Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Gettin' Cozy

So, I had some cotton yarn in my stash, but not enough of any one color to make a sweater. And since I'm not that found of a "Coat of Many Colors" for myself; I wondered what I should make with said cotton yarn. 

I happened to have just bought a case of Caffeine Free Diet Coke ('cause it tastes better than regular Diet Coke), I decided that those cans needed Cozies. So I grabbed a size G crochet hook and set out to designing. This is what I came up with.

The pink/orange/white one is totally random and made from scraps. The pink and black one gets me in touch with my "Diva/Princess" self. The pink camo one gets me in touch with my "Redneck Princess" self. (HA! I kill me. Redneck Princess...)

This blue and orange one is an experimentation in "team colors" - if your team colors happen to be blue and orange (University of Florida, Auburn....)

Then I thought, if you can make a can cozy, why not one for a bottle? So I did...

Red and black for the 'Dawgs. Some fuzzy boucle novelty stuff at the top. Now that I look at it, it should have been a little taller.

This "making up my own pattern thing" was working for me so I decided to take it a step further (or maybe a couple of steps). I designed my own mini hobo bag! 

How cute is that? It's about 7.5" long x 2.5" wide x 6" tall. It even has a zipper! (Don't worry - I didn't sew it with my sewing machine - I actually LEARN from my mistakes.) 

Another shot with the handle up...

It's perfect for "game day" - just big enough for your wallet or ID, some cash, keys and lipstick. Since I'm really NOT a Georgia Bulldogs fan, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with a red and black purse...

So, what do you think? Not too shabby for the first couple of original "OneCraftyChick Designs" patterns, huh? I have PDF copies if you're interested. 

Sunday, August 17, 2008

You're Ruining My Life!

Those of you know me well know that the Punkin has NEVER, I repeat, never been one to sleep through the night in her own bed. To say that we've been struggling of late with the sleep in your own room thing would be a gross understatement. 

So, last Thursday night was a doozy. Friday morning was not much better (considering none of us had had much sleep). So, after the battle to get her off to school, THIS is the note that was waiting for me on the white board in her room. For the benefit of those who cannot read I-just-started-second-grade phonetic spelling, it says "You ruin everything in my life and you need to say you're sorry." 

She has NO idea how much I can ruin her life. Just wait until she's a teenager! So, we're beginning to employ several techniques to get her to sleep in her room ALL night. Or at least to NOT come into our room in the middle of the night to wake us up. I'm sure there will be more to come on this subject.  

In crafty news, I'm working on the Farm Fresh blanket from the Candi Blankies book by Candi Jensen. Right now it would be a terribly boring picture to post - since all I've got finished thus far is about 3/4 of the green "field" that the cute sheep hang out in. Hopefully I'll finish this week. Fingers crossed. 

Friday, August 15, 2008

Laundry Update!

I'm happy to report that my 8 loads of laundry have all been folded. Not put away, yet, but folded. Baby steps, friends, baby steps. 

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

The Bag Lady and Her Albatross

I've been called a "bag lady" before, and with just cause. You see, I do love the bags. Here's my parade of finished bags from last week. I can't find one that the Punkin absconded with but it wasn't that great anyway.  

This is the one that gave me fits with the sewing machine. You can't see the inside, but I ended up hand-stitching the ribbon to the handles and the top edge of the inside of the bag. 

This one was done (*cough*) two years ago as a baby gift that obviously never got gifted. It's based on a Candy Jensen pattern and was super easy. (They all were super easy; crochet works up fast.)

This one. Well, it took a little longer. You can't tell from this picture, but it's made up of 26 triangles that are sewn together. Twenty-six triangles = LOTS of ends to weave in. A royal PITA (pain in the arse), but cute, no? It's a pattern from BH&G Easy Crochet a couple of years ago. Again, I made up all the triangles a while back and just got around to sewing them together last week. 
So, my friend Robin on Facebook reads my status on Saturday (which said "Hanging out at the PGA Superstore looking for a new driver" 'cause that's what I was doing) and comments, "Sewing, scrapbooking, marathons and now golf! Is there anything you don't do?" 

Uh, yeah, right. That would be housework. Laundry, my Albatross, to be specific. This is the pile of CLEAN clothes in my office/craft room that have yet to be folded and put away. 

Let's look at the pile from another angle, shall we? 

Nice. The Flylady would be so disappointed in me.