Sweetness

They're always so sweet when they are sleeping! Since he's still sleeping this morning, I declare this an 'awww' moment of motherhood. Forgive my veering off crafts for this.

I just came across this picture looking for a Christmas doily that I wanted to post.

...never did find a picture of that doily. I'm afraid that I gave it as a gift before remembering to take a picture. =(  So you just get this wrong-time-of-year photo instead.

Lavender Butterfly

I loved this one so much, I almost had a little trouble parting with it when I sold it! In fact, I've considered buying another packet to make myself my own set to create a combo with a dress that I'd someday like to alter/adapt so it might actually look OK on me... hmmm, lots of qualifiers, so maybe it's not worth it yet. We'll see. It's not like there aren't 372 other projects that should get done first anyway.

Size 6/0 Seed Beads. Peaceful colors or something, but I just love it. Is the green a bizarre addition?

Purple, Pink, and Pearl

...with a touch of gold, but that doesn't start with 'P.'

"Never underestimate the power of alliteration, my friend."

10 points if you can identify that line.

And now I'm off track, before even really getting on track! I blame it on a lack of sleep.

Size 6/0 Seed Beads purchased in individual tubes. Try as I might, I couldn't get the picture to translate the real colors. But that is definitely a purple and not brown. I guess you'll have to trust me that it's prettier in real life (if you can trust me to have an unbiased opinion!).

Packer Headbands for Toddlers

My dear sister-in-law asked me to make some Packer headbands for my little niece's birthday coming up. They are far from Wisconsin, so they love to show their Packer pride whenever they can.

Once again, I was so excited to see what she thought of them that I forgot to take pictures first. Good thing she snapped one for me before she shared some with friends and family!

They sure are fun to make for little girls, even if they don't actually last long on the head... ;-)

Mickey Coasters

When I found a pattern for Mickey Mouse coasters, I knew they'd make a perfect gift. The circles flew together quickly, but then my putziness caused the ears to be floating separately from the heads for far too long.

They're finally done!!!!

...and we don't have a camera in the house. Isn't that the way it goes? ;-) So this is the best we get for now.

Yeah! What a relief to cross that project off the list. Do you ever have those projects that only take 20 minutes to finish but weigh on your mind for days or weeks nagging at you to be completed?

Turquoise and Pearl Bead Crochet Necklace

These Size 10/0 beads were purchased in a tube. Usually, that's plenty to get a necklace and a bracelet, but for some reason, the turquoise just didn't have enough. So it became a longer necklace!

I've also started adding bead caps to the ends of my necklaces and bracelets. I love the finishing touch (even though I broke one of my great-grandmother's crochet hooks doing it a few days ago...).

Northern Lights Necklace and Bracelet

This Bead Crochet Necklace was a bit of an experiment. I've found many color packets of beads that I really like, but I know it just wouldn't make sense to separate out the colors of the Size 10/0 beads. So I thought I'd try to do something different with this one. I kept 2 rows of silver and one row of black together, and then randomly strung the aqua-variety beads.

I mostly like how it turned out. Next time, I wouldn't keep the black ones in the 'random' threading. It seems a bit too 'chicken pox' for me. I'd like to see how it would turn out with softer colors sometime, too.

Ugly Blanket -Bright Colors

Ugly Blanket #2 is complete...and the ideas for #3 are already churning. =)

It's perfect for a twin bed. The 2 variegated colors are VERY fuzzy. Super soft and cozy. The edging is done in a thinner yarn with a picot edging to finish it off.

This was an interesting pattern to do. Even though it was intended to be ugly in using up scraps of yarn, I actually had to be quite picky about what I could use because it had to be enough yarn to complete at least 2 rows in the pattern. The next one won't follow such a strict design. I'm writing a new pattern for the next one that will probably be wide again and warmer colors. But who knows what yarns I'll have available partway through it? It may just evolve in colors as I go.

Blue and Brown Baby Blanket

This is a baby blanket that I finished in the spring for some friends of ours. Baby boy was born in June, so he probably hasn't needed it yet!

It's done in I Love This Yarn, sport weight, so it's quite light and flimsy.

It's hard to tell the pattern with the variegated yarn in there, but that's probably why it suggested a variegated and solid color choice. The panels alternate in 3dc shells for 5 rows and 3 V-stitch rows with solid dc rows in between.

Isn't it funny to see how the variegated yarn creates patterns when you look at the finished product in a picture?

Coconut Oil

I know that coconut oil is extremely good for you, and it's very good for your skin.

...but perhaps not so good when splattering directly out of a hot skillet.

Ouch.