Great Grandma's communion purse...

So, here it is. While I was reorganizing my basement (in what seemed like a never-ending task) I came across this little purse that brought back childhood memories for me and again, made me wish I had learned the needlearts crafts from my family memories instead of fumbling along like I did and still am. This adorable little purse was made for me by my non-english speaking Great Grandmother (she was straight from Sicily). She barely spoke when I saw her, only really said my name, "Christina," when I saw her but there was something about her that I found calming. She was a real matriarch and unfortunately, with her death, died the idea of matriarch in our family. She crocheted this little purse for me for my 1st Holy Communion and at the time, I knew it was really special, b/c she had made it, but also b/c she was really old when she did (I wonder how old she really was at the time, but as a kid, I remember her being "really old.") It is adorable with a little rosette sewn in the center, and it is lined in white cotton. I remember when I got it, my mother telling me that it was really special and that I had to take extra good care of it. I'm shocked that I still have it and very thankful that I do, b/c unfortunately, I had and still have a HUGE tendency to be absent-minded and lose things. Thank goodness, this little purse was spared of my faults.
When I look at this purse, it makes me think back to that day of communion-I was so excited to wear my little veil and fancy dress and my mom was going to curl my hair like some lady named Farah Fawcett, and I was going to have tissues and a dollar in my purse for church. I also think about how my great-grandma knew how to both knit and crochet and what skills she had and how all of my older aunts and my grandma could knit/crochet ANYTHING and I never thought to ask them to teach me. I so wish I had...
Someday, I'm going to teach my daughters how to knit/crochet and someday they are going to thank me for that-not that I need that. But hopefully, they will grow to love creating things with sticks and string as much as their mommy does. Someday too-in the next few years, my daughters will use this cute little purse for their Holy Communions and they will know to "take extra special care of it" b/c their great, great grandma made it for them.

Yep-new post, b/c it's raining outside!!

So....in the world of yarn, what have I been up to?
I've been crocheting up a storm!! Finished off another pair of booties and I've twerked so many patterns here and there, I'm thinking that I should probably just write out what I've been doing so that I can do it again. I also have been printing out a billion-I want-this-now patterns, including a few that I purchased from Etsy. Among them are these:

1. Petit Chou yet another cute bootie pattern-this one is knit
2. Stitch Diva Studios-to make the Evening bag with my one skein of Lousa Harding's sari ribbon yarn...and some grecian headbands for the girls...
3. Oma House Slippers-really hoping this pattern is a good one so that I can make some cute slippers for all of the girls in my life! Also bought her Pleated bag pattern and completed it-it is TERRIFIC!! I will definitely make more for gifts and am hoping to make a larger one for my mom's birthday....
4. Shetland Shorty-b/c this little wrap is so cute for summer-I want one in many colors!! Can be found on knitty.com summer o8
5. Coachella-I made one of these last summer and am hoping to make one again using Louisa Harding's Fauve yarn-I've got a bag of it sitting here staring at me. I've had that darn bag almost a year-needs to be used soon....

Now-I know, I already have projects on tap like the girls summerlin dresses (cast on but didn't go that far yet-I got distracted) and the clapotis (yawn for right now) but I have knitting ADD for sure-just ask my husband...he gets me...

What I have noticed is the pull of the crochet hook lately....I feel like crocheting more than knitting (GASP) I really NEVER thought that could or would happen to me but it is.....Crochet is just so fun and summer friendly I believe, b/c of it's airy-ness in the stitches and the fact that it really is so much faster! Where knitting tends not to really show off cottons to the best of its abilities, crochet does-those tight little single crochet stitches are addictive!! So, right now, I am experiencing the push and pull of knitting vs. crochet.....we'll see which needlecraft reigns soon enough!!

Yep-it's been a long time...

since I was here. Way too much has been happening for me to be able to keep up with it all on here, so I will give in snippets.

