Weekender

PB and I had a great weekend. It was too short to say the least, but it felt extremely productive. We showed the house twice (cross your fingers!) and in order to do that we cleaned it from top to bottom - it's sparkling :)

He also found and fixed the weird tiny leak in the shower (only occasional drips seen in the basement - but he located the problem and presto - all was fixed). We (meaning he) cleaned out the gutters, we spent some time in Central City (didn't win) and spent some quality time together.

Still no pictures, which is sad - but my stupid sandisk 4GB memory card for my camera (only 6 months old) has been corrupted and I haven't heard back from the support desk. We'll see how that one goes.

I've also been able to continue work on the baby blanket I've been knitting. It's super soft and luxe and I love it cause it's machine washable. I've gotten into the "nesting" stage and have a laundry list of items I want to make before the little one gets here...

Quilt similar to this one here
Diaper bag for me similar to this one here but redesigned for my specifications :)
Hooded baby towels - I've already made one for my beautiful neice using the tutorial found here
Also to add to the list:
A portable changing pad (going to template these for sale on Etsy)
bibs (also for Etsy)
Burp Cloths (again, Etsy)
Lots more blankets :)

Quilt Top

I love these fabrics - I've been collecting 5" charm squares on ebay and finally found a good use for them. I put together this gorgeous quilt top using a variation of the 9 patch... I absolutely adore it. I now need to figure out what to use to do the border and the backing. What do you think?

In Progress:

Completed:

The colors are that dark in person, they are lovely and vibrant in real life... trust me.

New Purse

My neice requested a tote bag for her 15th birthday (I still can't belive she's that old!) and I got to work on her bag today since PB went bird hunting :) And she loves orange and purple - since she's getting a purple quilt for Christmas, I decided to go with an orange tote bag... I love it. Now I just need to add the closure and sew up the hole in the lining.

Second in line...

I can't wait to try this one: also found on my favorite site: craftster.org :)



Pattern:Yarn: Lion's Brand Wool-Ease, Thick & Quick
Needles: US 8 29" circulars and US 10.5 dpns
Notions: One big ol' funky button, needle and thread
The band of the hat is knit flat:
Using circular needles to accommodate the number of sts, CO 75 sts, leaving a fairly long tail (don't join).
Knit seed stitch *P1, K1* for 9 rows.
Row 10: Bind off 13 sts (this is the button flap) - 62 sts remain.
Change to dpns: K10, place marker (pm), K11, pm, K10, pm, K10, pm, K10, pm, K10, pm, k2tog to join round.Knit 13 more rounds
(Several people have mentioned that their hats have turned out a little short. I would recommend trying on your hat at this point and seeing if it is your desired length. If not, knit an extra round or two (or three) and then continue with the remaining pattern)
Begin decreasing: k2tog before each marker.
Continue to do so until only 7 sts remain.
Break yarn leaving a fairly long tail.
Pull tail through remaining sts, pull tight, and knot.
Now, try on the hat. Pull the button flap until the hat band is to desired fit.
Remove hat, holding button flap in place (I used a dpn to keep it in place).
Using the tail from the CO sts, stitch the bottom edge of the band and button flap together. Using a needle and thread, attach your button to the button flap.

Mother's Day

I've been thinking lately what I would like to do for Mother's Day. I have two moms really, and sisters who are moms. I'd like to do something for everyone, but how? I didn't plan enough in advance, and now, I feel overwhelmed. How is it that I do that each year?? I'm still not sure, but I'd love to figure that one out. All my gifts this year will be homemade, which puts even more pressure on me. It's not like I am able to whip it up quickly in enough time to mail out...I'm sure that I'll be late...as usual :) - Apparently that's something my family has come to understand and expect from me. One of these days I'm going to surprise them...maybe not this mother's day, but one day.
R- Bag, completed - card, done
B- Photographs, completed (frame not purchased) - card, not done
M/D- Photographs, completed (frame not purchased) - GC not purchased - card, not done
C- Bag, almost complete - card, not done

Obviously a slacker :)

Weekender

This weekend was packed FULL. I couldn't have stuck more in there if I tried - and I think I did :). Friday I finished a tote bag for my sis - ssshhh...it's a surprise!

Saturday was spent celebrating Cinco de Mayo with friends. We ate, drank, chatted, learned about and played with Cascarones, and had an impromptu poker tournament. Here are some pics from that fun day:

Seriously, check it out - it's me and the boys left, then, heads-up. I couldn't lose- I just kept getting the cards! Yay! I still can't believe I won!! $40 in my pocket - sweeeeet!

