Doily fun...

Having given away a number of the doilies I've made in recent years, I'm remaking some of them. Maybe to give away again.  Or maybe to keep.

Most of the doilies I've given away have been enjoyable patterns I didn't think I'd mind crocheting again.

So this past week, I decided to make one I'd made three times before (and have given away three times).  In my Ravelry notes on the doily called Winter's Breath, I've commented consistently that it's an easy pattern. 

Perfect!

It does look easy, doesn't it?

Let me put it this way...  if you are a doily maker, I think you'd recognize this as a fairly simple doily pattern.

Except, if you're a crocheter, you might notice it has a lot of picots.  Picots are pretty, but they can be a pain.  So I was surprised that in the brief notes I recorded each time I made this pattern, I only commented that it was "easy", "nice pattern", "easy to follow", never once mentioning the picots.

And other Ravelers had made similar comments - even those who mentioned the picots.

Feeling slightly skeptical, I shrugged and thought maybe, for some reason, the picots aren't a pain in this pattern.  I plunged in.

On my fourth making of this doily, I hereby declare the picots are most definitely a pain.  And this time I noted in my personal Ravelry notes the difficulties I had.

Not only was making each of those picots a pain, on the round following the picot rounds, one has to crochet into about half of the picots made. 

Maybe I crochet more tightly these days (especially, with thread).  I don't know.   I only know it was something of a pain to create all those picots, and it was a royal pain for me this time to crochet into those little picots.  

That said, the pattern itself is fairly easy.  And quick.  So I decided to make it one more time, and where there were picots, I instead crocheted a chain-1 (to crochet into on the following round - instead of having to crochet into picots). It was definitely much quicker to make.  And it appeared to work just fine.

Whatcha think:

It's a tad less frou-frou, but it's basically the same. 

I think.

It does ruffle a bit on some of the outer scallops, but a harder blocking ought to resolve that. 

~~~~~

With my fifth Winter's Breath doily done, and wanting to make another doily from the book, 99 Little Doilies, I crocheted #90:

I think, inspired by the color, I'm calling this one, Gingham.

The above doilies were all made with Artiste #10 crochet thread in the colors, Dawn Rose, Tropical Pink, and Ice Blue.

~~~~~

And I got fun mail this week!  I am the lucky recipient of some crochet booklets Marsha @ Leftycrafter was getting rid of. 

I'm especially excited by these doily patterns:

 

I gotta say, though...  I'm a bit scared at how large these may end up being.  The designer (Elizabeth Hiddleson) liked to use size 20 and size 30 thread, which just blows my mind.  I've read that I should expect a pattern to grow 20 - 30% if I substitute size 10 thread.   

Also, there are stitches I've never made before.  Like Treble Triple, and Knot Stitch Loop. Also, the abbreviations she used may have been common in the 1960's, but I'm going to be figuring some of them out as I go.

And Elizabeth sure liked triple crochet stitches.  I'm a little concerned about those.  I'm wondering...  do you think I could substitute double crochet for the triple crochet stitches, as long as I'm consistent throughout?  

I may have to just experiment.  If I manage to complete one of these beauties (or even abbreviated versions), you'll see it here!  Thank you again, Marsha!

Granny Goes Large #2 ...

I nearly forgot today was a YOP posting day.  And I even have a finish!  

I'm happy to say I successfully stayed focused (when I had time to crochet) and finished the Granny Goes Large blanket I started last November.  While this blanket grows more slowly the bigger it gets, there is no good reason why this took so long.  To be honest, it was completely ignored for months on end. 

I'm also happy to say, Maureen @ Knitting Is So Fun, that the choice of a gold/yellow border was perfect.  Thank you for weighing in!

I love how this simple pattern makes yarn that's just otherwise hanging out in one's stash look pretty.  Is it crazy to admit I'm tempted to start making another one?  

But doilies are also still calling me.  Having recently given some as gifts, I'm itching to make some of those patterns again too!

Until, next week... May yarn tickle your fingers, and may all your (unwanted) knots come undone.

Early May gardening...

