I  have rediscovered the wonderful world of crocheting.  I have always enjoyed but it took the back burner to so many other things that I am involved in.  Recently while hunting up a pattern for knitted dishcloths I stumbled upon the pattern for the bunny purse.  It was so cute I had to give it a try.  It took a day to complete all the crocheting and then I was able to assemble the project the next day.  I sewed the bunny down with my sewing machine and learned a very important fact.  Never sew crochet things together unless you are absolutely sure they are exactly where you want them. I was talking to my husband while I sewed and ended up sewing the bunny on a little sideways.  But I think my 3 year great niece won't mind the error and it sure turned out cute.  I used sugar and cream yarn, Daisy Ombre with white, pink and black.  It is a surprisingly sturdy little purse.  The pattern can be found here:
 http://www.e-patternscentral.com/detail.html?prod_id=5041&cat_id=1   this is the first time I have purchased from e-pattern and I will do so again.  I ended up purchasing quite a few patterns (OK, 4 to be exact) and have already made two of them.

Another pattern that I downloaded from e-patterns is "Spring is in the Air" dishcloth pattern.  These work up quickly and was a great way to use the leftover yarn from the purse.  As you can see at the top, I ran out of the variegated and used up some of the white.  But I had plenty of black and white left so I began to make some wonderful potholders.  These are very easy to make and I was able to finish  5 while watching general conference for our church! The pattern for these can be found at:

http://butzelkuh.wordpress.com/topflappen  she has very easy to follow directions.  Along with some wonderful pictures for demonstration.

I also started another project today, this one I predict will take a long while to complete as it is a popcorn bedspread.  It reminds me of my grandmother.  Although why I am not exactly sure, she tended to like Chenille bedspreads but never the less it has begun.  I will rotate working on it with my sock blanket that I am working on.  Hopefully, the sock blanket will be done this year in time for Christmas.  WE SHALL SEE!


I am expecting a new niece or nephew later this year and am very excited about it!  I love babies because they give me such a great opportunity to create amazing things to welcome them to this wonderful world in which we live.  I found this wonderful panel at my local fabric shop.  It is entitled "Gone Fishing".  This is perfect fabric for our family.  Grandpa Saylor loves to fish and has past that love on to all of us.  (Although I must confess, I prefer to relax in the boat reading while my sweet husband handles the fishing part.  I also don't mind cooking and eating the fish either!)  I loved the pictures and can't wait to get started on the design.  I have already cut the squares apart at 6.5".  Now the fun begins.  Of course if it's a girl I'll just have to make another quilt!  Oh, the great joys of being an aunt!

Sorry it's been so long since I have written.  Coming the America has been an adventure.  We have been trying to decide where to live now that Tim needs to be educated here in the USA.  I have been staying in Rexburg, Idaho with two of my daughters.  It's a wonderful townhouse with two bedrooms.  The only problem is when you put two college students, a sixteen year old boy and three dogs in that small of space it isn't as quiet as one could hope.  My son Tim loves to tease his older sisters until we're all crazy and I am longing for the peace of my own space.  I have seriously considered running away from home!  But since that isn't an option, I have been dreaming of where we will settle.  We have decided that Idaho or Utah just aren't where we want to live long term.  We really want to go back to our roots which is the great state of Michigan.  Michigan has gone though some horrible things as far as jobs are concerned so it hasn't been a option up until now.  With our living not dependent on income Michigan is once again an option.  We comb the real estate listings daily looking for just the right property where Tim and I can settle and dad can come home and visit!  Can I just say here it's a shame that American businesses have done their best to take the work outside of this country.  And they are currently reaping the rewards of that.  Unskilled workers!  Oh well on to better things.  To keep myself sane I have been busy knitting and have completed all the wonderful warm woollies in the picture above.

      The hat, leggings and fingerless mittens were my first project ( could be because it was so cold here when we arrived).  I used a wonderful yarn from Plymouth Yarn company called Mushishi, and their pattern 1592.  They knitted up fast and look wonderful.  It's a very simple, plain pattern which showcases the yarn beautifully.
       Next comes a pair of real mittens!  I just don't think the fingerless gloves are as practical as everyone tells me!  Personally, I want my fingers covered so I knitted up a pair of mittens with my favorite mitten pattern by Fiber Trends "Easy Hats and Mittens".  These knitted up in an evening and will give my daughter a nice alternative to the fingerless gloves.

      Since my daughter Stephanie is so tall, I needed to purchase extra yarn to make the leggings and gloves long enough to be of practical use to her.  So with all the extra yarn I also knitted up a "Spice Route Shawl"  which is really a cool scarf!  It fits nicely around the neck to keep you warm without the long tails of a regular scarf to deal with.  The beautiful stitch pattern also complimented the yarn as well.  You can find the free pattern for the shawl here;   http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L0369.html?r=1   I love free patterns!  They are well worth the investment of the yarn companies because I sure do buy a lot of yarn that way!

     Last but not least is Julia's Cabled Headband, this is a child's headband that I just made larger for my daughter.  I made it so that it finishes at 21" which was 7 pattern repeats, I also used 4 mm needles rather that the 4.5mm called for in the pattern.  This is another free pattern which you can find here:  http://mathgirl40.blogspot.com/2009/01/wide-cabled-headband-pattern.html   I want to make up more of these. They are perfect for covering your ears and not messing up your hair.  Plus, with my great new hair cut, head banks are very helpful!