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 :)))

Autumn Mitts

Don't you just love

Fingerless Mitts?!

I do!

And I am loving this pattern from

the book

Crochet

 One - Skein Wonders.

Although they are shown here on my hands,

I actually crocheted this pair for my oldest daughter

Hilary.

I originally bought this skein of sock yarn to knit her a pair of socks.

Somehow that didn't happen...

But when I found this pattern I knew what the yarn was truly for!

Hilary LOVES fingerless mitts.

And the beautiful Fall colors suit her perfectly.

I always enjoy finding new and different things to make

from all the gorgeous sock yarns that are available.

So...

one pair just wasn't enough!

Funny thing is~

this pair's being modeled by Hilary

but it's for sale on my

Etsy Shop.

One of my favorite things about these lovely little mitts is

the pretty scalloped edge that just naturally

happens at the top.

OH!

And I have quite a stash of beautiful

hand painted

sock yarns.

{It only takes one skein to make 2 pairs}

As always, I get plenty of help.

Hmmm.....

who else needs a pair of these?

Fall Finery

As Fall has swooped down on me,

I realize I have fallen behind on blogging.

I have missed you all

and am ready to show you

some of the projects that have kept me away from my computer.

This first one is my favorite go to baby hat.

I have made it so many times over the years

and embellished it with many different flowers.

It's for sale on my Etsy Shop.

This pair was a custom order

 for a couple of baby cousins

born just 2 days apart.

Instead of a crocheted rose I attached

the knitted version with a pearl bead for each center.

And here's something new 

I have fallen in love with!

It looks like an old fashioned

Heirloom Baby Bonnet

to me.
The pattern can be found
here

I love the puff stitch in the back.

I confess ~ I've made a few of these...

Finally moving on from baby hats,

I knit up these

Wee Baby Leg Warmers

from 100% Baby Alpaca.

Just scrumptious!

In a few days I will have another

completed baby project to show you.

Here's a little sneak peek.

~And speaking of babies...

here's what 2 of my furry ones like most about

my afternoon knitting time.

They get to cozy up on the couch

while I sit across the room

and work away.

We are all quite happy :)))

Visions of Pumpkins & A Beautiful Gift

My days are still filled with visions of

pumpkins...

All sizes

all shapes

&

even all colors...

For the first time ever

I put some items in our

Pumpkin Festival

Craft Sale

with the girls from my LYS.

My goods did quite well and I was just

*tickled pink*

{not orange mind you ~ I am still not a lover of orange,

which is why I am attracted to pumpkins in other colors!}

I just love these sweet little

pumpkin egg cozies.

I found the pattern on

Wool Free and Lovin' Knit

I will probably make a few orange or pumpkin colored ones also

but.......

I had to start with

cream

&

flamingo pink :)))

OH!!!!

And my other

exciting news ~

My friend Neicee

over at

Insomniac With A Hook

had a recent

Give Away

and

I was the

LUCKY WINNER!!!

Just look at all this

Yarny  Goodness!

:)))))))

I can accomplish a whole lot with this lovely

treasure trove!

Plus

she was sweet enough to include

a bag full of assorted teas.

They are not in the picture

because

I confess~

I have been drinking them up left and right.

I am a true addict.

It is all very yummy...

yarn ....

tea....

aahhhhh..........

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

**Thank you,

thank you,

thank you

My Dear Neicee!**

You sure know how to treat a girl nice :)

A Harvest of Good Things

Once again it's

Pumpkin

time

here in the

Pumpkin Capital of the World!

Our Pumpkin Festival

started today

and runs through Saturday.

I, of course, look forward mostly

to the

Craft Sale

on the last day :)))

Living here and being surrounded by

pumpkin mania

this time of year

keeps me on the constant lookout

for new pumpkin patterns.

I love this one they gave me at my

LYS.

I did tweak it a bit here and there {naturally}.

It has been a fun pattern to work with.

Cute, huh?!

And on a personal note~

My Mother~In~Law

is doing better,

however,

due to her age she has some

longstanding health issues

 that will be with her always now.

I still keep a close watch on her,

take her to all doctor appointments

and fill her medication keeper each week.

I am so thankful she lives next door to me.

And I thank each one of you for your kind comments,

concern,

&

prayers.

It means so much.

Also, I had a new experience today.

For the first time I gave myself an injection.

The doctor put me on Enbrel for my RA.

Rather than going into the office for a weekly injection,

I opted to self inject.

It went quite well.

I feel just fine.

Much better than when I was on Methotrexate {UGH!!!}

So~

So far so good.

I have high hopes for this medication

and

who knows

maybe next year

I

will win the Golfing Championship

{maybe I should learn to golf first...}.

And one more thing~

Tomorrow we hit the 2 year mark from Scott's Pancreatic Cancer.

Can I get a good

AMEN!!!

I pray this finds you all

Happy

Healthy

&

Blessed.

With Love,

Danette

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

Beautiful Baskets

Is there anyone out there who shares my

Obsession

for

Baskets?

Aren't these the most

Beautiful Baskets?!!

And the really cool thing is...

they were

Handmade

by

My Very Dear Friend

Carey.

I am so amazed by her talent!

Each one is lovelier than the last.

It is hard to choose a favorite.

Carey has long been a

 gifted knitter

&

absolute

Queen of Crochet

but this too.....

Come on now!

So much talent in one sweet person :)))

And by day

she's a

Nurse Practitioner.

This little beauty is

mine all mine :)))

She made me a

Tea Basket

for my birthday!

And filled it with teabags

&

a handmade teabag dish.

She even signed the bottom for me.

As much as I love baskets...

there's nothing that compares to

Good Friends!

Thanks Carey ~

I love you!