A Fun Day Spent Shopping

Greetings everyone.  I hope your week is off to a great start wherever you may be.  I had a lovely day today. I accomplished my housework early this morning since I knew I would be out and about.

My daughter met me for some shopping and a quick lunch afterwards.  We had a fun time together finding those bargains we can't do without :)  I just had to buy some fresh flowers for the home before they raise the prices for Valentine's Day.

After lunch, I took myself over to Home Goods which is just down the road from where I live.  Look what I found!  I've read about these for years and have never tried them.  You might think it's funny, but I don't eat chocolate...long story about allergies.  I think dark chocolate may be OK - I'll soon find out.  The rose flavor was interesting in these as compared to the rose flavor I find in Middle Eastern food.  I'm going to serve them to my guests at the dinner party I'm having on Sunday.  While at Home Goods I perused the linen department looking for Italian linens.  I found a set of Italian made 100% linen sheets but I didn't buy them.  I'm sure they would be wonderful but I hesitated.  I did find a new bedspread that should work great.  (I know they're not called that anymore but I forgot the new name...)

Speaking of flowers, I planted some bulbs in pots this past winter and they are beginning to come up.  My favorite is the hyacinth.  And, my hellebore, lenten rose, has many buds.  I'm so happy that it survived the poor soil it lives in.  As a coincidence, the new Sock Society pattern I just received is called Winter Rose.

And, look at my geraniums blooming.  I love the white one.  In the middle is an Arabian Jasmine that has the most fragrant flowers.  It reminds me of Egypt when my husband took me there on my very first trip.  We were at Casino El Nil in Cairo (not a gambling casino), on the Nile River.  Flower sellers were selling necklaces of jasmine and they were heavenly.  It was my first time to eat ice cream with mastic (an aromatic resin from the mastic tree).  The addition of mastic changes the texture of the ice cream.  It is very popular in Turkish ice creams, too.  Sadly, I don't eat ice cream anymore due to allergies :(

For those of you who don't knit or crochet, I won't bore you with any patterns, etc.  But, please wish me luck as I'm baffled with my new sock pattern. . .

Lilly sends her greetings to each of you.  She had a restful afternoon sitting in my chair and taking her afternoon nap.  Until next time. . .

My best wishes,

Pat

My Universe is Complete

Hello my friends.  Do you like the title of my post?  Haha, a play on words.  My Sophie's Universe blanket is finally completed! It's new home will be in Turkey.

You may remember that I began this project back in July of 2017.  I diligently worked on it every day until I left for Turkey and when I returned home, it kind of sat in a bag in the closet.

But, like many of you, I hate to have unfinished projects.  So, since the middle of January I have been working to get this blanket completed.  I added my own design for the border (starts with the green leaves shown above), as I loved doing the red roses and wanted to incorporate it the edging. It's such an intricate designed blanket that I felt it needed a little more pizazz for a border.

Here's the little bag of yarn leftovers from this project.  I must say, this blanket is a yarn eater!  Originally, I purchased 15 shades of yarn but ended up using 13 skeins.  I had purchased this yarn to make another Attic24 coastal ripple blanket in a different color combination. But, after working on it awhile, I frogged it.  My inspiration for this blanket was Kate over at Kate's Adventures; look at her gorgeous blanket she made! Isn't it amazing with that additional border? I ran out of energy and yarn to make my blanket any larger. . .  

I completed my Vintage Fairy Lights socks.  This was a fun and easy knit from talented designer Helen Stewart.  I'm now awaiting to begin The Handmade Sock Society.  My new DPNs and sock yarn are ready! 

It's Saturday night here and my little grandchildren just left.  My dear children pictured above, took off for a short 3 day cruise.  So, I and my dear son-in-law along with my dear husband, took care of the little ones.  It was a fun time for all.  We will all be cruising together later in the summer.  

Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday and I know absolutely nothing about football.  But, we will celebrate on this day nonetheless.

Take care my dear friends and thank you again for all your great advice regarding my new bed.  The bed arrived a week ago, is all put together and now I'm waiting on the new mattress.  Patience. . .

With my best wishes,

Pat  

A Great Start to the New Year

 Happy New Year dear friends.  I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and a great start to the New Year.  I've had a wonderful holiday season with my family.

 

 Yesterday afternoon all the family ventured to the Montage Resort where we sat outside on the veranda and enjoyed coffee.  It was a perfect afternoon to watch the ocean and do a little people watching, too!  It was my daughter's idea (photo above) and we all agreed that this was a great way to start the New Year's Eve celebrations.

 

 Christmas at my home has been all boxed up until next year (although I hope the true meaning of Christmas is in my heart throughout the coming year).  My home is slowly coming back to it's normal, eclectic decor.  My dear son bought me these lovely pink carnations.  They brighten up the family room.

