Stitch 'n Dish

Category: whimsy

  • Summer odds & ends

    Summer odds & ends

    Change can be a challenge to navigate, and I am always grateful to the examples set by my grandmother and great-grandmothers on how to keep moving forward when life gets messy. I think it was their generations’ version of meditation, which tracks with so much of the research today around how crocheting, knitting and other…

  • Finding joy

    Finding joy

    The truest forms of joy do not come from BIG, EXPENSIVE things. It most often shows up in the faces of those we love, but it also sneaks into our lives in the form of silly little projects that capture our fancy for a moment. I call that “joy finding” – and have come to…

  • Short & sweet

    Short & sweet

    The journey of stepping back from the extremes of consumerism is an individual, slow, and steady one. It feels especially appropriate for me as I am approaching retirement and the changes that next phase of my life will bring. In the meantime, these “short & sweet” projects align perfectly with the energy of less instead…

  • Simple gifts

    Simple gifts

    My youngest granddaughter is blessed with plenty, in many ways, which sometimes makes gift giving a challenge (for me, anyway). Therefore, I rely on hints – a “wishlist” of her latest favorites – from which I am able to choose an appropriate gift. A couple years ago, I decided to combine wishlist gifts with something…

  • A terrific read

    A terrific read

    Last week I was waiting to board a flight to Walt Disney World (WDW) in Orlando, Florida, and decided to pull out a book instead of my yarn. It was mostly due to the proximity of the yarn in relation to the book, and my lack of sleep the night before. This particular book caught…

  • Bottle slings (holders)

    Bottle slings (holders)

    I’ve been a bit obsessed with this pattern – especially when it’s made in a cotton yarn. For this (green) version, I started with a smaller base (30 sts), still using the H hook. I have a pink one also in progress, but in Big Twist yarn that I’m making with a G hook (pictured…

  • Summer accessories

    Summer accessories

    I recently had a need for a water bottle holder, and thought I’d try my hand at making one out of yarn. The project ended up serving a couple purposes, including using up some yarn in my stash (always a good thing!). Although I free-handed this pattern, I recognize that I did not come up…

  • Change is inevitable. Yarn helps.

    Change is inevitable. Yarn helps.

    The past year has marked a significant SHIFT in my life. It wasn’t the birth or death of anyone close, but it was the end of an era, so to speak.  Last year in June, my oldest grandchild got his driver’s license, and suddenly, I was freed from being on call as my daughter’s backup…

  • Whimsy: good for the soul

    Like most knitters and crocheters, I have a number of projects in the hopper. I am working on a crocheted “Nap Blanket” (somewhere between an afghan and a lap blanket) for a birthday gift, a knitted wrap in Plymouth Yarn Souffle, another (crocheted) virus shawl in a worsted merino, and a hat in the latest…

  • Dragonflies

    Dragonflies

    A few years back, I began to appreciate dragonflies. I was on vacation with my family at the Outer Banks in North Carolina and realized that these creatures were more than just “bugs“. These were beautiful, multi-colored, many-sized and tempered (some friendlier than others) critters! One Summer in particular, there were so many that I…