hello monday

This week I'm linking up with Lisa Leonard to welcome a brand new week with some of my favorite things from last week:

Hello to our third bag of oranges....they've been on sale at the market and we are loving the sweet juiciness of them!  I don't think we've ever eaten this many oranges at one time.

Hello to cookies baking in the house...thanks to my sweet daughter Kenzie!  She's a baker extraordinaire!

Hello to windows open and sweet scented breezes blowing in....love those lilacs!

Hello to bringing lilacs inside too!  These are Miss Kim Lilacs and they smell heavenly!

Hello to the space shuttle Enterprise as it flew over our house....it was very exciting!

Hello to special friends coming in for a sweet spot in our weekend....it was a wonderful catch up time...not long enough, but cherished nonetheless.....and what friends they are!... cheering in the freezing cold at Jammer's little league game!

Hello to baseball season!  On Saturday we froze....on Sunday we got sunburns!  Crazy! (and hello to my first movie clip on the blog....lots of cheering as our guy got a hit!)

Hello to my slowly growing pile of granny square goodness!

Hello to a brand new week....what about you?  What are you saying hello to this week?

playing hooky

I've been queueing up granny square blankets for a while...collecting ideas and photos of what I might one day like to hook up.  I love this one and this one and isn't this one gorgeous!?  Well, after adding one more link to my pinterest board, I decided to start some field research.  So, I put all of my left over worsted weight yarns into a basket to stew on for a while....you know, just to look at the colors, see if they worked together and if I liked how they all looked mingled up amongst each other.

I knew that I didn't have the funds to support ordering a bunch of yarn, so I decided to use what I had on hand with the possibility of adding some supplemental colors and background yarn as I went along.  The basket sat on the floor of my craft studio for weeks and I'd pull out yarns from time to time to see if taking out one color made me like the pile, or if adding another color made them all harmonize even better.

I've been a bit hesitant to start this project because I have this huge afghan (see above photo) that was given to me years ago...and let's just say that I'm not in love with it.  The colors are a bit garish (the neon orange and green), they don't really match anything in my house or each other for that matter....and yet I appreciate all the hard work and time that went into it.  So you can see that this blanket has been part of my hesitation in starting a granny squared afghan.

But finally this past Sunday, after all the dishes were put away and all the guests were gone from Easter,  I got out my Klutz crochet book and re-taught myself how to crochet a granny square.  I put away thoughts of neon orange and green and I just started.   It's been so much fun!

Mckenzie and I were talking about the colors and I asked her if I should limit my colors to 5 or 7 or should I just work with all of them....she said, "Mom, don't think about it too much....just have fun!"  Don't you love that!?  So, that's what I'm doing.  I'm pulling out color combos that I like and I'm having fun.  I am planning to crochet all of them with a cream/oatmeal edge so that they'll be grounded by a similiar background.  (Kind of like this one)

I'm already learning some things I start on this project....
1. This is a long term project...I'm not in a hurry.  I'll add to my pile of squares as I have time.
2.  I'm enjoying experimenting with color and I'll keep experimenting as I go. I promise not to add any neon green or orange though.
3.  The gifted afghan has taken on new appreciation as I work on each square (and even though I'm not a fan of the colors...I'll bet she had fun while hooking away on it).

I'll keep you posted as I work through the yarn in my basket and grow my pile of granny squares...playing hooky has been so fun!

right now

Which season do you think is the busiest?  Fall, with back to school activities?  Maybe winter with Christmas and all the holiday happenings? I always think that the next season will be less busy but then I get to it and it's just as full as the one I just left.   I'm convinced that the busiest season is whichever one you're in....  No matter what season it is, it seems that the one in which you find yourself in is just as busy as the last one...but it's all good, isn't it?  These seasons are what make up a life....I'm learning to enjoy each and every minute of them.  My mom always told me not to hurry and wish your life away....she was so right!  There are blessings to find wherever you are.  

This season finds us:  

Enjoying Improv hour as Maggie performed (this was before the performance)

and Mckenzie watched on...she's such a great supportive sister!

 enjoying the wonderful weather outside 

(molly loves to sit on the deck and watch for the horses and squirrels) 

slowly getting started on a project...cutting 6 inch squares for the beginning of an hourglass quilt 

our boy is learning to mow the grass on the lawn tractor....I think his daddy was surprised that his legs were long enough to reach the brake....a key essential in mowing!

enjoying my plants - fiddleheads as they emerge from the ground all curly and green

bleeding hearts...

forget me nots

huechera...this one is called Peach Flambe....it is gorgeous!

working bit by bit on my favorite scarf ever...

it's so easy, I've actually got the pattern memorized.  

We're also into baseball season and basketball as well...but I'm having trouble uploading any more photos into blogger...oh well, that might by my cue to stop and go do some laundry.  It's always laundry season!  Enjoy your seasons and the days that make them up!