Something new for the 4th

I decided I wanted something new to wear for the 4th of July,

so a few weeks ago I picked up some beads

and I finally had a free evening to do some stringing.

The photos did not come out very clear

but you can get the idea.

The actual stringing did not take all that long.

However, afterwards when I spilled the tray I had been using...

it took a bit to chase down all those beads!

And of course when you are down on your hands and knees you get a close up view

of all those dog hair covered dust bunnies!

Oh well, it was still fun.

Distracted

I just saw a plaque for sale in a catalog (Potpourri) that says:

"I can't clean because....

I get distracted by all the Cool stuff I find."

Oh that sooooo describes me!  

Not to mention the condition of my house!

Every time I start to put something away or organize or sort

I start finding stashes  

of all kinds of things

And patterns or instructions for wonderful projects

that I plan to try  -  someday.

And instantly I forget all about what I came in with or for

and want to begin work on:

a flamingo quilt

or a new blouse

a knotted bracelet

or a crocheted sweater

a card for mom

or some tatting for a challenge (how long ago?)

Sprang that I still don't have the hang of

or Broomstick Lace that looks so neat

Christmas ornaments

or grapevine wreaths

weaving a shallow basket for picking blueberries

or maybe knitting a cap for my grandson

A new recipe to try

or that painting of the squirrel I photographed on the fence.

I could go on and on and on and on.

How about you?

What distracts you from cleaning?

Mardi Gras Beads

I don't live very far from Galveston where Mardi Gras is currently in full swing, so when I saw these crochet embellished mardi gras beads over at Suzies Stuff I just had to put aside the sock I am knitting and try these out!

I adjusted it slightly but love the Shamrock pattern. This one is in honor of my late friend Vanessa who loved St. Patrick's Day.

Suzie also shared this other version. Once again I adapted slightly but just think it is wonderful and will be making more of these! Thanks Suzie!

Gifted

This is my friend Darlene modeling the jacket I crocheted for her. She is nice and tall and it looks better on her than mine does on me. She even put on the necklace I made and gave her.

This is the secret gift that I was working on the latter part of the summer. It just took me awhile to get it shipped off to her.

Beaded Crocheted Scarf

I have been working on this scarf for a couple of weeks now as I have not had as much free time as usual and even though it is a simple pattern, adding the beads does take more time.

This was my first time using Bamboo Crochet Thread and it is very nice to work with. So soft. But it definitely needed blocking afterwards. I am very pleased with it and look forward to being able to wear this lighter weight scarf. It goes especially well with my silver heart pin, which is available from Silver By Fire, Inc. Yes, I am shamelessly promoting my own jewelry, but I do think they are a great combination!

Spider Web Scarf

Here is the finished scarf for Halloween. I think my Silver Witch Scarf Pin looks good on this but can't wait to make the new one I designed the other day. For a better photo of the Witch Pin go to www.silver-byfire.com/Gallery.html

Diagonal Lace Shawl

I almost did not make this shawl but now I am glad I did. It can provide a variety of looks depending on how it is draped and shows off one of my Scarf Pins nicely. In fact it inspired a new design in my jewelry design sketchbook. The directions called for this cotton yarn but something softer might be nice for a dressier version, however I see this one with jeans and a t-shirt.

Bracelets and more

At last, here are those bracelets I wanted to try. They are Multi-Strand Fiber Bracelets from the Artful Crafter. I did not have the right bell caps and really did not feel comfortable gluing them in anyway, so I modified the ends using wire. But I am pleased with the results. I used some of my new tatting thread and beads I had along with toggle clasps so the bell caps were the only purchase. Gotta love those crafts! I am looking forward to wearing them!




The delay in getting them made was due to some oral surgeries I had done in the past two weeks. The fact that I finally feel like I want to craft is a real sign of recovery! My daughter has been staying with me and crafting while we watch movies so I wanted to share her goodies as well. If all these photos have slowed your download time I apologize but hope you will find it worthwhile. First the jewelry:

And then she covered notebooks and clipboards and pens in coordinating scrap booking papers. She intends to make matching covered sticky note pads but I just couldn't wait:

I did not get a photo of the zebra notebook before it went out the door clutched in my granddaughter's arms and this last notebook may not show it too well but the paper is actually textured and feels like alligator. Way cool! If you click on the photo you can see that in the close up. There are more to come but she had to stop as they have family in from out of town and she is going out to dinner with them. Guess I will get back to my tatting and a movie (I am still on soft foods so dinner and a movie really doesn't apply yet).

In the begining

Welcome to This That n Tuther! A friend suggested that I needed to start a blog just on the projects I work on and I thought that might be kind of fun so I set this one up just for that. The name is from my grandmother who was always showing me some new project that she was doing and thus my love of creating with my own two hands was born. My earliest memory being learning to embroidery the first time we lived in North Dakota. I am sure it wasn't easy for my mother to keep me occupied during those blizzards. I was 4 years old at the time. That was the same winter I learned to ice skate on the 'rink' my brother made in our backyard! I gave up ice skating years ago but the crafting just kept growing, each project giving me a background for some future project. I am a firm believer that "nothing learned is ever wasted".

I don't produce as many things as I once did, especially since I began designing silver jewelry (I have a new blog from that as well http://www.silverbyfire.blogspot.com/) but I hope you will stop by frequently anyway just to see what I am up to. Enjoy and leave a comment to let me know what you think.