Hibernating No Longer

Sorry that it seems like I got lost again. I was in crochet hibernation! I had to dig deep but I finally finished my Mom's afghan and of course I FORGOT to take a picture of the completed product. It's ok though because I will be able to visit it a lot. Now I am starting several more Christmas gifts. But I can't tell too much about them because you never know who is reading this out there! What I can tell you is that I am making one for my Grandfather-in-Law, Papa. He is going to be getting a lapghan so that he can stay warm in his wheelchair.

I start this lapghan when I was in Hungary in May, so I better get it finished for our trip that is coming up.

I will have some picture posts coming sooner, and an update on my ripple progress.

Another Change to the Korner

So after careful thought and deliberation, I decided that the cubbie needed a buddy. So now I have two cubbies for my projects.















I am now very organized in the the korner so I am off and running on projects for Christmas, myself and a few other misc things I have up my sleeve.















I am also rippling away too, although not as much as I would like. But, I just rented the first four discs of Grey's Anatomy Season 7 so I am all set to have a ripply weekend.

I will be back soon with more!

Changes to the Korner

So here as promised are the two new views in my Korner. I really didn't like all of the plastic storage that I had in my room. So last weekend and this weekend Mate and I gave my Korner a facelift. In one corner of the room we put up three shelves on the wall. This houses my scrapbooking and stamping supplies. One the opposite corner we assembled a 9 hole cubbie for my yarn and left over scrapbooking supplies to go. I love how I can see all my yarn now, well most of it anyway, the cabinet that is under the three shelves is housing yarn too. Oh and there is one tote that has yarn in it too, but I put that in the spare bedroom upstairs, so I wasn't in here to take up more space. I will take some complete pictures of the room when it is completely finished but for now here are the two corners of my Korner.













What do you think?

Ripple Update

Today at lunch I was able to finish up the fourth color of the ripple so that you would be able to see what it looks like with all four. It looks like a 1970s blanket to me, but Mate likes it so I am just going to go with it for now. Maybe I will make us each our own for the bed since we don't share blankets anyway! (I know that this sounds strange but it works for us, if we share then one of us wakes up in the middle of the night with no blankets and that sucks!) So here is it in all of its 70s vintage.

What do you think? At first I thought that the gray looked out of place and that I should really have put it in between the cream and the honey color, but it is starting to grow on me. So far I have only had to frog it once, which is pretty good. Usually ripples and zig zags are not my forte, I am the worst counter in the world. But, this pattern that Lucy at Attic 24 came up with is awesome. If you can master the dc2tog (double crochet 2 stitches together) this will be a walk in the park. The stitch sounds complicated but really isn't.

I almost forget yesterday I received some more stock yarn - I know I didn't really need it but it was a great price! This yarn is Sirdar Bonus DK and boy do I love all of the colors that I picked. This might be the ripple that I will make for myself! Take a look and tell me what you think of them.












While you take in the colors and I off to go and do some more rippleness.

P.S. My korner at home is getting a face lift, in the next couple of days I will have some updated photos of what my room looks like.

Hello Friends Are You There...It's Me Sarah.

Is time running on warp speed for anyone else? I can hardly believe that in a week October is going to be over and November will be here. It feels like I blinked and it became October. I am pretty sure that buying a house at the end of July had something to do with that. On going projects that you just want to finish, new projects that you really didn't need to start but you needed the distraction from the old project that you were working on. Now that my portion of the projects are completed, (I am letting Mate handle finishing the basement) I am able to settle back into my crochet routine again. Not only that, but some might say that I have turned a little Becky-Homecky! I have been making dinners, cookies, treats for the office, and I want to learn how to make homemade applesauce and apple butter so I have been saving all sorts of jars and containers. Not to mention that I have asked my mom to teach me how to make pumpkin pie from scratch for Thanksgiving! Why don't all of you that know me well take a second to pick your hearts back off of the floor because I am sure that it hit there when you were reading the above.

Ok...are you back with me now?

