felt eyeglass cozie

I am joining in a craftbook sew along this year.  The purpose is simple, USE all those craft books you have hanging around.

So, first I gathered my craft books....not all of them, some of them.  Each time I took a photo, I remembered where more books were stashed.  Okay, so maybe I have a hoarding problem.  Let's just say this is a good representative of the books I have.

Then I made myself a cup of this....

Then I picked out this cute book...one I'd bought years ago to make gifts from (hahaha, riiiight)

and since I joined the challenge Wednesday, I picked this out to make...something quick to do since school was closed due to weather...

I just eyeballed everything and used what I had on hand....and since I'm on a green and purple kick, here is how mine turned out.

The colors are better than this but all my photos are suckish so this'll have to do.  It took me longer than I anticipated but I did some reinforcing and additional things not called for in the instructions.   And the fact that I "lost" my glasses while setting the button hole....yes, they were IN the case...yea, that didn't help.

Oh, and just in case y'all are wondering if I'm into embroidery...

the answer is no....too much fiddly thread...which is why I quit cross stitching a zillion years ago.
Happy Friday!!!!

Val's Needful Things!

Before I start, it goes without saying that I need God and my family above all else.  Without them, there is nothing else.

I need warm socks because my feet are always cold, even in summer.  People shouldn't have cold feet in the summer time.

I need orange in my wardrobe because it makes me feel cheerful when I wear it.  Orange is such a yummy color... it reminds me of Brach's orange slices and Fanta and summer and Halloween!

I need zombie dolls because their vacant eyes and crooked smiles are oddly cute.  The fact that I put them out at Halloween, which kicks off my favorite part of the year probably helps.

I need to have twinkle lights on SOMEWHERE all year long.  Each night, I turn them on and each morning, I turn them off.  They brighten up the room, just a little and make me feel young.  They remind me of stars and fairy dust and NeverLand....

I need hugs from my family because they make me feel warm inside.  Every morning we have "morning hugs." It was something I started when they were itty bitty babies.  It was an awesome day when my kids started to initiate the morning hug ritual!

I need to garden because I love green and growing things and having a beautiful yard.  I love seeing little green seedlings popping up out of the soil.

I need to say a prayer whenever we hear or see an ambulance or firetruck on it's way somewhere....or when we see a wreck.  I have my family doing it too.  If I was in a wreck, I would want someone to say a prayer for me too.

I need to crochet with lovely yarn because I can't sit still and creating helps me focus and slow down.  Okay, so I can crochet with crappy yarn too, but lovely yarn is SO MUCH BETTER.

I need to drink wine out of a pretty glass because after daddy died I realized that life really is too short to drink wine out of anything less.  Now I drink out of a pretty wine glass EVERY time I have wine...

I need polka dotted toadstools because they ALWAYS make me smile. They make me feel like a kid again.

I need Starbucks salted caramel hot cocoa because it is my favorite all time treat.  Even. In. Summer.  I'm not much of a sweets eater but this is one treat I've never turned down.  

I need to take care of my feet because I like having pretty feet.  I don't EVER want to have crusty "french bread" feet! That being said, no one is allowed to touch my feet except me or my sweet husband, Dean....he will rub them after a long day.  I'm lucky.

I need to go into yarn stores and just take it all in.  It is such a great need that if I am broke, I refuse to go into a yarn store.  I am not talking about general craft stores.  I'm talking about a REAL YARN STORE, the kind of store that has nothing but yarn everywhere, in all types and colors.  Yarn is my crack.  

I need to go into the library even if I'm not looking for a specific book.  I love the smell of the library.  When I was a kid, I would flip straight to the back of the book.    I knew it was a good book if the card had a lot of names on it. Then I'd take it home and read it. 

I need to cook and bake for my family because they enjoy what I make and that makes me happy. I grew up in a household of good cooks and grew up equating good food with good times.  Plus the process relaxes me.  Or maybe the wine relaxes me.  I cook with wine.  I drink it too....in a pretty glass, of course.

I need to take care of lost animals.  I've done it my whole life.  I bring them home and look for their owner.  If I find them out and about and they are sickly, I take them to the vet. If I can't get to them, I say a prayer.  Again, if my own pets were lost, I would want someone to do the same for them.

I need unique pieces of yard art in my garden because they look like jewelry in a sea of green.   I love it because I'll forget that something is there and when working in the yard, I rediscover it and it is like a gift, a little surprise hidden away. 

I need silly notepads because grocery shopping is a pain and using a cute notepad makes it better. I'm a bit oc because I have to rewrite lists before I go to the store if someone wrote something out of place....or if someone crossed something off the list.  The list has to be PERFECT before I use it.

I need song birds in the yard because they remind me of daddy and Peppy. I love that we are on a migratory path for many birds....we get some gorgeous ones here as they travel through.  I love to watch them play in the birdbaths or look for bugs in the yard.

