Makeover Monday: 4/29

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 I started this pretty neutral rag rug with the idea of making her 5 feet across.  This was months ago.  Then I got sidetracked, and she sat and sat.  Unfinished and unhappy :(

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I picked her up again this weekend and decided she deserved to be finished- even if she wasn't going to grow as large as I had hoped.  Her "done" size is 32" across, and she seems delighted.  She's ready to leave the nest!

Wednesday's Works

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I had a little lull in orders, so I finished my pretty robin's egg rug.  She is SO soft, and a great size- measuring in at 42" long and 28" wide.  Keep or sell, keep or sell?

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I've also been putting these pretty fabrics together for their debut in sosovintage.  Their pretty spring colors and flowers soothe the soul.

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How about you?  Any works in progress to share?

Wednesday's Works

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Here is the ruffled dot girly basket that I finished this week.  This one is heading off to New Mexico!  I have one more basket to finish, and one more order pending.  Easter basket orders started off slow, but then came in with a bang over the last couple of weeks.  It's hard when Easter comes early I think.  It sneaks up on you!

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I'm also working on an order of 50 of these sweet cream bunnies to be used at a baby shower in April.  Isn't that a cute favor idea?

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I have gathered all of my hay bale fabric and rough cut the 50 covers.  Now I need to do the final trim.  These are scheduled to ship out by the end of the month.

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I feel like there's something else I've been working on, but I forget what I was going to share.  Oh well, just working on life I guess.  That's enough sometimes, isn't it?

Wednesday's Works

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My big beautiful bundle of joy was born this morning at 10am, weighing in at 9 pounds, 6 ounces. 

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I had to move furniture in the living room to have enough room to spread her out for photos, and I still had trouble getting her whole self in the pictures.  All of her ends are woven in, and she's all bundled and wrapped for her journey to NH.  I'll be so happy when she reaches her new home safely!

Makeover Monday: 2/18

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A new customer from Mississippi ordered up a shabby chic style Easter basket.  She wanted shades of pink and cream, in a rose print.  These are the two fabrics she chose.

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Here she is, in all of her ruffly glory, ready to head off to the post office tomorrow.

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Happy Monday, Friends!!

Thursday's Treasure

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A big thank you to Coleen, who took the time to send photos of her stair treads in place... in the middle of her move to the new home no less.  They look fabulous with those white steps and the gray and yellow walls, don't they?!

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And another treasure too exciting to keep to myself.  When I let the cat out yesterday afternoon, I looked down by the pool and this caught my eye.  What the??  My mind took it all in, but it was hard to believe a fox was just curled up and snoozing in the sunshine right in plain view.

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He or she was actually quite lost in dreamland, because I went in and out of the sliding door a couple of times and that didn't even cause a stir.  Finally after I took a couple of photos of the sleeping creature, I made a "psst" sound and it finally looked up at me.  I expected it to be like, "Uh oh, gotta go", but it was more like, "Yes?  Can I help you?"

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I couldn't get Sinatra back in the house at that point, and didn't want my little man to think he needed to defend his territory.  So, I made some more noise and clapped my hands and the lazy fox ambled off into the woods.  It's pretty exciting to stumble upon a wild creature in your own backyard!  Has that ever happened to you?

Wednesday's Works

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Happy Hump Day!  I have begun my latest custom rug order, and I'm so excited about this one.  It will be my largest cotton yarn rug to date- measuring 50" by 106" when complete.  This is what I have so far: 50" by 10".  Just a *little* bit more to go.  You'll probably get to see this in Wednesday posts for at least a couple of weeks.

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Another cat hat - this one bound for Cooper, a furry redhead in Michigan.

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Last cat hat for awhile- this one headed just down the highway to be shared by Lulu and Larry in Warrenton, VA.

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Besides the crocheting, Sophie and I have been working on her class Valentines and a bulletin board at the school.  I have revamped a couple of charm packs for sosovintage, and am finally getting some of my new vintage towel pile photographed and listed.   Busy, busy!

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What have you been working on lately?

Wednesday's Works

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My giant string basket is growing!  So far the base is about 18" wide- going out to almost 20" before starting to go up.

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I finished this natural cream cotton runner in record time.  She is 12" by 48" and ready to head to her new home in Fleetwood, PA!

