What a wonderful Wednesday!

Good Morning my good friends! :)  After a really rough Monday, I am BACK to my positive self and working on my side projects throughout the week. I realized last night that I had not updated my blog this past weekend with the 3 new hats that have been added. So here I am trying to hurry and create a post before I must be off to work (ugh...lol). As much as I WISH I could stay home and do nothing but create beautiful hats and work on side project gifts, I do have to work so that I can fund my supply purchases, so I am very grateful to be working! :)  This is going to be a really short and sweet update, so off to new additions! :)

First up a soft gray man's hat with a multi-hued purple stripe, or an adults hat...I think I will start referring to them as adult and child, because after they leave my possession, who knows who wears them, right? :D

Next up, a child's Shamrock ear flap hat that I kind of created out of my own head, using a basic beanie pattern and adding the shamrock's upside down as the ear flaps :) 

And last, but definitely not least and keeping with the theme of St. Patrick's day is another child's hat with shamrocks and a little bling and a few bobbles. Now we know that a little boy will probably not wear this one, but I have to add some bling to some of my hats :)

 

Now I really MUST finish up my morning chores and get going, now that I am running a tad bit behind...heehee! :)  I hope everyone has a blessed day and I pray that the light of God's love touches each and every one of you and helps you to Glow from Within...... <3

Where do my weekends go?

Good evening all! My weekends just fly by so fast, that I feel like I blink on Friday and it's Monday again! LOL it was a busy weekend for me, errands and such, but I DID get the hat done for a coworkers friend, Kate. She is a "fall" person, so I decided to make a Chocolate brown hat with an ivory glittery flower and I wanted it to have a touch of color, so I added a turquoise button as the center of the flower. The pattern for this was my own "creation" so to speak. I am working on a baby blanket and liked the stitch, so decided to try my hand at creating a pattern. I think it turned out pretty well for a first time attempt. I really hope she likes her new hat, I would like to make her another hat also, but not sure if time will allow it. Here is my Chocolate and Ivory hat, with a close up shot of the flower so you can see the "glitter". :)

I then decided I wanted a spring time inspired hat, so I created a hat with some spring colors. Again, I added a touch more color with a purple button for the flower center. I really did like the colors on this hat! I found this pattern over at Northern Girl Stamper & Boutique .

I then decided to try and work on some Journey Journals, but only got so far as ironing the fabric to cover them LOL! I WILL get some made and soon, after all the end of March is fast approaching and I want to have some journals to add to the Houston TX shipment of hats! I think I just need to dedicate a weekend to that....hmmmmmmm....now which weekend.... ;)

It seems as though my creativity "funk/slump" is now maybe over? I hope so, I kind of had to force the issue with myself and just DO IT, and I really do dislike being in a creative slump! I am in the process of making a man's hat, which I'm hoping to finish this evening. I have decided that time during the week will be dedicated to my "side" projects and the weekends will be dedicated to making hats and journals for <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3. I'm thinking that in order to get everything done that I wish to get done, this is the best time management plan for me :)

And speaking of time....I MUST get busy on it if I wish to complete it this evening. I bid you all adieu until my next posting. May the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within........<3

Many heartfelt prayers this week.

Good evening all! A short update this evening, as I am busily working on a hat that I am creating the pattern for (what?! I know, CRAZY!). I do have a ton of thoughts and prayers going out and up this evening for the many people needing them. May His hands provide comfort and healing to all who need it!

I have been asked to make a hat for a friend of someone I work with, who is suffering from stage IV lung CA. I (as the founder of Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals) am honored to do this for her. I have decided on making a chocolate brown hat with a beautiful white sparkle yarn flower and a beautiful button for the flower center of this hat. I have the picture of it in my head, but will be making this pattern up as I go. I know right, branching out? LOL  Pictures will be forthcoming when it is done! The lady I work with has generously donated to Hats from the Heart in her friend Kate's name. I hesitate to use last names because I try to be very cognizant of privacy and security. I'm excited to be doing this, and I have no problem doing this. As long as the requests are not overwhelming, I can handle it. :)

I do have two new hats to share with you, as I am now completely better from my cold bug!! I was determined on Sunday that I was going to find my motivation again for working on side projects and Hats from the Heart! My house may or may not have gotten cleaned though LOL :) First hat up was just too cute not to make up for a young lady with the upcoming Valentine's day holiday! It is a Heart ear flap beanie and I found the pattern over at Classy Crochet and I just absolutely ADORE the hearts for the ear flaps!

The next hat I made was an orange and purple checked young man's beanie and the colors put me in mind of the Phoenix Sun's or the Clemson colors. I am by no means a huge sports fan, just think the colors go along nicely with those teams. :)  I found this pattern over at Hooked on Crochet , a very nice blog that I hope the blogger is able to continue in her own time.

