Celtic Knot Trivets (Canning Jar Sealer Ring Hot Mats)

 

I'm not totally sure where I picked up the hot mat/trivet in the picture above. I'm quite sure it was a freebie from somewhere and I brought it home, thinking it was a cool idea and I intended to attempt to replicate it. The circles are crocheted around those old red rubber canning jar rings. And I was able to purchase some of the rings as well. But I've had this since before my marriage ended and life kind of got in the way since. However, now that I'm retired, I decided to give it a try. 
By the way those rubber rings are still available at Canadian Tire and Home Hardware, and maybe other places as well. I'm not sure if people still do their canning using these, but someone must be using them for something since they're still being sold. And since they're still around, I'll share with you how I made mine. 
The original one in the picture appears to be made from Phentex, which is a synthetic yarn. I would be concerned about the yarn melting if the item placed on it was overly hot. I opted instead for a cotton yarn, Bernat Handicrafter Cotton. I do have quite a large stash of it, so I wouldn't have to make any purchases. And I used the hook suggested on the yarn label: 5.00 mm (US H/8).
I did an internet search to see if I could find the pattern, but nothing I found initially was exactly the same. So that meant I had to count stitches. The hot mat requires 6 rubber rings as the seventh ring in the centre, which joins them all, does not have a rubber ring and is done as a band of double crochet, which is woven through the rings and then joined end to end. I counted 49 double crochet in one ring, but I opted for 50 because I wanted to make sure it was full enough. And I think it's easier to remember a round number. 

The challenging part was the first stitch. Yes, I suppose I could have just done a slip stitch through the ring and chained 3 to make the first double crochet. But somehow I don't think that would look right and maybe would make the stitch taller than it should be because the chain 3 would be on top of the rubber ring, whereas the rest of the double crochet stitches would be around the rubber ring. Anyway, I opted to just start with the slip knot on the hook, loop around the hook, put the hook through the ring and draw up the third loop, and then finish the double crochet - a standing double crochet, I guess. The challenging part was keeping everything from getting too loose and sloppy for this first stitch.But I managed it. And then I could proceed with the other 49 double crochet. Joined with a slip stitch to the top of the first double crochet, and the first ring was done, aside from working in the ends. 

Since it's just double crochet, the rings work up pretty quickly. Don't ask me how much yarn I used. As I said, I'm just using leftovers in my stash. As the original was done in two colours, I opted for two different colourways as well. But it could be done in all one colour, or each ring done in a different colour, or whatever makes you happy, or you have available. 
Work in all the ends before proceeding to the next step. 
I shared this project with my sisters that crochet. And my oldest sister wanted to know how to assemble it and found this video: 

It's worth a watch as it is often easier to see an actual demonstration of techniques rather than just pictures and descriptions. But I do not recommend using plastic pop can rings or synthetic yarn because rubber or silicone rings and cotton yarn are more heat proof. Nor is her stitch count right to work with rubber rings. I counted 55 stitches in the joining ring on my sample project. I chained 57 and worked a double crochet into the third stitch from the hook, and double crocheted to the end of the chain, counting 55 stitches. Somehow I ended up with an extra chain, so maybe you should only chain 56? Anyway, I worked it in when I joined the ends. Leave a long tail when you fasten off the end to use in stitching the ends together.

Now for the really challenging part - weaving the band through the rings. You might follow what she does in the video. It might make more sense than the mess I have in the picture above. She does hers in a row and then bends it around to form a circle. You just have to make sure that you overlap the two end circles correctly and weave in the right direction. Please don't join the ends as she does in the video. Leave a long tail when you fasten off the last stitch and use a yarn needle and stitch the ends together. Then work the ends in. You should never just tie a knot. 
You've basically just made a Celtic knot. 

