Happy New Year

I am excitedly awaiting the start of 2012.  Normally, the changing of the year is not that big of a deal to me but oh, 2011 was a challenging year.  I am hoping that the new year will be filled with happiness, health and peace - for all that I know as well as my own family.

Whatever you do tonight and tomorrow - stay safe and have fun.  I'll be back soon with some new additions for this blog.

Merry Christmas

Hello Everyone -

I just want to take a few moments to say thank you for visiting my blog and adding to my ever increasing enjoyment of blogging.  With lots of wrapping, baking and some last minute stocking stuffers to buy; and yes, some crafting to finish - I know I won't be online again until next week.  So, I hope you all have a joyous Christmas and happiness with your family and friends.

Sincerely -

Sheery

Tuesday's Tallies - Still Here

So, I thought it might be a nice idea to make a quick post and say that I am still here.  I am crafting a lot for the holidays (mostly crocheting) and loving every minute of it! Unfortunately, I have nothing to show here on the blog of my WIP's though as my husband lost our camera in the middle of November.  I am an avid shutterbug and very sad about the loss and he feels really bad about it.  In fact, I have a feeling there may be a new camera under the tree for me on Christmas morning.  And if there's not - well, that will be all right but my husband should accept that I will be buying a new one in January.

Anyway, my main projects on the go are afghans for my daughters for Christmas.  I had started the blankets for them a while back and then took a break because I really didn't like the way they were turning out.  THne I went back to them but still wasn't head-over-heels for them.  THEN, I finally learned how to properly make a Granny Square.  I must say that I now understand why so many people love the beautiful squares.  Oh my goodness.  I took apart all of the work previously done on my daughters blankets and started over to make them both Granny Square afghans in their favorite colors.  Oh, and did I mention that this was at the beginning of December? I know, I am crazy but I am darn determined that my girls have these beautiful (yes, I am boasting) creations on Christmas morning.

I am also working on something for my husband but won't say any more about it until after Christmas.  There is a small chance he'll read this post and if he does - I don't want the surprise ruined.  And, as if I'm not busy enough - I'm making little bags or scarves for every female in our family.  Wow, it makes me a little jittery thinking of all I still need to complete in thirteen days.  I better get back to it.

I'm hoping everyone is having a beautiful Holiday season.

One A Day - Tuesday's Tallies

One A Day is hosted by Carole at Gingerbread Girl and on Ravelry.

I have to admit I had been slacking off just a bit over the past couple of weeks.  That was due, in part, to having been frustrated with the way my daughters blankets looked when I joined the different pieces together.  I am happy to say that I am ready to pick their blankets up again.

In the meantime, I have some hexagons to show you:

Two that I joined to create a mini bag for a family members Christmas gist.

And two more that I'm going to join into another mini bag.

Short and sweet but I'm happy to at least be making progress again.  Have a great week everyone and thanks for stopping by.

Happy Halloween to everyone! Whatever you are doing tonight - have fun and stay safe!



Hexagon Mini Bags

I have not been very good about posting here but I aim to change that.  I have a lot of projects going on as do my husband and children.  So, look for lots of artisitic posts in the near future.  I'll begin with this hexagon mini bag.  I was playing with a mini bag pattern and came up with this bag - which I just adore.  So do my daughters.  So, I'm going to be making several of these in many different colors as Christmas gifts.  I hope the receivers enjoy them as much as my girls and I do.

One A Day - Tuesday's Tallies

One A Day is hosted by Carole at Gingerbread Girl and on Ravelry.

So, I didn't have a very good week craft-wise.  Technically, I did crochet.  And while I was enjoying the progress I was making on my daughter's afghans - I have hit a definite road block.  I started sewing the blocks together and really, really dislike the outcome.  I first single crocheted a strip of blocks and about cried.  I really don't like the seam created by single crocheting them together.  So, I ripped that out and slip stitched them together - better, but still not loving it.  So, I once again ripped the blocks apart and whip stitched them together.  And while I do prefer the way this looks - I was thoroughly frustrated by this point.  I had to put it all aside.  Now I'm not sure what to do and am completely stalled on the project.  I want my daughters to have the afghans they asked for but I also want to like them.  Is that weird? I'm hoping that a few days away from the afghans will make me feel better about them.  I really want to have them done by Christmas, though.  Big sigh.

