Mojo - Where Art Thou?

For a while now my mojo has been off.  Not that I haven't been crocheting or completing projects; my heart just hasn't been totally in it lately.  And the blog has been neglected.  But I have been doing stuff so I'll show you what I've been up to.

Before and After of refinished dresser for my yarn.

This took some time but in the end really paid off. The branches and flowers are vinyl wall stickers I bought off Amazon and I covered the handles in crochet.  I love the look.

Doris Chan

Lily Chin

I went to the Reno Knit and Crochet Show where I got to take a class with Lily Chin and meet Doris Chan.  The Show was good but the classes were great.  My sister, who knits, met me in Reno and we got to hang out for a couple of days together and that was fabulous.

Autumn and Kiko - Greenville Zoo

Fall for Greenville 

My husband and I have been enjoying our new city of Greenville.  In early October every year they have a great festival on Main street call "Fall for Greenville".  Thirty-eight different restaurants have booths where you can get tasting portions of the menu items for a very low cost.  There was also 6 different stages for music and a beer and wine garden.  It was great and Mike and I enjoyed ourselves a lot!  The other thing that occupied my time a lot (maybe too much) was the web cam our zoo set up while awaiting the birth of the pregnant giraffe.  I watched it for weeks waiting to watch the birth!  ha ha... It was kinda like watching an aquarium, not much happening but very peaceful.  After the hours and hours of watching, I missed the birth because she went into hard labor and gave birth around midnight.  But we now have a baby giraffe called Kiko at our zoo!

Mike and Penny

Lastly, we rescued a great little dog we renamed "Penny".  She's a greyhound/doberman mix and was at the animal shelter for over 3 months.  We have no idea why because she is the sweetest most loving dog.  She is a bit energetic but that works ok.  Mike is a runner and I've been starting to run.  So Penny runs with me for now while she works up the endurance to take on longer runs with Mike.  Isn't she cute!  I have a new model for my crochet items.  ha ha 

Hope all is well with everyone out in internetland.  Take care.

Crochet Fall Fashion

Marc Jacobs in the September issue of Harpers Bazar magazine. I can't decide if I like it or not. The silver tinsel wouldn't have been my choice but it totally works! I guess that's why I'm not a designer. :)

Crochet In The Car Part 2

On the way home from Syracuse to Maryland I finished another scarf. What am I going to do from Maryland to South Carolina (a 8 hour drive)? Ha ha. :)

Crochet In The Car

Heading up to NY to drop our daughter off at Syracuse Univ. We're doing the drive in stages so we can spend time with friends in Maryland. I decided to create a granny möbius scarf in Syracuse's colors as we go. :D

Photo Catch Up

How's everybody's summer going? I feel like in the past couple of posts I've told to you what I was doing and promised photos but really haven't given you any. So this posits all about pics.

My Olympics Crochet Spot

Hi everyone!
We've just about settled completely into the new house. There are still lots to do though. One of those things on my list is remaking a vintage 30's chest of drawers to become my yarn storage. I'm so excited about it and have thought and thought about what I want to do. I've decided to paint it with a blue coat and then cover that with a cream coat and then sand the cream a bit to show the blue and a bit of the wood for a shabby chic or "new country" look. Below is the before photo of the chest and You'll have to come back to check on my progress. :)




I'm also about 3/4 way through my Sari shawl that I'm making. I'm loving it! I've really gotten a lot done while watching the Olympics this week. My favorite sports to watch have been archery and fencing. Men's fencing is crazy fast so I really can't pay attention and crochet but soccer (football for all you non-US folks) volleyball and basketball all have been great crochet time. At this point you're probably thinking "how in the world do you see all those?". We have TiVo (the original DVR) and I've been tivoing the games. :). My hubby is in Oregon getting our daughter ready to come home for 3 weeks before she heads up to Syracuse Univ. at the end of Aug. and since he's been gone, I sit in my new spot turn on the TiVo and crochet away!!!!


Hey speaking of things to do... Are any of you going to the Knit and Crochet Show in Reno in September? I told myself I was going this year and I registered this week and booked my air and hotel. Yes! I hope to meet some of you and hang out and learn with other like minded people.
Take care!
With love,
Auntie Becky

Shawl Crochet-a-long

Yep we're still in the middle of moving but I just couldn't pass up starting a new project. :D
I was reading my July/August issue of Crochet Today!and stopped in my tracks when I saw the Sari shawl! How beautiful! The weight, stitch pattern and of course the color! I just knew I would have to make it.
I really wanted the same coral color and I went to one of my LYS All About Yarn. Once I got there, I asked for some help with choosing the correct yarn and was pointed to multiple types with fabulous choices for color! I started being me and looked at all the "safe" colors and then told myself to be brave! I did and picked up a 100% mercerized cotton in a hot,hot red and hurried to pay and leave before I changed my mind.




