Chase your joy

I have decided that 2019 is the year that I chase my joy. Life is too short to do things that don't bring you joy... and I am supporting others with the same mindset. To that end, let me introduce you to John.

John is the brother of a dear friend of mine. If you run around Ravelry and spend time along the corridors of a certain castle, you know her as Stenojoz. She has the most caring and giving soul that you could ever dream of knowing. It doesn't matter what is going on with her - and trust me, life has tossed her some pretty craptastic lemons - she is there to make sure everyone around her is okay. Her kind and generous nature must be a family trait because her brother shares it... along with her crazy creative spirit.

So when this sweet family asked if would be willing to lend a hand in getting his little creative endeavor off the ground, I was not going to say no! Look this art he created... and it speaks volumes that he gets how much knitting and crocheting truly are healing tools that keep us grounded. I always say that my number one anxiety medication is knitting.

The shirts are generously sized and so very soft! He sent me a 3x because that is what I always get but honestly, I think I should have gotten just a 2x. It is soft, roomy, and just the perfect color for me. Purple is Pokey's favorite color so you know he tried to steal it from me. I told him the minute he crafted me something, I would share.

John is waiting for you to come and see what all he has waiting for you. You can follow him on his Facebook page as or on Instagram to get a sneak peek at all his crazy new designs.

As an added bonus, he was sweet enough to give y'all a discount! Just check out his shop, order your shirt (or mug, or bag, or sweatshirt), and use the code "MYTHERAPY" at check out to receive 12% off your order!! This code is good until Mother's Day, May 12th but don't delay. I know that I see a bag in my future, as well as my mama's.

It is time

Chewy Chester Newman agrees - it's selfish crafting time

2019 is the year. I have decided. You can't change my mind. I'm doing it. It is the year that I am going to craft selfishly!

I say it every year but this year I mean it. I have spent the better part of my life crafting for everyone else but there are a few things I really want to make for me so I have decided that after 20+ years, I am finally going to do it and just use my crafting time for myself.

Okay, I admit it. I just can't be completely selfish... I will continue my charity crafting for the Disney Blanketeers but I am thinking a "one for one" system should work. For every thing I make for me, I will create one newborn hat to donate... or if I need to feel like I have actually accomplished something during a larger project, I will make a newborn hat. I honestly love participating in charity knitting so in a way, that is selfish... right?

But on the whole, my crafting is going to be for me... I promise... I mean it... this is the year... just look at my Ravelry queue... I'm totally serious...  Fine, I'm going to try... happy?

Wear your ears!

Happy Friday the 13th! 

At work, it is a tradition that we wear our ears to ward off the bad luck and bring in the good so you know I've donned my classic ears today. You know what else I've done? Opened an Etsy store! Yep, that's right. I have decided to open an Etsy shop. I only have patterns up at the moment but I am going to be adding a few homemade things as well. Some sewn, some knitted, some crocheted, and some where my creativity got the best of me. I figured with as much crafting as I do - and I want to do - that I can't possibly keep it all so I figured I would share my wares with everyone else.

It was just something fun I thought of doing yesterday and now it's up and running. Take a wander around. I'll let you know when I get a few items up for sale besides patterns.

Have a beautiful day!!

It's getting there...

My living room has an awesome fireplace. I absolutely love it.

Slowly but surely, it's getting there. We moved 8 days ago and my house still isn't fully unpacked. This irks me to no end because I know my mother would be done by now. She's a guru when it comes to moving. She boxes it all up, hauls it across the country, unboxes and even bakes something within three days. I wish I could be more like her.

I have a laundry list of reasons I could blame it on - my knee, my job, lack of funds to do certain things - but the reality is, I just run out of steam. I unpack a room and I like to bask in the glory of it's completeness. If I move my head just right, I won't see those other boxes in that other room that need to be unpacked.

My craft nook is just the coziest place in the planet, isn't it!

Right now, my living room is done. So is the craft nook and the kitchen. Those are 100% complete - sans new blinds but we're doing that across the whole house so I am not counting that. The dining room has a few stray items in it that shouldn't be there, as does our bedroom. The office... well... that is just a hot mess but I will get to it next weekend when I have time. The bathrooms are both done - complete with new carpets, towels, and shower curtain in the guest bath.

