The Coop

We have chickens!!!  My BFF, Brad, and I decided to raise a few chickens this year to see if we could get a nice "crop" of eggs and it was only this week that we were able to determine which of them were hens and which were roosters.  Turns out that we have 2 of each!  Today we were able to settle on names!

This will be our full size rooster, we decided to call him Liza (the drag queen). However, I keep wanting to call him, Cher.

This is the Bantam rooster whom we decided to call Clay Aiken.

This is the Bantam hen and although I was tempted to call her Kathy Griffin, we all decided on Reba instead.

And this will be our full size hen, we went round and round with what we should call her... she is a bit of a diva.... the name had to fit.  So we decided on Martha Stewart, who keeps trying to escape from jail, the coop.  :-)

The chickens have been growing like weeds so this week was crunch time to get the coop built.  The hubbs (who happens to be the handiest person I know) just happened to be out of town this week for work so Brad and I were left to our own devices.  Brad is handy, but he's not my hubbs (no offense Brad), and me...  well, I am definitely a danger to myself and others when in the company of sharp objects or power tools.  So I thought, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we would never be able to pull this off.  Well, guess who was wrong!!!!  WOOHOO!  We finished it last night and the chickens are all cozy in their new house.   Now, keep in mind that our goal was to make a functional chicken coop and pen that cost us little to no money.  Which means that it isn't the prettiest coop ever made, but it is in fact functional!!!  Equipped with 2 large access doors and 3 nest doors to access the eggs.  We reused a dresser hutch, old tree branches and all of the wood that we could accumulate between the 2 of us.

Needless to say, we are feeling pretty tough today!!! And here is a "snapshot" of how the pictures turn out when a 6 year old is behind the camera :-)

This one happens to be my favorite from the bunch.

Until next time, happy coop building!!!

Crocheted Blanket

You know those leftover balls of yarn that are too big to throw away and too small to do anything with??

Well, I am on a quest to find many uses for such balls.  I am a big fan of tying them end to end and just winding them into a infinitely growing ball of scrap yarn.

Years ago I used that ball to knit a knitting needle case, it was just a coincidence that all of the body colors matched.  Then I picked a contrasting color to crochet the edges and sew the top stitching.

A few months ago I was drooling over Miss James' Bleubird Vintage blog, and I noticed a crocheted blanket that I was instantly smitten over.  (If you look through this post, find the picture of her and her groom sitting on a bed, check out the blanket).  I thought that this would be the perfect project for the scrap yarn! So I dug out all of the "small balls" that I have been collecting and started tying them together and rolling them all into balls.

I think I wound up with 6-8 gigantic balls of yarn.

I intended for this blanket to go on the back of the couch, so I chained what looked like a good length and started crocheting.  This is a real simple DC, Ch grid pattern.  The only catch is that your DC will go over the CH from the previous row.  

I finally got it done and I didn't intend for it to be this big, but it dang near fits on my king size bed!!

 Since it is so large, I'm not sure where it will end up.  I love how it turned out and love the fact that it didn't cost me anything to make!!!  My next crochet "adventure" is going to be copying this Anthropologie blanket.  I have a bunch of crocheted flowers that I have made over the years that I think I am going to use to make a throw similar to this guy.

Until next time, Happy Crocheting!

Quilt Market

Here are the highlights from the Quilt Market.

A quilt by Tula Pink.

Tula Pink and I.

This is me sitting in Anna Maria Horner's booth.  I did get a chance to have a conversation with her, but she was talking to others when we went back for a picture.

Amy Butler's booth.

Amy Butler and I.

Melody Miller in her booth with her cute designs.

And today at Urban Arts + Crafts, we hosted a book signing with the authors of One Yard Wonders, Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.  They were super nice and we all had a blast with them.

That's it for now, hopefully I will have some cute projects finished to post soon.  Until then, happy crafting!

Quilt Market

Since I have been back from my Mom's surprise birthday party, I have been preparing for one thing....  The International Quilt Market!!

This year my boss let me tag along to scope out new fabrics and to meet some of the designers.  I had an absolute blast!!  I had a limit amount of time there, so I didn't take any pictures.  I know... completely unlike me, however, my boss, Karen, snapped a few.  I will definitely share as soon as I get my hands on those :-)

In preparation for the show, I was busy making "blog cards".  Sort of like business cards but I'm not really selling anything, so they are designed to draw a little attention to my blogg-a-roo and maybe get my name out there... a little.

I also thought that this was the perfect occasion to make a new bag.  I started out with a basic-bag-with-flap idea that turned into a backpack that then turned into a wide-over-the-shoulder-tote.  I made up my own "pattern" and just went with it.  It is a pretty basic 4 sided tote bag, full lined.  I used my signature natural linen and a neutral chevron printed cotton duck.  

I made 2 pleated pockets on the inside, which started out to be one full side of lining that I cut down to be "appliqued" patch pockets.  I pleated them on a whim and love how they turned out.  Also, because I had originally intended them to be one entire side of the lining, 3 sides of the "pocket patch" had raw edges.  So instead of messing around with turning the edges under, I dug in my drawer and pulled out a coordinating bias tape that I used to encase the raw edges which ended up giving the bag a more finished look.  It turned out great and was the perfect size for all of the brochures and handouts!!!

 I have a little more time now to finish up a HUGE project that I have been working on.  I also have a few small projects in mind to get started on.  Until next time, happy sewing!