I entered Elegant Lace and Gentle Ripples in the Ragshop contest. Got my rejection letter yesterday. I shouldn't let it bother me, but I can't help it. Rejection really takes the wind out of my sails. On the upside, the ponchos are being donated to a worthy cause.   

Mom went home on May 22. I haven't posted about it before because I didn't know if I could without crying and I'm sitting here now trying to hold back the tears. I can't believe how much I miss her. I've talked to her several times and she's doing great. She had my sister pick her up at the airport and drive her home and as soon as my sister left, mom jumped in her van and drove herself to her BIL and SIL's house and she's been there ever since. I told her when she left here if she was afraid or worried about staying at her own house to go there, they'd be happy to have her. Well, I guess she was a lot more worried about staying at her own house than I thought. I talked to her today and she said she was going to stay with the inlaws.

She had some health issues while she was here and I told her to be sure to go to her doctor when she got home. She's visited the doctor and had her medicines updated and she's scheduled for some tests sometime in July. She has had a problem with her stomach for a long time now and she's finally having it checked out.

She got her foot problems taken care of too. She's got the craziest toenails I've ever seen. They grow very wierd and I'm afraid to clip them for fear of hurting her. Anyway, she had the foot doctor trim them and take care of the worst of them. We're going to find her a foot doctor here so she can have them taken care of while she's here.

I think she's planning on coming back for the winter months, but I don't know. She may decide she's OK where she is now. She is a much more social person than I am. She's used to having lots of people around her all the time and I'm the exact opposite. I crave alone time. It was quite an adjustment for me to have her with me 24/7. Everywhere I went, she went. Funny how much I miss her now.

I kept her checkbook and I've got access to her checking account so I'm writing checks to pay all her bills and I tell her how much money she can spend. She laughed at me today and said "yes, mother" when I told her she could have more if she needed it. I think she's been needing someone to help her take control of her life since her husband died.

Spike has done much better this time when she left than he did the last time. I think he knows she's planning on coming back. He was very distraught the first time she left. We all thought it was the last time we'd ever see her.

The winning bid on Elegant Lace was $14.00.

Not exactly what I was hoping for but I learned some lessons with it. Got lots of advice and well wishes from crochet friends on the net. I'm still trying to decide if I'll do it again, but knowing me, I will. Next time, though, starting bid will be higher and if it doesn't sell, I can repost it. 

 

I'll be noting pattern corrections on this page in the future. All corrections made to the pattern(s) will be done in blue or red

SWEETNESS: Round 21 corrected

 

YEEHAW LADYquoted from "Stitch ‘n Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller"...

 

Corrections & Clarifi cations

 

YEEHAW LADY

PAGE 115

Under “Special Stitches,” directions for Cluster should

read as follows (note deleted “yo”):

Yo, insert hook in st, yo, draw yarn through st (3 loops on

hook), yo yo, sk next st, yo, insert hook in next st, yo, draw

yarn through st, yo, draw yarn through 5 loops on hook.

Under Hat, directions for round 2 should read as follows

(note deleted instruction):

Rnd 2: Ch 1 (counts as fi rst pointed front sc), sk fi rst sc sc,

….

ELEGANT LACE
copyright © 05/04/05 Dot Matthews
 

Size: Adult, one size fits most up to 2X

Materials: Caron Simply Soft pounder, 16 oz, I hook, blunt needle, scissors

Guage: 6 sc = 2" and
4 rows measured from the bottom of the 7dc shell to top of sc = 2"

Stitches: chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet, treble crochet

Pattern is worked in multiples of 8

Abbreviations:
ch - chain
dc - double crochet
sc - single crochet
scs - single crochets
sk - skip
sp - space
sps - spaces
st - stitch
sts - stitches
tr - treble crochet
ch-# = chain, followed by a dash, followed by a number, refers to a space made by a number of chains made. Example ch-1 refers to the space made by the chain 1,

