Loving Friday

Purple Iris's about 1/3rd opened in my back yard.  I have them up and down 3 fence rows and in flower beds around the side of the house too.  I love this flowers.  So large, so pretty, so deep in color.  These are what my Mom used to say were double Iris's.

It's Friday folks, time for 5 on Friday, Random 5 and time for Finished object Friday!

1. As people wrap a busy week and look forward to the wkend I give you natures beauty, in the form of the beautiful Iris's.  Soon, the yard will be at what I call it's purple stage.  I also have wild Geraniums that are lavender blooming.  AND, see the wee tiny blue-ish purple, those are Forget Me Nots, so as soon as the Iris really take hold it's a purple person's fantasy.  I also love that these purple beauties came from my parents yard.
2. I have for the first time in awhile finished a project and therefore have a finished object to share with on Friday.  Yippee.  Must decide what to work on next.  Should I start something new....or try to finish Sea and Sand Afghan (a feather and fan pattern), or get brave and rip out the couple of rows I need to in order to get to knitting the green sweater for my Darling Daughter?  The finished ghan, Blue Jay is being blocked in the picture and will, like the others be donated to Homeless Families Foundation through my charity, Bridge and Beyond.
3. Friday night at our house is Pizza night, do you have a Friday night tradition?
4. Schools are on a delay here this am, due to some pretty substantial fog.  As of the writing of this post, 8:30 I can now see the end of my backyard, though it is still foggy.  No doubt closer to the river, and in out lying areas is still difficult to see, and therefore dangerous.
5. Managed to weed half of one fence row yesterday, and that almost filled 1 of those large paper yard trash bags.  Half of one bed, was enough bending and stooping for me.  Gotta pace myself

Not the best lighting, but it's a good non foot travel spot to do blog afghans.  Had to give some pretty good tugs here and there to get this even; thus the beauty and necessity to block afghans........even when made of acrylic yarn and even when crocheted and not knitted.  Yarn from different makers varies a bit, people use different size crochet hooks and have different tension as they work.  ANd even when the square measure close to the same size...you have variances that are helped when you block a ghan.  AND, yarn gets dusty on the shelves in the store, picks up odors in our homes, human and pet hair, and oils from our hands.......washing a ghan is necessary.

FOF and Friday 5 Badges and Links in meme tab, please join us.

Happy Friday all.
(BL5, FF5, CF5, FOF10)

Friday is Here!

Usually try to post Friday 5 early in the day; but today's work schedule prevented that.  So, here we are almost cocktail time and I'm just now getting it written and posted.

• I have allergies and lately the sneeze factor is annoying
• Hubby and I went to The Theatre Wed to hear/see The Tenors.  They were awesome.  Nicest date we've had in awhile, but we were both tired...we don't usually go out on a "school night".
• Had hoped to have finished this ghan, Blue Jay and be able to show it to you today, as my finished object Friday Post, so since it's not finished...not linky up. (broke my crochet hook last night while working on it and had to dig around to find another one).
• Looking forward to having nothing planned for this weekend, as we've both been rather busy lately.
• I'm looking for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who have kiddo's in the family.  AND or folks who might have a neighbor with kiddos.  I'm wanting to get folks to share their Flat Stanley experiences/adventures.  If you've done one in the past with your kids...please share your story/adventure/pictures etc.  I'd like to add them to my Flat Stanley Blog.  AND if you've not done one, how bout doing one now?  Inviting you all to visit Flat Stanley and Friends, please click HERE.

For those here for Friday 5 (badge and link in meme tab) who may not know, the afghans I assemble are generally made from donated squares and once assembled are donated to Homeless Families Foundation, though my charity blog, Bridge and Beyond.

