Spring is in The Air....I think?

Even though we have not had the weather like some parts of the US, it has been what we southerners consider a little on the cold side. Yes, I know we can be wimps sometimes when it comes to cold weather and right now I guess I am being a little wimpy.....I am ready for spring. I noticed the other evening that there was a hint of light in the sky around 6:00pm. That is a definite sign that spring is on its way. Then one day this week I spotted daffodils blooming in the yard. Yes!! Spring is on its way.

This week my son, the doctor, (I'm so proud of him) turned 30. For some reason it bothered me that I now have a 30 year old son. Time keeps marching on and it seems to slip by without me realizing it. Speaking of the doctor - I had an appointment last week to have my LDL, HDL, etc checked.(you know the stuff doctors check when your children turn 30 -ugh!) While I was there I talked with my doctor about some pain in my back, numbness in my feet. (Sciatic nerve - once again feeling old kind of stuff) Anyway, I told my son about my visit. He started asking me questions as to what the doctor checked, what questions he asked, etc. I got so tickled at him. It was like he was checking behind this doctor who has been in practice 10 years or more.
Enough of the feeling old...I have been fairly busy with my favorite pastimes.
I have made a few of these pencil sleeves for some ladies in our Beth Moore Bible study. Thanks to Rachel at element of de-tale for sharing this idea and the links. They were so easy to make.

I have felted a new bag and I got it right this time. It isn't too wide and just the right size for me. I used a different pattern instead of the Lucy Bag pattern. I think the pattern is called Run Amok Hobo bag.
I thought I would try to line this bag. I do not want to buy something new for the lining, so I am trying to decide between these:


I have also felted a small pouch for the school's camera. I actually crocheted this pouch. I thought it turned out rather cute.


I also went crossed eyed trying my skills at making earrings. Here are a couple of them:


Presently, I am knitting this cute little red bag from Jan-Knit's Free Patterns blog. I have completed the front and am planning to have the back finished tonight. This is a felted pattern where you felt the parts before sewing it together. Not sure how it will do for me but we'll see.




Awhile back I talked about visiting our state prison to order furniture for our new school. While I was there, I found out that the inmates had a framing shop. I sent a photo to them for framing, told them I wanted the mats to bring out the green and yellow in the photo and the frame to be a dark wood. I gambled on how it would turn out. It is a picture of our state bird and flower. I received it this week.
I know you can't see it close up but trust me when I say, it was gorgeous.

Quilts and More Magazine

I love Quilt and More magazine. It has some of the cutest quilting projects. Earlier I had used one of its pattern for the Knit Mitt Kit Swap and tonight I finished this cute little bag from the Fall 2006 issue.

The front panel is the quilted part of the bag made of strips of fabric and ribbon. I added various stitches as I sewed the ribbon on the panel and on the strap. The finished bag is small - that is small for me - about 8 by 10 inches. It was easy to do so I think I'll try it again but increase the size.

A special thanks to Mary Ann for the cute handmade Valentine I received today. Nice surprise at the mailbox. So thoughtful ! :)

Saturday Night Entertainment

Another quick post to share a couple of ways to entertain yourself on a saturday night. The Needle in the Haystack shared this on her blog. It predicts the gender of an author using a simplfied algorithm. I cut and pasted a few lines from one of my past entries and it predicted correctly.

Then Rocks in My Dryer shared this. I used my touchpad on the laptop and scored 74 secs and then 63 sec. Wonder what I would have scored if I had used the mouse? After two times, my eyes started feeling funny.

A Contest and Paint Chips

I love contests. Don't you? Especially when it is so simple to enter. Check out this contest here.

Where do people get such amazing ideas? Who would have ever "thunk" to use paint chips as a crafting medium? Have you seen these? Valentine wreath, wallet, and business card holder.

Happy But Disappointed

Knitting and felting....sometimes I wonder why I take chances. I am not the type of person who gambles. If I am going to throw away money, I'd rather spend it on something tangible. Nor am I one who enjoys taking chances. I have a hard time making decisions no matter how major or minor the decision is. So why do I knit something, felt it all the while knowing I am taking a chance with how it will felt and then be disappointed in the outcome? Why do I torture myself? Ugh! The last three knitting/felting projects (bags) resulted in being happy with one and very unhappy and disappointed with the other two. The two disappointments were for me. Thank goodness, the one that I loved was an intended gift. I really had a hard time giving it up but I had already shown it to the recipient as I was working on it. Which makes me wonder....why? Why do I do this? Why has it turned out this way? This latest disappointment was exactly like the one that I loved and gave as a gift. Yeah, I know I used a different type of yarn. The major difference other than color was the thickness of the two yarns. It was the same size in the prefelting stage. I loved how it felted but it was too wide for me. That is exactly what happened to the other disappointed one - too wide. Lucky for my sister-in-law, she loved it when I showed it to her. So I gave it to her and received some satisfaction in the idea that someone wanted it.

So I guess you are wondering what does the bag look like? Here it is before felting:


and here it is the bag after felting:


In the picture it does not look too wide at all, does it? That is because I tucked it in and arranged it trying to figure out if there was anything I could do to make it work for me. No luck. Oh, well. I do know someone at work who would love it.

So, how is the weather treating everyone? I woke up this morning to this:

and I was able to stay home today.....school was cancelled. Yes! Although all I have thought about was how disappointed I am that I don't have a new felted bag. :(