Stitches by Julie

In our crochet group within Etsy, we were asked which song most represents our life. One song came to mind immediately for me…probably sung by others but the version I am referring to is by Josh Groban…

I went through a difficult time 12 years ago as some of you know, being diagnosed with breast cancer and going through a separation and divorce at the same time. It was so hard, my family and friends were there for me, along with their loving support, God got me through it. My motto during that difficult time was “footprints in the sand” and I have a couple of plaques and a necklace with that imprinted on it. As the story goes, the ‘person’ asks God why when he went through the most difficult times in his life did God abandon him, because there is only one set of footprints, and God answers, “That’s when I carried you”. And that is exactly how I felt, looking back over that time in my life. This song says it all, He raised me up and made me more than I could be. I hope you can click on the link and it will take you to hear not only this beautiful song, but the awesome voice of Josh Groban.

Funny you should ask! But, before you get a little weirded out….I’m referring to my crochet hook!!!! Hahaha. Our Etsy Crochet Team posed the question to each member, and here’s my story.

When I was about 11, my friend Diane, who was 10….who had been taught to knit by her mother, I believe, showed me how to cast on and how to knit & purl. I was only able to practice at her house because we didn’t have money for yarn or needles. Nothing much happened after those first few lessons, but later in life, it came back to me! Then at age 15, in my Home Ec. class, I was watching a friend, Eileen, do something with yarn and a thing with a hook at the end of it. I watched her in total fascination. She used that hooky thing and – what looked like string and turned it into something amazing. I asked if she could show me how to do that and she did. Little did she know that during that one yr. when we were friends, she would teach me something that I would be doing and loving for the rest of my life!! I wish I could find her to tell her.

All I knew how to do was chain and single crochet. A family moved in across the street with 3 or 4 kids and they needed a babysitter….voila, here’s where I come in….a teenager right across the street. When I walked in, I could not believe all the cool stuff she had in her house, and all crocheted. I had never seen such beautiful things and asked if she could show me how. She informed me that she was too busy to teach me with all her kids but she gave me a book that showed all the stitches and some patterns….and the rest is history, shall we say! I will tell you that one of my first projects was a sweater for my brother….I was so proud of it but he never wore it. I think it had something to do with the neon green yarn I used….back then it wasn’t in fashion! But it was on sale and with only babysitting $$ for income, that was all I could afford. My projects have improved over time and now I sell on Etsy, in different shops and out of my home. I also taught myself how to knit, (recalling what I had learned so long ago from Diane) once I mastered crocheting. But have to admit that I still love working with that thing with a hook on the end of it the best! So….now you see, I’m a hooker….and I LOVE IT!

I hope you enjoyed my little story and looking at a few of my handmade items. As you can see in my examples, my son is modeling one of my beanies, so now people actually “wear” my stuff! To check out my Etsy store click here. If you click on each item above it will enlarge it, then just x-out to come back to this page. And please feel free to leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

I have an Etsy On-Line Store, see the link to the right of this page….stitchesbyjulie.etsy.com. Within Etsy there are many sellers, all handmade items, supplies and vintage items. There are many, many support groups. One of the groups that I belong to is the CreateCrochet Team. We are “doing” a fundraiser for Cancer, making chemo caps for young and old alike, all styles and colors and sending them to a fellow-crocheter in our group who will be walking in the Relay For Life this June, in Arizona. She has a booth and will be selling the items with all money raised going to The American Cancer Society. We have all been touched by cancer in one way or another…I am a 12 yr. breast cancer survivor myself and we just found out that a dear friend of ours from another of our Etsy groups was just diagnosed with breast cancer. Sometimes all we can do is pray and offer support, sometimes we can use the talents that God blessed us with to help and that’s what we’re doing. Here are a few that I am sending and I will be adding more….

THIS BLOGGER’S GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Lisa, from ‘A Whimsical Bohemian’ created this blogging event in 2007 to bring bloggers from around the world together. We can interact, discover wonderful people and even win a prize. That 1st year there were 85-90 participants. In 2008 it nearly tripled & in 2009 there were 911 participants from 28 different countries!

We give from our hearts. We may not solve the worlds problems or find cures but we are – making a difference – one person at a time. We are creating a closer community with people near & far…through blogging.

Hello from South Texas, U.S.A. I live in Corpus Christi, on N. Padre Island. This is so exciting, a Magic Carpet Ride and with that in mind I am going to be giving away the following items – -1. an 8 oz. “Ocean Mist” soy travel candle – - 2. a kitchen hand towel with butterflies – - 3. a bar of my “Rice Flower & Shea” handmade soap, and – - 4. a giclee print of my pastel “Serenity Beach”. These are 4 separate gifts. See pictures of them at the bottom.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment at the end of this blog, it’s open to all. The giveaway begins on Jan. 25, 2010 & will end Feb. 15, 2010, at 4 p.m., central time. In your comment please leave a way for me to be able to contact you, i.e. email, facebook, twitter, etc., if you’re a winner. If you are one of the OWOH participants, please leave your ticket#. Good Luck everybody! I am going to let my grandson pick the winners.

A few facts about me….

**I’m single, a mother of 3 and a grandmother of 2.

To see a list of participants click here and look at the right side bar.

I don’t mean to be glib but I am pretty darn excited as I am free after babysitting for the past 4+ years for my grandkids! I love them to pieces but it never left any time for ME. I was able to do some knitting and crocheting in the evenings but I never had time to get into pastels, or paint. When I worked on some things for my Parish Religous ed. classes, the baby wanted to get into everything. A couple of times I found him on a chair with a paint brush in hand dipping it into the water container! It was so cute but I feared for his safety first as he didn’t know how to GET OFF chairs yet. Anyway, I hope to find more time for that, and yard work and cleaning, blah-blah-blah.

My oldest grandson is 8 and is in school full-time. He is such a great kid, very smart and quite the chatter-box. He ‘came to us’ at age 3 1/2 and didn’t even want me to touch him, just his new mom…my daughter. We’ve come along way as he now runs to me and hugs me and tells me he misses me.

My baby grandson came to us at 4 mos. and is now 2 1/2 and I’ve been babysitting for him full-time while my daughter finished up on her degree and is now a 3rd grade teacher. He calls me gamma now, but he used to call me ‘munny’, which no one could figure out why. My son said it was a good omen (spelled money)! HaHa. He is now going to full-time daycare and I do miss him very much. I get to see them for a short time after school some days. He loves gamma’s house and after running into my arms and giving me a big kiss and hug he asks for ‘fooot’, (fruit) because gamma’s always got something special. And the next words are “BARNEY”!

I am going to put a couple of pics up of those 2 sweeties.

Lastly, my son moved out to L.A., to continue his acting. He just left 2 days ago and I miss him already…we are such good buddies. I kept walking around the house saying to myself “this sucks”, tears streaming at will. It’s tough watching them go off on their own. He lived in H-town for 2 years while at University of Houston but we could just jump in the car and visit and now it’s a plane trip. Life.

Evan & Dominic after a popsicle

Evan ‘foiting with brudder’, Dominic

Evan & Dominic on Grammy’s Park Bench

Evan on Grammy’s Patio