A Little Joy...

We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.

- E.B. White -

I want to thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments on my Turning Leaves Scarf.  I haven't worn it yet, but look forward to cooler temps when I can wear the colorful scarf.  

Our little family just got back from western Pennsylvania after a brief, but nice visit with hubbies family.  

We did a little fishing on one of his sister's property, bought some Cortland apples at a fresh produce stand, and picked a few concord grapes to snack on.  And, last night, we even did a little deer spotting which was an adventure in itself since I'd never been before; it was fun!

It was nice to see family and catch up, but there's no place like home.

Next break Thanksgiving...

Hmmm, how many weeks away is that?

:-)

Hope your weekend was full of lifes' joys...

both great and small.

HDP

Turning Leaves Scarf and Pattern

I just finished up my Turning Leaves Scarf and got the pattern all written up...

I named the scarf for the way the colors in the yarn turn just as an autumn leaf changes colors.  The Turning Leaves Scarf is a wide scarf with an eyelet effect running up each side of the scarf.  

The stitch, called Herringbone double crochet, shows up nicely on both sides making it reversible.  

Below are my instructions for the...

Turning Leaves Scarf

by Heather Prusia

Materials: 

·         3 skeins of Lion Brand Amazing in Wildflowers; medium weight (1.75 oz/147 yds/50g)

·         J/10 - 6.00 mm crochet hook

·         Blunt-End Needle for Weaving in Ends

Finished Size:  9 inches x 56 inches

Gauge:  4 inches = 12 sts x 8 rows

Skill Level:  Easy

Special Stitches Used: 

·         Herringbone double crochet (HBdc) - yo, insert hook into next st, yo, pull through st and 1st lp on hook, yo, pull through next lp on hook, yo, pull through last two lps on hook; one st complete. 

·         Below is a link for a video tutorial of the Herringbone double crochet stitch that you may find helpful:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeMEe7nRS5w

Notes:  Chain 3 at beginning of row counts as a Herringbone double crochet and is noted as such in the stitch count.

Directions: 

Ch 28

Row 1 -      HBdc in 4th ch from hook (3 skipped chains counts as a HBdc) and in each rem ch across, turn (26 HBdc).

Row 2 -      ch 3 (counts as a HBdc), sk 1st st, HBdc in next st and in each rem st across, ending with a HBdc in tch sp, turn (26 HBdc).

Repeat Row 2 to desired length, do not fasten off, turn.

Last Row - ch 1 (does not count as a st), sl st in 1st st and in each rem st across, ending with a sl st in tch sp (26 sl sts).

Fasten off.

Finishing: 

·         Weave in loose ends

Abbreviations: 

beg..... begin/beginning

ch........ chain stitch

ch-....... refers to chain or space previously made (i.e. ch-1 space)

ch sp... chain space

dc....... double crochet

g......... grams

HBdc....Herringbone double crochet

lp(s)..... loops(s)

mm...... millimeter(s)

oz........ ounce(s)

rem...... remain/remaining

rep...... repeat(s)

RS....... right side

sc........ single crochet

sk........ skip(ped)

sl st..... slip stitch

sp(s).... space(s)

st(s)..... stitch(es)

tch........turning chain

WS...... wrong side

yd(s).... yard(s)

Copyright © 2010-2012 Heather Prusia / Heather's Crochet - All Rights Reserved

yo....... yarn over

HDP

A Little Progress...

I'm making decent progress on my scarf; I'm a bit past the halfway point.  I was working on it as dear son worked on his English worksheet; we are studying nouns.  Pretty soon we'll be diagramming sentences.  

:-)

My mom brought me the cool yarn bowl when she was in town...

The area where she lives has a lot of potters.  I love the earthen color of the pot.  She always seems to find neat yarn items to select and give as gifts.  

The weather has been cooler here in Cincinnati and I actually turned on our gas fireplace last night...

The green basket weave blanket was one I made several years ago for my hubby for his birthday.  It's held up well even though it gets thrown around and used as a TV blanket regularly.  

Hope your week is going well.  

Take care!

Heather

HDP

Scarf in the works

I've got a new scarf in the works, it will be a couple of days before I am able to complete it.  Once I do, I'll get some daylight pictures.  

I'm using Lion Brand's Amazing self striping yarn in the color "Wildflowers".  

Another project I have on my list of things to do, is to steam up those pumpkins for some good fresh pumpkin for pies and breads.  I've done it before and have blogged about it HERE.  I got the "sugar pumpkins" or some people call them "pie pumpkins" at one of the farms we went to last week.  They were 4 for $6, kind of high, but I didn't mind too much as it is supporting a local farmer and I haven't seen the small pumpkins in the grocery stores yet.

