My Recliner, My Crochet Hook and a Pile of Yarn

After working a full day yesterday I went shopping for groceries then zipped home to do a few chores, prepare food, etc.  I was rushing because I wanted to get some crocheting done!  Why is that so much fun for me?

Although Maria and I aren't real excited about doing any craft fairs in the near future, we were invited to bring Wyoming Rose Boutique Products to a little private sale later this week.  (For those of you local, it is at my place of employment at 5:30 Thursday...you are invited)  There will be other items there, not necessarily handmade.  It's just a pre-Christmas shopping kind of party with food and friends.

Anyway, I heard today that some people were coming JUST TO SEE OUR LITTLE KID HATS.  That would be great except we've sold most of them and only have a few on our website.  So, I interrupted my work on a pair of baby booties for Elise and set to work on a new project.

I spent my evening in my recliner, snuggled up with a pile of yarn...

And out of the mess I created this guy.  I think he is kind of cute.

I still had some time before I had to go to bed for today's early work start.  You guessed it!  I grabbed some more yarn!  It's addictive, people!  I can't help myself!

Have a great day and try to create something that makes you happy as well.  Let me know!

The Week Behind Me

It was so warm this week!  We've had a lot of temperatures warm enough to be outside without a jacket.  For those of us who live in cold country, that has been an unexpected way to start November.

Bode was even chasing a wasp this week.  Just so you know, he's a Vizsla. Vizslas are hunting/retrieving dogs but since we don't hunt, Bode has honed his skills in a new direction. This dog doesn't seem to enjoy playing fetch but he does enjoy using his skills for insect-hunting.  It doesn't always work out that well for him (he's been stung) but he keeps trying.

Earlier this week I got to implement some other skills myself.  I got to be a hairdresser at work!  OK, I really don't have any training in that department but I did start cutting all my doll's hair at a very young age.  Sadly, their's never grew back.  This time, I was cutting some hair from the head of a patient preparing for a surgical procedure.  I learned a cultural tip regarding hair and Native Americans.  They were teaching me that they believe it should be returned to Mother Earth.  So, I carefully banded it before cutting.  The family members gathered around as I cut, taking charge of the hair in a respectful manner.  I then shaved the area and the patient was good to go.

I worked long, hard hours this week.  It was a busy, busy week at our surgical center and each night I came home pretty wiped out.  It was good, though.  I enjoyed my work and had interesting patients to care for.  I had several patients who's first language is Spanish.  Although most could also speak English, they allowed me to practice my Spanish on them as I prepared them for surgery.  It seemed to distract them from their worries as they helped me with my words and accent.  I am quite limited with what I know but because our class focused on phrases and words specific to nursing, I was able to say quite a few things.  It was fun!

One of the things I did when I wasn't at work this week, was shop.  My friend, Nicole, spearheads Operation Christmas Child at our church.  They send boxes around the globe to children in need.  The boxes contain an assortment of little gifts for these children, some of whom have never received a Christmas present.  Our youth group sent about 300 boxes last year and hope to send 500 this year! What a big goal, huh?  They offer a variety of ways we can do it, from packing our own boxes (they will provide them) ready to ship to donating money for them to purchase more things to put in the boxes.  We can also donate money to go toward the shipping costs.  If you click on the link above, you will find opportunities to pack-a-box online, without even going shopping.  It is a fun way to share the joy.  Do you have any special joy-sharing things you like to do for Christmas?

To start off this last day of the week I slept in!  Yay!  I was up before 7:00 a.m. but I still slept past the 4:30-5:00 a.m. alarm I need for work.  I REALLY hate it when I wake up at 4:30 on days I don't have to go to work!

 When I got up this morning I took this photo from our back door.  Apparently our reprieve from winter is over.  No worries.  I have my favorite coffee cup and I'm in my favorite chair.  Looking outside I see the street in front of our house is pure ice so it looks to be a great morning to pick up the crochet hook and watch some Netflix.  What are your plans for this day?

