First Hat Sale!

Good Morning Lovelies,

Thank you for all of your nice comments on my giant granny. Your comments make the crocheting go faster!
I finally got my etsy site up and running and in less than 24 hours I made my first sale! I only listed 6 of my baby hats on the site, because I was short on time. My first hat order was for the little green closed eye owl for 3-6 months. The prototype I made was for 0-3 months so I quickly got to work on the 3-6 month one.


On the left 3-6 month; on the right 0-6 months
Just a little bit bigger!

This little owl was shipped off yesterday to the new owner. My site is a little pitiful right now, I am working with a professional photographer to get some good images to post to advertise the hats. For now, just the hats will do.
Here is a photo of my whole gang right now:

The sleeping owls seem to be everyone's favorite, as I said in my last post, they are just so darn cute! I can't wait to see how they look on a real baby/person.

As you may have guessed, I will be spending my day grading. I hope you have some fun plans for this beautiful weekend.
xoxo Susan

Vera Bradley Winter 2012 Floral Nightingale

Hello Friends,

I have had a busy week this week as we are wrapping up the summer semester so I have not been posting. Last week the Fall 2011 Vera Bradley patterns were released in stores and online. I want to share with you a sneak peak at the patterns coming out for Winter 2012 (or Winter 2011-2012, depending on how you like to think of it). Four patterns will be released and they are lovely! I do think the four released last week were great though.

Vera Bradley has been releasing purple for the last few years and the winter line will be no different. This pattern is sure to be a pleaser for the purple lovers out there. Stayed tuned for a sneak peak of the other three patterns over the next few weeks.

This weekend will be filled with grading so I can get all of my students' grades submitted by Tuesday at noon when they are due. I will sneak in as much crochet as possible. My giant granny wants to grow.

xoxo Susan

Granny Growing

Hello Friends,

I am very lucky to be spending my Sunday crocheting my granny for Angie's giant granny challenge. My  goal is to keep the granny bright and cheery! So far, I am very happy with the progress. Sometimes when I use a darker color I get nervous it may not work well with the others but so far so good.

19 Rows Granny Square

25 Rows Granny Squares

Folded Granny Square

I am always amazed at the way the outside row makes the square look very different. When blue was the outside row the square had a whole different look, and the red made it look even more different. One of the things I do not enjoy about making giant granny's is the more rows you add the more time it takes to complete a row.
I feel like I had a refreshing weekend and I am looking forward to the week ahead. We are in our last week of class for the summer semester!!!

I hope you had a lovely weekend,
xoxo Susan

Grannys and Owls

Hello Friends,

As always, thank you for stopping by :) I would also like to thank everyone for your advise on the Japanese flower scarf for my mom. One row it will be, unfortunately I stitched two flowers in the second row already so I have to find my woven ends and relocated them. I have gotten much better at weaving in the ends so my job will be a little tricky. An update on that will be coming soon.

I decided to join Angie's Giant Granny Challenge over at Le Monde de Sucrette. My granny is starting a little bit later than the rest, so I am trying to make it grow as much as I can this weekend.

I started the granny with scraps that I had and now I wish I would have started the center with a warmer color, but I think the dusty light blue will be alright. I want to make this a bright colorful giant granny :)

No real news to share for this weekend. We finally have some good rain falling over the last few days. The pond in the backyard is slowly started to fill up to somewhat normal levels. The best part about the rain in Florida is the sun that shines bright after. Hopefully I can snap a shot of a rainbow to share.

Since I still can't stop, I made a few more owls hats too...

For a little baby

I really love the closed eye owls. There is something about the eyelashes and the sleeping look that is so cute! Instead of the little streamers for the ears I tried little points (these were a little tricky for me).

The blue one was made by holding two pieces of yarn together so this hat is much thicker than the others.

Well I hope your weekend is going well. I am trying to get in as much reading and crochet time as I can. Have a fabulous Sunday tomorrow!
xoxo Susan

Good Morning

Good Morning Friends,

I started a new project with our favorite Japanese flower pattern. Since finishing the blanket for my brother and his wife, I have not crocheted any flowers. My mom has not made any requests since I started crocheted back in January and when I was in Buffalo I asked her what I could make for her and she asked for a scarf. About 6 years ago before I moved to Florida, my mom started knitting again. She made me a beautiful green scarf which was extra great during St. Patrick's Day, which is a holiday taken very seriously in South Buffalo.
Anyways, she told me the different color jackets/coats she wears and I decided she needs two different scarves!  So the first one is underway...

  

Since my mom wants it to be a scarf (not a shawl like scarf), I am thinking just 2 rows of about 9 or 10 flowers? I will take some measurements once I have 18 flowers together and see how long it is and how it feels. For her second scarf  I am thinking hexagons. I saw some neat scarves with smaller sized hexagons.

Have a fabulous week friends,

xoxo Susan

4th of July!!

Hello Friends,

Happy Independence Day for those of you in the U.S.A.!! I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend. We had a nice weekend with some work here and there (well maybe about half of it filled with work). Today I was able to relax the entire day and watch some fireworks with a skinny girl margarita in hand - very yummy.

We had a lovely dinner at our friend's house for a nice 4th of July cookout. One of the weird things about being in Florida for the 4th of July is that it is very hot and humid, so we eat inside instead outside like I used to do growing up.

 Luckily the food was finished cooking right before a thunderstorm came through.

Kate over at the Garden Bell has been showing us some watermelon crochet goodness and it got me thinking about a watermelon baby hat. So I went to work and I think turned out pretty good...

Now I just need to find a newly born baby to see how it looks live!

In addition to the watermelon cap, I also made a little devil hat.  

My summer class has 2 more weeks to go and then I am officially on summer vacation for a few weeks before we start back up for the fall semester. Time flies as I am sure you all know. I really cannot believe it.

Before you know it we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. 

I spent this evening watching the fireworks on tv and listening to the Boston Pops. I always love hearing Stars and Stripes Forever, it is one of my favorites!!! Happy Birthday U.S.A.

xoxo Susan 

Niagara Falls in June

Hello Friends,

While I was in Buffalo, my brother's wedding was beautiful and the rain held up at just the right times. Growing up in western NY, I visited the falls many times. Each time I visit I am always amazed by the fast current.

Current of the Niagara River approaching the falls

Very close to the falls

Beautiful greenery on the walk from the street to the falls

Niagara Falls (Canada is on the right)

American Falls to the left. Canada to the right

 If you ever visit Niagara Falls, make sure you go on the Maid of the Mist boat ride (in photo below). The Maid of the Mist brings you right up to the falls. This is enjoyed the most on a hot summer day.

The Maid of the Mist

 My brother and his bride were married at the oldest church in Niagara Falls, NY fonded in 1836 - St. Mary of the Cataract. The church was very lovely and located right next to a casino (owned by the Seneca Nation of Indians).


Saint Mary of the Cataract Catholic Church



At the church for the wedding rehearsal

Front Doors to the Church

This was my first time inside of St. Mary of the Cataract, and it was a nice church. In case you were wondering, we did sneak over to the casino and several people who attended the wedding won some money!! I was not so lucky, but I enjoyed my visit.

I was able to crochet some more hats while in Buffalo - and I have some assignments to make more and more...

Happy Saturday!!

xoxo Susan