Please tell me this has happened to someone else.  If it has - does a little break from whatever is annoying you help?

In the spirit of sticking with One a Day - I have been making more hexagons.  I'm going to start turning these into Christmas gifts for other family members, as well.  I just haven't decided what exactly everyone is getting yet.

One A Day - Tuesday's Tallies

One A Day is hosted by Carole at her blog, Gingerbread Girl and at Ravelry.

My original One A Day project is complete.  As I said in my post two weeks ago (sorry I didn't post last week.  I was way too excited about going to see Duran Duran in concert) I made the mistake of not purchasing enough yarn for my project.  So, the blanket that was meant for our king sized bed is now a rather large throw for our bed or the couch.  And may I just say that it is getting a lot of use! It makes me very happy seeing this - my first blanket - being cuddled with and gracing our home with color.  Here are some pictures:

My husband asked for the black and I wasn't sure about it but want him to feel that this is his blanket, too.  Now, I absolutely love the black.

Stretched across the couch.  Please ignore how yucky the couch is - thank you.

One of the most popular places to find the blanket - spread across my daughters and I during our nightly story time.

These are the hexagons I learned how to make.  They were meant to be my next One A Day project.  However, they are being put on hold for a bit.  My girls and I were looking at magazines in Barnes and Noble.  I came across the prettiest afghans in a crochet magazine.  They are so easy, too.  THey are just blocks of alternating colors.  My girls fell in love with them and asked me to make each of them one in their favorite colors.  Of course I said yes.  What they don't know is that I've already started them.  I will be giving the blankets to them for Christmas.  I can't wait!

Here is the start of the one for my older daughter - Miss O.  She loves all shades of blue. 

And here is the start of the one for my younger daughter - Miss B.  She loves Hello Kitty so hers will be pink, black and white.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope you all have a wonderful, happy and colorful week!

 

Food Art

I think food - the making of and the presentation of - is art, too.  I particularly love the pretty, fresh colors in this simple but healthy salad.

Kid Art

My daughters love, love, LOVE art! They draw, color, and make things all the time! it is really wonderful to witness and be a part of.  Right now, they both want to learn to crochet and it is fun teaching then to make a chain.  However, as someone who can barely draw a straight line with a ruler, I am somewhat partial to their drawings.  Both of my girls use a lot of color and definitely express themselves with their art.  This, i absolutely understand.  I want to share some of their recent art work.

Self Expression by Miss O

Ice Cream Halloween Party by Miss O

Doesn't this just say it all? This made me giggle with its sweet and obvious request for a Halloween party.  And yes, Miss O wants to be a CowGirl this year.

Self Expression by Miss B

One A Day - Tuesday's Tallies

One A Day is hosted by Carole at her blog, Gingerbread Girl and at Ravelry.

I have made definite progress on the stripey blanket.  I have come to a slightly reluctant conclusion about it, as well.  First, the progress, in photos, of course:

I adore the colors in this blanket.  They are so vivid and I wish they would show better.  Oh well, I promise they're lovely.  The conclusion about this bit of fun stripes is that it is not going to be a blanket for mine and husband's bed as originally thought.  The main reason being that I made the mistake of not buying enough of the green and purple yarns.  I read - more than once even - buy all the yarn you need for your project at the beginning.  I had no idea how much I would need, though.  And now, I can't find any more of the green and purple at any of the stores around us.  I could buy it online but the cost is nearly double and this blanket is eating yarn.  Adding up the cost was making my husband anxious.  Honestly, it made me squeamish, too.  Plus, at the beginning of the blanket, the rows are a little uneven.  So, as much as I - and my family - love the pretty stripes of this blanket - it is coming to an end.  I suppose it will drape over the end of the bed and be more of a throw.  Or I can put it over our couch.  Actually, I think that's where it'll probably end up as I think that piece of furniture is rather drab and could use an infusion of color.