ROUND 1: ch 80, join in first ch to form circle. Ch 1, sc in same st as join, ch 1, *sk 1 st, sc in next st, ch 1. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (40 sc and 40 ch-1 sps)

ROUND 2: ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in next ch-1 sp, *sc in next sc, sc in next ch-1 sp. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (80 sc)

ROUND 3: ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in next 7 sts, *2 sc in next st, sc in next 8 sts. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (88 sc)

ROUND 4: ch 1, sc in same st as join, sc in next 8 sts *2 sc in next st, sc in next 9 sts. Repeat from * around, end with 2 sc in next st, sc in next 8 sts. Join in first sc. (96 sc)

ROUND 5: ch 4, working behind ch 4, tr in st to the right of join (that's the last sc of the previous round), *sk the next sc, tr in next st, work behind tr just made, tr in skipped st. Repeat from * around, join in 4th ch of beginning ch 4. (48 crossed sts)

see images below for stitch placement


ROUND 6: ch 1, sc in same st as join, *1 sc in next st. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc (96 sc)

ROUND 7: ch 1, 2 sc in same st as join, *2 sc in next st. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (192 sc)

ROUND 8: Repeat round 5. (96 crossed sts)

ROUND 9: ch 1, sc in same st as join, *1 sc in next st. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (192 sc)

ROUND 10: ch 1, sc in same st as join, *ch 3, sk next 3 sts, 7 dc in next st (shell made), ch 3, sk next 3 sts, 1 sc in next st. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (24 shells)

ROUND 11: sl st in next 3 ch, sl st in next st, sc in next 5 sts, ch 5, *sk first st of next shell, sc in next 5 sts, ch 5, sk last st of shell. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (24 ch-5 loops)

TIP: Place marker in first sc of round to make it easier to see where to join rounds.

ROUND 12: sl st in next st, ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next 2 sts, ch 3, *dc, ch 3, dc, all in 3rd ch of ch-5 loop, (V st made), ch 3, sk next sc, sc in next 3 sts, ch 3. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (24 V sts)

ROUND 13: sl st in next st, ch 1, sc in same st, *ch 3, 7 dc in next V-st, ch 3, sk next sc, sc in next st. Repeat from * around. Join in first sc. (24 shells)

ROUNDS 14 thru 31: Repeat rounds 11, 12 and 13.

ROUND 32: ch 1, sc in same st as join
*sc in next 3 chs
sc in next 3 sts
3 sc in next st

I've heard it said that all good things must come to an end and so it has. Mom has decided to go home "for awhile". She said she's coming back but she doesn't know when. She said, "I'm unpredictable". She's been gone from her home since September and now she's really wanting to see her friends and family she's been with most of her life. I don't blame her for wanting to visit them, but I think she's going to be very disappointed in what she'll find at her home.

It's hard to believe I've had this blog for a year and a few days. April 12th was my first blogiversary and I let it pass me right by without even a thought. It's funny how hard it was, in the beginning, to pull myself away from the blog and get back to crocheting and now, it's hard for me to make myself sit down and write an entry. The reason I started a blog in the first place was I had made up a pattern for a ponytail hat and I wanted a place to show it off. I started to say "share it", but I don't think that was even in my mind. I think showing off is a better name for it. I was so proud of that hat pattern. I had never made anything before without following a pattern.  

If anyone is interested (and I think you are) the game I'm hooked on is called Shisen-Sho. It's just a simple matching game, like Concentration, but I absolutely get stuck playing it. Example, this afternoon when I made my last post, I was going to put a link to the game but instead, when I went to the site, I downloaded a more current version of the game and played it until my hind end went numb. I have not touched a hook at all today. Oh, well, I promise myself I'm absolutely going to crochet a poncho tomorrow. NO MORE GAMES!!! Well, maybe just one more.

Mom has decided not to go home. She's going to stay with me and just visit her friends and family in Washington from time to time. She knows she's loved and wanted here, and she's safe. I couldn't be happier.