Knitted hand warmers - progress

I haven't worked on these in a while, even though I had grand plans to at least get the first one finished over Christmas. With 14 hours in the car (although I did drive half of it), I should have had more than enough time to finish this one up, but I just didn't feel like it. Right now I'm at the point where I'm just about ready to close up the thumb hole (pattern calls for 1.5" opening, but it didn't seem big enough), then just a couple more inches & it'll be done. Hopefully I can get out of this crafting funk I seem to be in, and start working on these again.

Until next time...

An interesting challenge

Here's an interesting challenge from Kristy at Textiles for You: complete 365 items in 2011. I don't really do resolutions most years, they're typically forgotten within a few weeks, whether they're met or not. I was pretty proud of myself in 2009 for not only remembering, but conquering my resolution - to get married. Hard to blow off or forget that one. :)

But back to Kristy's idea. I actually think it's a good one. Sure, 365 items sounds like a lot. A LOT. But thinking about all the little stuff I make, I bet they all add up. One of Kristy's questions was about quilts - do individual blocks count as individual items, or is the finished quilt one item? Personally, I'd say it probably depends on the type of block. Some blocks take a ton of work, and should absolutely count as separate items (and the completed quilt as another since it's a beast of a project in & of itself). But should a nine patch cut into four disappearing nine patch blocks count as four items? Probably not.

So, starting January first, I think I'll start keeping track. I certainly can't promise that I'll be able to make all 365 items, but I can promise to try! Anybody care to join?

Until next time...

Quilting Bee Inspiration

I've been looking at quite a few blocks on Flickr lately, especially stuff I find in the Quilting Bee Blocks group. If you're looking for a bee to join, or some inspiration, it's a good place to start.

Lately, there have been a lot of mosaic/stained glass blocks posted and I'm really loving them all. I'm a big fan of mosaic (I'll have to share pictures of a couple mosaic tables I've made from old fish tank stands), so now I'm really leaning towards the pattern for my month in the String Me Along quilting bee.

The mosaic pattern can be found at Oh, Fransson.

Here are some of the great ones I've found so far through Flickr (pictures should link back the the respective Flickr albums, if I've figured this out correctly):

Okay, this seems to be the only one I can share, so check out my Flickr favorites to see a couple more.

Until next time...

TWT: Praying Mantis

These were taken the same day as the last bee picture, when I seemed to be having some issues with my focus. It also didn't help that as soon as I would get this little guy into focus (using my old-school 35mm K1000), he would charge me. These things really creep me out, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some pictures. These two are the best of the half a roll I shot of it.

Until next time...

ABSS Sew Along - a few more details

I'm still working through all the details for the Amy Butler Style Stitches Sew Along (isn't that a mouthful!), but I'm so excited about the response I'm getting for it! I never expected so many people to be interested, you guys are wonderful!

First of all, I'd really like your input on the process. Make sure if you leave comments with questions or concerns that you've got an e-mail associated with your profile, or leave your e-mail in your comment. If you don't, I don't have any way to get back to you! I can't tell you how many e-mails I've sent to "noreplyblogger" lately trying to respond to comments on the sew along. I hate seeing that & not being able to respond!

So here's what I'm thinking. At the beginning of each month I'll do a quick run down of the pattern we'll be working on for the month. The plan is to just work through the book in order, so I'm sure everybody can figure out where we are, but I'll do it just as a reminder. If anybody has questions about the pattern, feel free to e-mail them to me & I'll answer what I can, and share the questions in a later post (anonymously, if you prefer) so we can get input from everybody who's participating.

Throughout the month I'll share any questions I may have received, updates on my progress, and we can have a linky party or two for you to share your progress.