Finally finish the edge of the hot mat with single crochet in the back loops of 17 double crochet on the outside edge of each of the 6 circles. Join with a slip stitch to the first single crochet, finish off and work ends in. 
Admittedly, using variegated yarn makes it look messier than using solid yarn because you can't see as readily where the loops are going. But it's still pretty. 
Since I had 6 more rings in the box, I decided to make another one, only this time I decided to make the 7th ring/joining band more of a circle instead of just a flat band. In other words, wider on the outside edge than on the inside edge. Here's how I did it:

• Ch 51, not including slip knot (52 stitches including slip knot)
• In 3rd chain from hook, dc 
• 1 dc in each of next 7 stitches, 2 dc in next stitch
  
• 1 dc in each of next 9 stitches, 2 dc in next stitch - repeat to end of row

Basically, you should increase one every 10 stitches. There should now be 55 stitches, but don't blame me if it doesn't work because I'm not a crochet pattern designer. 
I liked this technique better, but care must be taken when weaving the band through the rings as it tends to stretch. And this is true using either technique for making the band. I suppose I could reduce the number of stitches (50 maybe instead of 55?), but I would be concerned if I should ever wash it and the yarn shrank. And it's just not that significant to keep experimenting. 
And this second time, I decided to try lining the rings up in a row to weave in the joining band, like in the video. For me, that was a bad mistake. I ended up making a couple of mistakes and had already stitched the band together before I realized it. I was able to snip it apart, realign the trivet correctly, and stitch the band back together again. Hopefully, it won't unravel sometime down the road. And I also ended up with the rings overlapping in a counterclockwise direction, and I think it looks neater in a clockwise direction, like the first one, and my sample one. 

Regardless, it's done, I've finally completed a project that's been waiting for years, I've used up some of my yarn stash, and they both look pretty. And I will likely put these in my camping equipment, as I don't think I have any trivets in there. I'm hoping to go camping with my daughter and grandson soon, if the rain ever stops long enough. 
If you have any questions about my techniques, please just message me using the contact form in the right sidebar. Or comment on this post. 

More Shawls

 Some time ago, I purchased this book for my Kindle. 

 However long ago that was, I've had it on my Kindle and basically ignored it since then. When I decided to start making shawls, I perused this book and discovered that it is actually a book of shawl patterns that you can find free online. And it provides a link to the patterns. Hmm, so why did I need the book? 

One of the ones I started from this book is the Summer Morning Shawl.

My goal is to create a small stash of prayer shawls so that I'll have them ready when I need them. This is the first one to go in the stash. It's made with a labelless knitting worsted and I used a 5.0 mm hook. It took 251g or 8.85oz of yarn, and measures approximately 58" across and 26" long.

It's an attractive stitch with a 4-row repeat. 

The pattern comes with a crochet diagram that you can use to follow once you get past the initial 13 rows. 

Lost in Time has already found a home and so has the Goddess Shawl. 

This one is much lacier than Lost in Time, so will provide more beauty than warmth. I used Red Heart Comfort Sparkle, a 6.0 mm hook and it took 322 g or 11.35 oz of yarn. I forgot to measure the final size, but my size 11 feet are in the picture for reference. 😆 Here's a close up so you can see the sparkle.

The pattern states that it was based on a doily pattern. I think I might have some doily patterns somewhere that might come in handy, especially since I seldom use the same pattern twice. I just don't understand the crafters who decide to make 2 (or more) of the same pattern. There are so many beautiful patterns out there and life is too short to keep making the same one, in my not-so-humble opinion. 

There is a bit of a story before I finally got to the Goddess Shawl, made from the sparkley purple yarn. The person I made this for loves bright colours, but, like me, purple is her favourite. I know that I have a skein of this purple yarn somewhere, but could I find it when I wanted it? Certainly, my search for this yarn highlighted for me just how much yarn I have and that I really need to be using it up before I buy any more. But back to my story: I next opted to try bright yarn and pulled out some Red Heart Super Saver in blacklight. I don't remember exactly what order or even how many different patterns I tried. I know I tried the Sapphire Satin Sparkle Shawl and didn't like the way it looked at all. I was going to try the Sweet November Scarf/Shawl. Tell me if these instructions make sense to you:
ch 4, 1 dc in 1st ch, ch 3, turn (This forms beginning loop)
1 dc in loop, ch 1, 1 dc, ch 3, turn

