Sea Aster

I've had this pattern sitting in my e-mail box for two years........it's the first in a series of 100 or more charted patterns. I really like it, but ran out of pink before I finished. Debated using sage green or this yellow. I really like, and have received quite a few compliments on my color choices. funny thing, I only had about 2 1/2 feet of the yellow left when I finished! Hate it when I cut it that close, but love the end product. ...Can't help but wonder what the green would have looked like!
Do you like the marble walls and nice wooden table in a corner? Believe it or not, this is the set up at the VA laboratory's female outpatient bathroom. I love the marble and the wood, so I set up the shot and took it!
Now it's back to the tablecloth and testing patterns for my friend Aurora.....
The boys had a good first week at college. Tim only has 9 credit hours, but that's because we waited until late to get him registered. Steven also has 9 credit hours. All their classes are at the same dates and times.....wooohooo...'here they are on their way off to orientation last week....

Two handsome young men, if I do say so myself!!! So proud of them!
We also had fun with our air conditioner freezing up. Two hours out in the heat and wet vacuuming the water out of it, propping up the ductwork under the house where the water was pooling and not draining; and then snaking out the drain. Oh yeah, that was fun. But it's working like a charm and hopefully won't freeze up again!
To all of our New England friends in Irene's path.....I do believe the reason it's headed your way is because I went out on Monday and bought a plastic storage tote of hurricane supplies....batteris, canned goods, bottled water, flashlights and laterns. I knew if I did all that, the storm would turn away from us. Our thoughts and prayers are with y'all in the path of this 409-mile wide storm. Stay safe!
That's all for now. Must get back to my crocheting....well, untangling the two balls of crochet cotton that my sweet dog, Fiona, had wound all around the living room this week.
But just look at that face....how can I be angry when I left out my crystal palace bamboo hook (that was chewed to smithereens) and my kitchen cotton. Yeah, I know better. Isn't she just adorable? She knows it too..........LOL
Until next time.....keep those crafting fingers flying!!!!!

Busy time!!!

I have been running around like a lunatic for the past week, trying to get my two youngest boys enrolled in the local college. Classes start tomorrow.....yeah, like everything else, we DiBi's like to wait til the last freakin' minute to get it done......
Good news, I am the proud mother of two college students!!! Hard to believe, but it is so....Seems like only a couple of weeks ago I was getting ready for my college foray. I say that because I recently found the paperwork my dad had for paying my room and board. VERY hard to believe that I now have two kids in college. Steven is studying music, once he finishes stuff he SHOULD have done in high school. Tim is going for computer science, as he acquired a few things, unbeknownst to us, during high school. Seems Tim's A+ certified in computers and almost a Microsoft master. He only needs to pass the Outlook part. Oh, but can he fix his moms' computer.....Ummmmm, no. I'm on my own. LOL
Have been crocheting sporadically. Started up again on the wedding tablecloth. Hope to be finished by the holidays. Also doing some small doilies. In the meantime, I finished a baby blanket...the lady wants two more by Christmas for the baby's sisters. Thank goodness no puff stitches required!!!! They are too heavy and hot for Florida this time of year!
And yes, I must admit, I have fallen prey to the Angry Birds craze. Fun little game...neat to blow things up!!! I didn't want to do that, but it is a different time waster when I don't feel like reading, crocheting or watching tv.....
Ok, off to fold laundry,......yay...I just love that...........

What happened to July?

Last I looked, I just returned home at the end of June. August came in the blink of an eye!! It doesn't help that it's been scorching hot outside; even going in the pool is too hot. The pool, which is for cooling us off, is like a sauna. So, I've been staying inside, watching my dvd's and dvr'd shows. Oh yes, and the news. All the while, crocheting away. I finished a baby blanket for a coworker....FINALLY! It's the Honeycomb pattern by Tammy Hildebrand. Really easy, the blanket itself just got very hot VERY quickly. The lady I work with wants it for her soon to be born granddaughter....the baby will reside in Washington state. Grandma wants the baby to be warm. The blanket is 35 x 37. The solid cream color is the mother's choice.
Also working on a doily for a group I'm in. The doily is called Sea Aster. It's charted and the first of a series of charted doilies. I've had the pattern for over 2 years. Since the others in the group are on to #94, I figured it was time for me to start!
My washing machine has been on the fritz for a week. That really is a pain with three grown boys and all my hubby's and my laundry piling up.....Thank goodness the pump came in and it has been repaired today! Now to get into line so I can wash the baby blanket to bring to work tonite!
Time to go and make dinner. Pork chops with applewood rub...I may grill them, but then again, it is 93* outside, so I may just braise them on the stove.........Til next time my friends....