Good, because I have two new blankets to share with you! One is for my mom and is made in chocolate brown, a beautiful sea blue, and a divine cranberry. The other one is for our bed. This one is in chocolate brown, beige, a rich honey, gray, and a fantastic rust.

Here we go.....

Blanket #1 - Mom's Blanket - This pattern is from Leisure Arts Fireside Afghans. It is a great book, I picked mine up from Hobby Lobby. The name of the pattern is Cozy Autumn, this blanket wasn't made in autumn colors but the sample that they show in the pattern book was. My mom has seen this already and really loves it! The yarn for this blanket is Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn.

Blanket #2 - Bedroom Afghan - This pattern is from Lucy at Attic 24. I joined her ripple afghan group that she is running with Heather at Little Tin Bird. Here is my yarn choice I am using Lion Brand Vanna's choice for this one. I am only starting on the third color for this one, so I will post a picture when I have all five worked in the ripple.

What projects are you working on? How many do you have going on at once?

I hope to back now on a more regular basis, so check back in. I am going to go and cruise through the next three colors on the ripple and hopefully be back with a picture for you.

Just a Quick Update

Sorry I haven't been posting on here lately. Things took a turn for crazy now that we are in the home stretch. Only 9 more days! We haven't packed anything in two weeks I think and now that we are so close to moving I think that we have a lot of work ahead of us. So the next couple of nights that is what we will be doing, is packing, packing, packing! Everyone is so excited and can't wait for us to get in the house and get working on it. Mate especially. He is so cute about it too! Well that is all for now I have to get to the bank and work.

Sarah

House Update

We got the papers back today that we were waiting for the other bank to sign. YEA! Then I turned around and sent them to the other bank....to have her forward them to our loan processor! Now we wait again. Hopefully not to much longer, only 23 more days till we are suppose to have closing. Our apartment has been rented so we really have to truly get out now. We spent the weekend packing and packing some more. Not to much left to pack mostly the everyday items now, aside from a closet. Tonight we picked up some bar stools that I found on craigslist. They are going to go in our kitchen at our little breakfast nook! I can't wait to get over there and start making it our home!

Crochet Love

So I thought that since my last several posts have been about the house, it was time that I put a crochet post out here. I finished by Granny Stripe blanket that I had been working. There was a lot of yarn left over of certain colors so I went ahead and re-ordered the ones that I got low on and now I am going to make a zig zag afghan out of the rest of them. Today in the mail I got the new Herrschners fall catalog. When I am done with this post I am going to sit with a nice glass of iced tea and pour through it. I already found several projects that I want to make while I was doing a quick browse. Back to my Granny Stripe, I haven't taken a photo of the blanket completed yet, but as soon as I do I will be sure to post it here. I will also post a photo of the zig zag too, I had always had problems with this pattern too, but I think that I finally get it. With the exception that my two end have about 5-7 extra stitches, oh well, trial and error. I have about eight rows done and I don't want to have to rip to I think that I am just going to go with it for now.

Well I think that is it for tonight, I am just too excited about the catalog! I will let you know what I find. Hope everyone has a great night!

Moving Right Along

So tonight we met with our bank and it went really well. I was really nervous about this but our mortgage lender that we are working with quickly put me at ease. Now the next step is to send out the appraiser and then off our paperwork will go. Our payment is going to be less than we original thought that it was going to be which is a great thing, and we qualified for a great discount that the bank is currently running so we won't have to pay any closing costs! We have now started to pack a few things up and are readying ourselves for the big move across the street!

Another Step Closer

I know in the last post I wrote that our offer was accepted, well tonight I got the call that we have our executed contract back! This is great news! Now no one can out bid us on the house. We were a little worried about that since it is a foreclosure. As I said in the last post too, our inspection will be done next week, we are keeping our fingers crossed that it all comes back good. I am hoping since my Dad came with us both times that we looked at the house that everything will be ok. We are so excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time. We can't believe that this is really happening. So without further ado here is our new home.

