I Think There’s Something Wrong With The Pattern!? 😳

Hello my lovely friends 💕

About two weeks ago I ordered yarn recommended for beautiful wrap I found in a pattern book. You might remember…well, probably not, since you have a life outside of my blog 😜

So I ordered the yarn, waited around patiently. Last Friday it finally came, and since a Friday night is made for exciting things 😁 I sat down and started crocheting a ‘Lacy Wrap’.

I was almost done when the crochet hook slipped out of my hand – yep, I fell asleep, woke up hunched over, inches away from the wrap. I could’ve put my eye out 😆

I finished it the next day…and that’s when I got suspicious – I think there’s something wrong with the pattern. Take a look…

This is the picture in the book

Here is my wrap…

I followed the pattern faithfully, the finished wrap is the size stated on the pattern…but, is it just me or does it look like the book-version is about twice the size? 🧐

I’m very sure that I’ll have to play with the pattern for the next wrap.

I have about 3/4 of the second skein left. So making it bigger won’t be a problem. Still annoying, don’t you think? Do you find that a lot of patterns are not quite right? Or do I just have bad luck when it comes to ‘pattern picking’? 😋

Alright…that’s all for now 😊 Time to play with hook and yarn!

I hope you have a fabulous Saturday night! I’ll be back tomorrow for the ‘ Fantastic Bake-Along’ with Scones! Yummy! 😃 I hope you can join me!

Until then 💕

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Sunshine, Flowers, and a Tiny Spider 🌞

Hello my lovely friends 💕

Summer Sunday Afternoon 😍 Are you relaxing with a book, a project, or are you just enjoying the lazy hours this time of the week brings? 😊

For me it’s a combination of all three. 😎

Before I settled in, I walked around our flowery garden, and snapped some pretty pictures.

As I’m sorting through the photos I realize I should have paid better attention to the little labels in my flower pots upon purchase. 😕 I know some names of the more popular plants…but others escape me. So you’re not gonna learn anything today 😉 just enjoy!

The first thing I noticed when I stepped outside was a little spider busily running back and forth, weaving a beautiful web. It was not easy capturing the web…but I got some pretty sunshine-y pictures while trying 🌞

And then I got it…see her in the bottom right corner? 🕸

The Wisteria is on her second bloom this year 😍

I can’t get enough of the Hydrangea 💕

Snapdragons have always been one of my favorites 😊

I love to pinch their little cheeks 😆

The ‘Rose of Sharon’ bushes are just now starting to bloom

So is the Hibiscus

Here are some ‘what were they called again?’ 😁

Just as I turned to go inside I glanced at the little field of clover, and decided to give them a spot in the limelight 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this little trip into my world 😍

I’m wishing you a fabulous Sunday afternoon! 💕

WIPs and A New Stitch 🤓

Hello my lovely friends 💕 I hope this finds you well and happy! 😊

Over here we’re experiencing ‘August in June’ 🌞🌞🌞 It’s hot…blazing hot! And to make matters worse, the humidity is at like 80%! Ugh 😑

So the last thing anyone wants to think about is…scarves! 😁

That was until a friend of mine got this awesome book called ‘Lacy Wraps’ *

It has some wonderful patterns inside. I picked 2, and got right to it.

Since it’s a paid pattern I’m fairly certain that I can’t share it here 😬 But… I learned a new stitch, and that I can tell you more about. 😉

In all my years of crocheting I’ve never even heard of the ‘Linked Double Crochet’ stitch (ldc). And it seems like I really missed out. It’s well on it’s way to become my favorite stitch! 😍 It creates a wonderful texture, with the height of a double crochet, but without the holes. And it’s pretty simple to stitch. Sounds awesome, right?! 😁

Let me show you…

You start with 3 chain.

Insert your hook into the 2nd chain (right to left – my arrow is backwards 🤦🏻‍♀️ Sorry)

Yarn over, pull through.

**Insert your hook into the vertical bar (marked in green) right to left, yarn over, pull through.

Now you’ve linked your stitch to the starting chain.

You have 3 loops on your hook. Yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through the remaining 2 loops.

Repeat from ** to the end of the row.

You do want to see that line running through the middle of the stitch!

