Long Time, No Post

Sorry friends that it's been so long since I posted.  I'm just not feeling it these days.  Working 3 days and taking care of my grandson the other 2 weekdays, just doesn't leave much time for blogging or anything else.

 

Geoffrey turned one on October 17th.  Can't believe it.  Heck, I can't believe his momma is 30 now!  Maybe my age, but I am looking at things differently these days.  I find myself wanting to be free of clutter.  To only have the things that I really enjoy.  Not sure what's going on with me.  Anyway, all is okay in my world.  Just trying to figure out what to do with my life.

Heading South

Going on a little greyhound vacation. My sister and I are taking our greyhounds to the beach in Florida. See you soon!

/E-bay

So I decided to try to sell some of my patterns on Etsy. I figure if I made them once, the chances of me making it a second time are slim. I only have a couple listed right now. Click HERE if you are interested in looking at them.

I also decided to try my hand at selling one of my wall hangings. Need to make room for some new stuff. Click HERE to see this listing. I am hoping to get some more things listed a bit later.

Couple of Questions

Got a couple of things I need some opinions on. I am going through my sewing room in my quest to de-clutter. I have lots of patterns and books that I will never use again. I also came across a couple of wall hangings that I probably won't use. You know, by the time I got them done, my tastes have changed. What do you think is the best outlet to sell some of this stuff. Yard sale, e-bay, etsy or try to sell them on the blog? Opinions appreciated. Thanks.

My Little Irishman

My little fair-haired irish boy! He is growing up way too fast. On St. Patty's day Geoffrey turned 5 month old. Sheesh, time is flying by!

Window to Spring

It appears that spring has sprung here in Southern Indiana. With that in mind, I had my boss fix up this wreath for above the fireplace. I have had this vision in my mind for a wreath with white flowers in it for a long time. So, the wreath turns out how I like it, now I'm not sure I like how my fireplace looks. Dang it!

Crochet Chick Hat

He is so darn cute! Geoffrey is sporting his new Chick hat. I have been trying to get a hat pattern that would fit him. Finally, I had to put several different patterns together to get what I wanted.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PATTERN IS COMPRISED OF SEVERAL DIFFERENT PATTERNS. I MADE THE 6/12 MONTH SIZE AND GEOFFREY'S HEAD IS 16 INCHES AROUND. THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT GIVING OUT A PATTERN.

Sizes to fit Preemie (6/12 mos-18 mos).

MATERIALS:

Bernat® Softee Baby (140 g/5 oz; 361 m/395 yds) (this will make several hats)
Size 3.75 mm (U.S. F or 5) crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge.

GAUGE
18 dc and 10 rnds = 4 ins [10 cm].

INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are written for smallest size. If changes are necessary for larger sizes the instructions will be written thus ( ).

Note: Ch 3 at beg of rnd counts as dc.

Ch 4.
1st rnd: 11 dc in 4th ch from hook. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 12 dc.

2nd rnd: Ch 3. 1 dc in same sp as last sl st. *2 dc in next dc. Rep from * around. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 24 dc.

3rd rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in next dc. Rep from * to last dc. 2 dc in last dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 36 dc.

4th rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of next 2 dc. Rep from * to last
2 dc. 2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in last dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 48 dc.

5th rnd: Ch 3. *2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of next 11 (3-2) dc. Rep from * to last 11 (3-2) dc. 2 dc in next dc. 1 dc in each of last 10 (2-1) dc. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. 52 (60-64) dc.

6th rnd: Ch 3. 1 dc in each dc around. Join with sl st to top of ch 3.

Rep last rnd until work from beg measures 3½ (4½-4½) ins [9 (11.5- 11.5) cm].

Optional Brick Stitch Edge: * skip 3 chains, sc in next chain, chain 3, 3 double crochet in same
chain. Repeat from * across row. End with: single crochet in next chain. I HAD TO ADJUST THE PATTERN TO GET IT TO FIT THIS HAT, SO MINE DID NOT END WITH THE SINGLE CROCHET.

Buttons were used for the eyes and beak. I also made a small pom-pom for the top. Let me know what you think!

A Few Finished Projects

As promised, here are my projects that I finished on my "retreat" weekend. First up is a little quilt from this wonderful book. I am not sure why I fell in love with the colors green and pink. I have neither one of those colors in my house. I had the little quilt pieced and had been toting it back and forth to stitch and bitch for months. I guess I was doing more bitching than stitching or I would have finished it much earlier!

Then I worked on a cute little spring table topper. I usually am not too keen on applique, but I love chicks! I finished the button hole stitch on it this afternoon.

Besides these little projects, I got my sewing room cleaned up AGAIN this weekend. Did some small sewing/mending projects, which I hate. Finished up a little hat for the baby. Just need him to try it on in the morning to see if it fits!

Weekend Crafting Retreat

Last weekend I had the pleasure of a mini-vacation. A friend of mine got a group of 7 fellow crafters together and we rented this chalet. It is only about 45 minutes away from my house, but I still count it as a vacation.

Projects, creativity and food galore. It was a blast. I did finish, well almost finish, a couple of projects. Each girl helped with a meal. We had so much good food, some good wine and lots of inspiration. We decided we would have planning meetings to start working on another get-away. Can't wait!

P.S. I will post pictures of my FINISHED projects soon!

My Valentine

This is my valentine this year! Geoffrey. Grandma's little stud muffin.

A Few Junkin' Finds

I finally got around to taking pictures of some of my junkin' finds. I picked up these goodies on our way back from Atlanta.

This some type of feeder. It has a hook in the center of the tube. I think it will probably get planted with something this spring.

I have always wanted one of these buckets. It was an ice cream maker in it's previous life. I think I might fill it up with forsythia. Not sure yet. Suggestions welcome!

Gardening

This year, I decided I wasn't making any resolutions. Instead I thought I would make a wish list. Not necessarily just for myself, but some things I would like to accomplish at home.

These little babies have been on my mind for a long time. We have an old playhouse-type thing that needs to be taken apart, so we kind of already have the wood. I might actually like gardening if I had something like this.

Photo courtesy of popularmechanics.com

Heading South

Heading to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday. It's that time of year to get some new merchandise for The Heart of Newburgh. It is always so crazy at Americasmart. I will be exhausted at the end of our jaunt. We will be heading home next Tuesday. Full of ideas, let's see how many we can make happen this year. I am hoping to come home with some renewed interests or something!