Crochet ba-bay!

We have been pinching pennies like no one's business lately.  My hubby is out of work with a broken back (for real) and we are living on only my income until he gets back to work.  A few weeks ago I received two baby shower invitations, each to be held a few days apart.  I needed to come up with something for each that was inexpensive and that I could make myself to save money.  So for the baby due the soonest, I decided to make a baby blanket.  I searched Lion Brand's website (www.lionbrand.com) for a pattern that was easy and didn't require a lot of expensive yarn.  I decided on pattern number #L0685.  I then looked at the craft store ads and found the yarn on sale for 3/$9 at AC Moore.  Woo Hoo.  I made it a bit bigger than the pattern called for, so it required four balls of yarn instead of three.  A whopping $12 since the pattern was free and I already have a large collection of needles. The only other adjustment to the pattern I made was the edging.  I ran two rows of single crochet around the edge instead of doing the picot edging.  That was just my personal preference.

The yarn was very colorful and it was perfect for the mom in mind.  She is a girl who wears lots of color and has the greatest shoe wardrobe (don't know what that has to do with it, but I always covet her shoes!).

I pumped this sucker out in one week.  The only other baby blanket I ever made took me five months to make, so this was almost miraculous.  I will say that I had to take pain meds to get through it because of my wicked painful tendonitis, but the result was worth it.  Happily, mom and dad loved it and mom said that she may not let go of it to let the baby use it!  Here she is:



The yarn is Lion Brand's Tweed Stripes in Luau.



Now, shower number two, what do I do for that?  Even though this baby is due two months later, the shower was a few days earlier than the other.  I have known the mommy-to-be since she was three years old and adore her.  I couldn't do something so personal for the girl I worked with and not do something like that for my sweet little mama-to-be.  So with only a few days and no way possible to finish another blanket, I picked out the yarn and crocheted a little square so she could get an idea and enclosed it within her shower card. I will post photos of it when I am finished (2/3 left to go!)
If you decide to give crochet a try, You Tube is a great resource for learning stitches.  If you are a lefty like me, you can even find them done by left handed folks.  The large yarn companies have tons of free patterns online that you can search by your skill level.  Luckily, my mom taught me to crochet when I was a little girl.  It makes me feel closer to her when I do it and oddly enough, when my husband and daughter see me doing it, they call me "Nan".  I know she smiles when she hears that!

I am linking up to:



My mind on Spring and Girlie Things!

Yesterday I made my 25 Random things about me post and one of the things I posted about was my love for the Coach Outlet's spring Line.  I learned the last time that I visited a Coach outlet that they actually design most of those bags just for the outlet, making them similar, but not exactly the same as the one's found in the regular retail stores.  They do have some that are last season's styles and/or overstocks from the retail stores, as well.  If you don't get their outlet store's emails and you love Coach, you should sign up to get them.  They have been running sales events each month since November online.  I believe you have to be on the mailing list to be eligible to purchase from them.  I haven't found that the prices are any cheaper than the outlet, but it is the only way that you can purchase outlet bags online.  If you don't live near a store this is a great way to be able to take advantage of the great prices.

Here are some of my favorites from the new spring bags.  I am a pink and lavender girl (hence my blog name) and I love these new colors.  I have already caught spring fever because of them!  Not that we have had a real winter this year.  This is the mildest of all of the winters I have experienced in NC (36 years).  Most days have been in the 60's, but cool at night.  Lovely, lovely winter this year!

Here are some of my favorites!

Tattersall File Bag

Alexandra

Patent Embossed Convertible Hobo

Leather Brooke - Possibly my fave.  Who doesn't need a teal bag??

SOHO Snaphead Flap

Madison Ocelot Op Art Marielle Drawstring - MEOW!

Leather Inlaid C Tote

Gallery Outline Scarf Print Large Tote - Reminds me of the sea.

Gallery Stitched Patent Tote

Laura Patent Tote - Gosh I love coral.

Coach Poppy Glam Tote - my teen daughter would love this!

Ashley 3 Color Signature Satchel

I wasn't compensated by Coach, but if they wanted to throw one of these my way just to say "thanks", I would be appreciative!

Do you see any that you HAVE to have???

25 Random Things About me me me!

I am slow in getting my crafting posts written, so in the meantime here is some randomness about me that you  may not know..........

1.  I love the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion episodes.  My guilty pleasure.

2.  Decorating for Valentine's day has me a bit overwhelmed.  Weird, I know.

3.  Kashmir by Led Zeppelin and Tiny Dancer by Elton John are my two favorite songs of all-time.

4.  The Coach Outlet's spring line - full of lavender and pink - makes me happy!

5.  I have been trying to buy new bedding for our bedroom for two years.

6.  I have made a pot of homemade soup every week since the beginning of December.

7.  I hated science in school and have been working for 22 years in the field.

8.  My husband has injured his back and has been home for three weeks now.

9.  I found that I love to take care of  him.

10. I have two teeth in my mouth that grew in sideways.  Same exact tooth on bottom left and right side.

11.  My iphone is a curse as well as a blessing.

12.   I am addicted to Angry Birds and find myself wasting hours of my life playing it. (See #11)

13.  I have a chronic illness that has changed my life for better and worse.

14. I want to live on the Gulf coast.  Badly.

15.  I miss my parents every single day.

16.  In a little over a month, I will be married for 20 years.

17.  I have the sweetest dog in the entire world.  She is a mutt and the only one in the house that is thrilled to see me when I get home each day!

18.  One of my favorite things in life is hanging with my hubby on weekend mornings in the winter in our PJs drinking coffee with a fire going in the fireplace, planning out our day.

19.  I am a really great cook.

20.  I knit, crochet, paint, and can hot glue the crap out of anything.

21.  I take one bite of everything on my plate to start with and then I finish one food at a time before moving on to the next.  I never noticed this until my husband pointed it out to me a long time ago.

22.  I have never camped in my life, but dream of owning a retro travel trailer and traveling the country with my hubby after we retire.  It won't happen, but a girl's gotta have something to waste her time thinking about!

23.  My favorite TV shows are True Blood, Army Wives, RHOBH, and Nate Berkus. 

24. I never wear patterned tops.

25. Reading a book on a beach while hearing the waves crash is the closest thing to absolute serenity to me.

I am linking up to: