Since February

Lots of things have happened since February. Most notably, my brother finished chemo for lymphoma and seems to be doing well. Even if you are not the person going through chemo, it takes a lot out of you. Sometimes I felt like I was going through something akin to sympathy pains. If he got a shot, then my arm would hurt. 

I sat with him through most of the 6 hour chemotherapy sessions and I can truthfully say they are exhausting. Mostly I worked on some crochet blankets during chemo. That is what I have accomplished in the past few months. 

I thought I would post a few photos of the crocheted afghans. 

This one was for a little girl named Lauren. She had neuroblastoma.
She named it her "kaleidoscope blanket" at age 3!

I made another one very similar to that for one of my friend's sister. The in 2009 I started one for a friend's grandchild. It took TWO years before I finished that one. 

Ada's grandchild's blanket. Ada says she has to put it up when 

she leaves the house to keep everyone else from using it. 

Then I made a quick one color blanket for my friend Erin's baby boy. This photo shows Cindy modeling it. I made that baby blanket in one week. It is SO MUCH easier when you don't have to change colors every round of stitches.

Cindy is natural ham. She makes the blanket look good. 

Then I made a lap afghan for Kathy as a housewarming gift in celebration of moving into the Lenore house. Yes, the Lenore house is habitable. Not really fixed up all the way, but livable.

Kathy's housewarming gift. It is a variation on the traditional granny square,
basically only 2 rows of stitches rather than 3 or more.

I've got a different one I am working on now but it will likely take a while because I want it big enough to put on a bed. Also I've got 3-4 friends who are having baby girls in October that I'd like to make blankets for. I really like the idea of making gifts rather than buying stuff, but you have to make sure you are giving something that people will appreciate. It's a little tricky. That's why I don't crochet clothing items. You just can't tell what people will like. A blanket is generic enough that everyone can appreciate it. 

House stuff in the next post. 

Take care everybody.