This beauty may have been one of the fastest blankets I worked on, and probably because I had been in a crochet rut for so long, that when I finally felt like crocheting again, I just went for it and didn't stop until it was done.
The colorway was completely accidental. I knew I wanted to make the blanket, and I knew that if I didn't start it immediately the crochet bug may leave, and because I didn't want to take that chance, I decided to use whatever yarn I had on hand instead of waiting to go and buy or figure out the colors.
Not the usual colors I would gravitate towards and this one definitely feels more of an Autumnal blanket, but I am so happy with the way it turned out. The colors just seem to work.
I have been asked many times where I get the patience, or how do I do this because it's so big and looks so complicated. I understand, I used to think the same way. I would sit for hours just looking through the most gorgeous blankets and thinking "boy I wish I could do that, but there's no way, that's really advanced crochet."
Then I made my first, and quickly realized that while some patterns do get a little confusing, but only because of stitch counting and placement, the pattern and stitches themselves are easy. If you can single crochet, double crochet, treble, double treble, do a puff stitch and back and front posts, you can make one of these. I promise you. It's all about where the stitches are placed that makes these masterpieces possible.
Most of my blankets are from these two ladies and if you want to make one of your own, I highly encourage you to check out their websites.
The Solstice Star is from Helen Shrimpton. I just want to document it here, so that I know what I used when it comes to crochet hook size and the yarn. I often forget to do this and then later on have no clue and can't remember what size or the name of the yarn or colors, this makes it easier.
I have always found crocheting to be a calming hobby, something I could do to make me forget about the world, to calm my heart and my soul, to remind me to see the beauty in every moment.
When I stopped crocheting, a year or two ago, it wasn't for a specific reason, frankly I don't know why I did. I don't understand it myself, because I made the conscious decision to stop, no one did it for me, and I certainly wasn't forced to. It's strange that I would stop doing something that I know for a fact, brings me so much joy and peace, but sometimes we do things out of character, don't we?
Whatever the reason, I am just happy that I picked it up again, and now that I am back into it, the rows are just flowing.
I worked through Part 5 last week, making a row in the morning and a row at night. I told myself that I can read or watch tv, or do whatever else I want, as long as I do two rows a day.
It's funny that I have to negotiate with myself, but this is the way I find that helps me to have a routine where I do what is expected of me as a wife, mother and homemaker, and I also allow myself the fun things.
A time and place for everything right?
So, this is my Solstice Star Blanket by Helen Shrimpton at Crystals and Crochet. I have followed Helen for so many years and have made many of her blankets. I love the patterns, I love that she always does videos to take us along and help, and she always provides us with these exquisite pieces of art, that may seem so complicated but it's really just a combination of easy crochet stitches, just placed ever so daintily row after row.
The colors for this one came purely by accident. I wanted to get back into crochet and I knew that if I didn't do immediately when I got the urge, I wouldn't. So, I didn't want to wait for more yarn, or go to the store and try to figure out a combination that would work.
Instead I turned to my own yarn stash and picked out some colors that I already had on hand. To be honest, at first, I didn't think these colors would work together, they're also very different from my usual muted pastels.
But I picked them up, and as I always do when crocheting, I just grabbed the first one at hand and went with it and then started alternating the yarn.
As it started growing, I started loving it. It screams Autumn to me though, but that's ok, it can be finished and put away until the cold weather returns later in the year.
I do plan on starting another as soon as this one is finished.
I started Part 6, which is rows 63-72 and I am on row 65 at the moment. I'm really looking forward to it being done just so I can say I did it.
Next blanket I plan on making will be a Universe in Bloom from Look at What I Made. I did a Sophie's Universe blanket 10 years ago, also from Dedri and loved it. Actually I've made a few of her patterns, and they're all wonderful, so very much looking forward to the new one.
Now, I better get off here and work a few more rows on this beautiful Solstice Star.
It is Tuesday morning, the 4th of November. The morning is cold and dreary and I want nothing more than to sit in my warm bed, and do absolutely nothing. It's a nice dream, but not reality, right?
I thought I would take you with me on a typical day around here, with some non typical things thrown in too, like the baking of a second fruit cake and some french bread for the week. Though I do tend to have some sort of baking and cooking going on each day, these two are not a common occurrence.
