Wednesday, January 7, 2015

A little this and that...........

Here it is Wednesday already.  School started back up yesterday for my kids, well the ones at home anyway.  I was back to work on Monday although I worked three days each week of the Holidays so I don't feel like a had a big break.  There were a few more days to sleep in though and for that I am thankful.

My lovely computer is now in the computer hospital in intensive care.  I am not happy.  Apparently there are big computer viruses now that invade your computer and take up all the memory.  They then bond with other computers and target a major business like Google, Microsoft or Sony (think North Korea here).  And that is what happened to my poor baby who I use for email, work, blogging, Pinterest and Ravelry.   The email I opened was from Walgreens a drug store near our home.  This was forwarded to me by my husband who of course assumes I use his email address (I don't) and wasn't sure what it was for.  As he did not open it he is safe, but because he sent it to me I did, and well there you have it I became infected.  My lovely computer doctor told me he has seen this many times with documents from UPS, so don't open those even if you have shipped something recently.

So my learning continues on this MacBook.  I am still not in love with it although the portability of it is nice.  I can't figure out how to pin things on Pinterest, I can't get to the category I want on my list.  I can do that on my iPad if I ever get the time so that is not a big issue.


Do you remember the green blanket I started last year?  It was the SmoothFox's Amethyst Square.  I really loved the pattern but it just took way too much thought, well thought and counting.  I did not seem to be able to get it right and frankly by the time I can sit down and count my brain is fried.  I ripped out the three completed squares on Jan. 1, and started over.


I decided that I needed easy, as in easy peasy, so I took a look around Ravelry and found this the Crazy Granny Square by Melinda Miller.  This is just the thing I was looking for.  Something easy and fun, but also fast.  My attention wanders big time when I am making a blanket.


I have now completed 10 of the circular middles.  I am going to try and make 12 squares in a row before I let my mind wander to another crochet project.  I am hoping each square will be 12 x12, and I will be crocheting them together as I go along.  Possibly 5 squares across and 7 long.  


I have a baby blanket to make by late Spring.  My husband's nephew and his wife are expecting their first child and they are waiting till the very end to find out if it is a boy or girl.  I love that!  I did the same thing with my two oldest and it was the best surprise ever.  I already had the yarn for this baby blanket in my stash.  Leftover white from an African Flower Baby Blanket and the green is from a sweater I was going to make a few years ago.  It happens to be the same brand so it should be perfect.   White centers and green outside, every square the same, what so you think? 


I am not sure how my blog is looking as I am seeing it on a little screen.  And I am not at all sure how the pictures look as the iPhoto thing is confusing to me.  Hopefully I will be up and running tomorrow with my old computer back to its healthy self.  I have a lot of work to do and all of my files are on it so I need it back soon.

Oh and I better get moving on my Lady Kina before Kathy B kicks my knitting behind, she is going great guns on hers.

Hope you are having a great week.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE those colors for the baby blanket and I LOVE that they are waiting to know what sex the baby will be. Too COOL and SO retro.

My doctor guessed I was having a boy and towards the end I dreamed Stephen was a boy ...but we didn't KNOW until his birthday.

Stins said...

Your blog still looks fine, and so does your crochet :-)!
Hope your computer comes out of hospital soon....
Love from Mirjam.

linda said...

Your blog looks fine Meredith and I'm glad your computer will soon be better. I like the sound of your blanket and the colours sound perfect, making anything granny is always lovely to do. :) xx

Home Meadows said...

The baby blanket sounds perfect for spring and the green is a great color for a girl or a boy. Your blanket is really pretty with the motifs, I like the earthy greens. Hope you have a great day and that your computer "gets better" soon. :-) Heather

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I hate computer a virus! My daughter has me using a Chrome Book and so I don't get infections like that. Love the yarn colors. So pretty!
hugs,
Linda

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Oopsie! Hope your computer is fixed very soon. I never click on ads or unusual links in emails. For not knowing what you are doing, your blog looks fine. I should work on baby blankets as there are a few teachers at school who are expecting. But I don't think I have enough of any one yarn to be able to actually make a blanket, so that would mean more yarn shopping. :) Looks like the crazy granny is coming right along. Best wishes, Tammy

mamasmercantile said...

I didn't know the sex of any of my girls, so it was a wonderful surprise but then baby clothes back then were mainly white/cream so it didn't really matter. The crochet blanket is really growing quite quickly, well done you.

gilly said...

