Feelin Like a Kid!

I am so excited . . I sold my first item on Etsy.com!  Embroidered Groom Socks . . of all things!  My daughter Kristie has an Etsy site, and is doing very well, I might add . . She started selling these socks on her site and I was doing the embroidering.  She decided to put them on my site which got me rollin'!

The socks are a custom order.  The woman wanted to know if I could embroider her and her future husband's names on one sock and the date on the other . . Of Course I Can!

Also in the same day I received another order for my Monkey Blanket!  The woman had certain requests which I am able to do for her.  She lives in Norway and has an 8 month old son.  She wanted a wool blended yarn with added rows because as she explained, it gets very cold in Norway. I can do that too!

Pictures will be posted to my Etsy site when these items are completed . . watch for them!
www.Etsy.com/shop/KarolsKraftKorner . . I have a few other things on there too!

and please visit my daughter Kristie's site on Etsy . . she "re-creates" items . .  tell her that her Mom sent you!  I have a little clout!

Prayer Shawls

Last week I lost a member of my "in-law" family.  The brother of my ex-husband.  As I put it, the best of the family.  I don't recall any bad memories or any hurt feelings surrounding this brother-in-law.  He was one of the "good guys".

I haven't seen his wife or any of his three boys in a while . . as the saying goes . . only at weddings and funerals.  His wife and boys made me feel so loved during this sad time in their lives . . it should have been the other way around.  I wanted to do something for his wife but didn't know what.  So I made her a prayer shawl.  A prayer shawl is made via crochet, knitting, sewing or any way to produce one that is handmade.
As you crochet the stitches, you say a prayer.  You can find several online or say whatever your heart leads you to say.  I chose to say my own.  With each row, I tried to find blessings in my knowing Jimmy.  I prayed for his wife . . each of his three boys . . his grandkids . . his neighbors . . his friends . . anyone that might be affected by his death.  I found it very meditating, relaxing and oh so spiritual.  I found myself going to a very peaceful place . . a happy place.  Words cannot describe the feelings I was having while my fingers were busy "spinning straw into gold".  A prayer shawl is given for healing . . for comfort . . for friendship . .

I chose to crochet my prayer shawl as I only had two days to make it and crocheting for me is very fast.  I searched online and found the perfect pattern.  It was a shawl done in a pineapple pattern.  The pattern directions stated to make two separate sides and then when you sewed the two sides together, the pineapple pattern, in the center back, looked like wings!  Perfect!  I chose a light blue as this is one of her favorite colors . .  Deborah Norville soft bulky yarn . . and a size L crochet hook.  I did change the pattern up a bit (I have a bad habit of doing this) because using the bulkier yarn and such a big hook.  The ends of the shawl are shaped like a cathedral window.  I wanted a fancy edging than what the pattern called for so I did a picot edge which made a small ruffle around my prayer shawl. I also included a card with a small prayer that I found online.

I am not uploading any pictures because I think it would take away the specialness of the shawl that was only meant for her.  This prayer shawl did some healing for me too as well as comfort.  The prayer shawl works on both the maker and the intended.  I will be making more . . .

The pattern I used was the Angel Wing Prayer Shawl found at Allfreecrochet.com and designed by Maria Merlino - I do believe she has a web site.

Football anyone?

Can you spell Procrastinator? . . ah yes . . Reader's Digest Version . . . "ME!" . .
I am determined to finish my projects! . . One Project at a time . . one day at a time . . one hour at a time . .
Is there such a thing as Unfinished Projects Anonymous?!  If there is, then I must be the President of this organization!

Now to decide which one to work on! . . I WILL finish . . I WILL finish . . this might be an easy one.  My middle daughter Amy asked me to make her a stadium blanket.  I have three grandkids that all go to the same school district - 2 play football and 1 is a cheerleader.  Luckily they all play/cheer for the Newfane Panthers! . . Go PANTHERS !!! . . ummm sorry . . got a little off track there . . but I am a proud gramma!

