Stash Busting - Lace Up Moccasins

These moccasins was found in a Crochet A Day Calendar for 2008. The pattern is by Georgiann Eikenbary. I saw these moccasins and instantly knew I had to make them. This is a picture from the blog of the designer.

Here is a frontal view of my moccasins. They have beads purchased from Michaels' and fringe around the top of the foot. The pattern from the calendar shows fringe and it mentions beads but I couldn't see them on the photo.

I think mine look really really good. Very good pattern. I love how they come up the calf.

Here's a side view. There was an option to make additional soles so I did for additional cushion. Also I added some padded insoles to make them comfortable and to give them some shape.

I'm modeling these while at my mother's home. She was very impressed with my work. Watching her look over my workmanship made me feel all puffed up and proud! LOL!

I haven't decided to keep them or give them away as a gift. I may just keep them for myself. Who knows?

It feels great to finish a project and the outcome is terrific. I'm very pleased with these moccasins.

Toodles!

Ravelry Musings...

O.K. I forgot to write about my Ravelry musings yesterday. I was on a roll with my finished project and it got in the way. LOL!

I've been browsing Ravelry for a while and trying to update things. I have a few questions for you ladies out there.

One, I have tons of yarn without labels.

I finally got an opportunity to sort it and put it into baggies. If you have noticed most of it has been made into balls. I do this while watching television in the evening. It helps keep my skeins from getting too tangled.

My question is how do you label your yarns in your yarn stash if you aren't sure of the amount? Most of this yarn is leftovers or extra yarn purchased. Some of it is a partial skein and others aren't. How do you handle this?

My second question would be your blog feed. I have my blog listed but it doesn't show in Ralvery. How do you get it to show in Ravelry. Is it the RSS feed? How do I learn my RSS feed?

My third question is how well do you know Ravelry? I'm learning a lot but there is so much it can be overwhelming! My group is hoping to create a group on Ravelry soon but there is so much we need to learn. Do you have any tips for me?

So far I have four projects listed and completed. I'm working on a new project now and I hope to have it listed by the weekend. Come check me out when you have the chance!

Here are some photos from my group called "Ewe Can Knit Too". We are meeting once a week now and I love it. I'm the only one who crochets regularly. They are all knitters but are considering dabbling into crochet since I finish my projects so much faster than they do! One member Kritina always teases me about my projects. I will start a new project and the following week she will ask me if I finished! LOL! I'm O.K. but not that good! LOL!

Here is Barb teaching a newbie how to cast on. This was kind of funny to watch because their were several people helping her and many different ways to do the cast on of course. I was getting confused watching them!This is a picture from my end of the table. We meet at Panera Bread Company in Plainfield, IL on Mondays and we just push three tables together and work it out. I love Panera Bread Company. Good food! Last week they brought around treats for us to try and the clerks are very nice to us.

Larisa is the one on the left with the dark hair and glasses. She is our organizer and she is great! We are working on creating our Ravelry group. I can't wait! One person who was close to me wasn't included in this picture but I will get her next time! LOL!

I'm on a yarn budget. I wasn't supposed to buy any yarn until next year since I have such a nice quantity as you can see above. However, when I received my JoAnn's flyer I noticed yarn was on sale. I needed yarn to make a rug for my master bathroom. I was going to wait until next year but when I saw the Caron one pound yarn for 2 for $9 I couldn't let that pass. I justified it by listed it as a household expense instead of a hobby expense! LOL! It's the accountant in me that did it! I bought six skeins because the rug is supposed to be 60 inches long using three strands of yarn. I'm mixing one of each color to get a varigated look. I wasn't sure how much was needed since I'm noting most patterns are in yards instead of weight. So I bought extra. I think I will have enough in one skein. If not I will return three!