When I looked at those instructions and looked at the shawl and thought that it looked rather boring, I decided against that one as well. I started the Lattice Lace Wrap and realized that was going to be too boring - just chains and single crochet. I looked at a couple of other patterns and they didn't appeal to me either. I also tried the Broomstick Lace Shawl. More instructions that don't make sense: After being told to turn at the end of row 2, here's row 3,
Ch 2, turn, sc in second ch from hook; working in front loops only, sc in each sc across, turn—5 sc.
Why do I chain 2 and then turn again??? And then it doesn't tell me to turn again, so where am I to continue the rest of the stitches for this row? Yeah, that pattern wasn't working out either. After that, I decided to try my own broomstick lace from what I remembered how to do it. I wasn't particularly enjoying that and thought I might continue by making a sampler stitch shawl, so I pulled this book 

 out of my library. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that that probably wouldn't look great either. So, I decided to try a stitch I liked from this book and do the whole shawl in it. I picked #46 Bravado. It is a really pretty stitch, but the instructions weren't correct and I ended up with a puckered mess. I went online to look for an errata for this book. Nothing. Fortunately, I'm an experienced enough crocheter, and the picture of the stitches is clear enough that I was able to figure it out. For future reference, in case you ever decide to try this stitch, here are my corrections:

Row 1: Sc in 8th ch from hook (first 7 chs count as first hdc, ch-3 and sk next ch), *[ch 3, sk next 2 ch, sc in next ch] twice** ch 4, sk 3 ch, sc in next ch, rep from * across, ending last rep at **, ch 2, hdc in last ch, turn.

Rows 2 and 3 - same as in the book.

Row 4: in the second line, where it says, "sc in next ch-3 sp", this should read "sc in next ch-5 sp".

Rows 5 and 6 - same as in the book.

Row 7: on the last line, after it says "ch 2," the next stitch should be "hdc" not "dc". 

Pretty as this pattern was, I just was not liking it. And I realized it was the yarn. While the variegated yarn that I used for the Summer Morning Shawl worked fine, the blacklight was too loud with too much contrast. It might work in the afghan that I actually purchased it for, but I did not like it as a shawl. So I set this shawl idea aside until I happened to be in Walmart and they had the Red Heart Comfort in the purple sparkle (I still haven't figured out where my skein is at home), and I purchased one skein and made the Goddess Shawl. I'm very happy with it and I also now know a few patterns that I won't bother trying again. Nor will I, unless someone specifically asks me for a very loud shawl, try another one in blacklight. 

Catching Up on UFOs

 I swear I have ADCD (Attention Deficit Crafting Disorder). I see a project I want to make, so I gather/purchase the equipment and supplies and begin. But it's not long before I get bored or sidetracked by another project that appeals to me. And then I gather the supplies and begin again. And before I know it, I have multiple WIPs (Works in Progress) and UFOs (Unfinished Objects) all over the house. And that's got to stop. Not only does it make my house very cluttered with unfinished projects, but it's stressful feeling the pressure to finish and shows a lack of discipline. So, I've resolved to not start any new yarn projects (with the exception of the odd dischcloth, or perhaps projects with a specific purpose in mind) until all of my UFOs and WIPs are completed. Nor do I intend to purchase any more yarn unless needed to complete a project. 

And, honestly, it gives me such a sense of accomplishment to complete a project. The Savvy Ruana is one such project. I had finished the main part, but still had to do the "fur" collar. And now it's done. It really didn't take long to finish it either. Not sure why I put it off, except that it got buried in clutter. 

Previous to the ruana, I finished I Want That Bag. Again, it didn't take much time as all I had left to do was sew in the jute bag liner. 

This bag fits two good-sized towels for when I take my grandson swimming (which hasn't happened since before the pandemic).

I'm really pleased with how both of these projects turned out. Why did I wait so long?

More of a WIP than a UFO, I was also pleased to get the San Diego Sunset afghan finished. 