So, I wanted to include a Panther and their last name on my blanket but how . . ?  I'm not good at writing patterns so I did what every other red blooded, yarn crazed, hook in hand crocheter does . . . I Googled it!!  What I found was sites that will turn your idea or picture into a cross stitch design.  sooooo I thought why not!  why couldn't I get the pattern in cross stitch and follow it while crocheting!  Good Idea!!  so I picked out a panther picture that I liked, ran it thru the web site, myphotostitch.com, chose 4 colors - blue, black, gray and white and it shot me back a pattern that I could follow. . . if you choose a stitch pattern with less than 1000 stitches your design is free.

Made a trip to Joann's . . coupons in hand . . and proceeded to buy the yarn.  I chose Lion Brand Hometown USA because it was thick and very soft.  The weather can get pretty cold at these games.  The weight is 6 Bulky and I am using a Q crochet hook. . . single crochet

the only problem with changing colors is the strands you get . . but I have found a way to weave them in without them coming loose . . I use just a dab of non toxic glue!  Genius right?!  I pull the strand . . put on just a dab . . cut the loose thread and stretch it back into place . . it goes in between the stitch so the ends do not show and it seems to hold quite nicely.

Well, this project has to get finished because I am making it to keep my family warm! Finished photo to come!

I am about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom . . and have to work on this in my air conditioned room as it has been in the 90's and muggy .. not the kind of weather to be crocheting a big warm blanket . . but with my past history, I have to work on it now or it will get put away with the other 27 projects in the "not finished" corner of my attic apartment ..

*With hook in hand I wave goodbye . . Happy Krafting!

Karol

Where has the time gone . .

Wow . . two years . . . two years since I have written anything . .  and so much has happened in my life.  I have two more grandkids . . sold my home . . living with and taking care of my mom . . starting an Etsy page . . even thinking of doing the craft shows circuit.  My dream is to retire in 3 years and sew, knit, crochet, sew, knit, crochet . . and enjoy all my wonderful grandkids!  I have been doing alot of traveling lately - for work and for pleasure.  I have 4 trips already scheduled over the summer!

I presently have three projects going on . . one is kitchen items . . Gone to Pot . . . Holders!  is the name.  My girlfriend (in Florida) and I have been making all different kinds of potholders with a holiday theme.  We are also making accessories to go with them . . You can check them out at Etsy.com - at GrammaBeBes.



The second project is with another friend who lives in my neighborhood - Things for Dogs  . . I'm sure other animal item will be included as we go.  We both knit and sew so we are trying our hand in fashioning dog clothes and will be selling them real soon.  We haven't come up with a name yet . . .

And the third project will be with my daughter - Kid's . . Toddlers . . . Babies . . no name here either.  This one is just in the very beginning stages.

I figure . . kitchen, animal and baby handcrafted items will sell!  Look for all on Etsy real soon!

Going "Green!" . .Why not? . .. I'm Irish after all . .

Recycle . . . Oh Yeah . . I'm jumping on the recycle bandwagon and having a jolly old time doing it! There is so much out there and so many ideas! I'm sure if you think hard enough you could find a way to recycle just about anything! I love garage saleing . . flea marketing . . but where do you get your fix in the winter time? . . At your local thrift store! One of these Saturdays real soon, I plan on hitting all of them within a 20 mile radius of my house . . already got a friend signed up to go with me . . we are making a day of it . . with lunch in between.

My project for this blog entry is a sweatshirt . . this is my third one that I have "re-designed". This is one of the sweatshirts that are offered at Walgreens for 3 for $10! I was lucky to find this style (straight bottom and sleeves . . no ribbing) there isn't much work involved with this style.

First I cut the front of the sweatshirt right down the middle . . I decided I would like to make the front edges and around the neck, scalloped.

2. I got out my trusty old tracing roller and paper (I love this stuff . . have been using it for years . . I use it to trace patterns that have the multiple sizes on them)and made a line one inch from the edge all the way around. I chose one inch so I was sure I had enough material to cover the scallop.

3. I chose a scallop design on my sewing machine, put stabilizer in the back side and proceeded to sew my scallops all along the edge. After doing this, I'm not real crazy with the way the collar turned out. It is a bit flimsy . . I think if I do this again, I will just go straight up the front and leave the collar that was on the sweatshirt.

I used the line that I made from the tracing roller as my guide for the foot. I lined this up with the left edge of the scalloping so that it would be even all the way around.