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What have you been working on this week?

Makeover Monday: 1/21

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The Easter basket I told you about last week is finished!  She is made of four different fabrics, and has not 4, not 6, but EIGHT rows of ruffles.

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At ten and a half inches wide and six inches deep, this baby will hold a bunny's ransom of candy and other treats.  She's ready to head off to Nebraska tomorrow!

Wednesday's Works

Whew! What a busy week it has been. I was so sorry to hear that some of you have been under the weather. Unfortunately, I have to add myself to that list too. I don't have the "itis" as Sophie calls what she had, but I guess I have a cold that really has left me down and out for a couple of days. Here's hoping we are all on the upswing soon!

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My stair tread yarn arrived in the mail pretty quickly, and I have been working at those for a couple of days.  Here they are pictured next to the paint colors for the hall/stairwell.  Looking good!

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We had a change of fabric for the Easter basket, so it will now be made of these fabrics instead of the ones shown on Monday.  I'm looking forward to starting this project very soon.

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I sold a rosey snuggle set the other day, and had a bit of a panic as I needed to remember my pattern!  Fortunately, the old brain is still functioning and I was able to  recall all of the important details.

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Add to this mix a little rug and a giant bowl, and I'll be crocheting away for the foreseeable future.  I love it!  What have you been busy with this week? 

Something New

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I love to make my game night coasters and applique, so for ages I've wanted to try the pattern out with fabric.

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I finally got around to doing it the other night, and I just couldn't stop!  I made these four hotpads while watching a movie on TV.

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Each of these is made from a standard size pillowcase.  They measure about 7" across and are about a half inch thick.

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I like that they provide good table protection, yet they are flexible and kind of dainty looking.  They are machine wash and dry, too.  I should have these up in sosorosey before the day is over.  $10 each makes them an easy choice for a hostess gift, and as always, custom orders are welcome!

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What is next on your list of crafts to try or things to make? 

Wednesday's Works

It's been a busy time at the soso world headquarters!  I've been very fortunate to have just the right amount of work to do- plenty to keep me busy, but not so much as to make me crazy.  Er, crazier.

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The order for these two baby stars came to me via facebook, and I'm so happy to have reconnected with this customer.  These left for Rhode Island yesterday.

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I've been playing around with yarns and hook sizes for the lacy scarf that I love so much.  Finally, I think I have the look and feel I was going for.  I have a horrible time taking scarf photos, but I've got some that will *do*, so I plan to list this soon as a made to order item in sosorosey.

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These jute applique flowers are a custom order for a new customer.  I love the way they turned out- I could see a lovely garland of these made with red ribbons as a festive winter "snowflake" decoration.  I'm not sure what the customer plans to do with them, but I'd love to see the end result!

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In between these crochet projects, I've been busy helping Sophie with her school timeline project and also trying to keep up with the "birthday month from hell".  NINE family birthdays in one month- and the month before Christmas at that.  Tomorrow is a big day.  Thanksgiving AND my baby turns seven years old.  SEVEN!  We're heading up to PA for a weekend of celebrations, so stay tuned for photos :)

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What have you been working on this week?  And for you Americans, how do you plan to spend Thanksgiving this year?

Wednesday's Works

It's a bit dark here for pictures today, but I promised you a photo of my wreath, and here it is.  What's that you say?  It's not circular?  Well, funny you should notice.  Rather than triangular, I prefer to think of her as kind of heart shaped.  She was a labor of love, after all. 

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And let me tell you, I feel fortunate to have anything of any shape at all to show for my efforts.  If you decide to try this project, save yourself the hassle of the "free" wire hanger and go buy some wire.  Even my flimsiest hanger was too unflimsy for me to work with alone.  I needed hubby and his pliers to wrap this baby back together.  Which is why I am shocked that the whole thing didn't bust in the process.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my wreath.  But it was nerve wracking, I tell you!!  This is where working with new, shatterproof glass balls would be a plus.

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Here's another color combo of the "potholders that are too pretty to use as potholders".  I'll be holding off on other color combos for now, since I have an order for 5 of the red/white/green ones to get finished before months end.

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Another thing I played around with this past week: a "tinsel topped" jute nest.  This would make a nice gift bag alternative!  In my spare time I'd like to make one with gold tinsel, too.  (psst: It isn't actually tinsel, but Martha Stewart's new glittery eyelash yarn.  I adore the colors!)