This one is from the book, Weekend Afghans, by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss. 

Currently, I'm working on finishing a zippered cardigan. I'm not sure when I started it, but I got the book that the pattern is in for my birthday over 12 years ago... I know I got stalled because the sleeve instructions were so hard to interpret and the first time I completed a sleeve, it ended up about 6" long, and it's supposed to be full-length. I finally figured out the instructions, but then got distracted... And it's now upgraded from a UFO to a WIP. 

Onward and forward!

Circles Throw

 

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

Jeremiah 18:1-6

Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Romans 9:20-21

I picked up the pattern leaflet for the Circles Throw at a Len's Mill store on my last visit to Ontario. The pattern called for 14 circles each of 3 different colourways of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton, for a total of 42 circles. However, I decided to try and see if I could do each circle in a different colourway. And I was able to do more than that. Not only did I make each circle in a different colourway, but completed each round of the border in a different colourway, for a total of 45 different variegated colourways, plus the solid white. 

However, that's not the only change I made. Some time back, while sorting through clutter, I came across a crochet pattern for the Flat Braid Join. It was several years old and the pages had gotten mildewed, but when it came time to assemble this afghan, I wanted to try something other than sewing the motifs together. Trying to avoid using the mildewed pages, I googled and not only found the original pattern, but a new variation that allowed the crocheter to complete all of the joining without breaking the yarn. That was even better!

The joins at the corners were a little complicated, and they didn't all turn out as well as I would have liked, but I'm still quite pleased with it overall. 

As I was working on the joining, I was considering what was going to work for the edging. With this type of join, I was doing a half flat join on the edges of all the blocks, including the outside edges. This wouldn't necessarily work with the edging from the original pattern. Besides, the orignal pattern had the final round done in reverse crochet, which I really don't find very attractive. The website that has the new variation also has a link to a pattern that not only uses the flat braid join, but has an edging that works with it as well. (The afghan pattern is quite pretty, too). So I purchased the pattern and proceeded with the edging. 

In the pattern, the edging is all done in white. I felt that my afghan already had enough white and chose to do each of the three rounds in a different colourway. 

The circle motifs are done in the following colourways: Azalea, Beach Ball Blue, Blended Navy Lemon, Blue Camo, By the Sea, Candy Sprinkles, Chocolate, Coral Seas, Country Sage, Country Stripes, Creamsicle, Crown Jewels, Damask, Emerald Energy, Emerald Isle, Faded Denim, Fleur do Lavande, Floral Prints, Freshly Pressed, Fruit Punch, Garden Party, Granite Pink, Hippi, June Bug, Lemon Swirl, Lotus Blossom, Love, Marble Print, Mod, Moondance, Patio Pinks, Pepper, Pretty Pastels, Psychedelic, Purple Perk, Quiet Sea, Rick Rack, Stoneware, Summer Breeze, Summer Print, Sunkissed, and Swimming Pool. The border was done in Playtime, Salt and Pepper, and Lively. By the way, Lively looks very similar to Psychedelic, maybe slightly less loud. 

And so, it's finished. And, in my opinion, it's much prettier than the original pattern. 

And that's how life can be. Sometimes we plan our lives, like the original pattern. But the Artist recognizes that that pattern is not what's going to work best for our lives. And it can be uncomfortable, even painful sometimes, as the Master Artist works with the yarn. And, like the Bible text from Romans I quoted above, we want to ask Him, "What on earth are You doing?, Why are You doing it this way? I had my own plans and that's not the way I wanted my life to go..." And we often can't see how what looks like a mess of failed and aborted plans can possibly turn into something beautiful. But it can. And it will, if we trust it all in the hands of the Master. Because he promised in Romans 8:28:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Mistletoe and Lace

 