Next week I'll share the finished blanket and also what I've decided upon as my next One A Day project.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Mini Love and Hooky Storage

I have fallen in love.  My daughters, Miss O and Miss B are also in love.  My husband, the lone male in our house, just grins and shakes his head at the giddiness we three females have for the mini's. 

Mini Hexagons! They are so adorable! Oh my goodness - they are just so unbelievable cute and EASY! I used the wonderful tutorial from Bunny Mummy and I am so greatful to have found it.  My daughters have asked me to make them Christmas skirts out of the mini hexagons.  I have never made anything like that but I am absolutely determined to make it happen.

I needed some crochet hook storage.  I thought of this vivid orange vase that we have and knew that it would be perfect! I adore the way the hooks look through the pretty orange glass.

One-a-Day Tuesday's Tallies

Last week I found - and decided to participate in - Gingerbread Girls One-a-Day project.  It is amazing and so much fun! I adore seeing and hearing about all the progress of other participants.  And, I'm making progress on the striped blanket I started for our bed.  Yay! The extra awesome thing is that this blanket is a complete hit in my house.  It's only about 25% complete and already my kids and husband have grabbed it to cover up with.  I admit that I keep hugging it to me, too.

Working on the striped fun!

See, I love to hold it, too.  And of course, take photos of the progress.

My girls, cuddling under the work in progress.

One A Day

I found a crochet project that I simply can not pass up.  I still consider myself a beginner at this craft but I am going to jump into this feet first.  The project is hosted by Carole at a wonderful blog called Gingerbread Girl.  The idea is to make an element of a large crochet project per day; thus One a Day.  What's extra nice about this project is that there is a group on Ravelry (another new and fun place for me) and I can see all the wonderful and creative people taking part in this.  People are doing ripples and flowers and hexagons and just a wonderful, colorful plethora of creativeness.  It almost made me feel like my simple stripes are a little boring.  I got over that fast, though.  My husband and I both still love this blanket I am making for our bed - and that's what counts.

About said blanket: Originally, I was doing stripes (two rows of each color) of white, light blue, green and purple.  I completed that pattern twice and my husband asked me to add black to the motif.  I agreed, considering it is for our bed, but a bit reluctantly.  Guess what? I LOVE the addition of the black.  So now, the pattern of the stripes will continue to be white, blue, green, purple, white, blue, green, purple, black.  At this time I am thinking the border will be black, as well.

For some reason, I am not able to add pictures at this time.  I will have to do so in a future post about this blanket and One a Day.  Oh yeah, I am using Lion Brand's Hometown U.S.A. yarn and an 'N' (9mm) crochet hook.

Editing to Add: I forgot how long it takes to do one row on this monster blanket.  LOL So, instead of two rows each day - it will literally have to be one row per day.

Also, for some reason, my commenting abilities are sporadic on Blogger.  I have no idea why that is but it's definitely annoying! LeeAnn, I love the colors of the Hometown U.S.A. yarn and started using this brand for this blanket and one each for my daughters.  I can honestly say that I won't use it again on a large project.  The yarn gets sucked up way too fast! It's great for smaller projects, though.

Hot Pink Headband

My daughters wear headbands all the time.  They also lose and break said headbands on a fairly regular basis.  My youngest is in the process of growing out her bangs and the headbands are necessary.  Frustrated, and not wanting to buy more plastic bands that will just be broken in a week, I decided to crochet one.  I must say, I am quite pleased with the result.  I want to add a flower to it but will have to wait until she goes to sleep.  she doesn't want to take it off.  Aww.

I have a feeling I'll be making several of these - in a rainbow of colors.  Especially since I'm certain my older daughter will want some, too.