My beloved knitting needles have made a reappearance, too this season.  I'm knitting a pair of socks from the very talented Helen Stewart.  They're called Vintage Fairy Lights socks and you can find the info here on my Ravelry page. (Lilly insists on sitting my my lap when I'm knitting!)

I love to knit socks.  I taught myself how to knit them; unbeknownst to me that they can be a bit of a challenge. Luckily, I and my four DPN's get along very well.  I love the yarn I found on Etsy.  It's from Southern Skeins; she is an indie dyer from Florida.  Her yarn creations are so lovely and best of all, her prices are very reasonable!  My yarn is called "frosted berries"  which I thought was so appropriate for this project.

Speaking of the very talented Helen, she will be hosting The Handmade Sock Society.  There will be six sock patterns included in this KAL.  I can hardly wait until it begins in February.  Fun times ahead!

I received some beautiful and useful things for Christmas.  I love the perfume tray that my dear daughter and her family gave to me.  It sits on top of my Grandma's antique bird's eye maple chest which is in my closet.  It was fun to clean and rearrange the top of this much loved chest.

Lilly wanted to say "hello" to everyone.  She had a great holiday and is enjoying her catnip toys.  I hope everyone out there who has furry family loved ones, to wish them all the best for the New Year, too.

Thank you dear friends for being my friend and visiting my blog.  I wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

With my best wishes,

Pat

I'm so Excited . . . and I just Can't Hide it . . .

Hello my dear friends.  I'm back again to share with you something that has taken over my life!  It's Sophie's Universe.  A beautiful crocheted blanket that was designed by the very talented Dedri Uys.  Dedri started this pattern back in 2015 as a CAL that ran for a total of 20 weeks. The pattern is still available on her blog.  It seems as though I'm always behind in joining in with these fun activities.

 

I discovered this amazing pattern from my friend Kate, who recently finished her beautiful blanket.  Since I didn't want to download/print the pattern, I decided to order the book online from Wool Warehouse and it's the best money I've ever spent on a pattern.  

I had sixteen skeins of Stylecraft DK yarn that I had purchase and started to use to make a ripple blanket.  As you can see from the photo above, the colors were not "happening".  This project had sat in my craft closet for over a year unfinished.

I had wanted to mimic the coast ripple blanket I had made from Lucy and Attic 24.  Lucy is such an amazing, talented fiber arts artist.  Her sense of color combinations are unlike anything I've ever seen.  I had a great time making the coast blanket but unfortunately, when I tried to make my own interpretation of this blanket, I was bored stiff with the dull colors and repeats.

Voila!  That all changed when I received my Sophie's Universe pattern book.  My colors are now starting to come together (I think).  It might look very dark right now, but there's going to be a lot of creamy white borders around this blanket as it grows up.  I'm hoping it will measure 70" x 70" when I'm all done with it.

There are over 5,000 people on Ravelry doing this project!  Wow, that's a lot of yarn.  If you are new to crochet (I've been crocheting for 41 years), don't be worried about the complexity of this project.  The book is designed as follows:  each page of the book contains one row of the pattern along with detailed instructions and very detailed photos.  Dedri shows you exactly what your stitches should look like.  And, best of all, the color scheme can be whatever suits you.  And, you weave end the yarn ends as you go along so when you are all done, you are completely finished; no more yarn ends to deal with!

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my latest obsession!  Please feel free to share what you've been up to this week.  And, thank you again for visiting Lilly My Cat.

Best wishes,

Pat

Drama, Knitting and Crocheting

Hello my friends.  It's been a long time since I wrote a blog post.  I hope everyone is having a great start to the soon to be summer season?  I was going to write earlier about a situation that made me upset and sad.  I personally experienced the effects of reverse discrimination.  But, it was a blessing in disguise and it made me even stronger.  Enough said.

Life around here has been hectic.  My husband and I sold two of our investment properties and although we found a buyer right away, the closings have been a nightmare.  We were suppose to be in Turkey starting last month but of course that didn't happen.  All is well now.

Now, to my most beloved hobby; knitting and crocheting.  Here are some of the things I've been working on.

Last year when I went to my knitting retreat, I discovered this lovely yarn by Dale Garn Erle.  I received two skeins plus matching beads from my dear daughter and family for Christmas.  You can find all the info here on my Ravelry page. I am quite pleased the way it came out but never again will I knit with this "fuzzy" yarn.  I made up the border myself since that was not in the pattern. I received the lovely orchid pictured above from my dear daughter and family for Mother's Day.

Here's my current project; a scarf I'm knitting.  It's a popular pattern and I bought the yarn on discount at Webs. I adjusted the size according to the yarn I bought.  It's a delightful pattern and a no brainer to knit.  Behind, is the lovely vase of roses I received from my son for Mother's Day.  They lasted over 10 days!

