Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for crochet

A New Addiction

November 29, 2010 at 7:37 pm by Claudia

I caught this addiction from my sister, Meredith. I blame her. She’s an enabler. Mer did a post about this wonderful crochet pattern that she’d discovered through another blogger. It’s called Queen Anne’s Lace. She urged me to check it out. I did, and I’m hooked. This is an easy pattern – it works up quickly. And if you use a self-striping yarn, like this Mochi Plus by Crystal Palace – oh, how pretty it is.

This one’s for me. Not because I’m selfish or anything (well, maybe a tad) but because I needed a prototype, if you will. I’m also going to try it in a chunkier yarn. I think a chunky yarn would make a warmer, heavy-duty scarf for the winter. This one is the kind I could wear all the time – inside or out. By the way, I found the pattern here.

It sure makes a difference having Letitia around to model my creations. She does it well, don’t you think?

I know of a couple of young ladies who would look adorable in one of these – perhaps for Christmas? Between these and the afghan, I’ve become crocheting-obsessed. And I love this yarn, which I found at my (drum roll) new neighborhood yarn store! It’s in an old barn. I’ve already been there twice. I’m going to take some photos there and post about it later this week.

Scout has a comment on all this endless ‘creating.’

I hear you, Princess Scout, I hear you.

Don’t forget to read my book review of Mrs. Kennedy. Just scroll down one post. I’m giving away a copy of this wonderful book to one lucky commenter. You must comment on that post and you have until Wednesday.

Filed Under: crochet, Scout 34 Comments

Falling Leaves, Aging, Dog Hair & Crochet

November 1, 2010 at 10:22 am by Claudia

We had our first hard frost last night. The Catalpa tree, always the last to lose its leaves, is shedding them at an alarming rate. The drive is covered in big, heart-shaped leaves. Piles of them.  It’s time to say goodbye to the glorious colors of autumn and hunker down for the coming winter.

Happy November. I have a special spot in my heart for this month – the month of my birth. My birthday always hovers within a few days or a week of Thanksgiving. Since I usually feel like I’m somewhere in my late 30’s, the actual amount of years I will celebrate is always a bit shocking. After a sleepless night last night (for both of us), my husband looked around the living room this morning and said “The pack is aging. The wolves are circling the house saying, we can take them.” Scout is going to be 12 in December, a young 12, but 12 nonetheless. Riley’s age is a guess, but he’s probably around 9. And Don and I? Well, we’re young at heart. Cue Frank Sinatra.

I swiffer every day. I vacuum every day. I use a lint brush on the furniture almost every day. Then I sit here in the morning light and all I see is dog hair. Everywhere.  See the white hair on the table? Thank you, Scout.  We have two very hairy dogs here at MHC. In fact, our new Vet couldn’t believe how thick Riley’s undercoat is. And Scout: lots of fine cat-like hair that flies everywhere. Oh, and leaves. Riley seems to be a magnet for every fallen leaf in the yard. It’s as if he’s made of Velcro. But I forget it all when I see their sweet faces. Sort of.

It makes cleaning a challenge. And it makes crocheting a challenge. I seem to be picking long white hairs out of my stitches rather frequently. I suppose a part of Scout is in everything I crochet or knit! I’ve been hooking away while watching the World Series.

I think I’ve made it a bit too wide, though since Don and I usually sit together on the sofa, I’m aiming for something that can cover us both with room to spare. I love doing these scrappy ripple afghans because it’s such fun to play with color and texture. I’m rather liking this so far.

I’m off to swiffer.

Filed Under: crochet, dogs, trees 27 Comments

You Guessed It: More Rambling

October 28, 2010 at 5:00 pm by Claudia

:: The dogs are not happy with me. The weather has been so rainy that they haven’t had their walk in a few days. Today is much nicer. However, when we take the dogs for a walk, we have to load them in the car first. That involves helping Riley into the car by lifting his rear end up and into the car. No can do with my much-better-but-still-fragile back. Don is out right now but we’re hoping we can talk him into walking the dogs when he gets home. Update: they’ve been whisked away by their Dad and will be happily walking down a country road in a few minutes.

:: I did get out today. I was going a bit stir crazy here at MHC. I bought some more inexpensive (cheap) yarn for my crochet project.

It’s supposed to be a scrap ripple stitch afghan. However, since I donated all my extra yarn to the Salvation Army last winter as the result of a frenzied closet purge, I was sadly lacking in any yarn. And I’m on a strict budget – to put it mildly. So I trotted off to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby and bought a bunch of different colors that go with the red in our den. Crochet is a yarn eater – much more than knitting – and since we will end up tossing the afghan around the den on a regular basis, I’m fine with inexpensive yarn.

:: I brought our vintage ice cream maker in from the porch. A friend of ours gave it to us when we were living in San Diego. Now it has a new home on top of my kitchen hutch.

I love the rustiness and the chippy aqua paint. Don gave it a thumbs up saying that we needed some ‘rough edges’ in the kitchen. (He’s got style, that guy.)

:: A lovely blogging friend, Sharon of My Life at Pansy Cottage and Garden, sent me the sweetest gift.

Isn’t this pillow adorable? I was so touched by Sharon’s present. Sharon, we have it sitting on our red-checked chair in the living room. I’ll take a photo of it and post it soon. Sharon has a wonderful shop full of pillows and aprons that she has designed. Thank you, my friend.

:: Mom’s home. She’s exhausted but happy. The kittens are punishing her, of course, by ignoring her. We’re hoping that this will work out and that Assisted Living can be avoided if at all possible. I will keep you posted.

:: My annual photo of the house bathed in the autumn light:

Have a wonderful evening. I will be watching game #2 of the World Series. Don’s sister was lucky enough to be in the stands last night. I bet she had a great time!

Filed Under: crochet, dogs, gifts, Mockingbird Hill Cottage 30 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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