Prayer Request

I would like to make a prayer request of my Christian friends out there. A very good friend of mine (who shall go nameless here) is going through a rough time lately. It seems like life is trying to get the best of her. Please stop and say a prayer for my good friend, that God will give her the strength she needs to get through the Holidays and beyond, and give her peace. Thanks!

Funky Purple Socks!

I finished these simple tube socks last night. The yarn is dk weight, but they have strings of blue, red and yellow throughout, giving it a very "funky" look. I love the way they turned out, and enjoy working on these plain tube socks. I was really getting very "burned out" on heels. I can do them without any problems, but seems they wear out so quickly, even with reinforcement. This yarn is from NZ and is great to work with and is called Magic Garden "Allsorts". It is a washable wool.

I am adding a new "button" on the side for a new project of mine. A group on C'ville will be making colorful kids afghans for the Victory Junction Gang Camp here in North Carolina. It is not far from me, actually. I do apologize that I do not know how to make a "usable" button, but if you want more information, you can go to Crochetville.org and look under charity afghans. Information is also available at the Victory Junction website. Also, a number of the members of the Yahoo! group "Crochet_Swaps_Galore" are participating. This is a great cause and it should be a lot of fun to make red, yellow, green and blue afghans!! These groups are hoping to make 200 afghans for disabled kids attending the camp in 2009! Please consider helping out!

Added to stash

My daughter took her friend and myself up on the mountain to Galax, Virginia yesterday to a favorite yarn shop there called deBeez House of Yarn. I have been on "no-buy" for about two years now for both yarn and quilting fabric, so it is unusual for me to actually buy something! But I do hate to go to a small store owned by a friend, and not buy something. So I bought the above (minus the pottery of course!) and enjoyed talking to Deb again. I plan to use the green/gold for a Round Ripple afghan, putting some pale gold and some dark green with it. I'm not at all sure what I will use the purple camo yarn for. It just "called to me". I love purple! The two Paton's books have top down sweaters. My favorite kind. I enjoyed getting to go up on the mountain and seeing the Fall foliage this year. We'd had a drought all summer, but the colors were really nice. Oh, and we ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant, called Peking Palace. Really good food there, and supposedly no MSG!

New Fall Quilt

I finished quilting a fall quilt yesterday and hemmed it last night. The fabric was from a collection from Keepsake Quilting a few years back and the pattern is Turning Twenty, if I remember correctly. Dora is trying to help, and says "I don't like the way you've draped it, I think it should be on the floor!". She's quite the little helper and tries to be within sight now that she doesn't have her playmate. She is truly a "Quilter's Cat!", unlike Shizuku, who could care less about knitting, crochet or quilts! I really need a better place to photograph quilts, but living in a mh, space is so limited. You can click on the photo for a close-up if you want! Have a blessed day!

Photo in Header Above

The beautiful photo in my above header was obtained from Weather Underground. Photo was taken by Aaron Wilson and I am currently asking permission to let it remain. My apologies for not asking before I posted the photo. The lighthouse is in my hometown of Port Huron, MI.

Oreo has left the building

Oreo has left us. Last Friday, I'd had enough of his unpleasant behavior and destruction, and I set him back outside, with instructions to go back to where ever he came from. I guess he did, as we haven't seen him since Saturday morning. I wish him well, where ever he is, but peace has been restored to our household and I am very glad. Somethings just don't work out, ya' know? Dora missed him at first, but now is glad to have her share of the food to herself again!

On a lighter note, yesterday was my daughter's birthday and she spent some of the weekend with us. I think she had a pleasant time with us, and a Happy Birthday, at least I hope so. By the way, her Aran Sweater "fit like it was made for her" and she seemed to like the green and white afghan.

It is very windy today and getting colder outside. I hate wind, ever since my old Florida days, and don't care much for the cold (OUCH!) either!

On the needles, a yellow sweater, top down, with cables between sleeve & body (photo above). Top down sweaters (sweatshirt-style) are still my favorite!

Blue Water Bridge & Thousand Footer

Christmas at Sea

I began knitting for this group in 1990. I had been seriously depressed for about 3 years, and I can say that Seamen's Church Institute saved my live. I read about the group in a magazine and wrote to them, and they sent me patterns & yarn. I got busy at once!! I knitted caps and scarves thru all good times and bad times. I took yarn & needles to the hospital all those months my husband had cancer. When I ran out of yarn, those precious nurses would bring me more, at their expense. But I ran into a personality problem with the head of the group. I don't know how it happened, but it did, and I started to knit and crochet for other groups. Groups that I wouldn't have to pay so much postage, and run the risk of my contributions getting lost in the mail. I have really enjoyed working on Prayer Shawls, and give them to our local hospital. But now there is a great new "fearless leader" of the CAS group of knitters. I am willing to try again. I can crochet Prayer Shawls and knit for CAS. Seems like an excellent solution. In the past, all the while I am knitting, I pictured in my mind the thousand foot ships entering the Detroit River from Lake Huron. I have so loved to watch those large ships and hear the foghorns go Beee and the answering BeeeeOhhhh! It was such a comfort as a child! I've looked backward too long today. Time to get busy! Have a blessed day!