Today's Project - Stitching

Since I'm going to be outside all day today, I decided to do a bit of stitching for my project. I think it's going to be too warm for crochet. We'll see. I got the idea for this little stitching scene from a primitive stitching site. I freehanded the drawing on muslin with a water soluble fabric pen. Opening day at the pool is typically very busy, so we'll see how much of it I get done today. I'll post a photo when it's finished.

1st Day of the Pool Season

Today is opening day at the pool. I wanted to showcase my lily white skin with no tan before the sun gets to me. I broke out both my bottles of sunscreen this morning as well as my swimsuit and beach towel. I will post updates over the summer as my skin starts to darken. I hardly even recognize myself when that happens. :)

Stitchery Projects Finished

I finally finished up the stitchery projects that I started in April. I had all the stitching done, I just needed to frame them up. I know, I'm a procrastinator. These two little lovelies are now in the hands of Sassy and Pattycake. My sister is hanging them on the wall in their newly decorated bedroom.

If you remember, I had the girls write their names with a fabric marker on the material and then I did the rest of of the "decorating".

Mini Tote Bags

I made these three Mini Tote Bags last night while watching the movie "I Am Number Four". The movie was good and the mini tote bags turned out nicely too. I used the Mini Tote Bag pattern found on the Coffee n' Crafts blog. Here's the direct link http://coffeencrafts.blogspot.com/2009/04/freebie-friday.html . I used Red Heart yarn and an I hook for my mini tote bags. I striped them up because I was looking to add a more "granny" flair to them.

Rainbow Colored Loopy Purse

I also finished this purse up today. I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in a variety of pastel colors...pink, green, yellow, peach and blue. I also used an I hook.

White Loopy Purse

I finished this up today. I used Red Heart worsted weight yarn in White and an I hook.

Pool

This is where I work from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Since I mentioned the pool in a couple of previous posts, I thought I would show you where I'm at when I say the "pool". I manage the pool and run the concession stand. It's fun, and I like doing it. It's also the only thing for the kids to do during the summer in our small town. Or at least, the only thing other than Summer Rec. which is baseball and softball. We've spent a lot of time at this pool over the years and I started working there last year. I thoroughly enjoy my time there, even on the days I'm not working, as I'm swimming with the kids.

WIP Revealed

I finally finished my WIP that I was designing. I'm not sure that I care for it. I've never tried to make something for a plus sized person before and this ended up being too big when I finally got it done. Model #1 (photo 1) was not thrilled with helping me, so the photo turned out mediocre. Model #2 (photo 2) was unable to take a photo of herself, so I had my daughter take the photo. She was only half-heartedly trying to get a good photo. So, it is what it is.

I was trying to design a Mobius Scarf that I would like. I like it, but I don't look good in it. Maybe if I rework it and make it a bit smaller, it will help. This is something I'm going to share my pattern for, so if you decide to make one, please let me know how it turns out.

Plus Sized Mobius Scarf

Materials:

Fingering Yarn (I used Bernat Baby Sport)

G hook (I might use a bigger one to make it holier next time which is the effect I was aiming for this time)

Directions:

Chain 61.

Row 1- Sc in 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across.

Row 2- Ch 1, turn. Sc in 1st sc, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in next sc*, repeat from * to * across, ending with a sc in the last sc.

Row 3- Ch 1, turn. Sc in 1st sc and in the ch 1 space, *ch 1, sk 1 st, sc in ch 1 space*, repeat from * to * across, ending with a sc in the last ch 1 space and last sc.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for pattern until it's big enough to go around your body, including the shoulders.

Last Row- ch 1, turn. Sc in each sc and ch 1 space across.

Assembly:

Lay the strip out flat. Take one end and twist once. Place the two ends together and beginning at one end, sl st evenly to secure them together. Finish off. Weave in ends.

*I would suggest that you make the strip of crochet just a little bit smaller than what is needed to go around your body. Mine stretched out once I put it on.*

MIA Again

Sorry I've been MIA (missing in action) again. I've had two reasons for this. First off, on Wednesday, I starting putting in time at the pool again to get it ready for opening day, which is Monday. The second reason is that I've been unable to access my blog. I ended up having to download another search engine before I could sign in. I'm still not sure what's going on, even though I've been researching the problem in the blogger forum. I can only hope that they get it fixed fairly soon. I miss using Internet Explorer. In the long run, I'm just glad to be back to my blogging.

WIP Update

As of 10:30 pm today, this is the current state of my WIP. I figure it needs to be about twice this length before I do the next step to the whole process. I'm getting there. Alot faster than yesterday too!

It's That Time Again

Yep. Happy Birthday to Me! Once again, another year has gone by. I wouldn't know as I never really know how old I am. My daughter asked me three times how old I was and I said 46. Luckily, my husband told her 45 or my birthday cake would have said the wrong year. lol My husband baked this huge cake just so it would hold all of the candles. It took 2 cake mixes and my BIG cake pan. Wow! It took me 10 tries to blow out all the candles and when I was done the smoke detector went off. Oh my!

Yard

My yard is full of this stuff. Yes, I know, I need to mow. But doesn't it look pretty with all the little white flowers? And it really isn't that tall, it just looks that way in the photo. Who am I trying to convince? LOL Me!