It's been a bit of a roller coaster spring weather-wise.  I could be misremembering, but it seems like it was in the 80's in late March and parts of April.  And then April ended and May came in like the beginning of autumn.  We've had lots of rain and cool weather - for which I am truly thankful.  

The garden saw a planting in early April of radishes, kohlrabi and cabbage, and so far only the cabbage seems a lost cause.  The kohlrabi isn't looking great, but it has finally sprouted through the soil, so maybe there will be a few to harvest? And then, a few weeks ago, sugar snap peas were planted, and they are looking beautiful, but haven't grown much since it cooled down again.  I do see little vines, though, so hopefully they'll soon be climbing their trellises.  If I ever planted peas before, it's been too long ago for me to remember.  They feel like an experiment.  

Last year I enlarged the garden with cardboard, and after weeding the clover that overtook that new area during the warm early spring, I decided to try growing sweet corn in that space.

I only started to doubt the wisdom of that idea after I told Greg what I'd planted (thinking he'd be excited) and he proclaimed, "The raccoons are going to enjoy it!"

So, I've decided to consider sweet corn an experiment too.  

I'm just hoping the racoons don't humiliate me by taking the stalks down to the ground and creating a mess when they discover the tasty ears of corn.

While waiting for the garden to dry out again after several rains this week, I took stock of what else is growing that has needed little attention from me up to this point...

Cherries are coming on - I imagine we'll be enjoying a cherry cobbler in a few weeks.

And the garlic I planted in the full sun amongst the strawberry plants are looking glorious:

Another view (because I can't help myself):

And today I was shocked to discover ripening strawberries - just days away from picking:

It's only the first full week of May, right?  

Unfortunately, at least one bird has discovered the strawberries too.  I guess garlic leaves waving overhead in the breeze isn't enough of a deterrent.

And this little guy (and his three siblings) interrupted my thistle pulling in the walking onion patch:

After recovering my composure (after screaming when the first bunny jumped out right at my feet), I went back to pulling weeds, and accidentally disturbed the nest:

I haven't seen the little things for a week now. They hadn't (and still haven't) disturbed my peas, so I'm wondering if they were even weaned yet.  I'm tempted to worry about them, but then I remember the rascals will be trying to eat the new green been plants that will soon be sprouting.

My neighbor, who grows flowers, hopes the bunnies survived.  As a vegetable grower, I'm ambivalent.

And that is spring here on our little near-acre plot.  I'm eager to plant more things, but the upcoming temperatures don't look like there's any reason to be in a hurry about it.

How is May coming on in your corner of the world?

Finding unexpected treasures...

Another good week in the books! We welcomed rain and cooler weather last week and for the upcoming week at least.  I've gotten some more seeds planted, but more on outside things in another post.  

A day-trip to visit out of town friends yesterday was so satisfying. They're nearly finished with several years worth of updating their beautiful old house, and I thought something akin to a house-warming gift might be appropriate.  I toted along some doilies I've made and asked my friend if she'd like any or all of them.  I was thrilled when she said she'd love them all!  And then she led me to another room where she immediately placed one on a table under a clock.  It fit the spot perfectly!  In color and in size. 

Then this afternoon, we went to the second day of our local library book sale.  The deal of the day was to take anything/everything you wanted, and simply give a donation.

I told Greg as we headed out that I would love to find some old pamphlets or magazines with thread crochet patterns.  Doilies, filet crochet...  Anything like that.  Though, to be honest, I had no great expectations of finding anything much at all on the second day of the sale.

Were we ever surprised to drive up and see every table still full of books, dvds, and more books and more dvds!  And sooo many audio books.  It made me wonder if we even own a CD player anymore...

The first thing I did, though, was walk through the whole space (which spanned half the parking lot) looking for the craft section.  About ready to give up, I decided to check the section called "Home and Garden".  THERE were the crochet books!  I flipped through, looking for thread crochet and found one that looked kind of promising (if you don't look too hard at the cover):

How that frightful looking angel made the cover, I can't imagine.

With everything for the taking for one price, I didn't even bother to look inside the book.  I trusted Annie to have something in this Favorite Thread Projects book I might like to make.  

