mail

remember my recent post on some favorite cuffs i found on etsy? well, i loved that leather arrow cuff soooo much, i put in a request to Batwings & Battleaxes to see if i could order one half the width and to fit around my wrist. Kyle was a treat to work with... he even sent drawings in our convo conversation to make sure we had the same vision. 
and boy, did he deliver the goods!

it is exactly what i hoped for in both look and fit. and it came super fast...i placed the order on friday and he sent it out the next monday!

 so, if you find yourself in the market for a leather bracelet or cuff, for a man or woman, go see Kyle... if he doesn't have exactly what you're looking for, he's wonderful to work with on custom pieces. 

thanks, kyle!

weekend

hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

mine was pretty good even though i was sick most of last week [cold, cough, yuck] and am still trying to shake it. so, let's see what did i get accomplished?

-worked friday night at my day job [a contradiction i know but i have have to work one friday night about every other month] during which time it snowed a bit

puppy prints

-took some pics for Etsy vintage listings..here's a sample of what's to come

peacock napkin holder

-went through a box from an auction last summer full of vintage fabrics and quilt pieces. i LOVE going through the box and seeing exactly what goodies i ended up with, all the while picturing what i'm going to sew the already cut squares or sewn blocks into. but i HATE the soaking, washing and ironing that it all requires. i know, i know, it's a necessity but to me it's the worst part. however, almost the whole box was worth all the work...here's a few pics that shows about 1/4 of what was in the box total [and you have my sincere apologies for these dark, flash bombed photos, but it was dark outside. what are you going to do?]

oh, and did i mention there were four full feedsacks in the stash! mwahahaha! [can you tell i love feedsacks? :D ] three are the same pattern but the one on top is wonderful and still vibrant!

 AND there was  a couple of good-sized pieces of bark cloth in the mix too!

one last thing: Rachel from One Pretty Thing so very kindly included my crocheted wrist warmer pattern in her Crochet Roundup yesterday! thanks soooo much, Rachel, i really appreciate the mention!!


well, those are the highlights of my weekend. i need to go swap out a load of fabric...


what exciting things and projects did you work on this weekend?

changes

well, i finally got around to making a new blog banner [see up there ^^] AND a new Etsy banner....

they go together without being the same and run in the same theme as my business cards...

oh, and in you case you missed it on my new Etsy banner, i'm going to start adding a few handmade things to my shop. i've been waiting for Etsy to have their system set up to allow multiple shops under one ID/email, but i figure if i just work things in and see how it goes... i'll let you all know when i've started adding handmade items to my shop, but here's a peek at the first items i will be listing...

 it's almost the weekend! hooray!!

pattern : crocheted wrist warmers

as promised, here is my very first written pattern! it's for these wrist warmers...

i'm really nervous about posting this for fear that it won't make sense to anyone but me :)
but here we go....



'Warm Your Wrists'


Supplies:
~F hook [3.75mm]
~worsted weight yarn [i used wool ease yarn for these. I LOVE this yarn!]
~yarn needle

Stitches used [in US crochet terms]:
ch = chain
ss = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet

Tips:
~check the fit of the first glove [including the thumb hole size] as you go, you'll be glad you did! and make adjustments whenever necessary...these are very customizable.
~in order to have evenly spaced scallops, it helps if you have an even number of rows at the end of step 5
~this pattern assumes the mitts are a single color. to make stripes like mine, you just need to pick up and drop colors as you're moving back and forth across the rows

Left hand glove:
1. ch 28
2. row 1: dc in third chain from hook (counts as first dc); dc in each chain across; [27 dc total]
3. row 2: ch 2 (counts as first dc); turn; dc in next stitch from previous row and in each stitch across [27 dc total]
4. rows 3-14: repeat row 2
5. check for size by wrapping around hand/wrist. it should be a little smaller since it will stretch when you put it on...I used 14 rows total for my mitts.
6. do not finish off but fold rectangle in half with rows running horizontally
7. sl stitch two sides together until you are 9 stitches from the end
8. stitch only on side closest to you for 5 stitches, creating a thumb hole and then continue stitching sides together to the end; do not finish off
9. ch 1, sc in same stitch; *in next gap between row stitches 3 dc, in next gap 1 sc*, repeat pattern evenly around and join in first sc [this is the top where your fingers will come out]
10. now you can finish off [can you tell I don't like ends :D]
11. join yarn at seam on opposite side, ch 1 in same stitch, *in next gap between row stitches 5 dc, in next gap 1 sc*, repeat pattern evenly around and join in first sc, finish off.
12. weave in ends