Doilies!

Here's what I've been up to....doilies....quick patterns so that something I make is FINISHED!!!!!


The top two, Fairy Lace by Bella Crochet, and Good Morning Sunshine (I made two of these...one to give and one to keep!) were for exchanges. I am going to make another fairy lace for someone I work with who commented that it was pretty and would look good in red.....the bottom one, Porcelain, is from a yahoo group CAL, but from last year. Yes, I am behind in EVERY aspect of my life.....LOL!
This is a picture of my youngest, Tim, that was published in the Ocala Star Banner online. Yes, he graduated!!! All my boys are now officially high school graduates!!! We went and made sure Timm is all set for college in the fall. Unbeknownst to his father and I, he has been working on a computer degree and has 12 credits of college he earned in high school! The little turd even graduated with honors......I really am proud of him.....and his brothers!!!

OMG!!! WHERE is my year going??????

I cannot believe it's been since January, and here we are, almost halfway through July of 2011!!! Where oh where has my precious time gone? Work, kids, roof problems, high school graduations, party, vacation to upstate NY and RI to see some of my favorite folks, a wedding of a nephew, frantically attempting the impossible to create an heirloom wedding gift in time (NOT!!! But by the holidays, for sure.....I hope....), more work, dead dishwasher and tv (thanks to a thunderstorm while we were away)...more work......

Oh yes, and a crashed computer due to a virus....thought I had lost all of my precious crochet patterns. It took me a week to find them in hidden files, but once I did, I purchased a 1TB external drive and have them safely stored on that. Anyone who knows me, knows how I treasure my patterns....they are my "precious" to me being Gollum.....I love to collect them; you never know when you will need a particular one....someone someday is going to want to have this.....and the list goes on. My current love is to find as many freebies as I can on the internet. And the fact that I can save them in a tiny byte of information on a hard drive (or 2 or 3), makes collecting as many as I can all the more fun......

So, yes, when my computer crashed, and I thought I had lost most of my cherished patterns. Funny how you can miss something that isn't really tangible, but a fragment of space and time......

Onto my projects....there have been doilies and aforementioned tablecloth. I am hoping to post pictures of my projects this weekend, and maybe a few from my visit home. I will definitely have to keep up with my blog more often now that I have a couple of friends telling me that "yes Beth, it is no longer January....I am following you." Sooooo, in an effort to keep up with everyone, I am going to make the concerted effort to not let time and space get in my way of posting to my friends out there in CyberWorld!

Looking forward to hearing from and about y'all! I have missed you, oh wonderful world of the internet!!!

Crafting craziness!!!