I love fall, something about the cooler weather and shorter days just make me want to "fluff" my nest.

He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.

 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - 

HDP

Fall's Beginning...

I missed the first day of fall...

how did that happen?  

Well, I'll tell you...

Last week was a busy week. My mom was in town to help celebrate my son's birthday.  We had a good week and did a lot of fun things.  But time has a way of slipping by so quickly.  We are now in the last week of September!

Now it's back to our routine and trying to get the house put back together.

I found this quote from Mark Twain.  Being a list maker myself, I found it to be so true! 

Hope your Monday is off to a great start and you'll be able to tackle all the tasks at hand.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.

- Mark Twain -

HDP

Glen Helen Nature Preserve

My mom, son, and I went on a field trip to Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs, OH today.  It's a privately owned 1,000 acre nature preserve affiliated with the small college of Antioch.  

Most of the leaves haven't changed color yet, but a few orange and yellow leaves were starting to fall.

Our first stop was the welcome center, where we hoped to pick up a detailed map of the area, unfortunately they weren't opened yet....more on that in a bit.

The trails were so pretty, with natural limestone cliffs leading down to a babbling brook.

There was an old ruin of a dam, that was fun to explore...

We came across a really neat grotto and small cascade...

A larger cascade is located deeper in the preserve...we didn't hike to that today.  Hopefully, we'll go back another time with hubby and find it.

We were starting to get tired, so we asked a nice lady, who was walking her dogs, for the shortest route back around to the parking lot...

we ended up getting lost.  

Thankfully, we came across a man hiking and he was kind enough to walk us back to the main trail and point us in the right direction.  His name was John and I told him he was our Good Samaritan.  Mom and I shook his hand when we parted and thanked him for taking the time to get us back on track.  

Next time, I'll bring the map that I printed with us on our hike, it didn't do us any good sitting on the front seat of the car.

After our adventure we went to Young's Dairy Farm and had lunch at their Golden Jersey Inn.  Following lunch, we each enjoyed some farm fresh, handmade ice cream and fed the goats and sheep in their petting zoo.  

It was a great day, even with getting lost.  It's all in the adventure.

Happy Thursday and Happy Trails!

HDP

View of The Queen City...

(View of Cincinnati from The Cincinnati Museum Center)

My mom is in town and we've been enjoying a nice visit.  

Yesterday we took dear son on a field trip to The Cincinnati Museum Center.  We toured the Cincinnati History Museum, saw the IMAX movie To The Arctic and went through the Museum of Natural History and Science.  It was a great field trip; away from textbooks and worksheets.  

I have some more field trips planned for while my mom is in town.  I'm hoping the weather cooperates and we can enjoy some pretty fall days.

Hope you are having a peaceful and pleasant week.

Heather

HDP

Happy Crochet Day!

This is one of the reasons I wanted to learn how to crochet.  

I wanted to make this blanket for my son.  

As you can tell, this was one of my very first crochet projects!  

It was too big for the little one.....

But he didn't seem to mind.  He wanted a rabbit blanket to go with his favorite (at the time) stuffed animal friend.  

Through the years, crochet has been woven into my daily routine, just like cooking and doing the laundry, except I enjoy crochet a lot more!  

:-)

What made you pick up the hook?

HDP

Simplicity...

"Out of clutter,

find simplicity.  

From discord,

find harmony.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."

 - Albert Einstein -

Happy Wednesday!

Heather

Art...

art (noun):  Creative activity resulting in the production of painting, drawings or sculpture...

We ran out of time yesterday to do our weekly art lesson, so we did it as a family after lunch today...

The little one enjoyed the fact that "Dada" was doing our art project with us; making it more special...

and fun.

Our little lesson was an introduction to Georgia O'Keeffe and her artwork.  

I'm using The Usborne Art Treasury book and in the section on Georgia O'Keeffe they highlighted her painting entitled Jimson Weed (1932).  Did you know she lived to be 99 years old (1887 - 1986)?  

I really like the book, they introduce the reader to the artist, show one of their works of art and then give a project that you can do reflecting that artist; in this case it was a petal collage with construction paper.

Now the "boys" are playing downstairs and I'm getting ready to make a Peach Crumble in the crock pot from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.  I make this every summer, it always turns out yummy (mine never takes as long to cook as they say it does though).

Happy Labor Day Weekend (again)!

HDP