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

Perusing my older posts....

Early Easter greetings to you all! :) I have been sitting here crocheting on a man's hat and needed a little break, so decided I would surf the internet for a little bit and then started reading my blog (sometimes it's kind of nice to read back through them) to try and remember what I set my goal at for hats this year. *GASP* I never put my goal in that I can see! Oh wait a second, it is kind of hard to see when tears are flowing down your cheeks LOL! Yep, reading through some of my older posts brought tears....I think I warned you guys that I am a big crybaby, right? ;) They are good tears, I promise!

Reading through my blog helped to remind me that I said not all of my updates would have pictures of hats or journals, because if I did that, then there might possibly be a long period of lag time between postings (like the last time perhaps). It also reminded me that this is kind of my little online "journal"  that shares special moments or maybe inspires someone or helps them through whatever they might need inspiration or encouragement through, even myself! Yes, I do have creative slumps, or moments when I just don't KNOW what I want to work on, or which hat to pick out....or darn it....I just have the blah's kind of days. We ALL have them, so it is kind of nice to take time out of that, and just rest, rejuvenate and rejoice in this journey we call LIFE! :)

My daughter will be turning 23 next week, and so with the craziness of her schedule and her boyfriend's schedule it is kind of hard to schedule a "celebration" with them. Well, we celebrated Thursday night for her birthday dinner from her Grams and then they spent the night, as well as, Grams spent a couple of nights also. There was SO much laughter shared Thursday night after we came back from dinner! Just sitting on the patio, enjoying the beautiful weather and reflecting on the many memories of my son and daughter growing up and the "antics" that they were always up to! It is truly entertaining to regale her boyfriend with these tales....(did I mention that her boyfriend's name is the same as my son's name? LOL Yes, TWO Josh's)  I did miss our son being able to join in, but he had to work :(. I say again, the kids have such crazy schedules, it is hard to get them all together for any type of celebration. I truly enjoy the quality time I get to spend with my Mother-in-law, she is an AMAZING woman, my kids (they are pretty great too) and my wonderful hubby!

I want to wish you all a Blessed Easter and hope we all remember WHY we celebrate this! And it is NOT for the coloring of eggs, or the hunt, or the little bunnies....

Until my next update may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within.....<3

Spring greetings and "pop" culture.

Spring greetings to all! I absolutely LOVE this time of year with one exception.....I hate the fact that my allergies do a number on me! I never had allergies until I moved to AZ and now I suffer with them all year long but most heavily in spring when EVERYTHING is blooming. But it is the most beautiful time of year and puts me in mind of new life and new beginnings :) And yes, we desert rats do have beautiful flowers that bloom also, poppies in abundance, Palo Verde trees, mesquite trees, dogwood trees and beautiful purple wisteria type trees. We have had 4 hummingbirds all winter long, and yes we named them :) Harley, Marley, Spot and Bashful (the lone female), now sadly Harley and Marley have left us for their summer homes (not sure where that is). Spot and Bashful are still around and so far we have only had one occasional visitor, but I know that they are around somewhere. The hubby and I really enjoy sitting and watching them eat gnats flying in the yard and then coming up to the feeder to get a drink. How do we know which hummingbirds are "visitors", you may ask? Well they are really skittish about hitting the feeder, ours are so used to us that we can stand pretty close to the feeder and they will still come up to it, the visitors will hit it and back up several times and look at you. :) 

It has been a very productive yet busy weekend! I finished my Easter bonnet/beanie finally! It took a few days simply because I had to find the right flowers and I had a non productive Saturday as the hand/wrist pain wouldn't allow me to do anything I wanted to :( and I always get frustrated with that! But I finished it up this morning and was very pleased with the results. Now it is supposed to be a little girl's hat but it turned out a little bigger than expected, and after I got it done, I had the old song about "your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it" stuck in my head forever!! LOL :)

So while I was "surfing" Pinterest yesterday (such an addiction, it is), I saw this cute little beanie that had a felt moustache glued on it. Well, you know me, I see something I think is really cute, I just gotta do it, pattern or not. :) So here is a little boy's "mustache" beanie I made today after I got all my house cleaning done. I think it turned out pretty awesome!!

I must also include here that I ran across a "pin" called Warmth for Warriors. I am now determined to make a difference there also, I have a little bit of research to do on it, but I would like to start making beanies for this cause also. I have included a link to their website over to the right under Important Links if you would like a little more information on it. So hopefully soon, I will maybe let you know how that is going as well. I have always been patriotic and supportive of my country, but especially to our troops! I have many friends and family who are serving or who have served this country and kept us free, so they will ALWAYS have my support. In my mind, if you don't stand behind and support our troops, do us all a favor and stand in front of them!! A bit harsh you may think, but that is where I stand on it and if you want to really see a Southern girl's temper flare to life fairly quickly, go ahead and start talking badly about our troops...just sayin'. :)

Now I have cleaned my house, done my laundry and updated my blog with a couple of new beanies...I feel very accomplished and very tired....LOL! Until my next update much love going to all and may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within.....<3

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Well Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

I have been hard at work all day long, busily finishing up a man's hat, crocheting a ladies hat and making a Journey Journal! I also set up my Easter Village and Easter tree's, the first time I've set it up in a couple of years! Love all my little eggs and bunnies! I also have a Halloween Village too, but that is a ways away LOL! On to the pictures, as I know you are as excited to see them as I was to make them! First up a man's green checkerboard beanie in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

 

 

Next up, a ladies green cap in honor of my Irish roots also! Yes, I think I'm done with the green for the moment LOL! The green HOPE heart button on the side was made by my little sister Joni Chism. I do have such a talented family and I am so very grateful for the blessings God has given each of us!

