My cute little model, Thumbelina

You may have noticed my very cooperative and adorable model, Thumbelina. Santa brought her to me when I was about 10 years old, I think it was the same year that my brother got Mighty Matilda, the pride of the fleet. Anyway, she will actually come to life if you turn the big wooden knob on her back, it is really freaky. My kids used to cry when I wound her up, especially when I added the little voice, but that is a subject for another day. She is really pretty beat up, good thing she is modeling hats, that way you can avoid looking at her very grotesque hairdo, it is kind of Pebbles gone wild with what looks like a poor Joe Biden hairplug job in the front. Poor Thumb has stuck with me all these years, and now hangs out on my bed until I drag her out to try on sweaters and stuff. She doesn't complain which is one of the qualities I admire most about her. So Thumb, just wanted to say, thanks for the memories.

Hand Crocheted Items for Sale

Thanks to my friend Denise for suggesting a way to fill the empty nest! I will post pictures of some of my work on this blog for your review. All items shown are for an infant size, unless otherwise noted, and can be special ordered with your choice of yarns and colors and in other sizes which may or may not be at the same price. If you have something in mind, let me know, and I will see if I can make it. All prices exclude shipping and handling, and will take between 1-2 weeks to complete, depending on the item. Keep checking back, I have lots of ideas and how to get them made and posted here, and hopefully will fine tune my little store to make it more efficient as I learn! Thanks for taking the time to browse!~

Thanks to Ella!

It is only fitting that my first post on this crochet blog should be a tribute to my husband's grandmother, Ella Sander Tietke, who had the patience to teach me to crochet. It was a craft that took many years of giving up and giving it another chance, until I figured out how to do it. Ella loved to make the ripple afghan and that was her signature. Over the years, she probably made over 100 of them, all without charge, just asking people to cover the cost of the yarn. As her niece always says, Thank God for Tanta Ella's Afghans! Each of us had our own, and snuggled under them while watching TV, or reading a good book, or sneaking an afternoon nap. In our family, you can see them draped over a couch, positioned on the end of a bed, or piled with others in baskets on the floors. It has been said that Ella first liked to knit but after having a heart attack in her 30's, her doctor suggested that she change to crocheting since it was a less stressful technique. In my memories of her sitting in her comfy chair, fingers laced with yarn, her project was always afghans, and always the ripple, with combinations of two to three colors, and always Red Heart yarn. If you bought her skeins, she would suggest complementing colors and say a total of seven for an adult and five for a child. She had a cottage industry before they had a name for it. And to Ella, I say Thank you for teaching me to crochet.