So I'm starting today. Check back and see how I progress. What are you working on this summer?
With love,
Auntie Becky

A-Hunting We Will Go, A-Hunting We Will Go

Hi ho the dairy-o, a-hunting we will go.
The hubby and I rolled into Greenville, SC in the wee hours of the morning, got some sleep, and are off on a whirlwind 2 days of house/apartment hunting. :).
If anyone knows the area, tell me your favorite neighborhood or those to steer clear from. We both will be working from home so we are wide open to suggestions. I'll be taking lots of photos of each place we go, so come back later for an update. :)




With love,
Auntie Becky

Garage Sales Are An Opportunity

Our luck seems to be continuing with the move (knock on wood)! This weekend was our annual neighborhood garage sale, what timing right? Our front driveway looked like a furniture store.




So while I was looking for my credit card reader in my craft fair box, I thought to myself "Why not sell some crochet?". At the very least it may draw more people in by being colorful and at most I may sell something! So I gathered some items up, moved a table around and set things up.




Sure enough, my luck continued on! I sold a baby hat and blanket! Yea me! The garage sale went well too! We got rid of many big pieces of furniture and are a little closer to our move.
Hope your weekend goes well too!

Astrology and me

Do any of you like to read your horoscope and see how things go? I've always had a bit of the mystic to me and I check in with Susan every month faithfully at Astrologyzone and this month has been kind of spooky dead on. :)
When I last wrote I told you all about being super busy with putting the house on the market and that we had 3 showings the very first day! Well fast forward 2 weeks and I'm here to tell you that we received an offer, countered, got a counter-counter, accepted the offer, and got the OK from my work to work from home, all within 5 days. ;). It gave me an emotional whiplash!
One of the good things about selling so quickly though was that I was able to pull out my crochet and finish the bear I was working on. This was great because a couple of days later we had a party and some of my lovely friends saw my bears and bought 2 for their niece and nephew they were going to see later that day. She said they loved them and the look on the children's faces make me light up inside!



My hubby and I are so excited for our new beginning. We will be moving south to Greenville, South Carolina. People have been asking us how we picked Greenville and long story short, the Internet told us to. :D. Ha ha Really, we had lots of criteria and Greenville seemed to fit the bill.
With love,
Auntie Becky

Going Through A Drought

Last time I posted it was to say that I was going to be quiet for a bit while we get the house on the market. Wow have we been busy! We worked very, very hard and the house when up yesterday and we had 3 showings today and 1 tomorrow! I guess our hard work was worth it.
I miss my crochet and the quietness that overcomes me when I get into a rhythm. All my yarn is packed away in the basement out of sight. While going through this crochet drought I look through everyone else's blogs and peruse the web for craft room ideas. Love this idea I got from Pinterest (iheartorganizing.blogspot.com)

Excuses, Excuses!

Hi everybody!
Last week was so much fun! I read a lot of great posts and found some wonderful new blogs to read. I'm not sure how I'll keep up but I definitely will be checking back with everyone. But just in case you worry about me, I'll give you a heads up what's going on around here.


My hubby and I met with a realtor last Thurs. and agreed to put our house on the market no later than the middle of next week! We're both excited and freaked out! We are now in a huge rush to fix, touch-up, and do all those things you have to do before you have people come through your home. :)
Wish us luck!

With love,
Auntie Becky

Improving My Skillset - 3KCBWDAY6

3KCBWDAY6 - Improving my crochet skills is a big goal of mine. Last year I wanted to learn a couple of new stitches but this year I want to interact! Here are some of the things I would LOVE to do:

Craft Cruise  

There is a craft cruise at the end of May leaving out of Baltimore!  This sounds like a great way to meet people, learn some new techniques and relax all at the same time. I've never been on a cruise but have friends who have been and go back quite often.  Next month's cruise is to Bermuda with The Crochet Dude, Drew Emborsky.  Fun, right?  Unfortunately the timing of this cruise isn't good for me now since we are putting our house up for sale. If anyone else goes, let me know how it was, I would love to hear.

CGOA Conference 
The Crochet Guild of America has two conferences every year, Summer and Fall.
I'm a member of CGOA and just got the schedule in the mail on Saturday.  The summer conference is in Manchester, NH this year at the end of June, beginning of July.  There are a bunch of classes that interest me and the presenters/teachers are a list of who's who!  I planned out my whole schedule and looked up airfare but the summer's conference is going to be out of reach for me. At the end of July, my wonderful daughter and I will be driving across the country from Oregon to Syracuse University in New York. The Fall conference is in Reno, NV, the middle of September.  I'm shooting for  those dates for sure!! We should be moved by then and I will start setting aside time and money to make sure I am there.  Anyone going to either of the conferences?

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival  
Yay!! The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is always the first Saturday and Sunday of May, this year it's the 5th & 6th. And it's just around the corner from my house! I've lived here for almost 10 years and didn't really know too much about the festival until about 5 years ago.  At that time my coworker went and had a great time but I didn't go with her.  The festival is held at the Howard County fairgrounds and is chalk-full of great vendors, good food and sheep!  I am definitely going again this year.  Matter of fact, I had inadvertently made a hair appointment for that Saturday and when I realized what I had done I immediately called the salon and rescheduled.  My plan this year is to go on Saturday by myself to take a bunch of photos and then come home and blog about what's happening.  Then on Sunday, I plan on going back and bringing home lots, and lots, and lots of good stuff.  I hope you all come out and hang out at the festival.  If you want any recommendations for a great place to eat around the area I'd be happy to give you a couple of places.

