Ann Leach

A doll made for me by my great-grandmother, possibly when I was an infant, always stored in my mother's cedar chest until she died in 2005. Then it came to me, first stored in my own cedar chest and then tucked up on a shelf in my closet. She has a bonnet made of the same yarns and stitches which has lost one of its ties. I hope it's in my sewing basket. Recently, Isabelle discovered her and is delighted with her. She is sure she can make one for herself and so it begins... taking her apart to find out how to make another.  Starting at the back where the dress has been laced closed and tied with a single strand of yarn with pom-poms attached to the ends. To get the yarn through the crochet stitches, I had to cut the pom-poms off the ends. The top of the dress is tied shut using the long end of the crochet.   The dress. Now I will be able to wash it gently in cool water and hopefully remove some of the dirt. Her panties ...

Project of the Week Crocheted Blue Shawl While visiting my grandma, she invited me to take a look through her yarn collection and if there was anything that caught my eye, I was welcome to take it. And not being one to turn down that kind of an offer, I gladly browsed through probably 5 large bags of yarn to come across these beautiful blue and coordinating multi-colored yarns which I thought would be perfect for a shawl I had in mind. I'm very pleased with how it turned out. What are you working on this week? Ann

Aside from the scarf I'll share below, I have been doing no crafts, no sewing for the last couple of months. Oh, I have lots of plans and even a few false starts, but nothing has come through. And it shows. I've been grumpy, distracted, and (dare I say it) bored. Kenn wants to snuggle and watch tv, which sounds like a nice offer, but truly it drives me crazy to sit and do nothing while watching tv. I'm not a watcher. I'm a doer. For the past few weeks, I've been kicking around an idea in my mind of a cross stitch sampler to hang just inside our door, welcoming friends into our home. And with that general idea in mind, I ordered a book off  paperbackswap  and a couple more from the library. I paged through those and set them aside...  until yesterday when it hit me that it was time to create.      This is my first sketch, pulling together the ideas of what I wanted to create -- a landscape oriented cross stitch sampler and welcoming fra...

Crochet Dishcloths, Rice Bags Sewn, Socks Repaired (not darned - I don't do darning) Creating things makes me feel better. I mean really, a lot better. So I've dusted off the crochet hooks and the sewing machine, and I've gotten busy. It's not a lot, not really. But it's a start. Some variegated green crochet dishcloths And some variegated bright pink crochet dishcloths And some rice bags, using up some leftover frog fabric - ribbit ribbit. I'll tell you that I've always used these warmed, but learned recently that they can also be stored in the freezer for when an ice pack is needed. I love multi-use, don't you? On the marker board in the dining/sewing room, I've been making notes of other projects I'd like to make in the near future. Ready? Set. Sew!!

Crochet dishcloths made from Sugar & Cream yarn Using a medium, 4, worsted, 4-ply weight yarn and a G hook, I made these dishcloths -- This photo shows how the chain end will look after crocheting the SC into the back loop of the CH. It creates a finished edge without having to back and finishing the edge. CH 17, turn. Row 1 - Skip the first CH, then SC into the back loop of each CH across. Turn. Row 2 - SC in first SC. DC in next SC. Alternate SC and DC all the way across. Turn. Row 3 - SC in first DC. DC in first SC. Alternate SC and DC all the way across. Turn. Row 4 thru 16 - Repeat row 4 eleven times. Turn. Row 17 - SC in every stitch across and tie off.  This photo shows the texture created by alternating SC and DC in each row. Note: I used no turning stitches at the end of each row. Doing this, squared up my dishcloths to a 4" x 4" size, and kept the edges tight. If you have any questions about my pattern, please ask in the comme...

 There is always a WIP in my basket, and right now, there are actually too many WIPs.  It's time to get some of them done. Yesterday, I focused on some flannel napkins that I've been thinking about making for way too long. So here are the first three completed with my first mitered corners.  I'm quite pleased with them.   On the crochet side, I finished this set of 8 dishcloths - a simple little project. Each one takes less than an hour, so why did it take me 2 weeks to get these done?!  Oh well, they're done now.  I just need to make the scrubbie to go with them and off they go to a friend. So that's two down and 5 (I think) to go, including --  this blanket which I started over a year ago before we left Australia.  and this pretty shawl which I have mixed feelings about. I may end up pulling it all out and doing something different with this cotton. and this project of...

Homeschooling -- Still waiting for confirmation from the group admin that my sign-up was processed.  I'll follow up with an email tomorrow. My excitement about homeschooling is staying true. Isabelle and I have moved through the challenging time we've been having for the last year or so, which is to say that I've improved my own techniques and methods for parenting so we're not butting heads so much. We already do some informal school time, but it is rather haphazard, so I'm starting to do some research for setting a couple of goals so we can develop a more effective system. I'm sure most of what we'll be doing for kindergarten is learning by doing than actual book/paper work.  But will be nice for the book/paper work to be headed in a specific direction. Antiquing -- The kitchenaid mixer made a loud growling noise when it ran, so I didn't get it.  And surprisingly, I am a bit disappointed.  I guess by the time I was in the store carrying it up to ...

Homeschooling:  Made contact today with a homeschooling co-op here in Allen County that I didn't even know about.  We're welcome to join, even at this late date in the school year.  There are only 3 more class sessions, but I'm excited to (hopefully) meet some of the other parents and get Isabelle involved in some activities and play groups. Finding this group has re-energized me toward homeschooling this autumn rather than enrolling Isabelle in public schools. Antiquing:  Isabelle and I took a big stroll through the Antique Mall  in Wapak this morning and saw LOTS of goodies, including 1 Kitchenaid and 4 Sunbeam stand mixers; and 2 Corning Ware electric skillets - 1 with the skillet and 1 without. This is a photo of the Kitchenaid mixer. Pinterest:  I do love pinterest as a means of collecting articles that I may want to come back to at some future date.  But it tends to be a really big collection and not a lot of doing.  So I'v...

Toward the end of October, I set up a facebook page and opened my sewing and crochet business, specializing in standard-size pillowcases and crocheted dishcloths & scrubbie sets.  In addition, I am happy to take custom orders, either sewing or crochet. And before I could get some stock pillowcases sewn, a series of orders came in --  a set of two flannel pillowcases  a single travel-size pillowcase three decorative pillows  and another single travel (child) - size pillowcase. (Having some extra fabric, I made up a matching doll-size pillowcase.) Before I hardly knew it was happening, I was off and running with pillowcases. And soon after those came an order for a custom bible cover complete with a wrap-around outside pocket and zipper closure. Interspersed with these sewing orders, I was also getting orders for  a crochet dishcloth & scrubbie set and a couple of custom orders for toddler s...

It's nice to have a project at hand when I have a few minutes to sit and relax.  For me, it's crochet, at least right now.  Here are some of the projects I've completed recently. Dishcloths Infinity scarf Trivet Doll's blanket Market bag I love my crochet hobby and cash business.  It's relaxing and enjoyable to me. Thanks! Today, I am thankful for my supportive and understanding husband.