Paper Clip Necklace

Yes, I did it.  I made a necklace out of paper clips.  Is that too weird?  Well, take a look.  These were not ordinary paper clips but very COOL paper clips!  I bought them, not having a clue what I'd do with them.  One day I found my inspiration, creamy thread and a tiny crochet hook.

I picked them all up and went to work...

I used a chain stitch and hooked through each 

clip at two different places so that it wouldn't 

accidentally slip out the open side.  I just kept 

going until I felt happy with the result.  

I tied it off, added a droplet of 

super glue to the end knot and... 

Twa La!

I thought it turned out very pretty.

It has kind of a fun and funky look I think.

Then, I decided I may as well make some paper clip earrings.

They look lovely on my tomato plant so hopefully they will look nice on someone's ears.

I put it all together and felt mighty happy with myself.

Feel free to copy this idea.  Let me know what you come up with!

I'm so happy with it I am thinking of going to an 

office supply store to see what else 

I might want to crochet together!  

Or maybe a hardware store!   

Auto parts?

As your reward for following all the way through this tutorial 

I'd like to offer a discount to you 

today at Wyoming Rose Boutique at Etsy.  

When ordering, simply type the word DISCOUNT in all caps 

and you will receive a 10% discount on your entire order.

  

 .  

Tutorial/Giveaway: Repurposing Jewelry into Jewelry

No, I just don't give up with the whole tutorial thing, do I?  You would think this one would have been my last.  I encouraged myself, though, when I discovered that even a not-very-good-cook could produce a cooking tutorial.  At least that cooking tutorial produced something very yummy to eat.  This one was pretty but didn't taste all that great.  Probably the most useful tutorial I've managed to put together was the one about disabling word verification.  I still have a personal vendetta against the word verification junk.  It helps stop computer-generated comments.  Yes, I've had a few of those but they are simple to remove.  It won't help stop comments from creeps unless they are people who have trouble reading the distorted letters as well.  It has stopped me from leaving comments before as I sometimes just give up.  Oh man!  I'm ranting again.  Let's move on...

I enjoy reading blogs and books about people repurposing an unused item into something altogether different.  For instance, there are books about recycling sweaters.  You can make them into scarves and such.  There are entire blogs dedicated to repurposing.  I found one that shows how to turn eggshells into a leather look for covering things like photo album covers.  Hmmm...  Well, I decided I didn't need to stretch quite that far to get in on the repurposing wave.  I'm going to show you how I turned an earring into a necklace.  Yes, you read it right.  This is a tutorial on how to move jewelry from your ear to your chest.

OK, so you think this is a waste of time.  However, have you ever been in the mall (any mall) and stopped in to one of those stores with all the costume jewelry?  They have some pretty mighty earrings out right now!  Unfortunately, not every one has mighty earlobes.  Some of those earrings are so big you would soon be singing, "Do Your Ears Hang Low?"  Well, I really think many of those giant earrings are pretty but I don't want my ears to dangle "to and fro".  So, I repurposed.

I took a beautiful but way-too-large earring and made a pretty necklace.  I think you may agree that it was the humane thing to do.

First, I just opened up the little ring to get the big bobble off the earring.  I can later use the top part of the earring to refashion a more reasonable decoration for my lady-like earlobes.

I set it aside for a few minutes and took out some cotton thread of a corresponding color.  I just crocheted a long, long chain and hooked the ends together.

The only measuring I did was to wrap it around my own neck and decided about how long I thought it should be.

I went for a pretty long dangling type of look.  I then just did a slip stitch around all loops of the chain.

I wanted to make it looked more polished I guess.

I tied off the loose ends and pulled the tails back in to be hidden.

Using little needle-nosed pliers I reattached the ring around the chain and through the top of the pendant.



I can now call it a pendant since it is no longer capable of dangling dangerously heavy from someone's ear.

Waa-la!  I think it is kind of pretty.  It reminds me of a peacock!


Now, I am wondering if anyone wants it?  I am giving it away.  After all, I have the other earring with which I can make another necklace for myself if I wish.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post or my personal facebook page before May 1.  If you have trouble leaving comments here just e-mail me at onlythemanager@yahoo.com and your name will be entered.  I will use random.org to be sure it is all fair.  That's really kind of funny as it is quite possible there will only be a few comments.  That means your chances are great!  Come on, don't let that scare you.  Go ahead, leave a comment.

