Two Sisters..

I do a lot of things.  Not that I can claim fame for any of them but at least I attempt anything that interests me.  Pop always used to say that I was a "Jack of all trades..but a master of none!" Well, that pretty much describes me to a T!  I piddle in a whole slew of things but have never found that one thing that would make me millions of dollars!  With all of this learning of new crafts, I have this personal need to share what little knowledge I gain.  If someone wishes me to teach a craft, I will jump at the chance.  My sweet sister-in-law wished to learn to crochet.  Actually, it was more of a refresher course.  Her grandmother had taught her years ago but since Cynthia had not kept up with the needlework, it had slipped her mind.  So a few weeks back, I taught her some simple stitches and how to begin a project.  Now she is a crocheting machine!  She has made a precious little afghan for her grandson and several hats!  Today, she came to visit and brought her bag of yarn.  While we sat and visited, I taught her a few more stitches.  She worked on another hat and before she left, that hat was complete.  I am proud of her progress!  She is doing well and fully enjoying the art of crocheting.

While she crocheted, we talked and laughed a lot.  Her visit proved to be one of relaxing productivity. This made me realize just how needed it is to have some hobby.  There is just something about creating with your hands..whether it be a work of art or a beautifully played piece of music..that revives the spirit and calms the soul.  The revelation, also, made me realize that, even though it would be nice to be paid for my crafts, the peaceful time spent with sisters is much more valuable.

That said, I will continue with my multi-crafting and perhaps add a bit more teaching to my skills.  It was highly satisfying to see Cynthia so happy with her creations.  There will be some lucky people on the receiving end of her work come this Christmas but none so blessed as I am with my sisters!

Two Hats..a learning experience.

I crochet a bit now and again.  I do not profess to be great at it or even moderately good at it but I do enjoy creating.  While traveling to Georgia to visit our new granddaughter, I crocheted.  I had a grand idea to crochet her a winter hat!  I found the instructions on the internet and was pleased with the simplicity of the pattern.  This was great!  In the seven or eight hours of travel time, I should at least be able to get one hat finished!  Boy, was I stupid!  There is the neat little thing of needing an internet connection to be able to visit websites on the internet..something that my laptop cannot do while in a car.  There went my pattern off into the oblivion of the internet dark hole!  So, I winged it!  I crocheted something that looked vaguely similar to a hat.  I had no idea if it would even fit our little grandbaby or not but I at least had a bowl-shaped wad of yarn made!

Once we got to our son and daughter-in-law's house, I sort of forgot about the so-called hat.  That baby girl drew all of my attention away from any creative projects.  Then one sleepless night, I pulled out my bag of yarn and hooks.  Aha!  The hat tumbled out of the bag and begged to be decorated.  Two leaves and three flowers were made and attached to the hat.  A few beads were added to give it a bit of "glitz" and I called it complete.  It did look sort of cute but would it fit?  Hmmmm.   The big debut of the hat came the next morning.  Ahhh...the hat fit nicely and, of course, my sweet granddaughter looked as cute as a bug!  Inspiration hit!

That very same afternoon, I started another hat.  This one, I made a tad bigger since she is growing so fast!  The crocheted hats do have a bit of stretch to them but one stitch larger would insure that this hat would fit even during late winter.  How adorable she looked in this one!  I made it with bright purple yarn and added a pompom to the side.  Not bad for no instructions! Even though we had internet connection at their house, I did not even use the pattern I had found.  Hats are simple!  Decorating hats is fun!   Making the two hats not only provided a nice gift for the baby, it also gave my waning creativity a big boost.  I now have a bunch of ideas swirling around in the brain!

My sweet granddaughter will be quite the little diva in all of the hats that her MawMaw plans on making for her!  Now...if I could only figure out how to make some other items.  Wouldn't a sweater or coat to match the hats be just divine?  Hmmmm?  I guess I better stick to a pattern for something that complicated!  Or..I could just stick to making hats!