New Blog is Up

At Home on the Meadow

I have my new blog up.  

It is called "At Home on the Meadow."

Please pop over and say "hi" if you like.  

I hope I have it all set up correctly, the Google Circles thing is new to me.

Thank you for choosing to follow me on this blog.  

Have a wonderful day,

Heather

Happy Summer!

Hope everyone is enjoying a great summer!  

We've had a lot of changes going on in our lives:

• We sold our house;
• Moved into temporary housing (a small apartment);
• We are currently building a home!

Life has been keeping us busy (that is for sure).  I've taken a break from blogging with all the "real life" stuff that we've had going on.  It's been a good break.  

I'm in the process of creating a new blog.  I'll let you know once it is complete and I have it live on the web.  My new blog will likely have a similar feel to this one; with what I hope, is a fresh look.  I'll be keeping this blog open as I don't intend to move everything over to my new blog.

I've missed you all and I hope you are well.

I'll keep you posted on the progress for my new blog.  

Blessings!

Heather

Happy Wednesday!

A bird does not sing because it has an answer.

It sings because it has a song.

Chinese Proverb

Happy Hump Day!

Heather

Scrappy Hexagons Begin

I began my Scrappy Hexagon Blanket last night and completed 3 motifs.  

(Pattern HERE)

Doesn't look like many people are interested in a Scrap CAL at this time, but if anyone changes their mind, feel free to jump in.  

Sarah, at Sarahsweethearts, is working on one as well if you want to follow her progress; her colors are gorgeous.

I decided to do my final round in off-white since I'm using such a mishmash of colors.  And, I thought doing a round of off-white within the motif might help unify all the different colors too.

We shall see.

Today is President's Day and my husband is off work, so a relaxing morning with my coffee before we start our work around the house.

Hope your day is great whatever your endeavors.

Heather

Scrap Project CAL

Friday, I posted about doing a scrap project.  

I decided to do Ruby's Hexagon Blanket pattern this time around.  My friend Sarah, over at Sarahsweethearts, is going to do this blanket also and already has a few motifs made up.  

(PDF Download Available on Ravelry)

If you want to join along, just leave a comment.  

You don't have to do this particular blanket.  Any project, large or small, is fine.  Only caveat, you must use your scrap yarn!  

No pressure, each of us just working at our own pace.  

If we get a few people who want to join in, I'll post links to their blogs so you can follow their progress.

Let's take a peek inside my mishmash of yarn...

This is all Vanna's...

This bin contains scraps and bits of yarn that was given to me by one of my Aunts...

And, lastly, a mix of odds and ends from various projects...

I have some solid colors in my stash for the final round.  I'm not sure yet what color I'll use.  I want to get a few motifs made up and see how my colors are blending.

Hope you'll join in on the fun.  

As always, thank you for your nice comments

and

Happy Crocheting!

Heather

Ideas for a Scrap Afghan?

Anyone have any ideas for a scrap afghan?

I want to use up some of my smaller bits of yarn...

I could do a traditional granny.  

I think I have enough black or dark brown for the final round to tie it all together.  I made this one as a gift quite a few years ago...

I really like the Ruby Hexagon Afghan and it has the same granny feel...

Ruby Hexagon Blanket

Or

I've also always liked the Kaleidoscope afghan.  

Looks like it's a freebie too (link is on the Ravelry page linked above).  

I've seen some really pretty examples of it.

What do you think?

What is your favorite scrap afghan pattern?

Hope your weekend is off to a great start;

and

Happy Friday!

Heather

Happy Valentine's Day!

May your day be filled with love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heather

Valentine Craft Ideas:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/index.htm

Hidden Heart

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

and lean not unto thine own understanding.  

Proverbs 3:5

Can you see the heart in the picture?  

:-)

I can't tell you how many times I look at this shed every day.  It's in a direct line from our breakfast bay where we eat most of our meals.  Today, I noticed there was a hidden heart in the doors of the shed.  It lifted my spirits.  It was a little sign to me that God is near.

