Where oh where did my July go?

July has always been my favourite month and not just because I was born in July. July is usually warm and sunny. July is also the first full month that students no longer study and yes, I was born in July.
This July was extremely full for me. I had elective surgery, suffered from motion sickness, had many many projects on the go and I celebrated another birthday!

Today marks the first day of August. Usually this months makes me sad because I know the warm days are coming to a close. This year, I plan to make August the best one yet because in the face of change, I must be brave, hopeful and have faith.

My Creative Space

Err, mess! - need I say more? While my desk is looking out of sorts, go on over to Kootoyoo's blog for more Creative space stories.

Thrift Store Vanity

My bathroom has needed a new vanity and sink since we moved in and that has been almost 10 years now!



When I found this little gem a my local Value Village and was so excited. Now that it is sitting in my hallway I am feeling overwhelmed. I am feeling pressure to get it done fast so that my living area can get back to normal AND pressure in doing a good job. I think the top is soapstone and the molding on the front is not real wood, though the rest of it is. It weighs a tonne!

If anyone has any tips, please speak up!

Sometimes you need a little support

Remember the evolution of a studio chair? Well I finally got around to making a slipcover for an old chair pad I had. let's just say - my butt thanks me!

My Cabana

My Cabana just outside my kitchen.

At night
Here is how I did it:

Materials used on-hand and purchased:

Pressure treated wood - 2x2 & 2x4
- split bamboo on a roll
- deck screws
- 2 old pillows
- 1 new body pillow
- fabric to encase pillows (on hand)
- fabric for outer slip-cover (on hand)
- fabric for bolster (on hand)
- stuffing for bolster (on hand)
- 2 coated canvas (to prevent mildew)
- 4 curtain rods (dollar store)
- compound miter saw

Here is what I did:

1) make benches

2) made the cushions, cushion covers and bolsters

3) build the frame and attach the split bamboo

Make the curtains, install rods and hang.


Arrange




Add beautiful model et voila!


I may not have a pool boy nor a pool, but maybe I can convince the hubby to wear something skimpy, fan and spritz me with water while I sip my pina colada ;-)

CARA Leather Rosary Cuff

A few weeks ago I asked if anyone knows what C.A.R.A would stand for?





It stands for Christ Almighty Reigns Above. It is a stylish and cool reminder to wear and looks great on both women and men of all ages.

Leather Catholic Rosary Cuff

I recently had a custom request for a Rosary cuff. It turned out so amazing that I decided to add it to my line of leather accessories. My customer was so wonderful to work that I decided to name it after her. She has been giving me so many suggestions on how to write it up as well.

Her name is Cara so it will be named C.A.R.A. Can you guess what those letters will stand for?

My Creative Space

I decided to play along with Kootoyoo and the gang in this 'Creative Space' meme.

I have been working on some new products that involve leather tooling and dyeing and the result is a chaotic table.

Crochet can do what Knit can do

I was inspired by a knit hat that a lot of people are doing on the site Ravelry. I wondered if I could create a similar look in crochet. Why??? because crochet is faster of course!

It turned out great and the inside has a really cool texture and appearance as well. I have gotten quite a few requests for this hat too!

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing the world much needed Peace, Love and Happiness.

Splashes of Colour for Spring

Spring is just around the corner and to get my blood warmed up, I designed some new cuffs. I hope they conjure up warm thoughts for you.




Purple Grape


Burnt Orange
Electric Blue

Daffodil Yellow

I leave you with some hugs and kisses for Valentine's Day.

New Project, Warm hands

well, as warm as you can get with fingerless gloves / wrist warmers! I crocheted these from my head. I didn't use a pattern, pretty cool huh?

New Cuffs added!

New Militant Band Leader cuffs with secret pockets added to the shop!

It's a freakin Hat show!

Today is January 20th and so far this year I have crocheted 7 hats! This thing is addictive to say the least. What have you been making like crazy this year?

Shop Update 2010

I just added a new Slim-Jim Money wallet in Toffee brown and for those of you who like texture, there's plenty of it!

Here is the complete collection and you can get them in the shop!

New Beginnings 2010

Happy New Year everyone! I am not sad to see 2009 go as it was a very bad year for my family and a lot of people with the so called 'Economic Crises'.

I am determined to make this new year a turning point for the betterment of my family. Change is scary but learning to see and do things in a different way is always good. I have decided to do just and I wanted to document it here. That ribbing you see is a crochet ribbing done in half double crochet. I am using it as the base for my Tunisian in the round hat that I am about to start.

On January 1st I figured out how to do Tunisian Crochet in the round and was very happy about that.

Below is the Tunisian in the round hat that I started January 1st but decided to frog today - and that's okay because change is good if you plan to make it better!

Cheers!

My Tunisian Education continues...

My first Tunisian pattern completed! This one is the Tunisian short row dish cloth. I added a crocheted scalloped border for pizzazz! You can find the pattern and excellent video tutorial here.

As you can see, this pattern is similar to the knitting one. You create 6 wedges and then slip stitch the last seam to the first seam to form the circle.


Stay tuned for more......

Tunisian Crochet Dishcloths

I have been a little obsessed with the Tunisian Crochet Stitch. I am still waiting for my needles so I used a double hook crochet needles for these. I put an elastic band at one end so that my stitches did not fall off. I practiced the Tunisian Simple Stitch for these dish cloths.



The Tunisian Simple Stitch - Right Side and Wrong Side



Showing both sides..


Not Tunisian, but round and different. This is something I am free-styling. It is a 100% cotton so super absorbent and perfect for your kitchen.

I am trying to figure out how to do the Tunisian Cross stitch but can not find a helpful video anywhere. If anyone knows of any please let me know.