Isn’t it pretty? 🙂

Here is the first ‘Lacy Wrap’ – it incorporates the ldc stitch quite nicely

Next on the list is the wrap from the book’s title page. I absolutely love that one. I ordered the yarn in three different colorways… I can hardly wait to hold it! 😆

So while the yarn is ‘turtleing’ 🐢 it’s way here I’m keeping busy with an Owl Wallhanging – I don’t think I’ve shown you this one yet

I’m very happy with it…it just needs one more stabilizing bamboo rod on the right. I’m hoping it’ll keep it from getting longer and longer 😉 The mandala is already more like an oval than a circle. I better hurry!

When sitting under the Owl got too warm, I did a few rows on my ‘ Stashbuster Sweater’. That one is coming along…

The Grannies are going to be part of the sleeves. Another puzzle…that’s what I dooo 😋

I lost a few hours of my day after I glanced at my yarn basket

No, I didn’t pass out 😉 I decided I needed to detangle and put my winder to good use. See, I had just reached down for the next color, and never really paid attention to the thing by my feet. 😁

But it’s all nice and neat now…probably not for long…so I’ll enjoy it while I can. 🤓

That’s all for today. Keep your fingers crossed that my new yarn shows up today! It’s been in the are since Tuesday – so hopefully today’s the day! 😃

Until next time 💕 Take good care of yourself 😍

* I’m not affiliated with any companies/products mentioned here.

A Fabulous Workshop 🙂

Hello my lovely friends 💕 I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful weekend doing the things you love! 😍

Today I’d like to tell you about the workshop my friend Michele and I hosted…emmm 3 weeks ago…I can’t believe it’s been that long already! 😳

Long story short – we had a lot of fun! 😃

Ha…just kidding – I will tell you a little more. 😊

Two days prior Michele and I met for a ‘working lunch’ to make sure we didn’t miss anything.

And then the day was here! Off to Weston – with wobbly knees and a pounding heart (I was a bit nervous 😜) But Michele has a very calming presence, so things got better as soon as I got there. 😍

Three lovely ladies came for a day of crochet…and crochet we did. For 5 hours!

Sprinkled with stories about past projects, Grandma’s needlework, travels, and whatever else came to mind, and laughter the time just flew by.

We met at ‘ Florilegium’, a wonderful Yarn/Fiber Art store in Weston, MO

The lovely owner generously opened the doors of her beautiful ‘Creative Cottage’ to us

Isn’t it lovely? Thank you, Gretchen! 🙂

We had a Crochet Expert, an advanced crocheter, and a beginner. The perfect mix!

3 projects were on the agenda – the ‘Chilly Cowl’, a Granny Square dishcloth, and a flower.

Amy’s goal was to finish all 3 projects…and she did! 😃

Here she is showing off her Chilly Cowl

Julie made a lovely Cowl

…and almost finished her flower. But she had a pattern sheet, so she finished it at home no problem! 😊

Mary didn’t like working with the cotton yarn, so she picked a gorgeous skein of Malabrigo wool (my personal favorite 😍) and started a winter cowl…never too early for that. Let’s hope she doesn’t run out of patience before she finishes! That’s easily done when you first start out with hook and yarn.

So everyone had a great time, and we all agreed that we’re definitely doing this again!

Music to my ears. ☺️

Michele and I are busy planning the next project. Rest assured – you will hear about it when we know more! 😆

Now go run, have a fabulous weekend! 😎

Until next time 💕

Be Cool 😎 A Summertime Chilly~Cowl Pattern

Hello my lovely friends 💕

Well, Summer is here, there’s no doubt about it! The forecast shows more 90s across the board. So we’re thinking up all kinds of ways to stay cool…one of them is this ‘Chilly Cowl’. 😊

It’s made of ‘Kitchen Cotton’, and works up real quick.

The idea is to soak it in (really!) cold water, put it on and stay cool while gardening, biking, walking, hiking, etc.

Here are some I made…

Hubby claimed the skinny navy/pink one when he mowed last week, and is a fan! 😃

He said it made a world of difference.