Right now, I have two projects; the scarf above and this shawl.  The yarn was given to me as a Mother's Day gift from my son and his fiance'.  It's a soft,easy to use yarn however the color changes are quite abrupt. 

As you can see above, I've gotten a bit further along on this pattern.  I did cut the yarn in a couple of places so that the color changes match the actual pattern row.  It's a fun pattern to do since every row is different and then you repeat it all over.  If you are interested in this yarn, please take a look at Scheepjes Whirl.  It's more yardage and the color change is less abrupt.  Next time I plan to use Scheepjes Whirl and make the Edlothia shawl. 

 My little grandson was over to spend a couple of nights and he wanted a mandala for his room.  I made this free hand out of some Stylecraft DK yarn scraps.  It was fun to make up the pattern as I went along.  You should try it; you'd be amazed at what you can make.  Just make sure, you keep each row even with whatever pattern you make for that row.

I really want to finish the knitted scarf and crocheted shawl so that I can get started on this project.  It's going to be a little ruffled top for my little granddaughter.  You can find the info here.  I found this yarn on a blog site and I loved the way it makes its own pattern.  Again, lovely flowers from Mother's Day given to me by my son's fiance'.

I love reading your blogs and getting inspiration from everyone.  When I first started this blog, all my efforts were in sharing my happenings.  Now, I feel that has reversed as I enjoy reading your blogs more than I enjoy writing my own :)

We're suppose to have hot temps this Father's Day weekend.  Originally, we were off to Palm Springs but the temps there are suppose to be around 115 degrees which is way TOO hot for anyone!  So, we are staying home which will be more manageable in the 90's.  I'd love to hear from you and feel free to share what you've been working on if you wish.

With my best wishes,

Pat

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2017 Easter Bunnies Have Been Born!

Hello dear friends.  Sorry that I haven't written lately; I just returned last night from a fun trip with my family.  Hopefully next week, I will share some of the photos from this get away.

Can you believe that Easter is just around the corner?  Time goes by so fast these days.  As you may know, I have two little grandchildren now and it's been my custom to make an Easter bunny for them  each year.

   

Presenting Flora and Flopsy . . . Flora is made out of a chunky acrylic yarn and Flopsy is made out of  pure wool worsted yarn held double. 

I found the pattern for the bunny here on Ravelry. 

 

I made matching Easter baskets for the bunnies.  These baskets were crocheted without any pattern.  The insert inside is a clear deli container.  You can be creative and use whatever yarn or shape you wish to make your basket.  They take little time to make.

 

I think Flora and Flopsy are excited to arrive at their new home in a few days. . .

 

They wanted me to show you their cotton tails!  Aren't they the cutest?

And, you can't forget the chocolate chicks!

This pattern is free on Ravelry and you can use whatever type of yarn you may have leftover in your stash.  It's a fun, quick project that lets you create something for your little ones.

My best to each of you,

Pat

 

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Bear

Hello friends!  I've been wanting to share this project with you for a couple of weeks now, but I didn't dare show it until I had given these to my little grandchildren.

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Valentine Bear...here they are enjoying the warm sun outside today in the garden.  

And, here they are warming their backs again the teapot.  Although, Mr. Valentine Bear prefers coffee!

They wanted to post as a couple for Valentine's Day and I think this photo suits them well.

My Valentine (my dear husband), gave me these lovely violets shown in the background as an early Valentine's gift.  Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Bear loved the bright colors.

Mrs. Valentine Bear has a picot edged skirt.  She preferred this design over the knit stitch pattern that kept curling up during the knitting process.

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Bear are so soft and fuzzy since they are made out of Drops Lima which is 100% wool.  It was a joy to knit with on size 3 DPNs.

Here's all that left of the four skeins of yarn.  You can find my Ravelry notes here. 

I found this cute pattern and many more at Mary Jane's Tearoom.  Susan, who is the designer, was so, so kind and helpful to me while making this project.  She has some fun designs you can check out on her website.  And, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact her, as she promptly replied to my question and even sent me a free pattern.  Super nice!

I will sign off for now as my paperwork is calling to me to finish; a never ending job.  But, hopefully later tonight I will visit my knitting needles which holds a new project.

Thank you for visiting Lilly My Cat.

With my best wishes,

Pat

 PS - The colors I used reminded of a Scandinavian design.  The red is so difficult to photograph but the first photo is the truer of the color.  It was the perfect red.  

Linking with:

Yarn Along 

...Like a Kid in a Candy Shop

Hello everyone from beautiful, green, rainy southern California!  Things has quieted down here a bit and life is getting back to a normal routine.  That includes knitting and crocheting!

