Yarn Along #3

I'm once again posting with Yarn Along (last week, where was I... who knows?!)

This is the third reading time blanket I'm working on. It would seem that Bubba has already called it for himself, saying it reminds him of the waves at the beach... which is fitting since I'm doing a wave pattern. I'm enjoying it, and even though it is my first time for this particular style, it is quite fun. Although I really didn't take into account the shorting of length once the wave got going... hmmm, so I think a hefty border will be in order to correct for the lack of length!

And the book I'm reading... well, if you caught the last post about books waiting for me at the library then you will know what is currently hold my attention!

If you missed it:
Fabric: 17 Innovative Sewing Projects that Make Fabric the Star (by Susan Wasinger)
Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts ('nough said :-)
Sew Serendipity (by Kay Whitt)

Waiting for me!

The library is my friend! I really love requesting books, and not having to go around to different libraries to find what I want! The books just make their way to my favorite library, and then I get a call when something is there to pick up... LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Right now I have three books sitting on a shelf with my name taped to them!

Fabric: 17 Innovative Sewing Projects that Make Fabric the Star (by Susan Wasinger)
Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts ('nough said :-)
Sew Serendipity (by Kay Whitt)

What is great is that I can check out these books and decide whether or not they are worth owning. When you live on a budget, $20 for a book that you will never use could have gone a long way in another direction!

The last First...

As we headed off to Mass yesterday afternoon I looked back at the banner and thought of all the Masses our sweet Snooker waited for us to return to the pew, and how now our family was going to be complete in the Eucharistic celebration!
Fr. D was the celebrant for the Mass, what a treat! We just love him, he is truly an amazing priest and man! (Doesn't Snooker look snazzy in his little suit?!)
We couldn't be more proud of our little Snooker... man, he is growing up so fast (and tall too)!

Roses are red

A week ago, I guess, I came across this really pretty cake with large roses done in frosting. The blogger showed that you could also translate them to cupcakes and cookies... and immediately I pinned it (I'm addicted to Pinterest). After looking over the blog, I thought there had to be a catch. She said it was easy, and indeed her directions seemed simple enough... but let's face it, it's never that easy! Or is it?

Well, it is! I did just as she said... and now I have cute roses for Our Lady to go along with the cake tomorrow (the cake is was not GF, I ordered it... so I needed to come up with something for Bobcat, and I happened to have had a GF box mix and one thing of frosting stored away for just such an occasion!).

It's gonna be a good day Tater

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY!!!

-So let me run you through why today is a good day... first, I'm still basking in the glow of the game 5 win by the Mav's!!!! YAY!!!

-I have two books waiting for me a the library (be quiet... I love that they are there waiting for me, sitting on a shelf with my name on them, I don't have to scour the many aisles looking for just the right thing... I LOVE THAT I CAN REQUEST THEM ONLINE!).

-I woke up this morning to an email in my inbox telling me I'm a winner (WOOHOO)!

What did I win? Well, a $25 gift credit to the Pleated Poppy! This is a great little shop, and just my style. I love her selection, and the fabrics she picks...well, are just adorably perfect! So I spent a good while trying to make my selection. Boy, it was hard to narrow it down to just one thing for the time being... but drum roll please... I picked the turquoise damask zipper pouch (it was between that and the notebook cover... but I just love pouches!!). If you want to see it, you have to go to her site (this way you too will fall in love with her shop!).

Now you may be asking where I found this great give away?! One of my new favorite spots, the Creative Itch!

-And last but not least for today... I'm finishing up the preparations for our last First Communion for our little family... little Snooker... my little Snooker Monster... our tiny Scooter... after many months of preparing with Daddio is finally receiving the Holy Eucharist for the first time...

Keeping the dust at bay...

Sewing has taken up a great deal of my free time lately. I have so many projects floating around in my head, in my stacks of fabric, websites, and books... what's a girl to do?

That all being said, I needed to have an area where I could work. Our house is cozy, so a craft room really isn't an option, and I dislike (greatly) things in the living room that don't belong there... so while I did set up shop in a corner for a week, that too had to change.

Finally it was decided, after doing a little rearranging, that the master bedroom would be the place. I'm okay with that, it wasn't my first choice, but I'm pretty sure there are building codes about just opening up the roof and putting in one more room on the top of your house :-).

Anyway, now I have a place to sew... and am able to leave my machine out instead of taking it in and out of a crate every time I want to use it. Naturally reading all the craft blogs I saw many lovely dust covers for sewing machines... and I thought to myself, I can do that! Who needs a stinkin' pattern when you have a ruler, paper, and fabric? Off to work I set this morning, once the boys finished up their school work.

It took me some time trying to decide how I wanted to tackle this project. Did I want to make it reversible, did I want it to encase the machine or drape over it and tie on the outsides, what sort of fabric/pattern did I want to go with?

I decided against reversible, that just seemed like too much work for one day! Then I decided I didn't want it to just drape... hmmm, this was going to take a little more time to work out the side angles... no problem, I had time. And fabric... I went with my favorite series that I purchased a year or so ago for a set of totes I made (all coordinating of course:-).

So here's the finished product... side one:
Side two (what, I love both sets of fabric, and I like to change things, so instead of making two, I just made two sides to suit my mood :-).

Yarn Along #2

This is my second installment of Yarn Along with Ginny. This week's project is a second reading blanket (I need at least three, right?!) I'm using many skeins I already have, and will need to pick up a few more to finish it off... but the color combination was inspired by the coast. In the evenings as we would walk along the beach and the waves would come in and go out... all of the beautiful shells (little clam fellows) would be exposed. So in this granny square motif, I've tried to capture all of the pretty muted colored shells that you see just before they dive down below the sand!

The book, Doodle Stitching, is another reference material I'm using for my co-op class. Well, and for myself. I've not done a whole lot of stitching like this, I love the look of it, and really think it would add that little pop I'm always looking for in the things I make!

Happy hooking... hmmm, maybe that shouldn't be the tag line :-)!