Photo-an-Hour: June 6, 2012

Hi there!
I have ...finally... decided to post my photo-an-hour that I did earlier this month.  It's the second one that I've done and I really enjoy the challenge of actually remembering to take the pictures. 

So without any more ado, here are some tidbits of what I did on Wednesday, June 6, 2012.

Enjoy ^.^

8:00AM
I started my morning off listening to Afrocubism. I ripped it to my office computer and all the album info was Japanese... surprise of the day o.O

9:00AM
Breakfast time! Apple juice and nutter butter cookies. I know, how healthy of me.

10:00AM
Checking things off my list & feeling very productive.

11:00AM
Sorting AMEX receipts... statement reconciliation time. Big woop...

12:00PM
Lunch time! My dear Lamarzapan made me a veggie chicken salad. It was awesome!

1:00PM
Admiring the beautiful day from inside my cube... This picture makes it look like I sit in utter darkness at work... that's what it feels like sometimes... *shrug*

2:00PM
Almost done with the first AMEX reconciliation! As straight forward as this task is, it takes FOR-stinkin-EVER!

3:00PM
One statement done. Two more to go...

4:00PM
In the midst of papers, receipts, and bills, I've got yarn on the brain.  I find that my fingers get fidgety for hooks and yarn these days.

5:00PM
Good-bye office!!!!! Leaving is the best part of the day! ^.^

6:00PM
Soaking up some afternoon/evening sun. A little vitamin D is a great thing :)

7:00PM
An evening nap most definitely turned into 'Good night'... I didn't realize how tired I was until I woke up confused the next morning, lol.

-----------------------------------------------------------

So that was my day in photos. I'm looking forward to doing another one... I think I'm only going to do them on the weekends or Fridays, otherwise they could get really boring... I mean 'look it's my desk and stuff on it' for like 5 hours... what the crap is that?!?

Anyway, I hope you had a great day & do something fun with your weekend. Peace ;)

Thrifty Thursday #4

Hello there :)

I am very excited about this particular Thrifty Thursday post ^.^  I've got a bunch of things to show you from my last few ventures to my favorite shops.  Hopefully, I can remember the pricing of the pieces I'm going to show.  If not, oh well. *shrug*

Onward to the thriftiness!

I found this maroon-plum-ish colored work bag at a Thrift/Antique shop Lamar introduced me to. The shop is chock full of stuff.  It's somewhat organized... well actually it's really organized chaos.  It's called... A & J's Thrift and Antiques MJ's Thrift Store & Antiques (EDIT: I found the actual name)... or something like that.  If I find the receipt I'll correct the name.  Anywho, this bag cost me $2 and even though it has a considerable bit of scuffs/scratches, I still like it.  Maybe I can find some cute DIY way of fixing the scratches. So if anyone has any ideas- leave a comment.

These two silk blend scarves came from The Saving Way. I think I got them for $0.75 each... or maybe $0.50.  Anyway, I loved them even though I don't really know what I'm going to do with them.  The one on the left is square and the other is a long rectangle.  So I'm thinking headtie and headband... or maybe they'll end up being the lining of a crochet clutch... *shrug* who really knows. :)

Ok, here we have two rolls of fabric tape, two sets of replacement sewing machine needles, a seam ripper, and some fabric whitener.  All were found at Dirty Little Thrift Store (it's real name is Breaking Free Mission Thrift Store, but I think Dirty Little Thrift Store is much more accurate).  The thing about this store is that the cashiers price pretty much everything at the register. So all the things in this picture, the next thing I'm going to show you, and a necktie only cost me like $3.  That is stinkin awesome!

This is a storage box/book I got at Dirty Little Thrift store with the crafty notions above.  I found it and the majority of the sewing notions in a drawer in the furniture section.  That's something else I like about the DLTS- they will sell anything.  Some stores are like, 'no if you want what's in the drawer, you have to buy the whole thing...' HA! Whatever!

