Yoga Mat Bag

Last night I finished my yoga mat bag.  Here is the pattern that I used.  It was very easy to make.

I used 2 skeins of the ombre yarn and 1 skein of the lilac yarn.

I took it to my yoga class today and my instructor loved it.  In fact I wasn't sure if I would get back, lol.

Yoga Mat Bag & Earphone Keeper

Here is how far I got with my yoga mat bag yesterday.  Today I finished the actual bag, and now I am working on the strap.  In other yoga news, my 4 year old went to yoga with me today and loved it.  

A few days ago my husband sent me a link on how to keep my earphones from getting tangled or lost while keeping them near my cell phone (I don't like talking with my cell phone to my ear).  The solution was to sew on two buttons and wrap the cord around them.  So I picked up these buttons on clearance for 50 cents and sewed them on.  After using it like this all day, it would have been better to get bigger buttons or to have used 3 buttons.

Friendship Bracelet Class & Yoga Mat Bag

Yesterday I taught a friendship bracelet class at the Wayland Library in MA.  I love how this library looks from the outside.

Here is my class set up before the kids showed up.

There was a 15 kid limit for the class, but I made 18 bracelet kits.  I like to give the kids options.   Because less than 15 kids showed up, they were able to take home an extra kit for a friend or family member.  The girls were amazed at how easy it was to make these complicated looking bracelets.  

Here are my tools / materials.  The screw driver and the knitting needle help to make a hole in the center of the cardboard circle.  The scissors are for cutting out the cardboard circle, add the 17 notches in it, and for cutting the embroidery floss.  The crochet hook is for pulling the threads through the center hole.  For directions on how to make the bracelets, please see my previous post.

This is the bracelet that I made on Monday for the class.

Here is the bracelet that I started making during my class.  The photo was taken at the beach that same afternoon.  It was a busy but fun day for me.  I taught the class in the morning (and had fun), then my family and I went to the beach that afternoon, and that evening I took my oldest son to see the Harry Potter movie at the theater (discount Tuesdays at our theater).

Here are some of the pictures that I took at the beach. 

If you want to see more photos by me, click here.

I started crocheting a yoga mat bag this week.  The photo on the left was taken yesterday at the beach, and the one on the right was taken today at the park.  I love portable crafts.  I'm going to have to hunt down another skein or two of that yarn tomorrow, because it is almost all used up.

Friendship Bracelet Class Tomorrow

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. I am teaching a friendship bracelet class at the Wayland library.  

Here are the 18 bracelet kits that I put together along with the one that I will be demoing on.
I cut out a cardboard circle, then I drew on it with marker. Next put a hole through the center and cut 17 notches around it. I number the notches 1-17. Then fold 8 threads in half and pull through the center hole. Knot the folded side on the back of the cardboard. Put the 16 threads in 16 notches leaving one empty. Count 3 threads from the empty notch and then move that thread to the empty notch. Repeat until you have the size bracelet the you want. Split the remaining thread in half, braid each half and knot the ends. Now you have a bracelet.

Little Mermaid

My 4 year old son was invited to go to his first birthday party this month by a little girl in his class.  She is having a little mermaid party.  When trying to figure out what to get her I realized that she might already have a lot of store bought little mermaid items, so I decided to find a crochet or knitted mermaid pattern.  Last night I started crocheting this little cutie, and I finished her today.  The pattern was really easy.  The pattern ended when her looking like the photo below.  I did a little research into how other people had finished her on ravelry, and my favorite was one where the hair was filled in.  So I filled in the hair, making sure to add some bangs.  I gave her a little hair cut to try and make everything as even as possible.  Then I crochet a little necklace for her, and glued a fake flower in her hair.  Every time I look at her I smile.  I hope that she will be loved in her new home.

A Day At The Beach

Today I took my kids to the beach.  I also took my crocheting.  On Monday I started making this market bag by Bernat (cotton yarn company).  It looks a little crazy right now and it feels a little slow going, but I am putting my trust in the strange pattern (not written like most patterns).  I got the pattern from one of those free paper patterns that you can find in the yarn isles of the craft store.  I hope that it turns out right. 

My oldest son made the sand face on the left.  We left the beach a minute before it started to pour.

