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

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

Nicki Trench

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.

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