Cancelled

O.K.

I have cancelled my garage sale. I am just not ready to do it. Everything I have sorted is in my mind and no where else. So I just decided to cancel it. I received my balloons and price tags today. It was tied to my door. I think I forgot to mention this was going to be a neighborhood garage sale. My weekends have been too busy to even put things aside. Only mentally did I decide what I wanted to sell. Oh well. I need to start doing some other things in my life.

O.K. Today I went in search of a good yarn store. Stacey from Crimson Purls made a comment which lead me to think about finding some help for my cardigan project. I am having some troubles with the directions. I really hate reading crochet and knitting patterns. They seem to be written in an ambiguous code or something. I am currently winging the cardigan on my own. I went to a yarn store in Plainfield, IL and talked with some ladies. Evidently there is a published author of crochet books there so she would be able to help me. She wasn't available when I was there but now I know where to go for help. Thank goodness. I guess I will attempt some classes one day when I know I can commit. But I had a good time browsing the store and looking at yarn. Boy are there many different types of yarn! Geez! I was a bit overwhelmed but ready to learn. I would love to do a pair of socks one day. That yarn is very expensive though. I really need to research how many skeins of $18.50 bamboo yarn I need for one pair of socks. I never paid that much when I bought socks. It's will be hard to spend that much when I make my first pair. Also I liked the yarn but I could not see myself accessorizing using them. Very bright and lively colors. I usually stick to black, navy or white. Well I guess I will just need to find something to go with my finished project. Of course this gives me a reason to shop! Tee Hee!

The name of the store I visited was called Peggy's Strands of Heaven. It's a very nice shop located in the downtown area of Plainfield. I really enjoyed myself there and met some wonderful ladies. I do hope to go back one day and sit around and crochet. I want to at least become an advanced intermediate crocheter before trying knitting.

While I was there I bought a book. It's called Knitters', Needlepointers', Crocheters', Weavers', & Spinners', Travel Guide 2007-2008 a guide to knitting, needlepoint, crocheting, weaving and spinning stores and guilds in the United States. It's a companion guide to Shopyarn.com. I thought it was a cool idea. I travel quite a bit for work and I thought this would be perfect for my travels. I can visit stores from all over! I did this with scrapbooking stores. It's a blast meeting people with the same interest as yourself. Try it sometime! Here is a picture of the book.


Just to give you a quick update on my cardigan here are some pictures.



This is the front of the cardigan. The left and right sides.



This is the back



This is one of the sleeves.

I have another sleeve to make. The sleeves are giving me some issues. I am winging it for now. They seem to be O.K. I will ask for some help at a yarn store later. There are several more in my immediate area and I think I will visit them sometime soon to see where I would like to go best.


Earlier this week I found this!


I have many digital scrapbook magazine idea books but this one was a newbie for me! I really like it. It reminds you of Creating Keepsakes "Computer Tricks for scrapbooking" by Jessica Sprague. This one is by BHG Scrapbooks. I think they are seriously giving Creating Keepsakes a run for their money for sure. Lots of great tips for using photo editing programs for your scrapbooking. Not just Adobe Photoshop elements. I can't wait to try some of these techinques!

I haven't done much photo editing just minor stuff. But I do have a nice collection of digital scrapbooking idea books. They are just fabulous! I have both of Renee Pearson's books and also a subscription to the new digital scrapbooking magazines. I just need to find the time to actually do some one day. I took Jessica Sprague's class at CKU and it was fabulous. We made two 12 X 12 layouts and they are too cool. I want to do more. I will probably stick to 8 X 8 pages or 6 X 6 pages. I will not invest in a large format printer. The ink, 12 X 12 paper, and space requirements are just too expensive for me. I rather print them in smaller format on my current printer. It seems more financially feasible.

On to other things. While I was looking for the yarn store (I failed to write down the address but I knew the vicinity) I dropped into a cute little store in downtown Plainfield called Pixie Pizazzi. It's a gift basket store. I asked the nice lady about the yarn store and she told me where to find it. I thought that was very nice of her to help me. I felt obliged to purchase something from her store. I browsed around the store and bought some fun stuff to try. Check it out!



I like to try different things and spicy garlic mushrooms and cheddar cheese soup was right up my alley. Of course I have had cheddar cheese soup before but not the spicy garlic mushrooms. At least not bottled ones. I have purchased some hot at the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. There were delicious to say the least. I will try these and post about them later.

Well I think I have babbled enough for now. I hope everyone is having a pleasant week!

Butterfly kisses to you all!

July 4th

I know I am a bit late but I thought I would share some of my photos from my July 4th with my cuz. We had a good time as always. We ate barbecue and sat around and talked. My cuz has a new house and it was wonderful. She is very lucky.

I took many pictures of my little cousin Kaden as you can see. He is adorable. I also took many photos of Camryn and Samantha too. They were very willing posers.

I will never go back to work after a holiday like that again. It was just awful trying to get back into the swing of things with work. Weird week. Next time I will just take some vacation days.