I subscribe to Deramore's emails and the other day they were offering free shipping!  I'm always looking for a bargain but did I really need any more yarn/thread?  What caught my eye was this Scheepjes Maxi Bonbon thread.  At $1.49 a ball, it was very reasonable.  I believe there are something like 87 colors to choose from! That's why I feel like a kid in a candy shop. 

I only bought 7 balls of 6 different colors; snow white, bluebell, willow, rugby, old rosa, and linen (2 balls).  The thread is 100% mercerized cotton and it is a very smooth thread with no bumps.  And, it has a bit of a satin sheen.  So far, it's been quite lovely to work with.  I'm using a size 8 steel crochet hook = 1.5 mm.

I just finished a Valentine project for my grandchildren and will post it next month (I don't want their Mom to see it!)  And, I cast on this new shawl pattern, Nurmilintu, with Rowan Fine Art yarn in the kingfisher colorway. I love this yarn; it so nice to knit with and has not only a change in the colors but a little bit of sheen, too.

Maybe you're wondering about our weather and all the rain we received?  It poured on Sunday.  Being from the Seattle area, I'm used to rain but when it rains down here, it is something else.  According to the weatherman, I think it was called an atmospheric river and it came from the south Pacific.  It rained so hard that the pool overflow couldn't handle the water and the drains cold barely keep up with the water!  The pool was overflowing.  It was a bit scary but luckily, we live in an area where there are numerous storm drains/channels and we were ok.  It was quite different for the people in the fire damaged areas like northeast of Pasadena.  They had horrendous floods and mudslides.  It was so sad to see it on the TV.

On a bright note, look at how green everything is now!  We've waited so long for this rain.  It's been 7 years this month since we had this kind of moisture.

Lilly is enjoying life as normal.  Sleeping whenever she can get in a cat nap.  How I wish I could be Lilly and have her posh life!

I wish each of you all the best.  Feel free to comment and share what you've been up to.

With my best wishes,

Pat

Weather, Shawls, Holidays & Lilly!

Hello my dear friends.  It's been a busy fall season for me with the usual business.  My husband and I are both retired but the business isn't retired.  It's become a bit of a joke between my husband and I as he is always telling me things will slow down and become easier.  I think he's dreaming as it's been busier than ever around here with selling property, managing property, setting up new accounts and everything else.  We've had the same bank for over 41 years - that's a long time.  And, we just completed moving our accounts to another bank.  It all came down to customer service and we are so, so happy with the move.  How I miss the old way of how things used to be.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that although my blog world consists of my knitting and other fun things, my real life is centered in the business world of things.  I know my way around the business world quite well because I have to.  But, my heart is really in my home and family.  So, at the end of the day, when my work is done, I so look forward to picking up my knitting needles and enjoying the world I love.  I don't know how I managed all those years when I had a real paying job and children to raise.  Maybe I survived because I was younger? Enough said. . .

My husband absolutely loves the water but I am more of a rain and clouds person.  We have had such a long, hot summer and fall here in southern California.  I am really looking forward to cooler temps.  I'm probably the opposite of most people as I like clouds, rain, mountains and trees; most people prefer sun, sand and water!  Keep your fingers crossed as we're suppose to get some rain on Sunday and Monday :)

In a previous post, I shared about this shawl I made.  I completed the shawl and just needed to block it but I was not happy with the size of it.  The photo above shows version #1 of this shawl.


Since I had so much yarn left over, I frogged the border and made the body of the shawl longer. I altered the design of the border.  It turned out great as you can see in version #2 above.  I just need to block it now and add the tassels (one day!)

One day this week, we took our lunch to the lake and ate by the shore and watched all the wildlife.  This is a manmade lake in our little city but it's so pretty; especially with all the different birds who flock to the shore.  The city will soon be hosting their Christmas tree lighting at the lake.  It makes for a beautiful site.

Speaking of Christmas, the holidays are fast approaching.  My family will be celebrating at my daughter and son-in-law's home.  She already has her menu printed and ready to go.  Isn't it lovely?   And, it's our family tradition to play monopoly until the wee hours of the morning.  Why?  Because, there's a pot of money the winner gets to take home!  I am in charge of making appetizers.  I'm thinking of doing some type of cheese puffs and maybe a meat empanada with dipping sauce.  

Ah, Lilly.  What can I say?  She is my constant companion.  I can't believe that she is 11 years young!  Poor little kitty, she has been a bit confused with the time change as her little built in clock tells her when it's time to eat.  Cats are such amazing creatures. 

That's about all that's happening around here.  Thank you for your kind comments and for visiting Lilly My Cat.  Lilly always loves to hear from you! 

With my best wishes,

Pat