Rain drops

Happy Easter everyone!  If you have some extra blog time today, vote for your favorite rain cloud over at Knits and Knots.

*That’s cool* a random fact

Wet air is less dense than dry air with temperature as a constant.

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By any other name

This is a small sample of the Progressive Pattern Stitch Afghan with Bernat Baby Coordinates Sweet Stripes.  I had some yarn left over from the Chromium Star Blanket and ended up using one full skein before the warping upper left hand corner got to me. 

Maybe a heavy border would help the misshapen corner and plump the size a little.  I guess I could also try blocking it, but I’ll most likely put it in snooze mode and try to find a charity that would take it.  I really don’t feel any drive to improve or finish this particular blanket.   

I do like the way the blanket is worked though, similar to a mitered square.  You crochet a bunch of chain loops on two sides of the square and turn.  The second row uses granny-style shell groups in each chain loop.  Because there are only two different rows the pattern is easily memorized. 

Plus, I personally am partial to exponential blanket construction.  It’s relaxing to watch a blanket grow, knowing that you can use the maximum amount of a skein without worrying that you’ll run out.  Using this pattern in the round would probably hold the shape better, like Robyn‘s  Baby Blanket on Flickr.  I like how her color changes compliment the pattern. 

*That’s cool* a random fact

Yellow roses symbolize friendship and sociability. 

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On the window sill

 

Look how dark the landscape is!  This was around ten in the morning and the water was almost black.  The sun is hiding somewhere behind that big gray cloud.   The horizon isn’t level, but considering I was on the car deck of a very rocky ferry boat I’ll consider it a win.   Wow, was this boat rocky!  Usually there’s just a slight sway or nothing at all but this ferry ride caught every wave.  Bleh. 

So I went off island to visit my grandma in Salem with my mom.  We had some business to take care of regarding my late uncle.  (Thanks for the comments everybody.) 

Below is her tomato pincushion complete with pointy needles.  She is an excellent quilter currently working on an applique project.  I felt the need to picture this veggie in it’s natural habitat.  See the purple plant in the background?

   

My grandma is an African violet aficionado.  She has over twenty blooming in her room of all different colors.  They are all lined up on the window sill, soaking in the few light rays Oregon has to offer.  Her secret technique is watering them from the bottom with hot water.   

In first grade I got a little chive seedling from Mc Donald’s.  Weird, huh?  I wonder if they’ll ever bring the gardening theme back to Happy Meals. 

Anyway, I grew it with my mom on the dining room window sill.  When it outgrew its tiny pot the chive plant went live on my grandparent’s farm in Yamhill.  My grandma planted it in her garden and kept it alive for about ten years.  Nothing says ‘I love you’ like fostering a Mc Donald’s chive plant for a decade.   

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Festival of tree lights

I learned something about the nighttime setting on my camera – hold still.  The setting must have a really long exposure time, but I didn’t really pay attention to the results until it was too late.  All my picture were super blurry.  On the upside I got a nifty shot above of the local Christmas tree in all its glory.  The effect reminds me of those swirly star pictures of the sky.  

I was at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the local park to get this shot.  Tons of people were there.  Okay, not Times Square on New Years Eve ’tons’.   ’Tons’ as in more than I see at the Island Market on a Sunday afternoon.   

Santa Clause and the missus even managed to show up.  They visited with the kids while the band played Christmas music. 

I got some yummy mexican wedding cakes and piping hot apple cider with real cloves.  The latter was greatly appreciated since it was C-O-L-D and I wore flip flops.  (In my defense I did have a crocheted hat and scarf.)

This little boy was in my line of sight while I waited, freezing cold, in line for my provisions.  He was so enthralled with the music tent.  He stood very still with these wide eyes.  I was actually impressed with how long he could stand still. 

 

I guess I could chock it up to the holiday season and his inevitable meeting with Mr and Mrs. Claus.  Kids seem to become oddly well behaved for short spurts when they are reminded their Christmas present turnout is in the balance.

*That’s cool* a random fact

Thirty-six apples will produce one gallon of cider and a single apple needs the energy from fifty leaves to grow.

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Trick or treat

In the spirit of Halloween my mother made a haunted dollhouse.  Orange lights inside the house glow from behind the skeleton at night. 

A wide view of the whole front, complete with non-spooky neighbors.   The “Happy Halloween” sign behind the dead tree was actually a one of those foam kits you can buy at JoAnns.

And what is a haunted house without a resident graveyard?

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