A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other, except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband to never open or ask her about.
For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.
In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted doilies and a stack of money totaling $95,000. He asked her about the contents.
'When we were to be married,' she said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily.'
The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious doilies were in the box! She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness. 'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doilies, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?'
'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the doilies.'
This story has been around for a long time, but I still love it! Sometimes the old lady makes "dolls" instead of "doilies", but I like this version better. Thanks to my sweet daughter in law, Jewell, for sending it to me, and giving me a laugh today!
Wishing you all a day filled with Joy, Peace and Love.
And lots of good food, too! (doesn't this look like a Halloween picture?)
This Thanksgiving, I am especially grateful for my family, my friends, and my good health. 
Close up of Lucy's head.
Close up of Jack.
The finished doily. I am happy to tell you that it was picked up by the Annie's Attic catalog. 
This is the gift doily with the purchase of Afternoon Stroll. I am calling it "Mavanee's Roses" after my mother. It is the second gift doily I made, I was not happy with the first one and had to start all over. (That is what took me so long to get this one out)
First up is the Sedona Wrap. It was really fun to make, and I like the one big button. It is One Size Fits Most and the skill level is Easy. The only thing even slightly challenging is the buttonhole, and to me the hardest thing was counting the rows to make sure I got it in the right place!
Sedona's back view
Next is the first set in my new "Baby Bella" series. Each set will include a cute, easy to make baby blanket and matching booties and a cap. This set is called "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
The cap and booties come in two sizes, Newborn-3 months, and 6-12 months. This set's skill level is Easy. I probably made 20 pairs of booties before I came up with one that is super quick to make but still looks cute!
Here is the "Ring Around the Rosie" set.
I love these little slippers, so sweet! Almost like little ballet slippers. This set also comes in sizes Newborn-3 months and 6-12 months, and the skill level is Easy. 
I love the way she used pink for the pineapple portion of this doily, and the beautiful shaded and pink and red thread she used for the roses. It is Omega thread color #128 Variegated Red, and she got it here: http://creativeyarnsource.com/crochet_cotton.html
I felt like such a dummy; I actually had to ask Jewel if this sweet little heart was my design! In fact, it is one of the Cro-Tat designs I did for Annie's Attic several years ago. It was published in a book called "Delicate and Dainty Cro-Tat Doilies."
And finally, here is Jewel's version of the Pineapples and Wild Roses Doily, all done up in beautiful Christmas colors! So pretty!
Talented crocheter Jenny has shared pictures of her "Tidings of Joy" and "Flower Garden Fairy" doilies. She did such a beautiful job on them both!
Flower Garden Fairy was the first in this series, and I have to admit, I think it is my favorite so far!
Jenny used silver thread for the wings; it gives quite a magical touch, don't you think? Thanks for sending the pictures, Jenny! They are gorgeous!
