Sunshine and Blue Skies

Hello.  I haven't written for awhile because I was away on a trip back east.  It was cold and snowy so it's good to be back home. I won't bore you with the details of our vacation - unfortunately I got sick and still have a cough.  But it's OK and I am home now where the sun is shining and it's warm.

Lilly was so lonesome for us while we were away.  She got to stay home and had the house all to herself.  She was so happy to see us.  She missed her daily outings in the back yard.  Here's a picture of her relaxing.

 As you can see, she didn't want to smile.  There was a large crow in the tree that kept taking her attention off the camera.  She is such a joy to have.

I had forgotten how cold and gray winter can be.  It's been over 15 years since I lived where winter takes it hold.  The trees were naked without any leaves, the grass was brown and the sky was dark.  It was fun to watch it snow one night - so peaceful watching the snow come down under the street lamp.  But, the 12 degrees daytime high was a bit too cold for me now.  Here's a lovely little flower I saw today dropping it's head over our fence:

I don't have any patterns to share with you right now.  I am in the middle of making an afghan for my little grandson.  The knit stitch is quite patterned so it's not going as fast as I usually knit.

 It's made from a lovely Aran type wool/acrylic yarn that I ordered from England.  The name of the store is Deramores.  They offer lovely yarn and when you have a coupon code, the shipping is almost zero.  If you like to create with yarn, then I highly recommend this store.

I will try and get my creative mind working so I can share some recipes or patterns next time I write.  I wish each of you happiness.

Star Garland Bunting

Hi everyone!  I hope  you had a Happy New Year and that 2013 will bring the very best to each of you.  I last wrote back on December 27, 2012 and it was for a pattern for knitted stars.  It must have been a very boring blog posting since I only received one view!!

So, here's a little bit more about knitted stars.   I had ordered some yarn from England for a new project and since it hadn't arrived yet, I didn't want to start on a big project, I started knitted star after star.  After I knitted the first star, my creative mode took over.   I then came up with the idea that they look like flowers if you do two tones.

I followed the pattern with one color until row 10.  I attached a second color to the beginning of row 10 and continued with the second color for each tip of the stars (flowers).  These stars are so much fun to make and you don't need to worry about weaving in the ends of the yarn.  Just stuff them inside as you sew the two stars together and they provide just the right amount of stuffing it.

Here's the completed garland.  You can make it any size you desire and best of all, it's a great way to use up your odds and ends of yarn.  The bulky yarn will make a larger star and the fine yarn will make a smaller star.

Have fun with this project and I would love to hear your thoughts about this idea!