Here are the two baby cradle/purses I made for my 3 year old nieces:

I made a couple of Christmas gifts today. First up was a Beard Hat. I've seen them all over the place on line, but didn't ever think about making one. But I was seriously devoid of ideas of what to make for my nephew Lucas. Like a lot of people I am short of funds this year for gift giving, so I decided to make presents, but really what do you do for a 13 year old boy??? Then I remembered these hats. So here is my finished product. I made up the hat by trial and error, but the beard pattern came from JJ Crochet at http://www.jjcrochet.com/blog/crochet-beard-hat-free-pattern/

I'm very sure that it will look MUCH better on him!

My next project was a super cute headband/ear warmer for my 13 year old niece. I found this free pattern at Sadie's Basket, http://sadiesbasket.blogspot.com/2012/10/cable-stitch-jenna-headband-crochet.html

These were both great patterns and super easy to work up. I made both of them the same day.

I couldn't get the links to work, so to visit these pages you'll have to copy and paste. Sorry about that.

1905 JHA Sampler

Here is my progress from last night's stitching session...

Yeah! I actually have a finish! Just a little Christmas ornament I picked up stitched on plastic canvas.

No Stitching or Crocheting lately

I've been babysitting for the last two weeks and find it difficult to do anything other than just watch the kids. They are very very very busy. Today I'm sitting for a friend who is attending a funeral. She left her 4 little darlings with me this morning and they have pretty much been bickering ever since. LOL But now they are occupied with a snack so I thought I'd pop off this blog post while I could.

I've been surfing through the various blogs I follow and have entered a drawing over at Victorian Motto Sampler. Nancy does beautiful work.

Hopefully I can get a little something done on any one of my projects when I get the kids to take a little nappy. Right now we are on our 2nd viewing of the day of How To Tame Your Dragon. I love this movie!

Tracy

Baby Cowboy Booties

I recently started making baby cowboy booties and they are so very very cute!

The brown and green pair are for my grandson Ryan Jr and the pink pair is for my cousins baby. My only problem....getting them in the mail! I have taken 3 orders thus far for newborn sized booties for friends. I love being able to make such wonderful gifts!

I am a terrible blogger

I never seem to remember to do it. And to be honest, I really haven't been stitching very much any way.  However, I did recently get out an old WIP or UFO..whichever you want to call it.  I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made. When I restarted, only the upper part was done.  Now look at it!

Another Monday....errr..I mean Tuesday...

I finished the Valentine card for my exchange partner.  I was really please with it until I received mine in the mail.  What do you think?  Am I just feeling inferior?

This is the one I made

This is the one I received

It's so beautifully done, with a traditional card.  Whereas I tried to be creative and make up my own.  Thank you to Diana for this lovely card and for the beautiful floss!

Hello Monday!  It's a pretty good day!  I finished the heart for my Valentine Exchange. I'm very happy with it. Sometime this week I'll go into town to the scrapbooking store and turn this into a Valentine card.  I think I'm going to frame the fabric with ribbon and then attach it to card stock.  That way the recipient (Sharon) can put it in a frame if she wants to.  I'll post a pic of the final product once it's done.

Today is a Zoey Day, so she and I have been playing.  She's potty training and doing very well.  We had breakfast when she got here, about 5:30 a.m. and went back to bed.  She got back up about 9 and wanted mac and cheese, then around 2 she was hungry again so we had PB&J.  She got a new baby for Christmas, so now when she brings it over here she has "twins".  She spent the morning rocking and feeding and putting her babies to bed in a variety of places.  About half an hour ago she sat down beside me and was chattering up a storm.  Then she got quiet and I looked over and she was sound asleep.  I lay her down and this is what she's doing now:

I wish I could fall asleep like that!!!

I hope everyone else had a Happy Monday, too!

This is a really cute free heart pattern I found for a Valentine card exchange.  It's coming along quite nicely, if I say so myself.  I love the pattern.  It reminds me of those old bedspreads my grandma used to have.  It's a little bigger than I thought it would be, but that's not really a problem.

Meanwhile, my dog had 8 puppies, yesterday morning.  They are very cute, of course, but the last thing this world needs is more dogs.  And I don't need them either.  I tried to keep a close eye on her when she went outside to potty, but I guess someone got through.  So, in 6 weeks I will be looking for owners for these little guys:

I made a place for Laika in my closet and this is where the puppies were born. We have 6 boys and 2 girls, One brown, one solid black and six black and white.  

