Grandchildren – The Crochet Architect

I have some exciting news for you today! Two weeks ago, I went to Berne, Indiana to film 2 new crochet videos for Annie’s! I can’t tell you yet what the topics of the 2 videos are, but I can tell you that they should be ready for release around the end of November or beginning of December! Yahoo!!! I’m super excited about both of these videos and I hope you’ll enjoy taking a look at them in a month or two! After they’re released, I’ll share a link to the videos and blog about both of them. But consider this “fair warning” that my new videos will be available very soon!

Here are some photos of me before and after makeup/hairstyle at the Annie’s studio:

There’s not as drastic of a change in my looks for these 2 videos as there was over 6 years ago for my other 2 Annie’s crochet videos (see the previous blog post with makeup photos here). I think the makeup artist did a very nice job! What do you think?

Before the videos, I spent many weeks working on my fingernails and cuticles to get them ready for the videos (you really don’t want to watch me demonstrating with my “regular” nails and cuticles!). Here’s what they looked like for the videos:

My fingernails never look this nice on a regular basis (without lots of hard work) because I live in a dry climate (Arizona), I do a lot with my hands and I tend to pick at my cuticles! This is how they usually look:

As you can see, my fingers are starting to get a little twisted due to age and the fact that arthritis runs in my family. But as long as they keep working so I can still crochet, knit, do bobbin lace and tatting, I’m a happy camper!

I have some other very exciting news to share with you today, too! I’m a Grandma again! My middle son and daughter-in-law had baby #2 the day after I flew to Indiana to film the videos (I had to wait “patiently” until I returned home to see him, which was very hard)! I’d like to introduce you to my grandson, Ryker:

Here’s my 2 grandchildren, Rubekah and Ryker wearing the crochet football hats that I made them:

And here are the 3 of us enjoying some “Grandma” time together:

I’ve been pretty quiet here on my blog and on social media in general for several reasons: 1) it took lots of time to prepare for the 2 videos, 2) I’ve gone on 3 business trips and one personal/anniversary trip this year, 3) I’ve been crocheting for my new grandson and 4) I’ve been enjoying my 2 grandchildren!

If you’d like to see some of the other projects I’ve made for my new grandson (and 2 year old granddaughter), check out my projects page on Ravelry here. I’ve crocheted a lot of baby booties and baby hats (some of the booties went to my husband’s best friend’s oldest daughter, who is due to have her first child/son in a few months)! Baby booties and hats are both great projects for new babies because they’re quick, they don’t take much yarn and they look great! I had a little trouble with my gauge and with the finished sizes, but that’s okay. I can always donate the booties or hats that came out too small to my local pregnancy center or my local hospital (for preemies). I had a good time crocheting each project and sometimes that’s more important than the finished project (the enjoyment we get from the creative process and the relaxation that crocheting provides!).

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at what I’ve been up to lately. I look forward to sharing more of my crochet news with you very soon!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

Less than a week ago, I was in Beijing, China, for a very good reason! I’m a grandma now!!! It is with great excitement that I announce the arrival of my first grandchild, Rubekah!

I left for Beijing on May 31, arriving there on June 1st. Because of the 15 hour difference between Arizona and Beijing and the 10-11 hour flight from the US to Beijing, I lost a day (but I got it back when I returned to Arizona last Thursday)! My middle son and daughter-in-law have been expecting their first child for 9 months and 3 out of 4 of their parents were there for the big occasion (my husband had to stay behind to go to work)! Her due date was around June 10th, so we booked our flights to return to AZ on June 16th. However, it appeared that she wasn’t going to come on time, so my DIL’s mom and I looked into extending our stays so we wouldn’t miss her birth. Then unexpectedly, my DIL’s water broke last Monday, June 13th, in the early afternoon. So we all headed to the hospital that was quite a distance from the university they’re attending in Beijing! My son and DIL took a taxi and the 3 of us grandparents took the subway to the international hospital. My DIL was in labor for 8 hours and gave birth to my adorable granddaughter around 10:20 pm that same day!

Rubekah is here now and I couldn’t be more pleased! She’s so cute and has stolen my heart! I only had 2 full days with her before I headed home last Thursday, so I got in as much baby time as I could. My husband and I will be going out to Beijing again in the Fall and I’ll get more of my “baby fix” then! Here’s a photo of me holding Rubekah with that “I’m so glad I’m a grandma” look on my face!:

As you probably already know, I’ve been knitting and crocheting for my first grandchild for months! Here are some of the many projects I’ve made for her: