Yes, I admit that I have not worked on my biiiiiiiig cross stitch project since the morning of the day Kayleigh was born (here it is though I am further along than you see, I apparently did a lot in those last 3 days). I bought that project specifically for bed rest and the hospital and worked on it for a week before the hospital then pretty much every day that I was in the hospital for those 3 weeks. In my defense, I didn’t have any time whatsoever when K was in the NICU and I don’t have much now but I’ve discovered that it’s easier to pick up and do my little crochet projects for maybe 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there (so far). I’ve also realized that the lighting in the hospital was perfect for 18 count cross stitch, but our house stinks! The optimal time of day for this season is the morning time, by the front windows, and honestly, I’m sleeping then. :)

I haven’t done much yet with crochet, I started out with random practice, but I made Sarah a scarf. She asked for one and picked out the yarn.

Sarah's Scarf

I actually ran out of yarn and then when the new yarn came in, I went ahead and undid everything I’d already done and started over, so I’ve actually made Sarah one and a half scarves. :) She modeled it for me yesterday during our photo session.

Sarah

I just did simple single crochets for everything except for every 15th row which is a double. I used the charcoal yarn by Lion’s Brand, the Vanna’s Choice stuff. I liked it, it was really soft yet not too small or hard for me to work with. (I’ve tried a little bit with some baby yarn and I gave up on that for now, all my clumsy fingers kept doing was fraying it.)

That was my practice, and now I am actually following a pattern! This is the pattern I’m following: redheart.com/FreePatterns/…WR1856.pdf. I am positive I’m following the directions properly but mine is turning out differently than the photos. No big deal though, it’s a one of a kind. :) This will be for part of my sister’s Christmas gift this year. The colors remind me of her, bright and sunny, cheerful and outgoing, yet still a bit reserved. This time I’m using a color called Pastel Delight by Lily, the Sugar ‘n’ Cream stuff. I like it because it’s still this 4 ply stuff, but is wound tighter and rarely does any fraying on me. (I’ll learn technical terms in time, lol.) What is also interesting about this scarf is that towards one end there are two larger holes that are there for the other end to loop through and be somewhat secured. I’m pretty happy with myself that I did that part right, ha!

Gina's Scarf

On another note, I’m really happy to be able to use that 50mm lens I bought last year. Haven’t had a chance to really get to use it much, what, with being in the hospital and everything we’ve had going on for the last year! I used it a bit when I shot portraits yesterday, too. I’m a little slow with it, the manual focus, and all, but I really like it (and practice makes perfect).

But, anyway, I’m kinda proud of myself with the crochet. A few years ago I tried to teach myself and just had a horrible time with it and figured it would just be something I’d like to do but would never be able to learn. But the ladies at church had a little thing where they taught those of us that wanted to learn and I had a really good teacher to get me going. Now I at least understand what most of the terminology is and have been able to figure some stuff out on my own. I’m going to try and make my mom a blanket for Christmas, we’ll see if I can work on this as fast as I can these little scarves, haha.