Home Sweet Home.  Got home just before midnight Wednesday.  I had to watch Zoey on Thursday so I didn't get as much rest as I would have liked.  And then last night I went to my sister's house for my nephews birthday dinner.  He turned a very adult 12 years old!  After that Shane and I came home and I was so exhausted I passed right out.  Shane had to leave today for PA so I pretty much slept all day long.  It felt good, but my body is still so sore from the trip.  Tomorrow I plan to get my day together.  But for the rest of the day I plan to be a lazy slug!!!  LOL

I'm on my way home to Arkansas today.  I got to the airport about 7ish and the first problem I had was that when my DH booked my flight, he didn't pay for my baggage.  To be fair to him, he thought it was taken care of with the ticket.  He swears Orbitz didn't tell him it was a separate charge.  And then my bag was 10 lbs too heavy for under the plane.  I would have had to pay $50 just for that one bag being over weight.  So I jammed as much stuff into my carry on bag, which is way too heavy for me now.  And really, What's the stinking difference if the 10 lbs goes under the plane of above my seat???  Any way, my morning has been a huge P in the A.  I only had $40 to start with and $25 went for my bags.  Fortunately I still had enough $ to buy Dramamine for the day.
The plane left Spokane at 8:40 and I am now in Portland, OR.  My flight to Dallas doesn't board until 11:45 so I have some time to relax.  When I get to Dallas I have a 3 hour lay over (as of now that is) so my Beautiful and Wonderful Aunt Sheila is going to meet me and take me to dinner.  It's a good thing, too, because now I don't have money for food here at the airport! Grrrrr!  Hopefully all my problems are over and the rest of the trip will be smooth...not sailing, but flying!!!  LOL

Spokane update

I'm still here in Spokane.  My boys went back to school today.  Brandon, as usual, got a stomach ache last night and was up until about 1 and then when it was time to get up complained and moaned and threw a mild fit about getting in the shower, etc.  Then he missed the bus so his dad had to drive him to school.  He wasn't a very happy camper but getting out of this tiny apartment will do him good! It is so crowded here that he spends all of his time in "his" corner with his X-Box or PSP.  It's just not healthy.  But now that school is back in session I think he'll be in a better mood. Kyle, as is usual for him, couldn't wait to get to school.  Of course, he only goes for 2 hours a day, but at least he gets out of here.  Anthony and I cleaned up the house, found 4 of the missing rechargeable batteries, vacuumed and dishes.  Hopefully when their dad gets home he will be in a little bit better mood.

I went to my storage unit a few days ago and found my big box of cross stitch stash.  I forgot how much Silkweavers Evenweave fabric I had!  I'm going back today to look for my floss.  I have several boxes of it (the plastic bobbin holding boxes, that is).  I'm going to have to ship it home UPS because I'll be going home on a plane instead of riding the bus.  We found a ticket for only $130.  Couldn't believe it.

Today I am catching up on some email and I got my usual newsletter from Hooked on Crochet.  In it I found a give away for notecards and envelopes from Schaefer Yarn.  Here is the link:
http://www.allfreecrochet.com/sweeps/Schaefer-Yarn-Set-of-Notecards-and-Envelopes
I hardly ever enter contests, which is most likely why I never win any contests.  I'm going to try to enter more of them this year.  Hmmmmm.....that sounds strangely like a New Year resolution....LOL  Not going there!

I brought my crocheting with me to Spokane, but I cannot find my hook anywhere!  I may have lost it on the bus or in one of the bus stops on my trip here.  If my DH puts some $ on my card today I'll have to go get a new one.  This house is not good for cross stitching so I haven't even tried.  I have a stitch a long that I want to get started on when I get home.

Speaking of home, my sister Cathy has been caring for my animals and she has reported to me that my German Shepherd is pregnant.  I'm really irritated because I did my best to watch her when she had to go out.  I never even saw a strange dog around the place.  So now I get to deal with puppies when I get home.  I hope she waits until then to give birth.  I'm going to have to build a dog run for them.  My sis told me to get 4 cattle panels and some chicken wire.  I'm going to check Craig's List and FreeCycle to see if anyone has anything that will work to contain the dogs.

Well, that's my update for now.  I most likely will not check back in until I get home.

Bye Bye!!

Well, I'm here in Spokane, spending some time with my boys.  We had a lovely holiday together.  Kyle, who I had not seen since last December was very sweet and loving...until right after Christmas presents were opened....then he became his usual not very nice self...but it was a good break from his norm...LOL

Christmas presents were fewer this year due to the economy.  Anthony and Brandon were great, but as soon as Kyle was done opening his presents, which included a $100 authentic Falcons jersey, he was complaining about what he didn't get.  Sigh....at least it was better than some previous Christmas' and birthdays where he threw a fit and threw the presents in my face!  Quite an improvement I'd say!  We must be thankful for small miracles w!here Kyle is concerned.