 

I think this orange would even be very pretty as just a basic beanie, but with a HUGE purple flower on it also, as a "girl's" version. We girl's have been known to get into the whole sports thing also ya know :)

Now I know this was a really short update, but I simply MUST get busy on my chocolate brown hat as I'm anxious to see if this is going to work for me or not. I leave you with an inspiring quote/picture by Helen Keller. It touched me, and maybe it will touch you also. Until my next update......May the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within....<3

Trying to get out from "under the weather"

Good afternoon everyone! A small update for you today with a couple of new hats. My goal of updating more frequently and having great momentum so far this year kind of took a dive. :(  I have not been sick (meaning cold type bugs) in over 3 years, and I caught some one's cold bug and it has wiped me out, put me on the couch or in bed trying to fight it for going on two weeks now. So being "under the weather" has put my little mind in a creative slump, but I am trying hard to climb back out of that slump and get something done! I don't have time to be sick (as my body yells at me, MAKE time because you ARE sick)!


I received a little surprise in the mail a couple of days ago and it really made my day :) I received a thank you card from a lovely lady at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. To know that we touch the life of just ONE person makes me all kinds of happy, but to hear that our work touches the lives of so many, brings tears to my eyes and joy to my heart! Thank you to everyone involved in making <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3 such a success in touching the lives of cancer patients!

I may not get a ton of comments on my little blog or maybe not a ton of followers, but that is okay, I know that it is read by the one's that are supposed to read it and I hope it touches their heart in the way that doing what I do touches my heart and those around me.

I have a couple of pictures of hats that I've made over the last couple of weeks, I know, I should have more done!!! LOL  And I'm WAY behind on my side projects too....arghhhhhhhhhh!! Okay, okay...I must focus on one thing at a time and before I know it, I will be caught up ROFL :D  Yep, that was hilarious even by my standards :)  Okay first up is a ladies ripple beanie that I made from a baby beanie pattern I found over at Toasty Frog and I think it turned out pretty darn nice! The beautiful deep turquoise flower has sequin's throughout that you just can't see from the picture.

Today, I started and finished a man's Bridge's beanie. I loved the color scheme, but I'm not altogether sure a man would :)  I found this pattern over at The Crochet Zombie along with quite a few other really cool looking hat patterns that I want to try my hand at, stay tuned for more of those!!

I would really like to maybe have a Journey Journaling get together at my house in the near future, but not sure who (other than my beautiful sister who lives closer than MD) would want to come and join in some creative fun. I don't have a really big house, but we would make room for anybody willing to join in being creative for a cause! :)  I will maybe put this out there on my Facebook to see if anyone would be interested also. Any body interested, email me.... :)

This is all the news I have for today, wow, it turned out to be a tad bit bigger than a "small update" huh? :)  Until my next update may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within....<3

I'm so EXCITED!

Good afternoon all, a small update and a couple of new pictures for you. I promise I will get better at blogging this year LOL It is quiet here in my little home this afternoon, hubby and puppies are sleeping, daughter is at work for another hour....so I thought perfect time to update my blog!! :) 

I finally have a contact at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX! I have the address of where to ship everything and I am super EXCITED!! So after a few emails back and forth (better than snail mail, right?), we have decided to wait until the end of March/beginning of April to ship them. They have quite a few donations over the holidays and they have a storage challenge, so this will work out better for them and actually for me also! This will allow us to add more hats and they also have a need for the Journey Journals for the teens/young adults, so we will be adding those also! :)  Now isn't my excitement contagious? I'm hoping to make a few journals that are teen themed and such....and I know my sisters will also be helping me too. This will be an annual donation made around the same time of year. Now here is a question for you, my count is now way off, so how do I figure this one out? Do I still keep track of how many hats I am making altogether on a yearly January - November basis, or hmmm.. Yes, this is a puzzle, maybe hubby will help me figure it out when he wakes up!! :) Or feel free to offer suggestions in the comment section below!!!

Now on to some pictures of new hats! I created a little girl's big bow beanie, but somehow it turned out a little large for a little girl....Ooooooooooooooohhhhh, maybe this could be a teen/young adult hat!! I would most definitely wear it, it is adorable! I found the pattern for this one over at Hopeful Honey and absolutely loved how quick it worked up!

 

And then I made a little boy's aviator bomber beanie, it turned out so darn cute!! I LOVE how the fuzzy yarn looks, but it absolutely is not the most fun to work with LOL :D You can find this pattern over at The Sequin Turtle, what a cute name for a blog!! And this was easy peasy also!!!

