It's a Wrap

The wrap is finished. I was disappointed until I blocked it. What a difference that made. It is so nice and light which is doable for our weather since it is already in the 80's every day. On to the next project!

More fun in the sun

So yesterday I went to the other fabric store to get fleece to crochet around for the coming grandbaby and look what jumped into my cart! I managed to fight off the black and white flower one (though it may haunt me till I go back) but I have this soft spot for flamingos so they got to come home with me. After all they were on sale!

This time instead of trying to use matching fabric tubes (which with this fabric did not appeal to me) I decided to buy something to use for straps. If they had had plain white extra large rick rack I would have bought it and dyed it the exact colors I wanted but I think this will be fun and bright and easy. And fast too if I hadn't already put away the serger and sewing machine.

sun dress

Does anyone remember those incredibly easy to make stretchy topped sundresses from the 70's? Well, I ran across some of this fabric on sale a little while back and this time there were some prints that called my name so I brought them home. I finally took the time to get out the sewing machine and the serger to finish the edges of the one and only seam! I mean this is a beginner's project with one straight seam and a hem. Or could be.

Of course I seldom can just let it go at that. This time I bought extra fabric to make straps from. I do not think there was ever a time since puberty when I really felt comfortable in the strapless look. However, I did not want just strips of hemmed fabric for straps, so straps meant getting out the tube turners. I decided against 'filling' them with cording or other padding but yet wanted abit of substance so...

For the dress I braided three tubes to give it some texture:

For the top I decided the batik look did not go well with braids and opted for a two strand twist instead:

Check back for more developments!

Beads are so much fun

You may recall the necklace on the far right from my last post. I then decided to play around with it a bit and came up with the one next to it. On the far left are a pair of shamrock bookmarks also from Suzie that I decided to whip up before putting away the green thread.

Then there were the purple beads. You may recognize them or not as I was not happy about how they laid (on edge) so I decided to add to the inside to balance it out.

And then I made another. It was certainly a nice break from the slow going socks I have been knitting. But I did go back and finish those too. What will I do next?

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!

Just a little something

It is so fun what just a little something added can do for the simplest of gifts.

Finished Plates

Here are the last of the plates drying from the sealer. It has to be 70˚ to 80˚ to use this spray and so we dashed out and my daughter finished these up while the weather was soooo nice. It was a good excuse to be outside too.

These photos were all taken with her phone but you can see how pretty they are. Friends stopped by and when we explained how they are made her eyes lit up and she turned to him and started carrying on about paisley dishes. I think we may have a new crafting buddy!

That's my story

I believe that cookies, homemade cookies, make you feel better. Comfort food at it's best. After hurricane Ike we would sit in the evening and munch on homemade cookies that I had baked right before it hit and it made us feel better. It felt like things would be fine. So today I baked a big batch of chocolate oatmeal cookies so that if the power does go out from tonight's ice storm I can huddle under the blankets and eat cookies and know that everything will be alright. Yeah, that's my story and I am sticking to it. You can accuse me of just wanting an excuse to indulge if you want but I am sticking to my story!

Oh, and there are only half a dozen on the platter as I promised Darlene I would take a photo of the flamingo platter that I found in the back of the pie safe as I was digging out recipes. Ha, that is a whole 'nuther story. I am in the throes of sorting and organizing all of those recipes I have 'saved to try one day'!

First Socks

I finished the first pair of socks today. Aren't these fun?

Since this was my first time to use a sock loom I expected a learning curve, especially since I gave up hand knitting as too painfully slow for me.

Even with the loom it was slow going but not difficult to learn.

I have learned that the best time to experiment is often in the beginning when you are not expecting perfection anyway so I tried different styles of cuffs and different methods of doing the knit stitch to find what works best for me. At the same time I am 'learning' about the sizing of these socks.

I have yarn to make a pair in shades of red using the same type of yarn so that is next on my list of projects. I suspect yarn types will affect the sizing to some degree so that will be a future experiment.

Cherry Snowmen

These little snowmen looked so cute in the pictures.

But when I made them they look like they have been sitting in the sun too long!

But even if they look more like the ghosts of Snowmen past,

they were still really good to eat!