M'Lady's Rosy Cloche

 

I'm sneaking out of the Pumpkin Patch just long enough to show you a few new items I listed yesterday in my Etsy Shop ~ Front Porch Knits. They are my absolute favorite ladies hats in the world! I love the pure luxury of 100% Baby Alpaca. Nothing beats the sumptuous softness. And  crocheted shells always lend that light, lacy air of femininity. Then, of course, the real Ooh~La~La factor for me is the ROSE!  { I have a confession to make ~ I so much prefer ROSES to pumpkins...shhh.... don't tell that to anyone in this town right now... I may get tarred & feathered!}

 

These fit close to the head and give a bit of a vintage~flapper girl look when worn. The rose goes to one side. They are very charming and actually quite warm. Though they are somewhat lacy and airy due to the sheer nature of the crochet, the Alpaca is very insulating. Quite soft and snuggly!

 

For a better peek at them  go to frontporchknits.etsy.com

 

Well, I really must say TTFN {Ta~Ta~For~Now!} and get myself back to the pumpkin patch.

Want a sneak peek of today's pumpkin finery?

 

 

It's patiently waiting for me to grow it into a Pumpkin Pincushion.

More on that in the next day or two!

 

So My Dears ~

Be Healthy ~ Be Happy ~ Be Blessed ~

Until we meet again!

 

 

The Pumpkin Patch

As knitter's, crocheter's, or crafter's of any kind we are usually working on more than one project at a time. So this is what I have been doing along side the pretty little pink sweater I just finished up. I've been working in the pumpkin patch! The small town I live in prides itself in being "the Pumpkin Capitol of the World" and every September we have....you guessed it....  a PUMPKIN FESTIVAL.
The gift shop downtown, LULU'S, that carries my handmade items sells these hats like there's no tomorrow. For a few weeks people in this town will buy ANYTHING that remotely resembles a pumpkin! This is the first year I have knit them up in this off white. I just LOVE it! Not being much of an orange lover,  I happen to prefer white pumpkins in all their creamy loveliness anyway. So I thought ... Hey, why not? And I think they are rather sweet and pure and soft.... just like a baby!

So now my workbasket {actually a Longaberger Pie Basket ~hmmm....must be dreaming of pumpkin pie while I knit!} is full of pumpkin making goodies. So the afternoon's find me sitting on my front porch swing with my knittting. As an added bonus each breeze brings with it the smell of Libby's Pumpkin Factory, which is just down the street and around the corner from my house. It permeates the whole town through August and September. It's what Fall smells like to us!
 

And notice the soft pumpkin shade of orange I use instead of a brighter shade. Much more to my liking. I think it has a nice vintage feel to it. I do occassionally make a bright orange one when someone requests it or just to offer up something different because we all have our own tastes. That's what makes life fun!

 

Hope you all have the best weekend ever. As for me... I'll be in the Pumpkin Patch!

Whitewashed Workbasket

Over the years I have collected, accumulated and acquired so many beautiful baskets and bags. I've done the Longaberger thing, the Vera Bradley thing {both to great excess!} and the anything that catches my fancy thing. Lately most of my finds are from thrift shops ~ let's face it, I'm tapped out!
Anyway~ of all my pretty little finds this whitewashed Longaberger sewing basket with it's removable lid and gorgeous wildflower liner is my absolute favorite workbasket! It spends its days sitting next to my chair in the front room holding my small current projects. The date on the bottom of the basket is 2002. Longaberger only did these lovely whitewashed items for a limited time. I'm so happy I purchased this one :) 

Until yesterday afternoon my current work in progress had been a sweet little pink baby sweater. Actually the pattern refers to it as a "matinee jacket". How cute is that? I finally finished it though and off it goes soon to Miss Amelia Grace in Kentucky, born to Maria, daughter of one of my best friends. This is her first grandbaby and she is one Happy Grammy!

And of course I had to put my favorite heart buttons on for the Little Sweetheart!

So~ Do YOU have a Favorite Workbasket and if so, What's in it?

Paris or London?