At the end of each month, we'll have a linky party so you can share your finished project. I know some people may want to work the book out of order, or work ahead, so I'm okay with people linking up to the project even if they didn't make it during the designated month. Since the book hasn't been out too long, it's not like we're going to be dealing with year's old projects here. :)

Also at the end of each month, we'll do a drawing from all those who participated. I don't know exactly what the prizes will be yet (Still working on that part! If you'd like to sponsor a month, shoot me an e-mail!), but they'll be good. Then, at the end of the year, we'll do a sort of grand prize drawing from everybody who participated each month. Again, no definite details yet, but I'll share as soon as I can.

I would like as many people to participate as possible, and know that not everybody will be able to participate each month. No problem! Just jump in on the months you are able.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, this is still sort of a work in progress, but I promise to have things ironed out a little better by the time we start. Thinking of this idea right in the midst of the holiday season wasn't exactly the best timing on my part. :)

So, I look forward to hearing what you've got to think about this, and I'm really looking forward to getting started after the new year.

OH!!! I nearly forgot to mention - to kick this whole thing off, I'll be doing a drawing at the beginning of January for a copy of the Style Stitches book! So put it on your wish list if you don't have it already, but if you don't get it, you'll have at least one more chance when we get started!

Until next time...

UPDATE! You can now grab a button for the Sew Along! Let me know if it doesn't work for you, it's my first time. You'll have to go to the upper right corner of the blog, I can't get it to post here.

Disclaimer: This sew along is not sponsored by Amy Butler, at least not yet, but you just never know what might happen! :)

I just had a crazy idea...

Bear with me for a few moments here, but I just had what might be a really crazy idea.

Does anybody else have this awesome book:

And is anybody else having troubles getting started working through it? I can't be the only one, please tell me I'm not the only one!

I love pretty much all the bags in this book (some are a more...love for someone else, but not necessarily for me...type of feeling), and really want to work my way through it. So I was thinking it might be fun to have a sort of sew-along. There are twelve bags (yes, I know it says 26, but those are just size/strap variations, for the most part...don't get me started on that part), so we could work through one a month, starting in January. I realize that may be super slow for some of you, but I know most of us have lives outside of crafting too (GASP!), so it seems like a decent pace to not overwhelm & still give time for other projects as well.

So, tell me - am I crazy, or is this something any of you would be interested in doing? And if you know others who might be interested (or if you know somebody who's already doing this, and I'm WAY behind the times) feel free to send them over here. We're all friends. :)

Until next time...

Sew & Tell: More Keyka Lou City Totes

I found Sew & Tell over at Amylouwho (she's the one with the awesome bunting quilt block!) a few weeks ago now, but haven't been able to get anything finished up to share. And when she announced last week that Sew & Tell will be taking a holiday break, I was bummed because I wouldn't be able to share anything until after the first of the year. Of course, the majority of my projects right now are gift-related & can't be shared anyways, but I was bummed all the same.

I've had pieces cut out for this new City Tote for a couple weeks now, but haven't been able to find much time to sew, so I was pretty happy to get some work done on it when we got home from our Thanksgiving trip Sunday night. I was even happier when I was able to get it finished up!

It's hard to get decent pictures when I'm never home in daylight hours during the week, so please excuse the picture quality. :)

The outside of this one is made with corduroy & is super soft. I absolutely love it.

I didn't want to use the cord on the inside, so I used this fun fabric instead. I know it's not exactly matchy-matchy, but it looks pretty darn cute. The flower shape are similar to those on the outside & the blues match, so it pulls it together pretty well. I also use this fabric on the underside of the strap (you can kind of see it in the top picture) so it doesn't hang all wonky when carried.

Here's a better shot of all three fabrics. I promise the browns match better than what it looks like here.

And here's another City Tote that's been done for a couple weeks, but I wanted to share quick as well.

My friend is a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan, so she absolutely loves the inside of the purse (inside of the outside pocket is Chiefs too). The day she got it, she had to show everyone in the office the inside of her purse. It was so funny, the Chiefs had just had a pretty bad loss the day before, so one of the ladies asked if it was on the inside because she was ashamed of the Chiefs.

Head on over to Amylouwho to check out the rest of the Sew & Tell items!

