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What on earth would possess a person to buy so much candy? Well, let me tell ya. Last week a co-worker asked me if I had seen any Christmas trees made out of candy. She had seen them a few weeks before, but she couldn't remember where. I had not seen them, but it did peak my interest. So, I went straight to Google to see what I could find. I didn't find any trees that I liked, but I did find some candy bouquets. I told my co-worker that I would play around with a few ideas this weekend and see what I could come up with. Below is what I came up with.

It's a Boy!

Lucy of Attic 24 and Heather of Little Tin Bird invited us (us being anyone who wanted to join from our Ravelry Group and I would imagine anyone else in the world who wanted to join. They're really friendly like that!) to join them in a "Ripple-a-long". I have made several ripples before and I really wanted to make another one, but I didn't want to commit to a full sized blanket. So, when one doesn't want to make a big project and needs some instant gratification what does one do??? A baby blanket, of course!

My friend and co-worker, Joy, is having a baby boy! We're so very excited for her! I made my ripple for her new little bundle. I love the ripple as it is, but I wanted to add something a little extra to it. I got the idea from a blanket that I saw on Etsy.com. I made mine a little different, though.

May I present to you my latest ripple? Ok. Here it is!

Another Precious Soul Is Now Home

Yesterday, November 11, 2011, my precious mother-in-law, Ada, made one last journey. She went Home to be with Jesus and her sweet husband, Bill. Ada was 87 years old. She lived a very long and fulfilling life. She was a homemaker. She raised 5 kids and worked the farm with Bill. She was the best cook in the whole world. I'm serious, there isn't anyone who could cook better than Ms. Ada. I wish I had taken more time to talk to her about cooking and a lot of other things. Why is it that we don't make the best use of the time we have with our loved ones? There are so many things that I wish I could ask her. My husband is the baby of the family. It's strange to think now that both of his parents are gone. It's a bit scary, really. I've often thought about what life would be like without our parents. It's like a huge security blanket has been pulled right out from under us. My mother is our only parent still living. I pray that we have many, many more years with her. I know we will see all of our parents again someday.

We love you, Ada. We will miss you every single day, for the rest of our lives.

Oh, Happy Day!

Oh, happy day! I have two followers! I am so glad to not be talking to myself anymore. Thank you, ladies! I believe I am a follower on both of your lovely blogs as well. Don't you just love blogging?

I have made so many hats with no intended recipient in mind. I just love to make hats. I love the sense of accomplishment and love the feeling I get when something can be called "Done"! I now have quite a collection of hats with no home, so I decided to try my hand at running an Etsy shop.

An Etsy shop will help me in many different ways. Money has been extremely tight as of late, so I thought if I can sell some of my hats, I will make a little bit of extra money and I will be clearing out my hat inventory to make room for even more hats. I also want to sell other items, but for now I will start small with just hats and a few scarves.

Wish me luck and please visit me at my shop.

stitchhappens03@etsy.com

Until next time......xoxoxoxo

God’s Promise

Hello out there! I just wanted to share a few pictures of this beautiful rainbow that we were blessed with yesterday.  The picture quality isn't the best and they really don't do the colors justice. It was the brightest rainbow I have ever seen in all my years. Of course, trying to take a good picture while driving isn't very smart.    What? Well, there was nowhere to pull over to take a picture. :D

 

Speaking of bright colors.  Take a peek at some of the hooky goodness I've been whippin' up.

Hats, Hats, Hats and more Hats!

JACKPOT!!!

I love love love a yard sale!

There is an annual neighborhood yard sale here in Johnson City that is HUGE! It's called the Tree Streets Yard Sales. The streets are all named after trees. Pine, Maple, Chestnut, and Poplar. You get the idea, right? In 1996, the Tree Streets gained its’ first historical recognition by being accepted for the National Register of Historic Places. The Tennessee State Historical Commission awarded the neighborhood
Historical Status as the only such neighborhood in Tennessee. I love walking alone the sidewalks of the tree streets. It has such a "Leave it to Beaver" feel to it. The old houses are beautiful to look at. There are Colonials, Bungalows, and my favorite Queen Anne Style. Oh, how I would love to have an old Queen Anne style home out in the country somewhere.

OK, enough dreaming. On to why we're here. I am so excited about my finds!



OH MY WORD! Look at all this loveliness! I tell ya, when I'm at a yard sale and I see yarn, I get so excited I can hardly breathe!

I found some Lucyesque nylon. I really have no idea what I am going to make with it yet, but just having it makes me happy!




A 2010 calendar. I don't care that it's last year's calendar. It has lots and lots of patterns! Some of them look very, very familiar. I think I have even seen some of them on Ravelry!




Lion Brand Wool-Ease. I love this denim color. I think a scarf is in order for this chunky bit of heaven!




Bright beads!



I feel like I won the jackpot! I go to a lot of yard sales and I am always looking for yarn or anything crafty. Most times I don't find anything, so a find like this makes all the empty trips worth it.

Have a great weekend, ladies!

Ribbons!

Hello out there! I know, I know, I stink at blogging. I see so many beautiful blogs through Ravelry and I thought it would be so fun to have my own. The fact of the matter is, it takes a lot of time to have a blog. At the very least, to have an interesting blog that people would actually love to come and visit takes a lot of time. I'm not going to lie and say that I just don't have the time. I just simply don't take the time. I'd rather be crocheting than typing. With that said, I truly am going to do my best to update this blog more regularly. I realize no one will probably ever read this but me, but just like Lucy at Attic24 has mentioned before, I want to use this space as more of a diary for my kids and grandchildren to visit, if they choose to. Now, on to blogging about some cool stuff!

Every year in this little community that I live in we have a County Fair. It's the Appalachian Fair. I loved to go as a kid. When I had my own kids I loved to take them as well. I haven't been regularly in the past 10-15 years or so because it has become too dad-burned expensive. This year I decided to enter some of my crochet items in the Farm and Home Exhibit. I was very happy with the results. I won two second place ribbons and one first place! Yay! The whole process was very exciting. I took my items to the fairgrounds on a Saturday. The voting was on Monday and then I had to wait a whole week to find out the results! The fair opened the following Monday. It was an exciting tortuous week I tell you!

My Hexie won second place!




My sock monkey hat won second place in the Childrens Clothing category. The blanket beneath it isn't mine, but it is quite gorgeous.



and then.......drum roll........................My owl hat won FIRST place in the baby clothing category!




With this being my first entries into the fair, ever, I plan to up my game for next year.

Until next time.....xoxo
Dawn