I hope that all of you are having a good Summer.

Springtime Coasters

Today I made these 4 Springtime Coasters using cotton yarn.  It was a fairly easy pattern, and I love the look of them.  These would make good gift sets, especially if I pair them with the chrysanthemum hot pads.

Set of 9 Patriotic Chrysanthemum Hot Pads

Between yesterday and today I have finished my Patriotic set of 9 Chrysanthemum hot pads.  It was fun seeing how the 4 different balls of yarn looked when combined with one another.  I've been getting a lot of compliments from different family members over the set that I made for my grandma in May.  I see myself making more of these in the future for gifts.  After making so many of them in a row, I now have the pattern memorized.

Patriotic Chrysanthemum Hot Pads

Between yesterday and today I have finished crocheting 4 more Chrysanthemum hot pads and am 2 rows away from finishing 2 more.  I have 6 of the 9 that I am making as part of my Patriotic set finished. 

I have 2 of these blue ones finished, which is the center of the flower.  The last two rows are in another color.  I wanted to show how pretty it is even before it is turned into a flower, and how it is a circle as well.  The last row of the pattern has you crocheting down 4 rows and back up again.

Flowers 3 ways

This week I have made two chrysanthemum hot pads.  I want to make a Patriotic series of them, which would mean a set of 9 hot pads.  I have a solid blue cotton and a variegated patriotic cotton as well as the solid white and red ones that I used for these two.  With the 4 cottons combined that would mean 9 different hot pads (the variegated one would look strange as the center color to me, so I'm only going to use it as the outer color).  

Earlier this week I bought some 3" origami paper and made these 4 tea bag rosettes using the same paper and the same folds, but with 4 different looks.  I want to place something like a button in the center of them and turn them into either ornaments or gift toppers.

Here is a picture that I took this morning from my garden.

Pincushion, Class Prep, and Soda Tab Chain

Yesterday while my friend and her 2 daughters were over at my house, I showed them how to make a bottle cap pincushion.  One of them was having a few friends for a sleepover tonight and she wanted a simple craft project to do with them.  I wonder if they made some.  

I finished sanding 31 cardboard tubes for my class tomorrow, and I counted all of my soda tabs to make sure that I had enough.  I'm teaching 26 teens and tweens how to make cardboard mailing tube bangles and soda tab bracelets tomorrow.  The tabs in the chick paint can are all the large tabs that I have.  I didn't expect to have that many large ones.

This is a soda tab project that I have been working on.  I think that it looks like a bike chain.

4th of July Weekend

Sunday I finished knitting a 2nd iPhone hoodie, this time with worsted weight yarn.  I like this one better, even though it isn't as pretty.

I also finished sanding the 24 cardboard tubes that I had cut for my bangle class.  This is the parts that I had to peel off before sanding.  A friend came over today while I was sawing a 2nd tube.  She asked to try it, and the next thing I knew the whole tube was sawed.  Wow!  She was enjoying herself.

My in-laws were visiting this weekend, and my mother-in-law asked for help learning how to crochet.  After showing her some basics, she said that her mother, an avid crocheter, wanted to learn how to make a fanciful flower potholder.  She enjoys figuring out patterns on her own.  So I started making the potholder for her last night, and this is how far I got when my in-laws left this morning.  My mother-in-law took it with her unfinished, because it would be easier for her mother to figure out how it was made. I did show my mother-in-law what I did and what needed to come next so that she could relay it on to her mother, plus she can send a picture of the one that I made for her along with this one (to Puerto Rico).  It is strange not finishing a present for someone.

Well it was 4th of July yesterday, and hanging on my door is my plastic bag patriotic wreath.

It uses about 150 plastic bags, including blue newspaper bags.

We went to the beach on Sunday and here are some of the pictures that I took there.

Then Sunday night and Monday morning was my town's County Fair.  

Here are just some of the pictures that I took there (while volunteering to help with the recycling).

My church makes fresh "Holy Donuts" that they sold on Monday.  They are yummy.

My local quilt shop had patriotic quilts on display.

The image on the right is of someone reporting on the 2 mile race and on the parade.

I hope that all of you who celebrate the 4th of July / Independence Day had a great 3 day weekend.