A Farewell To Summer (sort of)

Ahh, finally, back to school!  I always feel slightly mean when I excitedly count down the days until the kids are back in school, but its true.  This year they started a little later than normal, an effort by the district to keep the kids out of very old buildings with no air conditioning, due to the fact that Colorado is quickly becoming a desert. (sort of)  First day of school was Monday, and the high for the day was a whopping 98 degrees...so much for that idea.

We had a great summer!  Had lots of fun here in the city, and still had time to participate in a few Craftster swaps!  I've got a back log of photos of things I made over the summer that I haven't had time to share with y'all, so the next couple of posts will get you caught up on my latest adventures in makin' stuff.

This trio was made for the Sew Something Summery Swap--so much fun to dive in to a sewing themed swap when I still consider myself very much a beginner.  A very simple (and reversible) tote bag, wristlet, and lined zipper purse.

I found some PVC shower curtain in the remnant bin at JoAnn and lined the inside with it.  I didn't write down the measurement of the bag (duh) but it is big enough and designed for a wet swimming suit to be thrown into.  This came out better than expected, and while I didn't have time/will/energy to make more, it is definitely on my list of items to make for the kids for next summer.

 Of course I had to throw in some fancy embroidery to try to make up for the sewing  being so simple.

The center of the flower is all french knots!  Honestly, I was very happy to have a project that would give me the opportunity to make a bazillion of them, is that twisted or what?  Also, any chance to practice satin stitching is a good one, so I used tons of that too!

Ah, I think I'll enjoy the quiet of only have one kid at home for the rest of the afternoon, in the A/C, of course.  Because, back to school may say fall, but around here, mother nature says it going to be 95 degrees today.  Yay summer!

Crochet! Remember that?

I've been super lazy about the blog lately!  Also, had a few minor catastrophic events in my life...#1-had another birthday.  Every year I dislike the number attached even more!  #2-my laptop died!  Ok, this was the real catastrophic event.  I didn't lose anything precious or irreplaceable like family photos or anything, as they are backed up elsewhere, but oh my! the craft info I lost was huge!  So many bookmarks, saved freebie patterns, folders full of pics of finished projects just waiting to be posted to the old bloggy blog....it is an information gathering and organizational nightmare that I haven't had the energy to tackle just yet!

However, I have (as usual) been working on a bazillion projects at once!

I completed my first "granny square" afghan.  Actually, its a lapghan.  It took forever!  Truly, I don't know how people have the will to complete full sized afghans made from tiny squares.  I must have spent four hours just weaving in the ends on the squares, not to mention putting them all together, and there are only thirty six of them!  (I used the single crochet method, the jury is still out on whether or not I'll use that method again).

The squares are called "circle in a square" and work up very quickly once you get the hang of it.  I would sit watching TV and make four or so in a sitting (note to future self--weave in those ends every couple of squares!!!)   Once the squares were sewn together, the blanket still seemed to small so I did a few rounds of double crochet around the edge the make it larger.

I didn't take a final measurement but it fit nicely across my lap.  All in all, this project was a major pain in the butt, but in the end, I think it came out fun and bright because of the color combination, and was absolutely a learning experience!

I've actually been finishing projects lately, so more stuff to come!  Happy Weekend!