I went outside yesterday evening to get pictures of the spring blooms in the yard. This is an Eastern Redbud tree and it is gorgeous. Unfortunately the bees think so too. Every time I tried to get closer for a better picture they buzzed my head and let me know they didn't appreciate my presence. Don't ask me what kind of bees, cuz I don't know. The kind of bees I run away from. They were huge! (Not talking sweet little honeybees here.)
The lilacs are in full bloom and their scent perfumes the air.
Don't look too close... I need to get out there and pull those weeds out of the creeping phlox and spread a new layer of mulch. In a couple more weeks the spirea will burst out in masses of tiny white flowers. The roses and russian sage will follow by June.
Sweet little wild violets growing in the shady parts of the yard.
Who's hiding under the lilacs? Natasha Kitty!
And here is Katerina Kitty stretching out in the grass.
Spring is perfectly beautiful!
But apparently my crocheting (that I was so proud of yesterday) is not perfect. At all. I made up a practice square of single crochet. It was hard, but by the 4th or 5th row I was moving right along, thinking I was doing pretty well. Looks pretty good for a total beginner. (Except for some wonky edges from not figuring out where the first and last chain were. )
Patted myself on the back and decided it was time to learn the next stitch. So I went back to my instruction books and to the computer to look at the you-tube instructions.... And.... that was when I realized that I HAD DONE THE ENTIRE SQUARE THE WRONG WAY!!! I am not bringing my yarn over the crochet hook the right direction. So this practice square of single crochet is not single crochet at all, but some made up stitch from my own head. What???? AGH!!!!!!! I tried to start a new piece so I could re-learn how to "yarn over" and I felt like a bumbling idiot with 5 thumbs in the way. I just can't get it! I just failed Crochet 101!! How can this be so hard?
I think I will let it sit for a day and come back tomorrow and start over. Or maybe I will go back to quilting, or embroidery, or knitting. Right now I just want to forget that there is a needlecraft that starts with the letter C.
Beautiful Spring photos, and I just love your kitties :) Your crochet piece looks great to me! I never got past Granny Squares in Crochet 101. Maybe someday I'll tackle it again, but I'm afraid I would just end up frustrated! -Tammy
ReplyDeleteI think your crochet looks correct. Are you sure it is wrong? Even if you go about it differently, you can end up with a proper stitch. Keep trying, your stitches are very even and straight. You done good ;)
ReplyDeleteI love all of your flowers, and it makes me smile to see the kitties lounging in the garden. Keep trying your crochet, it looks good to me. All I can do is a "single" chain stitch! Not much you can do with a big ol' long chain huh? :-)
ReplyDeleteThe redbud tree is gorgeous!! Love those pics of your kitties enjoying the yard. Oh and your story about crochet - just too funny. I am learning to crochet and have "made up" some of my own stitches too! I have tried watching youtube videos to learn how to do a granny square, but mine never look quite right. Let me know when you start with grannies and we can compare notes! Have a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo
Your garden and flowers are wonderful and your crochet looks great to me! So very even for a first attempt. I think I would carry on your way and not worry.
ReplyDeleteLove your flowers! Lilacs are awesome. Love your sweet kitties and don't fret about the crochet I am all thumbs on all of it!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful spring pics, I can't wait for our lilacs to be in bloom! Cute kitties too, sorry about the crochet, I am sure I would never get it.
ReplyDeleteCindy
what a lovely garden you have!
ReplyDeleteand everyone says that you make
no mistakes when crocheting. it
just adds character to the piece.
Your spring garden looks beautiful. granny squares are my limit too...good luck!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen a redbud tree - it's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteDon't be too discouraged about the crocheted square. You'll figure it out and you'll be racing through patterns in no time.
Gayle, the blooms in your yard are beautiful. The Eastern Redbud is my all time favorite for spring flowering trees. One year for Mother's Day, Carroll went out in the woods on the farm we were leasing and dug up a wild one and brought home to me. He planted it and it actually lived...which isn't always an easy thing to have happen, so I've been told. When we moved to this part of WV 10 years ago, that was one thing that I was so sad to leave behind at our former home.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed meeting your kitty cats! They are both beautiful.
And, I understand your frustration with the crocheting. It is exactly how I feel when I try to knit! ~wink~ If you know someone there close to you that knows how to crochet I think it would make it a lot easier for you to pick it up.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Love the spring photo's especially the Lilacs. Nothing smells better than some lilacs. I don't know a thing about crochet but to my eye yout piece looks great! I'm sure you will have the hang of it soon.
ReplyDeleteThe garden looks lovely, and I can just smell the lilacs! Yummy. Darling Kitty Cats. Hugs, Diane
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos! I hope the bees are the benificil ones..it was so sad that the bee population was having problems the past few years.
ReplyDeleteI like your crochet--if it's a made up stich it still looks good!! I'd love to learn how to do crochet..someday, hopefully, I will :-)
Glad your neice liked the Poet's House link!
Your yard is beautiful! Love all your blooms...and your kitties too! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDelete:)
Love visiting you today..such a pretty garden you have. xo
ReplyDeleteThe tree is absolutely beautiful and the spring is lighting up your garden. Pussies are enjoying it too. Good on you for trying to crochet. It looks fine to me. I wouldn't have the patience to learn.
ReplyDeleteI crochet as if I was knitting! That is I hold the yarn in my right hand and the work in my left! That's the way I was taught and I just can't change it! Don't give up - there are so few complex stitches!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely photos of flowers and your gorgeous cats , I can't see anything wrong with your crochet either !
ReplyDeleteIt looks right to me, as well. Sometimes there are different ways to wrap the yarn and come up with the same stitch. Stick with what feels comfortable.
ReplyDeleteOh, your garden is lovely. I would love to have a lilac bush. I did add some woodland violets to the wooded areas of our lot. Will see if they multiply as yours have done. The spirea here in town was gorgeous this spring. It has already been in bloom for a few weeks. What a show!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by HFTS. Always good to have you visit.
Your stitches look quite nice. As far as "made up stitch", probably not made up at all, simply new to you. That's what I've always found with knitting stitches. There aren't any new stitches, simply new to me.
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are lovely. The way you wrote about everything I felt like I was with you in your yard.
ReplyDeleteAbout the crochet, I did the same thing when I first started teaching myself. But the videos have really helped. Especially,
http://www.youtube.com/user/theknitwitch
I'm still learning, but I love it. Hang in there.
Oh, I forgot to say that your kitties are adorable.
ReplyDeleteGood on you for giving it a go.
ReplyDeleteI think that crocheting in a square is probably a bit hard for a first go. Why don't you have a go at a granny square then there are no tricky bits on the edge of the row.
Hello! Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me some comment love. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not so sure you are crocheting wrong. My sister crochets "backwards" meaning that she puts her hook in from the back (so her yarnover is different), but if you just turn her work over, it looks exactly the same as mine.
I tought myself several years ago and everytime my mother-in-law sees me crochet she says, "I'm just so fascinated with how you've adapted crocheting to fit with the way that feels comfortable to you. I love watching you because it is so different." My motto is who cares how you get there as long as you like how it looks in the end. :)
Where in the midwest are you? We live in the upper midwest and my lilacs won't bloom for another 4-5 weeks.