NOOOOOOOOOO!

I just lost "the rest of the story".  It took a good half hour and suddenly it was gone.  Poof.  Sigh.

So here we go again:

Gioia's birthday shawl - prayed over and sent as a surprise.  My favorite way to do things.  The pattern is "Penelope" and the yarn is 100% stash of her favorite color, green.

Prayer shawl for Mary who lost her husband of over 50 years of marriage.  I chose the colors (100% stash!) because I thought they'd go well with her red hair and they'd be uplifting.  It turns out they were celebration colors.  Paul (whom I've known since I was 9) lost his wife in February - also after more than 50 years together.  Paul and Mary have been grieving and healing together, and in the process falling in love.  In their (late) 70's!  Such a gift, this thing called love! 

Prayer shawl for Kathi, who's unborn daughter passed away just 2 weeks before she was to be born.  Many tears were shed, much prayer offered, but when I gave it to her, it broke her heart all over again.  I think I should've waited just a little longer.  I bought the variegated yarn specifically for this and added the white and pink from my stash.  The pattern, like Mary's, is either "Penelope" or "Unforgettable Top Down".  I like them both and they are similar.  I just didn't take time to note as I was working on them.

All shoebox goodies!  

Bracelets - I make with all leftovers, Jodi sews the buttons on.

Crosses - goal of one per shoebox (200), currently at 60-ish.  One of those easy, portable, all scrap, projects I like to carry with me.

Pencil case - my first attempt, probably my last, all leftover yarn.

Orange/brown scarf - meant for Ohio, but ended up short, so shoeboxes it is!

More hats - because you can never have too many hats for the shoeboxes.

Lovies - mom cuts into squares, I crochet the edges.  That is, until Jodi saw them and now she's blanket stitching them for me first which makes a nice clean-looking edge and less curling.  100% stash or leftovers.

And FINALLY:

FayeAnne's "Happy Graduation" blanket draped over Grandma's chair.

And on her bed.

I'm so proud to be her Auntie.  She's an amazing young woman with more gifts than she knows.  It was tough going - school doesn't come easily for her.  But she stuck it out and proved that she is stronger than we give her credit for.   

This was a labor of love - most of the yarn was stash, although I did buy the dark purple at the thrift store specifically for her, the pattern was one of the Attic 24 granny stripe patterns.  I forget which one.

All. Caught. Up.   whew

Springtime Crochet

Lee is coming home from fire duty tomorrow!  This has been one hot, dry, fire-filled summer, and we haven't even hit August yet.  He's already been on 4 fires.  That's a record to date, and the record for an entire summer is 6, so we're on pace to break that.
I decided to take a few minutes here to share some more of my springtime projects and then I'll probably go back into hibernation for another few months.  Perhaps in September I'll have a nice stack of goodies to share again.  I'm currently working on scarves for the Red Scarf Project.

These are headed to Bridge and Beyond where they will hopefully warm some homeless folks in Ohio this next winter.  The red and white one will go to the Red Scarf Project.

Next, some catching up:

1.  Me at work on Stephen's blanket.  2. Stephen's finished blanket.  Most of the yarn for this was bought specifically for him, except for the green/white variegated, the 2 beige/white variegated, and the light turquoise.  Those were stash.

This prayer shawl was made for my friend Florence.  She asked if I would make one and it was an honor to do so.  The pattern is called "Morning Has Broken".  It seemed appropriate to the prayers that went along with the making.  The green yarn was stash, the variegated was leftover from one of the prayer shawls I made for the Turning Point ladies retreat.  You know - the ones I forgot to photograph before letting them go.

I have more, believe me.  I think I just reached the limit on space here because it won't let me upload any more pictures.