More Hats

Every year I am privileged to make hats for those who need them.  I gather yarn from thrift stores, yard sales or donations from friends and family.  Many of Don's co-workers have donated yarn for this project.

 Some of hats get a pretty flower

 Some get pom-poms

 And some are plain - and some have fancy stripes

 I woke up early on Friday morning - was browsing through FaceBook and up popped an ad for "for sale Whatcom County" - the first photo was of yarn, and it had been posted just two hours earlier - someone else was up really early on Friday.

 I contacted the seller and we made arrangements to pick up the yarn - she said there were 23 skeins, and she was asking $25.00 - what a bargain.

 Sorting the yarn - some has a price tag of $1.17 - and some has price tags from Sprouse-Reitz - I don't even know if that store is still in business anymore.

 Stacking the yarn in a huge laundry basket - there are going to be lots of fun variegated hats!

 Good colors - the group that distributes the hats asks for some darker color hats.

 Another layer

 And yet another

 It goes on and on - the huge trash bag of yarn seems to be bottomless

 And more!

The basket is full to overflowing - there were 48 skeins of yarn - barely over 52 cents a skein.  And there should be around 75 hats from this stash of yarn.  It will keep my fingers busy this coming year.

Tablecloth Update

It is now taking me about an hour of nonstop crocheting to complete one round - and you can be sure I check the last round before beginning a new one - for any errors - it is not that much fun to have to rip out a complete round to correct a mistake.

  36 inches across now - and just about ready to add the round that takes it from 36 pineapples in each round to 72 pineapples.

This is my last reported photo - the progress is really noticeable.

Uh oh -  time out from crocheting the tablecloth - to make time for some pretties for our granddaughter - due in May.  Fun fun fun!!!!

Big Brother News!!

Good news - Donnie has news he wants to share with everyone!!!

Such wonderful news!!!

Baby Sister will arrive on May 4th - and her name is Alexandra Joy!

We are so excited - let the projects begin.  Knit sweaters, crochet afghans, make quilts - and find special gifts for Big Brother!!

Yesterday Donnie called Don at work and said, "You can go buy a bonnet now Grampy".

Exciting days in our family - I'll keep you updated.

I've already picked out three sweater patterns, after all, babies grow fast, so I've got to get busy.

Tablecloth Update

I'm starting round 44 

It is now about 22 inches across

 There are 16 pineapples in each round, when it is finished there will be 128 pineapples in each round - so I've got a ways to go.

It is lying flat - so guess that this time I finally got the gauge and crochet hook size correct.  A good project for rainy Autumn and winter evenings.

One More Time

Some of you might remember when I was crocheting a round pineapple tablecloth - way back in November of 2013.

After that blog post I redid what I had taken out - and it still would not lie flat - I  didn't even document the sadness that was me undoing the entire tablecloth and putting it aside forever.

Well - not forever - as I've decided to give it another try.

It started with this pretty table runner last week - I love anything crocheted in the pineapple design, so I thought I'd give it  a try.  At first my gauge wasn't right so I moved up to a bigger sized crochet hook - and the gauge was perfect.

A size 4 steel crochet hook - next to a small mechanical pencil, for size comparison.  It isn't the smallest crochet hook I've ever used, I've crocheted with a size 12 (the higher the number the smaller the crochet hook) using sewing machine thread weight.

 I was enjoying the pattern as I crocheted, but in the back of my mind was always the round tablecloth - after all - we had bought a round table just so I could have my round pineapple tablecloth.

 Then I decided to try the pineapple pattern tablecloth one more time - and using the size 4 crochet hook and size 10 crochet thread - it is working out perfectly. 

 I'll keep you updated as I go along - I am only on round 29 so far, the beginning of of 16 pineapple designs.  When it is the size I want it will have 128 pineapples, so I have a long way to go.  I am really enjoying it now that I've figured out the right size hook and thread.  The original pattern called for size 20 thread (thinner than size 10) and a size 12 crochet hook - but size 20 and a size 4 hook are working out well for me.

Anyone else out there crocheting anything?

SNOW GEESE

We decided to take a drive down to Fir Island in Skagit County to see if any Snow Geese had arrived.  It seems a bit early - but with all the snow north of here we hoped we might spot some.

 We only saw one small flock - but it was so exciting!!!  We followed them for quite a ways until they took off over some hills and we lost them

 The sound of Snow Geese is unmistakable and we could hear them calling as they circled back and forth above us!

 The clouds and sun came and went - giving us wonderfully different views of them flying by.

 We never did see them land - perhaps they flew over to the bay, but it was enough just to have seen some of the first ones to return for the winter.  We'll definitely go back and see the huge flocks that overwinter here.

Do you have any special bird flocks that overwinter in your area?

Of course we had to stop at Snow Goose Produce Stand - where they offer "immodest size ice cream cones".  We got one to share - Chocolate Truffle.  It was more that the two of us could possible eat - and it was the one scoop size - wonder what the two scoop size looks like.  We also stocked up on their organic produce - such a great variety, even this time of the year.

Craft Show - Bloedel Donavan Park

Saturday - September 28th  - Don't miss it!

Local Peeps - Don't miss out on the fun.

We'll be selling our array of handmade items this Saturday - Sept. 28th at the Bloedel Donovan gym! Plenty of free parking and lots of interesting booths - come get a jump on gift shopping!

Everything that we feature in our Etsy Shop  and MORE - will be featured in our booth.

Beccy (Mimi) will be at the booth all day - stop in and say hello and shop to your heart's content!

Felt Light Sabers

Crocheted Hats for Dolly and Me

Felt play food

Painted Stones

ALSO FEATURED

Thor's Hammer (soft toy)

Cupcake Pincushions

Bowl Cozies - for hot or cold food

and more - come and make your selections early