sewing

Sewing lots of bags now. Love it. Using up so much stash in my "basement store".

Socks

Learning to knit socks. I have done many things, but this is a first for me. Size 2 needles and doing the magic loop method. It took me days to get it right, and then when I did, could not understand that I was goofing up so badly before. Now the interesting thing is, my mom used to knit socks for my dad with matching sweaters. She made it look so easy. But she died when I was 12. I wish she was around now.

I have been bad

Last year, I took on a part time job to help with medical bills. The problem was, the parttime job was 20 to 35 hours more a week. I was already putting in over 40 hours at my full time job. Knitting, I took along with me to do at breaks and lunch. On Jan. 8, 2009 this year, My full time job of (one month short) of 19 years laid me off. I was in shock. I felt betrayed. How many people had I trained? How many days did I take manuals home to study because we had no trainers? How many Saturdays and Sundays did I give up for this job? After almost 4 months, I can say I am really much happier now. I still have the part time job, and my stress level has gone down so much. I was taking up to 6 to8 pain pills a day and I have taken only 2 to 3 in the past 4 months. I have been knitting up a storm. And even cleaning my craftroom. But the reason I have been bad....no time to blog. Will get some more pic posted soon.

New Purse made by Me

This is a purse I made for a swap in Bag to Brag About (yahoo group). I was supposed to have it finished last week, but did not have it all finished. I used a lot of scraps in the "foundation" style of quilting. I am very pleased with it. The back looks good too. (the back is the top pic) The tulip fabric was just a small bit left over from another project years ago. I think it is a "Hoffman" print. All the rest of the fabrics came from my scraps of quilt fabrics...Not that I quilt, but at one time I bought lots of small "fat quarters" to make a quilt. The title of the swap is "from the scrap bin..."

my boys

Popcorn and Fudge....it is so hard to get a picture of them together. They love to harass each other. Popcorn will go in circles around Fudge....and Fudge will go up to Popcorn and just look. But when they are tired, these two will snuggle together.
Here is old man Milo...or Fat boy. He is 6-7 years older than all the other boys and does not like to move around much. Such a good pug...he listens to what you say, but hates to get a bath...will run upstairs and hop in the bed and under the covers if he hears the bath going.
How can you not love a little face like this!!!! This is Fudge..or Fudgie. It is so hard to get a picture of him as he is so black. But this is my favorite picture of him. This is my "chicken" dog....if you scare him, he will pee...be sure you are not holding him at the time!!!!
Little Popcorn, who we call Poppy, Poppy-do, and Dodo-Pop.....At only 16 pounds, he is the Mocho of the bunch. From the way he acts, you would think he is a big dog...well, he does. The chow hound...eats more than the others, but is moving all the time so works it off.
Here is Kiwi, who we call Kiki Baby. He is the Mother of all the boys....meaning he is the most loving and caring pug. He loves everyone and wants to be held all the time. The sweetest bay.

This is Little Foot. It is strange to see him without a toy in his mouth. He was so wild as a puppy, I almost was ready to give him away. But he has turned into the best little dog. Mark says he is more dog than pug, as he comes when called.

May is Almost Here

May is getting closer. May is very special to me. I will be 5 years free from cancer. I still go to my cancer doctor, but now I only have to go twice a year. My great doctor, Dr. Saker, says I will have one more PET scan next January and if it is good, I won't have to have another anytime soon. He was the one who found out my cancer had spread to my liver after being cancer free for a year. I think Dr. Saker, my kids, my "significant other", Mark, and my friends have all made my beating cancer a success.

The other great thing about May is Mothers Day. We always to to the Indian Pow-Wow that weekend. They have great things to eat...fresh corn, sweet breads, turkey legs, and more!!! The jewelry is my love there, too. I have given my most cherished ring from my mother (who was half Native American) to my daughter, Bethany...who shares my love of turquoise. I buy beads there too, because now I am into beading with my knitting.

I can't wait for May!!!

Noro knitted bag

This is my NORO bag. I bought 4 skeins of Noro wool. On 3 skeins, I cast on 20 stitches and just knitted until I ran out of yarn. I sewed them together length wise. Folded it in half and sewed up the sides. For the strap, I used the 4th skein and cast on 10 and knitted until I was happy with the length. I put the strap in the middle of the bag and then sewed a wooden ring to the other side. To close it, just slip the strap through the ring. Of course, this was felted before the wooden ring was attached.

The wooden rings were a bit costly for what you get. About $1 each. But if you do not want to use wood, Walmart has some plastic rings in multi colors for 3 time as many rings for the same price as the wooden rings. They can go through the wash with no problems.