It dawned on me that I got a little off track. I still have just a few of the dishcloths I made Hilary left to show you. Today I'll show these two together. I found them on Ravelry. I had to pay a dollar a piece for the download but they're so cute that I think they were well worth it!

The sweet little white dress with purple and lime specks is called,  "Let's Go to Paris" and the darling blue dress is called,  "Let's Go to London". How cute is that?!

They remind me of my childhood. I remember my mother having a crocheted dress hanging over her bottle of dish soap. It certainly makes things look a bit more Ooh~La~La!

Happy Day to All!

Divine Handwork

As I mentioned recently, Thursday is Girl's Day at my sister's new house now that she has moved back home. One of the things I love most about being there is the breathtaking view she has of the setting sun. So for today's post I thought instead of showing any of my handwork I would show something a bit more Divine. Let's face it ~ anything we can do pales in comparison.

"For You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done,

I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands."

Psalm 92:4

Happy Little Pincushion

My Saturday morning started with a trip to the mailbox and much to my delight this is what I found.
My Happy Little Pincushion! YAY!!! Sorry that the picture just does not do it justice. I have so much shade around my house that I struggle to fight back the shadows in all my photos, even on a bright sunny day.  For a really good view of these little lovelies, and much more, go to visit Debbie in her
HAPPY LITTLE COTTAGE at http://happylittlecottage.blogspot.com/
I promise~ she will make you HAPPY  every single time! I always head her way when I need a bit of cheering up. Her blog and her Etsy Shop are very cheerful and... well... HAPPY :)

So, how did I come by this wonderful goody? I won it! She had a give away recently and this was my gift. I LOVE IT!  Thanks so much Debbie! It will make me Happy every time I look at it!

"A cheerful heart doeth good like a medicine."

Proverbs 17:22

By The Beautiful Sea

Okay, so I'm not actually By The Beautiful Sea.... but a girl can dream.....and I am always dreaming of the sea and it's sandy shores and the mysterious creatures that live beneath its glorious surface. What could be more intriguing than a magical starfish?! They almost look like the stuff of fairy tales and mermaid legends to me.  Ever since my first glimpse of one as a child I've been smitten. 

So imagine my pure delight when I tuned into one of my favorite places to visit ~ KNITALATTE which you can find at :
http://karenlcase.blogspot.com ~  and discovered these lovely STARFISH DISHCLOTHS twinklilng across the front of her beautiful blog. If you pay her a visit you can click on the link to download the free pattern. I couldn't get that to happen here. Sorry! {Truth is I don't have a Son~in~law about the house at the moment to walk me through it!}. But this way you'll get to visit Karen if you haven't already ~ and you'll just LOVE her! :)

Once I started crocheting these I had so much fun messing around with different color combinations I just couldn't stop myself! By the time one evening passed and the next afternoon rolled away I was surrounded by 5 of them! YAY! There were stars dripping from my fingertips like manna from heaven.

"I have pined for the sight of the sea for years-

Pined amid hoping, and wished amid fears;

And my heart grew glad, and it bounded in glee

At the sight of the broad expanse of the sea.

The sea, the beautiful, beautiful sea-

Beautiful, boundless, joyful and free!"

Taken from The Beautiful Sea

By Mary Eliza Perine Tucker Lambert

Rosy Tulip

Remember I said I made 10 dishcloths in 7 days and still had 1 on the needles? Well this is the one that was on the needles. Now I know that in the mind of an organized person things would have been presented differently. I would have shown you the dishcloths I made for Hilary in the order I made them for her. However, and here's where I'm going to make a confession ~ I just don't roll that way. Never have and sadly ... probably never will! I kinda forge ahead in life rather willy~nilly flying by the seat of my pants. You know, doing things as the mood strikes me. And today I was in the mood to show you THIS pretty little dishcloth I JUST finished. Oh! And by the by ~ I'm not even giving this one to Hilary. Nope! Think I'll give it to Chelsea {daughter #2} instead. Gabby is absolutely NUTS about all things PINK especially if there are flowers involved {got a bit of her Grammy in her!}.So I thought she might enjoy helping Mommy wash dishes with this one.

