2026 Easter Basket

 2026 Easter Basket

This year's Easter Basket is especially SPECIAL!

I'm going to be a GRANDMA!!!

💖💖💖

Our Family is joyously expanding.

Not only is my daughter expecting but my daughter-in-law is also expecting.

Two healthy baby boys are due to arrive in the Fall.

I started making this year's Easter Basket as I knew my daughter was expecting but, long before I knew my daughter-in-law was also expecting. 

I am doubly blessed and so incredibly grateful!

Long COLD Winter = Lots of Creative Crochet

 Long COLD Winter = Lots of Creative Crochet

Balloon Animals

Cave Man

Colorful Bunnies

Baby Bumble Bee

And, Jellyfish too!

MARCH - Time is Marching On

 MARCH

Time is Marching On ...

This winter has felt exceptionally long and cold this year and I'm looking forward to SPRING! There are signs of spring beginning to pop up here and there. And, the days are getting longer and warmer.

This morning my baby boy is 32 years old.

💖💖💖

Granny Squares Project

 Granny Squares Project

I started a new crochet project ... Granny Squares. It may be a pillow, a tote bag, or a blanket. At the moment I'm just making the squares. I've made granny squares before. I made a pillow with the few granny squares I had made. Granny squares are fun to make and after search YouTube for tutorials I've found there are many granny squares variations. 

 

Cardinals

 Cardinals

My birthday bird feeder brings me so much joy!

It truly is the littlest of things that bring so much joy. Especially on cold gloomy winter days.

Useless Eyesore

 Useless Eyesore

The ugly useless shed is gone!

Cleaning up the yard is one of my goals for 2026! 

I'm considering planting forsythia bushes along this fence line that will hopefully grow into a privacy border fence.

This shed has been more trouble than it was worth! It was put up on a wooden platform, the trees around it were growing into the side and roof. The rain went into the shed and the wooden flooring was rotting. So between the rain and rot nothing could be stored in the shed. It was a big useless eyesore that I'm thrilled to see GONE!!

February - Severe Weather and Hand-quilting

 February - Severe Weather and Hand-quilting

The end of January and the first week of February brought severe weather, lots of well below freezing temperatures, ice, and then snow. At my house we got almost 5 inches of snow.

One of my goals for 2026 is to hand-quilt one quilt top, one of the many finished quilt tops that I have that still need to be quilted and bound. So the first snowy weekend of February I began working on my hand-quilting goals.

It snowed all day on Saturday around 5 inches of snow and single digit freezing cold temperatures.

I trudged through the snow to fill my bird feeder, the birds were very happy and swooped in to dine.

This bird feeder was a birthday gift and I love it!

I have been enjoying this sight of birds in my feeder everyday since I put it up.

I'm ready for Spring ... 

Single digit freezing temperatures is not my idea of fun!

More Crochet - Pretty Pink Balloon Animal

 More Crochet

Pretty Pink Balloon Animal

With the winter storm predicted ... and didn't arrive, I spent my weekend crocheting the new pattern I had purchased the week prior.

I purchased the pattern on Etsy from @KnotMonster

The pattern is well written and was fun to crochet.

I won't lie ... it took me over an hour to figure out how to twist it into the actual balloon animal. HAHAHA!!!!

In the end if finally figured it out and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

More Crochet - Caveman? Troll?

More Crochet

Caveman? Troll?

I finished this crochet pattern over the weekend. Such a fun project and so darn cute.

I love his little freckles! 💖

The book pattern is for a troll but all I see is a happy little caveman.

 

More Crochet

 More Crochet

Several years ago I purchased a crochet book on Amazon (see below) but not until recently did I feel as though I had the skills to try any of the patterns.

Recently I challenged myself to try one of the patterns from the book. This cute little baby bumble bee. Then I moved on to begin another pattern from the book.

This cute little troll, I still need to complete his arms, ears, and face.

This book is very well written and the patterns are so cute and easy to understand and follow. 

I'm enjoying the process so much!

Puzzling

 Puzzling

Puzzling ... twofold

Last night I finished the puzzle I have been working on forever. Besides the activity of puzzling, it is also puzzling to me that there are now all of these content creators who are hardcore puzzlers popping up on my social media. These amazing puzzlers are putting together 9000 piece puzzles ... with ease! It has taken me MONTHS to finish this 500 piece puzzle! MONTHS!

And ... who knew there were so many items one can purchase to make puzzling easier, there are tables, sorting trays, and large binders with clear sleeves to house your completed puzzles intact! You no longer just need an open table top to put a puzzle together. I confess, I have purchased the puzzle board with sorting trays that rotates 360 degrees for putting my puzzles together, and I have no regrets.

There is also a technique using painters tape to permanently keeping and store your completed puzzles. I won't be doing that but should you want to ... you certainly can.

Then ... who knew there were so many puzzle producing companies? Certainly not me. I am absolutely looking forward to picking out my next puzzle project.