Heirloom Handkerchiefs

I remember when I was a kid, over at my grandma's house.  She had a whole drawer full of linens that she had hand embroidered when she was younger.  I could spend hours looking through those linens - they were just so beautiful.  I think that it would be sad if those arts from a more traditional time were lost with our generation.  So it is important to me to try be good at these crafts so that I can pass that on.  I am going to be making a set of heirloom handkerchiefs that I will post the lace pattern and embroidery pattern for on the blog.

What you will need:
1 yard light weight linen
Coordinating thread
Light blue embroidery floss
Apple green embroidery floss
Lace from this pattern

The Pattern:
1.  Cut your hankie square 12" X 12"
2.  Iron over the hem - this is done with a double hem technique, fold over 1/2" then fold over again
3.  Sew the hem
4.  Copy the following embroidery pattern, I would just trace this right off your computer screen

5.  The green part of the embroidery is done in a back stitch, and the blue is done in a satin stitch
6.  After you finish the embroidery, hand stitch on the lace

You are done!

Handmade Crocheted Lace Pattern

Now that it looks like spring is actually on its way, I am putting away my bulky knitting and crocheting projects for more fine work.  For part of my bridesmaid's gifts at my wedding, I made everyone a monogrammed handkercheif after seeing some really pretty ones on pinterest.  After making five from total scratch (including crocheting the lace) I swore I would never ever do that again.  But after a year break from lace making I decided I wanted to make another set.  This is the first type of lace that I did and it is really straight forward.  I hope you enjoy this pattern.

What you will need:
Fine crochet thread (something that will work with a US 11/12 hook)
US 11/12 metal crochet hook

The Pattern:
Chain a length that is slightly longer than you need (for these 10" square hankies, I chained 41")
Sc in 2nd chain from hook, Sc in next 4 chains
*Ch 9, skip next 3 ch, sc in next 9 ch  Repeat from * until you have reached the end Ch 1 turn
Sc in 3 sc
*Ch 3, make 11 dc in the ch-9 loop, ch 3, skip 2 sc, sc in next 5 sc  Repeat from * until you reach the end, ending with sc in last 3 sc
Sc in 1st sc
*Ch 3, sc in next dc, (ch 5, skip next dc, sc in next dc) 5 times; ch 3, skip 2 sc, sc in next sc  Repeat from * until you reach the end
Break off

You're done!  If you have any questions/comments, leave them in the comments box!

Becoming Brett's Girlfriend

This is now Part III of the "Our Love Story" series that I am doing on this blog.  I love reading about how people fell in love and the continuation of their love stories - it is something that I find to be truly inspiring.  If you are just tuning in, you can find the first two parts here.  If you have already read those two parts, I am so happy you are back!

About two or three weeks into Brett and I dating he wanted to meet up with me before class "to talk".  I tried to quiet my panic as I wondered what this could be about.  I was worried that he would want to stop seeing me, maybe the feelings I had for him weren't shared?  We met outside the next day, under a big tree near my building.  It was still beautiful out - being only mid-September.  In my classic style I started to get super nervous.  Brett started asking if everything was okay.  I said "yes, I guess so..." then blurted out "I just feel like maybe you don't want to see me anymore."  He gave me a bit of a shocked look and said "No, I was thinking maybe I could start calling you my girlfriend?"

I can't even explain how happy my heart was on that day.  It was one of the first of many steps that led us to where we are today.  Every time I walk past that tree I smile to myself.  I hope that someday we can come back to campus and reminisce about that meeting under the tree.

Dreaming of Spring

My beautiful roses.

I am filled with thoughts of spring today.  Yesterday when I walked outside I smelled just a hint of a springy smell - despite the many feet of snow that are still covering the ground.  Now I am filled with thoughts of flowers and a garden.  Last year I was able to sneak in a few flowers into pots outside of our garage and in a few other planters, but other than that I was not at all well prepared for the planting season.  We mostly just moved around some of the beautiful perennials and bushes (such as the roses pictured above) that we inherited when we bought our house.  I am hoping that since I'm not planning a wedding this year, I will be able to turn that planning toward my home and garden.

