Pink Paper Peppermints ♥ Life is Sweet ♥

crochet makes me happy -- this week's crochet square -- peach rose

 

So this week I worked on the Peach Rose square from Jan Eaton's Book, "200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets Throws and Afghans" * (last week was the chocolate box)  and I really like the lacy feel of it.

So far the chocolate box is my favorite though.

I have to tell you that giving myself the assignment of one block a week has been so fun.  I actually *make* myself sit down and take the time to crochet and it's nice. :)

I have already started on next weeks' block, a pretty, puffy popcorn stitch flower..in pink!

Can't wait to show you!

 

What are you working on this week?

 

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~

 

*P.S. I'm experimenting with the amazon associate program so the link to Jan's book is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on it and buy it (which you *totally* should cause it's wonderful) I will get a little blessing in my amazon account.  I see this as a win-win. You get an awesome book, highly recommended by a friend, and said friend (me) gets to buy more goodies to recommend to you without ruining her budget and making her hubby sad.

See?  win-win.

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"She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing." -Proverbs 31:13 (msg)

crochet makes me happy

My mom gave me a copy of the awesome book "200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets Throws and Afghans" * by Jan Eaton for Christmas.  I have just started working though the book and practicing the squares and it is sooooo fun!

I love how she has color suggestions with each square and the directions are really clear and concise so I don't get confused as I'm going along.

This one is called Chocolate Box. ♥   

I'm really enjoying the color gray mixed with bright colors lately, so I used that in place of her brown.  Next I want to try it with some pastels.  I like this square so much, I don't know if I'll be able to move on to another square!

 

What have you been making this week?

 

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~

 

*P.S. I'm experimenting with the amazon associate program so the link to Jan's book is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on it and buy it (which you *totally* should cause it's wonderful) I will get a little blessing in my amazon account.  I see this as a win-win. You get an awesome book, highly recommended by a friend, and said friend (me) gets to buy more goodies to recommend to you without ruining her budget and making her hubby sad.

See?  win-win.

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"She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing." -Proverbs 31:13 (msg)

Crochet Bunnies and Chicken Scratch Embroidery Eggs

Thank you all for the warm welcome back here and in emails.  You guys are the best. :)

Here are some more Eastery things I've been working on as promised.

First my little crochet bunny egg.  He came out pretty cute, but I'm not crazy about how I embroidered his face.  He looks kinda mad, don't you think? 

I think I might pull it out and do it again.  I do love his little ears though. 

 

I found the pattern here at Lindamade.  She is just full of all kinds of crafty and crochet-y things.  She also has a pattern there for little chick eggs and plain ol' Easter eggs. 

These work up really fast (although  you will get a cramp in your wrist if you try to sit and crochet for an hour without stopping.  Just sayin'.).  I'm planning to do a few more for my nephew & niece.

Next I've been working on some fabric eggs.  I saw some at the quilt show recently that were so pretty so I wanted to try my own version.  

As a novice sewer I'm really having trouble sewing the curvy seams.  They are coming out kind of wonky and with little bumps in them.  Any advice on that from you experienced seamstresses?

 

The other thing I've been trying on my Easter eggs is a form of embroidery called Chicken Scratch.  It is done on gingham and comes out looking like lace.  You've probably seen it on vintage aprons like these. 

It's really fun once you get the hang of it and lace and gingham are two of my favorite things so I just loved working on these.  At first you don't see it, but as you're stitching the lace just appears like magic!

I learned the basic stitches by muddling through this article but it's a little confusing and hard to understand especially for me as I am a pretty visual learner, so I thought I would try my hand at a tutorial for you this week.  I'll also include the template for my Easter eggs so you can sew up some of your own!

(oh come on, you have plenty of time it's a whole week and a half before Easter!)

See you soon with the tutorial.  Hope you're having a lovely spring week!

♥Melissa

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"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  -I Corinthians 5:7

hello friends

It's a lovely spring day and Teen-O is at grandma's for spring break, Little-O is with daddy at work and I am sitting in a quiet house, (I could not spell quiet for the life of me.  Took me three tries. Must be my unfamiliarity with the word...heh-heh) so I thought it would be a good time to get back here and catch up with you all.

I must admit the last few months have been...well...difficult.  But there have also been some wonderful moments.  All-in-all the Lord has been faithful and kind and I am stronger than I was and maybe a bit more humble.  It's interesting what challenging circumstances will do to your perspective if you let them.

I want to thank all of you, so much, who wrote and asked about me and prayed for me and encouraged me without knowing the details of what was happening.

It's humbling and comforting to receive such kindness from those you've never met in person.  I wish I could bring you each a batch of chocolate chip cookies and give you a big hug.

