Blessings of Generosity

Good afternoon all! I hope your Sunday is just as relaxing and semi~lazy as mine has been :) After an extremely long and busy Saturday, it is most welcome to just sit and get a new ladies hat started and just take my time doing household "chores". My sister came over yesterday and spent the night to help me create Journey Journals for our two boxes of child/young adult hats going to Houston TX. The best laid plans seem to always fall apart, because I had to drive all the way to Glendale to give my Baby Girl a ride to pick up her vehicle from the shop in Phoenix LOL  OMGness, I thought we were driving to Flagstaff!! ;)  No worries though we got it all done and then had a lovely lunch and visited the bead store in Tempe, oh my those beads are expensive...even more so than yarn! :/ Yes, my sisters and I are very creative, but boy do we have expensive hobbies!!! :D  We then sat for a bit and created half of our journals, then went birthday shopping for my beautiful Baby Girl, then back to create the remaining journals. Busy, busy, and even more BUSY!! :) I was sad to see her go home so early this morning and it always brings to mind my wish that my sisters lived closer together....


Other thoughts on my mind today....How blessed I am! I was able to talk to my sis in MD last night and she let me know that ladies/friends of hers that see my hats on her facebook page have been inspired to make hats and donate them to their local cancer centers/wards. I don't know how to put in words how deeply it touches me that I inspired someone else to make a difference also!!! <3 I am also extremely blessed to have generous people in my life, without their help I wouldn't be where I am and this is for my family, friend's and a few people I've never met before....Deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to all of you who inspire, support, help, donate and encourage me on this wonderful journey!!

But, the feeling it gives you inside is amazing!!! <3

Now, I bet you thought I did not have anything to update you with huh? I do, I do!! I was able to finish my little Shark beanie finally, and it is cute!!! Yeah, I have no idea why I went on a "sea life" inspired binge for a couple of hats, but I did...I never question, I just go with it!! Here he is...Sammy the Shark...I was able to find this pattern over at Manda Nicole's Crochet Patterns and I just love him!!

Ahhhhhhh, LOOK at those teeth!!!! :D  He obviously has a great dentist!! ;) Ms. Deb has also created a beautiful spring colored hat (not that our Spring is very long) and I just love the combination of green and blue...

And lastly, here are all our creations of our Journey Journals, and the three beginning pictures were created by my sister in MD.

Hopefully you can see them, sometimes my phone camera doesn't do very well with the pictures, but it is definitely MUCH better than my little digital camera! :)


I am thinking that I will be creating a facebook account specifically for <3 Hats from the Heart/My Journey Journals <3, as my little group page on my own account is getting rather large (30 members!! YAYYYYYY). I hope it will generate more traffic to the group and get the word spread farther. I know their are many groups out there that do the same thing our group does, but everyone has to start somewhere!! :)


OH, I just remembered....the tally of hats going to Houston TX is 51 hats and 15 Journey Journals! Hopefully next year the totals will be bigger! :) I will close my ramblings for now and get back to work on my ladies hat...until my next update, may the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within....<3

Sunday Musings

Happy Sunday afternoon!! I'm feeling a little lazy after taking the necessary time this morning to clean my house, it was beyond needing it. I have a tendency to ignore the house cleaning when I'm focused on being creative :) And of course, the pups needed necessary attention also, their nails were extraordinarily long and our Yorkie's hair was way too long also. That meant Pedi's for both pup's and hair trim for the little one. What a busy day it has been, wait....I think I have been busy ALL weekend long! So, I guess I am okay with being lazy for the last half of my day :D

I was surfing the web in one of my "break time" moments and clicked on the website of Halos of Hope. WOW!! I was very proud of myself, because I could peruse their website and see the total of how many hats are donated to them or by them and not be discouraged at all. PROGRESS!! Maybe one day I will have that many hats to donate around the country, but for now, I'm okay with making a difference, no matter how small, in my little community and in Houston, TX. I am where I am supposed to be with this ongoing journey and I know that when it is time for our little group to grow, it will (and probably by leaps and bounds). So for now, I am beyond proud and happy to be in the place I am and doing what I can do to help and bring a smile to someone in need. :)

I was just counting up the children's hats that will be donated in the first week of April, and so far the total is 50 hats!!!! No Journey Journals yet, but this will change (as my sister is coming up to help me put some together) and I will keep you all informed of the total tally of both. I would love to have 10 more hats to add, but I know for myself that is kind of impossible for me to do with all of the many other things I have going on, especially when I HAVE to get some journals made to stuff in these boxes for Houston!

I DO have some pictures to share with you of some new hats...you didn't think I was just going to yammer in this update did you? LOL First up is 3 hats made by Ms. Deb, and I just LOVE all of them but especially the lace look on the multi hued hat and the fuzzy look of the brim on the pink hat :)

Next up is an adults swirl hat and my sis in MD said it reminds her of blue peppermint. Now I tried hard to follow a pattern that I found over at The Crochet Zombie and I started out pretty good, but by Row 4 I just simply could not make sense of the directions (my brain could have been on overload at that point), so I kind of did it on my own and feel that for not following the rest of the directions, it looks pretty darn good :)

 

And last but not least, is a child's Octopus hat that I threw together before starting my dreaded house cleaning LOL! This was a "pinspiration" with only a picture to look at (I just can't spend money on a hat or pattern when I know I can recreate it myself). I just love her curlicue tentacles!!

I WAS able to cut quite a few pieces of fabric to cover some journals with, but the wrists just will not allow me to squeeze that glue bottle this evening to put some together, so next weekend I will be the "Glue" queen and hopefully will not glue my fingers together ;) I am so happy that my creative slump is now over and I'm back into the swing of things, even if I am behind (this is normal for me, right?) in birthday and baby gifts LOL

Now I must bid you all adieu until my next flurry of activity produces some pictures for your viewing pleasure! May the light of God's love touch your heart and soul and help you to Glow from Within.....<3

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