Special Orders Don't Upset Me

Do you remember that advertising song that went...

"hold the pickles 

hold the lettuce 

special orders 

don't upset us..."

I could clearly remember the song but wasn't sure who's commercial it was.  It used to be that when you were trying to remember something like that, you had to ask around until someone else remembered.  Often you were just left frustrated.  It's not so anymore.  If you want to know something, just Google it (or Yahoo hit, Bing hit, whatever...).  I typed in those words and this is what I found.  It is so nice that I didn't have to be frustrated wondering, "Was that McDonald's, Hardee's or Burger King's commercial?"

Anyway, I think that song was going through my head because I've been working on some special orders a lot lately.  Sometimes people ask me or Maria to make something special for them.  I love it!  I especially like it when I'm told to do it however I'd like.  Recently my friend, Kim, asked for a girl's baby blanket.  After several false starts I finally realized I really wanted to do some old-fashioned granny squares with some updated colors.  I took a quick photo before delivering it to her.  I made it like a prayer shawl, that is I prayed for the baby who would be using it as I crocheted.  Well, that is not to say that I was praying the WHOLE time I crocheted.  As a matter of fact, I watched several episodes of LOST on Netflix as well.

Apparently Kim knows lots of people having babies.  Now I am working on a blue baby blanket for her.  I chose Tunisian Crochet for that one.  Have any of you ever done that?  It is sort of a cross between crocheting and knitting I'd say.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to call the tool a hook or a needle.  It has a hook on one end but a stopper like a knitting needle on the other end.  I also have one that has kind of like a soft tail for the back end but I'm not sure where I put it.  Maybe I will do a Tunisian Crochet Tutorial someday...because I'm so good at tutorials. 

Anyway, all I know is I feel kind of cool when I am doing that kind of crochet.  It's kind of a smallish sized hook/needle so this one is taking me some time.  I like the way the stitches look, don't you?

I'm so lucky to have Bode to supervise me.

Actually, he is just watching, hoping I will forget and leave it unattended so that he can chew it up.  I won't!

Simultaneously I've been working on a special order poncho as well. 

 I kind of like having more than one project going at once.  I am never bored!

Do you do things that way... multiple projects at once?

Wyoming Rose - Harvest Scarf

Did you ever have one of those days when you needed just a little something extra to perk up your wardrobe?  This lovely dainty may be the answer.  I used an oatmeal colored cotton thread and decided to crochet this piece with a loose, open stitch.  Wear it with a tank top, sweater or dress and let the compliments begin!  I love how it turned out, casual yet sophisticated!  See this and other new listings at our shop, Wyoming Rose Boutique.

Wyoming Rose - Citrus Twirly Scarf

I enjoy making these Springy Scarves.  I've made quite a few of them but this Citrus Twirly Scarf is my favorite so far... of course.  It's got a lot of orange in it!  I made up this design myself, working without a pattern.  I enjoy making and wearing scarves for the colder months but I didn't want Spring and Summer to feel left out.  These happy little scarves work well with tank tops or t-shirts!  This one is made with all cotton thread and has a happy, wholesome feel.  I can also make these to order in any color you'd like!  If you'd like one and are having trouble leaving comments here (some still can't), just e-mail me at onlythemanager@yahoo.com or wyomingroseboutique@yahoo.com.

AND... there's a bonus!  When checking out of our Etsy site, you will see a place for a coupon code.  You will get free shipping if you type in the word FRIENDS in all caps.  This code is good for all our friends all the time, no matter what you order.

Hello. My Name is Susan and I am a Crochetaholic

I've known for awhile that I have a problem.  I want to crochet all the time.  I sneak yarn and a hook along with me most anywhere I go.

Sure, it began as social crocheting.  I'd visit with others while crocheting.  I'd appropriately crochet on a cold winter night.  Then, I started crocheting alone.  I've crocheted in secret.  When I'm not crocheting, I often find myself wondering when my next stitch will be.  I no longer crochet only at traditional times.  I even crochet in the Summer!  It has reached the point where I actually found myself crocheting at the beach!

