Beehive Baby Blanket

I found my favorite baby blanket crochet pattern in this book (mine is without stripes) using 4 skeins of Patons Beehive Baby sport yarn in Grey on a #G hook.   I like this bias pattern because I can make a triangle with half the yarn I choose and then decrease for the remainder to make a square blanket that typically measures 36".  I finished it just in time for a coworkers baby shower this weekend.

Oh, Joy!

A very special delivery arrived in the mail today.  I like it when I forget that I order something and then am surprised when I look at the package.  Oh yeah - JOY - it's that Miss Maggie Rabbit kit I've been coveting from posie.   Homemade goodness from the talented Alicia Paulson.  Besides living in a simply magical place (Portland, OR)  she is my most favorite blogger, the best writer, talented beyond any measure sharing little parts of her life with total strangers so effortlessly and genuinely.  I have a couple projects to complete first and then I can't wait to get started on my special little rabbit from the Northwest.

Rocky Mountain High

I (we) needed a getaway.  Time on the road with nothing but the wind in my ears and my own thoughts.  Time to make peace with the stress, worries and disappointments that have filled my days.  As I think through all the issues in my head I take in deep yoga breaths and let them go with each cleansing exhale.  Within a couple hundred miles all my worries are gone and only a favorite song lyric comes to mind.  It's amazing how a long weekend traveling on the road with good friends can put things back into perspective.

We have a cozy A-frame cabin on the creek, great meals, small town shopping in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs all the while surrounded by a snowy Pikes Peak mountain.  The priceless kind of therapy professionals and/or medications just can't provide.

Shakedown

The weather has warmed and a busy summer riding season is upon us.  We like to take a short shakedown run to make sure the bikes are running well prior to making a longer trip.  I suggested my favorite BBQ joint in Pawhuska, OK, Bad Brad's Bar-B-Q for ribs and cowboy beans.  The meal was good as always, the bikes are running well and we came home exhausted.  Even riding a motorcyle is something you need to condition your body into for those longer rides.

Leather Carving

I've been wanting to learn leather work for quite a long time.  Embossed leather is my favorite so I decided to take a leather carving class at Tandy Leather.  I even talked my good friend, Melanie into going with me.  We found it's not as easy as it looks.  It will take skill to have just the right tap on the tools to get a uniform design but I think it's something I can do with practice.  If only had the time to devote to another hobby...

Spring Outdoor Market

Mom and I headed out early to Benton for The Red Barn Outdoor Market.  It's held out in a field scattered with antique vendors, handmades, shopping, food and music.  It was a muddy mess, overcast and cold but we still had a very good time.

Decoden iPhone Cases

I'm on a roll embellishing iPhone cases with charms, beads and rhinestones.  Doing just one led to four with the purple one a gift for a good friend.

Antique Chandelier Earrings

The knitting needles continue to sit on the sidelines while I find inspiration in making other things for a change.  I found inspiration in some chandelier-type earrings that I saw on Pinterest and made them my own.

Austin Inspired

Travel inspires me.  I can go to a place, take it all in and feel a vibe.  Then I bring ideas home and make something that reminds me of my trip.  This time, with the artistic help of embroidery designs by an Austin artist, Sublime Stitching, I was able to recreate a day spent in Austin, Texas on South Congress Avenue (SoCo).  From the hip strip of eclectic shops with Dia De Los Muertos art, western flair at Allens Boots, reconstructed rockabilly clothing boutiques to the largest urban (Mexican free-tailed) bat colony that departs nightly from under the SoCo bridge. 

This hand embroidered western shirt captures it all.

Texas Antiques Weekend

 Mother / Daughter Road Trip - April 3-7

Our first antique stop in Warrenton, TX



Gypsy Photo Booth



Junk Gypsies

The Antiques

Oh, the boutiques and dressing room trailers!

JunK-O-RaMA PrOm

A magical night of glamour and music under the Texas sky

Round Top Antiques Fair

Round Top, TX

Kenny Chesney Concert - Austin, TX 360 Amphitheater



Lonestar Round Up Car Show



Yarn for some new knitting projects from Hill Country Weavers



Shopping in downtown Austin

Dinner on the river, bridge bats and a pedi taxi ride along Congress Avenue

1,588 miles of love, laughs, fun and adventure!





Crafty

Taking a breather from a knitting project has me inspired to do other things.  First, starting with old enamel pans I purchased on the cheap at our last flea market.  Mom drilled holes for me, added a bolt to make an awesome tiered planter.

I found some free time to sit down with my vintage button collection and make a pair of chandelier earrings and then that led to a matching bracelet.

Changes

I had a job I really enjoyed and one day it all changed dramatically.  I turned to a mentor for guidance who gave me the courage to change my situation and find a new job.  A job I started this week and on my second day, my new employer sent me a bouquet of flowers from my new "family."

Cricket Vest

Another completed project that I think will be perfect for someone else so I'm gifting it away.  I can always make another for myself.  Made from 5.2 skeins of Classic Elite's Cricket (cotton/linen).

Shamrock Love

I encouraged my coworker, Lesley, to crochet shamrocks to spread around downtown like we did for Valentine's Day.  She did a great job!

A Few Yards Short

I took today off work to ride my motorcycle. The wind picked up and the sun never came out so I decided to stay home, relax with the dogs and start a new knitting project.  A clever long rectangle with two armholes.  Since I buy most of my yarn out of town, wouldn't you know I spent all day working on this and ran out short of a cast-off row and a single crochet around the armholes...UGH!  Otherwise, it would a be finished project in one day.  It's my own fault as I didn't think the yardage through for modifying the written size small pattern for a size medium.  Another skein of yarn is on it's way. 

Just like life, some days you just come up a few yards short.

Uluru Hitchhiker

I was inspired by a sample of this asymmetrical scarf at at Loops in Tulsa and I knew immediately who I needed to make it for.  So, now that it's off the needles it's on it's way to the Pacific Northwest. 

Check out the shop's awesome website for project ideas and inspiration here.

Hooded Wrap

A sample of this moebius wrap caught my eye at Yarn Barn in Lawrence.  It's made out of two skeins of Irish Lace (cotton/linen).  I didn't follow the directions correctly at the start and had to rip it out and make it all over again (UGH) but it's all good now.  Just perfect to keep my shoulders and arms warm while leaving my arms free to do whatever.

Some Okie Fun

Sometimes while traveling for work things fall into place to shop for yarn and to see some new places.  My recent trip to Oklahoma was one of those times.  On my route through Tulsa is my most favorite yarn shop, Loops.  There's an entire wall of sample project items, the pattern and yarn lined up in rows.  I have never walked out without a garment project or two.  This time, yarn for the summer vest pictured.

Then a yarn friend, Denise, saw my location tags and sent me an email inviting me to meet her and her husband for dinner at a resort, The Canebrake, not far from where I was staying.  Turns out I discovered a new place to come back to for a lake, yoga, dog friendly retreat.  In fact, on my way home, I stopped back in at this lakeside resort for an amazing yoga class.  Okie's are so much fun!

Round 2

Wichita is bracing for another blizzard as more snow moves in tonight with accumulation expected at 7-10".  Snowed in, you say? 
I'm ready!

DIY: Reconstructed Suitcase #6