A Place for Sunglasses

A cute little make! 

 If you are new to crochet it is always fun to have a quick and easy little project to work on.

I would say this little case fits the bill.  It's also a great way to use up leftover yarn. 

This is one of those things that I kind of threw together. So there is no "pattern". 

But this is how I did it:

I used just regular 4 ply yarn and a J hook.  The whole piece is crocheted in a half double 

crochet.  I chained 32. Then 2 rows of the main color and 2 rows of the contrast color for the 

stripe. 12 rows of the main color and 2 rows of the contrast and finally 2 rows of the main

color. Fold your piece into 3rds and stitch the sides together.

To doll it up, I then did a single crochet on each of the ends. 

For the flap I added a row of a chain 3 scallop edge.

I attached a loop (double strained chain) and a button.

EASY!!!

 

Yikes! Its going to be 117 degrees here in Phoenix this weekend! 

I think I want to make sure I have my new little sunglass case with me for sure.

Let me know if you are going to make this. 

I'll be joining:
Ginny for Yarn Along
Bernideen for Openhouse 
Jan for Share Your Cup Thursday
Courtney for Feather Your Nest Friday 

Cindy for Show and Tell Friday

Something Great Somebody Said

    Sometimes.... A girl has to do what a girl has do.  
    Build that door!

Book Review The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

Back of the Book:

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

My Thoughts: 
I liked this book. Specifically, I love the way Amy Tan writes. The book is more a series of short stories that weave together to tell a history of girlfriends, mothers and daughters and a changing culture.  Her sense of humor and sarcasm are easily read in the complicated relationships.

I liked it, and I would recommend it. All of the girls in bookclub liked it to. We read it in May so it was a perfect choice for Mother's Day.

I also decided to watch the movie again, just because it had been so long since I had seen it. It was also done well. It was very close to the book, which I like.

I'll be joining:

Easy Spa Slippers

Oh! Hello There!

Don't bother to grab a cup of tea or coffee because this little project goes so fast you won't have

time to finish it before it gets cold! 

I'm serious... mmmkay? 

 

All you need is a pair of flip flops, 

2 buttons and  

2 colors of yarn (not even a full skein).

Simple, free directions can be found here, on the LionBrand Yarn website

 

 I keep these right outside the shower... they don't go outside. That way I have clean

slippers to put on my clean feet. 

I know... I'm weird. 

Total investment: 

about 3 hours  and $1

I'm joining Ginny at Small Things for Yarn Along

Jan at Your daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for  Share Your Cup Thursday

Weekend Wrap-up

Ola! My Sweet Senoritas!
The week is off to a good start.
Just thought that I would share a couple of items from my weekend.
We had a lovely Father's Day! Husband watched all his favorites and we went to
lunch and the book store after church. He then took a well deserved 2 hour nap.

Here I am ready for work this morning... sipping my new fav tea... Bigelow's Vanilla Caramel...no cals... no carbs! I'm also wearing my newest little project. I picked up the magazine below and it came with the little kit to make the flower. I added the button.

I was tickled because this was the first real pattern that I have actually followed.
I usually eyeball and wing it. So I think I'm getting better... I'm sure it sounds goofy...
but I really love crochet! I can have a hideous day at work, come home, and fall into a project. It seriously is therapeutic for me.

Can you tell... I'm really trying to hone my Instagram skills. It is really a convenient application.  It works on Apple or Android phones.

I started another little .99 weekend project that I will share with you later this week.

I went to the shopping center north of our home to do a little shopping and to pop into the grocery store. These flowers were so tempting.... I'm looking at them now and kind of wishing that I would have picked them up.

But the coolest thing was that some group (I'm thinking a youth group of some kind) had taped postcards all over the shopping center. Everyone was encouraging or inspirational.
I just thought that was the most awesome thing ever!

It might have been just enough to get me over my fear and loathing of Monday morning!

Sunday Evening...

I'm always sad to see the sun set on Sunday evening.
What about you?

Contemplating the Day...

This post was originally going to be just a quick pop-in to say 

"Hi and Happy Good Morning!" 