It's after Christmas now, obviously, and we are just laying around today, enjoying each other's company.  Part of me wants to stay right here in Spokane and not go home, but that's not realistic. I just miss being with my boys on a daily basis.  The first day I got here I slept hard and had some very interesting dreams based on the fact that I was talking loudly in my sleep.  Brandon and Kyle woke me up laughing at me and their dad said "Wow, you don't even swear in your sleep"!  I was so very tired from my long bus ride.  It did the same thing the next night, but not as much.  Last night I didn't talk at all, but today when I took a nap I had one of my normal nightmares and woke up screaming...well, Anthony actually woke me up...but screaming nightmares are part of my normal sleep pattern.  I scared them, though, because they haven't heard it before.  I started having screaming nightmares about 2 years ago.  Don't know why, don't usually remember the dreams for very long...so, yeah...ummmm...what can I say?

I got here on Wednesday the 19th.  The next day we went to see the Hobbit.  I really loved it.  So much action.  The next day was Brandon's 14th birthday, and I was so very relieved that the world didn't end!  I was so very concerned about it.....NOT!  But it was a good joke for the last few years.

I haven't seen any friends since I've been home, and I don't know if I will.  I just want to get as much time as I can with my boys before I have to go home.  I plan on coming  back for spring break, so I have to start preparing for that now.  Then Brandon and Anthony might come to Arkansas for the summer again.

Craft wise I have been busy, but not in my usual sense.  I have taken a bunch of t-shirts no one wants any more and have turned them into t-shirt yarn.  I want to make a rug or maybe some dishcloths.  T-shirt fabric is so absorbent...I thing it will make really good dishcloths.  What do you think?

Until next time...

Tracy

I was asked where the picture of my niece in her tutu dress was so here it is...

Also pictured is her mama Alicia (the other scarecrow), Aunt Shila, and cousin Milo (the pirates)/
Her dress needed to be steamed and straightened. but Alicia ran out of time, so Zoey is a messy scarecrow. LOL

Today I went to check the mail, as usual, expecting junk and maybe bills....bills are never ending around here.  Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found this book!  I was so very excited. The other good news was....No Bills!   LOL

This is the beginning of a blanket I am making for my son Ryan, who is in Afghanistan.  He says it's pretty cold over there at night so decided to make him this one to put over the top of his other blankets.  Hoping to get it done and sent to him for Christmas.

Mr. Ryan James Ellenberger

This is my beautiful son, Sgt. Ryan James Ellenberger.  This is a recent photo, only about a week old, taken in Afghanistan.  I love this young man more than my own life and I pray daily that God protect and shield him during this deployment.  It is very cold in the desert at night so I am in the process of finding just the right crochet pattern so I can make him a new blanket to help keep him warm.  I love you, my beautiful son!

Scarecrow Tutu Dress

We got the materials in the mail today to start making Zoey's Halloween costume.  I couldn't believe how fast it was to make it.  It only took about 45 minutes to get to this stage:

And about 30 minutes to get the leaves, flower and ribbon on.  I love it!  I can't wait to see her in full costume, with her scarecrow make-up on.  She'll have on leggings and a shirt underneath.  It's going to be so darn adorable!!

I just ordered the fabric and floss for a SAL I'm joining that starts December 1.  I haven't joined a SAL for years so I'm excited to be getting in on the beginning of this one.

Lately I haven't been stitching at all due to health problems.  It's so hard for me to be unproductive because of my health.  I guess it's just part of life as I get older.  I'm starting to have those medical problems that have plagued my family in the past.  I have high blood pressure, I'm bipolar (and have been treated for it since my late 20's), and now I'm having thyroid and cholesterol problems.  And all of this comes from my family history.  The cholesterol thing completely surprised me.  I don't eat fried foods often, I rarely eat fast food, I don't eat a lot of red meat.....It's very frustrating, but this is the hand I've been dealt and I have to learn how to live with it.  Lately I've been so fatigued over the last month that I've not been able to do any stitching or crocheting.  I barely have the energy to walk from one room to another.  I often stop a chore to sit down because I'm panting so hard and my legs feel as if they are going to give out.  I just started the thyroid medication and I was also put on iron because I was found to be anemic, and after about a week and a half I'm starting to feel better.  Today I was able to finish 4 loads of laundry and empty and load the dishwasher.  Last week I would not have been able to do any of this.  So I'm hopefully on the mend....but I'm taking 8 medications a day now and it really irks me!

Enough about that.....I'm hoping to be caught up on my chores enough to get some stitching done tomorrow on my Spring Floral Cross.  I also ordered the materials to make my 2 year old niece her Halloween costume. It's a tutu dress in fall colors.  Her mom is going to dress her up like a scarecrow.  Hope the stuff gets here soon.  I'll post some pics when I have some progress!!