On another note I had a productive week with my new furniture. I did complete my last bookcase for my creative space. I also move many of my scrapbooking supplies and such to them. I also put together my new chair and installed my curtains. The room is really coming together. I am very proud of myself.

This Friday and Saturday will be my garage sale. Hopefully I will make enough money to pay off the new furniture. I still need to pull furniture and other necessities to sell. Wish me luck. I have tons of things to do.

I spent this last weekend with my mother and brother. My brother was in a wonderful mood most of the weekend. It was a blessing.

Anyway I apologize for the delay in posting. Life gets in the way sometimes. Hoepfully I will have my crocheted cardigan almost completed by the end of the week and I can post a picture.

Peace out!

Sunday Cookout fun...

Well this weekend ended very well. I went to a cookout my friend had at her campsite at Blackwell Forest Preserve in DuPage County. She camps out there for a week and she invited her friends to join her for an evening.

We had fun. We all brought something (I didn't bring something to grill) and we cooked and ate and sat by the campfire. It was a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of the group.

It's always a great time hanging out with good friends around a campfire.

I hope everyone had a good weekend too!

Let's be safe out there!

Cas...

So far so good!

So far this weekend I have been able to accomplish at least one thing I really wanted to do. I went to Ikea to buy my bookcases. I bought three and also purchased a nice executive chair too. I was very pleased with my purchases. Here is a picture of one of the bookcases I purchased. I actually bought two of these. I want to use them to store some of my scrapbook supplies. I do plan on moving some of those magazines to another bookcase I purchased. I only put the two narrow ones together.

This is the other bookcase I have in my creative space. I purchased another one like it but I have to put it together. I think I will do it on the 4th. I have a barbecue later that evening so I will put it together in the morning. I am so excited! Now I only need a desk and I saw one at Ikea I think I want to get. It was $59.99! Very simple desk. But it should be perfect for both scrapbooking and sewing! I can't wait to buy one!

My Mom came by early to allow me to use her truck. She spent most of the day with me. Unfortunately when she left she was in some horrible traffic. It usually takes her 40 minutes to get from my home to hers but it took around three hours! It was so horrible. We don't know what happened. She thinks it might have been holiday traffic. I think there was an accident somewhere. But I am glad she made it home safely if not exhausted.

Well here is my current progress on my crocheted cardigan.

I mentioned on a previous blog that I was having some issues. I was wondering if its noticeable on this picture. On the left side is the right side of my cardigan front. The right side is the left side of my cardigan front. The left cardigan front is one stitch smaller than my right side. It's one row shorter and one V-stitch shorter horizontally. I think my guage is off somewhat. I think I will attempt the left side again. I don't understand how this happened. I probably became more tense since I was having troubles with the instructions.

These booties I did while watching television last week. I have yet to sew them together. They are very easy to make and I thought I needed a break from the cardigan since I was getting frustrated. I used the same yarn I used on my previous baby blanket. I like making these booties. You can do them in about an hour.

Then next I started a granny square baby blanket with the leftover yarn. I ran out of yarn on the last row when I almost made it half way.

I had some similar yarn from some other old projects left over so I thought I would use it to finish off my granny square blanket. I will use the white next then finish it off with the multi color yarn. It should look pretty nice I think.

Moving on to other things I have done here is a scrapbook page I made at my monthly TAC (The Angel Company) workshop with my friend Marisa. She prepared this wonderful girls night out page for us to do. We learn and hone our skills on many different techniques. I have yet to decide which pictures to use.

This is one of the cards we made. It's really cute. You open the purse and there is a tube of lipstick stamped on the inside. It's too adorable!

This is the other card we made. I kinda smudged my "thanks for everything" greeting but I like it a lot. Very easy cards.

Last but not least! I stopped by a scrapbook store in Lake Zurich, IL and browsed. I didn't go to buy anything (yeah right!) just to see what the latest and greatest was out now. Look at what I found!

My name in BLING! I was so surprised. Cassandra is a pretty popular name in the African American community (at least I have found many in my own small world) but to find it in bling was just too much! I couldn't believe it! Then I find my last name too! Even though Jordan as a first name has become extremely popular. I see a really cute layout forming in my head. I can't wait to use these babies!

Well I hope you enjoyed my update. I really wanted to update this week but I was tired and a bit discouraged about my cardigan. But I haven't given up. You will see me more often this week.

DON'T GET NOTHING ON YA!

Cas...

Weekend run around...

Well this weekend was a busy one for me. I did a lot and I am happy with the outcome. I must stop shopping though so I can save some money and pay off some bills. I think I have more than enough to keep me busy for a long time.

I also had to pick up my car unfortunately. It stopped on me last weekend and I learned it was the battery. I also had a few other things repaired too. More charges on my credit card! Another reason for me to stop shopping! LOL! But I won't of course.






I went to Hancock fabrics and they had a $1 Butterick pattern sale. I bought two patterns for myself. This pattern is my favorite I think. I want to make the center outfit which consists of a tank, vest and pants. I already purchased some cool material to make the outfit. I really am excited about this one.

