WIP Wednesday

Here's my crochet progress over the last week:

I'm plugging along with the granny stripe afghan. I try to add two rows a day. It's not a gift for anyone right now, so it's low priority.

I'm almost done with the Drop in the Pond lapghan. This one is really fun; I highly recommend it.
I haven't made any discernible difference in the 2nd yo yo blanket or the polka dot afghan so I don't have any pictures of those.

I did make another scarf, though. This is the Cascade scarf. It's very pretty and I like how it turned out.

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Two Tuesday

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. Goodies in the mail. I ordered some Melonberry and Sunshine Print yarn from Red Heart (two colors I can't find in any store), and they arrived yesterday. The fun part now is figuring out what to make with them.

2. Simple projects that can be made in a couple of hours. I love making afghans, but the monotony can wear on the nerves. I took a break from big projects last night and made this scarf in about 3 hours. The pattern can be found here. Unlike the pattern, I used regular weight yarn and a G hook.

Two patterns I think are neat:

1. Tis the Season Throw from the Red Heart website.

2. Cascade Scarf from the blog A Little Slice of Life.

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Finished Yo Yo Afghan and Christmas Cards

I finally finished the first yo yo afghan today!

It measures 48" by 58". I'm really happy with how it turned out.
I also made my last 10 Christmas cards in our monthly Stampin Up card class. We made 5 of each design.

Sorry Blogger flipped the picture sideways. The top one is my favorite because it's a real 3D snow globe.
I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend.

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Shopping, Crashes and Christmas OH MY!

Shopping

After a most enjoyable Thanksgiving spent with good friends, we braved the crowds and went Black Thursday and Friday shopping. I felt a little guilty shopping Thursday; I really think stores should be closed on Thanksgiving so people can be with their families. We apologized to every store employee we saw. No electronic gadgets on the lists this year, so we didn't have to wait in lines, and we managed to get everything we wanted from each store. Success!

This was our big find: an art table for Hope, normally $180, on sale for $90, but when we added a 30% off coupon, only $63.

 Crashes

Don't worry, we weren't in a crash. We spent last night watching crashes at the Orlando Speedworld Crash-a-rama. It's a crazy event that comes along twice a year.People race cars with campers or boat trailers attached, cars without back tires, and cars driven in reverse. There's a demolition derby, stunts and a race involving school buses on a figure eight track.  We always have a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures.

Christmas

Today was decoration day. We put up the tree and some of the inside decorations.

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Blessings :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

WIP Wednesday

Because I've been working on washcloths and slippers for the last week, I've made only a little progress on my three large projects. However, my self-imposed ban to not start another large project until I finished one ended yesterday (I knew it would).

I started a granny stripe afghan last night using Soft Yellow, Frosty Green, Lavender, Light Blue, and Monet in Red Heart Super Saver. So far, I have 8 rows.

I started the Drop in the Pond Lapghan tonight using Eggplant in Vanna's Choice and some medium purple and light purple I picked up at Big Lots.

I also started another pair of slippers using Amethyst and Candy Print. I have found happy homes for all the slippers I've made in the last two weeks, with the exception of one pair, so I decided to keep making them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow! Eat lots of good food, surround yourself with loved ones, and remember to give thanks for all things in your life, big and small. I'm thankful for all of you!

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Two Tuesday

Thanks for the use of the picture, Debi :-)

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. I'm done with my Thanksgiving shopping. It was scary at the stores yesterday and today, but I'm finally all ready for Turkey Day!

2. The cleaning ladies came today and cleaned the house. This is a fabulous luxury we decided to indulge in about a month ago; they come once every two two weeks. The house is squeaky clean and ready for guests.

Two patterns I think are neat:

1. Shell and V-Stitch Round Ripple
can be found here.

2. Granny Stripe Afghan
can be found here.

Today's Inspiration

Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

More Slippers and Washcloths

I spent the morning scrapbooking with my friend, Sarah. We did more talking than working, however, and only managed to make 4 pages each in 5 hours. Not our best efforts :-) But it was nice to visit.
I made another pair of slippers; these are for my friend, Amanda's, mom.

