Yarnjeannie's Crochet Cache

It's finished! I had such a good day and was able to get so much work done on the afghan. I think I am quite happy with it, and the only other change that I might consider making to it would be to add a couple more leaves to the tree on the side with the large giraffe. I bought the pattern here . I fashioned the clouds without a pattern, working them from the top down instead of from the bottom up as the pattern called for. I also worked the larger cloud with a larger hook. The original pattern called for 2 clouds of the same size. I added one more character to the mix as well. I hope you can tell what it is (clue - it's not the beagle!). Worked without a pattern as well. I hope it doesn't spoil the look of the afghan. I can't believe it's finally finished. I know that I will enter it in the Grange fair, but to be honest, it won't matter to me if it doesn't win a prize. Do you know what will mean the most to me? I will give this afghan to my grands...

I had plans to have the giraffe-ghan finished this weekend. It didn't happen. I did finish the two giraffes and sewed their spots on. All that was left was to sew them to the blanket and crochet two clouds to be sewn on as well. But it was a busy weekend, nonetheless. On Saturday, I met a couple of my sisters at my Dad's house and we did some more clearing out. I was late arriving, and my sisters had made a lot of headway before I got there. My job was shredding. My dad kept every document he ever received, I think. We found papers dating back 45 years. I even found papers older than that - "cheat sheets" from the US Army for their soldiers with various phrases in English and their Japanese translations. Those I kept. But I resolved to turn over a new leaf and not let my paperwork pile up for my kids to shred one day, and the first thing I did when I got home was to go through my junk mail and shred it! Sunday - again, I didn't pick up the afghan unti...

On June 25, 2009, two celebrities passed away – Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Ms. Fawcett’s death was not a surprise, as she suffered for 3 years from anal cancer. Mr. Jackson’s passing at the age of 50 was a shock to all. After viewing the special aired in May detailing her fight against cancer, I admired Farrah Fawcett’s bravery and hoped that she would beat her illness, but it wasn’t to be. I am glad that she was surrounded at the end by those she loved. I can’t think of any better way to go than in the loving arms of family and friends. What can I say about Michael Jackson? He was an immensely talented person – I still stop whatever I’m doing to watch his Thriller video. His achievements in music and dance have inspired so many people. There is no one today that I can think of with the talents he possessed. I must admit, though, that I have not been a fan of his for a while. His obsession with plastic surgery and his downward spiral in the last 10 years saddened me g...

At work, I fill in for the receptionist when she goes to lunch. I went downstairs on Tuesday to man the phones and looked out the floor-to-ceiling picture windows to admire the view, which wasn’t gray and overcast for a change. There were huge white billowy clouds and patches of bright color showing through. One of these patches of blue was football shaped and directly in the center of it was a perfectly round white cloud! It looked like an eye in the sky! All I had was my cell phone and would never have been able to capture a clear photo of it. I wish I had – it was a sight to see. It was only there a matter of a minute or two before the wind blew the clouds on their way. Made me think back to another occasion when a camera would have come in handy. I was a kid, living out in the “sticks”, when I noticed the skies had turned an odd color. We were in for bad weather, and everything outside had assumed a green tint. It seemed that even the very air around me was green. I loo...

At least, I think that’s what the big yellow circle in the sky was yesterday morning! It’s been so long since I saw it! On the drive to work, I saw dark threatening rain clouds ahead of me, and there was bright warm sunshine behind me. Oh, how I wished I was driving in the opposite direction! I do love a rainy day, but so many of them in a row? At this point, I have been keeping an eye out for animals lining up two by two! The weekend seemed to fly by, even though I wasn’t busy at all. I must confess that I was glued to the computer this weekend. I was a bad girl and didn’t work on my afghan as I had planned to do. I did a few things resembling chores, but that was it. I made a huge mistake and downloaded Chuzzle onto my computer. That game is addicting, like popping bubble wrap! I got to see little Justin over the weekend. He is five months old now and he “talks’ a blue streak! The coos and gurgles are just so sweet! DS Dan stopped in on Saturday with him, and then the ...

I have been blessed by two of my readers with awards! My first awards! If I weren't so old and chunky, I'd be doing cartwheels! LOL! ;-) Beansieleigh bestowed a Super Comments Award upon me. I will pass this on to 5 posters who leave comments for me. I truly appreciate it when folks take the time to post a comment. During difficult times, you lend support. When things are good, you share my joy. Thank you, all! I highly recommend you check out the blogs listed below! I pass this award to: Stephanie J at http://bikebookandbread.blogspot.com/ Debbi-a1 at http://debbia1.blogspot.com/ Sweet Mama Jones at http://sweetmamajones.blogspot.com/ Mrs. D at http://mrsdcrochetsetc.blogspot.com/ and I must pass this same award back to Beansieleigh at http://beansiebabbles.blogspot.com/ Thank you all for your continuing support. Sweet Mama Jones has also passed on an award to me - thank you, Sweet Mama! The rules accompanying this award ask that you link back to the person who gav...

We have a tree! The last couple of days, on my lunch break at work, I’ve been sewing the tree to the giraffe-ghan! Today at lunch, I crocheted some of the leaves for the tree. I hope I didn’t mess it up with the limb and branch placement. I adjusted them to my liking as I sewed, and then referred back to the photo. The photo shows the branches closer together and more upright. The branches, as I arranged them, are more spread out. I guess I can always make adjustments to the placement of the animals and clouds, and add more leaves if necessary. The back of the afghan: The front of the afghan – the tree before leaves: The front of the afghan with a few leaves added: I still have to finish a border around the green portion of the body of the afghan, and attach fringe. I’ll fringe when everything else is finished. So far I’m happy with how it’s turning out. I tried to be as careful as possible not to sew completely through the afghan so that it wouldn’t make an outline on t...