Afghan in scarps

I started a new afghan about three days ago that is made up of scraps of yarn. I have a lot of leftover yarn and need to use it up. This is such a pretty design and just what I needed. Lets see how it turns out. Got over half of the flowers crocheted so far, and they are soooo pretty. Can't wait to see if its as pretty as the picture. Got the pattern in my new "Crochet World" magazine.

Memories

Today is a very sad day for me. My daughter passed away a year ago. I just spoke to my wonderful grand-daughter, Victoria, that will be 18 in a few days. She is also graduating from high school in, as she told me, 23 days. She has earned a Certificate for Sous Chef, Fry Cook and getting one for Pastry Chef from the vo-tech there too as well as that coveted high school diploma. She got a scholarship to go to Culinary School but she really does not want to attend college at this time. It has been very hard on her this past year without her Mom. They were more like "best friends" than Mother Daughter. Whatever she wants to do is what she should be allowed to do. The option is always open to come stay with Grandma. I know its cold in Pennsylvania after the heat of Florida. I owned several restaurants and love to cook. So I guess she is more like Grandma than I thought. She really likes the Pastry Chef part. Creativity is in her blood.

My Steph was a spitting image of me. I always told her to take a good look at me and she could see herself at my age. She was bi-polar. It was a heartache to see what she went thru from day to day. The mood swings, the nighmares, the depression, the highs, the lows. The drama was way too much sometimes. She was afraid of so many things and loved so many things. She imagined things that were not there and people were threatening her when no one was there. She heard people talking about her and she would cry. Then there was the happy Steph that loved the beach, spending the day with her daughter doing girly things. She loved to get her nails done and her hair. She collected glass and swans of all kinds. She loved beautiful clothes and the sunshine. She loved coming to the restaurant to get some of "Moms great food". She loved to eat out and have people wait on her. She always said she was a princess. She was named after the Princess Stephanie. The meds were another thing. One to keep her lithium level, one for this and one for that and then one to help her sleep. Seraquil was that one and that is what killed her. One of the side effects is death so why in Gods name would any doctor prescribe something that can potentially kill a person. Her death certificate says "accidental overdose" and what they think happened was she had taken her meds and forgot that she had taken them and took them again. She had twice as much in her system as she should have. I can see that happening. Her mind was like swiss cheese to remember anything.

She came to Pennsylvania to see me and loved the camp where we were and she loved having Mom cook for her everyday. I loved having her here. I made her a new doll with her purple dress for her bed while she was here.

She is gone now but she will live forever in my heart and in my memories. She is with her Dad and her Grandma that she loved so much.

New Listings

I have created three new bags for my Artfire site. The first is a navy blue background with tiny flowers.This material I acquired in 8" wide strips and tried my hand at quilting my own fabric in an abstract design. I used only my sewing machine and I think it turned out really well. The band is a hot pink corduroy that I wanted to use up. It was left from a speccial order item. At the last minute I decide that it needed something more so I appliqued a flower on the outside with a button sewn on for the center. I am not very good at artistry but I drew a petal the way I wanted it and then traced around it for seven total petals. I used Heat N Bond Ultra Hold to keep it on.

The second bag is a piece of outdoor fabric I had left from cushions that I made for patio furniture as a special order. Perfect for a beach bag! I used a yummy green pansy print for the outside. Lots of room and long straps. Great to keep those wet towels off the floorboards or the seat of your car. Will hold two huge beach towels and two swimsuits. Plus lotion and whatever else.

The third bag is a tote made from strips of fabric that I wanted to use up. The inside is a beautiful green print with the pockets matching the handles. The top of the bag is scalloped just because its cute. Will hold lots of things including books.

I had a lot of fun creating these. Now I am making some more cosmetic bags for my Craft Show.

Spring Bloom Craft Show

I sat up last evening for the Craft show today. It was such a beautiful day today that I really did not expect a lot of visitors. Spring Shows are so unpredictable. We had a descent crown and because I have done the shows so many years, I have a lot of return customers that know that I am going to be there and come to get what they need from me. Sold lots of dishrags, soy candles, toaster covers, clothspin bags, and towels. You never know what the people are looking for. I did get two orders for coffee maker covers. Of course I do not have any made because there are so many different sizes. Overall it was a fairly good show. Still down from last year but not bad. I look for the shows to get better as the year goes on. Now more crocheting to get done of dishrags and scrubbies too.

Artfire Studio

I spent part of yesterday loading my studio with doll clotes and accessories. I will be spending most of today doing the same thing. I have put all the doll things on sale and its really a good deal. I did not make these items but they are handmade. Cute for doll clothes. If your child changes her babies clothes often then this is the place for inexpensive clothes for her or him. Most fit the 18" "American Girl" doll or the 15" Twins or Bitty Baby. There are a few "Cabbage Patch" items. I am listing lots of shoes that are not handmade but available at reasonable prices. Also sleeping bags that can be used to fit most any size doll up to an 18" doll. The picture taking is not so bad but lots of them because there are so many items and only one of each item. The discription is the worse for me. I can look at it and feel it but to discribe it in writing is another thing. If I do not get it right then just email me and I will try to answer any questions that anyone has.