Ripple Afghan!

Hello! I've been at work with my crocheting, keeping my hands super busy, which is always fun! I've made a few small things, but am mostly excited about the ripple afghan that I started and finished! I got a bunch of  yarn for my birthday, I got eleven skeins of Joanns Sensations Sincerely yarn, it is a very soft acrylic yarn and I LOVE it! I ordered it online, so I had a hard time picking colors, so I did it randomly, and was very happy with what I ended up getting!

 



Here is a picture of my yarn, it looks so beautiful in my
basket!

I got enough yarn to make an afghan that would fit my bed, so I figured that it would take me a very long time to finish it, but as soon as I started, it got addictive and started working up really fast!

Here are the first 48 rows!

This is also the first 48 rows, only it's next to my neatly
wound yarn....it looks so pretty!

 

 

 

Then, the next thing I knew....it more than doubled it size within just a few days! As I worked on it, I loved it more and more!

 

 

It was a little more than a couple feet long at this point!

Then, after a few weeks of working on it, and after using more than two miles worth of yarn, I finished! I was so excited when I finished, but also a little sad because I had a BLAST working on it, and was kind of sad to see it end, I was still super happy though! After finishing it...I decided to take a bunch of pictures of it!

 

 

Here it is! All done! It's REALLY long! I love it though!

It weighs so much!

The afghan is also pretty wide, it came close to touching the ground when I hung it on our clothesline!

Hanging it on the clothesline was Mom's idea!

Taking pictures of my afghan was so much fun! It looked so pretty outside, it was a little chilly out though, so I tried to be quick in taking pictures!



This doesn't really show the size of the afghan, just makes
it look kind of nice!

 

 

I was really excited when I put the afghan on my bed and it looked nice! It's over seven feet long, and almost five feet wide! I added a border on it to make it wider. I think the border gave it a little more of a completed look.

 

This afghan is SO warm and cuddly! I love it!

 

 

Finishing my ripple afghan was a huge blessing! It's always a blessing to finish something you've been puting a lot of time into and have worked hard on, it's such a great feeling!  I love working on things and can't wait to make another afghan!  

 

Have a great day!



Etsy and Yarn Ball Winder

     Hello! I have been busy with my hands and yarn as always, but this post won't have any pictures of what I've been working on lately. I've been working on an afghan, but I want to wait to post pictures until I'm done with it. I've also been working on things to put on our new etsy shop, my mom surprised my sisters and I by opening it for us, we're all super excited about that!

      Another thing I'm really excited about is my new yarn ball winder! For quite a while now I've been wanting to get one, but they are just SO expensive. My sister and I have been waiting to order one until we could get a coupon, then we would split the cost and share the ball winder. A little while ago I was at my friends house using her ball winder, and it made me want one even more! After waiting a little while I decided to go on knitpicks.com to see if they had a coupon...and they didn't, they had better....the ball winders were on sale for one third of the price, and free shipping with any order of $50 or more! So we ordered three because, not only did my sister and I each want to order one, but also a friend of ours, so we got three ball winders for the price of what one would normally cost, AND free shipping! It was such a huge blessing! After wanting one for  a while, it was hard to wait, but in the end it was totally worth it! I've been winding a lot of yarn ever since I got this amazing little thing, it has been so much fun! Plus it makes the yarn stack really nicely, keeps it from getting tangled, and makes it look really pretty!



Here is my amazing yarn ball winder! I love it so much!

    I had a lot of fun this week, my sister and I got to see our friend every day this week, except for Wednesday. When we get together with her we all crochet and knit together, so I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished!! I hope everyone else had a good week too! I'm going to get back to crocheting...or I may wind some more yarn! =D



Kitchen Decorations

Hello! I can't believe I'm already posting again! I've finished a few things since my last post, some of the things I already had completed last week but just now got around to taking pictures and uploading them onto my computer.

           Anyway...in my last post I mentioned that I was working on a table runner, and I finished it! Yay! I could not find a pattern that I liked, so I did a basic ripple, and I like the way it looks. I used a cotton dishcloth yarn... I LOVE working with cotton....whether it be thread, yarn, or fabric...I love cotton, it's so soft! Back in November we visited family in CT, while up there we went to A.C. Moore, (a craft store), and I bought a whole pound of cotton for $4.00, which was a huge blessing! I used that yarn to make this table runner, and still had a lot left!
            

It was difficult to get a good picture, it's cloudy today

                After I finished the table runner I made a dish towel and matching dishcloth with the leftover yarn, and....I STILL have some yarn leftover! Praise the Lord, this yarn is going SO far!

