wish us luck!
OH!
And WELCOME to my newest blog follower ~ Pooch.
I look forward to getting to know you here :)))