Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Tuesday April 24, 2012 I've been super busy since I last blogged in early April and my thoughts and fingers have been swirling all over the place so much that I couldn't focus on just one topic. Today is the day it came together: looking at history as a learning tool to be inspired and to not repeat things which perhaps were mistakes, but to keep moving forward. Much of my energy has been focused at Cro-Kween Designs on Ravelry. We finished a CAL (Crochet-Along) on April 20: Go Green, Kween . Particpants used repuposed materials to create something interesting or at the very least, used green colors of yarn. My moderators of the group chose one winner which made them smile when they looked at her/his project. BizzieLizzie from Scotland is quietly creative and always comes through with something amazing. She was the hands-down winner with this: and her prize from the Kween was a Cro-Kween Designs pattern of her choice. She chose Himalaya Series: Himalaya Tank Himalaya...

Monday, April 2, 2012 Wow, it's April already and before I get started on free form crochet, I want to share a couple of pictures of my last couple of days celebrating National Crochet Month in March. My friend, Rita, and I got together to do sparkly things (as she says). She wanted some help with making earrings.Rita is an art therapist and is very creative. She inspired me and best of all, she gave me a sampling of some really iteresting beads she inherited. Yeah! More earrings coming soon! Here's a pair I created that day; they had been in the cue for a while. Earrings I made from Rita's beads

Tuesday, March 20, 2012,, Today is primary election day and I hope everyone is off to the polls, like me, to exercise your rights! March is also National Crochet Month. Started in 1998 by the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) , it was first designated as "National Crochet Week" and was meant as a time for all of us crocheters to celebrate our love of the craft and treat ourselves to some special crochet activity, tool or just "me-time" to do what we love to do! The Craft Yarn Council and their various retailers were already celebrating National Craft Month in March, but we didn't believe that crochet was getting the attention it deserved. So, we hitched on to the them in March and celebrated crochet as an organization. At the Time Pam Oddi was the CGOA President and also the webmaster. As our organization grew and we wielded more influence, we expanded the celebration to a whole month. Shortly thereafter, organizations like the Craft Yarn Council jumped ...

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 As they say, "the closer to departing from vacation, the quicker the time flies." So it goes for us too. Tomorrow we leave and this week has been a flurry of both activity and anticipation. It all had to be fit in: the massage, that last manicure, gifts to take home, gifts to leave for friends here, crochet projects to finish and farewell lunches. Our taxi is coming at nine in the morning; not an unreasonable hour. So, the packing has started as well as the worry about overweight bags! As I wandered through my week, the following photos will describe what caught my eye and caught my fancy: Ajijic's Resident Donkey Chalk Drawing of Jesus for Tips on the Boardwalk at Chapala Someone's in Love in Ajijic! Bougainvilla Flowers gathered and Placed in a Heart Shape on the front Step of this House. A Lady Selling Fruit Outside the Grocery Store One Last Trip to the Crochet/Knit Group The Familiar Face of the Gatekeeper. Her Co...

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 There is a reason that crocheted scarves are so popular. Not only are they colorful, textural, and stylish/fashionable,; but they are also a quick and simple way to warm the whole body in a hurry without the bulk of a long sleeve garment like a sweater! It is really kind of amazing how just a narrow piece of crochet fabric tied around the neck can influence the temperature in the rest of the body. I never get tired of making scarves! Here in our village of Ajijic, Jalisco, the altitude is 5,000 feet! The weather is often described as "paradise." So true.....the sun is hot, yet we have a cool, refreshing breeze to keep it comfortable. As far as dressing goes, we are constantly aware of the need to dress in layers. The air is cool first thing in the morning and I seek the spot where the sun first lights on my shoulders to read my book and drink my coffee. As the day goes on I follow the sun seeking half sun/ half shade, peeling off layers only to put...

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Here in Ajijic, the days preceding Lent are celebratory and full of interesting activities like parades, art shows, mariachis and other type bands in the plaza, plus storing up the fat before the fast with lots of eating and drinking!Men seem to enjoy dressing up like women at the parades. I think they signify the devil/evil then are transformed to good. The pictures tell the story better than words. Men on stilts. How do they do that on the cobblestones of Ajijic? Broken ankles are the most common mishaps here due to the uneven cobblestones! Peacock float. Men discovering their inner feminist! Fish float. Disney inspired; I see Cinderella. Just regular horses. We hear them clip-clop past our house morning and evening.

Monday, February 20, 2012 So many of you are suffering through cold weather, no mail and closed banks today for President's Day and I am basking in the flower and sun-filled patio of the B&B we are staying at this week in Ajijic, Jalisco Mexico. From here we could here a parade pass by; a preamble to Mardi Gras, I suppose. It was a little strange to hear a celebratory parade at noon on a Monday work day, but stranger things have happened here in Mexico! We arrived last Thursday and so far it has been a nice relaxing pace. Our B&B is filled with 9 other very nice couples many from various parts of Canada, so the conversation at breakfast is always lively. Yesterday the main plaza in our little town was also very lively with Mardi Gras doings. We went to a parade where among other things, people dress in devilish masks and through white flour on the heads of unwitting observers. Others who follow along later also throw confetti. What is the signific...