Cell Phone Case

My old cell phone is lost.  I had to buy a new one.  Since we were up for contract renewal - we were also due for an upgrade on our phones.  My husband didn't want to upgrde his phone but I said yes please.  Of course, they tried to sell us all sorts of extras for my new phone, as well: a charger for the car, a case, head phones.  No, no and no but thanks anyway.  I was especially surprised to learn that the darn case was twenty dollars! Really? I told my husband right in front of the sales clerk that I would happily make my own case.  my husband grinned and the clerk looked annoyed.  Oh well, I say.  And here is the very simple but I think adorable, case:

Christmas Flower Scarf

I signed up to do a swap that had to involve crocheted flowers.  Shortly there after, I saw really pretty and fun Christmas yarns in Michael's.  Unable to resist, I bought a few and had the idea to make Christmas flowers.  Well, then I had a bunch of pretty flowers and thought of turning them into a decorative scarf.  And let me tell you, turning the bunch of flowers into one scarf was quite challenging for me as a novice crocheter.  I lterally made it up as I went.  The end result is all right.  I think if I were to make this scarf again I would try something a bit different, though.  Anyway, the results:

Christmas In July

I'm working on an idea I had for a Christmas present.  So far I like the way it is turning out.  If the finished product turns out the way I am hoping it will - then I will definitely make a few more of these.

My First Crocheted Hat

My husband wanted me to crochet him a beanie.  I took him with me to pick out the yarn and found what seemed like an easy and straight forward pattern online.  The finished product:

I love the yarn and the way it looks as a hat.  I'm not sure I love the actual hat, though.  Fortunately, my husband does since he's the one who will be wearing it.  Well, him and Miss B as she has taken a liking to it, as well.

Cars

We went to a car auction yesterday.  Most of the cars on auction were classics.  There were, of course, the newer versions of such cars as the Mustang (gorgeous, by the way) but most of the vehicles up for auction were indeed amzingly restored classics.  We are a family who loves classic vehicles.  I grew up with a dad who also loves classics and spent time restoring a couple.  The fact that my husband loves the cars and we have passed this on to our daughters is quite wonderful.

Of course, my daughters also love the movie Cars as a result.  And they (all of us, actually) are itching to see the new movie Cars 2.  Needless to say, the subject of cars is at the forefront in my house today.  Miss O even did art work on the subject; with her favorite color dominant in her drawing:

Stars

I love these stars! I am still surprised they turned out nicely.  my girls love them so I am going to make another set (alternating the sizes) and make a Patriotic decoration for their room for the 4th of July.

Thank You Gift

Miss O's teacher loves all things patriotic and American.  So, Miss O wanted her to have something red, white and blue as a thank you gift for a wonderful school year.

Going for the Americana look with the wrapping,

Crocheted Patriotic coasters.  Miss O said her teacher loved them and that they'll go well with her table cloth.  Yay, a happy daughter and a happy teacher.  A great way to start the much anticipated summer vacation.

Inspiration

I saw these gorgeous flowers and their vivid colors last week while I was out for some exercise.  Today - knowing I was going by them again - I took my camera along with me.  I am in love with how beautifully these colors work together.  I must make something using this combination of colors.  Until I figure out what exactly that something is going to be - this picture is the new background for my laptop.  Definite inspiration!

The Mommy Poem

Miss O - my eldest daughter - wrote me a poem.  needless to say, this lovely piece of art is definitely my favorite right now.  And will remain a favorite, I know.  She had just a bit of help from Daddy with the spelling but other than that - this is her sentiment.

In case it's difficult to read, it says:

Reading is awesome you

can learn lots of things

like a flower blossoms you grow

when you read.

Mommy I love when you

read to me because I love

you so much and you love

me.

Like I said, this heart-string yanker is a forever-favorite of mine now.

Gardening

Yes, I absolutely believe that gardening is an art! Normally, I am really, horribly bad at gardening! Seriously, I can not even keep a simple house plant alive.  Recently, Miss O and Miss B expressed a keen interest in gardening.  So, over Easter weekend my husband, our girls and I went to Home Depot and did some research on gardening.  We don't have a lot of space to plant a proper garden - so we decided to start with a couple of things in pots.  We got strawberries and Brussels sprouts.  Guess what, it's working - the plants are actually blooming! To say that my family is thrilled is quite the understatement! I hope these plants do indeed produce fruit and vegetables.

Brussels sprouts

Pretty flowers that Miss O planted with her Girl Scout troop.  I have no idea what they are - told you I stink at gardening.

Strawberries