Recently, though, I found a new way to support my addiction.  It was really quite clever, I thought.  When Mike and I were returning from out of town one night, it got too dark for me to crochet.  I wasn't ready to stop.  What to do?  What to do?  THEN, I thought of my new Acer Iconia Tablet.  It lights up!  I turned it on and set up as though I was going to write a fresh new document so that I could get to a bright, white screen.  Then...

Yes, I did.  I crocheted by the light of my tablet.  It wasn't the most satisfying crocheting experience, but it supported my addiction enough for the moment.

Sadly, I can't be helped until I am ready to be helped... so don't even try.


footnote:  I hope that I've not offended anyone with my silliness.  I do realize alcoholism is a serious problem and I have a high regard for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Wyoming Rose - Perfectly Pretty Poncho

This sweet Perfectly Pretty Poncho is one of my favorites.  I really love how it turned out.  I found this yarn in Great Falls, MT last Summer and I knew I had to make something out of it.  The yarn itself has a gentle bulkiness but is so, so soft!  It has enough variety of color I can see it being worn with yellows, golds, mint, burgundy or others.  I think it would look especially great with jeans... but then I think everything looks great with jeans, don't you?

I used a double crochet for most of the poncho but I decided to switch it up for the bottom rows.  You can see that it gave it a bit of intrigue without making it too busy.  Because it is a poncho, it will fit most teenagers or adult women.  That is one of the nice things about ponchos, it is easy to choose a size!  It is also washable and machine dryable, although I'd recommend a gentle cycle to keep it beautiful.

I put many hours into  this poncho but it is available at Wyoming Rose Boutique for only $35.  It would make such a nice Spring gift but I think after you feel it you'd have a hard time giving it away!

This Day

I have a list of things to do today.  How about you?  I am not working at hospice so I've made some plans of my own.

 
  1)  Make breakfast burritos for breakfast.


  2)  Do lesson from The Essential Jesus with Mike.


So, as you see, I've already done those first two.  Yes, I am one of those people who write things I've already done on my list just so I may have the pleasure of checking them or crossing them off.  Do you do that?


 3)  Pack a lunch for Mike to take to work.  Oops, scratch that...he just left while I was working on my blog. Drop off a lunch for Mike at work.


 4)   Go to Curves for a workout so that I can feel self-righteous the rest of the day.

 5)   Take this new book I bought at the grocery store and read it to Cordy at her house.  Any day I get to spend time with that charmer is a perfect day for me!

6)     Take Maria and Cordy and meet another friend for lunch.  That will be a treat!

7)     Tackle this stack of what seems to be mostly junk mail.  It won't be exciting but it has to be done.

8)     Crochet like the wind!  Maria had a great idea of taking samples of some of our products into a new little local store to see if they'd like to carry some of our items.  The owner ordered quite a bit from us, to be delivered next week!  Yay!  She said if it goes well, she'd like to carry more of our things!  Now, we are both working toward completing that order as well as making new items for Wyoming Rose Boutique at Etsy.  I love any reason to crochet, sew or craft!

So, in spite of the fact that we are under a high wind warning...

"A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST THURSDAY.
* SUMMARY AND TIMING... A STRONG SOUTHWEST WIND WILL OCCUR TODAY AND TONIGHT.
* WIND... A SOUTHWEST WIND OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH.
* IMPACTS... STRONG AND SUDDEN WIND GUSTS WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. "

It's going to be a great day!

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

Hockey!

I've told you about how my husband, Mike, became a St. Louis Cardinals Fan when he was just a child.  Shortly after he chose to follow the Cardinals, he decided to follow all things St. Louis, including their hockey team, The St. Louis Blues.  We still haven't seen them play in St. Louis but we've seen them play a couple of times elsewhere.

Last week the St. Louis Blues were playing the Denver Avalanche.  That is a half day's drive for us but we both had a chance for a few days off.  I attended a hospice class on pain Friday morning and then we headed out.  The weather was crisp and pretty...

I had a poncho in my lap to crochet......

