Only Wednesday?!

Is it really only Wednesday? I feel like it should be Friday already, and yet it also feels like Monday. Funny how that works.

I went yesterday and purchased my scrubs for clinicals and was pleasantly surprised with the price, which is a first when it comes to this nursing school business. Everything seems overpriced. I swear they have 40 dollared me to death. I'm also fairly certain that books for this semester alone will be close to $1,000. I now understand what my parents went through when I got my Bachelor's degree. I knew college was expensive, but I just didn't know HOW expensive. It's much more real when you pay for it yourself. Thanks, Mom and Dad! Have I mentioned how stressed I am about the student loan process, too? I'm convinced there's something I'm going to forget to do, then I'll get kicked out of school for not having filled out some pertinent paperwork. Then I'll die. Or I'll get to the bookstore and they won't be able to charge my books to my loan, then I'll have to start with no books, then I'll die. Do you see where this is going? All roads lead to death.

Have I also mentioned how psyched I am to be leaving my job? This place just gets crazier and crazier. Plus, I'm fairly certain my new boss doesn't like the way we do anything because we still do it the way the old boss wanted it done. Do you know how hard it is to completely change the way you do your job? It takes time and lots of retraining. It's not easy! Give us some slack, huh? Plus {don't tell him, but} I think the old way is better anyway. It seems like things just don't actually ever get done around here anymore. Maybe I'm just burnt out and jaded. Probably. But office morale is nearly at an all-time low since my tenure here began. It's not a healthy work environment, to say the least. But I digress...Back to nursing school!

Like I was saying, I got my scrubs for clinicals, along with my very own stethoscope and pen light. I feel like a true nursing student now! I'm pretty sure I could save lives with just these two accessories. I can't wait to get started!

I've also been working my little fingers to the bone by crocheting every free minute of the evening after work. I feel that I should be making better progress, but I am getting a bit quicker. I finally listed a custom listing for women's Mary Jane slippers in the shop, so if there's a certain color combo you want, let me know:) Otherwise, I'm still working on getting several pairs made up to put in the shop that will be ready to ship when they're ordered as many of you have requested {I'm so honored!}. This is a pair that was given away by Inner Hooker on her Facebook business page. The winner picked a great color combo--avacado and yellow.


I'm hoping I can crochet my way through nursing school since I'm quitting my job. *hint hint* So if you feel a hankering for some Mary Janes, I'll be glad to "hook" you up! Ok, I know....that was a terrible joke, but I couldn't resist;)

Crochet Owl Earflap Hat

I bought this pattern last week from Inner Hooker and immediately fell in love. I finished my first one last night and it's now available in the shop! I am so pleased with the way it turned out:)

What do you think?

I'm going to start on a pink one tonight. I have lots of color combos in mind, so I hope they're a hit!

Post-It Note Tuesday: 7.6.10

Made it Monday

I'm back from "staycation" {thanks for the new word, Scotti!} and back to the daily grind. Fun fun! However, my countdown to the end of this job and the start of nursing school has begun. Yay! I'm so ready. It's very surreal though. I know I've been accepted and I'm starting August 16th, but I still won't believe it until I go to class the first day. I can't seem to believe that I will be a nurse {hopefully!} in 2 years. If you had told me 5 years ago that this is the route I would be taking, I wouldn't have believed you. I always swore if there was anything I could never do, it was something in the medical field. Just goes to show how much we change as we grow.

On another note, I thought I'd share with you what I made this past week. I ordered this pattern for crochet button loafers and it was SO EASY! They turned out amazingly cute, too. I made this pair for my new nephew, Michael, in the 0-3 months size. My sister said they swallowed him but that she hopes they will fit in August.

Aren't they precious?! I love them so much that I plan to make them in a rainbow of colors and offer them in my shop. They were so much fun to make, too!

What have you been working on lately?

Craft Hope Project 8

By now, we all know about the devastation caused by the Gulf Coast oil spill. Personally, I've wandered what I could do to help and have come up with nothing. Luckily for me, the wonderful people at Craft Hope are partnering with The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies to assist them in their efforts in caring for and cleaning oiled marine mammals, mostly dolphins and sea turtles. This will be Project 8.

