Valerean

Aside from crocheting and enjoying a drama-free month for a change I've also been working on my calendar project. I finished hand-piecing the outside of the January tote with pretty fabrics. Now I'll apply some trims and then start the embroidery. The final stage will be the beading. Although I usually don't work with these colors (red in particular makes me nervous), I'm enjoy the project. All of this invokes my grandmother for me, and although it's been 47 years since she passed away, I still miss her all the time.

You remember my messy pantry, yes? It took a few hours to pull everything out, wipe down the shelves and floor, and look at everything before I put it back to make sure it hadn't expired, but I got it done. The nice thing about having an organized pantry is now I don't have to dig through it to find anything; it's arranged the way I use the contents. I also weeded out a couple of cans of expired food and learned I really need to make ziti more often to use up a stockpile of that pasta. Some thoughts on the process if you're thinking about doing the same: Don't rush the process. I do one shelf at a time, and I take breaks after two shelves are done. That way it's a little easier to manage the task without wearing myself out. Take time to organize everything. Yes, I do alphabetize my soups, and categorize my canned goods, but that's how I like to keep my pantry. Store things according to your needs. I use egg noodles a lot because my guy lov...

My editor just approved the project I'll be working on this year for my day job, which is a great thing. Every day this week I'll be working on outlining the five phases of the project, which also need to be approved, and once I get the green light on them I'll be ready to start on the first. Meanwhile, I have other things at home that I'll also be working on, like cleaning out and tidying up my very messy pantry. It got like this due to a combination of the holidays and deadline week last month, and I can't stand it, so that's the first housework project of the year. My first crochet project for 2026 is coming along nicely; one more skein and I'll be half done with it. The first tote of my calendar project is working up a little slowly, but considering my limitations I think I've made decent progress. Once I finish sewing down the patchwork I'll begin embellishing it with embroidery and beading, and (hopefully) some hand-quilting. Jan...

For our first historic jaunt of 2026 we visited the charming town of Melrose, Florida last week. To see some pics and learn more, check out my photo album here .

Along with the crochet project I'm also working on my calendar tote project a little at a time when my hands allow. After deconstructing the black canvas bag serving as the foundation, I handsewed a layer of batting to the outside. Now I'm piecing the patchwork out of silver, black and garnet colored fabrics and scraps on top of the batting, also sew by hand (although I will use the sewing machine if my fingers stop cooperating.) Back in the 80's (yep, I have been quilting that long) I worked in darker, jewel-toned colors, but as I've aged I've gravitated more toward lighter and neutral/natural shades. Red usually makes me nervous, but not this time. This palette does invoke my grandmother for me, and I loved her very much. Working on this has brought back lots of happy memories from when I started quilting, and has helped keep my spirits up during this month, too.

The Winter 2026 issue of GreenCraft just hit the stands, and this is the only magazine that is a must-buy for me. 2026 was supposed to be a no-spend year, too, but so far my health insurance premiums have gone up only $200.00 per month, so until that changes I'm allowing myself to buy some materials and things like this to inspire me now and then. As always I was wowed by the dozens of upcycling project and repurposing ideas in the issue. Just looking through it is a joy. I've always wanted to make some bracelets out of buttons, and "From Button Box to Bracelet" by Deborah Helms offers a simple project to do just that. Visible mending gets the spotlight in "Worn, Torn and Mended" by Elliot Harper, who uses old jeans and sashiko-inspired stitching to make a tote. The issue also offers 14 ways to repurpose unwanted discards and junk in your garden, and the photos in this section are simply stunning. I love GreenCraft because it does ins...

My first crochet project of 2026 is going quite well, which adds to my general happiness this month (and what a relief to have a nice, uneventful January for a change!) I love working with Mandala Ombre yarn. It's very light for a #4 worsted, and it's incredibly soft. It whispers through my fingers as I crochet. One skein of this yarn makes about 5" wide X 70" long throw or wrap in this tilted shell (or drunken granny) stitch. Starting off the year with a fun project using thrifted yarn in cheerful colors really adds to my calm and peace, too. Great choice.

During our visit to Goodwill in Oxford I found a bundle of five skeins of yarn for $4.18. While I didn't need any yarn, I grabbed it right away because I recognized some discontinued yarn that is very hard to find now. For less than five bucks I scored three skeins of sashay yarn (four if you want to count the Sundance as the same), which retails for very big bucks these days as Red Heart has stopped production on it. These yarns are actually wide ribbons of mesh that you can crochet on one side to make a ruffled project. I looked up current prices for all the skeins; the Just Yarn tweed is $1.25, of course, and the Sundance Frill for the Cure pink skein runs about $9.50 per skein. But the Sashay yarns are $12.99, $14.60, and $16.70 to buy from eBay and Amazon. Total retail on the whole bundle would be $55.04. Needless to say it was a super nice thrift. :) I'm planning to experiment with this yarn and see if I can bypass the usual ruffled scarf project it was us...

