Two on Tuesday on Wednesday

I slept most of yesterday so I'm counting today as Tuesday. Besides, I haven't had the energy to crochet much lately so I don't have anything to show you for WIP Wednesday.

I still feel lousy but managed to get dressed today and drag myself off the couch for brief periods of time so I must be on the mend. Either that or I'm just tired of being sick! Thanks for all the kind words :-)

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. My new jewelry came in yesterday. I ordered some pieces from our new fall line and it cheered me up to play with them a little. I'm a magpie at heart; I like shiny things :-)

2. Netflix is a beautiful thing when you're sick. I've watched a lot of TV the last 4 days, but at least it's been shows I like and I don't have to deal with commercials.

Two Patterns I Think Are Neat:
1. Eva's Shawl
I enjoyed making my flower lattice shawl so much, I've had my eye out for more pretty shawl patterns. This one caught my eye because it's so light. I have some baby alpaca I'd like to use for this.
2. Wrap Around Crochet Bracelet
Wrap around bracelets are very popular right now; we have several in our jewelry catalog. I love the idea of crocheting my own, although I've never used beads before when I crochet.

I might have to think about using Tim's laptop for my next post. I don't like using it (the screen's too small and it doesn't have a mouse), but it takes less energy than coming into the office.
Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

Today's Inspiration

Home and Still on the Mend

We've been home from our Texas trip for 2 weeks, but I've been suffering from an on again/off again sinus infection. Being the family that shares, I got it first, then gave it to my hubby. He kicked it around for awhile and gave it back to me stronger. So not much going on around here but sneezing and sniffling. Of course, the kid managed to avoid it completely.

Our trip was wonderful, as always.There are some changes in the works for the company, but all for everyone's benefit.

 Our group visiting the home office: L to R: Judi, John, Sarah, Shirley, me, Tim

I managed to finish a couple of things this month. The 36 hour car ride allowed me to make a project for a friend's husband's birthday. He's a big Dr Who fan and wanted the famous scarf.

It turned out nice, about 10 feet long. It's done entirely in single crochet; I used Vanna's Choice and Red Heart Soft yarns.

And I finally finished my Flower Lattice Shawl. It's not nearly as big as it should be (my gauge was way off; should have used an F hook instead of an E), but I really like it. 

 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Photo a Day July 1 & 2

I've missed taking my daily photos! I have a lot of fun with this challenge :-)

Yesterday's prompt was Happiness is...

 

My happiness was playing a game with Hope and her friend while working on one of my WIPs. At 11, Hope's at that age where she doesn't want me around much. So I love anytime she wants to spend with me.

Today's prompt is Shoes. And because it's one of my favorite things, I have 2 photos to share.

 First is my shoe collection. Yup, they're all mine. 24 pairs (and I think I forgot a couple!). Mostly heels and wedges because at 5'3", I am always trying to appear taller. And reach things on the top shelves of my kitchen cabinets! 

 Second is my pretty purple flip flops. I had my first pedicure of the summer today (a little late!) and wanted to show off my feet. I need to wear open toed shoes more often; the tan on my feet doesn't match my toes and ankles!

If you want to join in on the fun, the prompt list is here. It's a great way to find the extraordinary in the everyday.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

I'm Back (Again!) and Two on Tuesday

No reason for my disappearance this time; I've just been in the slumps the last few weeks. Haven't felt like doing much of anything. But I've crawled out of that pit and am excited to be back. Still plugging along on the same WIPs. I'm hoping to have some progress to show you in a couple weeks.

Which brings me to Two Tuesday!

Two Things I'm Grateful For:

1. Our annual trip to Texas! Yes, it's that time again. I LOVE our trip to the national convention for my jewelry company. It's so nice to get away for awhile. And I have 36 hours of crochet time to look forward to!

2. My sweet hubby who fixed my car. Mechanic's cars never get attention, so I'm grateful when Tim takes time to fix anything that's wrong with it. 

Bonus Grateful Item!

3. After 2 years of asking, Hope finally agreed to let me teach her to crochet! 

We're starting small; she's making a basic granny square blanket. But she really enjoys it, and is a fast learner. She's looking forward to trying different projects when she's done.

Her first 5 rounds! I'm so proud :-)

 

Two Patterns I Think Are Cool:

1. Sashay Yarn Purse. I made this a couple of months ago and was surprised how easy it was. It's hanging up at the scrapbook store and always gets a lot of comments.

2. Pennant Bunting. I made this last year and have it ready to hang for our barbecue on Thursday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tuesday. I'm off to do laundry and start packing for our trip. We're leaving in 5 days!!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Today's Inspiration

A Long Overdue Thank You and Still Stashbusting

A few months ago, I entered a giveaway over at From the Hearth Room the lovely Christina was hosting. She has a very sweet blog; if you haven't been there, you should check it out :-) Well, I didn't win the giveaway, but she contacted me and asked for my address anyway. I was so thrilled to receive a lovely surprise from her in the mail soon after:

Wasn't that so sweet? She sent me three skeins of cotton yarn, a packet of pretty wildflower seeds, some lovely cards, and a chocolate hazelnut teabag. I can't tell you how absolutely ecstatic this package made me. It's very long overdue, but thank you so much, Christina!

I took a couple pics of my newest WIPs:

A flower lattice shawl (pattern here) made with Malabrigo sock yarn. I picked this yarn up during the yarn crawl and it's probably the nicest yarn I've ever used. But at $19 for 3.5 ounces, I'll only be getting it as a special treat.

Here's a closeup of the flowers. The color's called Dewberry.

 I'm halfway through the Maureen Scarf, using another of my Yarn Crawl purchases.

