Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

It's been a happy and busy Christmas Season, and I have many reasons to be thankful. Most of which are the fantastic gifts I have received from my wonderful fiber friends, all heavily leaning to the side of my passion for crochet!

On a couple of ocassions lately, I have mentioned to a good friend that I am traveling to some places near and some far to seek solitude. My next adventure will be spending a month in a Florida Airbandb this winter by myself. Apparently, this struck my friend as odd; she felt compelled to ask me why I would want to go for that long and be alone. A little shocked that she was questioning my sanity, I am not sure that I gave her a good answer. First of all, I don't envision being entirely alone there. I have crochet friends in Florida who I am sure I will catch up with. I also have a cousin there and another dear firend who I am sure will at least spend a weekend with me. I've already thought about pacing these visitors with some time in-between because I do think I might get a little lonely, but the opportunity to explore, crochet, read and do what I want when I want is very appealing to me! I am never at a loss for things to do and often feel like I am running on a treadmil

Incredibly, it's been a month already since I returned; and I am fairly confident my mind is now back in my own Zip code! It is difficult to leave the glorious memories and return to my usual stateside routine (which is hardly ever routine!) Besides the "recovery" and unpacking stage, Thanksgiving was fast on my heels. In our family "Thanksgiving" entails much more than what the average family expects! Our granddaughter was born on November 24 and our wedding anniversary was the 25th. This year it would have been 50 years! So all together, it makes for a wonderful, memory-filled weekend! The Crafting and Crocheting Tour to Tuscany with Lily Chin was  a complete success! Sure there were a few minor glitches; but overall, I was so happy with everything during the 13 days I was gone. Being together with avid crocheters and crafters of all kinds was a great choice for me to take my first ever "tour." Our expert crochet teacher was Lily Chin; and

Amidst making lists; checking lists; packing; resisting to pack too much, I must stop for a minute to tell you how excited I am to be leaving in two weeks for a crochet tour to Tuscany, Italy!

Modern Bohemian Crochet by Beth Nielsen I'm a child of the 60s, so anything with "bohemian" in the title draws my attention right away! Beth is a courageous young designer who is not afraid to take chances. It looks to me like the use of "accessorizing" her designs is her strong suit. By that I mean that by using sport weight organic linen on the cover piece, Radiant , she creates a "necklace piece" that attaches to the body piece done in the familiar V-stitch. This accessorizing adds a certain pizzazz to what would otherwise be an unremarkable stitch pattern. You'll be intrigued by your first look at some of these patterns, but until you begin to stitch, you won't realize how unique the construction methods are. Clover Beret I will make this beret, not because I wear berets, but because I am intrigued by the "continuous lace design" which Beth says consists of deceptively simple construction! Luna Headb

In celebration of Rock Collectors' Day, I am posting some of the many rocks I have covered in crochet. Claire Zeisler, 1985: My original inspiration, done in buttonhole stitch Heartrock Hotel Love Take-Out Freedom Destiny Cardinal on a Mantle of White Add caption Spring Garden, front Alan's rock Heart for Loren One-inch rock Rock of Ages Rock-Steady Seasons of Indiana Winter Spring Mac Rock Project, front Mac Rock Project, back Crochet on a Rock with a Twist of Lime

"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." Samuel Ullman The Northwest Chicago suburbs had been my home for over 30 years when we moved to Indianapolis in 2015; I am always ready to return for a visit to play "tourist." My friend Sue from Boston comes to conferences but not for crochet. Sue and I have known each other since 1988 when our children were at the American School in Quito, Ecuador together; and we began to connect more regularly when the CGOA conferences were in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is an easy drive from Boston for Sue and her sister, Claudette, who registers for knit and crochet classes. We also "hooked up" when the conference was in North Carolina where Sue's daughter was living. This year my friendly duo decided to come to Chicago because they had never been there. Yay, we met again! From having dinner with my dear neighbor, Gerry; to taking the Metra to the Art Institute to meet m