I am home!

Actually, we got home a couple of days ago, but I am just now getting around to posting. I was wiped out; I am not used to traveling, and I really missed sleeping in my own bed! But I needed this trip; it is good for a hermit like me to get out in the world now and then. It makes me remember how blessed I am to live in such a beautiful country. And it reminds me how wonderful people are; everywhere we went everyone was so friendly, helpful and kind. I love America!!!!!!
I took hundreds of beautiful pictures, but this one of a buffalo in Yellowstone always makes me laugh; I waited patiently for him to turn around so I could get a good picture, but he refused to cooperate, and just kept grazing and walking away. Finally, I gave up and took this picture of his rear end. I will never hear the phrase "buffalo butt" again without thinking of this picture!
I hope you have all been well and enjoying some wonderful summer-time crochet.
I am working on a doily called "Harvest Moon" that I plan to share with you soon.
And I almost have everything ready for the next giveaway- hopefully next week!

Montana, here we come!

David's dad started the dairy in the 40's. David has worked on it since he was a kid, and actually took it over the operation in the 70's.
About a month ago, he sold all the milk cows. For the first time in his adult life he does not have to milk twice a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.... well, you get the picture.

So, to celebrate his new found freedom, we are taking a trip. We don't have much of an itinerary, we are just going to get in the truck and head for Montana. I want to see Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone while we are up that way, but nothing is set in stone; we are just going to drive, and stop when we feel like it. We think we will be gone for a week or so, but who knows?

Anyway, I am putting my Etsy shop on vacation mode. I will take lots of pictures, and when I get back I think we need to have another contest.
What do you think?

Take care and I will talk to you soon.
Love,
Ann

We're not dead yet!!!!

It happens to me all the time; does it ever happen to you?
I went to get my hair cut this morning -without an appointment, and the lady who usually cuts my hair was not there. We are leaving on a trip Thursday, so I really wanted to get it done today. So I said I would be more than happy to let another lady in the salon give me a hair cut. She was very sweet, and after she shampooed me, got me settled in the chair, and we agreed on the cut I wanted, she started chatting. "So, what do you do?" she asked.
"I am a crochet designer" I said.
"Crochet? Like making blankets and stuff?" she asked.
"Well, sort of, but I usually make things out of thread," I told her.
"Thread?" she said- I could tell she didn't have a clue as to what I meant.
"Do you know what a doily is?" I asked, "That is the kind of thing I do."
"Oh, okay!" she said "My Grandmother used to do stuff like that."
"Here it comes," I thought, and I was right.
"It is so cool that you do that," she said. "That is really a dying art!"
I smiled, like I always do; I cannot tell you how many times I have been told crochet is a "dying art" and almost invariably this statement is made by a person who has no idea which end of a crochet hook is up.
I personally think crochet is very much alive and doing well. There seem to be more and more crocheters all the time. But maybe I am out of touch with the "real world."
But let me ask you; do people ever say this to you? Do you have a clever (but polite!) response to this statement?
Because I know everytime I pull out my crochet work in public, some well meaning person is going to go out of their way to tell me how my beloved art is doomed, done for, on it's last leg. And I really wish I had a good response to tell them otherwise.

At last......

The potholders pattern set is finally in my Etsy shop.

I still am not finished editing the free pattern that goes along with them, so for now you will get a copy of the Sweet Violets Potholder as your free gift. I will get the Flower Garden patterns ready to go as soon as I possibly can, but I am wiped out right now.

This has been a labor of love; it is hard for me to be objective right now, but I think they turned out well.

I hope you all like them.

Potholder Progress

Promise me something; if I ever say "I think I will do a book with about 25 patterns in it, wouldn't that be great?" Promise me you will grab me by the shoulders and shake me until I come to my senses.

I have been working on the potholder book for the last two weeks solid. I dream about it. Just when I think it is finished, I find something else I want to fix: "Oh my gosh, I forgot to add 'heavy starch' to the Materials lists!", or "Hey, there should be two * in this rosebud pattern." Then I have to check all the other patterns to make sure I didn't forget the same thing in them. And then there has been the size issue. Annie's Attic wants the pdf's to be less than 5M in size. Mine was way (and I do mean WAY) over that. So I had to go in and resize all the pictures, so on and so forth.

But... I really do think I am almost through with it (that is about the 100th time I have said that, but this time I really mean it!)

But if you don't hear from me for a while, you know where I will be; slaving over my computor, messing with pictures, adding borders, checking to make sure I used the same font on all the titles and changing the wording of patterns that are probably just fine already.

I hope it will be worth it.

Special Stitches Reader's Wrap

Here is the "Special Stitches Reader's Wrap." I think it turned out really well; cozy enough to wear around the house, but classy enough to wear to the office or church.
It will soon be available from Annie's Attic and in my Etsy shop.
The "special stitches" involved are a dc cross stitch: (It is so much fun to make the dc cross stitch- it is like the stitches are skipping across the row!)

And sc ribbing on the Collar (I love the notched collar- and you won't believe how easy it is to make!) and Pockets (gotta have pockets, I'm lost with out them-or rather my glasses are!).

The yarn I used is TLC Heathers from Coats and Clark in the color "Teal". It works up beautifully!

I love this shot of Ruby in the hayfield;

she is really earning her keep around here lately.