I love the little eyelet holes created by the k2tog and ssk stitches that end up looking like a tulip in the center. So sweet!

And for a simple touch of texture around the border a moss stitch {or seed stitch} is my old standby favorite. It's quick and easy to do and most pleasing to the eye :)


Today's Happy Thought~ "When at last I took the time to look into the heart of a flower, it opened up
                                            a whole new world...as if a window had been opened to let in the sun."
                                                                     Princess Grace of Monaco

A Heart Full of Love

Today my heart is full to bursting! I just got to walk along with my daughter, Chelsea, and my Son~in~Law, Eric to take Gabby to her first day of kindergarten. I was armed with a camera in one hand and a huge wad of toilet paper in the other {no kleenex was big enough for that job!}. 
It seems like just yesterday I was walking her mommy to that very same grade school {and crying those very same tears!}. WOW! History really does repeat itself. And way too quickly...

So I took some pictures along the way I thought you might all like to see while you look at today's dishcloth choice, which is of course a basic garter stitch heart. Any design that includes a heart always grabs me. Love the simplicity of this one.

Eric, Gabby & Chelsea

Grammy & Gabby

And here we go!

And so it begins!

Today's Happy Thought ~ "Where ever you go, go with all your heart."

Falling Leaf

Today's dishcloth is knit to look like a leaf. I chose this variegated yarn because I really love the combination of cream, yellow, purples and greens. I thought it might even make it seem like an Autumn leaf. Guess I should have used something with hues of orange and brown instead. Oh well! Live and learn! {I like PURPLE better! Ha!}

This cloth is one of the smaller of the set. Hilary has rather narrow, delicate hands with long fingers   so it should fit quite nicley.  I do think I will make some leaves up in solid shades of green eventually so the veining shows off a bit better. It seems to have gotten lost a little in the rambling colors here. When I found this pattern online it came as a set of three different leaves. I have yet to make the other two. I liked this one because the tip of  the leaf curves so prettily. It makes me think of a falling leaf.

When I took this picture it was right side up. It shows as being right side up when I pop the memory card into the computer. But then when it comes up here for some reason it wants to be sideways {even after I have tried repeatedly to turn it with the little arrow thingies!} Oh well! Guess it really is a falling leaf!

Today's Happy Thought ~ "The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed. "

Sebastien-Roch Chamfort

Okay ~ Let's Dish!

So ~ here it is ~ my first of 10 dishcloths in 7 days. Whew! {And I have one on the needles and one more I want to make so Hilary has an even dozen}.

This one I was hard pressed to part with because it really matches my kitchen quite nicely! But it was very fast to knit and I have tons of the yarn left so I will eventually make one for myself. It's the only one in the bunch that I used the good old standard LILY BRAND SUGAR N' CREAM cotton yarn for. I've had this monstrous cone of cream forever and I just happened to have a ball of the red lying about as well and I started this project the day before I discovered the I LOVE THIS COTTON was on sale at Hobby Lobby. So this first one is the odd ball. But I love it!

This one is done in a waffle stitch and I really like the texture. In fact, you'll see later in the week I did another one in the same stitch with a border and different color combination. I think the pattern will make for nice scrubbing.

Although today is actually Hilary's birthday {my firstborn is now 27!}, I gave them all to her yesterday when we gathered as a family to celebrate. She loved all of them! Being a new bride, she is still excited over kitchen things and the like! Ah ~ the good old days! Ha!

Happy Day to You All!

The Cat's Meow

Although I wasn't going to do a post today, I just can't resist showing you how much fun the ANIMAL KINGDOM in residence has been having with my dishcloth project! I had Gabby {the precious granddaughter} here for the day yesterday and when I stepped into the front room just long enough to turn her fairy movie on for her, Mercedes ~ a.k.a. Miss Puddin~ succumbed to sweet temptation. Now mind you, she was literally NO WHERE IN SIGHT when I was in the kitchen 30 seconds sooner.  Typical...

Notice that first it's the YARN that really grabs her.

Then suddenly.... Hmmm.... "What's this?......
Oooooohhhh......Mom has something pretty here."
Can you believe the little stinker?!