Finally, after scouring the crochet books, and not finding much that was interesting, I decided to make my way around the huge expanse of double-wide tables lined up end to end to check out the other side of the Home and Garden section - where honestly...  I imagined even less desirable things were relegated to.

On the other side, I didn't see any crochet-related books, and was about to move on to other things when I noticed a plastic bin full of...  what, I wasn't sure.  Upon closer inspection, I saw it had some craft publications in it.  It was packed so tightly, I had to pull things out to sort through them.  I saw some pictures of doilies, that looked promising.  As I was starting to make piles on the table for different types of crafts, Greg walked up and asked what I'd found.  I was holding one thing in my hand, when I said, "I found the mother lode"!  At first he thought I meant the item in my hand, but when I explained that I meant the tote full of all kind of craft magazines and pamphlets, he suggested I just take the whole thing.

"The whole thing?  Do you think I can?  It's a lot of things!"

We went to ask at the check-out table if that would be okay.  They laughed and said, it was not only okay, but wanted to know if we wanted the tote too.  "Really?  Does that not belong to anyone?"  They then told us that two sisters had donated all those craft publications and a bunch of books because they were moving from their home into an assisted living situation.  The booksale volunteers were happy I had found what felt like a treasure to me.  I hope somehow the sisters hear how thrilled I was with their donation. 

The box was so full, I couldn't manage it, so I put some things in a bag and Greg carried what was left in the tote to the car.  And I then scoured the rest of the sale.  We found some promising books and dvds, and after nearly two hours we headed home.

Wanna see the tote?  Liz (Highlandheffalump), you might just want to turn away for a moment.  😆

This 23-inch tote holds who knows how many craft publications.  In pulling some out, I've seen quite a few crochet magazines and pamphlets, a bunch of general craft magazines, and at least one cross stitch magazine.  I'm starting a pile of publications for plastic canvas, and thought I'd ask here if these are worth donating?  I'm guessing people still do plastic canvas stitching because I see the supplies in craft stores, but I've never done it (and don't plan to start) so I just don't know.  Please weigh in on that, if you have an opinion.

I'm pretty tickled to have a stash of craft publications to look through at my leisure.  While most everything is "old", many crochet patterns can be made new again simply by using modern colors schemes.  And sometimes one finds a gem in an old book or magazine that is so old it is new again.  Honestly, I would have loved to have found even older items, but this will be fun. I plan to take my time going through it all, but I'll try to remember to make note if I make anything from this treasure trove.

In terms of actual handcrafting I've done this past week, I finished a doily I've made before (in fact, one of the doilies I gave my friend yesterday was a version I had previously made in a solid color):

I wasn't too sure about this as I crocheted it, but blocked, I kind of like this two-toned version of "Dawnglow" done in Salmon and Ivory Peach.  Funny thing, though...  When I blocked it, I wanted to alternate making the scallops pointed and rounded. I had it all pinned out and I got to the last scallop and realized it wasn't going to alternate correctly. I studied the doily, counting the scallops, and compared it to the original and only then did I realize I finished this with one too few scallops.  Somewhere near the center I had goofed, but as hard as I tried, I could not figure out where the mistake happened. 

Truth be told, I'm glad I didn't realize the mistake before it was too late to correct it.  I had previously ripped out and redone the pineapple section of this doily because I didn't like the way I changed colors the first time.  If I had discovered that I didn't make the correct number of sections/scallops before sewing in all the thread ends, I would have been so disheartened.  And tempted to rip it all out and start all over again.  And what a needless thing that would have been.  As is, I have a nicely finished doily, and maybe...  maybe I'll make it again in another color being sure it ends with twelve sections so I can do a pretty alternate points and scallops blocking.  

~~~~~

And with this wonderful cooler weather I decided to try to finish the Granny Goes Large I started last autumn.  If I focus, I might be able to finish it this week.  

As I near the end, I'm trying to decide if I should do a border in yellow/gold or in a medium tan/brown/cinnamon color called tobacco. Opinions?

Doilies could use a new name...

Actually, I think doilies need a complete rebranding.  I like to think I'm contributing to that end, but it seems many remain confused that doilies are still a thing.  I think it's safe to say they're not the same thing as doilies of the past.  Doilies today can be made in the most beautiful colors.  And tucked into places that (I think) should delight the eyes of those lucky enough to discover them.  

Yes...  like their forerunners, today's doilies may end up in thrift stores and flea markets eventually, but I am confident that some creative souls will swoop them up and find new ways to use them, or upcycle them.

So I continue to contribute toward that possibility!

From the book, 99 Little Doilies, I completed Doily #47:

Or Cobblestone Patio

And here is Peony Doily that I showed a peek of last week:

I took inspiration from a crocheter on Ravelry for my colors, but here's a link for fellow Ravelry members to the original doily.  Made in one color, it's nearly unrecognizable from mine.