Now I don’t wanna waste any more of your time I’ll give you the pattern real quick so you too can be cool during your outside-time. 😎

For the skinny cowl you’ll need:

Home Cotton (Sugar ‘n Cream* for example) – appr. 50-g (100yards)

Hook: H (5mm) or I (5.5mm) or J (5.75mm)

Stitches:

Chain (ch), single crochet (sc), half-double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc),

V-stitch: (dc, ch, dc) in designated stitch

Pattern:

Ch 95.

Turn.

Row 1:

Hdc in 3rd ch from hook (first ‘stitch’)

Hdc across length of chain.

Join with a slipstitch to 2nd ch of first ‘stitch’ (be careful not to twist)

Row 2:

Ch 4, 1 dc in base of ch4.

*Skip 2 stitches. 1dc, 1ch, 1dc in 3rd stitch.

Repeat from * all around.

With 2ch left, slipstitch to 3rd ch on 1st stitch.

Row 3:

Ch4, 1dc in base of ch4.

*1dc, 1ch, 1dc in space between 2 ‘Vs’ of previous row.

Continue from * in round.

Row 4 (and following to desired width)

Repeat Row 3

When you reach your desired width work 2 finishing rows as follows:

Ch2, hdc (ch1) of first ‘V’. *Hdc in next 2 stitches, hdc in (ch1) of next ‘V’. Repeat from * all around.

Slipstitch to 2nd ch of first ‘stitch’.

Ch1, sc in every stitch around.

Slipstitch to join. Fasten off.

And you’re done! 💃🏻

I hope this pattern is easy to follow! If you have any questions, please let me know! 😊

This Cowl was one of the projects at our recent workshop

The ladies loved it and didn’t hesitate to model 😍

I sure hope you will show off your cowls, and let me know if it works for you! 😊

Take good care of yourself! Stay cool 😎

Your ~ Weekend ~ Chuckle 😎

Hello my lovely friends 💕

I hope you’re enjoying a fabulous weekend! 😁

The sun is out, temperatures are climbing into the ‘sticky’ range…and with that come the pesky mosquitoes. Ugh! But don’t fret – here’s an easy-peasy way to get rid of them 😉

🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺🌼🌹🌼🌺

They are!!! 😆

🍄🌸🌞🌸🍄🌸🌞🍄🌞🌸🍄🌸🌞🍄🌞🌸🍄🌸🌞🍄🌞🌸🍄🌸🌞🍄🌞🌸🍄

Hehehe 😂

🌈🦄✨🦄🌈✨🌈🦄✨🦄🌈✨🌈✨🦄✨🦄🌈🦄✨🌈✨🦄🌈🦄✨🌈✨🦄🌈

Sorry 😂

Maybe I better get out of the sun 😜

Plus, my screen jumped to this…

I swear this app hates me!

Any idea on how to fix this? I already tried turning it off/on … that didn’t help!

Well…I will play with it – maybe it’ll disappear as fast as it appeared. Wish me luck!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 💕

Happy Birthday, June Babies 🌹🌹🌹

Hello my lovely friends 💕

I wanna be among the first ones to wish you a ‘Happy Birthday’! 😍🎉🍾🥂🌹

There are nothing but good things to say about ‘June Babies’

There…didn’t I tell ya? 😁

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The beautiful rose is the flower of the month of June!

I found this lovely tale on holidappy.com 😊

One of June’s flowers is the rose. According to Greek mythology, the rose was created by Chloris, the goddess of flowers. One day, Chloris found the lifeless body of a nymph in the woods and turned her body into a flower. She called upon Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Dionysus, the god of wine. Aphrodite gave the new flower a gift of beauty and Dionysus added nectar, for sweet fragrance. Zephyrus, god of the west wind, blew the clouds away so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and make the flower bloom. That is how the rose was created and crowned the “Queen of Flowers”.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

You are in fabulous company 😃

Marilyn Monroe 🌼 Anderson Cooper 🌼 Paul McCartney 🌼 Barry Manilow 🌼

Meryl Streep 🌼 Mel Brooks 🌼

Pretty impressive bunch, wouldn’t you say? 😊

Now go and have a great time! 🎉 Gather everyone near and dear to your heart, and celebrate the wonderful, lovely, brilliant YOU! 😍

I wish you the very best …and cake! Can’t forget the cake! 🎂

I’m sending Love 💕 Smiles 🙂 and Hugs 🤗 your way!

Cheers! 🥂🍾