L I F E . . .

Good afternoon to you! Each day as I start my work shift, my coworkers and I meet with our boss in the office to go over the plan for the night. I am sure this is not an unusual fete for employees across America, so with that being said, it does not make our small group of  6 seem outrageously different than most. However, there are days when you just feel compelled to skip the meeting and get on with the same old drudgery and carry out your shift as quietly as possible. Go unnoticed, fade into the woodwork. Become that inconspicuous fairy that comes in each night and brightens up, cleans up, makes it all appear presentable by waving that invisible wand that seems to be the extension at the end of our wrist. Most nights one could have these feelings. Maybe that is one of the reasons we enjoy working  in singles rather than in a group. But there is something to be said for those meetings at the beginning of our shift. You see, it doesn't matter what our mood is when we first arrive to the workplace. Most of us greet each other with some sort of salutation when entering the room (i.e. what's up?, how's it goin'?, what did you do today?, etc. etc) and sometimes, with a smile on our face - not always. One person, no matter what his day was prior to entering our office area, is key man for all the crew. Does he know this? Probably not. Does he realize the impact he makes on each person he encounters daily? I don't think he does.

This man is the whole reason for today's blog, and funny as it may be, he will never see this, never read it for himself. But that's ok in my book, because he is a man that walks through life doing good in everything he touches. He is one of the good men all women talk about meeting one day and sharing a lifetime with. Oh, don't get me wrong, several of our crew members have expressed our feelings to him over the years and he just smiles and gets all embarrassed and then utters a quiet "thank you" as he cocks his head in his funny little customary dance that only he can do. Yes, he is one of the good guys, has been and always will be. It's how he lives his life in and out of the workplace. Every day when he opens that office door he enters with "Helloooo" as only he can say it and each and every one of us reply back with a "Hello!" It is what we love to hear and miss on the rare occasion he takes a day off from work.

We thank him for being a part of our crew. We love him and he knows it. How many of you in the workplace share feelings like this for a co worker? How many of you are not afraid to tell them you appreciate them and their work service? How many of you still feel compelled to share kind words and compliments without fear of the words sexual harassment being mentioned for such a act of kindness, appreciation and caring? I do not worry about such things. I live by the rule that each and every one of us still enjoy hearing a word of kindness and appreciation throughout our day. It is the unexpected words of kindness and appreciation, however small it may be, that mean the utmost to our psyche.

I will end with these words. How many people do you know who walk through life with a song in their heart and a smile on their face? I know a few, he is one of them. It is an honor to work with such a man. It is an honor to know him.

Live not in fear! Spread words of kindness! Give simple compliments! Make someone smile!

HANDBAG DESIGNS

As you well know, I like to crochet and have done so many years now. I actually started out knitting as a young girl at the age of 13. My first project was an afghan (believe it or not) ! Sure it took me a long while to complete, but I chose it for exactly that, well, that and the fact that it had a variety of stitches I could learn to do in the process. ;-) I STILL have my first completed afghan & I am so proud of it, but I am actually ashamed to say I have never, ever used it! E V E R!! I was too proud of it & could not bear the thought it might get ruined. So there it sits, all folded up nice and neat in a plastic bag in my closet, where it has lived for 46 years! :-(  I will gift it to my grand daughter, most likely, so she can appreciate the soft feel of the stitches. 
Anyway, after crocheting for so many years and enjoying the works of one needle as opposed to two used for knitting, I decided to dust off my knitting needles and create something running around in my head. My thought was to create a tote with knitted front & back panels and knitted side pockets. So I started knitting the first panel in a simple knit/purl stitch (Stockinette Stitch) and then decided to add a color change to define a "Quilted Diamonds" pattern change to give my tote a real designer handbag look. I found  the pattern for the "Quilted Diamonds" stitch in my Reader's Digest COMPLETE GUIDE TO NEEDLEWORK book. I must admit, after all these years of being away from my knitting needles, the ever so familiar click - click - click sound of the needles as they work their magic, was such a comforting sound and truly brought joy to my heart. Like seeing a very good friend after, well, you get my meaning here. While I worked up my panels, I thought of several ways to sew them together to create my bag, none of which seemed I truly wanted. Until the idea came to combine my knitted pieces with fabric side panels, creating an element all its own for my tote! I loved the idea! So now to find just the right fabric to compliment  my knitted panels! This meant a trip to my local JoAnn's Craft Store ;-)  so with my hubby Terry along & coupons in hand, off we went in search for the perfect fabric. Sometimes this can be a task in itself, but not with my handy dandy man with me! He LOVES to help pick out colors whether I am working in yarns, beading, or fabrics and I must say, he really is quite good at it! Does he have an eye for clothes? Nah! lol  The only detail I gave him was look for something to compliment grey & pink . . . the fabric you see on the outside of the tote is the fabric HE suggested and I LOVED it! Good Job Babe!!! I then found a light pink polka dotted fabric for the inside lining and went with it, to create this finished product. 
The tote is completely lined, has a magnetic closure, 2 outside pockets, with button adornment on one pocket & also the front flap closure, and an adjustable shoulder strap. It is a very large tote and would also be perfect as a diaper bag, that's how big this is! I love the feel of the knitted panels, they are so soft. 
Another project completed! Another pattern written. Another project to be proud of! I love, Love, LOVE the finished product and hope you do as well!