After that we went to watch the uneventful De la Hoya - Mayweather boxing match. Boring. It certainly did not live up to any expectations of reviving boxing. 12 rounds of complete boringness.

Sunday was awesome. Lazy day spent gardening and sewing. Planted zucchini, small sugar pumpkins (perfect for pies this summer and fall), spinach and radishes behind the onions that are doing real well. Also transplanted something that appeared to be strawberry plants, so cross your fingers on that one. The rest of the afternoon was spent piecing together a new hobo bag. It's this really cool bluey-purpley color, and I can't wait to see the finished result. Tonight I need to seam the tops together and topstich - that's it.

I also figured out my mothers day gifts - not a moment too soon :) gotta get those out in the mail today or tomorrow!

Generalities

Ah, well, a new week has begun. I worked all day on Saturday for our annual Breast Cancer walk - it was a great turnout for only the second annual event in Denver. Chris came with me and got to meet all my coworkers - lots of fun!

On Sunday we had the entire softball team over to celebrate their Boulder Victory!! Yay Champs! There was a great turnout - people were playing cornhole tournaments, eating lots of brats and drinking off the keg we got. Me, I relaxed in the new hammock I bought on Friday and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Later on I got a group to play cribbage, but unfortunately I was not victorious - major bummer. We also watched the Denver Nuggets defeat San Antonio in game one of the playoffs! Go Nugs!

Check out some of the awesome pics from that day:

I took Monday off and spent the day sewing - loved it! Finally figured out zippers too, which I consider a mojor accomplishment. Forgot to upload the pics, but I will get them up in a bit...

Spring Snow :)

This is what my driveway and front yard looked like this morning. Hard to believe last night I was cheering the Wild Wings softball team to at 21 to 6 victory just last night! Spring snows are wet and heavy - perfect for playing outside - execpt for the fact that I'm done with snow, I was gardening two nights ago, and Chris and I are headed to OK tonight after work. Blizzards and tornados do not make for good road-trip weather...

Oh well, we've decided to continue with our plan, but drive slower and stop along the way if needed :). I've got my books ready for the 12 hour drive, and have a few knitting projects to work on along the way... this is the first one I'd like to tackle. I have the perfect yarn in mind for it, and although I don't have size 35 needles (who does??? they're HUGE!!!) I've decided to do size 17 needles instead...I think it will still be lovely.

another bag

What a beautiful weekend we had here in Colorado...after months of snow on the ground (I swear, the snow from the first blizzard in December just melted) we finally had a wonderfully warm day - shorts, no shoes and a nap in the park watching the guys practice softball. Here's a nice action shot! It was such a nice day on Sunday - grilling out, playing in the park - what a great way to get my fill of Vitamin D! I can't wait till it warms up even more. The longer days, warm nights, grilling out, playing in the park, mountain biking, hiking, swimming - I could go on and on. :) - For now, I'll settle for the beautiful 70 degree weather we're having right now. Can't beat it.

I also spent Saturday evening sewing. I wanted to make something other than the tote, and I wasn't ready to tackle the diaper bag for my sis, so I chose something in between. I made a hobo bag from some incredible fabric I found at a local thrift store, and I looooooove it! It's got such a "Burberry/British feel" to me, and since I love brown, this works out well. I've already taken it bowling with me on Sunday, and matched my outfit around it for work today. I've already discovered some changes I want to make on my next one, but will definitely be making more of this bag - soooo easy, quick - love it! I can take pics of the next one I make and post a tutorial on here if anyone is interested. I'm also going to make a lined, zippered pouch for this in the same fabric since I still have tons left over. What do you think?

Sewing

So, I absolutely love crafts. I've taken to calling myself a "regular 50's housewife" simply because I love to sew, knit, bake and cook so much. I absolutely adore it. My mom got me a sewing machine for the holidays, and though I haven't had the time to go completely crazy sewing, I'm truly enjoying myself and getting better each time.

My favorite bag is one I recently made. It's a reversable tote with two pockets on the inside and two on the outside. My next venture is a lovely tote for my sis, and then a diaper bag for my other sis... That task seems a bit daunting at the moment so I think I'll work on the tote before taking that one on.

I use Craftster for inspiration. The posters on there are so incredible - it's like a festival of craftiness every day! That's actually where I got the inspiration for the reversable tote bag above, and where I got all the ideas I have for the diaper bag - I still can't believe I'm going to try elastic pockets and a zip-top bag :) - luck me that my sis is incredible and will most likely tell me she loves it even though it might be hideous!