And we had plenty of time for Mike to try to help me better understand hockey.  When I'd been to hockey games before I knew which goal belonged to which team, but that was about it.   I'd sometimes ask Mike, "What just happened?" He'd try to answer but then the action would start and he'd get distracted.  I still had fun, though, as there was lots of "people-watching" to be done.

This time, though, I wanted to have a better understanding.  So, while the miles slipped under our tires, Mike held a hockey class for me.  I learned about power plays, shoot outs and hip checks.  He explained icing and first, second, third and fourth lines.  He taught me the difference between minor and major penalties.  He helped me understand why players just flowed on and off the ice even when no whistle was blown to allow the substitution (I understand basketball and expected more correlations). 

We arrived at the game early and walked around just enjoying watching all the people. Well, I am not so sure Mike enjoyed that but I did.  Mike went with me into the Avalanche Shop so I could purchase a pair of earrings for a friend of mine who is an Avalanche fan.  That was true love for him to be in that shop with me.  They sold no St. Louis Blues paraphernalia there.

The game was really quite entertaining.  They turned down the lights and used spotlights to build up the drama before their team came on the floor, I mean on the ice.  There was a lot of excitement around us.  As the game was played, I was happy to realize that I really did understand it a lot more.  There were a few problems for me.  This is the view I had when the teams were playing on the left end of the rink...

She leaned forward nearly the entire game!  I did not want to lean forward the entire game.  But, I heard enough conversation between her and her young husband to learn that she, too, was struggling to understand the game that her husband loved.  She was working very hard at it, even wore Avalanche clothing.  It was really kind of cute.

The people-watching time was excellent.  At one point Mike leaned over and said, "Do you know what just happened there?"  First of all, the "happening had been to the left so I really could not have seen it all that well.  So, yes, I did know what just happened... the two brunette parents in front of us, sitting with their 3 redheaded kids, had just been joined by a pretty redheaded woman who seemed to be the grandma.  She was very happy to see them all.  The children were well-behaved and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were having a lively conversation with lots of smiles and laughs involved.  Ok, back to hockey...
There were almost some fights.  When a couple of players would get in each other's faces, the crowd instantly chanted, "Fight! Fight!"  It was really rather silly, in my opinion.

During the breaks sometimes they had little kid hockey teams play.  They were so cute!  As Mike said, it must've been the thrill of a lifetime for those children to play there.  One little guy who scored got to be interviewed by the news crew!

Another fun thing was the blimps.  Two blimps occasionally flew overhead during breaks.  They dropped coupons or something.  We didn't get any so I'm not sure what they were dropping but people seemed excited about it.

The St. Louis Blues played well.  It was an exciting game and went into overtime.  In case you don't know, overtime is a sudden death type of deal.  If one team scores it is instantly over.  No one scored.  At that point, they go into a shoot out.  Each team gets 3 players that get a chance, one at a time, to shoot at their goal.  Only the shooter and the goalie are on the ice at that time.  Well, one team made one goal and the other team made no goals during the shoot out.  I don't really want to talk about how it ended all that much.  It's my blog so I can do as I wish and I wish to not mention who won.  So there.

The weather for the trip home was a little more challenging.  I have lots more photos and a story to tell about that but since this post is already too long and Bode wants to help me, I guess I'll pick up tomorrow where I am leaving off today.

Have a great day!

Busy...But in a Good Way

Whew!  I have been soooooo busy!  I have been pushing myself to get a lot of things done recently and I just finished 3 days of the 12 1/2 hr shifts at Hospice.  It's all good but I think the dream last night was a bit meaningful.  I dreamed some kind of avalanche fell from the sky, burying me.  I had to work and work to get to the top of the snow to find a place to breathe.  Hmmm...

One of the things that has kept me busy (but happily so) is that I've taken a LOT of orders for crocheting ponchos and hats.  I'm still not caught up but I'm working on it.  Also, Maria and I are preparing for a BIG craft fair this week-end.  Here's a sneak peek of some of those items (also found at our shop)....

This is just a sampling!  I wasn't kidding when I said it has been busy around here! 


Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.