March is Crochet Month

Well, really I'm not sure of that. I do know that for the first time in many years, I picked up a crochet hook and decided to experiment. I bought two of the big balls of Bernat yarn on clearance at Michaels, and started to play.

After about seven or eight false starts, I came up with this. It is a shawl, quite long, made of treble and double crochets. The first three rows and the last three rows are single crochet. Then I went entirely around the piece with a single crochet, then a treble. Finally, I trebled four times into the areas between each treble. I used a larger hook, a 6.5.



The yarn I used is varigated, with blue, green and beige. I picked up some plain blue to add some picots on the edge - I hope it won't be too much, but I thought it would set it off a bit more.

Since completing the shawl (which is surprising warm), I've a purchased some cotton yarn and made two dish cloths. The warn is varigated too, white, yellow and blue. It was a smaller hook so a closer stitch.

AND YOU KNOW I had to start a stash! The local Hobby Lobby had a clearance sale - $1.99 per skein. I picked up some yarn to make a baby blanket, a varigated purple, dark blue, rose yarn for the center of some granny squares, and six skeins of a rayon ribbon to make a vest for myself. I also picked up some of the ribbon in varigated pastels - only one skein left - to use with something, not sure what, but I really liked it.

Besides the crocheting, I have been sewing. I have cut out 12 blocks, and made 5, for a Geisha hanging that is part of a round robin that I flaked out on a year or more ago. I'm not revealing anything right now, but have been sewing when I can.

I also cut out the pieces for an 80 x 104 quilt. When I went to the sewing get together in February, everyone was working on a Faceted Jewels quilt. I was immune, until I got home and started to think about the Moda Three Sisters Mistletoe Manor fabric I have. It would be great. So I've cut those fabrics so that the pinks and red are featured in the middle of the quilt, with browns and green sprinkled across, and the browns and greens are featured in the border areas. I haven't started sewing, but it is all cut and waiting.

So that is how I've been keeping myself busy. We are getting into the time of year that I am very busy with my grant consulting - usually April through June is mad. I don't know how much I will have to do, but right now it looks like two major efforts due in mid-April. I won't be sewing much if I'm writing.