Had a birthday party for Robyn. She got cute little invitations that were shaped like chef aprons. It rained almost all day until about a half hour before I got home. Robyn and Alison & James followed me to the house in their cars after we waited for Alison and James to come back to the building. Robyn made a really nice map. Amanda and David brough Desiree about an hour later and they got to the house just as we were starting to serve ourselves. Alison & James brought some margarita mix and their smoothie maker (that they used for the first time) and I got out the margarita glasses John Z (Pete's boss) got us for Christmas (that I used for the first time). Amanda and David brought a German chocolate cake. It was really good. Evelyn didn't make it although she was supposed to be down the road at Tomas' dad's shop by Luchita's. We all had fun. If I get pictures, I'll post them.

I have also finished the baby blanket I was making for Brandi. I made her a blue and whte granny square type. I used the same type of yarn that I did for Stacianne. Pictures are coming!

Baby Blanket for Stacianne

This baby blanket took me awhile. I made for Stacianne. This was the best picture out of all that I took. The original pattern is from Woodhill Designs.

http://woodhilldesignpatternpage. I varied it a little. At the time, I couldn't figure out the cluster stitch.
Together with baby items our team at work purchased for her, we placed the blanket in the bottom of the basket and added the other items into the basket. It turned out really cute.

Here is some other information that was passed between one of our crochet groups. If you should come accross any vintage patterns, it will be very helpful.
From Talking Crochet! with Carol Alexander:

I looked through some early twentieth century needlework and crochet publications and found designations for some of the most commonly used stitches. Here they are, followed by today's designations:

Double crochet = today's single crochet
Half treble = today's half-double crochet
Treble = today's double crochet
Double treble = today's treble crochet
Long treble = today's double-treble crochet

It might take a bit of time and effort to "translate" vintage patterns into today's crochet language, but so many of these beautiful designs are priceless and well worth the effort.

General Conversions for Yarns Given Generically:

Super fine (sock, fingering, baby) weight: 1 ounce = 170-175 yards
Fine (sport) weight: 1 ounce = 90-100 yards
Medium (worsted) weight: 1 ounce = 50 yards
Bulky (chunky) weight: 1 ounce = 30-35 yards
Super bulky (super chunky) weight: 1 ounce = 16-23 yards

I've finally finished the blanket for Stacianne. She ended up having the baby (boy) before I finished, by a week. It is a star pattern that I modified slightly. I didn't like the puffs (popcorn stitch?) in the original. As soon as I download a picture, you'll see it!

This information was in an email received through one of the Yahoo groups I am in. I though it very helpful:
If you aren't sure what material you're working with, light a match to the end and this is what happens:

Acrylic: Melts and shrinks from flame, then burns rapidly with smoky flame, melts and drips. Has a harsh odor while burning and leaves a hard, irregular bead.

Cotton and Linen: Ignites quickly, burns rapidly with yellow flame, red afterglow upon extinguishing. Smells like burning paper, leaves a light, feathery ash, gray to charcoal in color.

Nylon: Melts and shrinks from flame, burns slowly and smoky, self-extinguishes. Has odor of celery when burning and leaves a hard, shiny black or brown bead.

Polyester: Melts and shrinks from flame, melts and burns slowly, drips. Has a sweet odor when burning and leaves a hard, shiny black or brown bead.

Rayon: Ignites quickly, burns with a blue flame, rapid burn, red afterglow upon extinguishing. Smells like burning paper and leaves a light feathery ash, gray to charcoal in color.Silk: Curls away from flame, burns slowly, self-extinguishes. Smells like singed hair and leaves a round, shiny black bead which crushes easily.

Wools: Will dissolve in pure bleach. Burn test - smells like burning hair, leaves a brittle, irregular black ash. Burns slowly and unevenly, self-extinguishes.
Very Useful!!!

Granny Square Purse

This project was in between a couple of the hats I made. I got burned out at doing the hats and needed a change. So, I made myself a purse. I kind of made the squares as I needed them and when it came time to put them together, I chose the single crochet. The slip stitch or whipstitch did not really look good when completed so I yanked it out and started putting them together again.

Copyright Dragonfaeriee Crochets! 2009. All Rights Reserved.

We have managed to clean out the front of the house and the area by the front door.One of the bushes we pulled out actually had fire ants feeding on it. We used every bit of bug spray we could find. I think we got almost all of them.We want to put a Japanese Maple in the front of the dining room and can't decide if we want a weeping cherry or another rhododendren on the corner (opposite the other corner) to make it even.We also need to decide where to put the Russian Cypress and the extra azalea.We split up the hedge and put the two smaller ones on the corners of the deck.(insert picture of deck here eventually)

We bought Pete a new chair. Along with his new Lay-Z-Boy chair we got two tables. The sofa table to put our plants on and the coffee table to match.It was only $69 and matches the sofa table. Besides, we needed to get rid of the wooden table we had. The dog had chewed on one side. Since these ones are glass and metal, the dog can't (or won't) chew on them and with the plants on the one, it won't ruin any wood.