With love,
Auntie Becky

My Perfect Crochet Day - 3KCBWDAY5

Day 5 for the Knitting and Crochet Blogging Week is supposed to be a challenge day about doing something different. I had so many ideas: doing a video tour of my local yarn shop, a video of me teaching my husband to crochet (what he calls "making knots) and even doing an interview in the point of view of my crocheted teddy bear with my daughter's teddy she's taken everywhere. Yep, lots of ideas and not enough time or I got so bogged down in the details, that I talked myself out of things.
So instead, I'm taking the wild card day; describe my perfect crochet day.
My perfect day would have me staying at a very lovely high end resort or hotel overlooking the ocean or mountains somewhere.


After a lovely sleep, I partake of a wonderful breakfast delivered by room service, on the balcony in a fuzzy robe. Then it's a full day of crochet and reading about crochet.
I'm going to take an idea from Nicole and say that I would take a couple of hours to create lots of swatch squares of stitches I've wanted to learn.
I would spend some time really reading and studying the great book Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook I bought it awhile ago and really want to spend hours taking notes and absorbing as much as possible.
Then it probably would be nice to take a short walk and have lunch outside with crochet in hand. A little crochet outside in the fresh air is something I love to do.


I see myself crocheting and reading all day and possibly finding a new LYC to walk around in without being in a hurry. Maybe my perfect day will coincide with the Knit & Crochet conference in Reno this Fall? Ohhh! A plan!

With love,
Auntie Becky

A Crocheter For All Seasons? - 3KCBWDAY4

Wow, we've made it to day 4 of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week (3KCBWDAY4).  I really hope you like what you've read so far.  Today's challenge is to look through our completed projects and explain how the seasons affect what we create and when.

I really didn't have to look through my projects, I know the seasonal weather makes me want to crochet full size afghans and lap blankets.  I love to watch football and be covered with a great blanket that I'm creating.

 

 

When the weather starts to warm up again I don't want to be working with lots of yarn and heavy blankets and it seems that the babies are usually on the way.  :)  So I move to smaller blankets, toys and purses.

My Craft Hero - 3KCBWDAY3

Today's post for the 3rd day of Knitting and Crochet Blog week is about our craft heros.  My craft hero is my grandma. I thought about other people who inspire me today with their color and techniques (Lucy-Attic24 or Kristin Omdahl) but then always came back to my loving grandma we came to call GG Bonnie.

GG Bonnie

I've talked before about how it was my grandma who first taught me to chain crochet. We loved it. We would make 'snakes' all the time with her. She knit, crocheted and quilted along with other various crafts. Each one of her grandchildren and great grandchildren were given either a crocheted blanket or quilt as babies. She always had crochet edged dish cloths in her house and lovely crochet doilies on each of her chairs and sofa arms.

GG Bonnie's Crochet

When she passed away at age 93, I remember her oldest great grandchild, Renee, speaking at her viewing about how sad she was because GG Bonnie would have been so proud of how far she had gotten with her crocheted scarf. Grandma had taught a third generation to crochet only several months before.
I love my grandma, she is always with me and is not only my inspiration for my crochet but the person I most inspire to live my life like.

With love,
Auntie Becky

Spring Love - 3KCBWDAY2

Today is the 2nd day of the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week (3KCBWDAY2) and today's challenge was to create or set up a story with photography of our craft (crochet for me, thank you).  So without further ado, I give you "The Start" by Becky
This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath, May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. - Romeo & Juliet - Shakespeare

The Boy

The Girl

The Start of Something Wonderful

Don't forget to vote at Ekimimimakes for my pics. :)

With love,
Auntie Becky

Color Lovers - 3KCBWDAY1

Yay! Day one of the 3rd annual Knitting and Crochet Blog week! Do-ta-do! 3KCBWDAY1
Today's topic is color! I love this topic because I always considered myself a true lover of color and thought I was pretty good with color. For years anyone who came to my house knew that I was not afraid of using different colors all over.

But as I started to crochet more, I found that I was being very safe. I didn't use many colors in an item or I found myself coming back to more "Fall" neutral colors.

I don't understand it. I completely swoon and immediately am overcome with jealousy when I look around the blogosphere and see Lucy's items in her little Attic 24 or Sarah London's wool eater blankets.
But when I go into the yarn store, I see the beautiful colors and my mind just is overwhelmed. What goes with what? CanI really use that together? I blame my 12 years of Catholic school uniforms! I wasn't trained to put things together I tell you!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
How about you? Do you go to your yarn store and stare at the beautiful colors and walk out safe like me or are you bold and fabulous and make me jealous?
With love,
Auntie Becky

Preview of a Romance