For my birthday I got a crochet book to make kitchen stuff,
these both are patterns out of it.

            For Christmas I had gotten two skeins of cotton dishcloth yarn, so I made four dishcloths. I decided I wanted to practice knitting a little more, so I knitted two, and crocheted the other two. I also made a little scrubby, but don't have a picture of it. They were all a lot of fun!

I LOVE the colors! But I tend to be partial to anything green!



Lastly, a few years ago my grandmother had given me a cross-stitch kit to make a "Messages" board, and on Saturday I decided I was in the mood to cross-stitch, so I started it! I finished stitching and putting it together on Sunday....it was fun to make and it felt really nice to cross-stitch again!

I love this, I think it's really cute!

Here is a closer picture of the stitching

I absolutely love working on things, it is one of the things I never get sick of doing! I praise the Lord that I have the time and ability to work with my hands, and enjoy doing it! Hope everyone has a great day!

Sewing and Socks

Hello! I've been meaning to do another update, but I hadn't gotten pictures onto my computer, and kept forgetting! A few weeks ago I got into a sewing mood and decided to make another dress, it was a pretty chilly day and overcast, so it was PERFECT for sewing! I've done this pattern before and it's really easy, so they were no complications while making it, praise God for that because I really do not like when I have crafting complications, but who really does? =)



Some of the sewing process.... =D

   I really do like this dress pattern, I'm wanting to look for a new pattern now though, perhaps one with buttons or a zipper, just to try something new!

The finished product!

        I'm pretty new to sewing so I'll go through phases of wanting to sew a lot, doing things I already know how to do, and then phases when I feel like learning how to do something new....last week, I was in the mood for something new! So I took an apron pattern I got a few years ago and learned how to sew with bias tape around curved edges....it was actually my first attempt at bias tape in general! It was super fun!





I'm not sure how much I like this apron yet,
I guess I'll have to see.

        Right before I made the apron I was really wanting to make myself another pair of socks! So I did! I like this pair a lot better than my first pair, they fit better and just look nicer. I was able to finish them pretty quickly, it helped that there was one day my sister and I went over a friends house a worked on our crocheting/knitting, for several hours! =) It was icing that day and the day before that, I could not believe beautiful it made everything look, God's creation in general is beautiful, then He went and made it sparkle with ice crystals, it was a great sight to see, especially while crocheting!
    Working on my socks with other people was a lot fun, but of course... it's always fun to work on stuff with other people, it  can be very encouraging too!





I love my socks, they fit really well,which is a plus! =D

       Now I'm working on a table runner, and hope to have it done to post a picture soon! I've made a few other  things too, some baby socks and stuff like that, but don't have any pictures of them. For a little while I was only wanting to make socks, so I made all different sizes of baby socks because they work up so super quick! Working on baby things is always so enjoyable, baby stuff is so cute that it can't be anything but enjoyable
      Well I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of what I've been up to!



Christmas and New Years Eve!

Hello! I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and New Years Eve!

First of all, I've had one thing specifically that I've been wanting to blog but haven't gotten around to it! A few weeks ago I went to my cousins house and my cousins, Ryan, Brittany, and Caitlyn had all chipped in to buy me a very early Birthday gift, it was very sweet of all of them. I can't really explain what the gift was, so I have a picture of it, it's not the best picture, but it's good enough! =D

The gift they got me is on the bottom, the huge one! I love
these stuffed pillows, and had two different sizes already,
so they were very sweet and got me another size! A very large
one! Really huge, it takes up  more than half of my bed!

     Christmas!

      I had a great Christmas, it was extremely relaxing, very enjoyable, and a great time of reflecting on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ! =D We spent the entire day at home as a family, relaxing with each other, it was great! For Christmas, I got something to learn how to make hairpin lace, it's a lost art, and has been very fun to learn! I'll have to post some pictures of it when I really get the hang of doing it!

 

New Years Eve!

      This New Years Eve was one of the bests yet! My family, and I, along with several other families, went to our friends, the Wahl's house for a party. It was great! We ate dinner, dessert, and drank hot chocolate, had a bonfire, lit off fireworks, (some pretty big ones!), and sat around outside visiting with each other, first time I've ever been to an outdoor New Years Eve party! We also watched some people there play around with hot coals, which at times, was extremely funny!
    Praise the Lord, the weather held up alright and it only drizzled a few times, and it wasn't unbearably freezing, (of course I spent much of the night under a blanket with a heater near my feet, huddled around family and friends, so it was toasty!). It was pretty cold out, but mainly when it drizzled. It usually takes a lot for me to get cold,  I guess my northern blood must be thinning out in this mild Tennessee winter!...It was a wonderful night and a great time of fellowship with other Christians, I don't think there could have been a better way to bring in the new year! I really wish I had pictures, but it was way to dark to get any, but that's okay! It was a very memorable new years eve, and I was very thankful that my family and I were able to go, it truly was a blessing! I hope yours was too!