This is a grommet/snap tool. It cost me $3 and is most definitely one of the most potentially useful thrifted finds. I picked this up at my go-to store ThriftMart. I'm excited to use this! Too bad none of my works in progress call for grommets to be installed... better luck next time :)

OK! OK! OK!!! I am so beyond excited about these shoes! Please excuse the exclamation marks everywhere!!! I have been looking for a woven pair of sandals for such a long time, but every time I found a pair they were too small (boo size ten feet!)  So when I saw these at ThriftMart I was like,

"Hey these are so cute!  Aww... size 9 :( ... well let's try it anyway... wait... what's this... HUZZAH THEY FIT!!!!!!!!!!!  They must have been worn by some big size 9 lady ^.^ I don't really care! HURRAY!"

They fit and they're Aerosoles so they are really comfy.  Now for the price.................... only $3.00!!! Can you believe my good fortune! The thrifting deities were surely smiling upon me that day! lol.

^.^

Well, that brings us to the end of my thrift store haul/recap.  Thanks for visiting. I hope you had a pleasant Thursday and I pray that your Friday goes smoothly so that you can have a great weekend. Peace :)

What's on My Hook #7

Hello & good evening :)

Let's see, what's on my hook today?  I wanted to come up with a design that would allow me to use my pink/brown handspun... Sooo, I figured I'd make a tote bag.

I wanted to make it like the granny stripe bag I made a few months ago, but I wanted it to have a rectangular bottom.

The Granny Stripe Bag

So far, I have the bottom done and a few rows up the sides.  I had to figure out how to make the corners.  I want this bag to be rather structured.  I'm thinking about putting a couple pieces of cardboard in the bottom of the bag lining to make it extra sturdy.

This is the bottom. I'm working it up with Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool & Paton's Classic Wool, both in dark brown.  Right now it just looks like a wobbly granny mess, but in my head it's pretty cool.  Of course there will be progress pictures as the bag comes together.

Even though my original plan was to trim the bag with my handspun, I don't think I will. So if anyone has any suggestions on what to make with a few yards of bulky handspun pink/brown yarn, I'd love to hear them.

Well, I'm off to bed now. I'm excited about tomorrow's post because it's going to be about some great thrifted finds from earlier this week ^.^ yay! Peace and good night.

Just a thought...

I want to yarn bomb something... I have one planned & a few ideas for more...

I've seen that Huntsville has alot of creative groups and whatnot, but you never see them doing anything... Like I just recently found out that there's a Huntsville Fiber Guild, but their website is rarely updated so I'm left wondering how to get in with these crafty folk...

Maybe this is an opportunity to start something within the city... who knows...

I just know I want to yarn bomb something.  It's going down this July!

Not So Blue Monday #8

Hi there :)

This Not So Blue Monday started off with me waking up anxious, nervous, nauseous, and dragging my feet into the office.

Now how does this beginning still count as a NSB Monday? It's because this day was honestly riddled with good things. Let's count them down :)

(1)
I turned in two applications for jobs at Oakwood.  The hardest part about knowing that your current job is ending in less than a week, is trusting that God will move in His time.  I spoke to both departments with positions to be filled and hopefully one will come through for me much sooner rather than later... One is a job I can do and one with a job that I want to do...  Oh yeah, I practically burst into tears while talking with the director of the PR department where I want to work... She said it's ok and shows my passion.

(2) 
After work, Cherie & John picked me up and we all went to see the 911 Reporters downtown in the park. The concert was awesome & I got a bunch of really fun shots.

The audience

911 Reporters at Concerts in the Park

I loved how these little girls were dancing together. Kids are awesome!

(3)

I finished spinning the pink roving last evening & soaked/hung it overnight. So this evening, I plied the brown I spun with the pink. It looks nice & I discovered plying is much easier than spinning since there's no drafting :)  I'm calling it 'Strawberry Quick.'  I don't think I have enough to really make anything of substance, but it's my first handspun & plied yarn! Hurray!

