Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Kay Can Crochet (Like A Beginner)

 I made this dishcloth!  I love this pattern from Liz from Crochet in Color and you may find the pattern just here. (I also made her scarf with stripes with braided tassels at the end.) Thanks, Liz, for sharing some fantastic patterns!
 
You might think that since I learned to crochet as a teenager that I would be an expert by now.  You would think so but you would be wrong.  The crochet itself takes time but it is the fiddling around with it that takes even more! 
For example, I made this pink dishcloth to go with a wedding present and I loved the gray sheets in this gift bag, but to go with it, how about if  I crochet a little white heart but then....how to attach it to the bag so  it will lay flat against the bag?  I finally just did a chain and attached it through the very top of the heart and then just tied it to the ribbon.  Now, this took an INSANE amount of time for me to think of this.
 
  The wrap that I was making...I put it down during the week and when I picked it up again, I forgot how I made the stitch and couldn't get it to match what I had already done!  I ended up making it into a cowl.  Sometimes, you have to take your mistakes and turn them into something else, since you have taken up so much time working on it!  Oh well, I didn't really need a wrap for the wedding, it was so hot, they gave out paper fans! 

This sweet little heart is by Lucy from Attic 24 and you may find her pattern here.  (Lucy has so many fans, she won the best crochet blog from a crochet/knitting magazine in England.  She is a truly talented artist and she shares a great many patterns. All of them so wonderful!  I love Lucy!) 
 
 
 
 My sister-in-law's mother just passed away a few months ago and this was her orchid and it has never bloomed so beautifully. 
Thirteen blooms total, just for you, Mary!
 
The wedding that I went to...the bride's grandmother had passed away just weeks before the wedding and she had been a great lover of her garden and the wild birds who visited it.  During the wedding , which was outside on the Verandah overlooking a golf course, birds began  to fly over the wedding couple and one even landed and watched the couple exchange their "I dos".   When I spoke with the bride's grandfather afterwards, he told me that he thought the same thing that I did, it was as if his beloved wife was  there watching it through the eyes of the bird.  (Martins, I think they were martins, Shirley would have known for sure what they were!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

26 comments:

  1. Love the title of this post, the pictures and the sweet story from the wedding!
    Last time I crocheted anything must have been about 20 years ago, and it were potholders...

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    1. Thanks, Meike.
      Your Mom is such a great knitter, I am wondering, do you knit like she does?

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    2. I can't knit at all, Kay! Never learned it, and have no ambition to.

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  2. Hi Kay.....I love that header photo....love, love, love it. It's so bright and cheery when your blog opens. Your post was so lovely and I got chills just thinking about those orchids blooming so nicely and the birds appearing at the wedding. At my brother-in-law's funeral a bird appeared in a tree above where we were standing by the grave. It started singing SO LOUDLY. And it didn't leave for such a long time. And, for some reason, it made me feel so at ease in such a hard life moment. Makes me wonder...

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    1. Thanks, Audrey! I took that photo last year on the 4th of July down at my Dad's house. I hope to take more photos there this year!
      I would have taken comfort from that bird singing too, and I am very glad that you noticed it.

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  3. I too like the header picture. Our sunflowers are growing here, but no flowers yet. I learned how to crochet as a teen too, but still keep to the basics. I love your little heart and the dish cloth too. They do add a personal touch to the gifts.

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    1. My Dad's sunflowers are almost ready to bloom but not just yet, maybe by the 4th!
      I also keep to the basics, some of the patterns are hard to read. There are some great tutorials on Attic 24 and also many other crochet websites. I can totally lose myself marveling at all that these talented crocheters can do!

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  4. Kay, I got chills reading about that grandmother, the birds and the wedding! What a lovely story.

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    1. Thanks, Martha. I am not even sure that most people even noticed the birds but I did and you know I had to tell you about it.

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  5. What a lovely wedding, and to attribute those birds to the deceased mother is really beautiful. I am glad you find pleasure in making crafts.

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    1. If you had only known how well known she was for loving her birds, it would not have taken much imagination. (They even mentioned that she loved birds in her obituary.)
      I LOVE to make things, to be creative, it is when I am at my most HAPPIEST, I get totally lost and in the zone, so to speak!

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  6. My mother crocheted and I remember the beautiful things she made. I think she may have tried to teach me, but I didn't get it.
    that dishcloth is too pretty to use on dishes.
    Beautiful header photo.

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    1. Thanks, Connie!
      A lot of women use these dishcloths as colorful cloths to put under bowls or platters of food on their table. The first time I saw this, I complimented my sister on the cloth underneath a Mexican dish, and she told me that I had made it! HA, didnt' even remember it!!

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  7. Once upon a time, i used to crochet and knit and cross-stitch. So much i would love to do, if i had the time; i'm glad you do take the time, i remember it being very fun and soothing.

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    1. Ha, I crochet and that is IT. I should be glad I learned to do that, I am left thumbs at learning anything.
      I like to crochet when I am watching TV, I do find it relaxing.

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  8. Hi Kay,
    I love your crochet!
    What a wonderful wedding story, I believe in miracles too.
    Blessings,
    Dorothy and Ms.Wilma

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    1. Hey Dorothy!
      Thank you!

      Blessings to you too and to your sweet animals. xx

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  9. I love your crochet projects. I have never learned to crochet...shame on me. I am so glad that the wedding was lovely-in spite of the recent death of the mother. And the orchid is beautiful! xo Diana

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    1. Thanks, Diana.
      That Lucy from Attic 24? I was amazed to learn that she only learned to crochet just a few years ago!! So...it's never too late! You could teach Sweet Cheeks too!! x

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  10. Lovely wedding story. I believe too.
    Hats off to you for crocheting! I can knit, spin and weave. But crochet? It defeated me, lol!

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    1. Thanks, Terry.
      Knit, spin and weave? My hat is off to YOU!! ;-)

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  11. How nice to have Mary's Orchid - you'll remember her every time it flowers for you.

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    1. As usual, I didn't explain myself very well!! My sister-in-law has the orchid but she let my husband photograph it for me, I love it so. I was given some of Mary's bird books that were special to her, therefore, they are special to me.

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  12. I love your sunflower header - one day I'd love to go and see a field of them in Tuscany or France - I can dream! And all this time I never knew that you could crochet - I look forward to hearing more about your secret crafting skills!

    At my cousin's funeral they played Bon Jovi's song 'Always'. A few years later at my Nanna's funeral, as we were driving to the cemetery, the song came on the radio. It came on again as we walked through the door of the place we were having the wake. It's not a song which is played often (or at least I rarely hear it) so it really seemed as if my cousin was there mourning with us. And I say that being a person who generally doesn't believe in these kind of things. Some things just can't be explained. x

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    1. Hey Julie, I will be going to a field of sunflowers very soon, it is just down the road from my Dad's house on the 6th of July, they will have a SUNFLOWER FESTIVAL and I hope to take some photos of the sunflowers there! I also would like to see them in Tuscany or France, but Rutledge, Georgia is more my speed!!

      Thanks for sharing your story about Bon Jovi's Song, "Always". I agree with you, some things just cannot be explained but I think it is important for us to acknowledge them and just say "you know, that is really something remarkable." xx

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  13. Orchids are so very difficult to raise and bloom. There is a loving spirit sending you cheerful, happy connections.

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