~~~~~

Just a few of the beautiful colored cotton threads I own - make me itch to stitch up at least a few more before the fascination wanes (temporarily) again.

Enter at your own risk...

Somehow I pulled myself away from making colorful dishcloths long enough to run some crochet thread through my fingers and start dreaming of making doilies or something filet crochet.  The earlier spell was broken, only to be replaced by another, I'm thinking.  Even though I love it, I don't fully understand the draw of thread crochet, but it seems to coincide with the temperatures rising and it being too warm to sit and crochet a heavy blanket (which I have waiting in a basket to be finished).  Pulling out some pretty colors of crochet thread, I began looking through patterns and finally decided on making at least one spring-colored doily.  

It's nearly finished, so I imagine I'll have it (and possibly others) blocked and ready to show by next week.

The weather here is all over the place, and so it seems is my focus and attention.  Eighty degree days last week, and now we have a nice little stretch of cooler weather.  There's even a chance of a freeze tonight, Hub just told me.  A couple of weeks ago I planted some cool-weather vegetable seeds in the garden, but I suspect it's going to warm up to the point here quickly where those may not do so well.  A week ago, I planted some tomato and pepper seeds directly into the ground as an experiment.  Normally I would shop for these plants to transplant into my garden, but if I'm in no hurry, I don't see why those things shouldn't grow and produce before the end of summer.  We'll see.  If things don't look promising soon, I can always buy some small plants come May...

On another end of things, I've gotten myself into the predicament that too many crafty ideas are calling me.  It starts out as pleasurably thinking about such things until I suddenly have a nagging list of things I want to do.  Crochet, knitting, sewing, quilting, embroidery, paper crafts...

I don't know when I thought I'd ever get around to the 30-Day Sketchbook Project (book) I gave myself for Christmas!

It doesn't help that the rest of the garden is calling, and I have visions of summer squash and green beans dancing in my head.  And weeds are proliferating everywhere.  And strawberries will surely be producing within a few weeks. Though, if it frosts tonight, the strawberry blossoms may get toasted.  That doesn't feel like an entirely bad thing right now.

And then there are things literally piling up.  In the office I'm sitting in, stacks of various themes are nagging me to deal with them.

And I'm remembering right at this moment I need to get my hair cut...

Sigh.

This will pass, I know.  I need to take one thing at a time, and it will all eventually get done.  Or not.  And if not, there'll be another season to tackle these things.

Except, I really should get my hair cut.

And, by the way... I turned a year older on Saturday.  That could also have something to do with feeling tugged in too many directions.  It was a good, slow day spent with family.  We celebrated three different April birthdays.  Oldest son's (37) mine (67), and Hub's (72).  We enjoyed lunch at a Peruvian sandwich spot, then back to two sons' apartment where we opened gifts, and learned a new game (which was one of my gifts).

And today I woke up feeling like the year is speeding by again. I want to slow things down so badly.  Then as I'm driving to church, hubs having left earlier, sends me a text that our dear elderly friend, Jack, had spent yesterday in the hospital, and would I be able to go and keep him company for a few hours? Of course!  

Turning the car around, I went back home first to get some food items to possibly coax Jack to eat something. He has not been eating much at all lately - even before this.

At Jack's house, I put the food items in the fridge and we sat and talked for a bit.  It probably helped that I could say I hadn't eaten when I asked if he was hungry, and would he like some food. I was happily surprised he said yes.  Minutes later we were eating ham and eggs, and then a jello and yogurt "treat" I'd made a couple of days ago - I think Jack ate more food in that one setting than he's eaten most days in months.  