(4)
Doggy cuddles... My dogs decided that I was spending too much time working on my yarn and writing, so they pulled a hostile takeover of my roving and lap.

Toot says, "Pay attention to meee! Look I can spin it too!"

This is us not caring about what you though you were doing.  Your lap is ours!

All in all, it ended up being a pleasant day despite the shaky ground it began with. I hope you had a nice Monday.

Crafternoon #8

Hey there.

We finally had another Crafternoon with more than myself, hurray!  Today, my friends Dee & Mimi came over for some diy time. Mimi wanted to crochet a scarf to wear in the winter & Dee wanted to learn to crochet.  So we had a crafternoon crochet lesson.  It went really well & now both ladies are working on double crochet scarves ^.^

This is the direction that I dreamed Crafternoons would take. I wanted to provide a place where people could come and learn a craft or teach one. That way, we create a melting pot of diy ability.

Cherie took a picture of me teaching Dee how to crochet.

Our crafternoon guests crocheting away at their projects :)

I wrote earlier that I finished my first official handspun yarn. I twisted it up into a wee little hank and it was very cute ^.^

Cute little hanky :) I love Kiva's face in the background.

I found this briefcase sitting outside our dumpster one night.  I decided to spray paint it. A quick coat of paint is a really easy way to spruce up a find.  First, I painted it silver, then taped the striped pattern, & then sprayed it navy blue.

Here it is mid process.

And here is the completed paint job.

I have since taken off all of the tape. The clasps and metal feet are silver and the handle is still the original black.  I'm not entirely sure where I would use it. Plus, the inside is a black/white houndstooth pattern that no longer goes with the outside.   Maybe I'll cover the inside... that's still in the design works.

Cherie worked on refashioning a shirt she got from her Grandmother.  She did a lot of nipping, tucking, and grommet setting and created a very cute lace up tube top.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it yet, but I will.

This was a great Crafternoon. Next week, I hope to host another Crafternoon just as great. :)

I Did It!!

Good morning!

Please know that I am so stinkin excited about what I'm about to write!!! WOOOT!
*drumroll please*

I have successfully cleaned, carded, spun, set, & dried my first hank of yarn!!! HUZZAH!

I wrote about where I got the fiber yesterday & I'm very happy with the result. It's a total of about 33 yards. I don't think I'm going to ply it.  I had to do some research on what to do after you finish spinning the yarn. Things like the best way to take the yarn off the spindle, making sure the twist stays in the yarn, how to dry the yarn, and other tips.

This is my yarn soaking in hot water to set the twist.  Before the soak, you could see all the areas where I clearly overspun the yarn & the other places where it's quite under.  After soaking the twist spread out a bit.

Here is the weighted yarn, drying on the balcony.  I'm excited to see how it finally comes out once it's totally dry.

Now, I just have to think of something to make with it. ^.^

Sabbath Crafting

Hello there!

This is what I spent my evening doing :) Spinning yarn & watching "Clash of the Titans" with Lamar.  I found the dream catcher for $5 at Thriftmart & immediately thought "I could SPIN this!!!" 

1. Thrifted Dream Catcher; 2. Salvaged roving; 3. Pet slicker brushes for carding; 4. blended rolags; 5. salvaged roving spun into yarn.

I wasn't sure how to clean it up... I mean there was all manner of smutz, bits & tangles in it. But what's expected from scavenged roving.  I spent a bit of time talking with Mrs. Melissa & Mrs. Laurie at this month's Art Stroll & they gave me some suggestions. Mrs. Melissa said I should get 2 pet slicker brushes to 'card' the tangled up wool, roll it into 'rolags,' & spin from them.  Ms. Laurie said that I should use the really tangled wool for felting. 