This afghan actually started out as a loom-knitted project after I purchased the afghan loom and wanted to try it out. I soon discovered, however, that not only can I knit faster with needles than I can on a loom, but the pegs were so closer together that wrapping the yarn around them was tedious and frustrating. So, it sat around for awhile until I finally decided to remove what little I had accomplished, unravel it, and start fresh with a different project. 
As you may be aware, my goal is to make at least one project from every craft book I own. If only I would quit buying more books at thrift stores, I might actually be able to accomplish this goal. Nevertheless, I selected from my library the Mary Maxim book Timeless Treasures, and chose a pattern that suited the amount of yarn I had on hand, Ribbons and Lace. Or so I thought. Apparently, I tend to crochet larger than guage (I never do a sample swatch to check my guage, especially not with afghans) and ended up having to buy extra yarn. Even though I didn't add the fringe included in the pattern. (I'm not a fan of fringe on afghans. What is it good for? Besides getting tangled up when you wash the afghan). So, what was supposed to be a 48" x 56" afghan ended up 58" x 67". I got to the point where I had only 3 rows left, and only had a short string of yarn remaining. So one more skein of yarn was purchased, and the afghan was finished today. 

I love variegated yarn, but find that it makes the actual pattern in the design indistinct. I found the same thing with the Lace Enchantment afghan. And this one actually called for a contrast yarn, which I think would have enhanced it, but I'm not redoing it now. The pattern also called for restarting each row at the same end and working into the back loop. I found that a ridiculous idea, especially restarting each row - imagine all of the ends to work in! Initially, I did start working in the back loop, and then into the front loop on the following row for the part of the pattern that called for that, but I didn't really feel it made that great a difference in the look of it, so just started crocheting normally for all rows. 

Another WIP finished, which is likely my final finish for 2020, unless I actually get some potholders made...

Janet's Flower Garden

I believe that I've mentioned before that I dislike it when I'm crocheting in the round, and the pattern says, "You will notice the edge is starting to curl up at this stage. Don't worry, it will work itself out over the next few rounds." Or worse yet, "You will need to block it at this point to make it lie flat." For all the crochet - and knitting - projects I've done over the years, I've only ever blocked a few. I think I was still a teenager when I made an afghan for a friend's baby. The instructions said to block it so I did, though I'm not really certain why I was doing it. And I honestly don't think I needed to. I was just following instructions. Then there was the cowl I made with Charisma yarn. It was so stiff that I tried washing it to see if it would soften up, and blocking it afterwards. It didn't help. I also tried blocking the loom-knitted scarf that I made for my ex because it kept rolling up like a sausage. Blocking really didn't help that much either. (You can see both of these projects in this post). And then, of course, there are these round afghans... I really don't think that you should have to block to make crocheted circles lie flat. Years ago, I cut something out of somewhere (a magazine?) that told how to make crochet circles lie flat. It's just a matter of adding enough stitches per round. It shouldn't really be that difficult. Okay, I know that certain patterns require a certain number of stitches in order for the pattern to work out evenly. But crocheters have been making doilies for generations (and I still haven't figured out why), and they lie flat. And they have lovely, fancy patterns that work out evenly. Were people just better at math and therefore pattern development back in the "olden days" when people actually used doilies? I really don't know, but I do find it irksome. 
But with this particular afghan pattern (Queen Mandala Throw by Annamarie Esterhuizen), I found that I had to make too many adaptations to make it work. It's not that I can't follow directions - I just don't like to have to keep forcing things to work. I'm not a pattern designer, and I have a lot of respect for those who do develop patterns. But they need to work. And I feel sorry for inexperienced crocheters, who may end up thinking it's just them and not the pattern. I would really hate to see someone give up on crocheting before they really even got started because of a faulty pattern.  
So, this afghan was getting plenty big enough, and I was plenty frustrated enough, and I decided to start squaring it off. Once I got it reasonably square, I finished it off, mostly using directions from another afghan pattern (Sophie's Universe by Dedri Uys), and finally adding a butterfly on each corner, with directions (which I also had to adapt) from a youtube video. 
So I took it out this afternoon for its photo shoot.  And sooner than post all of the individual photos, I will share the video I made on Google.  

I keep trying to accomplish my goal of finishing all of my WIPs and UFOs before starting anything new, but there's always another "must do" popping up... At least I'm glad this one's finished. 

