Words and Wool

Knitting has been completely ditched this past week in order to make way for valentine crochet. Looking at my Pinterest crochet board is overwhelming because of the amount of beautiful things possible to create! I chose two ideas and went from there......

Here is a photo of my new knitting/crochet bag. I love it! A friend pointed it out at the last Goodwill 50% off. I loved the lining fabric and then we saw that it is Laura Ashley! For $1.50 this was a good find. It is perfect for carrying around my latest project.

These little crochet hearts are too much fun! They can be made in a matter of minutes. I've sewn bar pins to the back and then you can pin them onto clothing and accessories. Here is the pattern.

And then you can turn the crochet hearts into crochet bunting, following this pattern. The bunting was so fast to crochet and I think it took me all of two evenings. I love it!!!

Here is the other thing I couldn't resist -- Granny Square Hearts!!!! Aren't they so cute!!! You can find the pattern here. I made two identical ones and sewed them together in the manner that Attic24 sews her crochets squares and then stuffed these with lavender sachets. 

The only thing I neglected to do was to make one for myself!!!

As for the reading.........


Around the Year with the Trapp family by Maria Von Trapp was a book that surprised me. Ginny at Small Things recommended it and because I was born in Vermont, very close to the Trapp Family Lodge, I was intrigued to check it out.

In this book Maria details the way their family celebrates the church calendar all throughout the year. Here are a few things I took away from the book:

1) I was really put to shame by the amount of religious instruction and encouragement Maria gave to her children constantly in such a loving and full-hearted way. I left the book with a much deeper commitment to family worship (devotions as a family each day) and its vital importance.

2) I am now much more educated on the whole system of Catholic worship and celebration throughout the year. I am still trying to process this, and will probably be thinking about it for years.

3) I was ministered to by the aura of nurture that exudes from this book. Maria devoted vast amounts of time to celebrating with her family. She never mentions how much energy and work this cost her, but it must have been huge. While our family does not connect cultural and social celebrations with the church (as Maria does) the book still encouraged me to continue to place great value on family traditions, and cultural celebrations and not to regret the energy it takes to do such things.

4) I appreciated the chapter on the Christian Sabbath. As a protestant, it is my belief that the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is the only mandated feast day of the Christian church. While Maria believes that there are hundreds of mandated or optional feast days, she does place great emphasis on the speciality of the Sabbath and it encouraged me personally to read this and to feel some fellowship in what can be a lonely belief. I am always looking for better ways to bring joy and celebration and "feast" to the weekly Sabbath. After all, it is meant to be one day a week that we, figuratively speaking, leave earth and spend in heaven.


The Forgotten Garden: A Novel by Kate Morton is another well-written, engrossing novel. I hesitated to start this book because it is so long, but I needed something light to take to the hospital last week. Morton does not disappoint! Her books are filled with history, suspense, and mystery. I'm not done yet, but am enjoying reading a bit more each day!

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (Oxford Bookworms Library) by Arthur Ransome was finished with the children this week. I particularly loved this book in the series in which the children accidentally go to sea and sail to Holland in a terrible storm. It had suspense and humor and was a lovely book to read with children.

For more ideas on knitting and reading, check out Ginny's Yarn A Long.

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