Yarn, Yarn, Glorious Yarn!

And, a new project!

Today's topic is crochet.  I have to tell you, I love to crochet.  My very favorite thing to make is an afghan or blanket.  I tend to give away most of my projects to people (who hopefully) understand the thought, love, time, and bit of myself that goes into each one.  My joy is in the process, and hopefully, the recipients joy is in the end product. 

My next project is going to be a baby blanket for a cousin who is expecting in December.  The pattern is called Summer Garden Granny Square.  It is basically a circle to square motif using the granny square technique.  The free on-line pattern can be found by clicking on the title of the project.  It is a well written pattern with a nice tutorial, just keep in mind, she is in the UK and her treble crochet is a US double crochet stitch (which she notes in her instructions). 

The color scheme I will be using is slightly different as I'll be interjecting white into all my colors.  I think this will soften it a bit, but will still have the fun youthful look with all the bright and cheery colors.  I'll be using Rico 100% cotton yarn which is available from the UK and the white is Bernat, (also 100% cotton) which is locally available at Joann's. 

A new project always gets my creativity humming and brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction.  I'll keep you posted on my progress as I go along.  It's bound to be a fun project!

Swap from "Across The Pond"

Today, I am so excited to have received an airmail package all the way from Scotland!

I belong to an on-line crochet (and knitting) group called Ravelry (www.ravelry.com).  Within this on-line forum are thousands of people, around the world, with crochet, knitting, and love of yarn in common.  One of the groups within Ravelry is called "We Love Lucy".  Lucy hosts a blog called "Attic24" where she talks about her day to day life, decorating and crochet.  One of the things Lucy is best known for is her love of color, and her use of it in her daily life. 

Recently, someone within the group came up with the idea of doing a yarn swap; America and Canada with Europe and Australia.  So we signed up and were assigned partners for the swap.  I was paired with someone from Scotland and below is a picture of my goodies I received:

The items that enchanted me the most were the ones from her native region.  The three skeins of "Heather" colored wool are from New Lanark Mills which she said is less than an hour from her.  She included a brochure on the New Lanark World Heritage Site which recounts a bit of history on the mill that was founded more than 200 years ago. 

Another one of the items she included, in my swap package, was a bar of handmade soap called Arran Apothecary Soap in Seaweed and Oatmeal.  It is made off the west coast of Scotland and smells blissfully clean and fresh; I can't wait to try it. 

While everything she sent is wonderful, the "piece de resistance" is the post card...

This is "Loch Lomond", which is less than a 10 minute drive from my swap partner.  Wow!  To live so close to such beauty, I just can't fathom it.  Looking at the post card, it is easy to day dream about hopping in a boat and heading out to one of the islands to explore for the day.  Of course, I'd take a picnic and one of my handmade crochet blankets, relax and soak in the splendor of it all. 

Today's joy is in the package I received, but even more so, in human nature.  Someone I don't know, but for a few on-line e-mail chats, taking the time to select these items and send this lovely parcel to me all the way across the pond to the US.  What a special blessing.