Aw, that's so annoying... boo to those pesky viruses :-( But your blog looks as fab as always, and your projects-in-the-making look lovely too. Hope you get your computer back soon,
hugs xx

kathyinozarks said...

yes your blog and photos look fine-I am no computer whiz so I get so unhappy with things like that. hubbys computer got hit with a major virus of some sort and doesn't know what he opened to get it-a real pain for sure. it wiped out all his email contacts too-Norton was able to get those back for him after an hour or so
I love the colors for the baby quilt-that will be soft and lovely. and I am with you sometimes easy is best so don't have to think too hard-I do that when I want to make a simple quilt I have a go to pattern I love.
enjoy your wednesday-bitter cold and windy here-wildlife all fed and the firewood is in the house

Una said...

Thanks for the reminder about viruses. It looks like your repair man will be able to sort things out now.

Christina said...

We recently had to send a computer to computer heaven because it was unfixable. Good luck with yours, I hope you'll get it back tomorrow. I am not keen on thinking and counting in the evening, just like you. That's why I am making a boring ripple blanket for my daughter. I hope that there will be a baby in our family sometime soon! I like baby blankets because they are small. Have a lovely rest of the week. x

kathy b said...

NOt to worry. I have to put it down a bit due to the weight and just do a little a day! BUT I love it. Im only 8 cm in.

I'm sorry the VIRUS got your computer. SO unfair. I will heed your UPS advice. THANK YOU . You are sparing the rest of us.

The baby blanket is going to be beautiful MERE!

byhooks4u said...

computer issues suck..I thought I was gonna have to go to the computer doc too as my computer was running really funny..so I just got in touch with microsoft as they are the anti virus i use and they fixed it quickly for me. Love the look of that yarn..it looks really soft. Have a great week

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

Those crazy grannies are fab! The green and white will be lovely I'm sure.
I use the blogger app on my iPad to post, I do have to fiddle with the hrml for the photo widths but I do that on the laptop too, and it might be down to the template I use. Anyway, your posts don't look any different so something's working!
Jillxo

Pammy Sue said...

Oh, what a pain! Sorry you are dealing with a virus. I'm loving the blanket yarn you are using...love those colors and the pattern you switched to. Interested to see what pattern you use for the baby blanket. Babies are so fun to crochet for.

Betsy said...

I'm sorry to hear about your computer problems. I really do NOT understand what is wrong with the world and why people do the things they do. Sad. But your crocheting is lovely. I like the circles for the squares you're making. I think it will be a very nice blanket. The colors for the baby blanket are perfect. I didn't know with any of our children if they would be a boy or girl. We just didn't know back then. The surprise was wonderful.

Your blog looks beautiful as always but I know you'll be happy to have your own computer back.

Blessings,
Betsy

Babajeza said...

Back on track after the festive season also for me. I should have gone to bed .... Regula

CJ said...

Your blog is looking lovely as ever. The blanket will be gorgeous, every square the same will be perfect. Wishing you lots of happy knitting time this week. CJ xx

elns said...

The blog is fantastic as always. I'm sorry about your computer. Viruses and just maintenance in general sucks. I can't wait to see your granny come together.

Sandy said...

We got that eat up your memory malware on my Hubby's PC. He's contained it but doesn't think he fixed it. Evil people out there. I have an Apple MacBook Pro laptop and I added a button at the top bar that is a "pin it". It works great too. Love your motif and colors for your throw. Can't wait to see it done.

Amy at love made my home said...

I hope that your computer is OK, your post is fine! I look forward to seeing more of the blanket, I like the circle in a square idea and great use of the yarn that you didn't like in the other project! xx

Caffeine Girl said...

Your blog looks totally normal! You are doing just fine on the Mac -- proving my deep believe that Mac is superior in all ways! :) I have to use a PC at work and it makes me crazy!

I love the granny square blanket. Must learn crochet one of these days!

Karen said...

Sending get well wishes for your computer. The colors for the baby blanket are perfect! I love that they are going to wait to find out what they're having.

Your blog looks fabulous as always:)

Kris said...

What a pain about your computer. Hope it is back to you soon.
Love the circles. I always love to see what you are up to.
Nice to have a baby's gender be a surprise these days. All of ours were!
XO Kris

Grammy Braxton said...

Well that just stinks about your computer. It is really hard to do work on something you are not use to. I'm hoping you get yours back soon and get caught up on your work. I think the blanket squares are going to be sweet and I love the white and green for the baby blanket.

Your blog is looking fine, so no worries there. Hang in there, Meredith.

Hugs,
Sharon

Teresa Kasner said...

I'm so sorry about your computer. One thing about Macs is they are pretty immune from viruses. I hope they can save your data! It's neat that you have some fun crochet projects to enjoy in the coming days. I have one more guinea pig to crochet! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Chris said...

Computers......ackkkkk!! We have a new laptop and I can't access my blogger dashboard. Grrrrr. Hope you up and running again soon on your computer, your blog looks great! Your new blanket will be awesome, I love the colours you are using!

