Dreamcatcher

I'm resting a lot this weekend to try and get myself and family over the flu that hit us this week.  I'm also resting because emotionally I'm pretty spent thinking and praying over many families in Connecticut.  My heart grieves with everyone else in this country.  It is impossible to make sense over a senseless act.  I don't think knowing the "why" behind it will do much good -- there is no explanation that would be enough to help our hearts and minds understand.

Last weekend I created a dreamcatcher.  It was something I had been creating in my mind for a couple of weeks and I was able to spend a good chunk of my weekend to see it to fruition.  My 6 year old definitely believes in the magic of a dreamcatcher.  He has one in his room and now wants me to make him one that he thinks will work even better.  I wish I could send dreamcatchers to the homes of many children and families in Connecticut right now.  If nothing more then to let them know that our hearts are with all of them and how we wish to catch the bad dreams that will come and hold them close to keep those people protected from any more horror.

I crocheted a traditional granny square out of cotton yarn and then stretched using a web like pattern onto an embroidery hoop.  Once on the hoop, I used fabric glue and glued a lace ribbon around the edges.  I added some "love" that I had bent and shaped a long time ago out of steel wire.  I also added a faux cinnabar bead and feather.  Originally dreamcatchers were made to resemble spiderwebs and a bead symbolized the spider.  The webs would catch the bad dreams and keep them from getting through.  They would also catch good dreams and trickle them down to the dreamer.

Most of my time was spent on what is called the "soft ladder" that the good dreams use to glide down and gently enter the dreamer's mind.  I used decorative trim, cotton yarn, acrylic yarn, twine, muslin, recycled t-shirt, glass pearl beads, felt, faux feathers, and some lucite beads.  I braided, crocheted, knotted, hung, cut, and assembled for hours.

 

The dreamcatcher now hangs in our family room for decorative purposes and in case someone takes a nap on the couch.  Just ignore the smudgey mirror on the wall. 

I have plans to make more as gifts.  I wish I could make enough for the whole state of Connecticut but, since I can't, just know that my heart is there.  Love your babies, your families, your friends, and thank a teacher who positively impacts your child's life.  I strongly believe that good can prevail over evil but, until it does, we might need a little magic to catch the bad and share the good to help us get through it.

Crocheted Bag No. 1

Our summer has just flown by despite not having a hectic schedule.  I work full time during the week and have a family so life can be crazy during the school year with school, sports schedules, and other activities.  I love the summer because we are really lackadaisical and I have a lot more free time.  A couple of weeks ago I decided to use up some yarn that I had to make a bag.  I worked over the course of the weekend and then finished it up at night during that work week.  I love that feeling of complete obsession when I start a project and can't wait to see the finished product.  I was obsessed with this bag and love how it turned out.

One of the things I love about crochet is making up projects as I go.  I typically don't use patterns, although, I will sometimes use a pattern to get started on an idea.  I also don't write down patterns for my projects but I want to remedy that soon.  If I decide to make another item using the same pattern, I end up counting stitches on the finished piece as I'm making the new one.  Simply writing down the pattern would probably make it easier so I guess that's something to work towards.



I started with the bottom of the bag and just made a giant round.



I love blues and brown together so decided to use the tan colored yarn that I used for the bottom and then used a dark brown and light blue that I had leftover from older projects.  I'm a big fan of stripes.  I think that comes from having sons.  If you've ever shopped for baby boy clothes, it's a lot of blues, stripes, and then a mixture of trucks, cars, sports, dinosaurs, super heroes, etc.



The finished project.  It's a deep bag and I'm thinking I'll use it to carry around my crochet supplies to sports practices, on car trips, etc.  Any place where I have time on my hands and want to keep them busy.  I made the strap really long so I can wear it across my body or I can tie it up to shorten it.  Over time the strap will stretch anyway so tying it in a knot at the top is a good option.

I also have an abundance of granny squares right now.  In my attempt to use the yarn I have before buying more, I have made a lot of granny squares and have been looking for various uses.  I think I may make some mismatched granny square bags as well. 

More to come on the abundance of granny squares and what I end up doing with them (as I had discussed 

HERE

I have a sneaking suspicion that I will end up making more bags than I could ever expect to use.