Crochet Me Crazy

Well, I got started on the Rosettes for the afghan last night. I made about 5 of them but I kept thinking....I don't like these roses. They just aren't that pretty to me and they come out a little un-uniform so I decided to see if I can find a better pattern for a nicer looking flower. Here is the flower that the original pattern calls for...


It's just not that attractive, is it?

I've crocheted a lot of flowers so I know I can come up with something better. I've been playing around with different patterns and hook sizes today to see if I can find the right flower. The trick is to find a substitute pattern that doesn't use up more yarn that the original pattern so I am using the unraveled yarn from the original rose to test the new patterns. Here are a few of the options....



And after my experimentations, I think this is the one I'm going to go with...



What do you think?

You can see I only have 4 more pineapples to add to the border! There are a few more rounds for the edging after that and then I have flowers to crochet that will need to be sewed onto each pineapple. I didn't take the time to stretch out each Pineapple flat for the picture.



Here is a close up of the Pineapple border...It's a very beautiful afghan!



The pineapple border is very easy to do and the pattern works up well with no corrections that I have found. The pictures do not do the color justice! It looks pink in the picture but it is a grayish purple color. (Obviously, I have not started weaving in ends yet!)

I will bring a my hook and yarn with me tonight when I take Alison to youth and maybe have time to make a few flowers. It'll make a nice little take-along project.

Well, I haven't made any more progress on my afghan since my last post and I failed to take a picture too. It was a little bit busy over this holiday weekend. We worked on Saturday at the stables but it wasn't a busy day. We've had a lot of rain over the past week and the river flooded so everyone is preoccupied with the river right now. It's great! The river flooded and then we got 2 more inches the next day. We tried to go to church on Sunday but ended up turning around and coming back home because the weather was just too bad. We had Serenity spend the night Saturday and Sunday night and then on Sunday, Alison's other friend Phoebe came to spend the night too. They were buzzing around here and I was runing them around to the river and stuff. The rest of the weekend of rides got rained out because it was too muddy. I believe we're going to get even more rain later on in the week! It's an answer to prayer for us here!

Alison and Phoebe have decided they want to try to raise the money to go on the youth "road trip' this summer. It costs $400 a kid though. They are going to have bake sales and car washes to raise the money. I donated a whole bunch of crocheted items to the cause. Phoebe's parents own a coffee shop / gift shop in town and I told them they could sell the stuff and put the proceeds toward the trip. If they sell it all, they'll make over $200. Alison was working on making a sign for their table tonight. This is a big deal for her to go to something like this. She's never been to camp or anything like that. I think it will be good for Alison to go but she won't go without Phoebe. She has NEVER been away from us for more than a couple of nights in her whole life and never without being with family. The entire time will be complete TORTURE for me. I miss Alison so much when she's not here. The group is heading to Kentucky to the go to the Creation Museum. On they way, they stop and do other fun things like go to Mammoth Cave, go to a lazer tag park and other things. They will be staying at churches along the way.

My little girl is about to get her driver's permit. She is ready to take her test. We are just trying to gather up all the documents that we are required to have for her to get her license. Soon...very soon.

I had a moment of inspiration last week to make this top for Alison. I stopped work on my sister's afghan and whipped this out. It took me a couple of days. I sorta made it up as I went along. I used a ribbed stitch on the top for the stretch.

I have made A LOT of progress on my sisters afghan. I am doing the final pineapples on the edging right now. I've got over half of them done. I will try to get a picture of the progress on that very soon. However, yesterday I got a new cone of yarn I ordered off of Ebay. It is a yarn I once had that I have been looking for that I made a beautiful top for Alison out of years ago. I found the yarn and now I've started on another top for her.

I'm doing a lot of crocheting again because I have a lot more time and a lot more relaxed life now that we have moved. Dance just ended so all that running around has stopped.

We will be working at the stables this Memorial Day weekend and some next week too. The new person they hired doesn't know the horses and still won't be able to handle it on his own. That's okay though...I could use the money!

As usual, Alison lit up the stage with her smile as she performed this weekend. I just have to brag on my daughter for a few minutes. But what amazes me the the most about my daughter is that she has a heart of gold. It amazes me that got created such a girl with such sweetness and beauty all wrapped up in one person! But most of all, how did I get so blessed by God to have her as a daughter and to be her mother. I am so proud of her and the beautiful young woman she is growing to be.

Alison was awarded the "Artisty" award for the year. In her teacher's words..." Artistry is something that cannot be taught. It comes from the heart."

That's good news....we need him to pay rent to live here so it's a relief that he found a job. He's working at the lumber yard 5 days a week plus half a day on Saturday. He learned to drive a fork lift this week and he says he likes it a lot better than working at the last job. He gets to be outside loading lumber and cement, etc.

Michael's girlfriend is switching to a new job so she doesn't have to work nights. I started keeping her son while she's working. We're going to give it a try at least. I kept him yesterday and I'll have him again today. Yesterday went fine. He was perfect.



He helped me do laundry, we counted pennies, and he helped me vacume. I've got to get some toys for him to play with. Alison and I are only going to be working at the stables 2 days a week this summer so I figure with that little income and keeping the boy, it'll still give me a little spending money of my own without sacrificing my entire summer like we usually do in the summer.

We are having 2 hour dance rehearsals every day this week and Friday night is the dress rehearsal. Saturday is the performance. Jeff's parents are driving in to watch Alison dance like they always do. We don't see them much but they have always made a point to come see Alison's shows no matter what. They are driving 12 hours and it means a lot to Alison.



No crochet news...still working on my sisters afghan. I will try to get a picture soon. I am almost done with the center. I just need to find my tape measure to see how much further I have to go. I get lots of compliments on the yarn and the color when I take it places to work on it.

I'm happy. Alison's happy. Jeff's happy. My dogs are happy. My deer is happy. Everyone is happy! Look what God has done...we are living in this nice house with a beautiful view....lots of space...for a very, very reasonable rent! What more could I ask for?

Sitting on the front porch one evening....



Last Saturday....we got the stressful project of getting Gracie moved over with. She did very well. She was nervous and breathing hard during the drive but I was with her and she didn't freak out. The first thing she did is check out the fence line. Now she seems to very content in her new home. She has a lovely, large environment now with lots of food to eat. I had taken a bunch of pictures on Alison's phone because my camera battery was dead. I still haven't been able to get those pictures. This one I took is not very good but it shows how nice her enviromnent is. This is just the part around the front of the house.


Alison had her piano lesson yesterday and then she got to go riding at their house. Another person in her life that knows a bit about training horses can teach her a lot about horses.




More good news is that Jeff found out his boss is getting transferred to another territory and he is getting a new boss. I haven't posted about that situation but his boss was a big reason why his job is so stressful. Jeff spends countless hours driving all over the place getting equipment and delivering it to his technicians. Then he still has to do all of his normal manager duties -- reports, damage claims, payroll, rearranging routes....part of the reason he work or drives all night with no sleep so he can get it all done. His first conversation with his new boss is looking like there will be some changes that are going to make Jeff's life a lot easier. They are going to get a storage building near us for equipment & they are hiring a guy that will delivery equipment.

Alison is getting excited --- her ballet show is in a few weeks. This is always a big deal.

I guess I would be leaving something out if I didn't mention that Alison has a new beau. This is the boy she met at church that she has been talking to for months. They have finally admitted their "like" for each other and Alison is on cloud nine. He has the stamp of approval from all of us...including Dad & brother!