Must.....finish.....something!

The weekend was very productive.  Saturday was filled with sunshine so I spent a good part of the day, walking around the trails of one of the islands famous WWII Parks.  It was just a good friend of mine, my red nose Pitt bull, Kane and I.  We just walked around exploring new trails and bunkers I haven't see before, chatting about life and it was wonderful.

Sunday was not filled with sunshine but rain and lots and lots of rain.  For some reason I woke up at 8:30am and couldn't get back to sleep, so on the coffee went and after about an hour of waking up, I dug through my yarn stash and found some tweed yarn.  I only had 2 balls of this tweed yarn, because it was given to me by a friend, who bought them for me while on vacation in Florida.  So the mission was to make something that only called for these 2 balls.  This is what I came up with.....

I did have to go to the store and purchase the yarn for the border, but I was ok with that.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.

As promised here....."Did I Actually Finish Something", a picture of the Cullotes.

Put Some Sunscreen On

The weather has been fantastic lately.  Full sun, slight breeze and between 50-60 degrees.  Summer is on it's way, which means time to get the some projects done outside.  Last Saturday, it took me all day, but I managed to prune, and clean up the raspberries bushes, and the entire side yard where they live.  In their lifetime, they have probably never been looked after. 

Do you have raspberry bushes on your property?  Do you know what you need to do to produce great bushes each year?  I didn't till a week ago, now that I do, I feel I need to share with the whole world!  A raspberry "cane" (basically a stick growing out of the ground), produces fruit the second year of it's life.  Meaning one raspberry bush, or whatever you want to call it, will grow two canes...the first year cane #1 will produce fruit and it will grow a second cane that will not.  The following year, cane #1 dies and cane #2 will produce fruit and so on and so on.  All you have to do, each year around this time, is break off the "dead" cane.  You will be able to spot these as they will not have any buds on them and they should break off fairly easy.  If you live in a place that gets cold winters, I suggest clipping off the tops of the canes that will produce fruit (about 5 to 6 inches), as the tips are probably burned by frost.

That's it really simple.  Now what to make with your raspberries when they come in??

• Raspberry Muffins
• Raspberry Jelly
• Raspberry Butter
• Raspberry Pancakes
• Throw them in your salads
• Raspberry Cheeses Cake

There's really so much you can do with them...it's endless!

Daily Movements

Each day could very well blend into one great big long day sometimes.  Monday thru Friday, wake up...make coffee, take dogs outside, get ready for work...work...lunch...work...go home...make dinner, watch a little TV...go to bed....do it all over again.  It can be so hard to break up the monotony of daily life.  But trust me you have to find some way to break that.

Crafts:
It only took me 2 months to finish a hat for a co-worker of mine, but I finally finished it.  It was a simple crochet hat with a brim.  I had to re-do the brim 5 times before I could get it the right shape...talk about frustrating!  The hat turned out great and she loves it.  I was so glad to finish it and get it out of my house that I didn't even take a photo of it.  Now on to the numerous other unfinished projects.

Life:
Walking.  I am finally into a routine!  It only took a couple months to get a schedule down to actually walk everyday, but I have finally done it.......till the next time I decide "I just don't want to walk today".

Peace

We're Going Global!

Every Friday night I am invaded by "Man Night".  My Hubby and his buddies get together in the man room and play cards till all hours of the night.  This Monday, the hubby comes to me and asks if I can make a Tee Shirt with his Poker Room Sign on it.  Hmmmm, I thought....been wanting to try a technique?!?!

 

Why?  Well, for the past several months, every Thursday night a local bar in town has been holding Texas Hold'em tournaments.  The winner each week won a seat at the final table...tonight.  The winner tonight wins round trip tickets to Vegas to play in a tournament.  If one of my hubby's buddies win, he is going to give them the "Bob's Poker Room" shirt to wear when they are down there.

What I did was very simple, and I plan to experiment with a few things, with a couple other projects.  How it was made.......

Materials:

• 
  
  Tee Shirt
• 
  
  Gel Bleach Pen
• 
  
  Cardboard
• 
  
  Chalk

1. Start by putting the cardboard inside the shirt to separate the back and front, so you don't get any bleed through.
2. Using the Chalk, draw the design you want.  I would make it fairly simple, too intricate would be hard to draw with a Gel Bleach Pen.
3. Next, with the Gel Bleach Pen, carefully "trace" over your chalk.
4. Let the Bleach do its job.  I left the bleach on till the gel was practically dried out. (About 45 min)
5. Rinse off the Gel.
6. Wash in washer.
7. Enjoy!

Loving the Great Outdoors

The best way to refresh and relax is to take advantage of a beautiful day.  It is one of the biggest reasons I love where I live...the "wilderness" is anywhere from an hour to only 5 minutes away and just look at that view.

 Last Saturday, the hubby hopped on his bike and I loaded the dogs in the van.  I packed burgers for my Hubby and a Garden Burger for myself, my mini charcoal grill, seats, trail mix, chips, toys for the dogs...you name it I probably packed it.  We started off without a destination, just out the road.  We found a quiet, sunny spot next to Kalsin River, a river usually packed full of fishermen. We all unloaded and just.........played and played and played.

