Afghans and Awareness

The stained glass look afghan I am working on is a modification of a simple Mile-A-Minute pattern that I found 13 years ago. The original pattern came from a Leisure Arts book (#3144) published in 1999. I made it once before and thought it was so pretty that I wanted to make another one, well 13 years later I am finally going to :)
 


I am using 'I Love This Yarn' in basic bright colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple and then using black to give it that added dimension and "stained glass" look and a size H/8 crochet hook.


It's a very simple pattern that is pretty much double crochet for the color strip and outside edging with a chain stitch for the front X look. Then I just join the strips using single crochet in the red.

It's starting to take shape and looking pretty good. I'll show you the finished product when I'm finally done.



I like mile-a-minute afghans, even if it does take just a bit longer than a minute to do a mile HAHA. They are fun and turn out beautiful. Look for me to find some more of those "old" patterns in the future.

September is Suicide Awareness Month. Tomorrow I will walk for Alan, Jerome, Michael, Paul and Annie. That is I will take part in my local Yellow Ribbon Walk to raise awareness for suicide prevention. My family has lost too many to suicide in these past years and any help we can give to help prevent this from happening to another family is worth the time and effort. For more information on the Yellow Ribbon program click on this link YELLOW RIBBON . 

I hope if you have been touched by this kind of tragedy you will look up your local chapter and find out how you can help or even just walk. 

<3 Mama T

Remembering

Today we remember all those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. I'm sure we all remember where we were when we first heard the news of the plane crashing into the buildings in New York and the news kept getting worse from there. I remember sitting in my living room with the TV on tears running down my face as the absolute horror of what was happening started to sink in. I just want those who lost loved ones on that day to know that while we may never be able to make sense of why this tragedy would or even could happen, I pray for peace and healing for you and you have my deepest sympathies.

On the good news side I got to spend a fun day with 2 of my granddaughters the day before they went back to school. The older one started 1st grade and her younger sister starts pre-school this year. I can't believe they are growing so fast! But I am happy that grandma and grandpa got the opportunity to spend a fun day at the park to look at the animals, have a picnic, play on the playground equipment and then go out for ice cream with them. Then when we got back to our house we had a tea party :) I told their mom when we took them home that they should go to bed early for her because we wore them out, but it was actually the other way around HAHA. I slept like a rock that night and it took me a couple of days to recover.

I have been working on my Cotton Hats to raise money for cancer research. I listed a couple more on my Etsy shop. They are turning out really cute. I am hoping to generate more interest in them as the proceeds go to such a great cause. There is a link for the free pattern of the pink hat I made on my patterns page so you crafters can check it out. 










Next time I will give you an update on my stained glass look afghan. Been busy with the rest of my life and had to put it down for a bit, but I have started working on that again as well. I have also had a lot of ideas and projects going through my head (like always) and will start on some of those as well. 

I hope you all take a couple of minutes out of your busy schedule today to remember 9/11 and say a prayer for those who are still hurting from the events of that day. 

<3 Mama T

Summer Gone in a Flash!!

WOW! Summer went by a little quick this year! It seems to go faster each year and this year it was like I blinked and it was gone. A long time ago someone told me life is like a roll of toilet paper... the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. Funny and scary at the same time because it does seem to be a pretty accurate statement. 

I went to Atlanta, Georgia for my Thirty One National Conference in August and it was AWESOME! I learned lots of new things, saw all the new products before the catalog was out to the public and best of all made some new friends. I can't wait to go back next year :)

 


Well I promised to show you the gift I was making for my friend who got married in August. 





I made a beautiful afghan for them in antique white with caramel colored tweed flowers. 

The bride and groom with their new afghan.

Here I am with the bride and her youngest
daughter. She seemed to like it :)

So congratulations to Patrick and Mary Kay on your marriage and I hope this gift keeps you all nice and toasty warm all winter long.



I have a few things on my "want to make" list that I will be starting soon. Football season always seems like a good time for me to get caught up on some of those projects. Not sure what it is, but I get a lot of crocheting done while my Vikings are on LOL. 

I have a few more items I have somehow found the time to finish this summer and will be listing those on Etsy this week also. I'm still making the all cotton hats to help raise money for the Relay for Life so check them out in my shop when you get the chance. I have some vendor events coming up as well so it's definitely time to get a move on and get those items ready to go. 

I hope you all had a GREAT summer and as we start the new school year and settle back into a more controlled type of chaos, I hope you are all well and that the time slows just a bit so you have a chance to enjoy the people around you.

<3 Mama T

Healing Hookers

It seems I'm not the only one who values the healing properties of the art of crochet. Crochet Saved My Life is a book about just that. Check it out at    crochet concupiscence blog. It's a great blog you will want to bookmark and check in on often. 








I did get another vintage cape done. This one in a beautiful deep red with a black yoke. I used an eyelash yarn for the yoke to give it a different look. 
 

