Announcing Winners of “Half Million Hits” Giveaway

Yep, you read that right!! Winners. I decided to pick a 2nd one.

Winner 1 is Belinda, Comment #12.

On April 26, 2010 at 9:16 am Belinda said:

Congratulations, Donna! My favorite month is probably October, although I like the month of June as well. October has almost perfect weather–not too hot and not too cold. During the day, there is usually no need for coats and if you’re out and about in the evenings a light jacket will suffice. Fall is my favorite season.

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Winner 2 is Katie, Comment #10.

On April 25, 2010 at 12:23 am Katie said:

Ooops forgot to answer the question…. my favorite day of the week is my birthday, which is April 27 or three days from now. I love it because I take the day off of work, hear from many of my family members and friends, and use the day to do what I want, wear what I want, and eat what I want. This year I’m going to a Chicago Cubs game – Go Cubs!

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Congratulations to both winners!!

Belinda, you get first pick of the four items. Katie, you get second pick of the remaining items.

You have 48 hours to contact me with name and address or new winners will be selected. (Go check your e-mail)

Thanks to everyone who participate!!

Speaking Of Giveaways… Check These Out!!

As you know, I am currently sponsoring a giveaway.  So, thought I would share with you a couple others I know of.

Kokopelli at Kokopelli Design is having her first giveaway which runs through May 11, 2010.

http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/

She teaches beading classes and is offering a few of her beautifully handcrafted netted jewelry items as prizes. A necklace/earrings set and a separate pair of earrings.  Check it out. To enter,  just leave a comment. Maybe even sign up for one of her classes!!

Also check out her Artfire Store.  She has some stunning pieces.

http://www.artfire.com/users/KokopelliDesign

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Crystal at Bead Happily Everafter hosts a weekly giveaway every Monday. She asks fun questions so everyone can join in. She makes beautiful jewelry and one of her pieces is usually the prize.  Or sometimes the prize is a shopping spree in her Etsy store. I won that one and had a hard time selecting from so many pretty beads.  So please… do go… check out her blog.

http://beadhappilyeverafter.com/blog/?p=11473

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Ah hem… and don’t forget to enter my giveaway. One day left with winner to be announced this Friday, April 30. Thanks much!!

“Half Million Hits” Giveaway

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

To celebrate my blog reaching 500,000 hits, I am having a giveaway.

To enter, post a comment here on this post.  I will use Random.org to select the winning comment.  (See below for contest guidelines.)

WINNER can select one of these prizes!! All handcrafted by ME.

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Macrame “Open” Box and Lid, covered with buttons. Cream color macrame cord. Comes with two clear plastic containers in top and bottom. (Buttons shown inside the container not included.)

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Coiled Fabric Bowl

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Purple Crochet Sunbonnet Potholder (100% Cotton)

Pink or Yellow also available, if you would prefer a different color.

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Blue Nylon Loop Necklace and Earrings Set with dangling keys. (Gold Plated findings.)

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To win ONE of the above items, just answer this question.

What’s your favorite day of the week? (month, year) And why?

Giveaway Guidelines:

• No limit on the number of comments per person.
• Post as often as you wish.
• Contest runs from Friday, April 23 through Thursday, April 29 midnight EST.
• Winner will be announced here on Friday, April 30.
• Winner will have 48 hours to e-mail their name and address or a new winner will be selected.

Please help me get the word out about my giveaway. Blog about it. Post it on-line. Then come back here and tell me where you posted it. More chances for YOU to be the winner.

Good Luck!! And thanks again for your continued support of my blog.

We Did It!! 500,000 Hits!!

Sending out a huge Thank You to all of my readers.

This milestone could not have been reached without all of you. Thinking back on my first blogging day, Sunday March 9, 2008, twenty-four of you showed up to see what This Year’s Dozen was all about. I was so proud of those 24 views. And even more proud today.

I will have a week long giveaway to celebrate. (Off I go to get it ready.)

Thanks again for coming here to read my blog and especially for contributing to its success with your words of encouragement. I love reading your comments. Keep them coming!!

A Half Million Hits Coming Up Soon…

So.. to celebrate, I am having another GIVEAWAY.

You can enter multiple times. As many as you want. I will use Random.org to select a winning comment, just as before.

More details to follow. Do come back!!

Crochet Beanies and Necklaces: A Week’s Worth

This is what I have been working on for about a week. I meant to post a couple pictures a few days ago but just kept on making stuff.

And I learned two new stitches. Herringbone Half Double Crochet and Crossover.

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Beanies/Caps/Hats with coordinated necklaces.

Made this cute little purse. This is the Herringbone HDC stitch.

Used cotton yarn for everything. Sugar n Cream and Lion Brand.