 

 

 

And lastly I made a Journey Journal too! I love the green butterflies on the material, are you noticing a "green" theme today? Ha ha ha! :)  I promise I am done with the green, may have to go to lots of different colors now!

 

 

 

This is the conclusion of my work for <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3 for the weekend anyway! I will be hard at work again on Tuesday creating maybe an Easter bunny and an Easter bonnet for the upcoming Easter holiday.  Until my next update, may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within......<3

 

 

 

My Irish eyes are smiling and sometimes they leak...

I know it has been awhile since my last update, I am truly sorry! I have been trying to get caught up on birthday gifts (still have to make one) and I have been doing other things too. But on with my update! I have completed 3 Journey Journals and 2 hats for this update! I told you I have been busy lol! :) 

I love St. Patrick's day! I guess it could be that comes with being partially Irish, one day I hope to visit Ireland like my little sissy did. I love all things associated with the Irish....the Claddaugh, Celtic, the music, fairies, leprechaun's and all of it! I made a little girl's and a little boy's St. Patrick's day themed hat. And here they are!

Well, of course, I had to bling up the little girl's hat just a bit with some green jewels! What little girl doesn't like jewels? ;) Have I said recently how much I absolutely LOVE doing this?!

Next up, my three Journey Journals to add. I think my favorite is the one with the flowers so far! I have so much fun doing this, I can't imagine NOT being able to!!! <3

Well, I just noticed that the picture of the Journal in the middle does not do it justice at all. The stars on the bottom are hand crocheted stars that are glued on, with three different types of yarn. I may have to just start using my digital camera instead of my phone camera, so that maybe my pictures will be a little better!

I woke up this morning thinking of my Grandma Evelyn, she was such a beautiful woman! She always called me her hummingbird because I would sit in the backseat and just sing anytime we would go anywhere. I LOVE to sing, and I was born with music in my soul. I miss her so very much! I loved to sit and watch her strum her guitar and sing The Suwanee River and other songs with her. I will be going to bed thinking of my Dad, he has been gone for going on 27 years now, and some days are better than others. I miss being able to watch him work on his old pickup, while I sat and asked him questions. I know they are waiting on the other side for me when my journey is done, and I have a very long way to go before my journey is done! I love and miss my Florida family immensely!!! Sending my love, thoughts and prayers along the wires to ALL my family! I love and miss you all! Until my next update...may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within.....<3

Mardi Gras and Spring

I finished the little boy's Mardi Gras hat, just didn't get a post up with a picture of it. I got busy writing the Making a Journey Journal Tutorial and decided to wait on writing a blog update with the finished hat. I know, I was dragging my feet lol! So here is the finished Mardi Gras themed hat! I do not know why my deep purple always ends up looking blue, but it is indeed deep purple!

 

 

I also finished a ladies pale blue scarf hat this morning before I had to run errands for a "Spring-time" hat. I simply love the scarf, but I am partial to polka dots anyway!! :) My count is now 13 hats completed for 2013! I am feeling quite proud of myself and I am very determined to keep the momentum going! :)

 



I also received a surprise box from my good friend (thank you niece for introducing us!) in New York. It is so fun to get "surprises" in the mail, and one day she will get a surprise in the mail when she least expects it! Her thoughtfulness and generosity of donations to this project are so touching and deeply appreciated! It was filled with buttons and a canvas case for keeping my yarn and tools of the trade in and all kinds of things!!! Thank you Ms. Rhonda, you will get a card and note in the mail soon (sorry it wasn't this week, I ran out of time!!)

Oh and before I close my update (because hubby "needs" some Chocolate Peanut Butter brownies), I must post my niece's #2 hat of a ladies beautiful snowflake hat. I love how she didn't do the "normal" white color of a snowflake and made it blue instead on a white background! Just beautiful!

Wonder if she can convince my great niece to crochet a couple of hats for the project now that she has taught her how to crochet? LOL  Well, even if she doesn't, I think it is awesome that she has now taught someone how to do it, and especially someone as young as my great niece!

I have "linked" blogs that I follow on my page, just learned how to do that this morning while helping my older sis in MD with her blog. Just click on one and it will take you right to their blog! My list is only 4 blogs long right now, but I don't have a whole lot of time to read and follow massive amounts of blogs, so for now these 4 are the ones that mean the most to me! :) I hope everyone is having an absolutely gorgeous Saturday, it is a nice sunny 81 degrees here in AZ and puts me in the mood for Easter and springtime!!! Sending much love and appreciation to all for reading, sharing and supporting me!!! Until my next blog update may the light of God's love help you to Glow from Within......<3