**If you have a Disgus Blog, and or are thinking about joining google+ and or have joined google+, you really need to scroll back one post.  **
(FF6)

The Cat is Chasing the Bird

Cat chases Bird! Corney but that's what came to mind as I was posting these pictures.  The yellow cotton washcloth with cat design is one I'll make again, but I won't exactly follow the pattern this time.  I think the cloth is a bit too small and the edge curls more then I like.  The pattern only has an edge of 3 knit stitches before you get into the pattern and I don't think that's adequate to get it to lay nicely.  Likewise it only has 4 rows of garter stitch top and bottom, and that doesn't seem like enough to me either.  So will be making adjustments the next time I make this one.  It's Kate the Cat Cloth by Rhonda K. White's pattern.  The shape however I think is good.  Sometimes with these shapes made of counting purls and garters the pattern isn't real noticeable, this obviously is.  I'm also wondering about doubling it to make a nice big square for say the center of an afghan?

Blue Jay, the name of this ghan...thus cat chasing bird, lol.  Well in real life the Blue Jay would probably go after a small cat, as they're very aggressive birds.  You can see there's still a few ties left.  I have 3 rows yet to crochet together then work on the border, launder and block before this will be ready to be donated.  With a busy week scheduled, fingers crossed I can show this to you next as a completed project.  And if that happens, it will be #10 on my list of YOP ghans to make from donated squares.

**Special note for Flamingo KS, I'm not able to comment on your blog now that you have google+.  This is happening quite a bit to folks without knowing it.  Once you sign up for google+, the only people who can visits, and comment on your blog are people who join up.  It really restricts people finding you.  Didn't know if you knew, and it's my understanding you can change a setting so people can blog with you like they did before you joined.  When you join google+ you are automatically taken to that forum type profile page and not to your blog, then people have to scroll around to find you.**

Happy Sunday, Happy Knitting, and Crocheting.  YOP badge and link in meme tab above.
(BL 5, R5)

Rainy Monday, Got Yarn?

Next ghan to be assembled from donated squares through Bridge and Beyond for Homesless Families Foundation is Blue Jay.  The variegated squares, dark blue, and medium blue required 1 row of single crochet as an edging, while the light blue required one row of double crochet.  I managed to get all the edging done in the car ride as we traveled back from St. Louis yesterday.  This needs to be tied together so crocheting it together can begin and I think will need a substantial border to bring the size up a bit.  Currently it measures 43 x 43.  Should be able to add several inches to it once it's assembled, bordered, and blocked.

Sorry gang, I'm a day late with my Sunday, YOP post.

My Year of Projects List for July 2012-July 2013

My Afghan Goals:
To complete 12 afghans:
10 from donated squares (9 down and 1 to go)
1.. Summers End
2.  Sandbox 
3. My Granny
4. Christmas Time 
5.  Buckeye Blitz
6.  Box of Crayons 
7.  Arapaho
8.  Desert Rose 
9.  Iris and Lillies 
Complete Candy Corn Afghan (longest work in progress project EVER)
Finish the Feather and Fan Afghan (knitted), that finally has a name, Sea and Sand
  **Sea and Sand in the works
SO, BLUE JAY WILL BE MY 10TH AFGHAN MADE FROM DONATED SQUARES.  IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF I'M GOING TO MANAGE TO COMPLETE SEA AND SAND, AND THAT LONG TERM CANDY CORN TO COMPLETE THIS PORTION OF THE LIST.

Other portion of the lists are not coming along as well as the afghan list.  The project for Darling Daughter got switched after I made a scarf that the colors weren't right, and switched that project to a sweater, which is in the works, but only have a portion of the the back piece done.  Need to rip out a few rows, and so have put it on the back burner.

Cable knit skirt for myself.....no hope of getting it done, though I did get part of my goal completed.  I learned how to knit cables, by knitting a scarf with cables, which is still in need of a good soak and blocking.

Cotton cloths for myself, has gotten switched to 2 Pay it Forward Gifts, and a gift for a friend who's husband has been very ill, in and out of the hospital.  Sadly, mostly in the hospital and she's in need of a pick me up.

Here's one cloth in the works, have completed a couple of others, which have previously been posted.  Hoping to get a few more done.  Worked on this some in our recent travels from Cols, to St. Louis.

YOP badge and link in meme tab across the top of the blog.