Hope you are having a truly blessed day!

Heather

Flowers and a Birthday

It's been a busy week and it' only Wednesday.

Hubby celebrated his birthday yesterday.  

At his request, I made his birthday dinner this past Saturday.  I picked up some rib eye steaks and made asparagus casserole and baked potatoes.  For dessert, he always requests chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  

Then, yesterday (on his actual birthday), I did spaghetti sauce and meatballs in the crock pot and made a Low Fat Cheesecake for dessert.  I've made this cheesecake numerous times and it always comes out good.  I didn't want a real NY-style cheesecake hanging around the house tempting me.  

:-)

Hubby brought me these pretty flowers Monday, a touch of spring with the snow in the background.

I said to my son this morning, as I was changing the water in the vase, "Wasn't it thoughtful of Daddy to bring me flowers?"  

Dear son says, "Yes, but I know what gift you like best..." and he gave me a big hug.  

:-)

Hope your week is going well.

Heather

V-Stitch Stash Buster Complete!

I finished up the V-Stitch blanket.

That makes 3 stash busters complete for 2013 (so far).

My favorite part about the pattern is the border, which I think shows off the v-stitch nicely.

The pattern is called Winter Warm-Up and is from the book Vanna's Favorite Crochet Gifts.  I used Homespun yarn (from my stash) to complete the project.  

I had originally intended to give this blanket as a gift, but I'm not 100% happy with my results, so this will likely be donated to Good Will. 

In hindsight, there are a couple of things I would have done differently.  

I went down a hook size based on the yarn manufacturer's recommendations, but didn't add any repeats to my foundation chain.  This made the body of the blanket too skinny.  I thought I might be able to widen it with a few rounds of border, but then thought that would look strange.  

It was either frog it and start over or finish it and donate it.  I decided to finish it and donate it.  Hopefully someone will enjoy it for a few dollars from a local charity shop, or re-purpose the yarn for themselves.  

It was a good quick project and kept my hands busy as I've been recuperating from my knee injury.  Which, by the way, still continues to improve.  I hope to get back on the treadmill next week.

Happy Monday and I hope your week is off to a great start!

Heather

New Yarn and an Update

The yarn I ordered recently arrived!  

Isn't it gorgeous?  

OK, I have a confession to make.

I have never, ever ordered from Knit Picks before; but I believe:

"Louie, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Casablanca (1942)

This yarn looks so scrumptious to work with, I can't wait!  

I felt like I deserved a little reward for the stash busting I've been doing.  

Which is why, I believe, fellow crocheters and knitters will always have yarn on hand for the next project.

:-)

But first, before moving on...

An update on my V-Stitch Blanket.  

One thing about Homespun is they certainly know how to blend the colors beautifully.  I'm really enjoying working on this blanket...

Well, it's a love-hate thing...

I pick up the yarn and ooo, ahhh, it's so soft!  Then I start crocheting and the hook gets stuck, grrrrrrr.  

But, it's moving along fairly quickly.

I've got about two more skeins to add to the body, then I'll start working on the pretty border.

How are your works-in-progress coming along?

By the way, I want to thank everyone for their nice comments and concern on my knee.  It seems to be getting better every day.  Each evening, after dinner, I plop down on the sofa to elevate my leg and I've been alternating ice and the heating pad.  I've been keeping it wrapped during the day.  I'm finally able to go up the stairs normally again, but still have to do a little step-step jig going down.

Happy Hump Day!

Heather

Stash Busting Again...

Project No. 3.

I was looking through some of my older crochet books and I found this blanket.  

I made this many moons ago for my mother, it's called  called Winter White Warm-Up from Vanna's Favorite Crochet Gifts.  

I made my mom's in a Mediterranean colorway with greens and oranges.  

I remembered I had some homespun in my stash and decided to dig it out.  

