Craft with Confidence: Bubble Bee Tutorial (bug 1 of 3)

Found this cute pattern on another blog .... might have to try making some of these:

Craft with Confidence: Bubble Bee Tutorial (bug 1 of 3)

Bit of a Yawn

Bit of a Yawn

Well, I had hoped to have my "Serious Tote Bag" tutorial finished soon, but my sewing machine has up and died on me. However, before you get the kleenexes out, here's the good news. I'm getting a brand new machine .... a Phaff Expressions !! Yeah, a Phaff! I'll be sewing with the big girls now. Heh, heh ... It's on back order so I'll have to wait a bit for it to come in. I think they're getting a little tired of my hourly phone calls. Whatever is their problem? Just checkin' to see if it's there yet, ladies. Sheesh.

In the meantime, I've posted a few pics of tote bags that I've done in the past before I decided that bigger was better. Although these other bags look fairly roomy, they're always a little bit too small for all my "must haves" when I leave the building. I remember when I was younger and my mother and aunts used to visit each other, they always had plastic bags full of shit. I used to think, when I'm old, I'm never going to show up at people's houses with all kinds of crap in bags. And I've kept that promise to myself. Now I just show up with a jumbo tote bag full of REALLY IMPORTANT stuff. For example, who can leave home without that current crochet project and ALL your different sized crochet hooks, that novel you just can't put down (some traffic lights are just soo long), the ever present water bottle (you can get real thirsty during that 15 minute ride), and that granola bar you've moved from bag to bag for the last six months. Oh, I know you hear me .... you've all been there.

Anyway, it looks like there will be a crochet tutorial hitting this blog before the tote bag. I've developed a really simple pattern for a beanie with a large flower on the side. When I follow a pattern, I always change it to my way of doing it because I always think my way is just a little bit better (just sayin'). Anyway, you can judge for yourself once you see the pattern and picture. Will be adding it to my blog tomorrow hopefully.

Well I must go now, the tea is ready. Oh, and the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are calling my name ....

First Blog, First Post

So I'm starting a blog ... in spite of my daughter's snickering.  Thought the world would benefit from a bit of my particular brand of blarny (some would say bullpoop) and a few craft ideas and patterns that I've come up with since my retirement from the rat race has forced me to try to chillax.  It's 10:30 in the morning and I'm sitting in my jammies enjoying my second cup of coffee (sounds like I'm somewhat relaxed, right?) ... Anyway, if you like crochet and a bit of sewing, then you might like to drop around once in a while to see what the old gray mare's up to.  I'm working on my first tutorial and hope to publish it soon.  It's a pattern for a LARGE tote bag for people who are serious about their tote bags, but it's very easy ... if you can sew a straight seam, you can make this bag.  I also crochet children's hats:  beanies with large flowers, teddy bear ears, ear flaps, and have created my own easy patterns for those as well.  I also dabble in quilt making and card making because I'm a pretty exciting gal, but that's just my opinion.  My giant pussycat, Porsche, would beg to differ (although her little brother, Spike, thinks I'm a pistol).  I've posted a few pics of my hats (oh, BTW that's my associate Mr. Snowman, he's my hat model ... strong, silent type ... which is good because I couldn't bear to listen to a snowman yabbering at me) and will post more pics of tote bags, quilts and a few other projects, as well as pics of my two kitties at a later date (yes, kitties ... I am retired after all ... Note to self:  buy a rocking chair) .