Hello, hello! I have not posted any of the many projects I have completed in the past few months so I thought I would take the time to do so now. Why no posts you say, well that would be because I have worn my hand muscles to a frazzle due to crocheting like a mad woman. lol Seriously, I needed to rest them so I have been reading on my Kindle for the past month .... & my hands seriously THANK ME! lol
Ok, on to my projects. I have made several cute handbags, slippers, hats, fingerless gloves (which I absolutely love), hair baubles, and even a dishcloth! I found a very cute pattern for a zebra hat (my grand daughter Madison loves zebras) so of course had to make it. It was easy to follow and worked up so well that I had to create a zebra purse to go along with it! A word for the wise here; when designing a pattern, always write it down as you are working it, it just makes life a little easier when trying to re-create that pattern! Ugh, I did not do this and regret it. I created the zebra purse pattern, fully lined it with inside pockets and all in a complimenting fabric. This purse has a magnet closure, and the lengthy handle that has a removable clasp so it can be shoulder length or shortened for hand held. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the look & feel of the purse. I have since written the pattern and instructions for future use.

Little Owl Purse

Hello there again! Lately I have been on a crocheting kick and have been making and creating for several months now. Crocheting is relaxing and quite portable so for the time being, this is my choice of crafting time. I found a pattern on the internet for a cute little owl coin purse so thought I would test it out and see how I liked it. Well, I started working the pattern (yes, as written) and kept referring back to the image on the pattern because MY OWL PURSE LOOKED NOTHING LIKE THAT PARTICULAR IMAGE!! I am a person that will rip it out try again, rip it out, try again to correct where I have gone astray BUT NOOOO, I FOLLOWED the written pattern and got a TOTALLY different SHAPE!!! Scratching my head on that one STILL. I will however, make the pattern again & try to seriously get to the bottom of where it goes astray. lol BUT, I must add here, I truly think my owl purse worked up to be a much cuter shape than the pattern depicts. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this little owl purse and it is perfect for my grand daughters! The difference in the two are: in the photo above the outside bottom edges should not angle out as they do here, they SHOULD be the shape of a stop sign image! Go figure! I mean, this whole pattern is not of that shape! lol The eyes, the talons, and the owl hood is the same as the pattern. I just thought I would jot this down aso I remember the next time I make this pattern so I do not rip it out again & again ... just work it the way it is! Oh and one more thing to remember, I worked this pattern with 2 strands as one, one of which was the boucle yarn to give it that ruffley soft feather look and the other yarn was a 4 ply weight. Love the look and will definitely do this again.

Busy Hands = Happy Heart

My goodness! It has been such a long while since I last sat here to add a completed project! So many things have kept me away from my blog but that's ok, because I have been busy creating! Yes, I said creating! I have been crocheting up a storm from hats to headbands to fingerless gloves, scarves, flowers ... and the list goes on!
Crocheting seems to be the craft for me these days because it is so portable! I can make a bunch of small projects in no time and take it anywhere to complete! Gotta love that! As with any of us crafters, no matter what the craft of choice happens tobe at the moment, it keeps our hands busy, our creative juices flowing and helps to use up our stock so we can buy new! ; ) Using our coupons of course!
Lately, I have tried my hand at writing crochet patterns and have come up with a few good ones. I have not published them as yet but I will get there. Here I have created a hat for my grandson who just loves Goku, which is the symbol I added to this hat.  

  I created this particular design for my grand daughter. I wanted a little twist to just an otherwise plain hat and was happy with this design. It works up fast & easy and has a little versatility for future usage.

Whatever I am working on at the moment, I have realized Busy Hands = a very Happy Heart! Until the next time ... Have fun being creative!