I'm Hooked!

Oh, my... I guess I shouldn't have challenged myself to crochet all 99 of the "little doilies" in order, because now I've got started I can't seem to stop! I'm currently working on Doily #7. Admittedly, they aren't very big. It sure is fun to start crocheting and see how each one comes out. Here are the first four I've completed. Which one is your favorite?

 Doily #1.

 Doily #2.

 Doily #3.

Doily #4.

Rushing the Season

 When it comes to springtime, I always find myself rushing the season. We still have a lot of gray chilly days this time of year, but we can tell it's spring because the grass is turning green, and bright, sunny days come along more often than they did in the winter.

Pansies and violas thrive in this kind of weather, so last night I brought a 6-pack of happy-faced violas home with me to live on my back porch, just outside the kitchen door. I'll enjoy my coffee out there in the mornings when the temperature warms up just a tad bit.

The lilacs don't think it's quite spring yet. You have to squint to see the tiniest buds on the lilac bush behind the violas. But that's okay. Their time is coming and I will enjoy them when it gets here.

Yesterday morning the ground was covered with snow. It soon melted but remained damp and chilly all day. This morning the sun is shining brightly. It's not exactly warm... but we are headed out this evening for our first camping trip of the season! We will take warm clothes and huddle around the campfire. If it turns out to be too cold for even that, we'll just enjoy playing games around the table in the trailer.

Welcome, spring!

My World Travels

My friend, Tess @ Circling Through This Life, posted a map of where she's been. I've been in a lot of states, so I thought it would be fun to do mine. I wasn't expecting my map to look quite so full...

...but the truth is, while I've covered a lot of miles, there are still 11 states I haven't been in, because of all those little bitty New England states! I hope to visit the other 11 sometime, but no concrete plans at present.

Where else in the world have I been? Well, not many places, to be sure... I got to go on a day trip to Mexico once, way back in the fall of 1984. My husband-to-be and I were on a road-trip from California to Missouri. We spent the night with friends in Yuma, Arizona. (Since we were not yet married, we did not stay in motels on that trip.) Our friends took us across the border just so we could say we had been to Mexico. We had lunch in a little cafe and drank bottled Coke with our tacos. And so, I can say I've been to Mexico. But that's about all.

My family lived in Lansing, Michigan for a couple years when I was a little girl. While we lived there we visited Windsor, Ontario a couple of times. And then, I've been to British Columbia a few times since we've lived in Idaho. Not recently, though, because crossing the border now requires a passport... which I don't have.

There you have it... The sum total of my world travels! If I ever have the opportunity to leave the continent, I think my first choice of places to visit would be England. But, of course, I'd have to get a passport first.

To get your own map click here. If you do post about where you’ve been leave a link in my comments so I can check it out!

99 Little Doilies

 I'm not still "into" the Victorian decorating style that was so popular in the 1990s, but I still like my vintage doilies. I like the way they look under a vase or knick-knack on a shelf. And I love making them! Still, I have to admit, there's a limit to the number of doilies one room needs.

Not too long ago, I saw an article about how "housewives" used to crochet edges on fabric circles to place between their china plates when they put them away. Since I have a small collection of lovely vintage dishes, I immediately decided that I "needed" to crochet doilies to stack between my dishes!

I have had the 99 Little Doilies pattern book on my wish list for awhile, so I was excited when it finally became available on Paperback Swap. I have several partial balls of crochet thread of various colors stashed here and there, so I've set a goal of making each of the 99 doilies in the book in order, and posting a picture of each one as I finish it. I'm sure it will take awhile! Even at one a week, that's pushing 2 years. And I seriously doubt I finish one a week... because, you know me, I can never have just one project going at a time.

Even with my Great Need for doilies to go between my dishes, I definitely don't need 99 of them! So I expect I'll be giving some away as gifts. I dunno, though. Does anybody besides me still like doilies?

I'm also still working on the curtain for my bedroom. The socks aren't finished either. And I'm still carrying around a bit of tatting. But I did finish a pretty pink cape for my daughter to go with her graduation dress. I'll show you a picture once I get the hook-and-eyes sewed on and get it pressed. She's happy with it.

Out Like a Lamb

When March "came in like a lion" I wondered if it would "go out like a lamb." Yesterday morning, it was blustery and raining, and it sure didn't look very lamb-like. But then late in the afternoon, the wind died down and the sun broke through.

My daughter said, "I think spring has finally arrived!" We all felt that way. She opened the windows a crack and we attacked our spring cleaning project with renewed energy.

At sunset time the air was soft and pink-tinted. I put on a sweater and made a cup of coffee to enjoy on the back deck while I enjoyed the shifting clouds and fading light. My family laughed at me... but hey, it's not every day that spring arrives, now is it?