I hope you'll understand that I don't feel comfortable sharing the details here, but I would be so grateful if you continued to lift me up in prayer when you think of it.

Now that things are starting to slip back into a routine, I've been crafting right along and have lots of fun things to share with you. I am really looking forward to visiting your blogs and twittering away and just generally wasting too much time on the computer again....heh-heh.  

I've mostly been crocheting lots of little things.  It is such a nice craft because you can pick it up and take it with you anywhere.  There are so many free patterns online that I don't think I'll ever run out of things to crochet.

This is my most recent project.

 
A spring garland, banner, bunting type of thing made from round crochet granny circles.  I found the pattern here at the Royal Sisters blog and just fell in love with it. 

I already have quite the crush on granny squares...so now...granny circles?! Love!  Be sure and visit the blog with some time on your hands because you'll find lots of other wonderful crochet patterns there as well, and wonderful pictorial tutorials too! (I like pictorial tutorials...even the words sound nice).

I just folded the circles in half over some bakery twine to make my garland. (I had to take a little stitch in the bottom so the circles would stay folded in half.)  I really love it.  I made some extras to use as coasters too, they work up really quickly.  Now I'm trying to think of what else I can do with them.

I'm working on some bunny eggs that I will share with you next. 

I hear the pitter-patter of  Little-O feet so I think my quiet time is over.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Thank you again for your kindness.

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~

PS The scripture above is a high res graphic that I made into a little poster to encourage myself.  Feel free to click and print the larger version and hang it on your fridge if you need some encouragement too. :)

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"...but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us..."
-Romans 5:3&4

five happy things

ONE

My sweet husband just brought me orange juice in a pink glass. 

orange and pink, sweet husband, healthy drink.  happy.

TWO

I just took a photo of my pink glass of orange juice with my cell phone, sent it to twitpic and uploaded it here, all without getting out of my seat. 

happy.  (although my rear could use more getting out of my seat, not less..heh-heh)

THREE

I am finally getting back into the swing of things after a long, lovely summer. 

routine, cooler weather, school with my boys. happy.

 

FOUR

I discovered the 5 Minutes for Mom community.  

moms, blogs, chatting, twittering, sharing, laughing, praying. happy.

FIVE

I'm crocheting pink and orange granny squares.

crochet, pink, orange, granny squares. happy.

 

Five happy things.  Hope you have some happy things today.

Peace and Grace,

♥ Melissa~

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"Day and night I'll stick with God.  I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go.  I'm happy from the inside out-- and from the outside in, I'm firmly formed."

-Psalm 16:8-9 (msg)

summer crochet & such

Well hello there.  I thought I'd pull the dust covers off the furniture and open up some windows here and say hi again.  How are you all?

I've been busy, busy with wrapping up school, church activities, learning new craftiness and all sorts of fun things.

You may remember me learning to crochet awhile back. I'm completely head over heels for it now.  I want to crochet *everything*. 

I found a blog by a lovely lady named Lucy called Attic 24 that is just the most fun, eye-tingling, inspirational place you can imagine. 

The colors she chooses for her pretty crochet-y things are fabulous and she has lots of *free* patterns and tutorials!  She has such a fantastic way of explaining how to do the stitches that I feel like I can tackle the most complicated pattern now! 

I'm in the middle of finishing several of her patterns right now. The most wonderful, amazing, colorful, yarny bag (I'm not quite finished with it yet, but you can see it in the background below) and flowers and flowers and a little granny square pillow!!  It's crafty heaven, I tell you, working with all these beautiful, bright colors!

 

 

 

 

If you've never tried to crochet you have to pop over to Lucy's blog and read through her instructions you won't believe how easy (and addicting) it is once you get going!

Well, I'm busy packing for our summer trip to Wisconsin and looking forward to lots of summery, lake-y, road trip-y fun.  {I'm especially looking forward to another visit to the amazing Red Lead paper art store!)

I need to load up the ipod with lots of crafty podcasts and some good faith-building ones too as it's a long two-day drive up.  Any suggestions of favorite podcasts??  I'd love to find some new ones to listen to.

O-man & Little-O in Wisconsin last summer.

These last few months have been very busy and at times quite trying and I really need the rest.  Some time away to think and pray and visit with far away family that we love so much and see so little...it will do me well I think.

What are your plans this summer?  Have you learned any new craftiness?  I would love to hear what you're all up to.  I've missed you!