Craft Hope's Project 8 will be collecting handmade washcloths and hand towels for use in cleaning all of the dolphins and sea turtles. These will be thrown away after a few uses, so there is absolutely no need to worry about how they look.

If you can sew, knit, or crochet, then you can do this. They are asking that you create sets of hand towels and/or wash rags to send. Preferably in sets of 10 or 20.

Since they are called "Craft Hope", they do require that they be handmade, however, several people have asked about simply cutting up old towels and t-shirts to send. They said this is okay! Also, someone mentioned not being a sewer and wanted to do the cloths where you tie the edges with knots, like you can do for the no-sew fleece blankets. Craft Hope says this is good, too! So if you're not a crafter, please don't let this stop you!

Craft Hope says this is also a great opportunity to get kids involved. It’s a wonderful way to teach them about our beaches and the fragile marine life. Perhaps they can help you cut up the fabric? It's never too early to teach them about doing what they can to help save the environment, don't you think?

The project deadline is July 3rd, so you still have plenty of time to join in! I think I will get started tonight so I can get as many sets of 10 made up as possible.

If you want to join in with me for this wonderful project, go here.

You can send your handmade towels and wash rags to:

Kimberly Davion
c/o IMMS Oil Spill Relief
1700 East La Rua Street
Pensacola, Florida 32501
USA

They also said that if you'd like, include a bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap, as this is the soap they use to cut through the oil on the animals.

Don't you just love this project? It's so easy, and yet so rewarding. We can really make a big difference if we all step up to help with this! Please let me know if you intend to help!

I will love you forever if you help!! {Okay, I will anyway, but do it anyway--even you non-crafty peeps!}

Book Club

My friends and I just started a book club. We've been wanting to do this for awhile because we all love to read and also want to be in a book club with people we actually know. Plus, we wanted a reason to get together and eat junk food, of course. Our first book was chosen by my friend Margot. She decided on Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It's basically about the Mount Everest disaster in 1996 where eight climbers were killed by a 'rogue storm' {as stated by wikipedia}. I'm almost halfway through and it's a pretty haunting book. Krakauer is a great writer. He makes you feel like you were actually there. Plus it's a pretty terrifying story. He was lucky to get out alive. It's also about how Everest has been commercialized so much and how these competing companies would take completely inexperienced clients up to the summit for the right price. I don't know if they still do this or not, but I guess I'll know when I'm finished? Anyway, it's a pretty interesting read so far if you like non-fiction at all.

Krakauer also wrote Into the Wild, which I've also read and was amazing. You should check it out. It's about this college student from a very well-to-do family who, out of nowhere, sells all of his possessions and decides to hitch hike to Alaska and out into the wilderness. He tells no one in his family where he is going and he ends up dying there. {This is all in the basic synopsis, so don't worry, I'm not ruining anything for you.} Crazy good book though. Also very haunting.

We don't have our next book picked out yet but we want to do it soon so we can all have time to purchase it or order it, whatever, so we can have plenty of time to finish before our second meeting. Does that sentence even make sense? Sorry if it doesn't. Anyway, we are all going to write down a book title of our choice and draw from a hat. So do you have any good ideas for me? Right now the two that come to mind are Water for Elephants and The Help, both of which I've not read. Has anyone ever read a really great book club-worthy book that you suggest? Or have you read either of these two books and recommend one over the other?

On another note, I finally finished another project last night! Aren't you proud of me? {I also have some hand cramping, but I forged through.} I've made this hat for my nephew in the child size, but this is the first adult size I've made. What do you think?




Stella wears it pretty well, I think. I'm thinking of adding a little yellow flower to the side. Thoughts? Opinions? Cheap shots?

What other colors should I make it in for the shop?

Things I Like Thursday

Two posts in one day? What?! Crazy, I know! But it's my blog and I'll do what I want to! :)

Today, I like:

Sun Hats

*from Ravelry.com

Apple Cozies

Market Bags

Water Bottle Cozies/Carriers

Don't you just love summer? Now if it would only get here...

So glad it's Thursday...

...because that mean's it's almost Friday! Finally!

I don't have much to blog about today, so I'll just share a couple of things I've been working on.