But that changed when I was setting up my little photo shoot and thought that I would add my dad's old Minolta to the mix.... I was fussing and arranging the camera, toast and coffee, when I decided to pick the camera up and take a picture. Just to feel the click and then the film advance. 

I love the feel of a fine old camera.

I held it to my face to look thru the viewfinder. The weight and feel of the camera was similar but yet so different than my 35mm DSL. 

It actually still smells faintly of cigarette smoke.... Dad was serious about his smoking!
It was like pulling a trigger....

I had this overwhelming flood of memories of my dad and all the things that he was really good at. As I write this, I feel the heat in my eyes that you get before the tears come. I feel my throat close and my heart aches just a little as I recall and replay.

Photography was one of those many things that he was good at.  

I have many wonderful Father's Days to remember and be grateful for. 

Love the dad you have and enjoy Father's Day with him!

Prayer Candles

 Okay... It's POSSIBLE that I may have gone a little overboard on the Prayer Candles. 

 

It's just that they are so cheap and fast!

You can get the plain ones at the Dollar Store for .99 cents. 

I used free printables from The Graphic's Fairy but I have a ton of 

printables pinned on my Pinterest page

I made all of these in a couple of hours.

Mine are really pretty simple, but think of all the fun ideas you could do.

They are easy to use in your decor to. 

I'll be joining:

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday 

Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday

Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Bernideen at The Tea Time Blog for  Open House

 "I feel as if I had opened a book and found roses of yesterday 

sweet and fragrant, between its leaves."

 L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island

What a great Fresh-Cut Friday! 

Thank you everyone for joining in.

Fresh-Cut Friday in June

Hi Sweet Peas!

Happy Thursday Night! 

That means that tomorrow is Friday AND that means the day after that is SATURDAY! 

My favorite day of the week! eeeeeek! I love it. 

 I'm taking Mom shopping to finish accessorizing her new bathroom. 

FUN!

But it also means that its time to talk flowers. 

Fresh Flowers!

Specifically Fresh-Cut Flowers!

SO!

Welcome to June's edition of Fresh-Cut Friday!

I think our Safeway is stepping it up in the Floral Department. 

 

They brought in Peonies and Hydrangea this Spring. 

I was so torn! 

Hydrangea??? Peonies???

What to choose!

But I finally settled on the Peonies. I know you all get these so easily 

back east and in the midwest.

They are pretty rare in these parts and frankly I have never bought them before.

What a treat!

Just look at that ruffly prettiness!

I also picked up a small bunch of Mini Carnations. 

They were on sale and I thought they were such a pretty color. 

So that is my Fresh-Cut Friday post! 

I hope you enjoyed it. 

And now... 

It's all you!

I'll be joining in here:

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Diann at The Thrifty Groove for Thrifty Things Friday

Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday

Fresh-Cut Friday Reminder

Hi Rose Buds!

 Just a reminder that the linky tool will be up tonight at 6:00pm. 

As Promised!

Hi All!

I'm sharing my Granny Square Afghan today. 

I made one for sweet daughter and I loved it so much 

that I wanted one for our bedroom.

 It was pretty easy and I really do love how it turned out.

 It weighs a ton! 

And I'm sorry but I didn't keep track of the number of skeins of yarn. It was a lot!

 Funny thing is I always thought that an afghan was an inexpensive gift. 

I mean money wise, obviously they are a labor of love.

With 4 colors, and a minimum of 8 skeins per color... 117 squares.... there were at least 32 skeins total.  This was pricey... Yarn isn't cheap any more. And I didn't use just the $2.99 SuperSaver 

stuff ...  There was some $6.00 a skein stuff in the mix. 

 As much as I love this one.... I am going to give the granny squares a rest and see if I can find something new....

 I'll have the instructions (as best as I can figure them because this was a total improv) 

posted on my Ravelry page in the next day or two. That button is on the side bar of my blog.

So that is what has kept me from house work!

I can't wait to use it this winter.... 

What have you finished lately?

I'm joining in for
Show & Share at Southern Lovely

Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home

Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Cindy at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday