crocheting | Mom in the Garden

August garden of Sunflowers, Pumpkins, blueberries, apples and 3 pears

This post has been floating around in my head for quite a while now. Here’s where I’m coming from: I really like Instagram. For me it is an easy way to flick through loads of pretty pictures. Pick a category, any category, and you’ll find someone who eats, breathes, and lives all day long just that category.

I also love taking pictures!

Here’s where my feelings of imperfection come in. That eating, breathing, living just one category of a thing, is just not me. I have lots of interests and I’m always jumping all over the place trying to get as many different things in as possible. My Instagram feed covers just about every topic you can imagine 🙂

So my garden, while I love it, is anything but a masterpiece. I manage my time in the garden to allow me to do other things.

early summer garden

My crochet projects? If I set my goal to 3 projects a year, I can usually nail that!

This year’s crochet project challenge was a sweater!

Biking? I really like biking but I don’t want to spend every free minute on my bike. I’m happy if I get out twice a week; one short bike ride and one long bike ride.

My husband usually keeps me company on my bike rides, which I think is awesome. I love this route along the water in Annagassan.

My house is clean and tidy … if I am given plenty of notice before company comes over. Otherwise, we sport a “lived in” look.

this is as tidy as it gets … Did you spot the Irish time on the left and NY time on the right? 🙂

This is me, and all of my imperfections. I have fun with what I do, and I am O.K. with that.

August is for making lavender wreaths! They are whimsical and “artsy” rather than “perfect”.

You won’t find me specializing any time soon. That jumping around from interest to interest is what keeps me going.

spring time garden

Last year I tried my hand at painting an old cabinet and I had so much fun I’m going to try painting a dresser this year. One project at a time.

Refinished bathroom cabinet added some zing to this room!

At this stage in my life, I can tell you pretty certainly that this is who I am. I love what I do, all of it. I accept that I’m not in any “perfect” category, but I am in a category of “good enough to make me happy”!

How about you? Would you say you are “good enough to make you happy”?

In peace,
Dana

Another one of my favorite past times: coaching swimming! I’m lucky enough to be a part of my daughter’s swimming.

In the beginning

Some things are just worth holding on to, don’t you think? The picture above is of the first blanket I ever made. I was 10 years old, and staying with my aunt and her family for the summer. They lived in Florida, so for this New Yorker it was a huge treat. But what was my aunt going to do with me all summer when we weren’t at Disney World or at the beach? Being an avid “crocheter” herself, she started me on my first blanket.

granny “squares” that were anything but squares

The blanket has done fairly well over the past 30 plus years! But recently it became clear it was in need of some serious repair. My aunt had me sew the squares together, instead of crochet them, and the sewing was coming apart. I think I figured out why she had me sew them together instead of crochet: they weren’t squares at all! I did a TERRIBLE job of counting my stitches, so none of the squares were the same shape.

every shape imaginable except “square”

Yeah, I was 10. 🙂 So I decided to “Square them up”! I did the same border on all of the squares so I’d have the same number of stitches.

crocheting everything together

There are a million and one different styles for granny square blankets. I looked at ALL of them on Pinterest! I like nice clean white lines. It is so easy. And neat. I like that.

crochet together with a simple stitch

Next to decide: the border. I like to try something different with each project, so I played around with the border.

White & Pink edging

I wanted to make the blanket a little more substantial, so I went a few times around, each time with a different stitch.

White, Pink, White, Yellow & White border

I love the yellow border best. They are like little puff balls all the way around. The funny thing is, that is the BACK of them. I crocheted them the entire way around before I discovered the “puff” that I liked so much was on the back of the blanket! So I undid it, and turned the blanket around, and crocheted them on “backwards”. I felt better after I did that.

almost finished … one more border to go

I was tempted to call it quits after the yellow border. VERY tempted. But I decided to see how it would look edged in a frilly white.

frilly white edging

This gives it a bit of a different look, but I like it for this blanket.

full blanket all finished

I’m really happy with it, and glad that I took the time to remake it. That summer was pretty special to me, especially since we didn’t go down to Florida very often. That side of the family is my American-Italian side, and there is something quite special about that heritage. I have very fond memories, especially of my aunt. Unfortunately, she has since passed away, and this blanket is my special connection to her.

blanket remake

really happy with the end result

I don’t spend a lot of time crocheting, and I tend to take long breaks between projects! But I do love it, and I find it to be a relaxing past-time.

What about you? Any projects keeping you busy at the moment?

In peace,
Dana

The garden with its fall color on

Mom in the Garden

Enjoying life. In Ireland. With my family.

Tag Archives: crocheting

I am not perfect.

A Childhood Crochet Blanket “Remake”