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Patterns used:

• Flowers, Crochet Bouquet by Suzann Thompson. Page 33, Simple 5  and Page 98, Six-Petal Traditional Rose.
• Yellow hat, 100 Hats by Jean Leinhauser & Rita Weiss. No. 75 on page 143.
• Yellow purse, a mistake turned good. No pattern.
• Other caps, used various stitches to create.

Felting A Purse: The Process

After reading through my books on how to felt in a washing machine, I decided to just do it. I tell ya, I had lots of pause moments. Lots of what if’s.

What if…..

• water isn’t hot enough
• fibers clog up the washing machine
• purse falls apart
• purse shrinks too much
• purse shrinks not enough
• no shrinkage happens AT ALL!!

Well, guess what? I worried for nothing.

The water was REALLY hot. And stayed hot enough for me to run the purse through three washing cycles. I didn’t trust that I would be at the machine right at the moment BEFORE it went into a spin (spinning is a no-no), so I stayed in the laundry room watching it like a hawk.

Instructions said to “look” at purse during the process. So… I stopped the wash cycle several times to look. The first time, I didn’t see any shrinkage at all. 2nd time. A little. 3rd time. Now we were cooking with gas!! Yes!! Finally. The wool fibers were starting to tighten.

I didn’t need to worry at all about fibers clogging up the hose and drain. Since I put the purse in a zippered pillow case.

Here’s the amount of shrinkage. The outline shows the measurements before felting.

Still drying. Stuffed with plastic bags, per the instructions.

I LOVE IT!!!! It can stand up on its own.

If you plan to felt anything in your washing machine, here’s a few things you need to know. Don’t allow the item to go through the spin cycle. Any folds or creases formed will be permanent. Always put the item inside of something to prevent wool fibers from clogging up your washing machine. Put a few other large items in there to assist with the agitation. I put in two pairs of old jeans and a huge dark towel.

Another suggestion: Try it first with an item you won’t be heartbroken if it doesn’t turn out as expected. Not your dream project that you spent months making.

I used Patons Classic Wool that I got at Michaels for half price. Perfect for a 1st felting project.

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Here’s the BEFORE picture. Colors are brown, dark navy-almost black, royal blue, turquoise and beige.

Three Firsts

Nature Shot of a “Red Bird”

I don’t usually take photos of birds. Don’t think I have EVER taken one. But I couldn’t resist seeing as a couple of my friends take beautiful close-ups of animals, birds and flowers.

Hubby called me to come quickly to look out the bathroom window. A pretty Red Bird was staring back at us. He was enjoying the pink blossoms on a tree in our yard. RED stayed put long enough for me to run for my camera.

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Reverse Single Crochet

Learned a new stitch a couple days ago. Reverse Single Crochet (rsc) or crab stitch, as some may call it. I had seen it in patterns before but always skipped right over it for 3 reasons. Didn’t know what it was, didn’t know how to do it and it was always at the end. The last step. Like a border. Figured, what the hay, I was done. But the time had come to just go for it. Learn it. Went to You Tube. Found quite a few on-line demonstrations. Liked this one best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhSbycwfpdo

Here’s what it looks like. Kind of like a rounded spiral. At the top. Finishes it off nicely.

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Felted Purse, The Before Picture

This is how my 1st felted purse looked before the felting process.

You can see the yarn design better in this next picture. I made the purse a bit larger than the pattern called for.

I drew an outline of it so I could easily measure the shrinkage.

Wish me luck. Hope I am pleased with the AFTER picture.

The Klutz Glove… Who Knew!!

One of my friends recently told me about a glove to protect my hands when using rotary cutters. The Klutz Glove. Isn’t that just THE perfect name!!

I found this on You Tube.

There are lots of sites selling these gloves. After I complete my research (meaning the best deal), I will order one.

Also found several demonstrations on the proper use of rotary cutters.

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What do you use to protect your non-cutting hand? Which rotary cutter do you use?

Attention Quilters: Am I Ready?

As you can see from the above photo, there is no reason why I can’t start making a quilt top. I want to. I really do. I have the supplies I need to get started.

Plenty of books.

Well, you ask, what’s stopping me? I guess, my 10 fingers. And the thought of going through life minus a few of them.

I have a confession. I AM AFRAID OF MY ROTARY CUTTER. Cutters, actually, since I have several. Just looking at them makes me break out in a sweat.

The one still in the packaging, unopened, was THE best, most expensive one I could find. Now I find out from someone who has one, it isn’t. Something about slippage and not cutting through the fabric cleanly. Then what the heck good is it!! I guess the best no longer means anything.

A friend told me about a glove with stainless steel threads. The kind used by fishermen. It may be cumbersome at first but at least I should feel safe. So… once I have one, I’ll get started.