This color is called Sierra and has pretty golds, pinks, browns and olive greens throughout.  Homespun has a nice soft luxurious feel to it, but I think it is really difficult to work with.  This project with V-stitches is perfect for this curly yarn.

I haven't gotten too far on it, but with the simple stitch pattern, it moves pretty quickly.  

I just started this today.

If it turns out nicely, I plan on giving it to a nice lady at my church who is expecting.  Not as a baby blanket, but as a Mommy Blanket for her to snuggle under.

If you have the book, check it out; the border on this blanket is really pretty.

On another note, I twisted my knee about two weeks ago.  I've been reluctant to go to the doctor as I figure they will tell me what I already know to do:  rest it, elevate it, ice it and take ibuprofen   But two weeks have passed and it's still bothering me, so I think a trip to the doctor is in order.

I need to make my rounds in "blog land" and see what everyone is up to.

Take care,

Heather

Thoughts of Spring

I'm linking up with Petals to Picots

for her

I Love Fridays Link Party

Happy Friday!

I finished up the little baby blanket that I made to donate.  

I used I Love this Yarn in Ivory, Light Sage and Rosy Cheeks.  It was all yarn I had on hand.  

I borrowed one of my son's animals to model the blanket...

I need to fiddle with the border some more and have some cotton on order to make another one.

The colors remind me of spring...

But I think we still have another month and a half of unpredictable weather before the first signs appear.

Joy in a finished project.

Have a crochet kind of day!

Heather

Pebbles

"Pebbles"; 2013

If I'm not in my crochet chair, Pebbles is.  

It amuses my son and he always feels like he needs to "tell on" the cat.  

"Mommy, Pebbles is sitting in your chair."  

:-)

"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats."

- English Proverb -

Favourite Cat Quotes

Believe it or not, I'm still working on my baby blanket...

Have a crochet day!

Heather

Thoughts for Monday

Friendly Frog; Winter 2013

I read these articles this morning and thought they were interesting.  

Both are popular blogs, so you may have already seen them.  If not, thought I'd share.

Kim @ Wips 'n Chains

My Rose Valley:  Blogging

Happy Monday to each of you; wishing you a terrific week!

Heather

Project No. 2 - Stash Busting

I started working on Project No. 2 on my stash busting journey.  

It's a small project, but it's using yarn I already have.

It's a baby blanket.

Our church has a Sanctity of Life Sunday coming up soon.  They will be collecting items to donate to one of the local pregnancy care centers; diapers, formula and layette items.  

I wish I had thought of it sooner and could have made more blankets to donate.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get a couple made in time.

I'm using more I Love This Yarn from my stash.  I must have REALLY loved this yarn at one time, because I have a lot of it to use.  

Hope your week is going well.  I've been busy with school and keeping the house running.  Hubby has been sick and I'm hoping he'll be feeling better soon.  He's been working long hours at work and then being sick on top of things makes for a tired man.  He's a hard worker and I'm very thankful for him.

Our snow is melting here, but I'm sure the cold temperatures will be back before we get a true spring.

Happy trails!

Heather

Mission Accomplished!

I think 2013 is going to be the year of depleting some of my stash.  

This is the first of my stash busting projects...

It's double-stranded, making it extra heavy.  Since it's made in strips, it makes for a fast moving project.  I enjoyed working on it over the holiday.

More details on the project are HERE and HERE.  

I wanted to have it finished sooner, but with us starting back to school mid-week last week, my priorities got refocused.  

My crochet time had to take a back burner to the little one's education.

:-)

More crochet on the horizon...

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Heather

Jump Rop'n, Bubble Blow'n...

snow-man

happy-man

winter-time fan man.

:-)

Hope your year is off to a great start!

Heather

Welcome 2013

No loud celebration,...

no multitude of guests,...

just peaceful...

quietness.

And, winter's own beauty.

Wishing you peaceful beauty and contentment in 2013.

May your year be blessed.

Heather