I finished this shawl last night. It was an easy pattern to crochet. The pattern is Simply Shawl from Caron Yarns. I did not include the picot trim on the shells, because I used a different yarn (Patons Decor) than suggested in the pattern, and I decided that it was a bit too thick to make the delicate picot trim. I've bought some Malabrigo yarn to make another shawl for a Christmas gift.

This is my second full size afghan. I saw the 5 dc shell stitch in the book, The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller, and on the internet at Knitting Dragonflies. I wanted something to crochet while watching movies, and this stitch is very easy to remember. The appearance of this stitch can differ quite a bit by using different weight yarns and hooks. I used TLC Heathers acrylic 10 ply yarn and a size I hook for this afghan. It is very heavy. I will probably add a border to it eventually when I find the perfect color.

I went to an iLife workshop last Saturday through the Apple users group that I belong to. Jim Heid, the author of iLife 08, was the speaker. I learned so many things that I can do with iLife that I hadn't realized. One thing he showed us was how to create slide shows using photos and movies and importing them to iDvd, iMovie, or the internet. There are so many tutorials and tips in this book on how to get the most from iLife. The only problem I have now is finding the time!!

I have just found the most amazing desktop wallpaper site: Interfacelift.com. I must have spent over 30 minutes looking at wallpaper and saving it to my desktop. The download time was almost instantaneous and there are a variety of resolutions offered. The pictures are just gorgeous and you can specify whatever category you want. I really have to tear myself away from it because I do have things to do, but I'm looking forward to going back to look some more, as I like to change my wallpaper frequently. There's also instructions on how to submit your own pictures.

I received these flowers for Mother's Day. Lovely, aren't they? One of my favorite quotes about Mothers:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~ Tenneva Jordan: Motherhood Quotes

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms!!

I found an example (and pattern) of the 5 dc shell stitch on the internet at Knitting Dragonflies . The picture above is a portion of the afghan that I have started. It is 58 inches wide and I'm not sure how long it will be. I've used one skein and have six more, so it will be fairly large, I think. I'm using 100% acrylic yarn by TLC Heathers and a size H hook. I don't usually select 100% acrylic yarn, but the color matches my rug perfectly. If all goes well, I think I'll look for a blend of wool and acrylic for my next afghan.