My mornings seem to run the same, after getting mine and Curt's coffee, packing his lunch and sending him off to work, I bring my coffee back to the room, get back in my bed, and then work at least one row on my growing crochet blanket. It is getting huge, and it's becoming heavy.
I just love when it gets to this stage, you start seeing the overall pattern, the rows take longer to make, the stitch counting becomes more intense (I say this as I just had to frog two entire rows because of two misplaced stitches hahaha).
I will show you a picture tomorrow of what it looks like at this point.
I've also started my new book. A Falcon for a Queen from Catherine Gaskin. It is my first book by this author and I am but a few pages in and already loving it. It is set in Scotland which is a huge plus for me, just the description of the land as they ride in the coach, takes my breath away.
I think I am going to really enjoy this one, and am already looking for more from Catherine Gaskin to add to my cart at Thriftbooks. My cart just sits there, full of books I want, and I just click the save for later, and as budget permits, a few times a year, I buy one or two. I love that they are inexpensive and I can find some of the titles I've been searching for. I don't know about you, but covers like this one are my favorites, the older looking book covers always pull me in.
Have you read any Catherine Gaskin books?
On my hook as well, is a new scarf. I have quite a lot of mismatched yarn skeins laying around, in tubs and bags. I am trying to work through the stash and decided to make another easy scarf. I wanted something that I didn't need to count stitches, something easy, something that worked up quick and something I could grab and quickly work a couple rows while waiting for dinner to cook, or just sitting in the living room with the family.
I made one of these many years ago, when we lived in Idaho right after Curt retired in 2012. If you've followed me for a while, you may remember this scarf. I made it slightly different where I did double the cast on stitches to make it wider, so instead of the 19 stitches it calls for, I doubled it.
Loved how it turned out. However, a few years ago Curt's aunt asked me to borrow it so she could make one for herself, and then I never got it back and completely forgot about it too. I figured it would be easier to just make another instead of trying to track that one down.
The pattern is the Pavement Crochet Infinity Scarf, though I am not making an infinity one, meaning I won't be sewing the edges together to make a tube, so to speak. I will just leave mine open ended.
Do you remember this one?
Loved that pink yarn and wish I still had some, but I don't. The one I am using now is this beautiful white stonewashed super soft yarn too, but again, I only have one skein, so will make the scarf as long as the yarn lasts.
I also made my second fruit cake. I do love a good fruit cake and these are so good, I gave you the recipe the other day, so go back and check out the posts if you want to try it yourself.
After feeding the new one and wrapping it for storage, I brought out the first one from last week and also gave it another feeding with my Port
wine.
While the cake baked, I got my french bread recipe going in the bread maker. I use it just for the dough part and then shape and do the second rise myself.
I went a little different this time, usually I make 8 loaves from the recipe, but I went with 16 smaller baguettes this time. It's a very easy recipe to make and the bread always turns out so good.
I freeze these and then pull out whatever I need and let sit on the counter for a few minutes.
I wanted to tell you as well that I watched the first episode of the new Robin Hood series. It was very good although forewarning, it does have some sexual content. It never used to bother me when I was younger, but I must say I just really dislike all the sexual content in shows and movies. I don't understand the need for any of that, maybe I've been watching too many Turkish tv where they tell wonderful stories without all that nonsense and sometimes without even a kiss.
Anyway, aside from that it was a good first episode. You can watch the first episode for free on Amazon Prime and then it is available through MGM, which I don't have and at the moment it is definitely not a must especially as we're still dealing with this ridiculous shutdown.
With that said, that was my Tuesday, I made some greek meatballs for dinner with some pasta, deviated from the original meal plan but that's how life goes. I don't always follow the menu to the letter, I change days here and there, or make something slightly different. Instead of Quinoa, I made pasta for the boys and I just had some brown rice.
Now I will love you and leave you. I'll come back tomorrow morning for my Wordless Wednesday, with a picture of the Solstice Star Blanket progress.
As Spring rolls around, my reading list changes a bit. I tend to drift towards books that I feel, represent Spring in some way, shape or form.
The Secret Garden is a favorite for this time of year, along with Little House on the Prairie, The Wind in the Willows and of course the ever beautiful Beatrix Potter.
But I don't just grab Spring like books, I also grab my Spring bookmarks. I have a few that I made, using scrap yarn, or little leftover balls of yarn that aren't big enough for any other project.