As for knitting, still plugging along with the clapotis, but other teeny, instant gratification-I-need-a-gift-in-a-few-hours projects have popped up and in the way. I also managed to knit up a shop sample for the LYS, 4 Corners of Artful Living (which is now called 4 Corners Yarn shop) in Narrowsburg, NY. I did the Anthro-inspired capelet, basically b/c it's been in my queue forever, I had pretty bulky yarn to use up and show off for the shop and it was a quick two nights of TV knitting to bang out that baby. Nice!! I added a quick crochet brooch to the collar that can be taken off and voila!-Sample done!
I did another pair of Saartje's booties for a friend who had a baby girl-came out cute with little daisy buttons, and also managed to squeak out a crocheted clutch. All the clutch needs is the silk lining that I plan on sewing into it to keep items from slipping out of my single crochet stitches. A little tidbit on the silk.....cutting up a HUGE silk, beaded poncho that I splurged on while pregnant with my 2nd child. This poncho is maternity so it has a lot of fabric to it and it is in such a cool pattern, it had to be used for something good!!! Will post a pic of the finished product as soon as I'm done. The pattern was a freebie from LionBrand and I used cotton-ease....

Now-to vent for a sec....
I approached the powers that be in my private community about teaching a knitting course for kids this summer. Wrote up the entire course-what would be covered, what would be accomplished, hoping to validate why I would charge the fee that I said for the week-long, 2 hour a day course....heard nothing back from them for the last two weeks. I honestly was just getting over the fact that they didn't want me to do it, when my mother calls up to tell me that it is posted in the community newspaper as "Crochet Boot Camp" for kids-what??? Now we all know, only someone not versed in the needlearts could screw up the word crochet with knitting, but what adds insult to injury is that I gave them all of that stuff and they obviously didn't read it. When I spoke to a woman on the phone about it, she said, "Oh Honey, the young moms here-all they wanna do is sit on the beach with their kids and do nothin' all summer-they don't want to knit"-nice....Did she not remember that I AM a young mother and I am offering this to them?? Ugh....why did I bother??

Ok-that's enough of that-hey-anyone see the CUTE bags from hockeyknittingmom on etsy? She's awesome-really mixes fabrics, GOOD FABRICS, nicely!! Check her out...

Ok-hubby's home now-time to cuddle. Enough said.

BWB...

Yep-that's me, "Bad-Weather Blogger." When the sun is out, expect me to be nowhere near the computer, but when it's rainy, I could sit here all day. What's been on tap today?? Well, a good trip to Michaels, where we found the following:
Buttons for booties (little daisies!)
buttons for hubby's costume vest (a.k.a-the sweater that I painstakenly knit for him and then promptly killed in the washer on Christmas Eve-ring a bell??) Yep-now it's being used for his "Bum Costume" in the school musical production that he is in. Nice...
6 lovely skeins of cotton-ease, all in my new summer palette-to be crocheted/knit into many things, but above all else, clutches to be sold at the salon.
Chochke junk for the girls(they were with me after all) and.....
silk flowers-thought I hated 'em b/c they're fake and I love real, but honestly, with the price of real lately, I can't afford fresh flowers every week. And these looked so good, they're easy maintenance when you've got them stored downstairs in the basement at the craft station....
Hey-can you tell which ones are real and which one is fake?? I think these pass for pretty decent looking ranunculous-my new fav. flower, by the way...

catching up...

Seems like I've been everywhere but blogging lately! So much has happened and been worked on but to type it all seems like it will take me forever!!
First things first....the CRAFT STATION!!!

Here is a pic:


How nice is that?? Hubby did it all!! He incorporated EVERYTHING that I need to actually get things done in an organized fashion!! And he forced me to re-organize my stash and purge the stuff that I really won't get too!! I was actually surprised that he didn't balk at all the yarn and I couldn't believe that most of it (notice I said MOST) fit into the shelves...I left out some acrylic nonsense for the back shelves of the basement and I actually donated a very large box of it to Interim House-an organization that helps women in Philadelphia recover from drug/alcohol addictions by teaching them to knit/crochet. How great is that??? I love the idea of knitting/crochet helping anyone out of trouble and I think that this organization is great!! It really felt great to send that big box to a good cause too.
Hubby also made this adorable SHEEP CAKE for my birthday-how great is that??