Precious time spent with Jack, who's 95, soon to be 96, helps to put everything in perspective.  Having just had a birthday, I don't imagine I'll make to 90, let alone 95.  Our days on earth are short. Our relationships precious.  And I enjoy slow, solitary hobbies. Meshing all of that can make for desperate feelings sometimes of getting everything in that I love.

Oddly, I think that's one of the benefits of crochet and knitting (actually all my hobbies).  When I give in to the pull, these handcrafts cause me to just sit and do a thing that can only be done so fast.  Thread crochet is particularly slow, and I think it helps somehow to settle my sense of desperation of time whizzing by.  Even though I'm aware of time disappearing as I'm doing something fairly frivolous.

And on it goes.  

Do you get into these uncomfortable states of mind - where the busy and good needs of life conflict with the pull of slowly creating things?  They feel like polar opposite values to me, and yet, they are both very much part of who I am.

Are you sorry you popped in here today to be taken on the merry-go-round that is my mind at the moment?

I can't seem to stop...

After discovering the moss-stitch granny square pattern for making dishcloths, I've been a bit obsessed with making them.

Last week, I admitted to my perfectionistic tendency of going to the effort to make the colors go round and round in an attractive order, instead of just letting the colors land (and worse, pool) where they may when using variegated or striped yarn.  Which meant a lot of snipping and magic-knotting to make that happen.  

Why, I asked myself, am I not diving into all my colorful scraps of cotton yarn for this?  

So, I did!  

And I fell even more in love with making these crazy cloths.

So much so, that for the last two weeks, I've completely abandoned any other creative endeavor.  

I don't imagine my readers will be as endlessly amused with these cloths as long as I may be amused making them, so this might (maybe...  I don't know...) be the last post where I show these.

Okay, maybe not...

Here, again, is the tutorial I used for the first one:

After making one (maybe two) cloths, the tutorial will be unnecessary.  In fact, the stitch marker suggested at the beginning is unnecessary in my opinion, but someone may find it helpful.  The only thing I think she doesn't address is the magic knot.  I just magic knot right at the spot where one round ends and the other begins.  Perfection isn't required here.

Here are two short videos demonstrating the magic knot:

The way I do it:

If you, say... like to wear a belt with your suspenders, you may be more comfortable with this way:

I have found that in picking out my color combinations, starting with a variegated yarn that has some white in it, works well.  I think the pops of white keeps these lighthearted.  Then just pull together five or so colors that play well with each other. Crochet them up in any order, or be very deliberate in your color placement.  It doesn't seem to matter.

I suppose it's possible that one day I'll make one that I dislike, but so far...  not a single one is a loser.

Last week, and this, I am sure is just the beginning:

These can be made any size. I happen to like my dishcloths on the small size (6 1/2 - 7 inches square) because they stretch out when wet (though these stretch much less than knitted cloths).  I'll come back and edit this if my preference changes after washing some of these several times.

Hopefully soon, I'll be showing other crafty things again, but I'm pretty sure these cloths will remain a relaxing fun project that continues in the background.  

Yep.  I could be at this for a while...

Beef Stew...

For some reason, while soups and stews strike me as winter fare, I rarely make them in the winter, but often find myself making several different soups in the spring, and even summer.  And Beef Stew is no exception.  Having recently made it, I decided I needed to put the recipe here so I don't lose it.  

Last week I was taking a meal to someone recovering from hand surgery and stew seemed an obvious choice since she would be temporarily one-handed.  Then I found out that this person was on a no-added-salt diet.  Eeek.

I was a little worried about how to make this stew tasty without salt.  But the recipient was thrilled with the idea of beef stew, and since I was able to find no-salt beef broth (which was actually low-salt, but the recipient said it was okay) I figured Beef Stew was probably the easiest of recipes to adapt in this way.  I bravely plunged ahead.  

The written recipe below is made the way we enjoy it, but below the recipe, I've written any adaptations (both to the original recipe I have used as a template, and to my version). 

