Goodbye to summer

Vintage Summer Postcard (by moi!)

It's been sooooo long since I posted anything on my blog.  Summer just doesn't seem like the best time of year to spend on a computer posting pics, etc.  So on this rainy, cold day (48 degrees!), I'm sending out my vintage postcard as a "how did you spend your summer" posting!

While at the Cape I worked on my crocheted fabric coasters -- hard on the wrist, but worth the time and effort!  But I truly have to figure out an easier method.


 Before the heat had a chance to take hold, I finished off some of my "gargantuan granny" afghans -- there's always one or two in the making at any point in time. 

Then later when the heat finally did strike (over 90 degrees for almost two straight weeks), I switched to cotton yarns and tried my hand at mandalas -- some came out better than others, that's for sure. 

But now with the cooler weather moving in, my thoughts turn to heavier yarns -- isn't this just delicious?  Like a big wad of colorful cotton candy!  Not sure yet what I'll make -- maybe a big chunky pillow cover . . . ?
 

And how about these luscious yarns -- awesome jewel-like colors!  I think definitely a big floppy cowl to wrap up in when I take those long winter walks?
 

 
I hope to continue posting more frequently now that we're gravitating inside more often.  Later today I'll throw some logs on the fire, pour myself a glass of wine and read through my favorite crochet and knitting magazines for ideas. 

Ah, bliss!

Of Granny Squares and Mandalas

So my "Gargantuan Grannies" continue to grow . . . it's so bad now I'm soliciting family and friends: "Hey, would you like a hand-crocheted afghan?" Someday they'll start running when they see me coming. 

Oh dear, what's a woman to do, I ask? I need to break this river of granny squares and detour to something else. But why? I love making them. 

It's mindless. I get to play with beautiful colors and textures. And eventually, as the winter moves in, people will appreciate their snuggly afghans.  

I could pick up knitting again -- I have baskets of lovely yarns scattered throughout the house -- 

and I have tons of knitting needles -- steel, bamboo, circular, all sizes. But . . . then I'd have to do a test swatch. Ugh. I don't have the patience for that. I just want to pick up my hook and go.

This was a project I started last winter. I thought I'd do a cabled cowl with a neat button closure. But I put it down and now it's lost somewhere in the house. Oh, well.

So perhaps this afternoon I'll sift through my pile of magazines and try to come up with another crochet project -- mandalas?  Striped afghans?  Coaster and placemats?  

I think mandalas are pretty cool, so I went into my Photoshop and did a little manipulation of some of my flower shots.  Hmmm. . . this could be a new way to envision and plan my next project!
 

The incredible Wink's mandala

My kaleidoscope edition of a pink azalea

 

Another altered image of a purple petunia

This could be the start of a whole new world --  Happy crocheting!