Crochet

Tunisian Ta-Da! Redux

Finally! I can show you the Tunisian Multi-Garment I completed as a result of my very first Craftsy Class, Jennifer Hansen’s “Tunisian Crochet:  Revolutions in Color and Style”.

I started this little jewel in May, and finished the first rectangular panel just a few short weeks later in June.  And then I stopped….

I stopped for…a while….

I finally picked it up again in August.  And in a few short weeks, I finished the second panel.  I was pretty prompt in blocking, but then I started working with the lacing.  How did I want to lace these two panels?  There are a ton of options.  A shoe lace edging borders the each side of each panel.  I would lace it, and then unlace it…lace it and then unlace it…lace it and then unlace it….You get the picture.

Finally I stopped with the lacing, and just took the pictures.  It’s beautiful.  I went with a simple poncho.  Very cute with jeans!

Jennifer Hansen has such an amazing mastery of drape when she’s designing.  If you haven’t, you should check out her website at Stitch Diva Studios.  I love her style sensibility. (So hoping she does another Craftsy class on Broomstick lace…)

Now onto my next class!  Maybe it’s finally time for one or two in photography?  Cuz what I’m wondering right now is, what’s up with the grey foamy on that hanger?  Who leaves that in a picture?  Oh well…one should embrace one’s opportunities 🙂  Have a great weekend, y’all!

 

 

 

General

Acts of Random Gastronomy

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun…

When I ate my first Big Mac, there was not a McDonald’s in my home town.  You had to drive about an hour in any given direction to get to one.  When I tried my first one, it was love at first bite.  (Scarcity drives demand, don’t  you know.)  I don’t remember if it was my sophomore or junior year in high school, but we finally got a McDonald’s in my little East Texas town. The cars literally stretched about a mile down the street the Saturday it opened.  I’m not sure that there was ever a more anticipated opening in our little burg.  It was big news.  Yep, big news.  But it wasn’t pretty.  I have vague memories  an  undetermined period of time where I consumed  Big Macs daily. Looking back, it’s hard to believe.

I don’t love Big Macs anymore.  I don’t love McDonald’s.  And I certainly wouldn’t drive out of my way to get to one.  There have been times when I’ve pulled into the drive-through for my kids and smell has repulsed rather than enticed me.  In spite my general abhorrence for the restaurant chain, however, about once a year, I have an inexplicable craving for a Big Mac.

Over the last couple of weeks, I felt it coming on.  I’d see a commercial, and be tempted.  I knew it was coming, and when I woke up this morning, I had a sneaky suspicion that  today was the day.  Today was the day for a Mac Attack!

I’m not gonna lie.  I was stress eating.  Stress with a capital “S”.  And I’m not ashamed to say it…That sandwich was good.  I enjoyed it.  I didn’t feel bad about it.  I don’t now.  And I’m done.  Done until the next time.  My next annual (or whatever-I’m pretty sure it was well over a year this time) Mac Attack.  Nostalgia?  Probably Tasty? Usually. An anomaly?  Absolutely. Acts of random gastronomy…

General

Obstacles…

 

It’s been a month of transition at my house.  Transition back to school.  Transition back into my husband’s business travel.  Transition into a new level of engagement in my own job, which has also necessitated travel.  As it turns out, I’m not as good at transition as I used to be.  This morning finds me reflecting back on a month of obstacles.  Isn’t that absurd?  It’s so easy for us to focus on what we aren’t able to do instead of really experiencing what we’ve done.

I sat down today to write about obstacles to my blogging.  Mainly because I carry masses of guilt on a daily basis.  Guilt for what I haven’t done or haven’t done well.  I added my blog to this list over the last couple of weeks.  I felt guilty because I didn’t do something that I do strictly because I enjoy it.  And guess what? The guilt eliminates the enjoyment.  That’s an irony I don’t find enjoyable.  And I love irony.

So this morning I woke up a little angry.  Per the usual, I was angry with myself.  So I decided to give into the obstacles. I let myself be interrupted by my kids and chose not to be frustrated by it. I let myself go onto other things when i couldn’t start a load of laundry because I’m out of laundry detergent.  I let myself read blogs and link to sites as my whim dictated. I let myself drink a cup of coffee and do nothing. And it was nice.  And I don’t feel guilty.  I gave into the obstacles, and I was able to cut myself some slack instead of focusing on what isn’t getting done.  (I win!)

