Finished Friday

I know you've been waiting on pins and needles to see them: my finished projects! Well, maybe not pins and needles. You might not even be curious. But here they are anyway.

The Have a Heart Shawl:

Stretched out

Front

Back

The Ombre Basket:

Holds my Stash-buster project perfectly

My friends and I took a trip to Hobby Lobby today. We had a great time as always. I amused myself by taking pictures of all the owls I could find.

My favorites:

Of course, I had to bring home a couple. Couldn't leave them all in the store!

I also picked up some yarn, crochet thread, 2" plastic rings, a few scrapbook supplies, embroidery floss labels, and fabric. 

See the rings on the right? I paid $4 for 10 (5 in each package). On the way home, we stopped at a thrift store. I bought these.

Drapery rings! They had little metal clips on them, but they unscrewed really easily. It left a small hole in the ring, but since I'm going to crochet around them it doesn't matter. They're 2" just like the plastic rings, just a little thicker. I got the whole bag (28 inside) for $2!

After we got home, I played a video game with Hope before going to my jewelry show. Now, I'm exhausted and ready for bed. What a day :-)

 Dishcloth a Day #11

Are you getting a crick in your neck from looking at them sideways? Always the dishcloth pictures get flipped. Oh, well. 

This one was a little tricky because I'm not used to the puff stitch, but I like the way it came out. The Purple Puffs Dishcloth pattern can be found on bestfreecrochet.com.

Photo a Day Challenge January 11, 2013

Today's prompt was Water. This is my friend's birdbath. The picture's not so interesting, but the story behind the bird bath is. A few years ago, my brother found a stone birdbath on the side of the road (one of those curb side pick up freebies). He brought it to me to put in my yard. After a couple of months, I found out it was a breeding ground for mosquitoes in summer. I gave it away at a yard sale.

Last year, I went to my friend, Sarah's, house. Sitting in her front yard was the birdbath I had given away at my yard sale! She had gotten it from another yard sale.

When summer came, she realized the mosquito problem and offered it to our friend, Angela. She said something about making it into a planter, but it has water in it now. This bird bath has been all over town!

Daily Inspiration

Personality can open doors,

but only character can keep them open.

-Elmer G. Letterman

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

Greeting Cards

Not much going on today: school, horseback riding, a trip to the park (where I made my dishcloth of the day), and our ladies night out. We tried to make some ornaments but the other girls were frazzled from the week so we didn't finish them. So we just talked and relaxed; that's always good, too.

These are the cards I made at my Stampin Up card class last night:

A thank you card for the Valentine's Day season

Another thank you card; I use a lot of them in my business so I can never have enough

This one's my favorite; lots of chocolate!

Darn Blogger! Anyone know how to fix this problem?

The inside of the chocolate card; it says Friends are the Chocolate Chips of Life.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far :-)

Dishcloth a Day #10

I think I might have a new favorite! I loved making this one today, especially the border. It's hard to see (should have taken a picture!) but it twists and weaves together. The Bands of Lace Dishcloth pattern is available from FreePatterns.com.

Photo a Day Challenge January 10, 2013

Today's prompt was 1:00. I had to take a picture of what I was doing between 1 and 2. This is the dashboard of my Camry; I was driving to Hope's horseback riding lesson at that time. Don't worry; I waited until I got there to take the picture! 

Thursday's Tickle

Did you ever wonder where we get such pretty yarn colors?

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

WIP Wednesday

I actually don't have anything to show you :-) I finished the shawl and the basket but haven't taken pictures yet. And I've been busy all day with various things so I haven't done any crocheting except for my dishcloth. I'll have to show you something next week :-)

Dishcloth a Day #9

The White Diamonds Dishcloth is from bestfreecrochet.com. You probably noticed I use a lot of dishcloth patterns from there. They had a Dishcloth a Day Challenge a couple of years ago so it's a great place to get patterns.

I apologize for the bad picture. I should have taken it on a dark surface; you would have been able to see the diamonds better. And I don't know why Blogger flips my photos sometimes.

It's still a cool looking dishcloth.

Photo a Day Challenge January 9, 2013

Today's prompt was Paper. I took a photo of some of the greeting cards I made last year. I'm making more tonight at card class, so I'll be posting more card pics tomorrow.

Daily Inspiration

I should mount this one on my wall in giant letters!

Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

Dishcloth and Photo Challenges, New Challenge

Dishcloth a Day #8

The Diagonal Dishcloth is available on Ravelry. It's a quick, fun little washcloth to make that has nice ridges on it for scrubbing.

Photo a Day Challenge January 8, 2013

Today's prompt was the letter T. I had to take a picture of something that starts with T. So I present to you a picture of the Thermometer showing the Temperature. Yes, it says 80 degrees. This was about 2:00 this afternoon. I love January in Florida :-)

Stash-buster Challenge

Well, I've added another challenge to my roster. I'm determined to cut down on some of my yarn stash (if I get anymore, we'll have to move!). So I'm linking up with the Stash-buster Challenge over at Linda's Crafty Corner. At the beginning of the month, I'll show a picture of some yarn stash that needs used up. Towards the end of the month (or sooner if I finish sooner) I'll show what I made with it. This is not to be confused with my Mini Monday projects; those usually require some planning. I'm trying to make the Stash-buster Challenge totally random, a challenge in and of itself for me!
So, this is the first bit of stash I'd like to use up.