I am sure it will all get done at some point - but unfortunately, it won't happen with just my wishing it so. I really do wish it worked that way... or maybe a cute little nosey twitch followed by some "dinky dinky dink" music... or folding my arms across my chest one at a time and flipping my ponytail over my head followed by a "dooooing" noise... how about a bit of wingardium leviosa?

Oh well. It's getting there. Slowly but surely, it's getting there.

Taking (crafting) Stock

So I was feeling rather unaccomplished this past year, as far as crafting goes. I normally make a ton of stuff but with all that went at work (promotion and then working two roles for several months), family issues, and general health challenges I just felt like I was flop. I gathered up all my projects for an end of year review blog post and found that I wasn't as bad as I thought - not as good as I normally am but not as bad as I feared.

I counted them up - there are 52 projects here. That's one yarny project a week for the entire year. That doesn't even take into account my recent sewing adventures!

Sometimes, when you feeling down, all you need to do is take a good honest look at what you've done. Chances are, it's more than you think.

Sunday Snaps

I've been getting to know my sewing machine.  She's a sweet thing who stopped fighting with me this week!

Vacation for some, work for others

This past week has been odd.  Pokey and Hobbit were both on vacation and I had to work all week. It made for some very off kilter nights, as they will both stay up all hours of the night and I have to go to bed by 11 o'clock at the latest to be coherent enough to work in the morning at 8am.  Then, while I was at work at 8 o'clock, they would roll out of bed around my lunch hour after noon.  Thankfully, it's all winding down - Pokey goes back to work on Monday and Hobbit is going back on her school bed schedule this week because she has orientation on the 20th and back to school on the 24th!

I have knit very little this past week. I made Hobbit a finger less mitt to go with one I had made back around Easter.  She now has  a complete set. While I've not been knitting, I have been getting geared up to get to know my sewing machine better!  I bought a ton of fat quarters, interfacing, and notions to make project bags.

They are super cute, aren't they!

The first type I wanted to try was the Japanese Knot Bag.  I tried two tutorials - Stacy Sews and Schools' DIY Japanese Knot Bag which has an envelop bottom and Helen Heaths' Japanese Knot Bag Tutorial which has a circular bottom.

I learned a lot with both of them and the main thing that I'm taking away is that I am not a Japanese Knot Bag kind of girl.  I like box bags or totes. I thought these would be cute for little odds and ends projects but honestly, I don't do odds and ends projects.  Most of what I knit or crochet is big and it needs a bigger bag.  While I highly recommend both - as they are very nice - I think my next adventure in sewing will be towards a tote bag and then a box bag.

I like them both but if I could take the handles from the envelop and put them on the other bag, it would be perfect.

Sunday Snaps

We started the week with a visit to my folk's house.  There was kite flying, crafting and general silliness...

While there, the most awesome of project bags ever made from my hook got fully lined with pockets and a zipper!

I made Hobbit a hat that she has worn every day since because the weather has been very typically FL Fall...

That means lots of rain.  I love it but apparently I am in the minority for this - along with hoping for a cold winter.

It's been pretty uneventful around here.  This coming week proves to be different so I'm soaking up this last day of relaxed bliss before charging head first into October.

Addiction confirmed

This is what I did yesterday...

Yeah, it's Easter egg dyeing for a crafty soul...

and this is what I'm going to be working with today...

I can't wait until I can get to do it again - I am officially addicted to dyeing my own yarn!

Flying... appropriate homework

Flying homework assignment for HPKCHC - do something you've been too scared to try...

That was one of the class prompts and so I figured it was the perfect time to bust out the Kool-Aid and my wool. I've only been hanging on to it for over a month, paralyzed by fear that I would ruin it.

I am very pleased to announce that I did not ruin it at all!  Below is a step by step photo tutorial on how I did it, using the images from above.  If I can do this, anyone can... grab your crockpot, your Kool-Aid and your wool - let's cook up some colorways!!

I think I might need some help coming up with a name for this skein... what do you think it should be called?

The benefits of a crafty mind

Thinking outside the box

I have been searching for a great project bag to stick my little sock projects in so they won't get tangled with my bigger projects while tucked into my universal project bag.  All of the bags I found cost more than they are worth.  Let me clarify that real quick - I love the cute little drawstring bags found on etsy and such but I don't see the value in them.  For such a small item to cost $20 and above seems extravagant to me... they're cute but just too expensive.