So after cleaning up my roving, I was able to spin a whole dark brown section on the drop spindle I bought from Ms. Melissa. Then I practiced carding (which is NOT as easy as it looks... at least not with slicker brushes).  I carded/rolled the white & orange fiber. Then I worked on blending the two. I'm going to spin them tomorrow, I think (once I take the brown yarn off the spindle).

Another thing I noticed about the scavenged dream catcher fiber is that the white fiber is half the length as the orange & brown fiber.  So that's got me thinking that it may not all be wool, but I have more research to do on that front.  I do know it's all animal fiber (I did the burn test).  Now I've just got to figure out what fiber it is.

Anywho, it's late & I'm heading to sleep because we're going to actually have Crafternoon tomorrow! Huzzah!

Do More of What You Love

Hello there :)

This evening I would like to officially introduce you to my roommate, Cherie: teacher by day- kitchen superstar by night!

She is a wonderful lady who loves books, cooking, bikes, creepy children's movies & tattoos.  You can routinely find her in the kitchen on Friday nights, welcoming the Sabbath with some type of foodie delight.

Tonight, she's created ginger tofu egg-rolls with red chard & baby bok choy. The kitchen was full of the freshness of chopped veggies & the sounds of Dido. (I haven't listened to Dido in years!)  Whenever Cherie is cooking or baking, I always watch her & think, "that is a woman doing what she loves."  It's a wonderful thing.

"Cooking is the closest I can get to magic.  I love looking into the cupboards and then... just creating.  It's like alchemy."

When working in the kitchen, she is in her sanctuary, her calm after the storm of adult life.  She has found the specific thing that makes her heart swell and her face burst into crazy smiles like this one:

Day to day life for twenty-somethings like us can get really dreary.  We are putting our energy into finishing school, paying bills, looking for fulfilling employment, and a host of other things and by the time we've been divvied up between all the obligations, our spirits are stretched rather thin.  The only way to rejuvenate an out of shape spirit is to find your passion, and that is precisely what she has found.

More often than not, finding and doing more of what you love is overlooked.  We forget that we are not only placed on this earth to complete tasks and pay pipers.  We were put here to make it better, make it beautiful, & in Cherie's case- make it tasty. :-)

"I've always been cooking.  It's like a deep breath... like a secret held & kept." -Cherie on Doing More of What She Loves

[Some of Cherie's culinary influences come from her Jamaican heritage, a love for vegan & west indian cuisine, & various blogs like BrownEyedBaker. She's on twitter @mssarahbellum - instagram @bellabellum & tumblr.  She's a really cool & crafty lady.]

What's in my bag... thanks instagram!

Good evening!

I am participating in the June Photo-a-day Instagram challenge (yay!) and today's prompt was 'In Your Bag'.  I've been wanting to do a what's in my bag post, but never jumped in to it.  It seems that today was just the push I was needing :)

Okeedokee... here are the bits & bobs you would find in my bag of the day (clockwise from top left)...

1. Two new skeins of yarn for finishing the Fritz Project blanket. I had to go on a multi-store hunt to get them. Why must yarn shopping be so involved!?
2. My ever-present Moleskine notebook. I LOVE this notebook. It's perfect for jotting down ideas or keeping clippings or little notes in the back pocket. I'll definitely purchase more after I finish this one.
3. Water... it's been really hot lately (welcome summer). So staying hydrated is a must!
4. Checkbook & pen... cuz I'm a grown-up.
5. Hairband... boring...
6. Cinnamint lip gloss from Bath & Body Works. This lip gloss is awesome! I could rave about the minty goodness, but I won't :)
7. Ticket stub from Rave Theater. Lamar & I had a lovely date night watching the Avengers, but I must say that I enjoyed the individual movies better.
8. Hand lotion... boring...
9. Sixlets... Lamar's movie snack that wasn't snacked on. He was very focused, lol ^.^
10. Brite Crawlers gummy worms. I bought these for Lamar today. That's about it.