24-Hour Crochet Projects: A Book Review

Like 24-Hour Quilting Projects, this isn't a new book but a re-issue of a previously published book. Unlike the quilting book, however, I wasn't inspired enough by this one to buy my own copy. I received an Adobe Digital Editions copy from Net Galley, which, unfortunately had an expiry date. So I ended up borrowing a copy from the library in order to review it. 
As I've stated before, I actually like to create at least one project from a craft book that I review so that I can actually judge how well the instructions are written and whether the projects are worth making. However, I found the selection was limited in this book. In order to accommodate the time limitations in the title, a lot of the projects were hats and doilies. Who actually makes doilies nowadays? I originally decided on the Sunny Days Tank Top, intending to make it for my daughter. It called for "sport weight" yarn. One of my pet peeves is knitting/crocheting books that still use this terminology. It's rather ambiguous and I don't understand why these terms are still used when we have the numbers assigned to each category of yarn. It's much easier to substitute a yarn if I know it's a 3 weight, rather than a sport weight. The yarn the author used in this project was actually a 2 weight, Red Heart Luster Sheen, but Red Heart's Comfort Sport is a 3 weight. One would think that with "sport" actually in the name of the yarn, that would be the correct weight. And so I have always considered "sport weight" a 3. However using the number system would have eliminated the confusion. The "sport weight" yarn I purchased for this project did not work out at all. And as Luster Sheen is not a particularly economical yarn, nor readily available in my town, I turned to another project. Actually, 2 projects. 
I made Billed Beauty for my daughter and Heads Up for myself. 

I am writing this so long after I made the hats and returned the book to the library, that I can't remember which hat it was or even the exact details. It was either a double crochet increase or decrease, but the instructions were not complete. Fortunately, an experienced crocheter would have no trouble with this, but what about a beginning crocheter? And why didn't they catch this and correct it before they re-issued the book? I didn't check my guage - I never do - but Heads Up seemed kind of loose on my head and Billed Beauty a little tight. Billed Beauty called for a piece of plastic - it didn't say what weight of plastic or where you were supposed to find it, nor did it provide a template for cutting the plastic. I ended up buying a cheap binder in the back-to-school supplies and cut a piece off the front of it. When I first tried on Billed Beauty, I thought it looked like a chef's hat gone wrong. However, I think it looks relatively good on my beautiful daughter and hopefully the crocheting will relax a little after washing. A softer yarn might have worked better. This was Red Heart Super Saver.

This book included 2 or 3 afghan patterns, a few garments, multiple hats, but nothing that I found inspiring enough to recommend its purchase. 