The first one I did was pink and white. They both have their own look and style even though it's the same pattern. It's so much fun to see how just changing the colors can give it a whole new look and feel. Both of these items are listed in my Etsy shop.


If you like this and are a crocheter, I have posted the link to the free pattern on my Patterns page.





I am working hard on the wedding gift for my friend. It is turning out great and I can't wait to show it to you. Just have to wait until she opens it first :) Don't want to ruin the surprise. She gets married August 5 so you don't have to wait too much longer to see it. If the stars line up just right, I should get it finished this weekend.


Now it's off to do my many errands today. I will be going to Atlanta, Georgia for a Thirty-One National Conference the first week in August and have lots of things to do yet before I go. I'm thinking I might have to do some research and see if there are any great craft shops there and hopefully find some time to check one or two of them out if I do find some. wish me luck on that!


<3 Mama T

Hats, Hats, and More Hats...

Well I keep working on those hats and have got a few finished. I am hoping the All Cotton Hats are a success and I can raise some money for the Relay for Life! I want to make a nice variety and something for everyone. These are just a few of the styles I have been working on and hope to keep expanding the selections available. 

I am still working on that stained glass afghan, but not very fast with the hat project going on. So haven't gotten very far. Actually that one is going to have to take a back-seat for a bit anyway. I just found out the wedding date for a friend of mine and well, let's just say I have some "MAD CROCHETING" going on right now - haha! I won't even mention what it is until it's over (I don't want her to accidentally find out if she reads this blog post) But it's a project I am excited about and I really hope she and her new husband will enjoy it for years to come :)



As usual I have way too many projects started and I really need to finish a few - craft fair season is coming up!! So I will be back soon with some more projects (hopefully finished ones)


My other job is going great as well. I just promoted to Sr. Consultant with Thirty-One. I am so excited and I will be going to our National Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia this year. I'm looking forward to meeting my Thirty-One sisters from all over the country. 


<3 Mama T

A Mother's Love...

Mary Jane Elizabeth Meyer was diagnosed with the evil monster we call cancer on June 15, 2011. For the last 11 months she fought the good fight and through it all her faith never wavered. She lost that battle on May 19, 2012. She had a strong faith in our Lord and Savior through out all the hardships she faced in her life. I am very blessed to have had her as my mom. 

My mom was one of the most awesome women I have ever met. She was ALWAYS there for me - no matter what! I was a "store bought baby". In other words she and my dad adopted me when I was 6 weeks old. How I was so lucky that she picked me I can only attribute to the ever abundant Grace of God. She loved me unconditionally from day one. In her life she had suffered many tragedies and heartaches (including watching my brother lose his battle with cancer in 2003 at the age of 33 and losing a grandson - my oldest son - to suicide in 2009 at the age of 23) but she always found the silver lining in everything and she always said that the tragedies made the good times just that much sweeter. My goal in life is to be more like her and carry on her beautiful outlook on life and to try and build a faith as strong as hers. I only hope I can be half the woman she was.


In loving memory of my mom and also my brother I will be adjusting the listing names and prices of my 100% cotton caps in my Etsy shop. All of the hats labeled 100% Cotton Caps (RFL) I will donate $3 to the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life for the sale of each one. Look for me to start doing this next week. I will need to stock up on cotton yarn and get some great patterns going for this. 


I see t-shirts, coffee mugs and other trinkets that say World's Greatest Mom on them all the time. I think I REALLY DID have the greatest! I will miss her more than words can describe.


<3  Mama T

It's Time To Learn Some New Skills

  

I have been very busy with my Thirty-One business lately so I haven't had quite as much crafting time available, but that's OK because I love my Thirty-One as much as I love my needle arts. 

I did find time to finish a couple of wine bottle cozies this last week. I have been meaning to make some of these for a while now just to have some cute smaller gift ideas for my Etsy shop. I never did find a pattern so I grabbed my size H crochet hook and a pile of scrap yarn and started crocheting. I think they turned out kind of cute. 

I usually need a pattern, but it seems like lately if I can't find what I'm looking for - I just make it up as I go. I am finding out I can improvise better than I thought I could. I might have to learn how to properly write up patterns yet. That would be a fun and useful skill to learn. I think that should be a goal to shoot for next. Learn how to write crochet and knit patterns. If you have checked out my pattern page on this blog, you can see I'm not very good at it. I only have one pattern on here right now, but I guess this would be as good a place as any to practice. As you crafters out there look at my patterns, constructive criticism is welcome, just try to be gentle with me LOL!!

I have also started a new afghan. It's another mile-a-minute pattern that I had laying around here that I almost forgot I had. I made this pattern years ago as a gift, so I am modifying it a little bit and trying it again. It's a stained glass look and I think it is so pretty.

I think I'm going to try and make another vintage bed jacket as well. I have an idea to make it with black and red to give it a little more of a "lingerie" look. I'll get back to you all on how that's working.  

<3 Mama T