And that is the contents of my bag.  Not too exciting, but I did like organizing everything into a nice photo.  I think I may actually do one of these every so often... *shrug* We'll see.  I hope you had a nice weekend & have a great week.

ps. I'm planning to finish the Fritz Project blanket by tomorrow or Tuesday & I'll do a ta-da post.

What's on my Hook #6

I am back for the third time today! On a roll huh?  Although, this is the "regularly scheduled programming."

Anywho, this week's What's on My Hook is the first official Fritz Project blanket! Huzzah!  Now, I know that I wrote about the first blanket being this knitted thing in this post, but let's face it- I was nowhere near patient enough to knit that blanket... My knitting requires huge needles & chunky chunk yarn... but I digress.

I doodled up this plan while at work today based off of a granny square swatch I started for kicks.

Gotta love my layouts/notes done in my weekly planner...

The construction is a bit wonky since I made the plan after I had a 2x2 block done.  That means I'm pretty much spiraling out from the middle.  It shouldn't take me more than a few more nights to pull this piece together.  Now for some pictures! Excitement!

These are the four yarn colors I'm using.

Instagram progress shot.

That is what is currently on my hook. :) The little dogs, Kiva & Toot, should look out because I'll surely be using them as guinea pigs for my blankets.  They'll love it though... yarn loving somebodies...

Toot (left) looks sleepy & Kiva blinked in every picture... ugh the doggy mommy life...

For the Cheer of It.

Hi there. Work is the pits sometimes. But at least I have the internet. This made me smile.

I found this on http://joyfultreasurehunting.blogspot.com/

This lady is one after my own dottie heart ^.^ Not only do I love the polka dots, I'm also swooning over the background fabric. It would make a great circle skirt...

I MUST go thrifting this evening... no question. I have to for my own sanity.

Tuesday Favorites #4... on Wednesday...

Good morning!
So I'm a total bum because I thought & thought about this post yesterday while compiling a really cute collection of free printable craft posters, but I never sat down to write it. ::rolls eyes::

I decided to look for printable artwork for the walls of the Apt-203 crafting workspace since I went total overhaul cleaning it last week.  I will do a little walk-thru on it later when it’s more complete.

Anywho, this all began Monday after I finished the bulk of my office tasks.  I was doing my daily blog reading & spent some time going back thru Curbly.com.  There, I found a post featuring lots of free printable artwork.  Naturally, I browsed the options (you can take a look at that post here).   There were a bunch of really cute posters, but the one that caught my eye and wouldn’t give it back was this one:



From: compulsivecraftiness.com



And! Not only is the poster awesome, the blog is really interesting too. I was probably reading through her posts for another half hour or so J… It is now hanging above our inspiration board & project organizer.  Let me tell you, it’s perfect for us!  So, of course when I got back to work on Tuesday, I had to find more of these adorable printables to create a photo/poster collage.  This leads me to the Tuesday Favorites list!  ::happy dance::

(Click poster to be linked to original post on the artist's blog.)

1.       May Your Bobbin Always Be Full

From: mypoppet.blogspot.com

2.       Tim Gunn Make it Work

From: amymorby.com

3.       Keep Calm & Get Your Craft On

From: funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com

4.       Hello Lover: Sewing Machine

From: missiekrissie.blogspot.com/

5.       Hello Lover: Camera

From: missiekrissie.blogspot.com/

6.       Happiness is a Warm Glue Gun

From: manmadediy.com/

Searching for these was a much needed creative break from office monotony.  Currently, #1 and #3 are framed and hanging on the wall, while #4 is framed on our craft book shelf.

The only thumbs down I had with this whole search was that there were virtually NO knitting or crochet themed posters available.  But hey, that just means I need to pull out my computer & design a few of my own :D

That’s it for my Tuesday Favorites on a Wednesday J. I hope you enjoyed & are having a pleasant day!