Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Scallops & Shells Shawl

Hello to all my long lost friends!
So sorry I have been absent here lately ~
My dear Mother In Law,
who is 87 and lives next door to me,
has been very sick :(((
I spent one week in the hospital with her
and am now looking after her at home.
She had acute pancreatitis
and
went into heart failure at the hospital.
All prayers are appreciated!
Her name is Pat.
During all those hours of hospital time,
I managed to finish my
Scallops and Shells Shawl.
The pattern is in
Serenity
A Crochet Collection
by
Knit Picks.
I used
Gloss Fingering
{70% Merino Wool, 30% Silk}
yarn in a lovely dusty {almost silvery} purple called
Velveteen.
This yarn was wonderful to work with
and feels nice and soft.
And more to the
point ~
the finished project is very lacy
&
Oh
So
Feminine.

I hope you are all happy and healthy.
I will spend the next several days,
while we have this nearly 100 degree heat snap,
catching up on all of your blogs.
Blessings,
Danette

Monday, August 5, 2013

Strawberry Red

We had a beautiful weekend here in Illinois.
Perfect weather for
front porch swinging.
So on Saturday
I gathered up two of my doggies
and my crochet basket
and headed out for some fresh air.
{Miss Sophie ~ the oldest weenie~ cannot come to the porch.
She likes to give chase up and down Main Street.}
Phoebe however is too barrel chested to go up and down steps
so she gets to join Mommy on the porch.
And the little guy~
Jose'
only wants to be where his Mommy is
so he stays put as well.
While enjoying the heavenly breeze
I was able to finish up this darling
 Baby Shell Cardigan.
I chose a gorgeous shade of
Strawberry Red
instead of a typical baby color.
My friend Diane, who lives in Kentucky,
will have a new granddaughter
in early September.
Her daughter, a first time Mommy,
loves
red.
And I figured she will be gifted with plenty of pink.
The pattern can be found in my new favorite book
by
If you love to crochet baby things
this book is a
must have.
I promise you will love it!
It was so much fun to crochet.
And as promised ~
cute & easy.
There is no seaming anywhere :)))
The pattern shows darling little flowers
dancing across the front
{which I will add to my next sweater}.
Once I attached these
heart buttons
Hubby and I decided the look was complete.
So I omitted the flowers on this one.
Sorry
Miss Phoebe ~
Although you do look good in red,
this sweater really isn't for YOU.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Fragrance of Days Gone By

I just LOVE
Flowers.
I love the look
the feel
&
the smell
of them.
Being unable to part with them,
I always dry them.
As time goes by I have discovered
that I actually like them best
when they are dried.
They carry with them the
fragrance of days gone by.
There are always precious memories
attached to each bouquet,
each blossom.
They make my heart happy
and sometimes bring a tear to my eyes
while I stand for a moment's recollection.
These roses were a  Mother's Day gift
from my 6 year old granddaughter,
Gabby
who knows and shares her Grammy's love for all things that
grow
&
have life.
Gabby had the honor
of being the flower girl
in her Mommy's best friend's wedding
a couple of weeks ago.
While still in her beautiful array of clothing,
with her hair piled up in curls,
she ran down to Grammy's
to ask me to dry her little bouquet.
I put them in an old Coca~Cola bottle
and plan to set them on her dresser today
for her to find when she returns home
from a day out with her Daddy.
They turned out rather sweet.

The hydrangeas grow in massive quantity
in my daughter
Chelsea's
yard.
Every time I look at them I will remember
this Summer.
Why is this Summer special?
For many reasons
but here are my top three~
In December
Chelsea & her little family moved into the house on the corner,
just 2 doors over.
In June
Hilary and her hubby
moved into the house across the street.
This is the very first Summer
Scott & I have had our children living so close.
What a fun, beautiful BLESSING it has been.
Oh!
And #3 ~
In September we will hit the 2 year mark from Scott's Pancreatic Cancer.
He is cancer free.
His energy comes back bit by bit... gradually,
and we are so
 THANKFUL TO GOD.
All in all ~
it's been a good
Summer.
And now it's August already.
I believe there are good things in store.
May you all not only be Blessed beyond belief in this month ahead,
but also be an abundant blessing to those around you.

"But thanks be to God,
 who always leads us in triumph in Christ,
and manifests through us the sweet aroma
of the knowledge of Him
in every place.
For we are a
fragrance of Christ to God..."
2 Corinthians 2:14 ~ 15