….And now I’m blogging.  (I win again!)  And I’m still going to talk about those obstacles, because really, they’re kind of funny.

1.  I finished my Tunisian Multi-Garment, but have no photos to blog because I can’t decide the best way to lace it together.  I’ve laced and re-laced this garment around 5 times and undo it every time.  There’s a strong possibility I’m subconsciously postponing the inevitable because I don’t want  my picture taken.  Hmmmm.

2.  I’ve crocheted what I feel is an adorable scarf.  I can’t finish it, however, because I went off pattern and ran out of yarn with only three sides of the final border row to go.  I went to the yarn store yesterday and they’re out, so I ordered some.  It’s going to take two weeks for the yarn to come in because I went to my local yarn store instead of ordering it online.  Why don’t I order it online?  Because of guilt! I love the little ladies at my yarn store and I feel obligated to get it from them because of their elderly wonderfulness. Next.

3.  I’ve finished a pencil skirt and I think it’s pretty awesome.  I’m actually taking license by saying I’ve finished it because I haven’t.  I need to add a hook and eye to the waist band.  That’s all.  I’ve needed to add this hook and I for roughly four weeks.  Still haven’t done it.  I want to wear it to work.  But I can’t because it needs a hook and eye.  Could it be that I’m postponing completion on purpose?  Probably.  You see, I want to blog my sewing triumph, but then…I’d probably need to have my picture taken….

Oh well, I think I’ll deal with one shortcoming at a time…don’t you think?  I’m going back here now…Wishing you all a peaceful weekend!….Amy

I'm loving this!

I’m loving this!

I have a recent quasi-obsession with Snapseed.  I don’t know how many of you utilize a photo app, but I love this one!  It’s so simple to use. Everything is done with the swipe of a finger.  I never really utilized the camera on my iphone until I started using it, and now I’m using it all the time.  Let’s take a look!

Here’s a photo, unaltered, that I took with my iphone last week.  I was on my way home and the clouds were amazing.  I pulled over and took this….

Pretty right?  Nice, but let’s see what Snapseed can do.  First I use the “Automatic” function to clean up the pic.

Wow, sweet!  How about black and white?

Nifty! Vintage?

 

Neat…..And now my favorite-Drama…

 

You can crop, color correct and straighten. Too fun, people!

 

 

 

General · I'm loving this!

Peace, Love, Spa…

The last two months have been nutty!  Too much and too little!  As in too much to do, too little time to do it in. (sorry about ending with a preposition….sometimes one has to let the grammar thing go just a little)  I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, however.  So I’m back! Set the pigeons loose!

My sweet baby angel girl turned eleven Saturday.  It was a big day.  We invited our two BFF’s over and themed the weekend, “Peace, Love, Spa!”.  We even made t-shirts.  Our logo was rocking, but our iron on t-shirt transfer let us down…boo….

The t-shirts were just the tip of the iceburg, however.  It was a tween dream at my house this weekend.  We had Beauty Buckets

We did an array of facial treatments including a cucumber, green tea, avocado mush that we whipped up in the blender.

We had an assortment of fascinating reading material….We’re officially current on our horoscope, fashion, teen celebrity gossip and an assortment of quizzes.

We made a sugar scrub that was delightful if I do say so myself.  I used a modified version of this recipe that I found on Pinterest.  My modifications were pretty simple.  I used colored sugar sprinkles to make the pretty colors and flavored extracts instead of essential oils.  I also used a coconut oil that wasn’t super-refined, so the girls wound up with coconut-orange-vanilla sugar body scrub.   Baby soft skin ?  You betcha!

The next morning, bright and early, we headed to the Nail Salon for mani/pedi’s.  (Mom even got a pedicure! Magic hands…that’s all I’m saying.)

Nope.  No spoiled little girls at my house.  Just soft, pampered tootsies. Zebra striped tootsies to be more specific.

Zebra striped tootsies and an ice cream cake!  Does it get any better than this?