One Step Closer

I have been thinking on how to write this post but i just can't wait anymore....we placed an offer on a house and it was accepted! We have to pass the inspection yet, but as long as that comes back free and clear we are going to be homeowners in July! We are so excited. Tomorrow we have to sign some paperwork and then we are going back to the house to look things over again and take some photos so I will be putting them up soon.

A Sneak Peek....

Here is a project that I am working on, but it is just a sneak peak for now. It is the Granny Stripe pattern from Lucy at Attic 24. I am using all of the colors that Lucy used, in almost the same pattern. Stay tuned for more reveal photos.

Here is the group of yarn that I am using. The colors are from Stylecraft, their Special DK range and they are offered online from Deramores for free shipping to the US, which is great!! I have placed several orders with them and they are fantastic!





Here is a sneak peek at what it is looking like. Do you like???

A Few of My Favorite Things

So this post is going to be all about some of my favorite things. I have the Julie Andrews "My Favorite Things" playing as I write this post. It got stuck in my head this afternoon for some reason and so I decided to post a few of my favorite things today.

First up is my new vintage looking rose dish. I just got this yesterday from Hobby Lobby and I was so excited when I saw, it was the very last one so I just knew that it had to come home with me right then and there.








Second is my new plant that I just got at Home Depot. Isn't it beautiful? I wanted to get a basket plant to go in this stand that I have on the back porch and I think that this fits the bill quite nicely.








Third is my new line of Stylecraft Special DK yarn that I got from Deramores out of Kent in the UK. Aren't the colors great? I just love them. I can't wait to get started on the blanket that I want to make with it.









Fourth is my Island Nectar candle from Bath and Body Works. It makes the whole house smell like a tropical island which is great in the crazy spring that Wisconsin seems to be having this year.







Fifth is my crochet sanctuary. This is my little corner of the house where I get to create and be all nestled in. This is my favorite part of the house.







Sixth are my silver Birkenstock sandals. Since I have gotten these sandals three weeks ago, I can't seem to take my feet out of them. They are so comfortable and cute. In fact today I ordered the cutest pairs of Mary Jane Birkenstocks. I will post pics as soon as I get them.





Seventh is my Coach spring purse. I got this a couple of months ago but I have been waiting to use it. I wanted to use it for spring and summer and since the weather hasn't been cooperating I decided that maybe if I started using it the weather would turn nicer.





Now that I have told you a few of my favorite things, what are some of yours??

Back to Reality

So after having two weeks off for vacation, it is time to be back to reality. Why is it that vacations never come fast enough but when you are on it the times goes by so quickly. Work today was actually pretty good, the girls in the office had just about everything of mine taken care of so I didn't have to much work to get caught up on.

Now comes the awful task of unpacking too, I just hate it. I came home from work tonight and tackled just that. I managed to unpack my suitcase put everything away, unpack my backpack, and straighten up the rest of the house. What I really want to do is crochet! Yesterday I received my first batch of yarn for Deramores, and then today there were three packages outside my door and guess what they were filled with.....the rest of my yarn orders!!! I only need one more color and I can begin my Granny Stripe afghan!!!! I do however need to finish my mom's afghan that I am making for her birthday. Since her birthday was last month I really do need to finish it!

I guess that is all for today. I am tired so I think that I will relax in my chair and hang out with my hook.

Back to Square One

How should I begin this post, the house that we were so hoping for is going to another. The person that is selling it received two offers on it and they were both for more than what Máté and I wanted to pay. So once again we are back in the looking stage. I guess the good part of this is that there must be something even better out there for us.

However, things in Hungary are going great. Yesterday we had some what of a lazy day, I managed to read two books, almost 700 pages. So far I have read 6 books while we have been gone, that is a pretty good number considering that we have been gone for about 2 weeks. Anya and I went to have a facial yesterday it was great, then Máté went to the pub and I stayed home with Anya and read while she watched TV. I went to bed at about 11, and Máté came home at 2. I will go out tonight and Sunday since they will be our last nights here, it is hard to believe that it is all coming to an end.