The fuzzy yarn makes it look like fur, doesn't it?


I must post this and get moving on finding another hat to make! Until my next update (this one took two days to post because Google was not cooperating), may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within.....<3

Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year all, a little late, but better than not at all! ;) Though the New Year has been started for 5 days now, I have not been sitting still. I have completed two hats so far for <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3, with many more waiting in the wings to be created. One of my resolutions for this year is to blog more often, so to keep everyone more up to date with the happenings of our group, small though it may be. I also would like to learn more about blogging and getting things all linked up, but that seems to always get shoved to the back burner, because hey, let's face it, it isn't at the top of my list of priorities! LOL

I first must finish up posting of pictures for 2013, as I was remiss in my blogging duties :( and did not get it finished with all the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's. The first set of pictures are of hats that my friend Deb made for us, for which I will forever be grateful and indebted to her for all of her help! I absolutely love them all!

Then we have some Journey Journals created by my friend Jen and her sister Rachelle. They are super cute also!

Thank you to all who have helped in the past and are still helping, it means so very much to me and especially those that benefit from our yearly donations!

Speaking of yearly donations... :) This is the 3rd year for <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3 and I'm just as enthusiastic and excited about it now as I was when I first started this project! You will always read or hear me say that I simply cannot express in words the feelings I get when I drop the hats and journals off, or with each hat or journal I make. I always hope and pray for more help with the making of the hats and journals, but God knows best and in His own time He will provide us with what is needed. I am forever grateful for the blessing of being able to give of my heart and soul to those in need. Now, before I start getting all teary eyed (and if you know me, you KNOW I will and I do frequently) let's move on to other news. I am waiting for my contact to get back to me with an address for the MD Anderson in TX, so that I can ship the children's hats to them. I sent an email off and got a response very quickly, but with the New Year holiday, offices were closed so that has created a minor delay. I will keep all informed of when I ship them off!

Now I have two creations for you for the start of 2014. My first creation is a man's Leaping Stripes and Blocks beanie, and you can find the pattern for this hat over at Moogly's blog.

And my next creation was a ladies Tezzie beanie, to which I added a flower. I love the colors, as it puts me in mind of Spring time and they are just soft colors that appeal to me. This pattern can be found over at Cat's Rockin Crochet and they both were very easy patterns to follow. :)

These are the only two creations so far, but stay tuned for more updates!! I WILL update more frequently!! Even though I am still working on late Christmas presents and more baby gifts, I feel that I'm making great progress so far! I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy and that the New Year has started out on a great note for all! Until my next update, may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within...... <3

A day late on posting :(

Good evening all! I am a day late in posting this, always so much happening with my "social" schedule this time of year...I think I run into myself coming and going LOL. Yesterday was donation day for the adult hats and journals that we worked so hard on all year, and I was simply GLOWING after we dropped everything off <3 I do have several pictures, but OMGness, my hubby did not get one good shot of my face ha ha ha!! I was trying to figure out a monetary value for everything donated for a receipt (something new they are doing), and as you can tell from the pictures, I was struggling with this aspect of it.

Now as some of you may know from my facebook post, I have not donated the children's hats as of yet. I struggled with the decision to not donate to where we donated them to last year, but after much prayer and speaking with two of my sister's and hubby about it, I have decided to wait to donate them and let the Spirit guide me to where they are needed and wanted. I have a contact at MD Anderson in Houston, TX, that I will be emailing this week to see about shipping them to their facility and what the correct protocol is, I will keep everyone informed of when this will be happening!

In the next week or so, I will try to post the pictures of hats and journals that were donated to <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3 to complete the year of 2013 blog postings. I'm running short on time this evening (again), so I must close my ramblings.

I am so HAPPY to know that what we do with the hats and journals DO make a difference in the lives of patients! When we arrived to make our donation, we had a little bit of time to wait (we are ALWAYS early) so I wanted to see what this beautiful sculptured tree in the lobby was all about, as this was new and not there last year. So I wandered over to have a closer look. This tree is covered in hundreds of multi colored ribbons and is called the "Tree of Hope". Beside this tree is a stand with a clear acrylic box with ribbons of multiple colors in it. The placard above it has the many different colors of the Cancer Awareness ribbons and states that "if you know someone who is battling cancer or has battled cancer, please tie a ribbon on the Tree of Hope in their honor". YES, I did, and YES, as they are starting to now, the tears were there. I cannot explain the feelings that I am often overwhelmed with, this means so very much to me and I will continue on this journey until I am physically unable to do so. I had the joy of seeing a patient walking by as we were donating and speaking with her and hugging her and seeing the smile on her face, this STILL makes me emotional (I do wear those on my sleeve). Until my next update may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within.... <3