(Oh, and a quick update on the hand warmers - I'm about 1/2 inch from the thumb hole on the first one, so it's 7.5 inches long! Woo-hoo! I promise I'll try to get a picture of it this weekend to share.)

Until next time...

Say hello to America's next top model...

Isn't she beautiful! :)

Nick wasn't willing to model the scarf, and we all know what happens when I take pictures on the surface of the sun...er...in the bathroom. Besides, she's a much cuter model than me.

I finished up this scarf (knit) over the weekend. It's one I started last winter, but it got put aside for other projects. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft Eco, I love this stuff & picked up a ton of it on clearance at one point last year. You can't tell from the picture, but it's got this kind of blueish-purple sheen to it, odd, but really pretty. It was knitted really loose (US 16 needles), so it's fairly light, but still plenty warm. I absolutely love it!

No pictures, but I'm making progress on the hand warmers too. Up to about three inches, and getting much easier & quicker the more I work on it. I'm almost half way to the thumb holes! I'll be bringing it with me when we visit family this weekend, so hopefully I can get quite a bit done in the car & evenings. Who knows, maybe I'll have a completed pair by the time we get back!

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving! I know we have a lot to be thankful for this year, I hope you do as well!

Until next time...

TWT: Raw(e) - One(5)

The Raw(e) challenge from Sailor & Company is a little different this week: One(5) - go to your first photo folder, then post the fifth picture in that folder.

As usual no editing is allowed, although if the picture is already edited, I'm not sure if it qualifies. And I have a big, huge, fat disclaimer - I DID NOT take this photo. Umm...when you see it, it's going to be pretty obvious, but still, I gotta add that. It was taken by the amazing guys at Lemonlime Photo (seriously, if you need a photographer in the KC area, go with these guys!), and I'm pretty sure it was Neal who actually took the picture, although I can't say for sure.

So here's my One(5) photo:

This is my sister & I from my wedding. I promise I'm not naked. :)

Can I just say that I'm ready for spring after looking at this? The bright green grass & lovely redbud trees... Spring, please come quickly this year.

Oh, and I'm not officially entering this in the Raw(e) contest this week since I didn't take the photo, but I still thought it was fun & would share anyways. All the same, make sure you go check out the rest of the pictures!

Until next time...

Progress: knitted hand warmers

I didn't get terribly far on the hand warmers this weekend, only about 1.5 inches done on the first one, but it's progress! I'm much slower with knit than crochet, and even slower working with such small needles (US size 3), not to mention four of them!

I did finally get a handle on holding everything while I was working. It's still awkward, but not impossible. Thanks to those of you who let me know it would get easier to handle the further along I got. It's definitely true!

You can see the ribbing better here, and the color is a little more true.

(Our table sure is shiny!)

I'm loving this green & wish the scarf I'm working on were the same color. Maybe I'll have to pick up some more when I get these finished up so I can make a scarf to match. I'll definitely use much bigger needles if I decide to do that!

I think one of the hardest things about these is knowing that even when I get one finished up, I'll still have to do another before I can actually use them! But I'm excited to get them finished, so hopefully it'll continue to be a good motivator.

Until next time...

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: November 14

Yes, you read that correctly, I'm finally participating in a Sunday Scavenger hunt again! I've been trying every single week, but it just hasn't happened for one reason or another. Make sure you head over to Ramblings & Photos to check out the rest of the pictures.

1. Self-Portorait - I actually took this one for the October Photo Hunt Challenge, which I ended up not being able to complete. We dressed up at work the Thursday before Halloween, so while this is pretty much regular clothes for me, it was also my Halloween Costume.

2. Handmade - This is the bag my swap partner made for me for the Sew, Mama, Sew bag swap. I've been meaning to share pictures of it, so this seemed like a perfect time. I thought it was funny that we ended up making a fairly similar shaped bag, especially after all the issues I had with that darn gusset. The gusset & straps are made with a sort of leather fabric, Sharon said she thought it was a very thin piece of leather attached to fabric, but beyond that I don't know anything about it, except that it's awesome. Sharon did an absolutely fantastic job with this! I just LOVE it.