Over the next few days, you will see some of these bookmarks pop up, both here on the blog, and on my Instagram.
It's just a way of bringing even more Spring, into my home. And of course, that little touch of crochet just screams cosy.
Back in 2011, I made a Blooming Flower pillow. I followed the pattern through Lucy from Attic 24 and loved the way it turned out.
Of course over the years, it's been sat on and hugged, and laid upon by both humans and pets, and so it's become a bit of raggedy, flat pillow. But I so enjoyed making it, that I wanted to start another.
I completely forgot about it, and then a few days ago all of a sudden, it popped into my mind again.
I gathered some yarn from my bits and bobs, and started another.
If you've followed me for a few years, you know that I love crocheting, and always had a project on the go. Then we moved to Texas and life changed so much, that I found myself not having the time to crochet as much as I wanted.
Then last year, I started developing arthritis in my hands, and that made it a bit painful to do anything. Holding the hook and the repeated movement just made my hands cramp. I tried to start a few projects, but it didn't last long.
However, as I've been looking through my blog and older posts, I couldn't help but notice how much crochet was a part of my life. It made me miss it.
Then I came across this bag I made back in 2009. It is was the first crochet bag that Lucy at Attic 24, put out. I fell in love with it immediately, and had so much fun making it, but it was the only one I ever made....even though in my mind I always planned to make another or two, or three.
Having come across these older posts made me want to make another, so I gathered my yarn this morning and got started.
I popped on a documentary on the TV, and just allowed myself to crochet without thinking about it. I just kept changing the colors, moving the hook back and forth, and before I knew it, the bottom of my bag was complete.
I had forgotten just how quickly this bag works up.
While I was working on the bag, I was also browsing through Lucy's blog. Lucy has been blogging for many, many years. I consider her one of the original bloggers, and if you look through her blog it has stayed the same all these years. How I love that!
Lucy first started sharing her love for crochet, on her Attic 24 blog. She grew a pretty big following, started teaching us how to make the beautiful blankets, bags and pillows she was making, and pretty soon was a big name in the crochet community. You couldn't talk about crochet without mentioning Lucy, or Attic 24.
But unlike others who grew big and changed the way they blogged, she stayed the same. I can go into her website and feel like I've been transported back in time. I love that feeling, it's exactly what I strive to do on my own little corner of the web. To never change the way I share my life, to continue in exactly the same way I have done since 2006. Some things are better left untouched.
But anyway, I am really enjoying working on this bag. As soon as it's done, I will be making another, this time Lucy's Jolly Chunky Bag, which is actually the same bag, but an updated version, a smaller chunkier version to be exact. Just perfect for me to use my worsted weight yarn scraps.
Let me know if you've ever been over to Lucy's, if you've made any of her projects, or what you're working on at the moment. Would love to know!
I picked up my crochet bag, grabbed a hook and just started working. It flowed so effortlessly, the yarn slipping between my fingers, the hook methodically working. Into the next stitch, yarn over, pull through, into next stitch, yarn over, pull through.....and so it went.
Before I knew it, I had 8 squares in front of me.
It honestly baffled me at first, because if you remember one of my previous posts, I was struggling with crochet. For some reason it was intricately connected to Marley and his passing inadvertently put up a blockage towards this hobby.
As I have worked through my feelings the past few months, I am starting to feel a lot of that dissipating, and I'm once again beginning to enjoy the things I was most struggling with.
Being able to crochet right now, is huge for me. HUGE!!!
One of my favorite crochet squares to make, is the Filet Crochet Starburst Square. It's quick, it's easy and it's so pretty, as well as being the perfect square to use up yarn from your stash.
I wasn't quite sure what to make with them, then I remembered the Crochet Mood Blanket from 2014. It was so much fun to make and it's one of the blankets that I ended up selling, I think a year later. So I don't have one in my home anymore, and I would love to.
I am once again using the Flat Braid Joining Method which gives this beautiful effect. Honestly, it's the best project for me right now as I ease back into crocheting. It's working up quickly which as you know, if you crochet, or knit, there's nothing like a project that you can see right away. I love crochet alongs, and I love big blankets but they are time consuming and take a while to see it coming together.
