Birthday Blessings~

Posted on October 12, 2009 by gettinitpegged

Well…as many of you know already, yesterday was my 38th birthday!  🙂  I’m not really one who loathes these things…actually, any reason to have some fun is great with me, lol!  Once I got past my 30th birthday, which came at a really troublesome time in my life, and probably really affected my ability to be happy about turning the 30-something corner, every other one has been a breeze.  My 38th one was no exception!

Since it fell on a Sunday, we kind of made the whole weekend a fun celebration, starting with Friday.  I traveled to my hometown to get my hair done and be generally pampered by my favorite beautician (thanks, Jeannine!) and then on Saturday, the girlies and I had a day of craftiness and fun in our new hometown.  We first went to the Great Pumpkin Event at Michaels Crafts, each creating our own spooky pumpkins, which you can see below in the pics.  After that, we went to lunch, explored a new antique shop (this is one of our family’s favorite hobbies…we’ve raised our girls right, wouldn’t you say??) and then checked out a new yarn store: Shibori Dragon, which I believe I saw at the Sock Summit, and which is actually stocked with much, much more than just yarn!  It has beads, embroidery goods, and fabrics as well…most of which are specialties from Japan…very nice place to hang out! 🙂

Sunday, my hubby took me to a very nice breakfast, then we planned on going to Lattin’s Country Cider Mill (one of our family’s yearly traditions), but after doing a little grocery shopping, waiting for my youngest girlie to finish baking a cake ;), and walking the bunny, it was really too late to try to fit the cider mill in.  We decided to give this fun event the time it needed, and thus move it to next weekend, and headed off to a movie instead: 9.  It was really very interesting, kinda spooky, and very visually impressive.

Before the movie, we had cake made mostly by my youngest, which was absolutely delish and amazingly creative!  She crafted it into a jack o lantern pumpkin…out of a heart cake pan!  Isn’t that just clever??  And let me tell you, it was absolutely melt in your mouth goodness of Devil’s Food Chocolate…mmmmmm!  See the pics for one of the most awesome birthday cakes ever…

Another absolutely amazing thing?  My eldest daughter (with some creative juices from my younger thrown in) created this tiny sock money out of itsy bitsy crochet…all her own design, with no pattern!  I swear she needs to sell these little things, don’t you think?  She put on the little green bow because it’s her favorite fuzzy yarn, and it looks like a Dr Suess bow tie…cute, huh?   She knows I have a thing for sock monkeys and have never yet had one of my own.  Now I do!  😀

Here are the pics of one of the most enjoyable birthday weekends ever, spent with my favorite loved ones and blessings all around:

Bethany's 38th B-Day funI hope your upcoming week is filled with just as many wonders…

Bethany~

Posted in Birthdays, Crafting, Family Fun, Kids Crafting, Life, Movies, Pets | 7 Comments

…another idea!

Posted on October 10, 2009 by gettinitpegged

I was cruising through my (sadly, rather large) backlog of emails this morning, when I found a link to a pattern from Berroco… it’s a really very useful pattern for needle knitting… an ice pick glove! Now, you really must click on the link, so that you can see what I’m talking about, and then come right back here, K?  Go on ahead… just don’t forget to come back for the punch line, K? 😉

Are you back now??  Did you get a good look?  Cute idea, isn’t it?  Let me show you something else that will be of the utmost interest to us loom knitters out there:

Bath Mitt from the Spa Set~

Bath Mitt from the Spa Set~

Doesn’t this little item from the Spa Set found in the Peggin’ Pages look just like it could be used as the same kind of thing?

Let me tell you as the maker of this little design that YES!  It would be perfect for it!

All you would do is cinch the finger tip area up around the ice pick edge using a gathered bind off, rather than sealing it closed upon itself… couldn’t be easier!

What a great idea for a Christmas gift, right?

It’s so funny that this was in my email box today, because just a few days before, an idea popped into my head about this very same Bath Mitt.  Actually the idea was inspired by the true life events of my friend GuppyGirl, who has been experiencing quite a few reasons lately in her household to have need of this little trick:

FAM_ICE_BAG_RUBBER_9-1946This is a pic of the exact ice bag that I own a pair of… twin ice buddies that have come in very handy for assorted surgeries and bumps and bruises.

The only thing is that you can’t really use it straight on the skin… it’s just too cold, and it tends to condensate, leaving you all damp as well as cold, lol!

The answer??  Just slip this baby inside the Bath Mitt and then fill it with ice…voila!  Ice bag cozy!

Bath MittSo, now that I’ve inspired you (hopefully, lol!) to set out upon a journey of bath mitt making frenzy… are you wondering where to find the pattern for this very versatile little item?

Just click right here to the Peggin’ Pages and scroll down until you see the Spa Set… it’s actually 3 patterns in one, and thus a very good deal. 😉

Have a wonderful weekend!

(I know I will: my family is making a journey to the pumpkin patch on Sunday…which is also my birthday!  I just love birthdays, lol!)

Bethany~

Posted in Knitting, Life, Loom Knitting, Looming Patterns, New Projects, Peggin' Pages | 3 Comments

Tip for Tuesday~

Posted on October 6, 2009 by gettinitpegged

It’s happened to the best of us…

We fall in love with a special knitted item, be it sweater, mitts or bag, and then we proceed to use this favorite fibery goodie every chance we get…I know I’ve done it many times, lol! 😉

But, alas…before long, all that sumptuous softness is displaying itself  in pills and snags.  Your smart design is now blurred and fuzzy.  I’ve tried to remedy this in the past with shavers you can pick up from clothing stores, etc, but none seemed to really do the trick…until I found this little beauty:

Defuzz Shaver by DritzSee how’s all scattered with bits of fuzz and fluff?

That’s because I put it to the test…a big one!  My most fuzziest of all favorite purses, the Braided Cable Bag.  Braided Cables Bag-angle viewI’ve loved this baggie to pieces, literally, and I thought for sure I’d have to make a brand new one before I could again enjoy this as my traveling companion.

But guess what?  I found this shaver in a fabric store (Joann) and thought I’d give it a try…it’s Dritz brand, so I thought that maybe it would be a little more powerful than the cheaper versions I’d had disappointing run ins with before.  I was right!  🙂  The little holes are a bit bigger than the norm and the motor seems quite strong and puts up with long sessions of de-fuzzing without burning out.  I was so sold on it’s good qualities that I thought I’d pass the tip along to you! (fyi: just be sure to not get too deep with your shaving, as it’s kind of addicting, and I wouldn’t want you to slice through the actual fibers you need to hold your item together, lol! )

Here’s a few before and after pics for you to see for yourself how good it worked for me:

Defuzz before & after rosettesDefuzz before & after strapDefuzz shaver encircled

I hope this helps you be able to get out those old fuzzy favorites that you just couldn’t bear to part with, but still love as much as the day you first laid eyes on them.

Enjoy!

Bethany~

Posted in Crochet, Knitting, Loom Knitting, Product Review | 3 Comments