What Knots

Baby blankets are in my future.

2012-02-19T13:00:00.000-06:00

A baby changes everything. I will be an aunt for the first time soon, after so long in waiting. Let the baby blanket crochet dance begin. Anyone have any great patterns?

2011-08-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

Warning this smacks of politics, but I don't mean to start a philosophical debate.

The loss of the members of SEAL Team 6 is truly aweful. It's the loss of the highest caliber of men. It's a national tragedy. Today I was reading a few of the tidbits about their lives in a Yahoo article, which of course made me feel the loss a little more poignantly. I then made the dreadful mistake of taking a look at some of the posts made by other readers. This is what I found.

Some blame Obama.
Some blame Bush.
Some see them as murderers and robers and deserve their fate.
Some see the only way to honor them is to turn to Jesus.
Some say the only way to peace is through Islam.
Some can't understand why they sacrifice their lives fighting over who has the most powerful imaginary friend.
Some look to 2012 to fix everything.
Some see the tragedy as a rallying point to kill more "rag heads" (their words, not mine)
A very few express condolences and pray for the souls of our fallen heros.

The hate-filled rhetoric is disgusting to read. How in the world can Americans be One-Nation-Under-God and Indivisible, if we can't even agree that the loss of these brave soldiers is a singularly human tragedy? A cause for united sadness. It doesn't have anything to do with being a Republican, a Democratic, an Independent, a Tea Partier, a Christian, a Muslim or a Jew. Americans can't agree what makes us "American" anymore and it's troubling to watch the rift grow wider all the time.

I believe in the power of prayer, so I will continue to pray, quietly, for the healing of the great American divide. If you are so inclined, I invite you to do the same. If you are not the praying kind, I ask only this. Please allow me the luxury of my own prayer without ridicule.

God grant eternal rest to the fallen soldiers of SEAL Team 6, and all those brave men and women who have given their lives, so that I can live mine as I please. Freedom isn't free.

Little Susie.

2011-07-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

Little Susie

Little Susie...

After making several dolls, I decided that I could design one that was better. At least, better for me. Anyway, about a year and a half ago, I finally put pen to paper and designed one from scratch.

Here's Little Susie. This doll is made with Pattons Grace. She stands about 13" tall and has removeable clothes and shoes. She's a much more refined doll, and even though she's smaller, she takes a bit longer to crochet than Susie St. John because I use a finer yarn.

Someday I'll add the pattern to my etsy site, but it needs to be cleaned up and tested. Anyone interested in trying it out for me after I get the final revision done?

Susie St. John

2011-07-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

Susie St. John.
Two years ago, I donated one of my cotton dolls to the School Gala silent auction. Susie was offered with a school uniform, a first communion dress, a play dress, and a miniature rosary, all of which I designed. I wish I had taken a picture of her when she was presentation ready for the event. It was destiny that the silent auction winner who took her home has since become a good friend. Thanks Jo, for reminding me what it feels like to have something that you created to be truly loved. I'm so glad Susie St. John is in such great hands.

By the way, I take orders for these dolls now, if you can wait a few weeks to get her :)

Here she is!

Susie in her school uniform
She's about 18" tall.

1st Communion Dress
Even has matching bloomers.

Play Clothes

Green and Blue Rosary
about 8" long

Next blog entry... Susie's Little Sister. A smaller more refined version of Susie that I designed myself.

We need a mermaid, Jack.

2011-07-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Marina, the Mermaid

Back home after a lovely, thoroughly uneventful trip to Texas. Visiting my family is soul restoring. We swam in my brother's fabulous pool, toured the Bolivar Penninsula and Galveston, and generally visited with family and old friends. Oh, and did I mention I crocheted a bit.

I don't have much time for my yarn addiction at home these days, so the week visiting mom was spend immersed in waves of crochet. Meet Marina, the mermaid. 2 days of nearly uninterrupted crafting. Bliss.

This was a free pattern off of Crochet Today website and I've never used a free pattern that was better written. Kudos to the designer. The daughter didn't care for the blue hair it called for, so we opted for golden yellow instead. Body made of Love that Yarn in Linen.Tail was some leftover stash from my mom's closet, but I think it was Baby Bee brand from Hobby Lobby. Netting, shells, and face elements are all crocheted with DMC floss. Can't remember what we used for the hair, but I know it's a DK weight.

Who knew that making dolls would make me so happy? Me, the engineer. Dolls? Really? But, they do. I'll post more project pics later.

Happy days!

Head and Shoulders

Love this webbing!!!

Great design element and fun too.

Blind Mermaid

Read me a story, HAL.

2011-07-02T12:02:00.001-05:00

We pass today taking a long road trip. It amazes me how technology makes these pilgrimages home almost a pleasant experience. I used to think otherwise, when all we had was a DVD player. This caused nothing but loud arguments over movie selection and angle of screen. I banned the DVD player years ago. But today, I have developed a new appreciation for all things hi-tech. Here's why:

1) The teenager is reading. Yep. A miracle. But the best part is he's reading Huck Finn without the slightest problem interpreting "Jim"s dialog. How you ask? We downloaded (free) the audio book from iTunesU onto his iPod. We put the free ebook on his kindle. He's reading along with the audio book. 8 chapters read so far and he's actually enjoying the book. Thanks Nannie and UJ for the kindle and iPod!

2)The 3rd grader is training her Nintendog on the DS. Unimpressed? Most kids have their noses continually glued to one of those infernal devices right? Not my girl. She never bothers with the thing until it's time to hit the road for a long trip. So it's a novel experience and keeps her entertained. Keeping her happy is never a simple task and anything that accomplishes it is welcome in my car!

3) Later, I plan on watching Harry Potter part 7 on digital download. Nuff said.

4). Lastly... I'm writing this post using a non-3G iPad, wirelessly tethered to the iPhone, via personal hot spot, while traveling 80mph through the-middle-of-nowhere Mississippi. Love it!!!

I'm off to go surf for crochet patterns. Peace out.

And we're off!

2011-07-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

Hello all. Peace to you.
Today I begin a running dialog with the voices in my head. If you are peeking in to my little world, welcome. There's always room for another voice. Perhaps you will leave amused or confused, but I hope that won't chase you off permanently.