My Garden Diaries said...

I hope you get your computer back soon...Yuck....I have heard about all of that and can only imagine how frustrating it is. Thanks for the tips on what to look out for. Love those precious buds up there! And your pieces in the round are spectacular. We have had yesterday and today off school as our temperatures are too cold for the kids to go to school. Wishing you a great end to the week and a wonderful weekend! Nicole xoxo OH and your blog looks great with your new computer!

Gracie Saylor said...

Ugh....that's all I have to type about computer problems. You have my sympathy. It will be fun for me to see how your latest projects develop and I hope you will have fun making them :-) xx PS How can the author deem Crazy Granny Squares a beginner level pattern???

gaia said...

Hello. Meredith!
I hope you have your computer back real fast; it is really a tough life without one :)
Crazy granny square project sounds like a great project and green and white for a baby are just the colours I would have picked myself.
Your blog is a s beautiful as ever...
Hugs,
Gaia.

Jo said...

All great quality blogging from this side of my screen so don't worry there. Morning Meredith! I think blankets are good projects for the winter, You are going to have some corkers there. Jo x

Tanna said...

Love the budding blanket in the basket!! I'm all for simple these days and I think the baby blanket is perfect for a "surprise" baby. Seems hardly anyone waits anymore. How fun! I sympathize with the computer woes. Hope yours is up and running SOON! BTW, the geranium buds are GORGEOUS! blessings ~ tanna

Anonymous said...

I love that granny square and the colors are great! I've been crocheting a lot lately as my knitting is just not being my friend! LOL!
I will have a post up on my blog soon that will explain why I've been away from it for several weeks...
Hope it is nice and toasty there in Fl. it is very brrrrr here right now. It is going down to -7 tonight and the high is supposed to be 10!!! Eeeek!
Hugs and hope you are well my dear friend,
Beth P

Ingrid K. said...

Hello Mere,

What a lovely blog post (nothing wrong with it!).

Sorry to hear that the problems with the computer was a nasty one, hope it will be fixed very soon!

I was wondering about your green blanket just yesterday! :)

Glad to see you found a nice pattern for it!

Happy crocheting!!!
Ingrid xx
http://myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

Unknown said...

Your blog is great as usual, and your crochet looks promising, can't wait to see the finished project! : )
Wish you a belated Happy New Year! xx

Ljubinka said...

Lovely granny squares,will be a nice blanket!
Techniques.:/
Many greetings.:*

Kaiya said...

So sorry to hear about your computer! My computer died as well the day before yesterday - it's very frustrating, even if you still have accress to all yor stuff, because any other computer you use just doesn't feel as familiar and welcoming. Your blog still looks great though! Hope your computer recovers soon.

Carla from The River said...

Your blog looks very good.

My husbands co worker and friend, got hit with a similar computer virus.
Hope your computer is up and well soon.

Carla from The River said...

Hi,
Your blog looks great. I think it is cool how your son lets mom work on his computer. ;-)

My husband has a co worker and a friend who got the same type of virus.

Hope your computer is well soon.
Carla

Needles and Wool said...

Hi Meredith! your post looks great! good to hear that everyone going back to school and work went well. That is coming up next week for me, back to University for me after a month away...
I love the crazy granny square it looks great! hope you and your family are doing well ! :)
Lisa

handmade by amalia said...

Hope your computer gets better soon, I'd be lost without mine, and totally feel your pain :-)
The knitting looks great, lovely and low-tech
Amalia
xo

Heldasland said...

Poor computer. I had a similar event that resulted in computer totally dead. I cried for days. I hadn't backed it up and I lost all my data. I know the crying might sound silly to some but it had all my designs on it.Days and days hours and hours of hard work gone.
I love your squares I cant wait for the big reveal.Have a lovely weekend

Handmade and off-centered said...

I think you made a great choice ripping the old squares and starting new ones with this fun pattern. I can´t wait to see how it will come together. Your blog looks good and the pictures are in order and not all over the place lol Just if you cared for some feedback.

I hope you have your computer back. I get all turned around with macs as well. Have a great weekend! I hope you get a good rest.

Birgitta xx

Crystal Rose Cottage said...

Hi Meredith, just checking in. Looks like you are in the swing of things for a new year. Frigid cold here the past few days but it keeps me inside to do some organizing and purging of "stuff" that is cluttering our lives. During my breaks I have been working on my lazy wave blanket I started a while back. I am also practicing African Flower block because I want to make a table runner for my dining room. I made a lot of hats and neck warmers last month and they have come in handy! Hubby is down with a virus right now so I figure it's just a matter of time for me. Hope your new year is a happy and healthy one for you and yours! Hugs, Patti