Various Projects!

 

 

 

Hello! I haven't been the best about updating my blog, but I'm here now and ready to do it, and praying I get better about posting more often! I don't have pictures of all the things I've finished since I last updated, but I have pictures of some of my favorite things that I've done!

 

To start out, I made a pair of camouflage baby booties, I love them, of course all baby items are super adorable!

 

I love the camouflage yarn, it's really cute, and super fun to
work with!

Second, I made another doily, for a long time I was in a doily making mood, but now I think it'll be a little while before I make another one! This last one is for myself! I've made a lot of purple doilies, and don't have any that I've kept!

I used all leftover crochet cotton to make most of my doilies,
and still have more purple left!

Next....I made up a pattern for baby socks, this pair is for my moms doll, but her doll is about the size of a newborn baby.... I love making baby stuff! The socks were super easy, and I was pretty pleased with the way they came out!

 

I used leftover sock yarn from the pair I made myself

 

 

I also made a purse and a matching wallet, this is my winter/Christmas purse, it's more like a drawstring bag, but it still works as a purse....once again, I was able to use leftover yarn....I love when I able to do that!

 

I like this because it looks kind of old-fashioned and the light
colored yarn is a little sparkly!

 

 

I made this little outfit for my moms doll, I made up a pattern for a dress and matching bonnet, the yarn I used has sparkles in it and it was fun yarn to work with!

 

 

You can't really tell in this picture, but the dress is actually really full!

Lastly, I made a cape! I had been wanting to make one but patterns are expensive! However, a few months ago there was a sale on patterns at Joanns and I got a pattern for $2! Praise the Lord! Then I realized the pattern I bought used fleece, which is usually $10 a yard...BUT! I was on Joanns.com a few weeks ago and they had a sale...it was half off! I was so excited and ordered some! Then when it came in, I started sewing my cape together! It was my first time doing button holes, and for some reason I was having the hardest time figuring out how to use to button hole foot, but eventually, I figured it out....God is good! =) The cape is really warm so I think I might be able to use it as my winter jacket!

This is the front of the cape, not the best of pictures though

And the back of the cape....I love the bottom ruffle!

Well...that's about all I have to post for now! Praying everyone has a great day and (just in case I don't get around to posting for a while), have a very merry CHRISTmas!!!

Old Projects and New

Hello! I was standing in my room the other day and realized I never blogged my finished cross-stitch piece, so I took a couple pictures and put them up. I started the piece a few years ago and never finished it because I didn't ever work on it, so a few months ago I got it out and finished! =D I used some quilt pieces as my frame and have it as a wall hanging in my room now, it was so much fun seeing it all come together, and the colors matched really well, which is always very exciting! 



I was so happy to finally work on this a finish it!

And here is what it looks like with the quilted frame, I used
a stick as a way to hang it up....obviously =D

        About a month or so ago, I was at a friends birthday party and had no idea what to make while we sat and visited, so I made up a pattern for a little bowl/basket....it comes in handy to put some small things in.

I think at some point I'll make a little lid for it =)

    I have still been making some doilies, I love making up patterns for them, and they make really great gifts!! I made one for a birthday gift and another for a friend, I think I'll be making more when Christmas comes a little closer.

This one is a little smaller than others I've made,
but I really like the colors!

I like the colors on this one too though!

 

 

About a week ago, we had a "girls day" with my cousins and grandmother, we met at my cousins house around 10am and went down to Florence, AL to go to craft stores....it was so much fun, and a wonderful time of fellowship, a HUGE blessing! We went to Joanns, then to Chinese for lunch, then to Hancock Fabrics, then to Hobby Lobby....we were so tired by the end of the day...we got some really great deals though!

At Joanns, I bought a crocheted sock book, and some yarn...then when we went to Hobby Lobby they had a TON of yarn on sale, and, praise the Lord, I got sock yarn for only $2.33 a skein!!! I couldn't believe it, I was so excited! The day was great and I believe all of us thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

So a couple days ago decided to make a pair of socks for the first time, and I was very excited when they actually came out looking like socks! God has really been blessing my efforts in learning to be a keeper of home, (Titus 2:5), and I'm very thankful for it!

Here are my socks....I can't wait to make more! I'm working on
Christmas gifts right now though! =D

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day and a great week!