Sunset Sunrise Blanket

Virginia crocheted this from a selection of six colors of Palette yarn. It will brighten and warm the cloudiest and coldest of days. (It seems hard to believe that the temperatures can get so cold when we’re slogging through one of the hottest and muggiest summers on record, but it will and we’ll be ready).

Sunset Sunrise Blanket

Sunset Sunrise Blanket

Sunset Sunrise Blanket

Sunset Sunrise Blanket

Miles of Crochet

A very audible sigh of relief was heard in the ScratchCraft household when the final loop was made on this piece.

Tropical Stripe Wrap

Twenty-four skeins of Spindrift were used to crochet this luxuriously substantial wrap. Let’s see, that’s 24 x 115 = approximately 2,760 yards of yarn, or about 1.57 miles of spun wool. That’s a lot of crochet (although, we have been spending some quality time in front of the television, to help the miles go by quicker).

Tropical Stripe Wrap

Virginia used a pattern by Kathy Merrick, called “Tropical Stripe Wrap” in the book Crochet in Color, deciding to play with 11 different colors of yarn.

Tropical Stripe Wrap

And, as this is a shop model for the local yarn store,  we’ll have to wait a bit before enjoying being wrapped in all that wooly goodness.

Tropical Stripe Wrap

Much to See, Much to Do

The problem with waiting so long between blog posts is that stuff starts to pile up. Unfortunately, I’m going to leave you with a bunch of stuff to look at, but not much to read (it’s a beautiful day and our yard is calling to me).

Virginia finished up another crochet afghan. This one is made up of granny squares, using Jamieson’s Spindrift.

Crochet Granny Square Afghan

(More photos can be found on our Flickr page)

She also finished a tank, knit using Louet’s Euroflax Linen.

Essential Tank

The pattern is the “Essential Tank” by Wendy Bernard in her book Custom Knits.

Socks!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any finished socks. She’s started a renewed effort to knock off 52 pairs by the end of May (I think she’s at 40, having started last June).

Socks (36 of 52)

Socks (37 of 52)

Socks (38 of 52)

Socks (39 of 52)

The Garden
I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to feel the sun and dirt on my skin. There’s nothing like being shut up in a hospital room for three month-long periods, and then told to not go near the stuff for the rest of the year, to really make you appreciate the sore muscles, new calluses and dirty hands that come from playing in the yard.

Brick Path in Cutting Garden

Our “cutting garden” got a bit of a facelift with a newly-bordered brick path. And, speaking of cutting gardens, our house has vases in practically every room. Nothing brightens the room more than a bouquet of daffodils.

Daffodils

I was also given a couple of black raspberries from a coworker’s yard. They seem to be thriving from the transplant, and hopefully will even produce something this year.

Transplanted Black Raspberry

No more talk. Must go play. So, if you are thinking about staying inside today… get off your ass and get out there. Enjoy the fresh air, sun on your skin, dirt in your fingernails.

Miles of Ripples

Virginia really outdid herself this year for Valentine’s Day. Her gift to me was an afghan suitable to someone my height.

Ripple Afghan

This lovely blanket measures a generous 80 inches long by 60 inches wide, or in her words “really freakin’ long.” I can securely wrap myself (and feet!) in all of its wooly goodness.

Ripple Afghan

Crocheted using 13 different colors of Cascade 220, she used Attic24’s Neat Ripple Pattern as inspiration.

Ripple Afghan

Speaking of inspiration, I thought I’d share a photo that I took this morning of some spring cleaning in action (to help spur us on):

Clean Curtains

With last year’s chaos, and almost spending as much time at the hospital as we did at home, we’ve finally gotten around to cleaning our windows. It’s truly astounding how much crud can accumulate in only a year’s (or two) time. Of course, clean windows need clean curtains.

There’s a bright, sunny spring day ahead of us. So, off the computer and on to brightening up the house. Oh, happy spring!