Response to Comment received and not accepted:

"Angels" do not write nasty comments on this blog that are intended for some other person they have the "gripe" about.

The Proof is in the Pictures!

Upon arising this morning I was delighted to see not one but three pairs of Eastern Bluebirds checking out the three bird houses in our yard! Thankfully they continued their quest while I grabbed the camera.

Here is one pair perched in one of the trees - female above the male:



And here is a male perched on the little white birdhouse (after I snapped the picture he ventured inside to take a look around). If you look closely at the right side of the background you can see how the sun causes the snow sparkles like diamonds in places.



How delighful it is they have returned!!! A sure sign spring is definitely on its way.

Could it be?

Has spring arrived??? As I was finishing lunch today I looked out the patio doors and there it was, at least it looked like it. So I got up to take a closer look and it was true! An Eastern bluebird perched on the deck rail!!! On the first of March!!! Unfortunately it flew away before I could get the camera. But one of these days very soon I will snap a picture. Wow, it's pretty early for them to be back here but what a delightful surprise that they are!

The New Year, a couple weeks late...

I greeted the New Year with some ideas to strive toward...NOT resolutions as I do not make resolutions because in my experience resolutions are made to be broken.

The first was to attempt to de-clutter closets, bookshelves, cupboards and drawers. After several days of that I had two full trunk loads of usable and in good condition "stuff" (some of which I had forgotten we even had) to donate to the thrift store. I still have the basement to do, a daunting task indeed and one that will best be accomplished in increments. And then there's he garage which will have to wait until spring and much warmer weather.

The second is to send actual hard copy birthday cards this year (and maybe continue to send ecards as well). So I spent a day entering birthdays onto the calendar and...so far so good; cards really ARE being sent in the mail!

And third, as I was moving from closet to closet, I reorganized the supply of yard I had amassed. I really did not want to throw out half used skeins or those with which I could combine complimentary colors so...I've been crocheting various patterns of adult size (and some smaller) chemo hats whenever I have some "down time" to be donated to the Cancer Center .

Here's what I've learned so far: we most always have accumulated some sort of abundance that if shared, could very well benefit someone else who is in need.

A Rose is a Rose

A friend's birthday is coming up rather quickly so I got to work and made this smaller version of the same rose pattern I have hanging in my bathroom window. Finished it early last evening and really wanted to take the picture when the sun was shining because the bright sunlight really causes the colors to be much more brilliant. But we're in for a few cloudy days here and her birthday is tomorrow!

Stained Glass Slideshow

Welcome to the slideshow of my emerging stained glass creations. It is updated as new projects are completed. Included here are my very first projects, gifts that I will give and a few made for others to give, and some pieces - well - I would find very hard to part with.

Stained Glass by Brenda
Updated: 1 December 2009

Want to see a larger view of any of these pictures?

Just click on the picture and it will be displayed in a pop-up!

Finally Finished

It sure feels like this afghan took a long time to complete - maybe because I was on a crocheting marathon yesterday with the goal of getting it done and my hands are really feeling it this morning. Or maybe it's because I did not take breaks to work on different projects along the way - like stained glass as I did with the previous afghan. At any rate, I finished this latest one around 10:00 last night and am glad since there are a few more gifts to make in the next 20 or so days.

To One and All...

The Next Project

It's been a busy week with appointments and what not so I haven't taken the time to post here. The weather up until late yesterday has been unseasonably warm and gorgeous. Then...the rain started and it's much cooler today. The dogs and I have been taking daily walks in the pasture (not today in the rain) but we will take a hiatus from that - at least in the pasture - for the next week since gun deer hunting season opens this weekend and I don't want to be too close to the woods. Yesterday I still spotted the Eastern bluebirds!

I began working on this latest afghan late last week and am now half done with the motifs. This one will be a Christmas gift.

Ta Daaaaaaaa!

It was really late last night by the time I turned out the lights but...the afghan is finally done (well, there are still some yarn ends to weave in on the back side)! I think I could have finished it sooner had I not taken breaks to make other things - stained glass and a few other crochet projects. I even have the dog's Christmas gifts finished: croched coats that will be sure to help keep them warm come those cold winter days (and nights). When I have more time, I'll do an updated project slide show.


I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I looked out the window. There, perched on the clothesline posts were...Eastern bluebirds! SEVEN of them! They fluttered around the back yard for a while, even checking out the bird houses. The last time I saw them was three weeks ago and I figured that was their last stop here before heading south. Don't they know it's November and this is Wisconsin??? The weather has been really mild of late. Gosh, on Saturday the high was 68 degrees! I hope these are signs of a mild winter this year. Well, one can always hope, right?

Still Crocheting...Honest!!!

Well, it's the day of the big game. But we have to wait until 3:15 (CST) for it to start. It was originally scheduled for noon but that stupid baseball world series caused the time change. Anyway, I'm ready - have my green shirt on and it appears to be helping the Eagles beat the Giants big time so far (not that I'm all that interested in who wins that game buy hey, it is football day and it would feel really strange not to be watching a game while I wait for THE game to start). Hope the "good luck" of the wearing of the green continues into the Packer game...especially today.

