Getting Ready for the Baby!

Hello Friends,

My crocheting still has not progressed as much as I have hoped but I was able to get some major yarn deals at Joann Fabrics last week. I dropped my hubby off at the airport and figured I would make a quick stop at the larger Joann's store in my area. I have not purchased any yarn since January due to moving and being pregnant, etc. - so it has been over 7 months since I bought any! Maybe that has played in a role in not crocheting lately. When you buy it you want to use it. However, I had a very large stash before purchasing a bunch more at Joanns...

So, I originally wanted to stop at Joann's to get some buttons for the little sweater I was working on for Baby M. Remember this?

But I couldn't leave without looking and touching some yarn. As I entered the yarn section, I noticed some clearance bins. I also saw yellow signs stating to check for clearance items throughout the aisle. Well, ALL of the Debbie Stroller yarn was $0.97!!! I still had skeins of it from my clearance purchases at A.C. Moore when they got rid of their selection of DB yarn at the end of 2011. But when it was on clearance at A.C. Moore it was not as cheap as this! So I knew what I had to do...

Less than a dollar a piece! So naturally I had to buy just about all of the DS yarn and then a few of the discountined Vanna's Choice in Antique Rose and some others here and there that looked like they may be nice.

I also grabbed some clearance knitting needles, regular (?), DPN and circular so I can be prepared to really go after knitting some lovely things for Baby M.

So now I just need to get down to work and crochet. I have a friend coming over Saturday who is brand new to crocheting and needs some guidance. So I plan to spend Saturday crocheting and having some fun making baby things.

We are now 57 days until the due date! Here is a sneak peak of her room:

I hope you are having a fabulous week. Tomorrow is Friday! And I WILL be back with another post tomorrow.

xoxo Susan

Yellow Bear Hat and More Lion Brand Amazing Yarn

Hello Friends,

I hope you are having a great weekend so far. My parents flew in last night for a visit and they will be in Florida for 9 days. Today J had to work all day, so my parents and I had a very nice day together. They got in late last night so we had a slow start to the morning. We went over to see our soon to be new house. They were working diligently putting up drywall so we just stopped by our actually home for a little bit and then went to see the inside of the same floor plan so they could see what it will look like once it is finished. 

I had an order for a yellow bear hat with a white flower on my Etsy site. I had a pink one made, but this was my first bear hat with earflaps. The little girl loves yellow, so I hope she loves this hat too!

Here is the pink one I made:

We also popped over to A.C. Moore before heading home this evening. I got three new colors of Lion Brand Amazing Yarn: Vineyard, Pink Shades, and Joshua Tree; and some pink Lion Brand Jiffy called Rose Spray.

I am thinking I will try a new pattern for my Amazing yarn. I've been making a lot of infinity scarves with this yarn but I think something new may be nice. If it doesn't work out and I can always go back to the infinity scarf petals pattern. I may even try some with my knitting needles.

The jiffy yarn was picked by my mom. She is looking for a scarf to go with her pink jacket and thought this yarn would be just right. I have to agree, I think the yarn will make a lovely scarf to wear with her pink coat and others.

So, now I need to get to work now hooking away. I also just remembered the candy cane scarf which MUST be finished before my parents leave on Sunday (not tomorrow but next week). The candy cane scarf will be perfect for Christmas!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

xoxo Susan

Weekend Wonderfuls and Stained Glass Blanket

Hello Friends,

The weekend is finally here! I am very excited for some crochet time this weekend. My weeks go by much too quickly leaving my little time to crochet during the week. Luckily the stained glass blanket is a nice one to work on a little at a time. The little squares take about 5 minutes each to make, this includes weaving in the ends. So if I have a quick 15 minutes, I can make 3 squares.

Right now I am almost done with all of the squares for a 16 by 10 square blanket (160 total). As you can see, I started to connect the rows prior to completing all of the squares. I was not sure about the size, so I wanted to see how it looks assembled. My next posting should be of a completed stained glass blanket!!!

Well, I did have some time to stop at shop for some yarn this week. The funny thing about de-stashing, which if you remember, I started my stained glass blanket because I fell in love with the one Angie made and because I wanted to de-stash. Staying true to the rules of Feng Shui, when you make room for new yarn, you will fill up the space with..... NEW YARN!

I stopped by my local A.C. Moore store and found all of the Stitch Nation yarn on clearance for $3.00 each (regular $4.99 so approximately 40% off). At first I just bought six, three colors, two of each color. Then after bringing the yarn home and touching it and making a "swatch" of a new pattern I wanted to try, I had to go back for more.

So I went back, and bought more yarn. I purchased some of the Bamboo ewe, and some alpaca love. Please be warned though, if you have an A.C. Moore store near you, the yarn may not be on clearance (at least not yet). One of my co-workers went to a different location and found the yarn was not marked down at the other store. If the store near you does not have it marked down yet, it will probably be soon, so keep checking.

As you can see the bamboo ewe is 55% Viscose from Bamboo, 45% Wool

The alpaca love is 80% Wool and 20% Alpaca

So the bamboo ewe and alpaca love were both at A.C. Moore. You are probably thinking, wow that is a lot of yarn, enough to keep me busy for a while. But, I did not stop there. I had a coupon for Hobby Lobby and I remembered seeing a neat looking yarn there several months back. On my way home from work today I stopped by Hobby Lobby and found some of those neat yarns in the spring/summer colors were marked down too.  They are from the brand Yarn Bee and the Snowflake Wool. I really like the way the yarn reminds me of snowflakes. I am not sure what to make with these ones yet. I plan to go back and get some of the newer colors too (with a coupon of course). I am sort of a yarn frugal. I've slowly been spending a little more on yarn, but most of my projects I use Vanna's Choice by Lion Brand, and I wait for the yarn to be on sale for 2/$5 or $2 if I am very lucky. I really like the feel of it too.

Well, I have enough yarn to keep my very busy this weekend. Since I am now fully stocked up with yarn, I bet Vanna's Choice will go on sale for $2 this Sunday, just my luck, haha. I hope you have a yarn and hook filled weekend.
Have a fabulous Friday evening,
xoxo Susan

Ready to Crochet

Good Morning Friends,

Thanks for stopping by. I am still here and doing well, I've just been tied up with work projects and wasn't able to get much crocheting done this week. I was supposed to make a business trip to the state of Arkansas earlier this week, but the terrible weather prevented me from going. My thoughts are with all of the people who have been affected by the tornadoes.

Earlier in the week I stocked up on the yarns I need to complete the English Meadow Granny Stripe blanket. As we celebrate Memorial Day here in the USA, I look forward to this long weekend to make some ground on the blanket.

I was also working on another cardigan, this one a bit more complex than the last one. So far the back of the cardigan is about 50% complete. Right now I am trying to get the arm shapes correct, which is turning out to be quite tricky. Hopefully this weekend includes some time for that too. The stitch of this sweater will make it warmer than my other cardigan (plus it is acrylic, not cotton), so I am not in a big hurry to finish it since the temps are reaching the mid 90's here in Southwest Florida.

Well I am off to get going on my granny stipe. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and get to do something fun!

xoxo Susan