Happy New Crochet Beanie for Me. . .

My hubby and I are not big party animals so we do not do New Year's parties.   We did go to First Night when we were first married with another couple, it was fun and we stayed awake just long enough to watch the ball drop.   That night it was terribly cold and we watched the ball drop from our hotel room.  We also watched the pick pockets work the crowd below and get busted by the police.
With that said, I can tell you what I did last night.  I finished my crochet beanie hat that my very talented niece helped me get started over Christmas.  Yayyyy me!!!  It takes me forever to finish my crochet and knitting projects but, I decided that I was going to finish this one so I could use it this winter.  It is terribly cute and my dear hubby even liked it and he wants one too, just not pink.  I have started him a beanie in dark blue.  I hope I can get his finished as quickly as I did mine.
YouTube is a marvelous tool for crafting.  My niece and I found this tutorial on YouTube by Ms. Craft Nerd.  She does a really good job of explaining things and this particular pattern is really simple.  Ms. Craft Nerd "How to crochet a slouchy beanie" check her out.  There are a lot of tutorials on YouTube for crochet and knitting all sorts of things.   I have a new love of YouTube now.
I hope you all had a safe ringing of the New Year.    I cannot wait to see what the new year holds for our family.  I am very excited, 2014 has been wild and crazy and I can just bet 2015 will be that and more.   We have had our trials and tribulations and we have lost some wonderful people but, I know that each of them is smiling down on us and watching over us.   Stay tuned, 2015 is going to be crazy with this Mom of two wild and crazy boys and wife to the man that makes us all smile.    Best to you all in 2015.

All About Fiber. . Crafty Thursday

I love to knit and crochet.  I am an amateur at best but I do enjoy it.  Like everything else,  I have several projects going at the same time.  I have at least two scarves, two hats, a cell phone cover,  and a prayer shawl.  My Church has a prayer shawl ministry where the women knit or crochet shawls for those that have lost loved ones or are facing surgery etc.  I love this ministry because it allows our Church to reach out beyond our walls.  While knitting a prayer shawl you pray for whom ever might receive it.  My first shawl I made took several years to finish so it was well prayed over.  My new one I am working on is going much faster.  I am doing straight knit on this shawl.  My others I alternated knit and purl.  For a shawl you cast on 64 stitches and use three skeins of yarn.   Knitting is actually very therapeutic for me.  I am also trying my hand at loom knitting too.  You can find all kinds of free (my favorite) patterns online especially at Pinterest.   Here are some pictures of some of my unfinished gems.  The last picture is a black and blue lacy potato chip type scarf.  It is finished, I thought I still had some to go on it.   I love making scarves but, you only need so many scarves and I have given many away.  

Knitting. . .

I am a part of our Prayer Shawl knitting ministry at my Church.  I am a beginner knitter.  Sorry for the bad grammar.  This is a group of women that knit shawls and squares for our sick, elderly, or anyone that may have lost a loved one.  We knit the shawls and squares and our Minister delivers them when needed.  We have only been doing this since the beginning of the year.  We have given many shawls and squares to people.  The squares are small knit pieces, almost like a pot holder, we call them prayer hugs.  We use these for kids and men.  The kids and most men would not use a shawl per say, but they can hug and hold a prayer square.  We also have lap shawls for the men as well.
As these items are made they are prayed over by the person making them.  Once they are complete the group  prays over them too.  We get together a couple of times a month to talk and knit and enjoy fellowship with one another.  Those of us that are beginners get help on our shawls where we have made mistakes and so on.  We also get advice along the way on how to do better the next time.  I am so glad to be a part of this ministry.
I learned to knit from my niece when she was in High School.  She is now in College. She and some of her college friends made baby blankets and took them to a local Hospital.   She inspires me.  I am excited I am almost finished with my shawl I have been working on for a while.  I knit very slowly.  We have thrown around the idea to make prayer scarves for our youth for Christmas.  That one is still up in the air.