Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl

I had the thought the other day "Are there any local yarn stores near me?". We have the big box stores in Orlando, but I've never seen any little yarn shops. So I went to good ol' Google and discovered something that looked very intriguing:

On their website, http://www.orangeblossomyarncrawl.com/, they list 8 yarn stores in Florida that are participating. You print out a "passport" and take it to each store anytime from March 1 to March 10 (they are promoting it for mostly this weekend and next, but you can stop by anytime they're open). You get a stamp from that store on your passport. When you have all 8, you turn the passport into the last store you visit for a chance to win an awesome prize basket! Pretty cool, huh?

With the exception of the one in Kissimmee (about 45 minutes away from me), each store is an hour to an hour and a half. That's a lot of driving! Luckily, several are very close to each other, so I've managed to break it down into three trips on three days. I think that way I'll use the least amount of gas.

Tomorrow's trip:

Four Purls Yarn Shop in Winter Haven

Needlecraft World in Kissimmee (this one surprised me because I thought it was just a cross stitch store, but they've recently added yarn and hooks to their inventory)

Saturday's trip:
Knit! in Longwood

Sip & Knit in Maitland

The Black Sheep in Orlando (the sad part is I've driven by Mills Avenue lots of times and never been on it!)

Wednesday's trip (March 6)

Knit and Stitch in Cocoa

The Knitty Gritty in Vero Beach

The Ball of Yarn in Ormond Beach (no website)

Each store will be having special sales during the yarn crawl along with their own prize basket drawings. I think this is going to be a lot of fun! Because I'm going alone (my two local friends who crochet aren't available), I'm going to take lots of pictures so it's like all of you came with me :-)

On our marks...

Get set...

Let's do the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Thursday Tickle

WIP Wednesday

OK, maybe WIP Thursday is a better title; it'll be Thursday in two minutes.

I finally finished the squares for the polka dot blanket. 

And I finished the roses; I think I made 8 this week.

I finished the light blue round on the Wool Eater.

And made more squares for the Placemats. I'm trying not to let all the long loose ends drive me crazy; I know I'll be grateful for them when I start sewing the squares together.

I made more granny squares (16 more and I'm done!) and more yo yo's (98 more to the end!), but I didn't take pictures of those. 

And that's it! A lot of basic crochet this week :-)

Tomorrow (or later today, if you prefer), I'll let you know about an adventure I'll be going on during the next week: The Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl. Without Googling it, any guesses as to what it is?

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration

Giveaway Winner Announced!

What time is it?

It's time to announce the winner of my 50 followers giveaway!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered; if you didn't win, I'm sorry, but we'll do another giveaway soon.

I do my giveaways very scientifically and professionally: I put your names on slips of paper and put them in a bowl.

Then I draw out a name (very scientific and professional, remember?)

Our winner is......

Thank you, Blogger, for once again flipping my picture.

TAMMY65 from LTB!!!!

Congratulations, Tammy!! Please email your address to bookworm187@earthlink.net. You have one week to claim your prize, and I want to get it mailed to you as soon as possible.

I'll be back later tonight with my WIP post. 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Two Tuesday, Stashbuster #9 and Granny Squares

Don't forget! If you haven't already entered my giveaway, there's still time! Just leave a comment on this post telling me you want the prize. You have until I post tomorrow.

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. My job. I really like what I do. It's fun to get dressed up, play in jewelry and eat snacks. And when it's all over, someone has new bling for free. Of course, it has it's problems, too (what job doesn't), but it enables me to be a stay at home mom and homeschool Hope, two things I will always be grateful for.

2. Shopping with Hope. This one's because of number 1; before we met with one of my hostesses today, Hope and I went to Kohl's for a quick shopping trip. She picked up a new shirt and pair of pants. I didn't find anything I liked, but it was still a lot of fun.

Two patterns I think are neat:

1.Crochet Shamrock Garland from Skip to My Lou.
2. Four Leaf Clover Throw from Red Heart.

Stashbuster #9

I finished the Subway Scarf last night ( pattern here). I have to admit it came out pretty good; I had my reservations about how it would look. I didn't do the last repeat because I thought it was wide enough, and I made the fringe in color B instead of A. I just hope my friend likes it; his birthday is tomorrow, so we'll see :-) I used one skein of Loops and Threads Impeccable in Amethyst and a little over 1 skein in True Grey.

Granny Square a Week

I'm almost caught up on these. I've decided to give them numbers instead of dates; the closer I get to 52, the closer I get to finishing.

Granny Square #4

Sunburst Granny Square

This pattern from Priscilla's Crochet was fun to make, and I got to practice making the puff stitch. It kind of looks like a chrysanthemum. More flowers!

Granny Square #5

Rippling Loops Square

This pattern from DragonFlyMomof2Designs was interesting. She gives very detailed directions, so it was pretty easy. I like the lacy look it has. The neat thing is, I think you could easily continue working the square until it becomes a blanket.

Granny Square #6

Wiggles Square

This pattern comes from one of my favorite blogs, Dly's Hooks and Yarns. It's been on my to make pile forever, and I'm really glad I finally got to it. It was very quick and easy to make, and a lot of fun, too.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration

Unfinished Friday and an Award

That's right; I haven't finished anything this week. Oh, well; there's always next week :-)

Lydia over at Crochet Addict CFS has given me the Super Sweet Blogging Award! How sweet! (Corny pun definitely intended :-)

I have to answer 5 questions:

1. Cookies or cake?

Cookies.