February 2015 Vacation, Day 6

Stupid people should not own dogs. Well, they really shouldn't own any pets at all, but I'm just thinking of dogs in particular at this moment. I finally got out the snowblower yesterday and did my snow removal. Then I finished up with shovelling the deck and tidying up the sidewalk between the deck and the garage. Sometimes I do this sidewalk with the snowblower, but I like to finish it off with the shovel. As I was doing this, the neighbour let her dogs out to do their business. She has a sheltie who has spent most of her life in a chainlink kennel attached to the owner's garage. Matted, mangy-looking and mean, I never saw this dog being walked. She always barked and growled when I or someone else was in my yard. And unfortunately, her kennel afforded her a good view of the door onto my deck, which is my main door. I didn't blame the dog for being mean since she had no quality of life. But somehow I managed to befriend her with dog biscuits. I was actually asked to look after her once while her family went on vacation. And I discovered that this poor dog was just starving for attention. She actually loved being petted (don't most dogs?). Unfortunately, there was not much I could do since she was being provided food, water and shelter (she had a doggie door into the garage), and the owner was not being actively abusive. Finally a year or so ago, because the dog was getting older and arthritic, the owner took her inside. I'm not sure if this actually improved the quality of her life much, if at all. Unfortunately, not seeing me for so long, she will be her vicious little self on the odd occasion when we both happen to be out at the same time. I'm rather glad I had my shovel with me when she zoomed in for the attack yesterday. She came after me a couple of times, totally ignoring her owner, who tried to call her back. I tried to calm her by talking to her, hoping she'd recognize my voice. Since I had spilled some gas when filling the snowblower's tank, I didn't expect her to recognize my scent. However, she didn't calm down and finally returned at the owner's insistence and the fact that I didn't back down. And I was armed with a shovel. I didn't intend to use it on her, but would have if I'd had to defend myself. I really wish I could afford to put a fence up between our properties. That's on my project list, but the soffit and fascia are higher priorities. An avid dog owner I know once told me that if a dog is perpetually confined, it will go insane. And I'm beginning to wonder if this poor dog has gone insane. Nasty little piece of work that she is, I really feel sorry for her. From when I looked after her, I know that inside is a really sweet little girl. But a miserable life has made her a miserable mutt One of the other dogs let out at the same time looked appalling. I don't remember what breed it is, but it's one of those shaggy things that needs regular grooming or a haircut. Obviously, that's not being done as there were huge mats hanging off the side of this dog. When I say huge, I mean one whole side of the dog was bare with this big mat hanging off of it. It couldn't have been very warm, and it was -15C. She has a third dog, a poodley-looking thing. I don't think she ever walks any of them. She's had various and sundry dogs and cats in the 5+ years I've lived here. The cats usually just disappear and I don't know if she has them spayed or neutered. I remember one kitten that she insisted she was going to keep inside. She didn't. And he became a rather nasty tom cat, who tried to attack my Mystery on my deck. I was really relieved when she decided to leave one big dog at the home of her boys' father. That dog was loose more often than not, pooping in my yard, coming up on my deck, and I'm not sure if he was altogether safe. It's obvious she's not doing any obedience training. Why do people have pets when they're not prepared to be responsible pet owners? I don't know, but I really wish she'd stop. 
I guess that was my rant for the day. Well, the first rant. The second is about eTeacher. I've been toying with the idea of learning Biblical Hebrew, so I went online to search for an online course. I made the mistake of providing my name, email and phone number to eTeacher Hebrew to get more information. I'm only providing the link so you know what to avoid. I have received at least 2 phone calls and 5 emails from them in less than 24 hours. In today's phone call, I just told him I decided I wasn't interested. And I clicked on the unsubscribe link in the last email. Hopefully, that will be the end of that. Seriously, I don't like that kind of sales tactic and I have to question the validity of any supposed educational organization that employs that kind of tactic. Meanwhile, I've also applied for guest student status at Andrews University to see if I can take their Hebrew course online. That's the location of my denomination's main theological seminary, although I probably can't afford their course. I don't want to pay a small fortune for something that's just personal interest. I couldn't find the cost of the online course, or if Hebrew is even offered online. 
After finishing the snow removal yesterday, I decided it was time for another renoval, while I still had my coat and boots on. All of the wood that I have so far stripped from the walls in the sewing room was carried upstaris and outside behind the garage. Once I get it all off I will haul it to the dump. Or maybe that will wait till spring. 
I have to admit that I have been experiencing quilting/fabric withdrawal symptoms. Since the sewing room is in disarray and a lot of it's contents are currently stacked in my living room, and I've tried to focus my time on the renovations which I'm not getting anywhere with, I haven't been quilting. I've at least been crocheting in the evenings, but, as I've shared, the Bobble afghan is rather frustrating. So I decided to buy some fabric. Sunday is not a good day to buy fabric in my town. The only thing open that sells fabric is Walmart, which is not a great source of good quality fabric. I do occasionally buy fabric there, but it's not my favourite or primary source. But I didn't really feel like driving to the city. So I went to Walmart. Nothing really jumped out at me, shouting "Buy me, buy me" in the fabric section. As a matter of fact, their fabric section has seriously deteriorated over the years. They used to have a pretty good selection of fabric by the metre - even some good quilting cottons, but now there's only a small section of precuts. Sad. So I moved into the yarn section. Not long ago, I had enrolled in online courses to learn Bavarian Crochet and the Crocodile stitch from Annie's Catolog. I hadn't started on any of these projects yet, and several of them require sport weight yarn (3) and I only have one big ball of black in that weight. I really didn't want all of my projects to be black. So I bought some yarn that I assumed was sport weight. It's really weird because there's no weight on the label.