I have been on a roll, so to speak, of crocheting and knitting. I find myself drifting more and more back to the crochet world, mainly because knitting takes me soooooooo long. I wish I could knit as fast as I crochet. I absolutely love the drape of knit items over crocheted ones. The speed with which I can crochet satisfies my need to finish projects at the last minute. Yes, alas, I am one of the worst procrastinators in the world when it comes to finishing my projects. Of the 111 or 112 projects I have on Ravelry, 20 of them are unfinished. I have about 15 more in various bags and closets in my house. I have to find them, photo them, and post them up there.
I don't have any photos to post at the moment, but will get some up this weekend of what I have in progress. This weekend is also the Rolex 24 hour race at the Daytona International Speedway.....Yes, folks, it's Race time once again. I can already feel the thunder of cars racing around the 2.5 mile oval at speeds of 200 mph.....ooooohhh, how I love it!
Bob and I are going to do the Daytona 5k and Fun Walk at 7am. We walk....at least until we get into better shape. I would love to run the 5k. One day. Hopefully, my two friends, Lori and Jonna, will be there running. We also hope to meet up with a co-worker of mine, Nathan. It will be fun to be there with other folks I know that enjoy racing as much, if not more, than I do!
Will I wait in line to meet Mr. McDreamy again this year? Perhaps, as last year I TOTALLY forgot to have him sign "The Art of Racing in the Rain"......Patrick Dempsey is supposed to star in the film version of this cute book about a dog that is fanatical about car racing. But it was soooo worth standing in line for 3 1/2 hours just to say I was first! He's such a sweet man and appreciative of all his fans. Swoon.....
Ok, back to racing. Daytona ought to be interesting this year, as the surface was torn up and repaved. During testing at the Roar before the 24, I had read where Tony Stewart (my perfect man....younger, single, rich and best of all.....NOT HOME ON THE WEEKENDS!!) hit greater than 197 mph......WOW! Can't wait for the Daytona 500 THIS year! We weren't going to go, maybe to the Gatorade duels the Thursday before the race. Bob's brother, Tom, and his girlfriend Susie, go and we meet up with them for dinner while waiting for traffic to dissapate. Another sister--in-law, Teresa, has expressed an interest in going to the Big Race. I may just have to go, just to accompany her....I hope I can sit on the Party Porch!
As for crocheting and knitting, I have been crocheting scarves, fingerless mitts and hats furiously! Am trying my hand at ETSY (BethsCraftCabin) and friends have requested some things. So I've been busy. I will post photos later this weekend.
Ok, blogland! Enough for now. Will def be back soon, since things are heatin' up here in Florida! Til next time, stay warm, stay dry, and happy hooking!!!!!

New Year, New Design

Happy New Year, Blog land! This past holiday season was a whirlwind of work, frantic crocheting of last minute gifts (mainly scarves....oh what fun I had!!!), family and food. I really did have a blast frantically crocheting the scarves...versions of the Champlain New Warmer from the Caron site:

http://www.naturallycaron.com/projects/champlain/champlain_1.html

Here's a couple of my scarves:

The blue one was actually the first. I still have it and love it! Made with a half skein of Red Heart Shimmer. The lilac scarf was the third....made with Red Heart Symphony. The girls love them~!
The second one was also made with Red Heart Symphony, in a blue shade.

I am now on a scarf kick, making one for Bob for the cool winters here in Florida:

about half way through it, Bob told me he likes the varigated and multicolored scarves. Thus, the two stripes of various browns from my stash.
The scarf kick started when I saw Kim Guzman'a Poinsettia scarf pattern:

http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/ss8_poinsettia_scarf.html

I made it and sent it to my friend Donna in NY:
I then found a pattern for a braided crochet scarf pattern, but do not want to pay $3.50 for the single pattern:

http://www.e-patternscentral.com/detail.html?prod_id=8141&cat_id=&criteria=braided+crochet+scarf

It's beautiful! So, I decided to design one, only in knit, for me:


So yes, dear friends, I have in fact DESIGNED my own pattern! It's a stockinette knit scarf in three sections, then braided together. I only started this last night, but will post the pattern here:

Using size 9 (6.0mm) knitting needles:

Using a 30 stitch co, Stockinette stitch 4 rows, then do stockinette stitch on first 10 stitches for 50”, bo; Stockinette next 10 stitches for 50”, bo; Stockinette last 10 stitches for 50”. bo. Braid the three strips. Pick up 30 stitches along bottom edge, stockinette for 4 rows. BO.

I will post pics as I progress. With the boucle, I cannot see the stitches so well, so I will make another when this is done. This one is for Jamie, my favorite (and only, LOL) grand niece's mom in NY. Jamie happens to be Donna's daughter. I hope anyone who tries this pattern will send me photos of it!

I have also opened an ETSY store to sell my crocheting, at the urging of my sil, Kim. The site is BethsCraftCabin on Etsy. We shall see how that goes! I also decided to become an AVON representative. I like the products, so I figured I may as well buy it at a discount and sell it! My website is
www.youravon.com/bdibiasio
check it out and use me as your Avon Representative! Questions can be e-mailed to me at
framptonforever1976@yahoo.com.
Well, am working OT this weekend in Blood Bank on 3-11 shift. That means 3-11 today and a double tomorrow. I am signing off for now, but will make the great effort to post more often on my blog. Perhaps even design a few more patterns throughout 2011!!!!

Well