My New Winter Hat!

Hello! Hello!  OK.  So, I know winter is more than half over, but I wanted to make myself a new hat.  I pulled out my scrap skeins and my crochet hook.  This took me awhile, because I didn't follow a pattern.  I just made it up as I went.  Sorry, I won't be posting directions for this one :)! 

My favorite color has always been some kind of hue of blue.  Right now it is almost a turquoise blue.  In this hat, I used several different stitches: single crochet, half double crochet, double crochet, double crochet cable stitch, and a double crochet shell.

I LOVE my hat!  My husband thinks it is an old lady's hat.  He tried to explain it to me, but I still didn't get it :).  He doesn't have to wear it.  My little princess loves it, too.  She wants one just like it "except it needs to be purple and pink and have ears" is what she said (lol). 

Thanks for joining me today! Hope this inspires you to create your own work of art :) -Dari

Wednesday WIP

What a beautiful morning!  I have been making progress on my new summer hat for 2014.  I am almost done.  I need to finish the last round of SC (single crochet) on the bottom and add the brim.  Yea! 

I am still reading this great book called Wake Up To A Happier Life by Amanda Dickson.  This morning I read pg. 27.  Here she counsels to "Let 'just' and 'have to' fall out of your vocabulary. You aren't just a clerk and you don't have to go to work.  You are blessed with a job where you get to serve people, including yourself, your family, your boss, not to mention your customers, every day.  And you don't have to go to work- you get to, you choose to, you want to.... See- this stuff isn't so hard.  Just because you've never done it before doesn't make it hard.  It makes it unusual maybe, but not hard... You may not have done it before, but it's easy... it's just unfamiliar."

This really hit me this morning, because I just signed on as an Independent Consultant for Close To My Heart.  I am REALLY excited and just about as nervous, too.  I am not one who takes risks.  I don't like soliciting.  And yet, I LOVE their products and have been looking for a way to either supplement our income or to fund my own entrepreneurial endeavors with my table cloths, scarf holders, etc. I just realized that I haven't posted my Scarf Holder. 

I am amazed at what we can accomplish when we change our outlook on life!  Thanks for stopping by. -Dari

Wednesday WIP

Hello! Hello!  We have sure had bipolar weather here in Oakley.  Monday was absolutely beautiful.  It almost reached 70F, which is unheard of for this time of year.  Then last night it snowed!  I woke up to a winter wonderland.  My kids cried.  I thought it was humorous.  Now, the sun is shining and the snow is all but gone.  How's that for ya?!

I have two projects on the hooks/needles right now.  Neither one is going very fast, because the weather has been so nice, I have wanted to be outside.  And, I have been teaching two friends how to do family history/genealogy.  The top one is my new hat for this year.  I am NOT a shopper.  I loathe shopping (unless it is to the craft store).  But, I have this fettish with hats.  I wear them all the time outside.  It is a tradition that I make a new one for myself every year.  I made one for My Princess.  It is pink, of course.  The bottom one is the toe sock I am knitting for my husband.  It may just end up being his Christmas present this year.  Wow!  Amazing concept.  If I actually commit myself to finishing it for Christmas, I can truly say that I have began my Christmas gifts.  Every year I think, "I should start a lot earlier on making my Christmas gifts."  Hmm.  I just may have to.

 

I am currently reading a really uplifting book entitled Wake Up to a Happier Life by Amanda Dickson.  She is a radio talk co-host.  This morning I got a kick out of my reading.  She wrote, "Sometimes it is the simplest work that gives us the easiest access to the most tangible joy."  She continues, "You can get that feeling from getting the garbage out before the garbage man comes.  Just once you want not not be caught in your pajamas as you hear the truck starting to head down your street.  And on that time that you remember to to put it out the night before, and it doesn't storm and blow anything over or strew your trash on your neighbor's lawn, you feel such a sense of accomplishment.  Ahhh."  As I read this, I had a vision of recent date of me running up the street in the middle of the day chasing the newspapers that had blown out of my recycling bin. 

She quotes James M. Barrie in the beginning of this chapter.  He said, "Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."  Great food for thought.  Hope you have a great day! -Dari

Work In Progress: KC's toe socks

I am currently working on knitting a pair of 100% cotton toe socks for my sweetheart.  This project is coming really slow, but it is also really relaxing for me so I am not minding.  And, since I don't have to worry about him outgrowing them before they are done, I have no added stress to complete them asap!

I am currently reading The Heart of Goodness by Jo Ann Larsen.  Definitely not a sit down and read right through kind of book.  Lots of food for thought.  Today I have had lots of extra kids and a thought that I read last night from this book has stayed with me.  She discussed a concept written by Stephen Covey about clocks and compasses.  "The clock" is our commitments, appointments, schedules, goals, everything on our to-do lists.  "The compass" is our vision, values, principles, mission, what is really important to us.  Jo Ann said, "Most of us run by the clock.... rather than by the compass."   

This has helped me a lot today. I have been amazed that many of the clock tasks have still managed to get done, and yet I am not as stressed as I anticipated.

Hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping. -Dari 

Work In Progress: Dainty Crochet Newborn Hat

It has been way too long since I posted any crafts.  I love to see everyone else's finished creations.  There isn't anything amazing about the photo you see above, and I'm sure no one else is going to "pin" it or share it anywhere, but I have been working on this for over a week!  That's right.  This little piece of work has been quite the unintended project.  

My sister had her baby last Monday, and I love to make hats.  I think every baby should have a hat (or 12).  I chose this purple skein from my stash, because my sister's favorite color happens to be purple.  Anyway, a newborn baby hat should only take an hour or so to make, right?  That's what I thought; however, I had decided on a lacy pattern that got lost in the variegated colors.  So, I ripped it out and started with another stitch.  This time a shell pattern.  The same thing happened.  I just wasn't pleased with the way it looked.  I have ripped this hat apart at least 6 times.  

Finally, I have settled on a stitch that looks dainty and yet doesn't get lost in the changing colors of the yarn.  What? You ask.  A simple V-stitch using Double Crochet. Now that I am finally settled on a stitch pattern, I may actually finish it soon!  Look for the finished project soon! Thanks for stopping by. -Dari