3. Orange

4. Candle - Ummm...yes, my birthday cupcake is still sitting out on our table. I can't bring myself to put it away. So, now it's a happy Thanksgiving cupcake. Or something.

5. Traffic sign or signal

Until next time...

Can someone please tell me...

How in the world am I supposed to hold four needles at once?!

It seems like I just start to get it handled, and then I'm at the end of the needle I'm working off & it gets awkward again.

Yes, I really should be working on Christmas gifts, but I decided to go ahead & get started on the hand warmers instead. Hopefully I'll have some good progress to report by the end of the day!

Until next time...

Knitted hand warmers

Since I shared my project list the other day, I've gotten a pretty good response that a few of you have found projects you'd like to share as well. I did end up adding a few things to it since then, but am trying to decide if going forward I'll keep adding to the same list (it is nice to keep them all in one central list), or just tag everything the same so it'll so up on that handy Project List link at the top of the blog. My thought is that many posts with individual links end up being similar to all the individual e-mails I used to send myself, which is how I used to end up losing track of stuff I wanted to make. Maybe I'll just do a weekly list...

Anyways, today I found a pattern for knitted hand warmers, and I'm sure there are plenty of other similar patterns out there, but this is something I really want to make this year. I was just telling Nick last week that I want to get/make some for when we go skiing, since I always struggle with trying to keep my gloves tucked into my jacket, and this would help solve the problem of cold wrists. So maybe it's one of my to-do projects that I'll actually get around to working on sooner, rather than later. Maybe. Hopefully.

The thought of working on multiple double-ended needles scares me, but I'm willing to pick some up & give it a try. I guess I'll have a need for the next Michael's coupon that comes my way.

Until next time...

I could have kissed the mailman yesterday

Not a single bill, and two very good packages for me!

First was a Nicole Mallalieu Belle bag sewing pattern that I was lucky enough to win from Sara over at Sew Sweetness. And speaking of sweet, Sara is giving away one pattern every Friday from now until Christmas! Make sure you check it out tomorrow to find out the winner from last week & enter to win this week's pattern. I can't wait to see what she's got in store for the coming weeks! I'm just bummed I won't be able to win any of the upcoming giveaways, because I just know they'll be good!

The other was a fantastic bag of scraps I won in an ebay auction last week. I'm totally in love with the Heather Ross Lightning Bug fabric, so I was really excited to get this.

My favorite are the goldfish at the top & the little toadstools towards the bottom. At first I was disappointed when I opened it because I thought it was supposed to include some of the bags of fish, but when I double-checked the listing, I realized it wasn't supposed to be included after all, so I was back to just being excited. These are all some pretty good sized scraps too, so I'll need to decide what I want to do with them.

Now, if I could just get my hands on some gnomes & bags of fish...I guess Christmas is coming...too bad they cost an arm and a leg, each!

Until next time...

Project List

I've been e-mailing random projects & tutorials to myself on a regular basis for...oh...months & months, but I realized they just get lost in my e-mail & I have a tendency to never look at them again. So I thought that maybe if I keep them nice & organized here, I might actually remember to do some of the projects. Plus, maybe you'll find some fun projects you'd like to try, and maybe some you've seen before & have forgotten about too. I mean, come on, I can't be the only one who has this problem! :)

I'll keep updating this list with new projects & hopefully as I complete them, I can also include links to my finished projects. Lofty goals, me thinks. For now I'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum, but if you know me at all (or have been a reader for, oh, say a day!) you'll know I'm a bit of a rambler. See, here I go again...

So, let's get this party started:

Fat Quarter Handbag from Sew, Mama, Sew!

