Shawls for the Holidays

Well, once I get started I go to town.   I made all five of these shawls in about a week and used up lots of stash.  All the Lion Glitterspun, all the Paton's Brilliant Gold, a Caron Soft Bone, one 4 oz skein of Red Heart Painted Desert, a skein of Red Heart Eco in mushroom, and 2 skeins of Red Heart White.  Just to let you know that I mix and match as appropriate.  They are lovely and I am keeping the middle one for me.  It is brownish with gold glitter and the painted desert gives it a southwest appearance.  Very pretty.  The others I will donate to a convalescent center near me.  I'm sure the ladies will feel special when wrapped in something lacy and warm.  It is the Lion Brand Doily Shawl pattern and is a delight to make.  You can use any yarn weight and any hook size.  The size and weight will determine the length and width of the shawl.  Since I like larger yarns, I used a P hook and doubled the strands.  The beauty of the pattern is that you can mix the strands as you go and it still comes out lovely as demonstrated in the brown/painted desert one.  I love the pattern and will probably make lots more. ade all five of these shawls in about a week and used up lots of stash.  All the Lion Glitterspun, all the Paton's Brilliant Gold, a Caron Soft Bone, one 4 oz skein of Red Heart Painted Desert, a skein of Red Heart Eco in mushroom, and 2 skeins of Red Heart White.  Just to let you know that I mix and match as appropriate.  They are lovely and I am keeping the middle one for me.  It is brownish with gold glitter and the painted desert gives it a southwest appearance.  Very pretty.  The others I will donate to a convalescent center near me.  I'm sure the ladies will feel special when wrapped in something lacy and warm.  It is the Lion Brand Doily Shawl pattern and is a delight to make.  You can use any yarn weight and any hook size.  The size and weight will determine the length and width of the shawl.  Since I like larger yarns, I used a P hook and doubled the strands.  The beauty of the pattern is that you can mix the strands as you go and it still comes out lovely as demonstrated in the brown/painted desert one.  I love the pattern and will probably make lots more.

Blue Shawl in Breezy Pattern

Well, heres the shawl I made for me using up the birthday yarn.  I used the Breezy Shawl pattern and it came out beautifully.  I added an edging of shell stitches (3 double crochets, chain one, 3 double crochets) then back across the same shells with single crochets in each double crochet and a picot in the center chain one stitch.  It made a nice swingy edge.  So now I'm working on another shawl to use up the gold glitter from the gold shawl described in the last post.  It is a double yarn with a baby soft white added.  Will be thicker and warmer but not heavy.....I hope. 

Gold Glitter Shawl

 Well, finally the shawl is finished.  It took 10 skeins but it is light weight and soft so can be easily packed into a zip lock bag or stuffed in a corner.  It can be handwashed and dries flat but I don't see it getting very dirty very often so that should be no problem.  The question is what to do with it?  I'm not much of a shawl wearer but it was easy to make and will go with any outfit since the gold glitter is neutral.  It even looks good with jeans!  Now what to do with the remaining 8 skeins of yarn?  Maybe a lacy wrap of some kind.  We'll see.  For now I think I'll just put the yarn in my closet and wait until an idea hits me.  Time to go work another project.  It's always something.  Good thing I have crocheting as a hobby because this weather is gloomy and gray but crocheting lets me be cozy inside and enjoy making something warm and cuddly.  Life is Good!

HATS IN A BAG--THE END

OK-OK! I promise this is the end of the hat saga but I just had to put them all in a bag to carry didn't I. It just happens to be the bag my new boots were carried in and that is perfect. Hats and Boots! Get it??? Of course you do. Anyway, I made a total of 16 hats, 2 scarves, and 1 shawl and used up lots of my stash yarn. I'm so happy. Now I'm on to other challenges like two shawls which are partly finished and then I'm tackling another sweater but this one has the sleeves crocheted as part of the back and front so no inset sleeves. Yea!!! If I could crochet boots I would but I'd much rather get leather boots to go with my outfits. This is definitely the year for boots. So let's hear it ya'll, 'These boots are made for walkin' and that's what they're gonna do...one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you....' Can you hear it yet? Nancy Sinatra, circa 1970s. Anyway, I can hear it.

Holiday Dessert

This is my all time favorite and is so easy to make.  As you can see from the dish, we have already devoured half of it.  The flavors are just wonderful and a light finish to any meal.  Perfect for Thanksgiving, too!!!

AND MORE HATS

Well, the new blog editor sure uploads the pictures nicely.  These all fit across center of page.  As you can see I'm still using up yarn to make the hats and a 3rd scarf for the ladies.  I sure hope they like camouflage.  It seems appropriate with the troops overseas protecting us but not everyone appreciates the pattern.  These hats are fast and easy to make so everyone benefits--I get to use up yarn and the wearer gets to keep her head warm.  Today is overcast, windy, and rainy and is a good day to continue my projects and to update my computer files.  Hmmmmm.  Maybe I'll even reconstruct my genealogy file that has been lost in the shuffle.  I have all of the information but just haven't had the patience to enter it.  I got the most recent My Family Tree software so have no excuses.  Wish me luck! 

Shrug is Finished

Finally finished the shrug.  I had sleeve problems...yet again!  But it fits perfectly now and is very light and easy to wear.  My friend, Victoria, gave me the yarn for my birthday so I was determined to make it into something pretty. The hat on the other hand is now in the bag for the shelter and I will have to work on another head cover for Mimi the Mannequin.  Her name is Mimi.  A friend suggested the name and since she represents me it seemed appropriate.  She is a bit wobbly but that is kinda like me, too.  Ha-Ha!  I'm still considering replacing this plastic inflatable variety with a hard plastic variety but haven't started shopping yet.  For now, we'll have to wobble a bit.