The M&M's!!!

Someone sent me a picture of all the ladies in the costumes that I made.  Well, I made the red, blue and green ones. Another lady made the yellow and orange ones.  We were in a time crunch and neither of us could make all 5 by ourselves - in time.
Anyway, I did not ask permission to post this pic here, so I've blotted out their faces. I did leave Ms. Green's lips uncovered ... it just added to the costume! :)

Soooo turns out, maybe I can sew a little....

I normally hem and mend things.  I can make curtains ... hem and mend.  But, last week I was asked if I could sew some halloween costumes.  They were to dress as M&M's.  It's a circle.  I figured maybe I could handle it. 

We took the pattern and got started.  In the end, I had 3 M&M's ready to wear!  I was proud of myself.  I'm not fooling myself into thinking I could do anything elaborate ... but this is a start!  :)

I had Jonathan pose in the costume.  These will be worn to work today, but I won't get a chance to get down there to get a picture.  They will wear black shirts and leggings or pants under the M's.

Green!!

I don't recall ever making a baby blanket in green.  I don't know why.  I've made white, yellow, pink, blue & purple.  But for whatever reason, I've never done green.  I was planning a blanket for for a baby boy and they didn't have enough yarn at the store for blue.  So, I thought, "why not green?".  So, I picked up green yarn.  The last time I made this particular pattern, I bought enough yarn to make 2.  But, in my fogged brain, I just remembered the number of skeins I bought before and not how many blankets I was making with it!  So, I had enough yarn to make 2 of this pattern.  I made one for the little boy and decided to make the other one for a baby whose gender I didn't know yet.  So, I thought green would be just fine. Turns out they are having a girl!  I think the green blanket will be just as good for the girl as it was for the boy.  That's the thing about greens and yellows ... they are truely gender neutral!
I'm really beginning to like this particular pattern.  It works up really fast but it looks SO cute.  It has become my second favorite pattern!
I just could NOT get the lighting to cooperate with me.  This is really a mint-green.  But, the color isn't showing up so good.

Aprons

I've recieved an email several different times called "Aprons".  It always makes me want one of those mystical garments.  I just never have bought one ... where do you buy one anyway?  So, I found a little kit at Wal-mart.  The pattern is actually printed on the fabric.  You just cut it out and sew it together!  Now, I can't use the pattern again.  But, if I wanted a second one, I can just go buy another kit.  I mean, I'd have to buy the fabric anyway, right?  So, I cut out and sewed this apron.  I was really happy with how it turned out.  I have a long line of seamstresses in my family.  Some of them are pretty good at it and some of them are AMAZING at it!  I either didn't inherit these skills, or probably more likely, I just haven't tried it enough to have honed these skills.  Either way, I'm not a seamstress.  I hem and repair.  So, the fact that this garment actually LOOKS like an apron pleases me.

The email that insprired my apron making is below.  If you remember your Grandmother wearing an apron ... you should read it!  I am a little grossed out thinking about the "germ factor" ... but I still have fond memories! :)

Many of us have fond memories of the special ladies who wore aprons. Aprons were utilitarian for everyday use, but were an art form to some of those same ladies who made some really fancy aprons.

The History of 'APRONS'
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.  They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...

Two Down ... Two To Go!

If you remember back last Christmas, I had a craft tragedy with the loss of my Christmas stockings!  I then began to replace those lost stockings.  I have finally found the time to work on them and have completed the boys stockings.  I feel a little better now.  I still have 3 months until Christmas, so I feel like I'll finish the other two in plenty of time.
These patterns are from a series called "Snow Folk" afghan.  They were part of a set intended to cross stitch onto a blanket along with a little saying "Snow folk melt my heart".  I'll cross stitch the little saying on a piece of fabric to frame and hang over the stockings.  I'll be sure and get some snapshots of the next two stockings and the framed picture when those are completed.

Waiting on Winter 2

The second of my "Waiting on Winter" scarf projects.  I really like this one too.  I may end up making each scarf pattern in several different colors.  With temps in the upper 90's to lower 100's .... I think I have a loooooooooong wait until winter. :(

I'm SO ready for winter!

Winter is my favorite season.  I don't have enough time to list all the reasons why ... there are just TOO many to count!  But, one reason is scarves ... I just love them.  I love wearing them and making them.  I've really been longing for the 35* cold winter nights lately.  I just can't handle this 100* temp with a heat index of 115* and up!!!  I just can't take it!
So, I've decided to prepare for winter by crocheting random scarf patterns.  I collect patterns like some people collect Willow Tree Angles or other knick-knacks.  So, I had plenty to choose from!
This is the first of the ones I decided to try out.  I really like it.  I think it'll be GREAT when the weather finally turns cooler!