I made this cute little door hanger last weekend for my sweet nephew's bedroom.

I used the "H" from this pattern and just added a ribbon to hang the letter with. From start to finish, it probably took me about 20 minutes, which was fantastic. I love quick projects!

I also FINALLY finished a crochet project. I have about 5 in progress right now, due to some sort of craft ADD or something, and I won't tell you how long this has been sitting around the house. {Note to self: One project at a time!} Anyway, it's finally done and in the shop. I'm pretty impressed with my fortitude. Aren't you?

Maybe I'll finish another project tonight, you just never know. I bought a fabric yo yo maker at Hobby Lobby today and I'm pretty excited about testing it out. {In case you don't know, the round scraps of fabric under the button on the yellow hat are fabric yo yos. I didn't know this until I learned to make them.} They are boogers to make so I'm hoping the yo yo maker will make the process a little quicker and easier because I think they're super duper cute.

...and a special thanks to Scotti at The Oxford Family blog for featuring me today! You're too sweet!!

Crochet Summer Hat

I made this hat last night with some purple variegated yarn that I loved. I am really pleased with the say it turned out. What do you think? Honest critiques please! I want to start adding some of these to my shop. Any advice?

I especially like this pattern in particular because it works up really quickly, plus it's made with 100% cotton, so it's breazy and breathable for summer.

I got the pattern here.

TGIF

Is anyone else still having trouble with the time change? I'm tired all the time. What's the deal?

This weekend I have my nephew's 1st birthday, wedding dress shopping with my friend Jayme (yay!! my first time being a bridesmaid), and probably some crochet therapy. Who knows. What do you have planned? Happy Friday!

New in the shop:

procrastination

Lavender & yellow summer flower hat for baby girl.

This is what I do when I should be studying. I'm really good at procrastinating.

happy wednesday!

If you can't tell, I've gotten really into the crochet lately. Here's a headband I whipped up the other night (please excuse the hair):

*Free Pattern by http://www.creativeyarn.blogspot.com/

It was really simple, yet satisfying. I'm going to add this one to my shop. Or maybe I'll keep it for myself. What other colors would you like to see? I think this is great for spring! Can also be made in a smaller size for babies or kids.

I also made some keyfobs a couple of weeks ago for some friends which I've finally taken the time to upload, though the pics aren't the greatest.

I bought the materials for these before Christmas planning to make a bunch as presents, bI ut kept putting it off because I thought it was going to be a lot of work. Little did I know how easy they would turn out to be! The embroidery machine gave me a few fits, but I think I have it down now. So if you have a birthday coming up, just expect to get one of these from me.

Also, here's a cute bib for my adorable nephew, and of course, just another reason to show off cute pictures of him.

Hope you enjoy watching him grow because he's my favorite guinea pig. It also helps that his mom, my sister-in-law, always goes on and on about the stuff I make him and shows it off to all her friends. It's a good ego boost;)

So what other headband colors should I made?

And in other news, I have been accepted into nursing school! It's a 2 year RN program and I will start in the Fall. So don't feel too guilty if you want to help my college fund and shop here :)

I'm still alive!

I'm baaaaack! My friend Jayme has been giving me a hard time about not blogging anymore, and I really have no excuse, except that I hate taking pictures of my projects. I love doing them, and want to even put some on Etsy, but I have a confession...I'm lazy. Atleast when it comes to taking pictures, uploading, doing descriptions, etc. ect. So, this one's for you, Jayme:)

Anyway, here's what I've been up to lately:

I finally learned to crochet, and made this fun little hat for my nephew. I hope to put some in my Etsy store soon. *Pattern from Nutella Dreams Late Night Crafts.

I also ordered a bunch of these elephants and am embroidering them for baby gifts. (Also comes in pink).

And for my newest crochet project, I made my nephew a monkey hat for his upcoming 1st birthday party, which is going to be (of course) a monkey theme. He's precious, I know!

*Pattern by Inner Hooker on Etsy.

I have a ton of new crochet patterns I'm planning to try, so I will post pictures soon. In particular, I hope to be posting some "green" crocheted face scrubbies in the shop soon.

Thanks for stopping by!