That being said - I went out again today to search for what I envisioned... and I found it!  This entire adventure cost me the same amount of money as one of those supposedly posh bags and I got a lot more than just one little bag.  I walked away with 21 new patterns, 3 new bags and a pair of socks (some assembly required).  Take that poof bag!!

It's perfect!

How did I do it, you ask... simple.  I went to the make up section of my local big box superstore that I usually attempt to avoid like the plague.  There I found a charming set of three bags, graduated in size, that will fit every little bit and bob I will need for any future knitting/crochet projects.  I was floored to also find the latest issue of Interweave Knits there - honestly, that would have been the last place on earth I would have looked for it. 

Just prior to stopping at the plague infested big box super store, I wandered around a big box crafty store where I wandered out with one simple skein of yarn that I have had my eye on for several weeks.  I attempted to look for said project bag there but it was a halfhearted effort since I knew from past experience, they wouldn't have anything remotely useable.  So the end result was my finding the perfect cute little project bag(s), a cherished magazine and some fabulous future socks - all for 1/4 of the cost of one poncy bag and I have monies left over!

Interweave Knits, Summer 2011

Sometimes, the greatest craft items aren't 'craft' items at all... that is, they aren't until one crafty mind sees them as such.  The next time you wish you had something but all the things you find turn out to be way more than you wish to spend, step outside the box.  Go back to the basics of what you are looking for and you just might be surprised where that road will lead you - I know I was... and I was even more surprised at how much money I saved by doing it.

DIY Moment ~ eReader Case

Every now and again, we are all hit with "Ah-ha" moments that should be documented and shared.  I just had one of those moments and now, you guessed it... I'm documenting and sharing it.  I figured that I make enough silly little repurposed things around here that I should start writing a few of them up periodically.  I missed my documenting opportunity with my dpn needle case that I made but I took full advantage of this one.

Several Christmases ago, I bought my husband a beautiful wool sweater.  It was a wonderful sale and the sweater was gorgeous.  Times were tight and I wanted to be sure that I was able to get Pokey one really nice item... and this sweater was it.  He is the only person I know who can wear a wool sweater in Florida so I knew it wasn't going to be a wasted gift.  This article was worn exactly once - then disaster struck.  You see, he was trying to be 'helpful' and surprise me by lending a hand to the laundry... oh, he surprised me alright - he felted and completely shrunk his wool sweater!  It went from fitting a size 42 chest on a full grown man to a size 6 child!!  I was more disappointed than anything - Hobbit claimed the sweater and happily wore it for the past two years.  Now, she too has outgrown it and I am going to repurpose it into a case for the Nook that Pokey received for Father's Day.  Here's how I did it...

Supplies

• One felted large sweater.
• One piece of computer printer paper
• One pen
• One pair of scissors and a handful of pins
• Either a sewing machine or needle and thread - it's up to you how you would like to work.
• 2 buttons (optional)

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Be sure to trace larger than you actual eReader so that you have enough room for seaming.  If you leave it the exact same size and then cut it out, once you sew it together, you'll have made it too small.

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Unless you have some heavy duty pins, don't worry about pinning through both layers.  It's a bit thick and will bend standard pins.  Just be sure you remember to cut both layers.

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Do you see how the bottom bit of the case is longer than the top - that is the flap closure.  This will leave us with as little seaming as possible.

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Be sure to line up your rounded edges and hold it well when you turn - otherwise, it will slip and then you'll have a bubble in your case.

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After you've sewn it together, flip it back out and be sure to push the corners through.  Now, for the top button flap, simply sew your button(s) where you want and then clip the excess.  If you opt for two buttons - one on either end - there will be no need for clipping but if you opt for a single center button, just cut level across the back and to the width you like so that the button is centered.

If you would like, you could add a handle to it by utilizing the cut out piece (see photo set 3) and attaching an end to each side seam prior to flipping your case right side out.  I opted against this as it was for my husband and I was afraid it would look like a purse and then it wouldn't be used... boys are so silly sometimes.

Now slide your eReader in and head off in style!