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My hands have been busy this week and the stack of books by my bedside has been steadily growing. My intention is to take time every Wednesday to share with you what I have been creating and the pages I have been turning. My hope is that this will open up a space to help build community here at less & more. I would love to hear about the books at your bedside and see the projects that have been keeping your hands busy!
This week I’m joining a Yarn Along, but I probably won’t every week. I like to dive deeply into one type of project, leave it for a bit to persue something else, then find my way back. I’ll use this space to display whatever I’m working on each week.
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This week I have been crocheting with obsessive fervor. I made two trips to the yarn store and sat for hours stitching away while my little people ran circles around me. These simple dishcloths were my oasis. They only have one stitch, but I think that the repetition creates a rhythmic sort of beauty. I also decided to try my hand at needle felting for the first time to pretty them up a bit. I really loved the felting – almost more that the crocheting itself. I loved the feel of the needle pulling the wool down, then popping out the back of the fabric – it was such a satisfying feeling.
{I sketched a simple bird to use as a pattern}
{These are the three I’ve completed}
{The yarn I have been using is made by Berroco and is made of 100% recycled fibers – the colors are clementine, birch and patina. I have fallen in love with Brittany Crochet Hooks, and am going to collect them all.}
I’ve also been reading a lot in the bathtub this week. A hot soak is part of my evening routine – it warms me through and helps me ease into sleep. I drew the bath twice to finish Faceless Killers. Although I was filled with hope for this book, and it started off strong, it slowed and I lost interest. I think I made the push to finish it just to be through with it for good. Sigh.
I found a novel that Jarl has been assigned to read for school laying around on Sunday afternoon and picked it up. Hatchet is written for the ten to fourteen-year-old crowd, so it was a quick read. But it really made me think. Could my son survive in nature with nothing but a single tool and his wits? I thought deeply about how sheltered children are from the natural world these days and vowed to myself to expose all of my children to the wild around us more often. They should at least know what a raspberry bush looks like, right?
In the quiet of our evenings, while I’ve been crocheting away, Eric has been reading Simplicity Parenting and sharing with me the parts that resonate most with him. He is finally almost finished, so I should have it to myself soon.
I just started The Courts of Love, and being the sucker for romantic historical fiction that I am, I’m already loving it. It is one of the books that I picked up at the library when I went in search of my crocheting books. It called to me from the shelf.
Crocheting for Dummies is embarrassing, but really helpful (the ladies at the yarn store even thought it was well written) and I found a project in Vintage Crochet that I would like to work up to making someday soon. I just have to learn a few more stitches.
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My mind quiets and my well fills when I am engaged with a good book or when my hands are busy making something beautiful. If you feel moved to share what you have been up to, please leave a link in the comments section so we can relish in each other’s creative pursuits. And maybe even find a couple of books to add to the stack.
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Jen said:
I love the dish cloths! The birds add a beautiful touch to them. I haven’t crocheted in a long time. I should pick a project and do it because I miss it. I’ve been knitting instead!
Martha said:
Beautiful…I love how you felted the birds onto your crocheted pieces! I have done a little needle felting, too…and hope to do more!!!
Becky Penar said:
Jealous of the felting!! Was it difficult?
FYI, You Tube is a great resource for learning new crochet stitches. I have a very hard time learning from diagrams and have found it to be SUPER helpful to have a video that shows you exactly how to do things.
❤
coreynischan said:
The felting was SO easy! I read up on how to do it on a couple of websites, made a trip for supplies (where I got some great advice from the ladies at the store) and that was it. These sweet birds are my very first venture into needle felting, but I am positive there will be many more!
Natalie said:
The birds look beautiful, great way to liven up the cloths 🙂
Natalie said:
Those dish cloths are beautiful. They are lovely on their own, but adding the bird makes them fantastic. Great colours too.
Molly Ten Broeck said:
Those are darling! You could make a bunch of those, crochet them together and make an afghan. It would be awfully cute. 🙂
Krista said:
Made my own pilgrimmage to the local fabric mecca on Monday and came home loaded down with goodies to make super-cute summery pajama/lounge pants for Miss Molly and myself, plus some great cotton lycra for an attempt at some yoga pants. Finally have a nice area where I can sew and still be engaged in family fun time 🙂 Those projects of yours are very sweet…
Richard Rose said:
While I have plenty of crochet and knit projects (I have linked with both Ginny and Tami) the only books on my bedside table are puzzle books (mainly Sudoku), a devotional and my Bible.
Aleatha said:
My favorite crochet book of all time is from Stitch and Bitch “The Happy Hooker”. Molly bought it for me while I was recovering from a surgery a couple years back, and it is great!! A fun read with lots of ideas. My last crochet projects were queen and full sized prayer blankets for my parents and my brother. I read about them somewhere and loved the idea. I was able to weave in my thoughts and personal prayers for the intended people throughout the process. I am currently working on hats for the kids in my classroom at work using my Nifty Knitter. 🙂
Nellie said:
On my bedside table is Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West and Cherry by Mary Karr. Those dishcloths are SUPER cute. You should think about contacting these people for possible business opportunities http://youtu.be/0XM3vWJmpfo. (But seriously I love those)
kerri said:
I have knitted and crocheted wash cloths this month and really love it and love using the finished product. I have always wanted to try needle felting and your project is jut perfect for me. We are moving to a new city this month so I won’t be able to try it for a few weeks, but, oh, how I am looking forward to it. Thank you for sharing!
kerri said:
I forgot to ask…what is it that you like about that type of crochet hook? I love to crochet so am just wondering…might give them a try.
coreynischan said:
Hi Kerri – Thanks so much for taking a moment to look at the dishcloths I made. They are my very first little project and they were a ton a of fun to make! I am always drawn to natural materials so the pretty wooden crochet hooks by Brittany stood out to me at the store. Once I had a chance to hold one, and work with it, it felt just right – and the turned end helps me to keep a good grip. I’ve had other wooden crochet hooks slip from my grip and I don’t like the feel of the sticky rubber grips of some other types. Hope that helps. I look forward to sharing many more projects!
Manie Marques said:
Can I simply say what a relief to seek out somebody who actually knows what theyre speaking about on the internet. You positively know how you can bring a problem to light and make it important. More folks must read this and understand this side of the story. I cant imagine youre not more standard because you definitely have the gift.