Grace & Peace in Him,

♥ Melissa~

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"Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat. So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves." -Mark 6:31-32 (the message)

reason # 5,711 that God is so cool - Caddo Lake

As promised here are some photos of our camping trip to Caddo Lake.  If you think there are too many you should have seen them before I edited...heh-heh. (I took 464 photos this trip,a small number for me really.)

This place is so gorgeous!  In the mornings this ethereal mist rolls across the lake and you feel like you're in a movie.

Makes me think of this hymn:

How Great Thou Art (second verse)

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Snapped a pic of an early morning canoe-er here.

 

What a way to wake up Starbucks and this view!

The fall colors this time of year are spectacular.

 

We saw lots of wildlife on our weekend adventure including this mama & baby turtle with their mossy backs.

 

I tried to use my digital zoom to get a close up of this woodpecker that we heard while having coffee around the fire one morning.

It came out a little blurry, but look at that red head!  Doesn't he look just like Woody?

 

We took a tour of the lake on this amazing steamboat called "The Graceful Ghost"

The boys loved it and learned that Caddo Lake is a protected wetland ecosystem. (yay, homeschool...uh, campschool.)

I crocheted by the campfire every night! Super crafty, campy-ness!

And of course we had s'mores.

 

All in all it was a pretty wonderful weekend. 

 

Hope your weekend is lovely and peaceful.

His Grace and Peace,

♥ Melissa~

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"We look at this Son and see the God Who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment."
-Colossians 1:15-16

so where were we?

It's a beautiful, crisp fall day outside; my boys are finally humming along in their new learning routines and I have received what must be the millionth (though probably just the ninth or tenth) guilt-inducing (and very sweet) email inquiring about my well-being.  So I thought I had better get to posting again.

Thus:

Tuesday Ten Returns in Triumph (with an extra three and photos no less!)

*posted on Saturday for old times sake*

one

I could go the rest of my whole life without hearing the names fannie mae and freddie mac *ever again*, how about you?

two

I wish the phone book people would stop leaving their 5 lbs of instant garbage on my doorstep. 

Seriously, phone book people...have you heard of the internet? Save a tree why don't you?

On second thought, maybe I should do this with it.  heh. heh.  pure marketing genius.

three

I'm teaching kindergarten and high school this year.

four

My head hurts a lot because of number 3.

five

I'm wondering why every time I blink it's almost Christmas again.

six

I'm so appreciative of all of you who have written and left comments inquiring about my demise.

seven

The rumors of number six have been greatly exaggerated.

eight

Socialism seems to be making a comeback.

nine

My head hurts a lot because of number 8.

ten

Here's a question, has anyone read Animal Farm lately???

(If you haven't  click here and read it for free.  I have no doubt you'll find it enlightening.)

eleven

I've been thinking about starting a bakery business because obviously I have nothing else to do with my time.

Plus I have some recipes for cakes, muffins and cookies that people offer me large sums of money to bake for them. (really...huge sums....)

twelve

And I figure, as long as I don't make more than $250,000 a year I should be super successful, huh?

Ok, sorry.  I'll drop the politics now. 

*think crafty*

thirteen

I've learned how to crochet!  Oh my gosh, so fun!  I'm just at the beginning stages, but I am *crazy* about yarn now! (just what I need a new crafty supply to hoard!)

Some of my flickr crochet faves:

 

1. Crocheted blanket halfway done!, 2. Pink and white granny, 3. sweet peas, 4. crocheted ripple blanket, 5. Mitten edging, 6. Irish crochet necklace, 7. Multi-colour Moebius, 8. Crochet baby blanket, 9. Crochet flowers, 10. Crochet tea cups, 11. crochet bottle cover - detail, 12. Colorfull Cushion, 13. now comes the oh so enjoyable task, 14. Aqua red Crochet, 15. wool crochet flowers, 16. colored crochet, 17. Crochet Bird, 18. Crochet Flower Garland, 19. Crocheted Ripple Throw, 20. My favorite crochet rug, 21. crocheted heart valentines card, 22. Granny triangle blanket wip, 23. crochet scarf, 24. longer trousers

fourteen

I used these free online lessons at Crafty Daisies combined with looking up video tutorials on youtube for stitches about which I was confused.

It took me quite a few squares that came out completely crooked and strange before I figured it out, but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. 

I'm making a pink & white (of course) afghan for my first project. These are the squares I've finished so far, all stacked up & pretty.

Look at this texture!  Isn't it wonderful?  I can't wait to curl up under this with a good book.

 

If you haven't tried crochet before you really should.  It's so easy once you get the hang of it and very relaxing.

Okay that's my ten fourteen...Hope you're having a fantastic weekend! 

Thanks again for all the sweet emails.

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~

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"Jesus said to them, 'Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.' "
-John 14: 1