Zipper Bag from Everywhere Orange

Printed Key Fobs from Create & Delegate

Modge Podge Screen Printing from Craftgrrl (and about a hundred other places, but this is the link I kept)

Milkmaid Skirt from Crafterhours

Ruby Lou Doll from Sew Much Ado

Circle Skirt from Made

Penelope Pleated Purse from I Still Love You

Cute Boxy Pouch from A New Creation

Gathered Clutch from Noodlehead

Candy Corn Bracelet from Epbot

Crochet Yoda from Happy Together

Triangular Pouch from Innocentia

Easy Bias Tape Cutting Method from Stop Staring and Start Sewing

Crazy Nine-Patch Quilt from Oh, Fransson!

Hexie Caddy from Penny's Hands

Sweater Sling Purse from Make It and Love It

Reversible Bag from Very Purple Person

Pleated Tote from Artsy Crafty Babe

Mug Rug from That Girl...That Quilt (guesting at Stash Manicure)

Phoebe Bag from Artsy Crafty Babe

Hmmm...now that I compile the list, it doesn't seem nearly as long as I remember, surely I'm missing a few! I need to skim through my patterns too & add these to the list since I think seeing everything listed out may just be the kick in the pants I need to get in gear.

If you got a favorite pattern or tutorial or want to share your crafting to do list, feel free to leave a comment & share! I'd love to see your ideas!

Oh, and you can easily find this list again if you visit the blog & click on the "Project List" at the top of the page!

Until next time...

String Me Along - Quilting Bee

Well, I suppose it was bound to happen - I've signed up for my first online quilting bee. It doesn't start until January, and runs for 17 months, skipping December for the holidays, so 16 blocks total. Having to make a different block each month doesn't sound like too much to handle, so I'm really looking forward to this. It'll be fun to work with different fabrics & patterns as well, so less of the boredom I sometimes face when I work on the same sort of project or fabric for too long.

I think the hard part will be deciding what fabric I want to use & what sort of block I would like made. Fortunately (and unfortunately!) I have plenty of time to decide since my month isn't until February 2012. Yes, that's right, over a year from now! Who know's what I might want by then! I've been thinking that maybe I'll start picking up fat quarter & scrap fabrics here & there, and cutting them into different size/shape "scraps" to put into separate baggies. Then when my time comes around, hopefully I'll have enough fabric for each block without having to think about it too much at the last minute. We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I'll also be working on finding & saving all kinds of inspiration so I can get an idea of what sort of block I'd like to ask for. My first thought is to ask for any kind of a wonky block, since I prefer the look over some more "traditional" quilt patterns, but we'll see what else I think of over the next year. I have considered asking each person to make their favorite pattern, but that may be a little too random (and not the good kind!) to work.

One block that has been stuck in my head since I first saw it is this one from Amy at amylouwho. How stinkin' adorable is this?

Seriously, I had to scour every sewing/quilting/crafting blog I had in my reader this morning so I could find this again. I just simply couldn't remember where I'd seen it & knew I just had to find it again to be able to share it. I absolutely adore this block. I also really like her Drunk Love in a Log Cabin blocks, which are definitely high of my list of the sort of blocks I would like.

While you're checking those out, make sure you take a look around, Amy has so many other great projects. I'm hoping to be able to share something for her weekly Sew & Tell sometime soon.

I plan on sharing the entire 17 month process & all the blocks I get to sew, so stay tuned for all that! In some ways I wish it would go ahead & start right now, but I also know how far behind I already am on Christmas stuff (have I mentioned I've barely started my holiday sewing? Oops...). Even Nick commented the other day that we need to start thinking about Christmas stuff, and when I'm not leaps and bounds ahead of him on something like this, we're in trouble.

Until next time...

TWT - another bee picture

I took this one towards the end of this summer when I was trying to use up a roll of film. Yes, a ROLL of film. Old-school, I know.

I think my eyes need to be checked though, most of the rest of the pictures on the roll were a little on the blurry side. I do really like how the sun is shining off his (her?) little wings here though, so I'm pretty fond of this shot.

I'm sharing this picture over at Sailor & Company for the Raw(e) "little" challenge. Go check out the rest of the "little" pictures!

