What I did today...

I did a lot today. I cleaned my house a little, almost finished a bag, went on an activity with our youth group, took a bag apart, and made muffins for tomorrow's breakfast.

First the muffins, is it wrong that I use a boxed mix? I don't think so. I'm particularly fond of the mix that includes a can of wild blueberries. Yummy! It's got real fruit in it, too. My kids love it, and it's not any worse than pancakes covered in syrup or doughnuts. Plus, the house smells all yummy. I doubt all twelve make it to the morning.

Second, the bag, I got it all put together and was turning it ready to press and topstitch, when I realized that I put the strap on the bottom and the pocket upside down. While typing this I remembered that I hadn't turned off my iron, God bless the automatic shutoff! Hopefully, this little sneaky peeky will show up on my Etsy real soon. I'm still working on my fall things; I just haven't been motivated when it's 91 degrees outside.
Third, the activity, I had fun. We went to Palmetto Avenue Baptist and listened to a speaker from Ohio. There were games involving eating the mystery Twinkie (I didn't play that one- no way), popping balloons tied to everyone's ankles, and sticking lifesavers to your teammate's face with your saliva. I didn't play any of them; I'm too old for that. I did have fun watching and laughing, and laughing and laughing. No girls went, which is a shame, but I don't really know many of the girls because they don't come to activities. It's kind of a vicious circle. I think too, because I work at the school they aren't really sure what to make of me in youth group.
I need a muffin. It smells really good in here.

Tea for Two, or just Kelly.

I finished one more. It's a bag for my supervisor; she gave me the tea print to use. It's an old linen calendar from a few years back. Finding fabric to match that gold was a killer! I have issues paying full price for fabric, so that didn't help either. The blue fabric inside is actually pieced together from stash fabric that my grandma gave me. She'd be so proud- neither one of us throw anything away!
The linen calendar is still in one piece (in case she wants to take it off); she just needs to rip those stitches, and she'll have a plain bag! I tend to change my mind often, so the fact that it can change so easily makes me feel better.
My lovely friend Chesley photographed this bag and the previous one, and I think she had a little too much fun because she came back inside with 25 pictures (mostly lizards and bugs). She did a good job, and I have a huge memory card, so it's all good!

Busy with Stuff

It's been awhile I know. I've been busy with stuff, nothing fun, but important stuff. I did manage to finish one bag for a friend. She saw that bag I had on my Etsy, and she wanted it only bigger. So here it is! I even did a fancy pocket with separate compartments for a pen and a cell phone. Oh, and the straps are long enough to wear on your shoulder. I like it. I was kind of hoping she wouldn't like it so I could keep it. Yup, there's always the dream, but what do I need another bag for?

It's a boy! (I hope.)

Hubby told me that a co-worker is expecting. I'm pretty sure he said it was a boy. I'm also pretty sure that he mentioned the mommy is eco-conscious. So I got me some fancy yarn! It's Bernat's Bamboo, and I strongly recommend you try it! It is so soft; it feels like cashmere. The only problem is it's hand wash only, and I made baby things with it. Oh well, it's her first.
I made the pattern up myself, and it's obviously not blocked. I HATE blocking, and it's a blanket- so who cares! The blanket was done in a half-double crochet lattice pattern with ten rows of lattice and one row of HDC alternating. The border is a shell stitch (or my version of it). The snuggle bunny (that's what I call them because that's what we call snuggly hugs in my house) is done with five rows of HDC lattice and one row of HDC alternating. It also has a shell stitch border, and the head and ears are single crochet with a much smaller hook. I couldn't tell you how many stitches I cast on; I'm bad about writing things down.
Oh, the colors are water (blue) and linen (off white).
Now I just hope it really is a boy!

All Done!

I went back to JoAnn's and found some yarn to finish the hat I started (see previous post). It's Lion Brand's Chenille Thick & Quick in black, obviously. Enjoy!

Now what...

I kinda finished this hat. This yarn (Sensations Artic in Multi) was on sale at JoAnn's, so I picked up a skein. I thought that would be enough to make my monster a new hat for winter, nope! So now I have a half-finished hat that is made from a color no longer in stores. I'm thinking a black band and black tassels on each point. I found the pattern on Lion Brand's website.
Oh, this picture is of a little girl I sit during the day, she's not one of mine.

Let it snow; let it snow, please God! Let it snow!

I'm ready for winter. It's been 97 degrees outside with 250% humidity, and I'm done! I started going through my kid's sweaters (for the one week a year they need them), and I found the very first sweater I made. It's a year old and covered in mulch, but I still love it. My darling monster is modeling it (ignore the black eye- he's table height now).
I used a pattern in Candi Jensen's book, Total Baby Knits. It's made with my favorite yarn, Caron's Simply Soft, in colors Iris, Off White, Rubine Red, and Berry Blue in their Brights line.
I did make a matching hat, but his head grew faster than the rest of him! Oh, and that's his artwork on the door behind him (in permanent marker!)