While wandering last week my guy and I stopped by Goodwill in Oxford , which is part of The Villages. This was only our second visit to the store, and this time I got some pics. This is one of Goodwill's superstores, with over 15,000 square feet of new and used merchandise. It's a very clean store with lots of unusual offerings. There's a section in the back with bins and racks of mostly new merchandise. I hunted through the bins for yarn on this visit, and also got some household necessities for cheap. I bought this pretty reusable shopping bag for $1.49, which I plan to keep in the car. Because we have pets I use carpet freshener to control the doggie smell. I haven't seen Love My Carpet in ages, and it was $1.99 a bottle. Finally digging through the bins paid off, and I scored a bundle of five skeins for $4.18. Stop by tomorrow to find out what they're worth.

Last week my guy and I went to Snooky Park in Lady Lake to walk. We love this little gem of a park in the old town area, as it's quiet and very serene. The walking trail around the park's four acres is about a half a mile in length. We usually see seniors, young moms with strollers and joggers at the park, so it's popular but not too crowded. There are squirrels everywhere, and their antics are cute. As veterans my guy and I also feel a special connection here. Snooky Park is dedicated to Atticus "Snooky" Blanton, a young man who grew up in Lady Lake and left to join the Navy. He was overjoyed to be assigned to the Arizona, and wrote home about how excited he was to be sailing to Hawaii. Sadly he was on the ship on December 7th in Pearl Harbor, and was killed at just 21 years old. If you're looking for a nice place to take a little walk, have lunch or watch the squirrels, I recommend visiting this lovely place.

The second lot of yarn I thrifted online last month arrived; let's see if it's as nice as I thought. Oh, yes. Ten skeins of clean, odorless yarn with labels, all but one are worsted weight. They are in mint condition and as beautiful as anything I could go and buy retail. The lot included three skeins of Starlette worsted in denim. Multiples are always great because of course they make larger projects. This Caron Colorama O'Go is the only bulky weight skein. I've always wanted to try one of these since they came out. I got two Premier Sweet Roll tri-color skeins, a yarn I also haven't tried yet. The colors of most of these yarns go well together, so aside from the O'Go I could make a decent-size throw out of them. Now for the numbers. This is what this yarn would have cost me if I purchased it new at the store: Lion Brand Pound of Love (Thistle) -- $15.00 Starlette (Denim) -- $4.99 each Deborah Norville Everyday Soft (Cold Mountain) ...

I made a scrap variegated yarn basket that stretched from December 31st to January 1st, but for my first official crochet project for the new year I'd like to use some yarn from this lot I thrifted back in November. I have seven brand new skeins of Mandala Ombre in Serene, one of my favorite yarns, that were in the lot. They retail for $8.77; by thrifting I was able to get them for about $1.50 each. I'm going to use them to make a throw for a dear friend, since I used the same yarn to make a pair of slippers for her. I think this free printable pattern from Mary Maxim is perfect, especially as it was designed for this brand of yarn. I've also made two other throws using this pattern and it works up fast and beautiful.

Last week my guy and I went to walk Daytona Beach, which was mostly (and eerily) deserted. This is what our beaches used to look like when I was a kid. It was a beautiful day, cold and breezy but calm. It feels like 2026 is getting off to the right start.

On New Year's Day I finished making a big beautiful basket out of scrap variegated yarn ( video tutorial here ) so I could stow some thrifted skeins of Mandala Ombre and other yarns I want to work with this month. I also got started on my calendar tote bag project by deconstructing a black canvas tote, pressing it and lining it with batting. I'm waiting on one last lot of yarn I won last year to be delivered; it seems to be bouncing all over the country. When it finally lands I'll show you the skeins and figure out the value. In the day job department, my editor approved my initial pitch for this year's big series project, so now I'm working on getting my new delivery schedule approved and thinking about how I want to write up the outlines. I detail all the things I work on in a project before I start it so I know everything in advance. My editor is also super about pointing out any flaws or logic problems, and helping me refine the ideas. 2...

Last year I picked up this pretty furoshiki in case I needed to wrap any holiday gifts. As it turned out I only gave physical gifts to my guy, and none of them quite fit the furoshiki. So now I need to use it, and I think I'll make it the center of an improv quilt. Here's one of the quilts I made for a friend. The design is my own, and the first time I tried building a quilt around a furoshiki. I think it's one of the prettiest quilts I've ever made. Here's another furoshiki-inspired quilt I made a few years ago. With two completed quilts I feel confident that I can make this latest acquisition into something fun -- maybe in dark blue, black, gold and white colors. Stay tuned to see my design and the fabrics I choose for the project.