I also made another two washcloths.

I've enjoyed working on the smaller projects. Now, I'm ready to go back to work on the big ones. The weather's been gray and chilly the last couple of days; perfect for working on a warm, snuggly blanket :-)

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Busy Saturday

Yesterday was so busy, I'm just now getting around to posting about it! I love this time of year because there's so much to do. It feeds my manic spirit.

I felt Betty Crocker-ish in the morning, so I made a pumpkin pie and a batch of Puppy Chow (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's Chex cereal covered with chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar.). My niece and nephew came over for the afternoon; while they played with Hope, I cleaned and organized the Florida room. 

I know it still looks messy, but it's A LOT better. You can actually walk in there now and get anything from the shelves or bins. It's a hard room to keep clean because it's small and we store everything in there: my library, Hope's school stuff, my craft supplies, my jewelry supplies, coats and umbrellas, and the dog crate. But if it's messy, it really bothers me because it's the first room you see when you walk in the house.

I also organized my scrapbooking supplies on these shelves. Now I can see what I have and find a specific item when I need it. Amazing!

I made a couple of washcloths yesterday. Tim wants to keep these; he's always complaining we never have enough because I give away all I make.

After my niece and nephew left, we went to see ICE at the Gaylord Palms hotel. It's a big arena they set up every year with 2 million pounds of carved ice. The irony was not lost on me; my family up north complains about the snow and ice while we pay to see it! We had a really great time; we're grateful we live in Florida where it's warm!

Here are a few pictures I took; remember, all the carvings are ice. It's truly a work of art.

Marty, Melman and Gloria from Madagascar

Lemurs from Madagascar

Statue of Liberty

Hope going down the ice slide

Madagascar penguins

Fruitman

Tim and Hope in front of the ice waterfall. The blue coats were provided; it was 9 degrees in there!

This was my favorite part: the ice Nativity scene.

We left there and went to dinner. By the time we got home, it was after midnight. What a day!

Hope and I rested today while Tim cleaned his shed. That's another monster project! We're leaving for the art festival in Kissimmee in a little while, then Walmart and Big Lots. 

I hope you've had a busy, wonderful weekend!

Today's Inspiration

 

Thanks for reading.

Blessings :-)

Shopping and Slippers

Christmas is 38 days away! Scary, isn't it?

I had a doctor's appointment today. Hope decided to stay home, so I used this rare opportunity to do some Christmas shopping for her on my way home. I bought her a rug for her room, pajamas, art supplies and a couple small toys from Target. Then I stopped at Michaels and bought her some beading supplies (her new favorite hobby). Of course, I had to check out the yarn while I was there.

Country Loom was half price so I grabbed four skeins in Nobility, a color I've never seen before. I also picked up two skeins of Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Claret. My friend, Amanda, wants me to make her mom a pair of slippers for Christmas.

Speaking of slippers, I took a little break from my three big projects and made two pairs of slippers in the last couple of days.

I'll put these in the gift drawer with the other two pair. No one will have cold feet this winter :-)

Today's Inspiration

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Blessings :-)

Kindle Woes

Has anyone else had problems with Kindle?

In January, I bought my first Kindle. It had the 3G Wireless and was a really good deal, probably because it was white. I discovered very quickly how dirty it got.

A few months ago it started giving me problems. The screen froze a lot and I had to reset the system all the time. The battery wouldn't hold a charge. This past Friday, it died. After a five minute online chat session with Amazon, it was determined I needed a new one. They sent it immediately free of charge.

It arrived on Tuesday. After charging for 24 hours without any response, I started to think the new one had problems too. When it finally woke up, I wasn't able to download my books from the archive. And then it froze up. I called Amazon this time; after a five minute discussion, during which the Kindle woke up and then froze again permanently, it was decided I needed another new one. They sent it immediately free of charge.

My newest one arrived today. I'm happy to report it works great. Unfortunately, all 2,245 of my Kindle books are in the archive and must be re-downloaded to the device. One at a time. But at least it's black and won't get quite so dirty so quickly. Electronics are fun.

Today's Inspiration

Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)