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Thanks, @AliOop (if that's the worst thing you need to repent for, you're doing okay) and @KimW. I actually had to be talked into buying the house THAT HAD NO KITCHEN (oh, and then 4 COVID refugees came to live with us in a house THAT HAD NO KITCHEN) -- but now of course love it. Thankfully Mrs. Zing is much better at seeing potential than me.

I LOVE your landscaping- it really does compliment your house. You uncovered a gem when you tore out the bushes. I like your house too- cottage style is my favorite! I particularly like the cascading vines- sweet potato?
Yep, sweet potato vines which I love. Bad news is that the Japanese beetles also love sweet potato vines. :(
 
@Zing I too love your house and landscaping. I've seen you mention that the house had no kitchen before, but I guess I just thought that meant the kitchen wasn't functional. Did it truly have no kitchen - not even a roughed in one? If so, I really admire Mrs. Zing's ability to see potential.
 
@Zing I too love your house and landscaping. I've seen you mention that the house had no kitchen before, but I guess I just thought that meant the kitchen wasn't functional. Did it truly have no kitchen - not even a roughed in one? If so, I really admire Mrs. Zing's ability to see potential.
You want details? I'll give you details!

There was no stove. All the cupboards and the counter with sink were rotting off the wall. There was a functional fridge. "Good news" was it was covered in lovely paneling circa 1965! We had a design pre-COVID. One day we sent a cabinet maker a 5 figure check (gulp); next day COVID hit the state and we learned from the newspaper that the cabinet maker closed due to pandemic (thank you bank and attorney general for getting our money back). For months we did dishes in the basement utility sink and survived with a microwave and hot plate. The renovation closed off both kitchen and dining room. Renovation was fits and starts, thank you COVID. We said we were camping in our house. And I am well aware that we had an entirely first-world problem compared to my clients. I am grateful for a job and a roof. And the 6 of us had a great time shoulder to shoulder.

The previous owner was a 95 year old bachelor who did not redecorate since 1965. You saw our pink/purple/galaxy/mess bathroom, right? Good bones, just cosmetic work needed.

But now, truly we have the best kitchen and house in town. We have never had such a large, functional, beautiful kitchen. So nice, in fact -- to bring it back to soapiness -- that I won't make soap in the kitchen. Plus we have tons of pandemic stories to bore people with! :)
 
All I can do is a chain stitch. Anything I try to add onto that looks like a wad of knots 😂. Going to have to find someone to teach me right after I fix and redesign all of my jewelry...
If you can do the chain stitch, you can crochet. Everything else is just a variation on the chain stitch. You just have to learn where to insert the hook.

In knitting, you have the knit stitch and the pearl stitch; in crochet, you have the chain stitch. Those are the basics.

I've been doing both since I was a child of about 7 and have taught both. When I learned crochet, my mom made me (and my sisters) crochet a chain that was the entire length of our house. Once we were comfortable with the chain stitch, she taught us the rest.
 
And I am well aware that we had an entirely first-world problem compared to my clients.
I kind of love you for this.

Wow - what a story! My son and DIL bought a house in Mpls with a kitchen about the size of a postage stamp. Their renovation took nearly a year, but at least the kitchen sink was functional for most of the time. They made do as well with a microwave, crock pot, and instant pot. And the refrigerator was in the living room.
 
I never follow patterns. I find it easier to make stuff up as I go. I've made a few dolls and toys, both crochet and knitted, and I just don't have the patience for patterns. I should probably learn to follow them... eventually... some day...
Its fun to follow patterns and see your work come to look like the pretty blanket in the picture. I have never kept anything that i crocheted, so i have nothing to show you lol.

All this talk of crochet makes me want to start a new project. All I have is white yarn right now that i bought for a project that i never started. I have no idea what i did with that pattern, so i guess i can download something else.

Getting ready to start my new hours at work soon, so im gonna have more time to do stuff.
 
We said we were camping in our house.
Such fun, right? 🤣 our first night in our new house was on an inflatable sofa bed on a cement floor ;)
We had the same kinds of things going on - the "kitchen" was in a tiny space that had nothing left but a rotting boiler (literally, we tried to take it out and it disintegrated into a bunch of metal parts and a pool of rusty water!)
We ended up turning one of the bedrooms into a kitchen, or rather, back into a kitchen since it would have probably been that originally. Our cooking facilities wandered around the house for a long time until we stripped off the many years' worth of wallpaper (that was under the stud wall!) and got it back to stone and/or render...
 
There will come a time in the future when you may want to make "art" yarn and wish you could do the uneven spinning again. It takes a bit of unlearning once you get there. ;)
Isn't that the truth! I spin very fine (socks), but have been just letting the fiber do as it wills. Getting back to the standardized "slubs".
 

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