Loveliness from England

Well...this is what I received in the mail today! My lovely shipment of nicely priced Debbie Bliss yarn for the baby blanket I'm making. That bottom color looks quite red in the photo, but it's another hot pink. That's the only trouble with ordering online. I think I may go pick up a red to use instead. I'm so excited to make this blanket! I cannot tell you who it's for yet, because they occasionally peruse Facebook and my blogs feeds to FB.

It's such a lovely pattern from Attic24 though and I'm super excited to get going. Here are a few pictures of the tiny crocheted blocks I've done so far.

I can't wait to start putting it together! The pattern for the blocks I'm using is from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. It's called the Target Square. I just did the first two rounds of that pattern to make the itty blocks. I'll be sure to post pictures as it progresses. Enjoy your lovely weekend!! xoxo

a mini-house tour and dogs who hate having their picture taken

sunflowers
Originally uploaded by elletrain

This week marked an exciting change in our household...I repainted the dining room! I think everyone is probably tired of hearing about it, but being the fan of color that I am and being fairly picky about the colors that surround me, this was a big deal. Our dining room was previously vampire red (don't get me wrong, I love vampires, but I didn't want our house to resemble a crypt). Last week consisted of two coats of priming to kill the vampire...this week I went over the remains with a lovely slate blue. The Gliddon people call it "French Grey." I really am happy with how it turned out, especially against the pale green of our living room.

Not sure what our plans are for the dining room now that it's gotten a fresh coat of paint and the pool table is gone. We have a "breakfast nook" that fits a full dining room table quite nicely, so we don't need it to be an actual dining room. It will probably consist of some bookshelves, a low lounging couch, and a small desk by the end of it all. We'd like to leave the middle of the room open for yoga or exercising (now that the demonic wall color is gone).

Also gracing this blog post are a few pictures from around the kitchen. I love my little deer and cardinals who sit on the kitchen window sill....and my new little mini-garden of succulents. They are super cute.I also had to include some hilarious pictures of Kodi avoiding the camera. She went a little crazy yesterday when I got the camera out and started darting around the house and backyard. It was awesome because she's an old girl and rarely gets a wild hair like this anymore.

We just walked down to the local bakery a block from here to buy the best breakfast sandwiches in existence...a slice of egg casserole with green chiles on a soft, delicious cheese scone. A.Mazing. Sweeth 16th is the best bakery around. Seriously. And it's scary how close is it to our house.

It couldn't be a lovelier day today! I hope you enjoy your weekend as much as we have already!

xoxo

Blanket... still in progress

Blanket still in progress
Originally uploaded by elletrain

Well, I used to be one of those knitters that said "I'm never making an afghan. I can't imagine working on something for that long!" I'm all about handmade crafts, but it just seemed like a silly project that would not keep my interest.

Here it is a few months shy of a year later since I started the Barn Raising Quilt, knit on SIZE 2 needles in Koigu SOCK yarn. Yeah, guess I didn't heed my initial take on afghan knitting. I decided to do one on tiny yarn and tiny needles!

But...I have to admit. This project has been a joy to work on!!! It has taken quite a while, but I love having something to pick up in between other projects or when I don't want to concentrate. Pinky loves picking out yarn when we travel and is super excited about the day I finish this blanket. It really has been such an amazing thing to work on...collecting the beautiful hand-painted yarn...

I've only got 10 squares left to knit. Then I think I'll do some kind of crocheted border, though the pattern doesn't call for it. We'll see. All of this is to say I have enjoyed slowing down a bit, taking time to make something lovely that hopefully will be a family heirloom. It's worth the wait!