Until next time...

Biking

We often talk about wanting to be able to ride our bikes, but to do so would mean we have to leave Raven at home or find a way for her to tag along without getting all tangled up in the bikes while we ride. Nick usually says he thinks he could handle her leash while he rides (after the Biking Incident of 2006, I'm not even close to comfortable with that), but I always talk him out of it. It's just too dangerous. I also worry about her being able to keep up for the entire ride. Sure, she can walk the five miles, but I'm not certain she could run it all now since she's not used to it. So let me tell you, if I thought she would actually be able to sit still, this little bad boy would be right up my alley:

How totally awesome is that? Yes, so awesome, that I just actually uttered the words "totally awesome." :) And the best part is, if you head over to Madsen & share a link, you too can be entered to win one. I know I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Until next time...

My latest obsession

I think I've mentioned before that I go in spurts with different projects, so even though I've got a growing list of bags/purses to make for Christmas gift requests, I'm going to take a break from making bags. I'll probably put it off just long enough to be totally stressed about getting them all done in time for the holidays, but that's just how I work, so I'll deal with it.

Anyways, back to my newest obsession - quilting, or at the very least, patchwork. It's been on my mind for a bit lately, since I've got a handful of fabrics to use for a Christmas gift for a particular person. I was originally trying to plan on making multiple items so I could use all the fabrics, but then decided it would be fun to incorporate them all into one patchwork item.

I've also had my eyes open for an I-spy swap after seeing tons of great fabrics at the little quilt shop I found in my town (did I mention they've been there three years & I just found then about a month or two ago?!). Imagine my delight when Care at Obsessively Stitching announced a new swap last week! Of course I jumped on the opportunity & finished cutting my squares last night. I absolutely can't wait to get my swap fabrics back in the mail! Thankfully I'm a little ahead of the game this time (unlike the bag swap when my partner & I both mailed our bags a day late), squares aren't due to Care until November 10th, but I didn't want to waste any time.

Seriously, how cute are these?! Please excuse the less-than-perfect photos, it was dark last night when I finished cutting.

I think the elephants playing croquet (top left in the bottom photo) are my favorite, but I'm pretty partial to all these "vintage" fabrics the quilt shop is carrying lately. And can you see the little sewing machine "button" in the one on the lower right? Adorable! That fabric was fun because most of the squares ended up with different "buttons" on them.

I won't be able to share the other patchwork/quilting project until after Christmas, but I'll definitely share the other I-spy swap squares I get!

Until next time...

Gussie bag - final bag swap version

Oh, I'm so excited about this! I'm so glad I stuck with this bag & didn't give up & resort to another pattern, I'm just loving how it turned out. There seems to be an extra bit of satisfaction from the fact that while this pattern probably isn't ground-breaking in its originality, it did come straight from my mind, not from a pattern I have purchased.

And now that my partner has received her bag, I present to you, the Gussie bag!

Isn't it pretty?! While this fabric probably isn't one I would have normally picked up, I absolutely fell in love with it the more I worked with it. It's a perfect blend of fall colors.

As I was working on getting the pattern pieces cut out, I tried to decide what I wanted to do for the front pocket. On the first versions of the bag (I still have a third one I haven't shared yet) as I was working on the pattern, I embroidered a little something on the front to make it a little less plain. I knew I couldn't embroider on this one because the pattern was just too busy for it, but I also knew I wanted to do something to break up the pattern on the front side (the back is all the print fabric, I forgot to take pictures of that).

I toyed around with the idea of making the front panel all out of the brown interior fabric, or making the center pocket (that wide panel on the front is split into three pockets) the print material, or trying to appliqué a piece from the print onto the panel (which with this print would have been really difficult), then though of just putting a band of the print across a brown panel. I liked that last idea best, but thought it might look a little out of place, until I remembered the gathered clutch from Noodlehead that everybody has been doing lately. A-ha!!! I could make the brown part gathered or pleated, then add the print piece as a band across it! I remembered that at one point my swap partner had mentioned she liked pleats on bags, so it was a win-win situation. I quickly cut out a new front panel (seriously, this was a last-minute, game-time decision after everything was already cut out), adding about four inches to the width, then tried my hand at gathering. It took a couple tries, and I wish I had added more than four inches, but overall, I love how it turned out. It breaks up the pattern on the front of the bag while still adding to the overall look of the bag.