I found the yarn website here, but it still doesn't tell me what weight it is. But the label does have the recommended size hook/needle and the guage and it was the same as the sport weight that I compared it to. And it worked fine in my project.

Bavarian Crochet Head Band

So this is my first Bavarian Crochet project. Since I have short hair and wearing it as a head band would just make my hair stick out in every direction, I put it on as a hippie would wear it. LOL! But I don't intend to keep it for myself. I'm going to offer it to my long-haired niece. Here it is off my head:

And here's my actual haul of yarn that I purchased yesterday:

It's definitely not high quality yarn. I wasn't far into the skein when I came across a knot. I undid the knot and weaved the ends together with a darning needle, like I normally do when joining yarn. Then I noticed the yarn seemed to have gotten a lot thinner after the knot and it looked like it was missing a strand. It wasn't till somewhat further into the project that I found the other end of the missing strand. I decided not to unravel the project, cut out the thin part and rejoin the ends as it still looked acceptable. It's only a headband after all. And if my niece can find that section, she can put that part at the back under her hair. Unfortunately, this yarn doesn't have much stretch to speak of, so it's not great for a headband. But on a Sunday afternoon in a small town, I didn't have much choice for yarn purchases. Oh, and according to the label, 10 cents from each ball sold goes to Children's Miracle Network. 

As you can see, I got my favoured variegated yarn, and then one ball of each of the colours in the variegated one. 
The pattern I used called for a 3.75 mm crochet hook. I was actually able to find one amongst my supplies, but I found using it rather frustrating. It's 'throat' (or whatever you call it) isn't deep enough and the yarn kept separating or sliding off the hook. I do have a set of hooks somewhere (my travelling set, not my main set) that I think might contain one, but I'm not sure where that set is. The last I remember, it was in the sewing room, so maybe it's somewhere in the living room...
Yesterday, someone came and got the cookbooks I was giving away and someone else bought the vintage cream and sugar. Today I posted a vintage enamel bowl with lid and a set of brass planters. Hopefully, they'll sell as well.
I have an older dishwasher in my kitchen. It works, but not that well. I find the things on the top rack don't get very clean, probably because there is no upper water arm. So, a few years back I bought a newer dishwasher to replace it at an auction sale. Then never got around to installing it until last year I asked my ex to install it while my daughter and grandson were living with me. For me personally when I'm on my own, I would seldom use it, so it just wasn't a big deal. When my ex attempted to install the newer one, he found that I would need to upgrade both my plumbing and my wiring. It really wasn't worth it. So I sold the newer one recently and the new owner is quite happy with it. Meanwhile, I haven't use the old one since my ex tried to install the new one. Yesterday, I wanted to clean some new canning jars and lids. I always prewash new kitchen things before using them. Since they weren't actually dirty, I figured I'd just use the dishwasher to give them a hot rinse. The dishwasher was running, but it wasn't getting any water flow. I called the ex and he said that he thought he had turned the shut off valve back on and didn't know what else could be wrong. I checked the shut off valve in the basement (having fun finding it behind the dropped ceiling) and it was open. So I still don't know what's wrong with it, unless something was damaged during the attempted install last year. <sigh> Now I've got a really useless dishwasher in my kitchen. And it's probably not worth fixing. I would really rather have the cupboard space, but putting cupboards in there would probably cost as much as putting in another dishwasher. But it's not costing me anything to just sit there, so I'll deal with that some day...
That's all for now. In case you're wondering what happened to days 4 & 5 of my vacation blog posts, on Friday I really just had a lazy day and didn't do much of anything, including blog. On Sabbath (Saturday), I blogged about my thoughts on the Quverfull Movement, and that was blog enough for one day.