Back!

Hello!

Sorry to have disappeared for two months. After spring break, I was feeling rather overwhelmed by school and I couldn't bring myself to post anything on my blog. I just finished classes last week and turned in the last paper on Friday--I am now free!

In March, Lucas and I traveled to Lancaster, PA and had a fantastic time. The weather was beautiful as were the quilt shops. We stopped at Burkholder's Fabrics and I was completely overwhelmed by all of the gorgeous fabric. As you may imagine, it was difficult to decide what to bring home with me, but despite the difficulty, I did finally make a decision. From Burkholder's, we drove to Sauder's. We found both lovely fabric and great snacks there. If you go, I highly recommend the Blueberry bars. We had planned to visit a couple of additional shops, but as I had managed to stay just within the budget at the first two and tired myself out looking fabric, we decided to call it a day. I was going to take pictures but realized that I would have the same photos as everyone who has traveled there and...I was lazy. Lancaster was a really interesting area and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope we might go back again later this summer.

Since my last post, I took a crochet class and absolutely loved it. Although it completely confused me at first, I began to get the hang of it and now I feel as though I understand crochet a great deal better than I do knitting. I was allowed to choose a pattern to make in the class and chose an amigurumi pattern of a jellyfish from Ana Paula Rimoli's web page. (If you happen to make this pattern, please note that there is an error in the instructions for R3 &4). Unfortunately, I haven't quite finished the jellyfish but I will soon (because the last thing I need is another UFO!).

I don't remember exactly how I found out about amigurumi, but ever since that time, I have had a strong desire to learn crochet. After my crochet class, I bought Ana Paula Rimoli's book Amigurumi World and I'm having a fantastic time making happy fruits from the patterns in the book. Currently, I am making an apple and last night I finished a pear, named "Pera". Hopefully you can see it at the top of this entry--blogger is acting up and I can't see the picture myself.

Apart from my fun crochet class, I also took a landscape quilt class. Instead of land, I chose to do water and I'm working on a scene of Koi fish swimming in a stream under a lychee branch. I believe I am perhaps halfway through the project and hope to finish it this month.

Well, I am so glad to be finished with school and back to crafting and blogging again. I'll have a few adventures to share during the summer as well. We're traveling to the Civil War Museum in Harrisburg and a few battlefields in Maryland and Virginia in June. We'll also be going to Baltimore for a five days, then Washington D.C., followed by a trip home to Michigan.

I'll also be sharing my work on the Take it Further Challenge. Sharon B was kind enough to allow me to take a hiatus while I was finishing up my degree, so it is time to pick it back up.