“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are”
― Kurt Cobain

Again I have been remiss in my posting this week. What can I say except my life has been full and my time limited. 

My crochet hook is to blame for the most part. When I really get into a project I don't think about too much else. That is when things slip right by me.

I am working on a new design right now for a skirt. I don't do clothing often but I want something nice to wear to convention this year. I am writing up the pattern as I go in case it turns out really nice.

I did have to begin it several times to get the look and feel I wanted. But I am now pretty happy with how it is going.

I recieved my copy of the Crochet World magazine yesterday. So I took a picture of the doily and the magazine together. This is one I will be framing. Both the magazine and the doily. Okay can you tell I am rather proud of this.

I had to try and get a shot of this gorgeous sunset the other night. Love it when the sky is intersting and not just blue. Clouds to me are always something I enjoy looking at. They are so varied and can make something dull so beautiful

Marv took me up to the mountains this weekend for our hike. Up into real trees. I loved it immensely. I can hardly wait until we go up there again. I still have to finish editing all the pictures we took but I have a few I can share with you.

This one was taken on the way out. The vehicle ahead of us raised the dust and I loved how it looked through the trees. I made Marv stop so I could get a picture. 

Will remind me of what a perfect day we had.  

The afternoon sunshine on these flowers made them almost glow.

I really liked the delicate blooms. I only saw one bush with these.

One of the things going on in my life is I am getting my green house that Marv promised me for Christmas.

We picked it up on Sunday and have been getting things ready to put it up this week.

Why do I need a green house. Well if you lived up north you need protection from the cold. Well down here I need protection from the sun and heat. With a green house I can control it better.

Instead of a heater I will use a swamp color to cool it down and keep moisture in the air.

It will also help me protect my plant from all the critters that seem to live in my yard. That's what you get when you live so close to the edge of the desert.

They aren't even that afraid of us.

Mr Rabbit here was checking out my flower beds.

I have to cage everything that I want to keep or he and his buddies will dine on my beauties.

 

Been lax here lately

“Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.”
― Mark Twain

 

Sorry I haven't posted here lately. Seems like there just isn't enough hours in the days sometimes to do everything one needs or wants to do.

Been busy, working, living, playing. all important things.

The big news of the week is I found out that one of my designs is on the cover of the June 2012 issue of Crochet World.

I am so thrilled to have made the cover. That is a first magazine cover for me.

http://www.crochet-world.com/

 

Chantilly Doily

Close up shot

My creating has been my major focus and when I pick up my hook and get going everything else tends to fade away.

But I am back and I will try and be better about posting.

 

Tuesday was Prescott day this month. Spent the day visiting with the crochet group up there. They are such a great group, I love going up there and talking the talk.

 

We took short hike Easter day. It was rather warm so it ended up being far shorter than we intended. But the ground was hot and poor Pip was letting us know that he was uncomfortable. I think his hiking days may be over for the summer. Though this weekend is supposed to be cool. So we will try and sneak in one more with him.

We did come across a band of bachelor wild horse. These are young male horses that band together as they aren't welcome in the main herd. The stallion doesn't allow upstarts to hang around.

Anyways,

We saw them across the river and snuck up where I could get a picture or two. Turns out I didn't need to sneak. They are used to people on the river and ignored us totally. Good news is I was able to take as many pictures as I wanted.

I will share a few with you.

 

I have been working on the final piece for a book and also a piece I want to enter in the CGOA design contest. So I have been very focused on my crocheting this week.

 

Here are the pictures of the horses as promised.

A good shot of my favorite one of the bunch

The whole bunch  on the move. They were curious about me.

 

 

Here they were watching some people rafting down the river.

Shows over time to relax.

A close up of 2 of them. I liked the bay best. But he wouldn't follow me home.

 

 

 

Some days

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
― Albert Einstein

 

I decided that yesterday had to be my Aprils Fools day.

I don't like to complain,but when someone asks me for a pattern for free because they don't want to buy the book.  I have to shake my head. Especially when the pattern is a book published by Annie's Attic. Not an out of print book mind you. But a book that is out there right now. I would like to think I am a nice person. But I do draw the line.

For one thing it would be illegal for me to do this since I no longer own the copyrights to the pattern.

Second even if I could I wouldn't give away a pattern out of a book to anyone. It wouldn't be fair to anyone who had purchased said book.

This wasn't the only issue of the day, But it was the topper.

Of course I politely informed them that they would have to take this up with Annie's Attic. It's their call not mine.