And finally...

"No wonder Mom likes these little babies. The perfect blend of beauty and balance.

These things really are THE CAT'S MEOW!"

Soft Yarn & Pretty Needles

As I said yesterday, I have been digging my needles into dishcloths lately. I have been making as many in various colors, shapes and sizes as possible over the last week to give to my daughter Hilary for her upcoming birthday. She got married in the Spring and will put them to good use no doubt. Though she is a knitter herself {because Mom taught her a few years ago!} she wants some made by MY hands. A nice compliment.

As everyone knows, all projects start with the proper supplies and tools. So here's a peek at the ones I gathered for this venture. {LOVE the basket ~ $1.00 at the second hand store!}. The yarn is I LOVE THIS COTTON from HOBBY LOBBY. And I DO love it!

Then, of course we must have our pretty knitting needles. I am crazy about these blue and white beauties from CHIAGOO. They remind me of that lovley old china my grandmother had when I was a child. You know the pattern. Not only are they pretty, they're smooth as silk to work with, making 100% cotton glide along quite nicely.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND! I will start showing you all the individual dishcloths on Monday.

P.S.  Some things NEVER change! Even the little guy can't resist a  nice basket full of soft yarn! :)

I promise ~ I am NOT posing him in these yarn baksets. I leave the room for a single minute and when I return this is the nonsense I find. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Girl's Day & Vintage Finds

Hello again Everyone! So sorry I seem to have disappeared. What a whirlwind of a summer it's been... Too much to go into. But I have missed all my blog friends so I will try to get back in the swing of things here again. Hope you have not all given up on me!

The end of June ushered in two things for me ~ I turned 48 and MORE IMPORTANTLY my baby sister, Bridget, FINALLY moved back home from Milwaukee. HIP ~ HIP ~ HOORAY!!! We are having a wonderful time burning up the road back and forth between our houses as many days a week as possible. Though she tried to find a house in the same town as me she ended up a few towns over. But it only takes about 20 minutes for us to reach each other instead of 4 hours. MUCH better. We are sisters who had never lived away from each other before. I am nearly 10 years older than her but she is my only sibling and we are very close, so having her back in my armpit, just next to my heart for safe keeping, is much more to my liking!

Every Thursday my Mom and I go to Bridget's for our Girls Day. We have discovered a couple of fabulous Antiques Shops close to her house where we are on a first name basis now with the lovely little old ladies who own them. So between cooking, baking, eating and laughing together we usually take a quick road trip into town to blow the dust off their latest treasure. Sometimes we bring a thing or two home with us. This week this gorgeous crocheted tablecloth called my name from a far corner the moment I entered the store. I walked straight back, picked it up and hugged it to my heart, which skipped a whole beat when I discovered the price was only $10.00! Then on the way out, wouldn't you know it, a perfect English Bone China Teacup covered in Pink Roses {pictured at the top, because I tried but.... couldn't save it for last.... I had to show it to you FIRST...and by the way... my sweet Baby Sister bought it for me} beckoned to me. And it was only $4.00!!! Well ~ for under $15.00 I came home feeling like the Queen of Sheba!

And while I'm showing you my latest Vintage Finds, I have to include this beautiful pitcher I found a couple of weeks ago at a Cancer Care Fund Raiser event that was held 2 blocks up the street from my house. They had a BBQ cook off, a craft show and MY FAVORITE ~ A VINTAGE SALE.
{Being a vegetarian, I sure didn't go for the BBQ!}.

I know summer is busy for everyone and I pray yours has been a happy, healthy one.
For those of you who are stitchers and crafters, I hope you have been enjoying your playtime!
My latest knitting project is a simple one. I like to work up a few dishcloths in the summertime. Light and easy! Hilary, my oldest daughter/newest bride requested a stack of my knitted dishcloths in "all shapes, sizes and colors" whenever I have the time. Monday is her birthday so I decided to surprise her with a fun stack of them. Tomorrow I will start showing pictures of them. I figure if I show them just one or two at a time it will give me something to blog about and get me in the groove again!

Happy Day!