I like top A the best. It's actually one piece! Just one friggin piece. I can't wait to try this one for sure. It's at the top of my list. I bought some material at Wal Mart (yes I said Wal Mart). It's a pretty purple knit. I can't wait to try this one. Maybe this weekend?

I also spent Saturday at my monthly TAC (The Angel Company) workshop with my scrapping and stamping buddies. I created a really cute "Girls Night Out" layout. I can't wait to put my pictures in the layout. When I do I will post!

Sunday I spent the day at my Mother's and we went to Vogue Fabrics where I bought the material for my vest, tank and pants outfit. I also bought some material to make a skirt. Another pattern I bought (I am going pattern crazy!).

I have worked on my crocheted cardigan. I have the right side completed but the left side is giving me some issues. It's a mirror of the right side but the instructions are a bit ambiguous. This happens sometimes when I read a pattern. You really have to think or try it both ways to see how it looks. I think I may frog the left side and try it again. I don't like the way it looks. I will take a picture of it and post it tomorrow. Maybe someone could give me a tip or two!

Smooches!

The search

I am in the market for a crafting table for my creative space. I saw this one at Target. It's three pieces and all together it costs $550. I like it a lot. The ends are bookcases which can hold 12 x 12 scrapbook paper. It's a knock off of the pottery barn table. The price does not include the stool or shipping. Target has 15% off too. This is the pottery barn table. It costs $1099 plus $200 for shipping. I always liked this table but I just cannot let go of this much money for a crafting table. I tend to be fickle and I like to change a lot. So I didn't want a table this expensive to end up in my basement unused.

I have to hand it to Pottery barn. They do have some wonderful ideas.

I also found a similar table at Pier 1 Imports. It's smaller and the bookcases on the end would not hold 12 X 12 paper. I liked it but the smaller bookcases are a turn off for me. The price is around $400 and I have a gift certificate for $25 there plus a coupon for 15% off. I could definitely get it more reasonable there but it wouldn't suit my purposes. Phooey!

Here are some of the other things I have for my creative space. These are organizers for my wall. I would keep things like letters, notes and other miscellaneous items I need for crafting.

I was also thinking about putting one in my laundry room too. I bought these at Home Goods. I really like them.

I also have a double 12 x 12 scrapbook page frame I purchased. I thought how cool it would be to have a double 12 x 12 scrapbook page frame. I just happened to be working in Iowa City, IA and the neighboring town called Cedarville has two scrapbook stores. I went into the one called Reminisce and I found it! Of course I snatched it up! I just couldn't leave without it. I plan on doing a double page spread in coordinating colors of my scrapbook room and posting it on my wall somewhere. Here is a photo of the frame.

Well I have plenty of decisions to make. I love the craft tables shown but I have a dilemna. I would rather sit in an executive chair with comfortable padding rather than on a stool. I could manage with the stool but I would rather have the executive chair for comfort. However the style of crafting tables available are not very worthy of my needs. I am considering a small dining room table. I am looking for something aesthetically pleasing to the eye and not just utilitarian. I guess the search will continue until I find something I like.





Toodles...

Another project completed

I did it in five days! I am so proud of myself! I completed my baby blanket I started on Tuesday! It was too easy and too fun to make! This pattern is definitely a keeper. I am so glad I bought the yarn for such a good price too. I still have almost two skeins left too. Maybe I can squeeze a pair of booties or something out of the extra yarn. We will see.

Here is the finished project.

I went to JoAnn's on Sunday for their firefly promotion. Great deals on yarn let me tell you! I went in to see about purchasing some yarn (I guess that is what they call this ticker tape stuff) for my cropped jacket project. It costs $7.99 a skein! I was very overwhelmed with the price. I am accustomed to cheap yarn I guess. Anyway I looked at several colors which were nice but I wanted something more neutral or solid to work with. I found a carmel color one for $2.97 a skein! What a bargain. I bought nine skeins.

This looks more like ribbon than yarn. It has a light velvet feel so its very nice to touch. I can't wait to work with it. I thought about starting it on Sunday but I decided against it. I think I will wait to start later this week when I can really devote some time. I also do not want to burn myself out crocheting. Hopefully will complete this quickly.

Saturday was a horrid day for me. I had a few errands to run before I went to my mother's home to spend the weekend with her and my brother. At my last stop I couldn't start my car! I was totally shocked! It wouldn't make a sound! This recently happened to me in September and I had to have the starter replaced. The starter went out again! I was furious. I called AAA and they sent a tow truck which took around four hours to get to me. I was patient but annoyed. The one good thing that came out of it was I finished the blanket. My wonderful friend Jodi came and stayed with me and took me home only to learn I left my house key on the car key ring. I had to call the tow truck guy to wait so I can get the key! Not a great weekend. I arrived home and preceded to nap. I was exhausted waiting in the heat. Later that evening I cut out the pattern for my skirt. It only has three pieces to it. I am getting pretty excited about making this skirt. I think I will shop for some material next weekend to make it. I probably will try to make it the following Saturday. I am feeling very inspired!

Well this was my weekend. I hope everyone had a good one. My wasn't the best but it could have been worse right?

Catch you on the flip side!

Cas...