I also made a few faux wasp nests. I know a few of you were asking for the pattern, I actually found it on Youtube, but it's basically just an increase circle, building the sides up then decreasing. Couldn't be any easier. Here is the video I followed.
Still haven't hung them up as we've been dealing with insane winds lately. By the way, what is with the winds, is anyone else noticing that they seem so much more intense and crazy the past year or two?
I'm hoping they slow down a bit soon, then I can hang these up without worrying that they'll fly away.
Last Friday I went to pick up my grocery order. It's getting harder to shop and get everything we need, without blowing our food budget. I was quite taken aback by spending over $300 and those were the bags I got. I didn't even get much meat at all because it's either too expensive or Walmart is always out of stock.
With that in mind, we are more determined than ever to really grow a big garden this year, lots of veggies that we will consume, and also have enough to give family, friends and neighbors if needed.
We've already started our seeds, and some are growing quite beautifully. I don't think I'm ready to get the strawberries in the ground though, not yet, so I'm monitoring them inside. They need at least 6 hours of sun or direct light, and for some reason they have been loving my bedroom window.
I open my windows and set them on the windowsill until late afternoon, then move them to a shelf. So far, it is working.
The rest of the seedlings are on this shelf, in my foyer. It is still too windy to put them out on the back porch.
I also grabbed two rose bushes that were 50% off. They still need to go in the ground, but I am thinking I may pot them first. I'm very indecisive on what to do, so if you have any suggestions for rose bushes, let me know.
The one I picked up practically dead, at Lowe's, a few years ago, is in my back garden and it is beautiful. It has tripled in size and just produces the most gorgeous pink roses, matter of fact it is already growing new leaves and getting ready to bloom.
I would like to maybe plant the rose bushes near it as well, but need to give the yard a good clean before hand.
Decisions, decisions.
Inside, I've been focused on making as much as I can, instead of buying. One thing I always do, is bake bread for sandwiches, but I've also been making french bread for pizzas, toast, subs and so on. The recipe I use is very simple, and the bread always comes out perfect.
I use my bread machine, which makes it easier so that I can keep going with the rest of my chores, while it works on the dough. Then I shape it, set it to rise and bake it.
The recipe is not yet on the food blog, I'm going to try and get it up today before I need to run an errand this afternoon. Be sure to bookmark it, because I think you'll really enjoy this one.
And speaking of bread machines, mine is about to go out. I've had it for so many years, at least 15 and it's been amazing, but it's making a weird noise, like the motor is about to give out. I think I need to purchase another, so I'll be saving some money for that. If you have bread machine and it's a good one, please let me know in the comments down below.
I mentioned a few posts back about the antique parlor table we were given, that belonged to my husband's uncle's mom. This is it down below. It's solid wood, you know, like good furniture, not the nonsense they make nowadays with cheap wood that falls apart.
It is also an antique which means big and clunky, but we love it, and don't have any plans to get rid of it anytime soon.
The days just go by, they flow from one to the other, and it's up to us to figure out what we are doing and how we want our lives to go.
Every morning brings new mercies, right?
I feel that we are living in tumultuous times, things seem so out of touch with reality, and it's up to us to protect our families and our homes. So we can either choose to surround ourselves with drama and let that chaos of the world into our souls, or we can take charge, hold on to the Lord's word, and live each day fully.
I've never wanted more to go back to simpler times, than I do now. To work off the land, to bake bread, and putter around my house, read the Bible, pray, watch good family shows and read books.
I think it's time for us to stand together as homemakers, and to keep the home fires burning, so to speak. To encourage others to stay in the word, to love their homes and their families, to cling on to their morals and values. There's so much darkness in our world, and we are charged with bringing light and being the light, not just for us but for others too.
Whatever I post here on my blog, is and always has been, about my day to day life. But if that encourages anyone, if it brings joy or a smile to someone's face, or even if it just for a moment allows one single reader to forget the worries and craziness, and for the time they're here reading, they see goodness, family, simple homemaking......then that is all I can ask for.
I don't know why I felt I had to say all that, but I'm sure it is meant for someone out there.
Well my friends, I'm going to get my dishwasher emptied out, load it with breakfast dishes, and start my laundry, before I continue with my crochet.
I hope you all have a blessed Thursday, and whatever you do, do it with a happy heart and always for God's glory.