Okay, so it's football day and that means I must be crocheting....and I AM! Work on the afghan continues and I just finished attaching the fourth row of squares. Only three more rows (33 squares) to go until I can work on the border.

And Another...

Am continuing to work on that afghan but have to admit I can crochet the squares only so long and then have to find something else to do for a day or two. So...on Tuesday I started work on another stained glass piece. Yep...another rectangular one and I finished it this morning. It's just about the same size as the last one.

I sure wish it were a sunny day today because the purple in it looks so much darker than it did when I held it up to bright sun light. Oh well... When I attach the chain at the top corners this one too will hang in one of our windows. And again, I haven't decided which one yet.

Another Stained Glass

I've had this pattern sitting on my craft table for over a year mostly trying to decide if I really like it and whether to make it a much larger piece. Well...a couple of days ago I finally did decide to make it as is and set about working on it. Even with it being a cloudy and rainy day today I think the colors show up pretty nicely in this purple heart. Unfortunately the tree in the background outside dulls the yellow glass I used for the floweri it really is a much brighter color. Oh well...


It measures 15" x 10" and is the largest piece I've done - in size not in number of glass pieces. After I attach the chain at each top corner it will hang in one of the windows just haven't decided which one yet.

I'm really liking working on square and rectangular pieces. And the mini power miter saw really works slick for cutting the metal edging.

The Next Project

After finishing Simon's sweater I began yet another afghan. I keep finding cute, free patterns in the yarn aisles. When finished it will have seven rows of eleven motifs surrounded by nine border rows. I'm not sure if this one will be a gift or if I'll keep it. I like the color combinations and how it's looking as I put it together. Have another stained glass pattern ready to go and will probably work on marking and cutting the glass later today.


The other day I was traveling to a friend's house and spotted this eagle's nest (always nice to have the camera handy). It's about 6 or 7 miles from our house and near the Branch river so we don't usually see eagles flying around home. But Dan said on Sunday afternoon he saw two eagles soaring above the barn.

The Packers Must Be Playing because I'm Crocheting

One thing I can do while the football game is on is crochet. And... if I crochet while the Packers are playing, they do well (not that I'm superstitious or anything). Anyway, they shut out the Lions - YEAH! - and I got Simon's sweater done.

Back to Stained Glass

Yesterday I got a little tired of seeing the pattern and glass laid out for a project I've been meaning to get to for months. Getting a sale postcard in the mail from the stained glass studio was just the push I needed to get back to making some pieces. I headed to the studio and came home with several interesting pieces of glass.

Before supper I cut out the glass and later in the evening I ground them into shape. This morning I wrapped them with foil and soldered it all together. It was a bit tricky to get a good picture because I had already hung the rose bud in the bathroom window - it's secured to the window frame, the window is above the shower surround and the darn shower curtain kept getting in the way! Anyway, here it is:

Finally Finished

Last evening I finally finished the sandy print colored afghan. It was a huge project and did get somewhat boring as the pattern of shells repeated the same two rows for 121 rows! I do like how it turned out though. It's also quite a large piece at 72" X 56".

Keepin' Busy

That afghan in the sandy shades yarn is coming along nicely. There are about 24 or so rows left to crochet before the border can be worked on. If I have the whole evening to crochet, I can get about 10 rows done. So...the finished product will take a while yet.

Meanwhile, for a change of pace, I made (and just finished, except for her apron, this afternoon) another of those cat plastic bag holders. Just have to make her apron yet and will get that done this evening. This one will be a gift for a friend who has three house cats.

Interim Project

I didn't want to take the afghan I've been working on along camping over the weekend because it's getting quite large, so I packed up some yarn left over from other projects and started on an interim project: a cat that holds those plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Because it rained at times during the weekend, I got most of it done and finished it up today. When plastic bags are added they fill up and poof our the skirt. Not sure if I'll hang it in the kitchen in the house or in the camper. Right now it's in the kitchen...

And here's a picture of the cat with her skirt full of bags:

Another Done and One in Progress

A while back I bought some variegated yarn without a project in mind, just because I liked the colors. It's called painted desert. A week or so ago I came across a rather unique pattern for a lap throw and set about making it, using "Aran" color for the boarder. The size is true to it's name as this is definitely not a large throw. By the way, all three of those watermelon placemats are done too!

Then the other day, as I was scanning the yarn display at the store (again), I was drawn to a lovely color of worsted weight yarn called "Sandy Print" and of course just had to buy some. Here's a picture of the beginning of the full-sized afghan I'm currently crocheting:

We finally, after a whole three weeks of dry weather, got some rain last night. It wasn't much, but enough to perk up the garden and lawn again. The tomatoes in the garden are abundant this year and I've been making lots and lots of juice with more to come. I think by the time the frost decides to hit this area I'll have enough juice to last till next year's harvest is ready for processing.

A few years ago we built a raised flower bed along the west side of the deck and talked about building another one to surround the rest of the deck. Well, that project will get done this fall as all the materials for it were gotten yesterday. Just when it will get done is up for grabs but it will definitely be before the snow flies!

This weekend we'll be going camping again. The campground where we'll be is holding "Halloween Weekend" complete with trick-or-treating. Simon is sure to have fun and...it will be so good to get away for a couple of days after this very busy week.