A Great Big Rainbow

My new favorite....



From the beginning this has been a big, happy blanket that I have loved working on.  Every time I look at it I smile.

Queen size...I think she is the biggest one that I have made.

 



I started this the last Sunday of July and finished the first week of September.  5 weeks of happy hooking for me.  I made my foundation row and was 7 color changes (14 rows in) when I realized I had made my foundation row too tight!  AAARRRGGGHHH!!  If I had read through the directions, I would have known to go up a needle size to avoid this.  But since I have to do everything the hard way....

So I gave the 14 rows  to Bray to play with while I started again. He's a funny little man....loves yarn!! 240 chains.  Counted twice to make sure and I was off and hooking again. This time with a bigger needle!
 Once I got going, this took shape in no time at all. 
 

 



For the border, white, and whatever color of the rainbow was next in line. 

 Final 7 rows, single crochet in my rainbow colors

 

 

 
Loved the repetition. Could watch the kids play, help Alex with his homework, watch TV, whatever, and never missed a stitch! Worked the ends in as I went (for the most part!!)

Luckily, I have an awesome husband who doesn't mind the fact that our bedroom in turning into the brightest colored room in the house!  Pillows and blankets and pictures and yarn wreaths and felted flowers, oh my!!

 

 

18 colors!  2 skeins each. 
 

Found the perfect pillow to match...paisely sunshine

 

Total happiness here!!

Sunset



Just 20 minutes....

 

 

 

 

So worth the climb to get to it.  Even if he did miss a few minutes of the ballgame!

Gertie

She started out as a way to use up more yarn than I had room for.  Literally, I had yarn in boxes sitting on top of everything!  It turned into a big, bright, beautiful blanket that has already been used for picnics and some "reading in the swing" time.

 

Love how soft and "drapey" this yarn works up...

 

 

  

I started working on it last October after my surgery. A quite, simple pattern to help in recovery. Once I was up and going again, I put it away for a few months.  Picked it back up in June and completed it in July

 

117 four round granny squares. I used Lucy's join-as-you-go method

I didn't keep up with the yarns I used, there were soooo many!! Different weights and types.  All leftovers from many other projects. 

I loved the border on this one. So many possibilities! I thought at first I would just do a plain solid border. But it just didn't go with the blanket. It needed to be big and busy just like the squares were

I borrowed several rows from all over blogland and combined them until I thought it looked finished.

 

 

 

 

   She lives in the living room, draped over a chair.

  I love walking by and catching a glimpse of her sitting there.

 

I am very happy with how she turned out. 
As usual, I think this is my new favorite!

 

 

 

 

44 and grateful

I am now officially 44!  WOW!! 
I am not sure how or when it happenend,
but all the sudden here I am.

Some things I have learned along the way...

Life is a gift...these people we choose to share our life with, every day, every hug, every kiss, every frustration, every mood, every pain, every joy, every accomplishment, every disappointment, it is not something we own or have a right to, it is given to us.

 

The point of my life is to learn. Every day I want to know more, to be more grateful, to be more thankful, to be better so  I can do better. To every day, in some small way, deserve all that I have. What is the point of learning if it doesn't motivate me, change me, improve me?

 

Every day, I want to grow closer to the ones who make it all worthwhile.  My crazy, messy family.  Not the one that I was born into.  The one that I have chosen. A husband who reminds me daily that love is all that matters   Children who challenge me. We acknowledge our problems and issues to ourselves and each other. We work, we promise.  We continue to grow and build.  They remind me every minute to try harder, to love more deeply, to be more open, to say I'm sorry and to forgive.  Friends who have filled in as mothers and sisters.  Who have filled my life with truth and goodness and honesty.  We fall short, we get up.  We disagree, we forgive.  Luckily there is always forgiveness and love waiting for me.

 

 

Life throws things our way that are not fair, that we don't deserve.  But it is up to us how we deal with it.  Do we give up?  Do we stop searching because it is hard?  Do we stop caring and loving?  Some do.  I don't.  I can't.   I have cried, I have begged, pleaded.  I have done all I know to do.  I have changed my way of thinking, because that is all I can do.  I can't change your course, only mine. I can only make my own choices.  I can't make you appreciate all that is my life.  But I appreciate it.  More and more everyday. 

 

 I have my hidden issues and hurts. Things that I alone carry.  Things that have gotten in my way in the past.  Things that you can't see, but I know they are always there. Hurts that are so deep and hidden.   But lately, I have been acknowledging them, holding them close for one last moment and then letting them go.  I will never forget, but I refuse to allow them to continue to hold me back, to stop me from becoming the person I want to be.  I could become bitter, I choose to be soft. I could try to manipulate and control, I choose to allow freedom. I could become confrontational, I choose to be gentle.   So different than how I was taught.   For a long time I was stuck in a cycle. On repeat forever. I chose to step away.  Done...I officially know better now.

 

"Every ending is a beginning. Think of an ending that is happening in your life. What is the beginning hidden within it? When we embrace the future without dragging the past with us, we look at what's before us with a fresh heart. So...finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with old nonsense." –  Emerson

  

 

Works in progress

I am hoping that by posting pictures of all my current projects, it will motivate me to actually finish them before I start something else.  Probably not, but I guess it is worth a try!!



I loved the idea of this blanket when I first started...now, not so much! It is so big, it is going to take forever!! 

Mitered dishcloths....these were Christmas presents for Alex's teachers.  I love the idea of homemade gifts for Christmas presents. 

This is just a hodge-podge started to satisfy my need for color and to use up all my little scraps of yarn.  This has got a bit of every kind of yarn in it.  Wool, cotton, acrylic, bamboo, silk...whatever I feel like working with.

Candy Cane Ripple. I love the thin strand of irredescent thread in this yarn.  You really notice it when the light hits it just right.

This started off as a blanket, then a couple of cushion covers.  Now back to a blanket...who knows!

This was started on Spring Break last year in Gulf Shores, taken back on Fall Break to Orange Beach
Still sitting in the basket just waiting to be finished.  Only the granny square border left...maybe on the next beach trip!!

African flowers were everywhere a few months back...here is my attempt.  Thnking this will become a wall hanging instead of a blanket. maybe a few scarves?  So much detail in each one.  Love all the color combo possibilities!

I have actually picked this one back up.  Perfect fall hexagon!  Made with wool so it is so thick and warm!  Only a few more rows to go. 

and finally....This is for a friend for Christmas.  I chose the colors based on the names of the yarn...hyacinth, rose, zinnia and tulip.  She is a flower lover like me and I know that she will love it!  I may not have it done until December 24, but it will be finished!!