I need to move turtles out of the road so no idiot runs it over....on purpose. I've been doing it since I was 9, by then I was old enough to harass my folks into pulling over so I could save them.
A few years ago, we pulled over so I could move a turtle out of the road.  Some jerk in a truck verred out of his lane and clipped the turtle on purpose, just a couple yards from me.  The poor turtle flung out like a slingshot and landed upside down in a rain filled culvert so I couldn't reach it.  I was so mad and upset.  It upset my whole family that someone could be so mean.  Needless to say, now everyone in my family moves turtles out of the road.  Except when it is too dangerous because it is on a merge lane or super busy road or something.  Then, sadly, poor Yertle is on his own, but I say a prayer.  I always say a prayer.

crochet cozy...

My inability to decide what to do with the Noro yarn forced me to finish a couple WIP this past weekend.    That was good because it turned into a bit of a stash busting weekend.

 These two long things are part of a yarn bombing I am doing with the school.   These are the "tops" of the bike rack we are covering.    I leave all those long tails on to help whip stitch in place.  It makes it easier than using one super long piece of yarn.     I used up lots of leftover yarn on this project.   
No rhyme or reason here, just measuring it every now and then to make sure it was long enough.   

I also made myself a new little cell phone cozy...the one I had was pretty beaten up from several months of use.
Front and back, all in purple and blue and again, no real pattern in mind.  Just using up what teeny bits I had left.   I busted 233 grams for these 2 projects. (One of the long things was counted previously.)

Mindless crochet over a cold weekend in between loads of endless laundry.  Mundane to some people, relaxing to me.   About the only time my brain shuts up is when I am crocheting!

Grow Your Blog Party!

Welcome to the Grow Your Blog party hosted by Vicky at 2 bags full!

My name is Valerie.

  

I am married to my sweetheart Dean 



and together we have 2 amazing kids



Oh, and 4 fur babies!  

I started blogging in 2008 after moving to a new place.  I don't have just "one" thing I post about here.....Life is full so my blog is stuffed with....

Crochet 

Mosaics and gardening

Family events and outings

Cooking and recipes

Crafts and tutorials

I've made some wonderful friends through my blog too.
Some like Tammy, who I met through our blogs years ago.  Then in person last summer when she came to the states for a month!  We had a wonderful time together.  I was sad to see her go home but we stay in touch!



Others, like Kerry and Jill I've not met in person but got to know when I was hosting a swap and we've been friends ever since.  I couldn't imagine not having these wonderful ladies in my life.

As a thank you for your visit and to celebrate making new friends, I am giving away this set of coffee cozys on February 15th.  You get two, one to keep and one to share with a friend.  

One winner will be chosen at random from the comments left on this post.  Edited 2/15: Patty from "Patty's Pretty Things" is the winner and has been contacted!

Thank you for popping by and again to Vicki for putting this party together!

homemade cinnamon rolls!

These are what you make when they cancel school because of ice and sleet....

and yes, they are almost gone!

Oh! What To Do?!

Awhile back I was on a quest to find some yarn for my sister.  Well, during that quest I bought this yarn and thought I'd use it if I never found what I was searching for.  As luck would have it, the week after buying this yarn, I FOUND the yarn I had been searching for.    If you want to see it, check out this post.

So now I have 6 skeins of this glorious, gorgeousness that I am DYING to use.   The colors are FAB and are definitely me so I'd like to make myself something.  

The problem is WHAT do I make with these 6 skeins...oh and I don't knit well enough to sacrifice this stuff to a learner project.  Double oh, the wrappers fell off in the bag and I didn't bother saving them so I can't buy more....*sigh*  

I mean, look at all the yummy colors entwined in each skein......Noro Kuryeon (wool)...thick and thin, soft and oh so lovely.

I have thought of fingerless gloves but I have some....do I need more?  I could make several and have gifts for others....hmmmm.

I have thought of a slouchy hat....but I don't look great in hats...small face, curly hair...I look like Bozo the Clown's demented little sister.  Not a good look....but maybe I would look good in THIS because the colors are amazing.  I love hats, maybe I should just TRY....maybe not.

I have thought of slippers and started to make a pair.  Well, that is until the boys in the household called them a warmer for a certain part of the male anatomy....so I ripped them out.  I couldn't have ------warmers on my TOES for crying out loud.  Maybe some that are less pointy?  

I have thought of a scarf but this is so much like the one I already have.....but maybe, you can't have too many scarves.....

I have thought of a felted bag but am just not sure...do I need a felted bag?   What would I use it for?  

It needs to be something yummy and darling and unusual.  I think I'll have a margarita and think it over some more.    Maybe two?

 In the mean time, if you've got an idea, feel free to leave it in the comments!

more curlygirl art

Kaela had another project to do for her art class...and again, she decided to go with an elephant.

I think it is quickly becoming her "go to" mammal.   Good choice, they are highly intelligent, beautiful creatures!

This time around, she had to do a zentangle.....

Isn't it lovely...this is another one destined to be "stolen" by me!