A little lace to my rustic western table

A few years ago I took a common dining table and transformed it to something that fit our family. I took a wood burning tool, a chain, a drill, some stain and iron cowboy boots and went to work. I made over my table into a western, rust, don't care if my kids spill or bang on it because it just adds character kind of table. I have really loved it.

 I have decided to crochet a table runner; I want something that will add a special touch for those nights we have company or a special family dinner.   I searched all over the net for just the right pattern. I wanted it pretty with an old western feel, lacy but not Victorian looking and would go nicely with the rustic decor of my home. I found this pattern

http://www.free-crochet.com/detail.html?code=FC01080&cat_id=314

I am using Aunt Lydia's #3 thread in natural

This just may take a verrrrry long time to complete... I have already made another quick project while working on this one :) I will definitely post pictures of the finished table runner... just don't hold your breath ;-)

I was going through some of my pictures of  crochet items I have made and realized I have not posted soooo many of them :/  So... I have decided to do one post of my past projects that some how got neglected. Unfortunate, I have not taken pictures of so many projects I have made which I have given as gifts... what a bummer! but I take pictures now :)

This is a flip flop book mark that I crocheted out of #10 thread. Did not use a pattern on this one... just made it up as I went along :)

I still have this cupcake key chain, it is also made out of thread. It seemed like it took forever to make! This is another project that I just made up as I went. I am sure I made this more complicated than it needed to be :)

This kitty is one of my favorites :) I did not use a pattern with her either. I actually sold her to a woman in Italy when I had my etsy shop.

This fish I just mailed off to my friend in California as a gift for her baby girl. I did use a wonderful pattern for the fish and you can find it here

http://apocalypseknits.blogspot.com/2009/02/fredde-fish-pattern.html

I made the fish using cotton yarn and used safety eyes 

This is a small wallet and chap stick holder that I made for my daughter. I have since made several chap stick holders for her friends :) No pattern to share on these, just made it up as I went along. I used thread on this project as well.

Purple tea or chess :) fingerless gloves

I made these pretty little wrist warmers a while back and never did share the results, but better late than never right?
I have several projects in the works right now, and am pretty excited to share them with you :) I should be done with one of them today, and the other... well, that project will take a while to complete. Pictures will be coming soon!

A crochet top and date night

I made this adorable little crochet halter top a while back and recently had the opportunity to wear it out on the town. My husband and I had one of our wonderful date nights, we went out to eat at a new restaurant in the area called My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. The food was great! We were even entertained by the waiters and waitresses breaking out in Greek dance while fire was blown from the mouths of other waiters and it all ended with the crashing of plates as they were thrown onto the floor. It was so cool!

 I got the pattern for this top from Patons Designer Series, it is actually the same top that is featured on the cover but I added several more rows onto the bottom (did not want my belly button to show, lol) and unlike the cover, I did wear an undershirt :) I used a variegated brown for the bottom portion and a matching solid brown for the top. I did use Patons brand yarn for this project.

This little guy is soooo adorable!!

For a couple of months now my family has been volunteering at an animal sanctuary. There is the absolute cutest little creature there known as a baby alpaca! We had never had the opportunity before to see a baby alpaca... and wow is he adorable!! My husband now thinks baby alpacas are the cutest babies in the animal kingdom :)
I thought I would share these pictures today just because they make me smile, I hope they make you smile too :)

My pretty purple and green spring bag/purse

I found my self in the mall a few weeks back browsing the purse department in Macy's... YIKES!! No way was I able or willing to spend high $$$$ for a spring bag!! So I thought to my self... why not make one (the light bulb went on :) I began my search for a cute crochet bag pattern, this took some time because there are a lot of wonderfully cute free bag patterns out there (but I loved the search). I decided I really liked this stitch pattern http://www.piece-by-piece.net/Crochet/pssbag.htm

The only problem was that the bag would not be sturdy enough to hold all of the things I keep in my purse, I think I actually have fit arms because of the weight of my purse :) !
So, it was time to get creative. I decided to only make the outer shell of the bag crochet and actually sew a sturdy fabric bag for the inside. I had this pretty purple leftover yarn from another project and thought that it was a nice spring purple color so I went with it. The only problem with this yarn is it is very soft and I was really worried (after I crochet the section I wanted) that it would not hold up well. I just hate that feeling of  Oh'no! I just waisted HOURS on something and it is not going to work!  I  had that feeling on this one. But, I went a head and planned out the fabric portion of the bag and pieced together a rectangular shaped bag and lined it with an iron on interfacing I also added reinforcement in the form of cardboard to the bottom. I did alter the crochet pattern for the purpose of having a bottom to the purse. I made a rectangle base before I started the pattern and just made it the size I wanted to bag to be, then I cut the fabric to match the size of the crocheted portion. 
I added a few interior pockets to hold my cell phone and lip gloss etc. I also added a few fabric flowers and a super cute purse charm I found at Michael's :)

I love your feedback :) let me know what you think

Colored eggs on my finger nails!

I really didn't think I would hand paint another design on my nails for quite a while. I thought it was going to be Konad stamping  for a few weeks at least. But I could not resist! I saw this cute and simple colored egg design on this artists website http://robinmosesnailart.blogspot.com/ of course I did modify it a bit by only painting the eggs and not the bunny and basket, just to make it easier. I did not want to spent 2 hours painting this time :)

I am sure I will have to redo my nails before Easter... if you have any ideas for my next spring manicure post a link and I may give it a try and post the results :)