Right hand glove:
1-6. same as left hand
7. sl stitch two sides together for 4 stitches
8. repeat step 8 above
9. ch 1, sc in same stitch; *in next gap between row stitches 5 dc, in next gap 1 sc*, repeat pattern evenly around and join in first sc
10. finish off
11. join yarn at seam on opposite side, ch 1 in same stitch, *in next gap between row stitches 3 dc, in next gap 1 sc*, repeat pattern evenly around and join in first sc, finish off.
12. weave in ends

Options:
~i added little woolie flowers to my pair [ch 4, join, *ch 5, sl stitch in center* repeat 4 more times, finish off and use ends to attach to mitt], but you can embellish anyway you choose.
~use a larger hook for fewer rows and a faster finish

I have the pattern out on Ravelry too- you can find it here. 

I would love to hear how the pattern hooks up for you if you decide to try it! 

friends

every year right before the holidays, i get together with long-time friends for an ornament exchange. in years past, we would get together in the evening during the week, but this year we changed it up and had Sunday brunch with mimosas and bloody marys...yummm. as usual the food was delicious and it was great to see everyone!

and of course, everyone brought awesome ornaments.. we exchange dirty santa style and everyone secretly wants to be the person who brings the ornament(s) that get 'stolen' the most. the ones i took home were awesome [didn't get a photo before packing them away] but here is a picture of the ones i brought- modeled by my good friend Steph @ iowaharleygirl [and yes, she rides her own Harley...isn't that awesome!?]

for the last couple of years i have been making ornaments for this exchange and this year i went with a matching set. the ball is from Pip's crocheted christmas baubles and the hex is an African Flower on one side and a hex pattern I found at Attic24 in the same color scheme on the other.

i look forward to getting together with this crazy bunch every year and 2010 was no disappointment! no matter how long it's been since we've all seen each other, it seems like we just pick right up where we left off at our last get-together. do you have friends like that ?

ravelry love

ravelry crochet patterns recently added to my favorites....

1. happy groundhog day by Trish Young of genuine mudpie
2. octoberfest doily by Denise Augostine
3. crochet mobius cowl by Marilyn Wallace of marilyn knits
4. cabled jacket by Treva McCain

happy valentine's day!

here's a granny heart from me to you...

i hope your day is filled with love!

xoxo -Michelle

keys

have you ever wondered what you could do with thousands of these?

 well, click on this photo and see....

photo found at ScoutingNY

If you're like me and are interested in all thing New York City, architecture and/or history, then you really should look around ScoutingNY. The young man that writes the blog works as a location scout [hence his nickname 'Scout'] for movies in the NYC area and has a great eye for the most interesting details. He takes great pictures and provides his readers with the must-know history of his finds.

not-really-a-blizzard blizzard

well, unlike the other parts of the state and those places east of Iowa, Des Moines only received 7" of snow this last week- not very much by our standards :D
but that's not to say it wasn't cold or windy...just check out this casualty. poor, poor Santa...knocked right on his plastic butt! and then to add insult to injury, buried in snow.

i think he'll be all right- maybe just a broken light bulb. here he is in his glory days [December]...

do you have that special holiday decoration that MUST be displayed every year no matter what? Santa is it for me...he's just so cute and I love that he greets me every time I come home. so i suppose i should pick him up and brush him off so he can be at my door next year. or maybe i'll just wait until the snow melts off him this afternoon...

but back to the weather, i just have to say that i'm soooooo glad the worst of this last storm missed us and i'm hoping everyone impacted by snowmaggedon is safe and warm!

to see some pics of the 'real' blizzard, check out Amy and Jen's drifts...

treasury

a set of my vintage screwdrivers is included in this 'mantastic' etsy treasury curated by PoleStar....

you can click here to take a closer and leave a comment if you so choose.

have a great weekend everyone!!