What A Surprise!

While I was out looking at clouds this afternoon, I noticed something wonderful. My flower bushes are blooming! We've lived in this house three years now and they hadn't bloomed yet. Imagine my surprise! I love these type of flowers but honestly, I was considering having the bushes pulled or dug out. We're experiencing an ant problem this year and they are drawn to these bushes. We'll have to see what happens. Maybe they will stay, maybe they won't. Good thing they are blooming now. It might help me change my mind. :)

Unusual Clouds

What are the chances of having unusual cloud formations two days in a row? I'd say..."pretty good". I couldn't believe the sky this afternoon and had to take a few photos again. Honestly, the past two days are the only times I remember seeing this type of cloud. Weird, huh?

Purple Tootsies

Meet my lovely friend "Ms. D". She's a very talented beautician here in town. Today is my birthday....yep....another one of those....and I treated myself to some lovely purple tootsies! I included a before shot as well. As you can see, my toes really needed some dressing up!

Altered Book

I made mention to a friend that I make "altered books". She requested to see some pages from one. Well, I went one better and scanned in the whole book. Now, I want to add that this is one of the first books I made and I'm by no means artistic. So, keeping that in mind. I am more than happy to share my pages. I used a children's book that I found at the thrift store and scrapbooking items. I was learning techniques as I went, so....that accounts for the similarities between some of the pages. Hope you enjoy what you do see. If you don't, please don't tell me. LOL

Knitting

I haven't worked on my "knitting" in quite awhile. Since I'm in a crochet "slump", I decided to pick up my needles for a bit. I worked on adding some rows, then "knitting two together", then on getting my tension right. I find that I want to hold onto the needles with a death grip. Plus, I want to use my fingertips to guide the needles through the stitches. So, I'm making myself NOT do that. It's hard to keep my fingers away from there! Plus, by the time I finally got my hands to relax a bit, my pinkie fingers were killing me. I have quite a bit of practicing to go before I master this part of it. I think I have the knit stitch down pat, it's just all the rest of it that goes with it. Hopefully soon, I will be able to try the "purl" stitch. I need to get my confidence up, I think. It helps that I've found a lovely hat pattern that is knitted. Now I just need to get the right needles or circular needles that it calls for.

*by the way....Pepper just had to be in the photo! he kept pulling on my needles until i finally gave in and turned the knitting around so that they would both be featured. lol*

WIP Update

Here's a current photo of my WIP that I'm designing or trying to design. I didn't get very much done on it today, but I did do a little bit. I have a long way to go though. Wonder if I have the patience for it.

Models

Due to the storms today, I had a few extra guests for several hours. To pass the time, we looked through some of my crocheted items and had fun modelling a few things. Here are Sassy and Pattycake showing off some of my cap and scarf sets. Don't they look cute?

Stormy Skies

I thought I would share another photo of today's storm filled sky. We were very lucky and none of the tornadoes touched down around our small town. However, a town about 30 miles southwest of us, Waverly, was hit by a tornado. They received some damage, but wasn't hit nearly as hard as a much bigger town of 50,000 people in southern Missouri was hit extensively. Joplin received damage to the southern 1/3 of the city. One of the hospitals lost the top two floors, had all of the windows blown out, and was on fire. The latest report is that there were fatalities, injuries and much wreckage. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone there!

Unusual But Lovely

We were in several storm systems this afternoon and when we went out to look at the sky, this is part of what we saw. These clouds are unusual and look a bit like a foam egg crate mattress. But aren't they lovely?

I'm Amazed!

I never, ever, ever thought that I would see 6000 page views on my blog! I'm absolutely speechless! (which is rare...lol) I send out many heartfelt thanks to all of those lovely people out there that have stopped by my blog and made this number happen! You are truly appreciated!!

WIP & Designing

Well, I'm trying my hand at designing something again. I won't say what it is since it may end up getting ripped out. But I will take a photo before I do that and tell everyone what it was supposed to bed. :} I don't sound very hopeful do I? Probably because I've never designed a clothing item and I've never designed a plus sized item. There...I gave you two hints. You still won't guess what it's supposed to be though. And no, it's not a scarf. LOL Good guess!

Medium J and the Recuperation Process

Medium J's surgery went well. Now it's time to recuperate. I think he's set up shop on my couch for awhile. He's commandeered one of the recliner portions and has his leg propped up high like he's supposed to. Give him a laptop, a drink, and a dog or two, plus his girlfriend sitting beside him and he's happy. As you can see from the background in photo 1, he also has his small TV with the Playstation 3 set up in front of his twin bed. He's not allowed to do stairs for quite awhile since he's on crutches for many months to come yet. But, he's got just about everything he could need right at his fingertips.

The doggies came home today after being at the kennel since Wednesday. They were SO GLAD to see everyone. Especially Josh. He's their "bud". Pepper had squeezed in beside him on the left and at one point Cocoa was on the right. But once Medium J's girlfriend (Miss M) sat down beside him, Cocoa claimed his place on her lap. :) My doggies sure love Miss M. And everyone is glad to be back home.....Medium J and the doggies!