We Miss You, Mystery Kitty

Baby Mystery Kitty, you left us way too soon. Apparently, you were sick and we did not know it. You will be greatly missed. Every day, 4 yr old Talon says how it can't be a fun day without you, Mystery. Thank you for those last little purrs you gave us. R.I.P. Mystery. We love you. Your human mommy, Natasha, misses you terribly. Eliana loved to carry you around like a little baby.

Cold enough for hats :)...and other things I have been doing lately

I have had a lot of fun in the last couple of months making custom hats, which is fairly new for me. I have made sock monkeys, owls, pandas, horses, kitty cats, hats with earflaps, hats with braids, and hats with flowers. It is a good thing I have hats made for my kids because we actually got snow flurries yesterday here. We don't usually get snow that early in the season. The kids were really excited.

Someone showed me some pics of some really cute beanie hats with beards on them on etsy and asked if I could do that. I said I would try. I found lots of beanie patterns free on the crochet pattern central website. I kind of just made things up as I went for the beard. I used Talon as a model, as well as the girls' fashion doll head. I started with the mustache row and made it as long as I wanted (ear to ear on Talon). On the next row down, I just chained about 10 or so when I got to the middle to make a hole for the mouth. Then I made a couple more rows after that. Maybe 2 or 3. I think it was 3. On the the 2nd one after the mouth opening, I did 2 stitches per stitch for the chin, and then on the last row I just did one stitch per stitch all the way across....someday I might write that out if it doesn't make any sense. To get the texture of the beard I did crossed half double crochet stitches. That means I skipped a stitch and did a hdc, and then I went back and worked a hdc in the skipped stitch. I have no idea if any of the people who sell these on etsy do their beards like this or differently. I really just kind of winged it. As you can see, Talon was really happy with his hat :).




Talon requested his own bearded hat after watching me make a couple for a special order. He said his had to be green and yellow (his favorite colors) with a brown mustache. :)

What I Have Been Working On Lately

I just realized it has been a while since I posted things I have been working on....
I have really enjoyed doing some special orders for some friends. These little hats and baby blankets have been really fun to make.

A Lot to Be Thankful For

I have a lot to be thankful for. On Thursday evening, I was on my way home from gymnastics with my two youngest children, Eliana and Talon. It was chilly, dark, and drizzling. As I was merging onto the parkway, the truck spun around across 2 lanes and into the median and crashed into a guardrail. I came out with just a seatbelt burn on my neck and some very minor bruises. Both children were fine. I am thankful for all the people who stopped to help us. I am thankful that no other vehicles were on the road at the time. Things could have been so much worse. If Natasha had been with us, she could have been seriously injured. Her seat is normally right behind the driver's seat. The people who towed the truck said it was totalled 3 times over and they wondered how I walked away without a broken leg. I want to say thank You, God, for protecting us. I have been overwhelmed the last couple of days by the thoughts of what could have happened and how blessed and protected by God that we were. I have spent a lot of time hugging and snuggling my family. My mom and dad are so sweet and have called to check on me several times a day. Praying for blessings for your families this holiday season.

Fall Highlights 2011

One day after church, I snapped some quick pics in the front yard. I think they came out so cute!!! And yes, Talon is really sitting on that pumpkin :). Then we have batgirl, batman, and Elwood from the Blues Brothers (She's on a mission from God). Next is a purse that Natasha made by herself from some free material I got at a yard sale!!! I am so proud of her. She gave it to her friend as a birthday present. The purse has the greens on one side and the maroons on the other. We have plans to make more of these purses. Last is pretty Eliana. She requested matching owl hats for her and her Green Bunny :)

HORSES, Inc. Craft Fair

These will be my raffle prize donations to the HORSES, Inc. Expo this weekend. HORSES is a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding for children and adults in the western KY area.

If you want a chance to win the horse baby hat or the baby cowboy booties, please come to the HORSES, Inc. Expo, Book/Craft Fair on Saturday October 15 at Carson Park in Paducah, KY.

More New Things

a neat idea, a crocheted edging around part of an old greeting card = Christmas ornament



baby cocoon and hat for friend who wanted photography props



a true scrap afghan, granny style



don't know why, but I truly like this, no matter what angle I turn it

Trying Something New

A friend asked me to make her a little owl hat for her baby-on-the-way. After I finished that one, I decided to try to make a little sock monkey hat. I think they came out well enough that I will be trying these again. Yay!

Updates :)

Please be patient with me, as I realized that I could adjust the width of my template, which was good news because some of my gadgets on the sidebar were "hanging off the edge" into my background. However, I see that it really messed with the captions on my pics, and that is going to take a long time to fix :)

First craft fair completed. Yay! Got some good ideas for the next one :)

More Craft Fair Items

I am very excited about my first ever craft fair this weekend. Come and see lots of Western Kentucky Crafters at the Woodmen of the World Building in Benton, KY on Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday from noon to 5pm. I will be there both days.




Found these 2 baby quilt panels on a sale table at a local sewing shop. This one has pink flannel on the back, and the bears have soft off-white fleece on the back.






Sweet Dreams baby afghan




Blue Shawl, my design





Close-up of picot edging on Sweet Dreams afghan

What I Have Been Working On This Week

This cute little sea creature pillow was designed and made by my 7 yr old daughter Eliana. She did all the sewing on the sewing machine and the stuffing. I am so proud of her!!! She did such a good job. (I only did the snaps and some of the hand stitching)

Eliana was not 100% happy with the pillow, but was very happy to sell it to her sister for $1 :) LOL


these were made by Natasha. She did such a good job!! So proud of her


fun kitchen items...new designs I am testing. Another kitty, pawprint dishcloths. Kitchen scrubbies are made from recycled mesh bags that you get potatoes, apples, and popsicles in :)


frog change purse, made to match frog purse I made recently. My design, unbutton eyes to open









































fun curvy scarf


pretty lacy scarf...my design




Sweet Dreams baby afghan








































what do you think of these? I was at Fred's Dollar Store and saw these autumn kitchen towels and got them for myself, and then crocheted the tops for them....one is supposed to be a pumpkin and the other one is an apple.