4. After sewing the scalloping, I tore off the tear away stabilizer and cut as close as I could without cutting the threads around the scallops from my sweatshirt with embroidery scissors. These have a rounded tip and make cutting the scallop so much easier. If by chance you do cut into the threading, you can dap some liquid fabric glue on the spot, that will hold the threads so they won't raveling.

5. My sweatshirt still looked a bit plain so I chose an embroidery design to put on the shirt.

My finished sweatshirt . . now I have another "jacket" that is suitable enough to wear to work!

Now . .off to the thrift stores . . looking for a wine rack to keep my yarn in!

Dreams and A Dozen Roses . . .

A friend handed me $25 in instant lottery tickets . . wow! . . for me?! . . got excited til I realized they weren't for me . . *sigh . She wanted to do up a gift basket, (but she is a bit creatively challenged), for a fundraiser for a dear friend of hers that is suffering from cancer. So my "creative mind" started working overtime (my favorite part of a project!) and chugging and steaming like that darned ole train . . yes . . yes . . YES I can!

After going thru my stash, I found these red candle roses that my daughter made for favors for her wedding. They are rose shaped candles that I think she got from Oriental Trading Company - she wrapped a stick with floral tape, added two leaves and stuck the stick into the candle. These will work, I thought . . I will do six of them with three lottery ticket leaves on each and hang the remaining lottery tickets from a ribbon .. so got out my glue gun (what a wonderful invention this glue gun is!) and made leaves from the instant lottery tickets to put on the rose stem . . .

ummmm . . really don't like the looks of these . . . don't have much else I can use . . what can I do . . i have a dozen of these red rose candles . . ummmm . . I know . . I'll make a dozen long stemmed roses with some kind of greenery behind the roses! . . So . . put on the boots, grabbed the purse and off to the dollar store I went . . bought a vase, colored marbles to put in the vase and a fern bunch with 6 branches on it . .

Oh yes . . I like this much better! I cut off every other stem on the fern branch, folded the instant lottery ticket and hot glued the ticket on the stem. I used two fern branches and 9 tickets on each. You have to be careful NOT to get glue on the bar code on the back of the instant ticket! And do all your folding where it won't affect the scratch part. I use a hot glue gun because it dries right away and if you make a mistake or change your mind, you can just peel it right off without doing damage to the ticket.

I chose to put marbles in the vase as a weight . . as well as for looks . . as the candle roses are a bit top heavy and the marble did a wonderful job of holding the stems in place!

I then added a few sprigs of small white carnations within the red roses and the two fern lottery branches behind the the flower arrangement.

I then wrapped the vase in a clear plastic gift bag, adorned with gold curling ribbons, the extra instant lottery tickets and hot glued small pearl beads to the outside of the plastic gift bag.

This project took me about an hour and a half to complete. So if you need an idea for a shower, fundraiser, door prize, etc. and just don't have the time to make a lengthy craft, why not try something with instant lottery tickets! It's a gift that keeps on giving!

mw . . thanks for getting me to think outside of the box when it came to my crafts . . I miss you . . 2/22/99

Fidgety and Antsy . . .

and feeling like I'm in prison! Been off work and home for a week now . . asthma attack . . they tell me. Never had one before, and have no idea what to expect . . how long this will last . . ? So what do I do with myself . . there is just so much TV you can watch . . . . ?

So, here i sit with a problem . . can't do anything physical . . can't exert myself (or I go into a coughing fit and then . . ummm .. nah .. better not . .. not a pretty site) . . and yeah, believe it or not . . do NOT feel like sewing at all! .. (and I have a blazer downstairs that is almost finished! remember my spats idea?!). So what can I do without leaving the house to get supplies . . . ummmm . . have yarn . . and all kinds of time .. ummm .. learn to knit! . . so off I go . . I have always wanted . . well, not always . . but for a while now . hehe . .wanted hand warmers as I hate gloves . . mittens . . anything restricting . . (if your a smoker or an ex smoker, you will understand!). . . After starting, ripping out . . starting again . . ripping out again . . starting again . . ripping out again . . whew . . I would say .. about 25 times (and that's not exageratting!) .. I have finally come up with some hand warmers that I can actually use! I am so excited!

Now . . . where is that pattern for . . . .