So far, I think I know what I want for my planters:

Source

I found this picture on pinterest and I think this is what I want to do for my big planters.  I love geraniums (such a beautiful smell) and bacopa (which is the hanging white flower).  But I am not totally sold on the lobelia.  I find I usually end up killing it.  I am not sure if it is our climate being too hot and dry in the summer, or if it is my lack of gardening finesse.  If you have any tips I would love to hear them!  

Is anyone else dreaming of warmer weather too?

Being the Patient

Last week I went though surgery on my toe to fix an ingrown toenail.  The procedure that was done was called the Vandenbos Procedure.  In the past 6 days of healing I have discovered something about myself: I may make a good nurse, but being the patient is really not my thing.  I believe that this has something to do with my nursing background.  At work, we spend our time hoping for the best outcomes for our patients, but also planning for the worst - we need to be prepared.  Over the past days I have found it very, very easy to fall into the "planning for the worst" rut.  I have incorrectly thought that I've sustained almost every negative outcome that could come from this procedure (from sepsis to necrosis).

This process has so far been a revelation for me.  I truly did not realize how hard being a patient is.  In school we have been taught about the negative effects being ill or postoperative or in pain has on the patients' state of mind - but until I was put into the patient position, I never really understood.  I also have realized that worrying about the worst case scenario is not helping me heal one bit.  I have decided that I need to take a step back and let my doctor worry about the worst case scenario and take on a more hopeful view of things - afterall, think of all the beautiful shoes and sandals I will be able to wear this summer once I am fully healed...

Top Five Gift Ideas for the Man in Your Life

Since Valentines Day is coming up quickly - and since my house seems to be the place where projects go to die lately - I decided to round up my (technically Brett's) best gift ideas for the man in your life.  These gifts range in price from $23 to $200, so there is something for everyone's budget!  If you are like me, then buying gifts for men is not at all easy so I hope this can help.

1.  You can find this Ralph Lauren decanter here.
2.  For these Villeroy & Bach old fashioned drinking glasses, go here.
3.  These cuff links are great for a car lover, but metalsmiths has a huge selection of all different kinds of novelty cuff links.  To see more, go here.
4.  For the technology loving guy in your life, an iPad case would be nice.  There is a huge selection on etsy - you can find this one here.
5.  A nice pocket knife is a staple item for most men (particularly my farmer husband).  Again, etsy has a huge selection.  You can find this one here.

How to Cable Stitch

Hello!  We will be using this cable stitch for an upcoming scarf tutorial.  So, like I did with the back and front post double crochet tutorial, I am going to preface the scarf tutorial with a simple how-to for the cable knit stitch.

As you can see in the above picture, each of the two cables twist a different direction (the top cable twists to the left and the bottom twists to the right).  To change the direction of your cable is very easy, as the two techniques are almost exactly the same.

To start a cable you cast on the amount of stitches you need to make your project the appropriate width.  The cable is done on a knit section that is flanked by a purl section on each side.  For example, the above is done with the following sequence: K5 P3 K4 P4 K4 P3 K5.  The cable is done on the K4 sections.  You will have a certain amount of normal rows between the row that you work the cable into.  I did 5 normal rows of K5 P3 K4 P4 K4 P3 K5, then on the 6th row I worked my cable into the K4 sections.

What you need:
Any yarn you like
Appropriate needles for your chosen yarn
A cable stitch holder (mine is like a short double pointed needle with a little "v" in the middle)

Details of working the cable:

Essentially, to work the cable you simply slide the first 2 stitches of the K4 section onto your cable stitch holder (step 1).  Then you put the holder the the front (for twist right) or to the back (for twist left) and knit the last 2 stitches of the K4 section as normal (steps 3 and 3).  Then you go back to your 2 stitches on the cable stitch holder and knit those (step 4).

I hope this tutorial wasn't too confusing.  If you have any questions, please put them into the comments section for this post and I will be sure to answer them promptly.  Also, if you'd like me to post a video of this stitch, let me know!  I love knitting with a cable stitch because it allows me to measure my progress easier and it is a pretty easy way to make your project look fancier than it normally would.