Crochet Flowers

As much as I enjoy crocheting scarves, shawls, afghans and the like, I think one of my most favorite items to crochet are flowers.  I think they so much in the way of finishing an item.  I've had a ton of fun creating "posie toes".  Since flip flops are a guilty pleasure of most women all over the world, I thought why not fancy them up a bit.

Finding patterns for crochet and knit flowers is really easy these day, all you have to do is log into Pinterest.  There's a whole bouquet of them sure to help you embellish your own hand made creations.  Of course, you can always purchase the directions, like I did for this particular flower, unfortunately for me, Pinterest was not around when I was looking for just the right flip flop topper, but that's fine, there's never enough flowers for me!  And I bet this one is also on Pinterest now!

Scarves

I absolutely love knitting or crocheting scarves.  The way the yarn comes together is always a surprise, from unrolling the twisted up skien to the finished product is a process that never ceases to "entertain" and delight me.  I have had so much fun making these two designs this winter and they have been received so well that custom orders are waiting to be filled and I actually need to order more of the ruffle yarn.

Another favorite has been this cowl.  I found the directions on a lovely blog, fiber flux and added my own individual touch by crocheting a flower to attach.

I remain forever grateful to both my Grandmother and my Mom for teaching me these time honored needle arts.

-Until Next Time...Helen

Thirsty?

Last night a friend, Debby Barash, and I had a great time at Thirsty Palette, in Overland Park.  If you've ever wanted to do a painting in 2 hours, enjoy a glass (or 2) of wine, listen to great music all in the company of friends, then this is the place for you.  Our canvas and paints were set up in advance so we could spend a bit of time getting to know the artist, the owner and the others that were there to paint.

Our coach, Stephanie, stood at the front of the room to guide us through the process of creating our masterpiece.

She would show us a step or two at a time and then wait for everyone to catch up.  And of course, she was there to help with any disasters (thankfully we really didn't have too many of those).

Who knew that a bustier begins as a "happy face"

As the evening progressed and the first glass of wine turned into a second glass, the paint began to flow even better.

Debby hard at work, getting the details just right! Go Debby....

While I don't think I'll be giving up my day job any time soon to become an artist, I do know that I will be returning to Thirsty Palette several more times to add to my private art collection.  You should try it; we had a blast!

Have a great day! Until next time...