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How are you doing on your goals for the week?  Me, I'm still plugging away at my 600 item sosovintage goal.  The closest I got was 593, then some nice person came along and scooped up a load of towels.  This is just fine with me!  I have a fresh load of towels to list, and I will get to 600 one of these days :)

Wednesday's Works

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When I'm feeling under the weather, I like to "comfort crochet".  This involves snuggling up in my favorite PJs, under my favorite blankets, watching my favorite shows, and crocheting something purely for pleasure.  This lacy scarf is the result of two evenings of comfort crochet... a gorgeous deep periwinkle blue cotton and all mine!

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One of my PTA jobs is *hospitality*.  So, among other things, any time there is a special week, I get to be the person who finds and purchases gifts for the people being recognized.  This week is Custodial Service Employee Week AND School Lunch Week, so I had 11 items to prepare.

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I searched high and low to find something nice and special within our budget ($3-$5), and believe me, it wasn't easy.  These pretty red tealight lanterns jumped out at me in Ikea, though. 

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I made a personalized note for each, and they look super cute.  The next observance isn't until November, and it is just for one person- our school French teacher.  I've been scouting some cute things on Etsy for her gift ;)

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What have you been working on this week?

Thursday's Treasure

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Finally!  I had been wanting to make a jute mat in this midcentury style for AGES.  When I had the time, I didn't have the supplies.  When I had the supplies, I didn't have the time.

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This particular one measures 22" long and 13" wide-  large enough to be a floor mat and small enough to be a coffee table runner.  The beauty, though, is that this mat can be made ANY size, from a long, skinny rectangle to an 8 foot square!

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Crocheted using three, 3-ply strands of heavy weight jute twine, it is super durable, flexible, and reversible.

What more could you hope for in rustic cabin decor? 

Makeover Monday: 7/23

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Remember THIS post about the vintage gingham fabric spool I bought in Pennsylvania?  Well, I took said spool to Moab, and crocheted this coaster/trivet on the way to our rockhounding spot one morning.  I thought it would make something larger, but that whole spool came down to this 7" little thing!  As I often say, determining the amount of fabric needed for a crochet job is a very inexact science!

Makeover Monday: 5/7

A favorite sosorosey customer has come back with a special request- this time for a cotton rug in shades of brown and beige.  I found this yarn for her yesterday, and since it is a double strand rug, we're trying to decide what to do for the other color. 

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I spent some time making swatches last night using this yarn with 3 other brown variations.  This mosaic is the fruits of my labor. 

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The rag rug shown on the bottom right is what I was given for color inspiration.  The variegated brown yarn shown is the 2nd color that I think my customer would like.  The closeup on the top left is the swatch with the variegated brown and the first chosen yarn. 

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The top right of the mosaic shows my three swatches.  The center one is the two yarns I shared with my customer yesterday.  There is some gray in that one that I think most closely matches the inspiration rug.  We'll see which one she picks, and I'll have some rug to share on WIP Wednesday :)

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I don't know about you, but I have a crazy busy week going on here.  Most of it is related to school functions surrounding Teacher Appreciation Week, but I also have a dreaded dental appointment on Thursday, a PTA meeting Thursday night, and out of town visitors on Friday.  I'm very much looking forward to the visit, but I sure wish a cleaning fairy would make an appearance between now and then!  If you see her, send her my way, OK?

Now and Then

Old fashioned goodness with a modern twist!

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Hopefully you can tell now that the new item is a baby bib!  I finally took the time to work out the details of the vision in my head, and I sure hope others find them as cute as I do.

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First, I found and modified an antique bib pattern.  Then, I dug through my collection of vintage buttons to find just the right ones to complement each color.

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It took me several tries to get the "finishing touch" just right.  What I attempted initially was just way too busy.  The bow is simple and sweet, which is exactly the look I was hoping to achieve. 

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The details: Each bib body is made from silky soft 100% mercerized cotton. These can be machine washed in cold water on a gentle cycle, but handwashing is best. Lay flat to dry. Price: $20

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I value your opinions, and would really appreciate hearing your thoughts, questions, and/or suggestions about the design, price, photos, etc. Thanks in advance!