I don't know if you saw the recent Interweave Crochet magazine for fall. It's the bomb! I love Interweave Crochet fall issue! It's definitely worth the price. I've already flagged five items I must make. One is of this beautiful Austen Lace Muffler. I think this is so cute! I wanted to do one so I bought Patons Bamboo silk yarn at JoAnn's. I thought I was getting the right weight but I didn't check until I got home. This yarns weight is a "3" and the pattern requires a "2" weight. I was a bit disappointed besides I wasn't sure if it was enough. It wasn't! So I returned this yarn and will wait until later to do this project if I can't find any in my stash. By the way this yarn is on sale at JoAnn's for $4 a skein. That's a good price. I really like how it feels too! Very soft!

Well I think that's enough for today!

Later chicas!

Projects in the works

O.K. here is some fun things I have in the works. The teal fabric will be used to create a very easy jacket M5241. Now that my machine is back in operating condition I will hopefully have it made soon. I am considering doing one project a month this year to get back into the sewing swing. Wish me tons of luck.

I also hit the sale at Michael's for the cotton Lily Sugar n Cream yarn. It was 10 for $10. I went and bought 10 cream one day and then I found a pattern for a really cute shell patterned tank. I went back and bought 10 more skeins of white. I don't know when I am going to make it but when I do I should be well prepared. I also purchased a couple of idea books. I love idea books and I have very few bathroom accessory patterns so this was perfect. I already made two washcloths and I will give these as gifts for Christmas.

I actually started this post two weeks ago while I was in San Antonio. I have been busy and lazy too I must admit. Things have been spinning for me since I got back.

First things first! Tomorrow I will have my air conditioner installed! Woo Hoo! I went two summers in my home without it and it is way overdue! They said installation will take from four to six hours. I can't wait to have cool air in my home.

The next thing would be that I joined a board games group in my local area. I don't know if I ever mentioned how I like to play board games. I thought it would be cool to join a group that does it. They meet twice a week at Barnes and Noble in the evening. I didn't realize they were more focused on playing European style games (most of them I had never heard of before). These were real gamers! LOL! Well I went to a meeting and was talked into playin a game called "Blokus". It's a pretty fast game and I played it twice with a nice group of people. I liked it. The others were playing games with names like Amazona and Magic. I guess I will get a chance to dabble in other games when I join them. Tomorrow I will go and hopefully take some fun pictures.

Last night was my Ewe Can Knit Too Group meeting at Panera Bread. I really like meeting at Panera Bread. There are baked goods, sandwiches, drinks and last but not least WI-FI. I got the girls hooked on reading Stacey's blog. I told them about her reviews of her projects and they were too impressed. I also mentioned the Pattern Review website (since we have sewers too). They bookmarked Stacey's site to visit and read the previous posts. They are very excited. A friend of a friend named Sue also joined us for an evening. My good friend Lori mentioned her friend Sue has started knitting and was looking for something to do. She doesn't live far from me and came to meet us after getting off work. I was glad to see her enjoying herself and making new friends.

I also have been working on my crocheted cardigan I frogged. It's progressing nicely this time. The back and the right front is completed. I started the left front and I am moving along quite nicely if I may say so myself. I hope to have it completed by the end of the weekend (the left front) and started on the sleeves by Monday. If I keep my planned schedule I will probably finish the sweater by the end of July! Whoopee!

Tonight is my scrapbook group get together. We are planning our retreat carpool as well as working on scrapbooking. We are going to a scrapbook retreat in Central Illinois. I don't know what it is called anymore but the Stampin Up demonstrator named Kim Peck has a website to sign up for the retreat. It's from Thursday to Sunday and it includes meals, lodging, scrapbook space and tons of fun. It's $150 for the weekend! What a bargin! I have done this several times with friends are we always have a good time. I am truly looking forward to this again.

Well I have a busy week planned and it looks like Patrice will be visiting my area! I am quite excited. We are going to the Taste of Chicago to eat and have some fun! I can't wait! Stay tuned for the next posting! LMAO!

Smooches...