Some days though it is so hard to maintain patience.

Thankfully everything else in my day went well.

 

Flower bed is looking good that I put in. No drooping plants and nothing got eaten overnight. All good signs.

Today I am spending the day pattern writing and crocheting. Writing the pattern as I go definitely slows me down. But so much easier in the long run.

I am posting pictures of the hike on the 23rd of March.

We hiked down to Boulder Canyon that day.

One thing about this hike is the spectacular views

The canyons and mountains can definitely make a soul feel humble

A view of the Superstitions

This it the backside of what we see everyday from our yard.

More of the mountains.

There wasn't much water in the canyon but there was some.

Who says we don't have forests. Just forest of Saguaros instead of pines.

It got rather hot that day so I wet down a scarf and let Pip wear it to help keep him comfortable. Everytime we found water I would soak the little guy down. He wasn't too thrilled with that but it did help.

He may not get to do to much more hiking until fall if it keeps getting hotter.

 

 

Ah! Flower magic.

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan 

Yesterday I gave in to the urge to just sit and read my book. We all need to step out of ourselves once in a while and declare a day for letting things just slide by while we enjoy doing nothing important. I really think I needed yesterday. I have been pushing rather hard here lately and it was beginning to show.

Today I feel much more refreshed and ready to tackle all the things I need to do.

I did get a flower bed put in this morning. I am planting things that do well down here. I have spent the last year looking around and seeing what does well in the sort of conditions that this climate creates. I want color, but I also want fairly low maintenance too. So I have made my choices and put in one more bed. Once that is established I will do another. It take me a while to have my yard just the way I want. But I am also not over whelming myself with trying to get too much going at once. The plants I have chosen will not need me much once they are established. But until then they will take some daily care.

Crochet Projects are going well. Almost have the pattern written for the shawlette I am working on. So I am content at the moment.

Have one more item to finish up for the book I am working on.  Already my brain is racing with ideas for the next project after that.

That is one of the things I do love about being a designer. I can play with ideas and watch them grow.

Well today I am going to share some of the flower pictures from our hike on the 23 of March.

I know I am slow getting these up this time. Just I was pushing myself rather hard on a couple projects and a few things had to slide a bit. But I will get caught up here shortly I hope.

I am enthralled with these flower. They are so delicate yet so vibrant.

I have planted 1 of these in my yard. I am hoping it thrives where I put it.

I have only found these flowers in one spot on the trails we have hiked.

After the rain though this one was bursting into bloom again. Love it.

The cactus were just beginning to bloom. This was the first one we saw.

This one just charmed me. I love the colors inside. Makes me think of a lily or an Orchid.

Another shot of the same flower.

I love the contrast on this flower. The dark leaves and the ultra white flowers.

These are actually a rather small flower

It was blooming where we took our break on our hike that day.

To me all my flowers are a bit of my Pixie dust in life.

We could live with out them but life wouldn't be quite so sweet.

New pattern release

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

I haven't posted this last week. I really missed it too. But I was so busy trying to finish up a couple different things.

I have been working diligently towards getting all the designs done for my next book. Close to having them done. I have one design to finish making and write the pattern for. It's down to just do though I pretty much know what I am doing on this one. Just need to do the work. I also have one I need to finish writing the pattern for. It is done. Just I did this one while traveling and didn't get the pattern written at the time. But I did take excellent notes so it's going smoothly. I am remaking it as I go to be sure though. But I don't mind this is a design I really, really like.

I have also been working on getting a pattern ready to release on my site. We got it up on my website on Friday evening. 

                                                                                                      It is my 

                                                                                     NORTHWIND SCARVES .

 

This shows what all three look like

This is my Spring Blossoms Scarf. I love how this one turned out.

Close up of the Springs Blossoms Scarf.

This is a one way design. It will rotate the opposite direction if you are right handed.

This is my Lacey Leaves scarf. I wanted to have the colors fade in and out like shadows on a tree.

This is the close up of the Lacey Leaves Scarf

And finally my Summer Blossoms scarf.

I did make matching fingerless mitts for this one.

Close up of the Summer Blossoms Scarf and Mitts.

And the mitts. These are actually very comfortable.

I was working on these while eating out one night and the waitress wanted to buy them on the spot.

 We have been hiking and went to the Renaissance festival again. I will try and get those pictures up this week. I am taking a  much needed slow down on my designing and doing some of the things I need to do around here before diving into the next major project.