2. Vanilla or Chocolate?

Chocolate. Can never have too much!

3. What is your favorite sweet treat?

Hershey's Little Miniatures, especially the dark chocolate ones

4. When do you crave sweet things the most?

All the time!

5. If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be?

Cookie; that's what I like to bake the most.

Now, I have to send this award to 12 "Bakers" who I think are sweet. I hate this part! I follow so many wonderful blogs, it's hard to choose. I truly believe you ALL deserve this award :-)

OK, I've narrowed it down to 12 (not an easy task!). Some of these are old favorites, some are new favorites. Some are new blogs, some have been around a while. Try to visit them all, especially if they are new to you, and say hi.

Dly's Hooks and Yarns 

The Good Life 

One Dog Woof 

The Stitchin Mommy 

Aurora Blythe 

Andamento 

Sue Webb 

Signed With an Owl 

Diaper Mum 

Not Your Average Crochet 

Fresh Off My Hook 

From the Hearth Room 

If you don't accept awards, that's OK; just know I enjoy reading your blog and think you're really sweet :-)

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration

 

WIP Wednesday and a Giveaway

The fair wore me out more than I thought; I've spent the last two days sleeping! I've done a good amount of work too; the contacts I picked up at the fair have required a lot of follow up.

Giveaway details first! During the last few hectic weeks, my little blog passed the 50 followers mark. 50! I never thought it would get that high.

Simple rules: be a follower and leave a comment on this post only telling me you'd like the prize. I'll do the drawing next Wednesday the 27th, and you'll have one week to claim your goodies.

So what's up for grabs?

2 skeins of Red Heart Boutique Sashay yarn and a P hook 

6 handmade cards for spring

4 Rose in Bloom dishcloths

and a sparkly 4 leaf clover embellishment because I'm so lucky to have all of you!

On the hook this week is Stashbuster # 8: The Wool Eater. This one's going to take awhile, but I'm putting it in the stashbuster category because I'm only using stash yarn. 

I'm also working on Stashbuster #9: Subway Scarf. I thought this looked neat, and it's perfect for my friend's birthday next week. He travels to work very early in the morning and often says he needs a scarf, and his favorite color is purple.

And then there's Stashbuster #10: Place mats. Inspired by the Little Squares Doll Blanket made by Lucy at Attic 24. It looks like a bright cheery place mat, and I love any type of linens. So I'm making tiny little one round granny squares to sew together to make place mats. I'm not sure how many I'll need yet; I just know I enjoy making them. 

I've been also working on two scrap blankets I started last August (they're not counted in the Stashbuster Challenge for that reason). Nothing special, just another yo yo afghan and a granny square afghan. I've been making the yo yo's and squares whenever I have a spare moment and little yarn, but I'm reaching the end so my production has picked up lately. That, and I love simple mindless crochet sometimes :-)

The granny stripe is no more; I loved the pattern but came to the realization I didn't like the way the colors looked together. So I frogged the whole thing and added the yarn to my stash bins. I think I'd like to make another one with all different colors. Later.

I did get more black yarn finally so I can continue on with my Polka Dot blanket.

And, finally, I didn't forget about Stashbuster #5: the No Beginning Chain Egg Blanket. Here it is!

It's very small; 35" by 27". One half ended up being fluffier than the other because I ran out of Lion Brand Baby Homespun and had to use a couple skeins of Red Heart Baby Clouds. I was thinking it would be very nice blanket for a small dog.

My camera was lost the last few days so I don't have any pictures for my Photo a Day Challenge. And I'm working on getting caught up with my Dishcloth a Day Challenge and Granny Square a Week Challenge. Too busy life = too little hooky time!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration

Last Day of the Fair: Animals and Exhibits

Warning: Picture Heavy Post!

It's been a very long 10 days; we've been out to the fairgrounds every day it's been open. It's been a good week and a half. We had a lot of fun, and I made a lot of good contacts for work.

So what do you do at a fair if you don't ride the rides? You look at all the animals, of course. 

Love the hair-do on this chicken

This one's pretty good, too

Turkey, turkey. Want to come to my house for dinner?

Little cows

Big cows

Mom and Dad with all their kids

Before and After

Wilbur! Is that you? Where's Charlotte?

Love lop eared bunnies

But the ones with the tiny ears are super cute, too

Then, when you're done looking at the critters, you can look at all the cool crafts people have made.

Love the daisy doily

Beautiful details

Brick stitch afghan

Those are flower pots!

Puzzle piece owl

Love both quilts, but the penguin one is my favorite

Very cool chandelier that started life as an umbrella

I didn't take pictures of what I put in because you've seen it already; I entered the yo yo afghan, the Have a Heart shawl, and the Ombre basket.

Nothing more to do now than sit back, breathe deep, and pick up my neglected crochet hook. And start planning for next year's fair.

I hope you've had an enjoyable weekend.

I leave you with one last picture of the fair, and, I hope, a good laugh.

Don't poop on your neighbor; it's just plain rude.

 

Thanks for reading this far!

Blessings :-)