Storms

We had three thunderstorms in a row today! Very short storms and not too bad, but there was heavy rain, some wind, some hail, and even horizontal rain in one of them! After the third storm, there was a rainbow. The first picture shows the rainbow, and in the next picture, you can barely see it, but above the first rainbow is another one. Not too often you see double rainbows.




The wind took down a few small branches too:


Here is the sky after the storms:


It was nice to see the rain because it's so dry here and we really need rain. I really do like thunderstorms too, so it was nice to see one for once!

Another afghan

I started this one awhile back, and have been working on it mostly during my lunchbreak at work. This is a fun pattern to do. It's called "All Day, All Night Maryanne Afghan" I'm using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in the color Watercolor. I love the colors in this yarn!

Annie's Attic Pattern of the Day and free patterns

Over the last few days, I've been reading on various crochet lists how some people are so upset over how Annie's Attic website has taken down their free pattern of the day. I don't understand why people are so upset about this, when all they have to do is go to this website: http://www.free-crochet.com/
and download a new FREE pattern everyday. The site is full of FREE patterns. So why are some people so up in arms about this? I just don't get it at all. All one has to to is go to the new website and sign up FOR FREE to have access to the free patterns. The patterns are in PDF format, which makes for much easier printing than it was on the Annie's Attic website.

Personally, I just don't get why some people think it's the end of the world when things like this happen. I guess another free pattern site isn't what some people want to see, or they wouldn't be making such a huge deal about this.

Also, if people were on the ball, they'd have noticed already that the same patterns on http://www.free-crochet.com/ are also on another site, http://www.freepatterns.com/! So, there has been no loss of free patterns, they've just moved to another website. Why can't people just get over this and move on?

Magic Ball Rug

The idea for this rug came out of the desire to use up my cotton yarn scraps. Ever-frugal me wanted to use them in something other than dishcloths and pot holders, so the idea for a rug came to mind. I decided on a hexagon pattern for this rug, which is quite simple and repetitive, so it's a good TV-watching project. Here's the pattern I came up with for a rug:

Magic Ball Rug

Size:
About 45 inches from point-to-point

Materials:
Worsted weight cotton yarn scraps that have been wound into Magic Balls. (See note below on how to wind a Magic Ball). I used two large balls that were wound on my yarn ball winder, approximately 10 oz. scrap yarn.

One Cone Peaches'n Cream worsted weight cotton yarn in Ecru

Size "N" crochet hook
Yarn needle

NOTE: INCREASE = 2 single crochets in same stitch.

Instructions:

Round 1: With one strand of Ecru and one strand of Magic Ball yarn held together, make a slip knot and slide onto the hook. Chain 2; then make 6 single crochet into the second chain from the hook; join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet.

Round 2: Chain 1, turn. Make 2 single crochets in the first stitch and in each stitch around; join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet. 12 single crochet stitches.

Round 3: Chain 1, turn. Make 2 single crochet in the first stitch, single crochet in next stitch, *(INCREASE in the next stitch, one single crochet in the next stitch)around. Join with a slip stitch to first single crochet. 18 stitches.

Round 4: Chain 1, turn. INCREASE in same stitch, single crochet in next 2 stitches, (INCREASE in next stitch, single crochet in next 2 stitches)around. Join with slip stitch to first single crochet. 24 stitches.

Repeat Round 4 for the pattern, keeping track of how many single crochet stitches between increases. On my rug, the last round had 46 single crochet stitches between increases (240 stitches on the last round).

You can make this rug any size you'd like. I didn't put an edging on mine, but you can do that too - be creative.

To Wind a Magic Ball:
Take yarn scraps of any length and tie the ends together. Wind into balls. It's as simple as that! You can use up scraps or use planned colors by cutting yarn to various lengths and tying ends together.

When I crochet with Magic Balls, I sometimes leave the yarn ends out for a shaggy look, and sometimes I crochet over them. The choice is yours. Magic balls are a fun way to use up scraps. I've made dishcloths, pot holders, tote bags, and afghans using Magic Balls. The possibilities are endless - just use your imagination and come up with your own unique Magic Ball project!

Enjoy the pattern, and if you have any questions, please let me know.

Tote Bags

Here are three tote bags I recently finished. All of them need linings yet. The first two patterns are from the leaflet, "Trendsetting Totes" The first one is called "Casual Chic" and done in Sugar'n Cream yarn in Grape and Soft Violet:


The next one is called "In Vogue" and done in Sugar'n Cream yarn in a color called Swimming Pool. This one also needs a drawstring. I'm not sure if I like the colors I used for this bag. I like the bag, so I'll try it again in a solid color and see if I like that better.



This last bag is one is also done in Sugar'n Cream yarn in Sage and Country Sage Ombre. The pattern came from an Annie's Scrap Club pattern.

More Plants

Here is a very small Kalanchoe that I bought at Lowe's. It was so full of buds, and now they buds are finally opening!


Here is a crazy Umbrella Tree from work! I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet. It is so big, that I may divide it and see what happens.

Outside my Living Room...

It's hard to believe that this is how it looked back in December:


And this is how it looks today:

My Plants...

Thought I'd post pictures of the house plants I have here...

First off, here's my "Momma Pothos". This plant I've had for about 8 years, and it just keeps on growing...I've made lots of smaller plants from this one in the last 8 years.


Next is my crazy Umbrella Tree:


Some Cactus and Succulents, plus two African Violets on the second shelf of the stand. The small clay pot on the top shelf is actually some Basil seeds I planted - hopefully I can grow an herb this summer!


Next are come of my Snake Plants (Mother-In-Law's Tongue):


My Zee-Zee Plant:


My tallest Snake Plant (from floor to top of the tallest stem is about 4 feet):


Two more Snake Plants and a Christmas Cactus:


Brand new Jade plant from Lowe's:


Red Dracaena:


Small Dracaena I brought home from work to nurse back to health:


My Hibiscus that has never seen a day outside and still keeps flowering for me. She had a huge flower yesterday, and has a big bud today that should be open tomorrow:


Cylindrical Snake Plant:


And finally, some plants in my living room - new cacti from Lowe's, some cactus sprouts from seeds I planted, and some tomato seeds I planted to see if I could grow them!


Whew! Now it's back to crocheting.....

Variegated Granny Afghan

I made this afghan using up scraps of variegated yarn I had here. Just a basic granny square, 6 rounds of the variegated, and then a round of solid double crochet in black for the edging. I slip-stitched the squares together with black yarn, and I used edging #49, a very simple edging, from the booklet 50 Crocheted Afghan Borders by Jean Leinhauser. The afghan is 5 squares by 6 squares, so more of a lapghan, but still a nice finished size.