Hard Working

Taxes Taxes and more Taxes!  That is what my life has looked like the last couple weeks.  Amazing enough, I have been working on lots of projects.  I made a pair of crochet earrings for my mother in law for easter, a pair for a friend for her birthday and since have had two orders for them.

They are fun to make and I plan to start making more of them to sell at the bazaars come holiday season.  Crochet is my focus, mainly because it is the craft that I most enjoy.

For The Ladies

For Easter this year, the hubby and I went to a family friends house for dinner. The plan is always to go to his parents house for holidays but we all decided to change things up and let someone else host. The food was good, at least that is what they told me, being a vegetarian I only ate side dishes, and three of them were potatoes. So it was mashed potatoes and carrots for me.

And now for the craft...you know there was going to be some kind of craft right?

All the ladies received a crochet flower brooch, made by yours truly. They are really simple to make and a great way to use up scraps of yarn.

Ta Da!

Here she is in all her glory.....

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby Right Round!

Today I am going to be blessed with a Spinning Wheel! Now I have never spun wool before and I have never used a spinning wheel...I don't even know what this wheel looks like. But I am very excited to try and hopefully succeed. How wonderful to be able to spin the yarn I use to crochet with.

This has been just an idea in my head since Christmas and I almost gave up on the idea.

Rewind to the beginning. My good friend calls me up and tells me she has a Christmas present for me, but there is a stipulation...this spinning wheel has been donated to the High School Drama Club for a stage prop. The Drama teacher is worried that the wheel will just be destroyed by the students and appears to be in very good shape. It can be mine as long as if they ever need it as a prop for a play, I would be willing to let them use it. Hmmmm a free spinning wheel and all I have to do is agree that IF they ever preform a play that needs a spinning wheel I have to let them borrow it. No, I can't do that!

Are you kidding me, of course!

Old

I am no longer a spring chicken.  I have stepped past the twenties and am now the big 30.  It is not really as scary as everyone makes it out to be...just a number. 

Did I actually finish something?

Yes!!! I actually finished a split skirt this weekend.


I am bringing the 80's back and going to wear with pride my "Culottes". They are much more fashionable than the one's I wore when I was eight years old and frankly, I can't believe I ever stopped wearing them. I hardly ever wear skirts anymore, the weather where I live is just too unpredictable. The wind will pick up without warning and so will your skirt....right over your head.

(Picture coming soon)

Job...Work...Career...?

Lately I feel as though all I do is work...work...work...work. As I type this I am working, scanning tax workpapers and daydreaming about crafting. When I was young that is what I thought you do...you finish school and "go get yourself a career!" Careers are very much overrated. I work to live, and support my family, nothing more.

Though this job requires so much of my time and attention sometimes. The balance between work and play can be so hard to find when you are exhausted from work to play. As things are going it is taking me a week to finish a split skirt. It is only 4 straight seams and two curved, a hem and casting for the elastic waist band. How do you balance your work and play?

A whole month!

I can't believe I let an entire month go by without posting. Actually in a way I can....the last month has been dampened by rain. And although I don't mind rain...."whomever said happiness came with sunshine, has never danced in the rain"....it does get old after weeks of non stop rain and dark skies.

Today the sky is not grey and rainy, but white and snowing and blowing. Oh joy winter has finally hit.

As far as crafts go, not much has been happening. Hopefully soon I will have some new things to show off. Three weeks ago I did a Matryoshka Doll painting class (Russian Nesting Dolls), they are almost complete, just having a tough time with the faces....I hate faces! I am also trying to finish up my nieces Christmas present that I didn't finish in time for Christmas (I know bad auntie). I have also been working on some new skirts for work. Unfortunately all these things are unfinished, where o where did my motivation go??

Nothing

That is what everyone has missed in my lack of posting...nothing. Unless you want to hear about the long hours I have been putting in at the office, or about my new haircut.

In an attempt to spark my creativity I have started an art journal, and up to this point there is about as many entries there as there was blog post in January. I really need to get myself out of this funk.....I just don't know how.

How do you spark your creativity?

Keeping Busy

Ever go looking for coasters at the store.....they can be expensive, or not fit in with your decor, or if you live somewhere remote or small (like me) where stores don't carry them. Here is a quick and easy way to make your own personalized coasters.

You will need:

• One 12" x 12" square of cork material.


• One sheet of 100% wool felt (craft felt will work as well, just may not hold up as well).


• e-6000 adhesive.


• Dimensional fabric paint.


• Tools to cut and measure.


• Your imagination!!

Directions:

Start by cutting your 12" x 12" Cork into nine 4" squares, and cut the felt into 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares (one sheet will make 6 squares).

Using the E-6000 adhesive, glue your felt to the cork. For best results spread the glue in an even layer. It is also easier to apply the glue to the cork instead of the felt. One more thing...you can use lots of adhesive. I chose the E-6000 because it is water proof and very strong.

You now have the base for your coasters. At this point it is up to you to be as creative as you feel like.

Using Dimensional Fabric Paint, I decided to go simple with three dots in each corner. Feel free to go crazy, just remember you want your glass to sit on an even surface.