I just started this today for a friend's baby shower. I guess this qualifies as a Stashbuster; I've had a lot of pink baby yarn for awhile and glad to have a reason to use it. The pattern is from a Leisure Arts booklet, #2509 Grannies for Baby. I like that it's join as you go. 

Here's a Stashbuster project I finished today. This was a really quick blanket to make. It's the Pretty Clusters pattern from Bernat, and it took 2 skeins of green yarn and 1 1/2 skeins of white, all Lion Brand Impeccable.

Well, that's all for now. I hope everyone is doing great, and I hope to be catching up on your blogs soon.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Yikes! Where did 3 months go??!!

To all my sweet followers, I'm still here! I'm doing great, just been very busy with a new chapter in my life. I've been woefully neglectful of my blog and reading anyone else's blogs the last 3 months. But I'm here to change that.

A new store opened in my town right before the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl. It's called Gypsy Corner and is a scrapbook store. For those of you who don't know, scrapbooking is my other craft love (hence "Scraps" in my blog name). Long story short, I became fast friends with the owner, Trinette, and started teaching classes and helping out at the store. It's been a wonderful three months, albeit very full! I'm still working my jewelry business and homeschooling Hope, so with the added hours at the store, I haven't had much time for anything else.

Crochet has been very light lately: a few ruffled scarves, a couple baby hats, a purse (pics to come later). I'm still working on all my listed WIPs and have added a few more (again, pics to come later). 

I've missed my blog and all of you so much! I'll be making more of an effort to continue posting regardless of my hectic schedule. The connections I've made with all of you are too precious to lose.

That's all for now. Let me fire up the camera and take some pics to post and be back later today.

Blessings :-)

Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl Day 3

It's all over. We visited 8 yarn shops in 3 days. Over 500 miles on the odometer. But I now have turned in my completed passport for the 2013 Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl.

Today's first shop was The Ball of Yarn in Ormond Beach. It's owned by Pauline and Sandi and has been in business just over a year. Besides all the lovely yarn they normally sell, they were also featuring a trunk show from Southwest Trading Company, specifically Terra yarn and Coming Up Flowers yarn. I got to meet the two owners as well as Nancy, who teaches crochet classes, Chris, who was kind enough to wind my yarn, and Mary Anne, a volunteer who was taking care of all the crawlers.

L to R: Mary Anne, Chris, Sandi, Pauline, Nancy

Next on the list was Knit and Stitch in Cocoa. This was a bit difficult to get to because Cocoa was having a downtown Arts and Crafts festival. Once we found a parking spot a few blocks away, we wound through the streets until we found the shop. Knit and Stitch is stuffed to the rafters with all types and colors of amazing yarn. It's been in business for 35 years and is currently owned by Anne; she's had the store for 8 years. They have 13 instructors and teach classes 6 days a week.

The last shop on the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl was Knitty Gritty in Vero Beach. We squeaked into this one 45 minutes before close (5:00) but ended up staying until almost 6. We met the owner, Anne, and her husband, Terry; they and their daughter, Amanda, have owned the Knitty Gritty for 1 year and a half. It's in its second location, almost double the size of the original. Terry is a yarn rep for 8 different yarn brands in 6 different states. Anna believes the store was ordained by God for her to own, and her staff are all divine appointments. Isn't that wonderful? We also met Vicky, one of the class instructors. She gave me some great knitting pointers (very helpful if I ever learn to knit!). One of the coolest things was the bathroom; the walls are signed by different knitters and crocheters with scripture, sayings, and comments. Everyone's encouraged to add their mark :-)

Tomorrow I'll show you all the wonderful new yarn I've added to my stash. I fully intended to buy other things besides yarn, but there were too many wonderful skeins to choose from. All of my purchases ended up being yarn :-)

So, who's coming to Florida next year to join me on the crawl?

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl Day 2

I am having so much fun doing this, it shouldn't be allowed! I've met so many nice people and discovered so much beautiful yarn. I need to sell more jewelry so I can start buying all this high quality yarn more often!

Tim and Hope came with me today which was nice; someone to talk to and someone else to drive. I hate driving on I-4.

Today's first stop was Knit! in Longwood. It's owned by Marney and her sister, Ruth and has been in business for 8 years. The store has a lovely selection of yarn as well as other supplies. They are happy to order in anything you like but don't see in their shop.

Next stop was Sip and Knit in Maitland. It's owned by Doni and has been in business for 14 years, 8 in the current location. Doni was busy with customers so I took a picture of Barbara; she teaches classes and has worked at Sip and Knit for 12 years. I also took a picture of their sweet dog, Tucker. He was very well behaved while lots of people shopped around him. I loved the layout of this shop: multiple rooms, each with a different purpose. I didn't get the big yarn room because it was very crowded and I didn't want to take anyone's picture without permission.

The last stop of the day was The Black Sheep in Orlando. This is the oldest shop so far, having been open 40 years! It's owned by Anne and has been for the 7 years it has been in it's current location. They sell a lot of beautiful needlepoint supplies as well as yarn, needles, hooks and other crochet and knit supplies. They also have the multiple room setup I like.

I'm amending the schedule; Tim has offered to drive me to the last three shops on my list if we go tomorrow. These are the farthest away, all on the coast; I'll be happy to have his company :-)

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration

Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl Day 1

Today, I went two places on the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl.

Needlecraft World in Kissimmee has been in business since 1978. The third owner, Kathy, has had it for 7 years. 

They sell a variety of cross stitch, crochet and knitting supplies as well as have classes for all three crafts on Mondays from 2-6.

Four Purls in Winter Haven has been in business for 3 years. It's owned by Laura  and staffed by her daughter, Aspen, as well as Donna and Jessica.  

They have a large variety of beautiful yarns and provide a setting for classes or if you just want to hang out and knit.

I did buy a goodie at each store but will wait until the end to show you.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Daily Inspiration