I grabbed some blues and some greens in different shades (not very random yet, but give me time). When I finish my Stash-buster project, I'll post a picture of it. Easy peasy :-)

Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

Sick again

Not me! The computer. Tim's been tinkering with it the last few days trying to make it work better. It keeps freezing up and it's slower than molasses. I've been terrible about responding to comments or making comments on other blogs because I don't have the patience to sit here for hours waiting for pages to load. That's terrible, I know.

Mini Monday

I'm almost done with the shawl, just two more rounds of the border. My CADD (crochet attention deficit disorder) set in and I put it down for a couple of days. 

I did start my new project for the week last night. 

It's the Ombre Basket pattern from Crochet in Color. I finished the bottom and two rows of the sides last night. It's murder on the arms and wrists working with 4 strands at once! But I love the way it looks. I don't know what it'll look like when I'm done; I don't have enough Sunshine Print to do the whole basket, so I'll be changing colors soon. No plan on what colors, just whatever makes me happy. This one's for me :-)

Two Tuesday

Two things I'm grateful for:

1. A cup of coffee waiting for me when I stumble out of bed, thanks to my sweet hubby :-)

2. Being able to homeschool Hope. We started our studies again yesterday after the Christmas break and I marvel at the blessing of being able to teach her. 

Two patterns I think are neat:

1. Happy Pills pattern from EssHaych. We all could use some of these :-)

2. Monster Kleenex Box Cover pattern from Repeat Crafter Me. With cold and flu season in high gear, why not make the tissue box a little more fun?

Dishcloth a Day #6

The Bumped Shells Dishcloth is from JP Fun. I love the look of the pattern but it was cumbersome (for me) to make. It took a while.

Here's a close up of the pattern:

Silly Blogger flipping my pictures!

Dishcloth a Day #7

I needed a quick make yesterday so I fell back on an old favorite. The Rose in Bloom Dishcloth can be made in about half an hour and uses only half a ball of cotton. Love it!

Photo a Day Challenge January 6, 2013

Sunday's prompt was Mine. This is my yarn cabinet. Yummy, yummy yarn! My fingers just itch with excitement every time I open the doors.

Photo a Day Challenge January 7, 2013

Yesterday's prompt was Street. Since I stayed home yesterday, I decided to take a picture of the street I live on. It's a very busy road with constant traffic so I waited until late at night so I wouldn't be run over taking the picture!

Daily Inspiration

I'll be back later with today's dishcloth and picture.
Thanks for reading!
Blessings :-)

This and That

It's been a busy couple of days around here. Horseback riding lessons, errands, a Celebrating Home party and a Harry Potter movie marathon kept me running yesterday, and today we did housework and spent the evening in Orlando. 

I'm still plugging away on the shawl. I'm on the last 5 rows and each row takes forever (kind of like a round ripple). Hopefully, I'll be done soon.

Dishcloth a Day #4

Yesterday's dishcloth was the 29 Stitches Dishcloth from The Good Life. I like this pattern because it works up quickly and easily. I messed this one up, though; I put too many single crochets on the sides so it came out ruffly. So, rather than frogging the round, I changed the second round a little (reverse single crochet, chain 3, skip 2 stitches, reverse single crochet in the next stitch) to make the ruffly work for it. It still needs to be blocked a little but I like the effect. 

Dishcloth a Day #5

Today's was a lot of fun. I wish I had a link for you, but I couldn't find the pattern on the Lily Sugar n Cream website. I found the pattern on the cotton yarn wrapper. It was just called Dishcloth. It was quick and easy with single crochets in chain 2 spaces so it has a mesh-y look.

Granny Square Saturday

I made the first square for my Granny Square challenge this year. This is the Dream Weaver Square from Stormy'z Crochet. I love it! I can picture a whole blanket made with these; I bet different color combinations would look great. 

Photo a Day Challenge January 4, 2013

Yesterday's topic was The View From Here. I snapped a picture of Hope at her horseback riding lesson. It was a little drizzly and cold, but that never stops her from riding.

Photo a Day Challenge January 5, 2013

Today's topic was Movement. I was trying to find something interesting to shoot. This is the traffic on the Turnpike on our way to Orlando. I got a little glare from the windshield even though my flash wasn't on, but it still came out good.

Today's Inspiration

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have,

and only you can determine how it will be spend.

Be careful lest you let others spend it for you.

Carl Sandburg 

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)

WIP Wednesday on Thursday, Photos & Dishcloths

My "delightful" computer decided it didn't want to work yesterday. No reason; it just didn't want to work. So, because it was late and I was tired from a long day, I didn't argue. Today, it seems to be in better spirits.

Now that I'm finished with the yo-yo blanket, I can go back to work on my other blankets. I'm hoping to have some progress to show next week. The Have a Heart Shawl is coming along nicely.

This picture was taken yesterday morning so I'm a little further along than it shows. I just passed the halfway point and should be done by Friday.

Dishcloth a Day #2

This is the Shell Variation Dishcloth  from bestfreecrochet.com. I really enjoyed making this one; I like the way the pattern switches from left to right.

Dishcloth a Day #3

This is the Scalloped Dishcloth from Knitterly things and other stuff. I like the way it looks, but for some reason, I had trouble with the pattern. It's written well, but I just never got into the groove making this one. I had to keep checking the pattern as I went.

Photo a Day Challenge January 2, 2013

Yesterday's topic was Something New. This is my new diary for 2013. I like the quote on the front: "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

Photo a Day Challenge January 3, 2013

Today's topic is Heart. This is a Teeny Tiny Heart I made from a pattern over at Attic 24. It was quick to make and I'd like to make tons more (hostess gifts, Valentine's gifts, decorations...)

Thursday's Tickle

EXERCISE

Some motivation required.

Thanks for reading!

Blessings :-)