Ripples of Memories (with link to Ripple Afghan Pattern)

I have been crocheting and crocheting and crocheting some more. I was completely and mindlessly addicted to making this easy ripple blanket. You can see my sweet Boston Terrier Opus posing on the ripples. I have only made one other blanket in my crochet history, a pretty flowered granny afghan for my moms birthday two years ago. I can usually be found working on projects that can be completed in one or two sittings, its a patience thing. :-SS

I had such a great time making this because my daughter M'Kayla was right along side me knitting a baby blanket for her friend. We would take any empty time slot, throw a movie in and "yarn" away. Such good memories all stitched together. I had originally planned to give this blanket away. I wasn't sure to whom, but I usually don't hang on to the things that I make. But as I thought about it, I came to the realization that M'Kayla being 18, will not have so much time in the future to knit and crochet with her mama.
I think that this will be a mothers day present to myself. A weaving of memories.
I used up so much of my yarn stash, which is what I had intended to do. Some of the yarn was probably 7 years old and left over from projects that I had made for my family. Again, so many memories and woven together. We watched some great movies including Penelope, Twilight, Blast From The Past, Lord of the RIngs, Becoming Jane, Emma, Love Comes Softly, I Am Legend, I Robot, Hancock, Transformers, Kate and Leopold and more that I can't remember right now.
I used this great simple pattern here if anyone wants to give it a go. Its easy, mindless, and great relaxation :)

Note to self...

From My Pictures

When you pour bleach into a tub of water....look away! Ask my eye how it knows this. Today as I was adding a few drops of bleach to a tub of water, the bleach hit the water just right (or wrong depending on how you LOOK at it) and splashed directly into my eye.

Yes, there was squealing and running in circles and throwing huge splashes of water into my eye to clean it out. After a while my eye realized it was going to live and stopped shutting without my permission, and then the bleach decided it wasn't a great place to hang out and the burning eventually subsided.

The "bleach incident", as I will heretofore refer to it, really made me think though, about accidents and how fast they happen, and how a small bit of "slow it down girl you don't have to clean the kitchen in 6.2 seconds flat" goes a long way in being able to think before you act.

So.. the new me is slower, more cautious, and wearing safety goggles when I clean. Okay so it isn't the new me, but I am going to be more careful!

Breaking News: It is with great sadness that I report to you that my Snug Black T-Shirt was damaged in the bleach incident and will no longer be appearing in my wardrobe. An innocent bystander, Snug Black Tee took a direct hit to the front and will be layed to rest in the rag drawer. Snug was a good tee, full of life and elasticity. I accept full responsibility for her demise. She will be missed.

Operation Christmas Child

Yesterday I received in the mail a letter from someone I had never heard of. It came from the Philippines and so I was very curious as I opened it. Inside I was delighted to find a letter and a photo from a little girl named Arabella Angel who received one of the shoe boxes we donated last year at Christmas time to Operation Christmas Child. If you haven't heard of it, OCC is an amazing organization that is part of Samaritans Purse, which is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ. (This was from their mission statement)
At Christmas last year we had so much fun putting together shoe boxes full of toys, candy, clothing items, pencils, paper, stickers, tooth brushes and tooth paste, hair ribbons and books. Our family went shopping together carefully choosing the items that we would place in the boxes. At one point I broke down and could not contain my tears because I knew these precious babies had next to nothing and I wanted to make these boxes perfect for them!
We enclosed Christmas cards in our boxes and a little note to each child that might receive the box. We also enclosed photos of our family and Montana and a return address in case they might want to correspond with us.
To our delight Arabella wrote to us with the help of her aunt! Her letter was decorated with the crayons and pencils we had sent her. When my daughter and I read it, we were both in tears. It is amazing how close we feel to this precious little 6 year old girl!

If I get my scanner working I will scan the cute little letter.

My Daughters First Knitted Baby Blanket

This morning, my daughter M'kayla put the finishing stitches on the baby blanket she has been knitting for her friend Kayla who just had her baby.
She chose the colors purple and black because when Kayla first found out she was pregnant (which seems ages ago but was just 9 months) they were both working at Taco Bell.
I think it turned out fabulous! She chose to crochet scalloped edges to make the blanket look more finished.
I am SO proud of her! She loves to knit, finding it much more relaxing and much easier than crochet. I on the other hand, love to crochet. I like knitting okay... but when I have to do more than knit and purl it makes my brain cry.
For the past month, she and I have been partners in fun, she knitting, me crocheting as we watched gobs of movies, some old, some new and some well worn favorites.
She wants to start next on a baby blanket for her hope chest. I love the idea!
I will find the pattern that she used and post it here in a few days.
I am still in work mode on the vintage feel ripple scrap blanket that I am crocheting. When I finish, I'll post it here as well.
Happy May!!