Here's a closeup of the gathers. Like I said, I wish I had added more to the width of the piece so it could have been gathered more. But I do still think it came out nicely.

The inside has another full panel that was split into two pockets.

On another trial version of this purse (the one I haven't share yet, it's wider than the first two I showed), I had yet another panel pocket on the inside that wasn't split at all. For me it's perfect because I like to keep receipts & other papers separated in my purse, and the pocket keeps them from getting all crumpled & lost at the bottom of the purse.

And here's my lovely gusset on this version. I opted not to do the bias tape method (the one with embroidered flowers), and somehow managed to get the gusset to turn out nice & crisp, unlike the very first one (the one with the embroidered heart).

I'm telling you, I don't think I could have been happier with how this turned out! I'm toying around with the idea of making a tutorial and/or a pattern for this, but the thought of all the pictures & explanation that would be needed make me think I'll probably push that aside if I'm being honest with myself. Right now, with the exception of one freezer paper stencil piece (with a few notes on it), the entire pattern is just in my head. Trying to sufficiently explain some of the steps could be difficult, even if the overall construction of the purse isn't terribly hard. I'll admit, attaching the gusset will certainly try your patience, but I think it's all worth it in the end. At the very least, I'll add this pattern to my list available for custom order, so just shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment (make sure your e-mail address is attached to your profile, or you include it in your comment!) if you're interested.

Oh, and if you really, really want a pattern or tutorial for this, just let me know. If enough people want it (seriously, it would probably only take a few), I'll be much more likely to take the time to do it. I have to tell you, while I have always fully respected people charging for their patterns before, I have a whole new understanding for it & can appreciate it even more when they offer free patterns & tutorials. When it comes to charging for patterns, I think Rae explained it best when she talked about her Bonsai Bag pattern.

Until next time...

TWT - Sunset

One of the items for the October Photo Hunt Challenge is your best photo taken October 23. I haven't been doing a very good job taking pictures this month, but figured that while I can make up any of the other ones at the end of the month, this was one I wouldn't have the chance to make up!

Nick & I went to a movie Saturday night, and since I wasn't smart enough to grab my camera (which is surprising, considering how much I was kicking myself all week for not having a camera with me & missing all sorts of photo opportunities), and we saw one of the most amazing sunsets on our way in to town. These are all taken with my cell phone, and half of them while we were driving (Nick was driving!).

The sky was a bit more pink than they look in these pictures, but otherwise it looked like the sky was just on fire! I'm actually fairly happy with how these turned out, considering I was using my (non-iphone - seriously, those things seem to take amazing pictures!) cell phone. Not sure yet which one I'll actually use for the official photo hunt picture, probably one of the last three.

Other news - I should be able to share the finished Gussie bag this weekend! I'm just waiting for my swap partner to get it so I don't ruin the surprise, but I've got the post all written up & ready to go! I can't wait to share how it turned out, I was totally in love with it, and kind of wish I didn't have to send it off! But I know Sharon will love it, so it's alright.

Until next time...

TWT - Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park elk

More this week from our trip to Colorado July 2008.

We saw lots of elk while we were out there, but this guy was just chilling right off the road.

I'm not certain what's up with the fuzziness in these photos, they were taken with my manual 35mm, so I probably had something set funny. I think I may have had the doubler on too, which can mess with stuff when it's not super close up. Unfortunately one of the major problems with shooting film is you (obviously) can't see the photo right away, so can't correct the shot right away. I still love these shots, even though I wish they'd been a bit more crisp. Lessons learned, and all that.

Until next time...