Ahhhhhhhhhhh Monday's....

Good evening all! Thought I would sit and try to blog a few words this evening. I only have two hats to post pictures of :( , as I have been trying to slowly get caught up on some projects getting done that have been promised. I have kind of been in a creative "slump" for the last week, and I think it just may be that I wasn't feeling my usual smurfy self last week, and boy is it HOT already!!

First up, a ladies slouchy newsboy cap. This started out as a "sun" hat, but that pattern was turning out WAY too small, so I ripped it all out in frustration and started a different one :) This is the resulting hat. I think the button adds just a touch of "old world" charm to it.

 

This hat worked up so quick, that I want to use this basic type of stitch for a baby blanket (I have two to make and fairly quickly too).  

 

I then wanted to make a man's hat, and you all should know me by now, I had to have some type of different textured stitch to it. Now just to let you know how this process works with me, LOL! I get done with one hat, then I pore through my Pinterest page to see which one I want to make. Now I have a ton of inspirational pictures on that addicting website and I am constantly surfing for more, in my spare time ;), so this can be as quick as a few minutes or it can take me a couple of hours if I can't find what I want to make. So here is a man's star stitched striped beanie. I am thinking that this hat would be really cool in all kinds of color combinations, or even a solid color with a different color of flower to give it some "pop", ohhhhhhhhhh, and I WILL be making a red, white and blue one for July 4th!!! Okay, so here it is, sorry, I got carried away LOL!

 

 

I will have to try and take a closer picture of my next hat so you can get a better view of the stitch! I finished it up and posted the picture at around 9:00 pm last night, and that is late for me (way past my bedtime on a "work" night LOL).

Now I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that I received a donation of some fabric and odds and ends (embellishments) for our Journey Journals yesterday by a sweet lady who heard about what I do. I will forever be grateful to ALL who donate to this project, and the gratitude that I feel could never be expressed in words! And remember, it does not matter how "small" you think your donation is, it is HUGE to our group of ladies and this ongoing project! Just think of all the smiles and sunshine our gift to each patient brings! <3

This started out as a small update, but it has grown to be a little lengthy. :)  My heart is with a very good friend this evening and I wish her all the comfort in the world, loss is hard and the amount of years that passes matters not. The pain of loss is always there, but so our loved ones are too, just on the other side standing beside us. Some years are better than others, I know from experience of my own loss, so prayers and thoughts of love and comfort Turtle, I am always here for you to lean on! <3 Until my next update, I send my love to each and every one of you and hope that the light of God's love helps you to Glow from Within.....<3

More new hats...

Good afternoon all! I meant to update the blog this morning, but was busy trying to finish up a project for my older sister in MD, some flower rings for Vicky's Relay for Life Walk in June. YES, I got them completed and my wonderful hubby will be putting it in the mail tomorrow. :) He is so wonderful to me, yep, I love him and think I will be keeping him for another 23+ years <3

Onto pictures, because I know you are anxious to see what we have been working on :) First up, my niece made a man's hat, a simple striped beanie. I find sometimes that simplicity is the best when it comes to men's hats, and sometimes even the women's hats are best left simple.

 

Next up is a little girl's ponytail hat. I blinged up the bows with some pretty pink jewels, because all little girl's like shiny jewels! I had fun with this hat and the curlicue's were a new attempt for me, as I have never made any before.

 

 

And lastly we have a little boy's hat. Now let me introduce to you Mortimer the Monster hat. I absolutely had fun with this one, I wanted to make him as wonky as possible, he even has a mow~hawk!!!

Now tell me he isn't the cutest monster you've ever seen?! <3 I get a lot of my inspirations from Pinterest and then kind of embellish from there and make my own creations, because as anyone knows whose been on the website, some of these patterns are not available in English or you have to buy the pattern for it. I'm confident enough in my God~given talent and abilities that I can come up with it on my own and I think I manage pretty well most of the time :)

I am attempting to finish up my projects by the end of May so that I can focus solely on this project, but that remains to be seen. I can say that I am crossing the first project on that list off today, as I finished it!! YAYYYY for me!! LOVE feeling accomplished! I have lots of things to plan and do, so please be patient with me if I fail to update my blog in a timely manner, I will continue to do my best! Until my next update may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within.....<3

Simple and cute too!

Good Morning all! :) Try to get an update on here right away, as I do still have a couple of errands to run and a birthday gift to make! I think on the Journey Journals, between my sisters and I, I have decided that I will cover them with fabric and plan a trip to Mammoth (where 2 of them live) to embellish them. :)  I find that I get in a creativity "slump" when it comes to decorating the front of them and I can whip out the covers in nothing flat as I have that down to a science LOL. So you may not see any "new" photo's of Journey Journals for a little bit, until I can get down there for a visit. But never fear, there will be photo's upon photo's when that happens!