I have managed to get in some crochet time too, with Mama on the swing, which was great. I had Máté take our picture so that I can put it next to my chair that I crochet in. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I have been able to order Stylecraft yarn from the UK from Deramores. I am so excited about it they offer free shipping to the States and the prices are really reasonable. I am going to be making the Granny Stripe Blanket that Lucy at Attic 24 has on her blog. I can't wait to get the yarn, the first batch should be at home waiting for me and the next couple of shipments should be coming in the next week or so. My friends on Ravelry.com published a post about this store and I was quick to take advantage of it. I am involved in a swap too with a group that I am in called We Love Lucy, my partner that I got matched up with is in the UK and is so nice. I can't wait to get home and start putting my package together for her.

I guess that is all for this post. Time to get back to the family and it is almost time for lunch too.

Sarah

News from Across the Pond

So here I am sitting in the kitchen at my inlaws in Hungary, just another day and we are all together in the most important room here. Conversations are flowing, while I just do a lot of listening. Mate and his Mom are cooking, Mama and Papa are sitting outside, the wind is blowing and the birds are singing. It couldn't be a better day.
When we first arrived a couple of days ago my parents sent me an email and told me about a house that they found for us for sale. They went and looked at it for us and sent us pictures. We immediately fell in love. The person is selling it because his father passed away and none of his siblings want the house. They just dropped the price so now it is in our price range. A few days ago though my Mom sent me and email and told me that now that the price was dropped there are more people looking at the house. The man that is selling it told her that he really wants first time home owners to get the house and he really likes mine and Mate's story. We haven't heard anything now about it, there were some other people that were going back to look at it for a second time and that made me a little nervous. Friends we need some prayers for us so that we don't lose the house. My Mom told me that if it was meant to be that it would happen but it still makes me a little worried. Everyone here in Hungary really likes it and hopes that we can buy it.
Tomorrow we are off to Szentendre to visit Mate's sister, we are taking Mama with us so that she can get out of the house a little bit, since taking care of Papa is now really a full time job. I am really looking forward to our outing as well. It has been a week since we got to really go anywhere. The photo that I have put with the post is a picture of what I hope is our new house.
Sarah

Thoughts on the Houses

So after some careful decision making we decided that we wanted to keep looking for a house. Both houses are great, but my parents and Mate and myself just don't think that either one of those houses are it. For now we are going to take a break from looking and see if anything changes when we get back from Hungary. I have mixed emotions about this, but it is very much an emotional process.

My mom's birthday is on Monday so I am going to try to make an afghan in about 3 days we will see how this goes! I will post pictures once I have it complete.

Going to go and hang out with my crochet hook, some yarn, and a great movie! I am going to watch The King's Speech. If you haven't seen I highly recommend it!

Until tomorrow.

2 Houses

So what is a girl to do when she finds not one but two houses that she likes??? I looked at our realtor when we found both of them, and said to her, "I like two houses, how does that work?" After having 8 no's, I didn't even know what to do with two YES's!!! When we came home yesterday night after seeing the two properties, we sat down and made pro/con lists about both of them. (I have to add here that Mate wanted to sleep on it and talk about them tomorrow, but if you know me at all, I just wouldn't stand for it!) Tomorrow we are taking my parents back to both houses to get their feedback on them, so that they can help us in our decision. I am so excited, nervous, anxious, etc. We could be homeowners soon!

Yikes!!!

Looking for a House

I am so excited to report that Mate and I are looking for a house. So far we have looked at 8 and have hated all of them. Tomorrow we are going to go and look at three more. I am hoping that one of them might be the one, otherwise we will have to look after we come back from Hungary. We are leaving for there soon, I am excited for our trip too. Lots of new changes going on in the Kramlik world. I can't wait for this next chapter of our life to start. I really feel like an adult now. It is a little crazy and scary all at the same time. I also can wait for the weather to finally get warm. We were teased a couple of days ago with nice warm weather in the 80s. Not sure what is in the forecast for this week, I sort of don't even want to look. I will probably just be disappointed anyway! I guess that is all for this entry but don't worry I promise not to stay away as long as I did last time.