It's A Wrap!

After yesterday mornings necessary shopping trip to replace the glasses Phoebe ate, I got serious about finishing that poncho. As I started laying out and sewing on the roses with stems and leaves I got more and more excited to see it completed. Adding roses {or any flower} to an item ALWAYS gets my blood flowing!

The pictures make the crocheted poncho appear to be more of a true red than it actually is. The color is labeled "antique rose". Needless to say, I LOVE it. I knit the roses up in a pretty off white and the leaves and I-cord stems are knit from my favorite soft green baby alpaca. I'm pleased with the vintage look this color combination conjures.

Of course, I did require some feline assistance {all doggies were napping at this point}. Mercedes felt that she should oversee the final touches to make sure they were purr~fect!

As for the new glasses ~ they are too cute & I really like them. Sadly, however, they were fresh out of rose colored ones. So, I opted for a soft navy blue to match my baby blues! And really, looking at life through rose colored glasses is a state of mind nobody can take away from me anyway!

Without further ado, here's the finished garment. Hope you all like it. I'm glad it's FINALLY a wrap!

Help! I'm Crocheting & I Can't Stop!

Here's a sneak peek at the poncho I'm working on. I finished the crocheting and construction of it this afternoon. Instead of adding an elaborate edging I opted for the old standby scallop. Anything else would have fought with the pattern too much. Tomorrows project will be finishing the knitted roses {I have one done}, then making the leaves and some I-cord stems. Once it's all put together I'll take a proper picture of Griselda {my name for my mannequin~ don't ask me why, it's just the first name that came to my mind ~ how weird is that?!} wearing it & show just what embellishments can do! I mean, after all, I DO like to fling flowers on anything that will stand still and take it.

While I was knitting the rose, this is what was going on around me. Gabby and BaPa {that's Grandpa in Gabby~ese} were kicked back in the recliner watching Toy Story, which is Gabby's current favorite and must be watched about 15 times a day right now. Grammy could do a one woman show on it at this point!

And my little Jose was tucked under his mommy's sweater up on the bed. Though Gabby and I are mostly over our sniffles, there's a sick poochie in the house today. When I wasn't looking yesterday he got some of Phoebe's Puppy Chow and since he has to eat only a special hypo~allergenic food from the vet {THE most expensive kind they have}, he's a bit puny today. We're hoping for a better day tomorrow for him.

Nighty ~ Night everybody!

Creativity Blooms Afresh

I spent the weekend fighting a case of the sniffles that Gabby graciously shared with me. Well, actually... I didn't put up too much of a struggle. Mostly I succumbed by snuggling into my warm shawl I just recently crocheted for myself, with my feet {bedecked in my rosy pink slippers!} propped up and dogs {and a sea of tissues & plenty of hot tea} surrounding me while I pored through some pattern books looking for new inspiration. After knitting 5 pairs of slippers, I was ready to move onto something else.
So, I'm starting with the stitch pattern of a crocheted wrap from one book and reconstructing it to look like a knitted wrap from another book. Then I'll either crochet or knit up some roses to sprinkle across the top and possibly finish it off with a crocheted edge from yet another book. Whew! This creativity stuff uses up some of the little gray cells sometimes!

The three books I'm working with are some of my favorites:

"The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet" by Nancy Queen & Mary Ellen O'Connell
"Knitted Flowers " by Nicky Epstein
"Crocheting on the Edge" by Nicky Epstein

* I really like Nicky Epstein. Does it show?

When the project is finished it's going to be a poncho. I'll show it off in a few days. Then put it in my Etsy shop. {No matter how much Chelsea begs for it!}

Happy Monday to all!