Yep-he's a keeper! He always makes my birthday feel extra special!
We went into NJ for my birthday-for two reasons....I wanted to check out Nona's Yarn Cafe to see what it was all about. I really liked the concept of a cafe and a yarn shop, although I have no interest in doing so at my future shop. And here's why: The owners no longer really run it as a cafe b/c their primary customer (women) are on diets so the food/beverages went to waste. Their cafe section is very small with just a few biscotti and cookies and water for tea/coffee. That's it. I'm thinking they should downsize their advertising then, though since I found them in the Debbie Bliss magazine, with a big ad for their yarn cafe....
Anywhoo-the women owners were very nice-a little assuming, but nonetheless very nice. They allowed me to ask them questions about their business and they didn't blink when hubby came in with the girls. Good. One of them, however, rubbed me the wrong way by asking me "Why do you want to own a yarn shop, huh? What-do you want to get the yarn at wholesale, is that why??" Huh?? Lady, right now, I get my yarn for free by working for a yarn shop, so why would take on such an aquisition just to get yarn at wholesale?? A bit of an assumption, but their business is struggling so I'm guessing she's just a bit bitter....I did manage to buy 5 skeins of gorgeous Plymouth Kudo yarn for my birthday present to myself-my summer clapotis! Love this yarn so far-a mix of cotton, silk and rayon-and multicolored of course...perfect for summer.
Now-back to those business questions-they were very helpful in telling me things that I was already aware of but to hear it live made it sink in. KNOW YOUR BUSINESS AND MARKET BEFORE YOU START A BUSINESS!!! They admitted to going in blind and overbuying bigtime and now being stuck with a lot of overhead. They also admitted to now just starting to go to shows and not really being up on what is big in the market. They stick to what their loyal customers want but they didn't seem to branch out to get new customers. They told me that their majority of customers were women age 50+ but the whole time I was in there, at least 5 women my age and younger walked in with the last group being a group of 3 teenagers. Hmmm??? Maybe some young-looking samples and free marketing on Ravelry/facebook/twitter might help? How about the local schools/colleges-offer a 10% student discount? Maybe I'm just a little over-eager and their enthusiasm is worn out. The owner did say that they haven't made a profit at all during their 4 years in business. That in itself is scary...

So, onto projects for me: Right now, working on a last-minute baby gift and my clapotis, then it's the girls' dresses and some clutches for sale, a hat for hubby (for his show??) and a summer top for me....we'll see...

They really do multiply!

Yep-these little bunnies were all over my kitchen a few days ago-my daughter's pre-k treat for her classmates. She loved them and I loved making them!-All 30 of 'em....

As for knitting, I haven't really done any, but with my birthday coming this weekend, you know there will be some spending going on for a sweater...possibly from my new Classic Elite books. We are going to in Denville, NJ on Saturday for a birthday treat! Hubby has been working so hard on my craft station in the basement-I can't believe he's so game for this as well. I will try to behave....a little! :0) Full review to follow next week!

The crocheting is plugging along-I'm on my second "Professional Hat"-this one in red, for my youngest daughter. I added a crocheted flower to Madi's-I think it came out great and thankfully, so does she! She wears it everywhere!


Next on the hook will be Baby Mary Jane Skimmers for a friend who's due any day now. I'm using up some soft acrylic in my stash and I'm very proud. Really wanted to go out and by some eco-cotton for it but I'm trying not to do that. I really want to get going on a huge stash-busting project that I actually started last year around this time, but put it down to get shop samples and other projects done-the "Ripple Afghan"-in crochet~! One of my fellow Ravelers turned me on to this project, I believe her ravelry name is tpoulsen(Tina) and she lives in Denmark. She knits and crochet the most beautiful things and her ripple blanket inspired me. LOVE IT!!

I'm definitely "hooked" to say the least!! I do still get frustrated at the inconsistencies in pattern writing for crochet, but hopefully, with time, I'll get used to it! We'll see....

Hippety-Hoppity....

Easter's on it's way!! Yep, found some un-used upholstery fabric that I had leftover from a small chair that I recovered and the color reminded me of chocolate so.....I came up with these to sell on my etsy shop: www.yarnygirl.etsy.com!
So fun, right?

As for knitting, I finished up the shrugs for the girls for their Easter dresses and of course, my oldest likes hers so much, she wants me to make one for her doll-that's b/c Grandma got her Easter dress with matching doll dress so naturally, they have to match! I'm dilly-dallying with crochet still and while I am getting it a little better, I'm still struggling with it a bit. But I will keep going until I get it!

After the crochet project, I do finally plan to get summerlin on the needles. I would also like to CO for a sweater that I've fallen for from the new Classic Elite books. There's always something!!

On tap for today-outside play! It's sunny and mild (50's) so we're heading to the playset! Will probably draw with chalk and blow some bubbles too-and count robins of course! Happy Spring!!