Truthfully, I don't measure much, but simply add things to taste.  I also tend to make my batches of soup larger by adding more of the ingredients, and for that reason, the measurements listed in the recipe seem pretty sparse to me.  So...  either follow the written recipe exactly, and you can always add more seasonings, or just consider the measurements below (that were pulled  from the original recipe) as suggestions.  Just know, if you cook like me, you may find yourself wanting more or less of anything.  If you cook like me, you're probably already planning how you will tweak the recipe.

Beef Stew

2 lbs stewing meat (I never measure, but these days I just put in as much meat as I can justify spending money on.  Truthfully, I'm sure I've always used at least 2 lbs of cut-up chuck steak, or stew meat.  Beef is the point, afterall.)

1-3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (I used freshly ground pepper)

3 Tbs olive oil (or avocado oil)

1 onion chopped

At least 6 cups beef broth (I usually use two complete containers of beef broth, so that's typically 8 cups.  Save back 1 cup for the thickening step.)

1 lb of potatoes, peeled and cut into largish chunks

4 carrots (I probably use 6) cut into chunky pieces

1 tsp dried rosemary  (if you're fancy, use a fresh sprig - I assume you fish it out later?)

2 Tbs cornstarch

3/4 cup peas (or half of a small frozen package)

Lastly, I tend to drop in a beef bouillon cube at some point.  (Taste before you do this, though.)

Heat oil in a pan or pot and cook beef and onions until browned (I add onions and minced garlic toward the end of browning the beef - you don't want these to burn). That said, be sure to get some browning on the beef and pan/pot - this will add flavor.  And if you burn some onions, I'm sure it will be okay.  I have, and it is.

If transferring beef to a large pot, add beef, and all but 1 cup of beef broth.  If using a pan to cook the beef, onions and garlic, use some broth at this point to deglaze the browned bits in the pan and add this to larger pot.  This is tasty stuff.

To the larger pot, add the salt, pepper and rosemary. 

Reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for at least an hour - until the beef begins to be tender.  Stir often.

When close to an hour of simmering, I sauté the carrots in some butter or olive oil.  I'm convinced this adds to their flavor.  

When I figure I have 20-30 minutes more of simmering time, I add the potatoes and carrots to the pot and continue simmering until the vegetables are soft-ish.  Not too soft.

After the carrots and potatoes are suitably soft, it's time to thicken the stew.  Turn up the heat to a low boil. Working with 1/4-1/2 cup of the saved-back beef broth, add 1 Tbs of cornstarch to broth, stir until smooth, then add to the slightly boiling pot.   If this doesn't thicken the stew enough, do this again with the remainder of the beef broth, otherwise, simply add the remainder of the beef broth to the pot.

Shortly before serving, add the frozen peas.  I didn't have peas the last time I made this, and found it was fine without them.

