The Domino Effect...

The domino effect... chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby...etc...etc...

From time to time, I get asked the question....What made you get interested in rubber stamping?

Well, the answer to that question is probably...The book I have posted above..."A good Yarn"

Okay, Now I have you confused, How did a fiction book about knitting, get me to start rubber stamping?

I guess you can  blame it on the domino effect. 

I read the above book by Debbie Macomber    Here is her website...

http://www.debbiemacomber.com/

"A Good Yarn" is the second book in her Blossom Street Series...

http://www.debbiemacomber.com/books/category/3

The book tells about a girl who dreamed of owning a yarn store, and after if opened she decided to give classes on learning how to knit.  In her books the people who come to the classes not only learn how to knit, but end of making some nice friendships through the classes...

It made me want to find some knitting classes...

Years ago, I attended some knitting classes at our local high school, after a very dear friend signed us both up for the classes.  We really enjoyed those classes, and my friend was really a good sport about it, because soon after we started going to the classes...We both realized that my friend knew more about knitting than the instructor teaching the classes did.  My friend liked the friendship and enjoyed knitting so she continued to go.  She really did help me to learn to do "basic" knitting, and I actually knitted some sweaters.  (Don't think I could do that now without some refresher courses)

I lost my dear friend to cancer in 1997, and that's when I put the knitting needles away.

but I realized recently that my friend would have wanted me to keep on knitting, so I wanted to try again.

But,

I never found knitting classes!  I still had the desire to attend some kind of crafting classes, and after joining split coast Stampers...I found a friend there that gave me her Stampin' Up demo's name.  I called her Demo and started attending her Stamping classes, and the rest is history as they say...because with those classes, I also met some new "stamping" friends.

Not too long ago, I again picked up the beginning books of the above series and started rereading them and it inspired me to get out my yarn and crochet hook, and finish a project that I had started ages ago.  The scarf that I have posted above.    If my scarf in the picture looks worn, Yes is has been! I finished  it because it's been so cold outside and the scarf  really came in handy.

For the knitters reading this post...

If you go to The Debbie Macomber website you will find that she has some free knitting patterns on her website that you can print out ...

Thank you for visiting my blog today,

Blessings,

Jill

Afghans and Quilts

Above picture of a crocheted Afghan...is a picture of the first Afghan I ever crocheted.
It was given as a gift to my Grandmother, and when she passed away, My Aunt
returned it to me.

I made the above Afghan for my Mother. The stitches used are mostly double crochet
and the popcorn stitch

The above afghan is made up of mostly double crochet. I had made an afghan very similar to this one, for a friend of mine, as a gift to her while she was going through Chemo. I made one for me out of the leftover yarn. I still think of my friend everytime I see this Afghan in my livingroom. I miss her very much.

Most of my crocheting has been made for gifts, made and kept very little for myself.

I have not had time to make a card lately, so I thought I would post some of my past crochet work, I don't think I ever posted these on my blog before.
I belong to a group at Yahoo for over 11 years, and we chit chat about a variety subjects. A favorite is our crafts, and each week we have a theme. This week's theme was Afghans and quilts. I have never made a quilt, but I have crocheted many afghans...Maybe 5 full size Afghans and over 20 baby afghans, but I never took pictures of those...(wish I had) I wanted to post a pic of the quilt that my daughter made for me, but I'll have to add that later. I can't find the pic of it right now.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend...
Jill

Merry Christmas

My daughter actually made this ornament. I thought it was a great idea, obviously it was made out of puzzle pieces.
My daughter, also made this wreath, It is special to me because she used buttons from my Mother-In-Law's sewing box

My poor angel is looking a bit ragged, I made her many years ago using a yarn pattern that I found on the net.

I made my Mother a gift one year using a PANSY theme, I made her a cross-stiched towel with a pansy on it, a pansy cross-stitched wall hanging, and put them in a basket with other pansy items, lik Pansy soap, Pansy writing paper, and this Pansy doll that I made. I cross-stitched her face, sewed her body, dress, apron, and pantaloons.

I made the afghan for a friend, the cross-stitched pillow for me, and the dress I crocheted for my granddaughter, It was one of her favorite dresses

With all the snow we had today, it really reminded me that it is winter and Christmas is coming.

Am I ready? Absolutely NOT! I have not had much opportunity to go shopping (and a very small budget to do so---like so many others I am sure)

I wanted to share with you some home made ornaments and gifts from years past. I had hoped to share more but (so far) I have not been able to find photographs of some of the things I have made...If I do find them, I will post later...

Are You ready for Christmas?

Favorite Things Friday #8

This is to show you another one of my favorite things to do...crocheting. My mother-in-law is the one who showed me how to crochet. Through the years I have definitely lost track of how many items I have crocheted. mittens, slippers, afghans, baby blankets, baby sweaters, ladies sweaters, pot holders, scarves, etc. My favorite item to crochet has always been baby dresses. I made at least 20 baby, toddler dresses, including one for my granddaughter when she was about 4 or 5 years old. I have very few pictures of my crochet, but I did manage to find this one. A dress I made for my niece several years ago.

"Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better."~John Updike

The pattern I used for the baby dress came from "Baby's Heirloom Wardrobe #87h30

Yarn shop

My husband would tell you that the first thing I want to do when we travel to a different place is to look for some kind of craft store. On our recent trip to Virginia, I didn't get much time to look at craft stores but we did visit a Farmer's Market where I found a Yarn shop. After I made a small purchase, I asked the shop owner if I could take some pictures of her shop. The shop owner gave me her permission as long as I didn't have her in the pictures. (That sounds like me, I don't like to have my picture taken either)