Now on to photo's of three new hats that were created for our project! First up, a little girl's beanie or tam. Interesting story behind this one, I was perusing my Pinterest pin's for my next hat to make and was getting frustrated because I didn't know which one I wanted to make (I have SOOOOOOO many cute hat inspirations!), so hubby said "number them all and put them in a hat and pull out a number"....HA HA HA, I said "do you KNOW how many hat pictures I have????" I would have been sitting here for hours numbering them LOL So, then he says "okay, I want you to make the 13th hat down from the top", okay, now I can work with that. So I counted to the 13th hat.....OMGness!!!! The pattern is on a Russian website and I don't know about y'all, but this lil' Southern gal is fluent in that language.....NOT!!!!! Okaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy, so here is the creation from sight only, not EXACTLY like that one, but just as cute I think :)

Notice those little beads in the center of the flowers? I think it just gives it that extra something, don't you?

On to the next creation of my beautiful niece Eve, she has created a zebra hat for a little boy and it is just as cute as can be! That black yarn is really hard for me to see, and I think she did a fantabulous job on this hat!!! Squeeeeeeeeeeeaaaal!!!! It's ADORABLE!!!

And the final hat on display for your enjoyment is a simple red man's hat. I just love doing textured stitches they are so fun! One thing I just didn't understand was how a bulkier yarn and a larger needle could take me so long to complete, and made my hand hurt, like WTHeck?! Ah well, it is completed now and I will be perusing my pin's again to find inspiration for my next hat. Another interesting little story, I tried something new a couple of evenings ago, a ruffle scarf! Now this yarn is from Red Heart (I think) and called Sashay. Well a lady at work had made one and I thought it was just the coolest thing, she said it was knit and only used 6 stitches, so I just had to try it! So I took myself down to the store and bought me a skein of that cool yarn (I tell you, all wrapped up it looks like "ribbon" yarn) so I could try my hand at it. Huh, the written instructions made NO sense to me at all, so guess where I went? That's right....YouTube!!!! I succeeded in finding a tutorial on this and I got started, easypeasy!!! Two evenings later, I had a ruffle scarf, made for a friend (it will be a surprise, so can't tell you who heehee). Now where is the "interesting" part you may ask....here it is....I'm trying to figure out a way to make a beanie out of this stuff!!! WHAT?! ;)  Yeah, I'm a little on the crazy side, but hey...it's all good, I promise!

Now that I have regaled you with my tales, I must sign off and get busy! It is another beautiful day in AZ and I have lots to do! Before I forget, please, please donate to my sister Vicky's walk for Relay for Life, you can click here Vicky's Relay for Life Walk !! Thank you so much for supporting a great cause and helping us in the fight against Cancer! Oh and one more little picture to post in here. My sister Vicky and her bff Ginny bought this for me and I just think it is BEAUTIFUL and I could never thank them enough for thinking of me!!!

And with that, I will bid you a fond adieu and may the light of God's love help each and every one of you to Glow from Within...... Much love always, Rita <3

Some new hats!!!

Good Morning my friends and family! I have been busy creating and have 3 new hats to post pictures of this morning! This brings my personal total to 22 hats finished!! I am well ahead of my 5 hats a month goal, and plan to keep the momentum going! Let's get right to posting of the pictures :)  First up a man's slouchy style hat, I was unhappy with how large this turned out, but hopefully it will fit someone in need!

Next up, a ladies hat that I simply love the colors on. My beautiful Mother in law took me shopping for some yarn at Michael's and I fell in love with the mixture of colors on this one! I bought some denim blue in this type also, and I think it will be just great in a beautiful hat with a sunflower maybe!!!

 

 

And lastly, my latest creation for a little boy, an owl ear flap hat! This turned out WAY cuter than what I thought it would, but I think my inspiration to add a bow tie, just made it!! Out of all the owl hat's online, I haven't seen an owl hat with a bow tie, have you?

 

 

 

Isn't he just the cutest hat ever?! <3

 

I do have some journals I want to make this weekend, as well as maybe one more hat, so be looking for another blog update soon! Now on to other subjects! My sister Vicky walks for Relay for Life every year and she is trying to raise as much money as she can to further the research and find a cure for cancer. We ALL know someone who has been affected by this horrible disease, so please visit this link Relay for Life Vicky's page and help me support her by donating today! Much love and appreciation for all you do to help her and I!!! I may be walking locally if I can get some more information from a friend at work on April 20th. I will let everyone know if I am able to do this!

 

I was able to put a little more research into the Warmth for Warriors project, and I will be participating in this also. Now I would like to be able to say that I will be able to donate a ton of hats to this project, but <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3 IS my priority, so I don't know how many I will be able to donate to them. I am, however, very excited to do this also! For more information, you can click on the link on the right side of my page!

 

Look for another blog update soon, I must close this one for now, as I MUST go run errands and buy some yarn supplies to make more fancy hats and journals! Until my next update, may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within.....<3