Serve with a salad (if you like) and a warm roll or some crusty bread (a must - unless poor you is going bread-less). Actually, I've cut way back on bread, and all kinds of refined carbs, but I make exceptions for something like this.  You do you.

~~~~

This section is a combination of adaptations to the original recipe, and adaptations for making this a low-salt stew:

First of all, I skip the traditional dredging of beef cubes with flour before browning.  While this can add to the flavor and thickness of the stew, I first left it out when making this for someone who is gluten-free. It was then I happily realized this is an unnecessary step for creating a perfectly good beef stew.

Skip the salt

If skipping salt, try adding more rosemary for more depth of flavor.  I added quite a bit more on the no-salt version.  Taste test, though.  Rosemary isn't a shy herb.  

I prefer using fresh minced garlic, but will sprinkle in some dried ground garlic later if the stew needs more.  Because I don't measure much, and I often use more broth than called for (because I typically use more of all the solid ingredients than called for), I often end up adding seasonings at some point and taste-testing it.  And as mentioned in the ingredient list, I'm also not above dropping in a beef bouillon cube to boost the flavor.

Other things I do not use in this recipe:

celery

wine

tomato paste 

and rarely, do I add water.  If more liquid is needed, I typically use more beef broth.  That said, if it just needs a cup of liquid, and I don't want to open a new container of broth, I'd use water.

If making this for someone who is on a low-salt diet, there are some low salt beef broths available.  I will not kid you...  they are expensive, but they are available, and will make this stew edible by pretty much anyone.  If anyone knows of other no-salt flavorings that would go with beef stew, I'm open to hearing about them. Especially, if they aren't expensive.  While I was okay with the flavor of the no-salt version I made, I much prefer this with salt.  The gal I made it for, said it was good, her taste buds being trained to less salt.

While it's an easy recipe, Beef Stew isn't exactly a quick meal.  When I plan to make it, I almost always do some prep the day before cooking it.  This last time, I actually browned the beef and froze it in a large baggy almost a week before.  But typically, I will brown the beef, and/or cut up the carrots and onions the day before assembling this recipe. 

I think I've exhausted my tips, suggestions, additions and subtractions.

If you make this, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

A fairly productive week...

Last week went fast!  Busy with productive things and socializing, but still plenty of time to craft. That's a pretty perfect week in my estimation.

The strawberry plants finally got uncovered, and the garlic I planted amongst the strawberries last fall appears to be thriving.  

I'm thinking some garlic cloves must have not sprouted, though, as I only have about 50 plants (between the strawberry bed and another small spot in which I planted about half as many as above).  For some reason, I thought I planted around 90 cloves.  Or maybe I'm dreaming that.  To be completely honest, I don't get great sleep, and I've been having a lot a weird dreams lately...

I've dreamt weirder things than planting 90 cloves of garlic, that's for sure!

~~~~

And look at what bloomed this weekend!

The amaryllis my neighbor gave me last Easter, I brought out of the garage into the sunroom in February to bring it out of dormancy.  It was so top-heavy, I scrambled to find something to hold it up before it toppled right over.

We crafty folks are resourceful.  

To the non yarn-crafty reading this, that is a 

knitting needle serving as a stake.

~~~~

A friend and I got together for a couple of hours one afternoon and mod-podged spring/Easter eggs - using flower designs cut from pretty tissue paper. 

It was messy, and I'm not sure I ever want to do it again, but  the finished eggs are kind of cute:

The eggs were inexpensive ones from Hobby Lobby, and are probably even more deeply discounted this week - in case anyone reading is inspired to do this. The eggs I bought are made of a ping-pong-ball material, packaged in a half-an-egg crate.  

If my friend wants to get together one more time to finish the job, I'll decorate the last three of my dozen...  Otherwise, those will be donated to a thrift shop and I'll be happy to call this done.  I've concluded I'm better at mod-podging flatter objects.

~~~~

At some point, these Tunisian-stitched hotpads were finished.  Made with a sturdy cotton yarn, they are a decent thickness for hotpads:

The one below (crocheted with a softer cotton yarn) is a little flimsier, so it will likely become a washcloth:

I like these a lot.  And they are not the least bit hard to make, but my arthritic thumbs grew pretty weary holding the long Tunisian hook in one hand, and the cloth in the other.  I think I'm done doing Tunisian crochet with cotton yarn.  

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And lastly, having recently enjoyed making some dishcloths using the moss stitch (aka linen stitch), I gave making moss stitch granny square cloths a go, and I am a little bit in love.  These fast projects made with colorful yarns are fun to make, and hopefully will be fun to use:

The orange one on the left was made with a sturdy kitchen cotton (like Sugar n' Cream or Peaches & Cream). The others are made using Hobby Lobby's I Love This Cotton Yarn in various prints.  This soft cotton yarn makes super drapey cloths, and the cotton "prints" work well in this stitch pattern.  

Though, the perfectionist in me did finagle a bit to get the colors to go 'round and 'round in a pleasing way, instead of congregating on one side, as they tend to do if you change directions each round.  Changing directions with each round keeps the squares from skewing.  To overcome the colors' tendency to pool when doing this, I did a lot of snipping and magic-knotting. In fact, I'm something of a pro at this now.  I've never before trusted the magic knot, but I figured dishcloths that will get abused and washed many times will be a great test of its reliability.

The video tutorial below is, by far, the best one I have found for making these:

I hope those of you who observe and celebrate have had a meaningful Lent and Easter!