A little of this...A little of that!

I've had a busy couple of weeks...ALL very good though! We have successfully gotten Meagan and Ryan into their new home! Yeah! It's a bit of a drive but not a bad drive. Of course anyone who lives in the Chicago area knows that there are only two seasons - winter and CONSTRUCTION! And it doesn't help that the operators are on strike so all of the roads are partially done. I guess this means that the road construction will not be done by November, which is when they promised. So guess what comes after November? WINTER - the other season! Oh well, what ya gonna do? It felt good to be able to help them out! And I LOVE their house and the neighborhood they moved to! Very, very nice! So, in between moving Ryan and Meagan and spending time with the grandbabies, I did squeeze in some random projects! I've done some crocheting, knitting and wool felt when I've had a chance to sit down!

Here are the cute dish clothes that I have been making. They crochet up very quickly and make great gifts. They're a fun little project to take with when you need something mindless and quick to work on! They are just double crochets and are made in cotton so they are great for doing dishes. And when they get worn out and ugly, just throw them in your bag of cleaning rags and us them more. Perfect. You can pick up the Sugar and Cream or Peaches and Cream Cotton Yarn at any craft store and Walmart. It's super cheap and they make really cute little gifts. I used an "I" hook and chained 26 stitches. You just do double crochets until it looks square. There are tons of patterns for dish clothes but these are just very simple and fast!

My son-in-law's cousin asked if I could knit some baby boy hats for her to give as a shower gift to a little boy due in November. I love knitting baby hats so I jumped at the chance to make up some really cute ones. Of course there are tons more patterns for little girls but I think she will like the ones I am making. Here is the first one I finished. I did it in stockinette on circular needles but every time you make a color change, you do a row of purl to give it the ridge in it and some interest in the pattern. And since the baby is due before the holidays, I thought I would make a stocking cap in red and white stripe so he has a hat to wear for the holidays.

As you all know, I love wool felt. But half the problem is getting it ready to stitch. That to me is more work than actually stitching it. Here is my next wool felt project. It's from a book called Summer Gatherings and it is a beautiful Welcome banner. The preparation is alot but I can't wait to get it all pressed down and ready to go. More photos will follow as I get the pieces cut and fused to the background. If you love wool felt, you must check out the Primitive Gatherings website. This book was written by the owner and they are located in Wisconsin. I have a trip planned there next month!!! Fabulous stuff!

This is the pattern in the book that I have to trace onto Seam a Seam 2 and then fuse to a background.

These are the pieces traced and fused . Next step is to cut them out!

Here is one flower cut out and ready to be fused to the background.

I wondered what I had done all week but after typing this, I think I did alot!!! And because my post is titled "A little of this...a little of that" I thought I would end with pictures of my beautiful Rose of Sharon bushes (Apple Pie Gal's request). They started out as little tiny sprigs that someone from work gave to me. And this is what they have grown up to be! The white one is where mama bird and her babies live right outside my office window!

I hope everyone has a great, productive week!!! Off to do another hat!!!!