WELCOME SPRING BABY NAP SACK

WELCOME SPRING!

Just the other day a lady came into our office and presented us with a daffodil plant to remind us that Spring was coming.  The plant had multiple buds ready to pop out, it took a day and they began to open to the most beautiful yellow daffodils.  Daffodils always remind me of spring!  Today when I walked into the office the entire plant was covered with flowers! What a delightful reminder of Spring.  

In order to complete some looming project deadlines I had to take a little unexpected blog break the last two weeks.  Most of my deadlines were self imposed ones, but they were things that needed to be done and having procrastinated put me in a time crunch. Sounds so important doesn't it? LOL!  

Our Pastor and his wife are expecting their first baby soon and we were having a baby shower for them and my gift wasn't completed.  So I put the petal to the metal  er, the knitting needles into full warp speed to finish this darling nap sack and cap in a soft spring green baby yarn.

Lil' Sweet Pea 

Isn't it sweet?  There are lots of patterns for baby nap sacks on Pinterest and Raverlry.  Several patterns inspired me to take the parts I liked and improvise and embellish on their ideas.  Wee Leafy Baby Set (a free pattern) on Raverlry was the inspiration for my baby cap and The Accordian Sleep Sack  came from HERE inspiring the drawstring closure on my sack. The Accordian Sleep Sack had a knitted picot edging which I chose to simply replace with ribbing (as we don't know the sex of the baby yet) and I opted out on the Accordian style and went with a simpler straight forward knitting (stockinette) in the round for the sack.  This produced a solid background that would allow the crocheted vine and leaves to stand out.  The pattern for the leaves was from Crochet Bouquet by Suzann Thompson.  

My daughter is expecting her second baby in August and she loved this baby sack, she wants one but wants to wait until the "reveal" and then she'll let me know what pattern she has in mind. LOL!  I have a feeling she'll keep me busy knitting baby items for the next several months.  

Of course, I'll share them with you! 

Happy Spring!

Suzy 

On My Heart

Hi Everyone!

It's Heart Strings Tuesday where I share something close to my heart, mainly the little ones that tug on it.  You know what I'm talking about if you have children or grands...they tug on your apron strings and then your heart strings, they are never too old to tug on your heart.  

My little grands are growing fast and changing right before my very eyes. We are blessed to have our two little girls, Sunshine and Lollipop living close by and we see each other every week.  My darling grandson, whom we affectionately nicknamed Calvin Houdini lives in Michigan. We Skype each week and keep up with his antics on FB.  Little Calvin H. will turn two in a few weeks! I can't hardly believe he will be two, and the girls will be 4 and 6 this summer and CH mommy is expecting a baby in August. These are my HEARTSTRINGS! 

The page above from my art journal is to commemorate the fun Sunshine, Lollipops and I had when we made Valentines last month.  The project was a valentine heart made from paper strips and cut out and pasted to a card for their parents.  We also punched hearts from scrapbook paper and added stickers to decorate the cards.  These are left over scraps from that craft project I've glued into my journal and then added a little border and some paint to gussy up the page.  Each time I look at this page I remember the special time we spent together laughing and having fun.  A priceless memory. 

My Granny used to tell me when our children were young that " they might be tugging on your apron strings now, but soon  they will be tugging on your heartstrings".  Enjoy your little ones while they are small, be kind, be patient, be loving....they are only small for a short period of time.  
And it is true....they never grow too old to be on your heart.

Love and Hugs,
Suzy

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Hello Everyone!

Each day I watch the Weather Channel and check out the local forecast before heading out to work.  The weather in the North is still in deep freeze mode and it looks like Spring might be another six weeks or so for these folk.  We're starting to warm up here, with the weather in the high seventies and low eighties, everything is green but then it is always so in So. FL.  Always green, something we take for granted here, the flowers are always blooming and everything is green year-round.  Quite the contrast to our Northern friends.

Looking back to last Spring when my daughter and grandson were visiting....we had such warm weather

                                     for walks along the river

                                     for picnics in the park,

for walking on the River Walk under the bridge,

                           for a stop at a cute cafe on the river and

                            for a lunch downtown at an outdoor cafe.

Here's a foretaste of warmer weather in our neighborhood: 

A few weeks ago, walking through the neighborhood this is what I saw in bloom....

                                    my neighbor's climbing roses

                            orange trees in bloom (heavenly smell)

                                      the ever blooming hibiscus

                                                lemon trees

                                                 orchids 

It seems that Spring is in the air here in So. Florida.  We'll enjoy the Spring-like weather and in another month, about the time everyone else will be thawing out it will be time for air conditioning here.  I know, it's crazy isn't it?


I wish for our Northern friends a quick thaw and warmer weather!!! It's coming...just hang in there!  

Suzy

Sketching On The Porch

Hello Everyone!  

Here in Florida where I live, we generally think of January and February as the winter months, and March is Spring weather.  The way the weather patterns are going this year, I'm not quite sure what to expect.  The folks up north are REALLY ready for SPRING!  I hope it comes soon for you. 

Here are a few sketches made on my friend's back porch, it was a good day painting. I love the way a sketch and some watercolor can bring back memories, sights and sounds.  My dear friend had just lost her mother to Alzheimer's, we sat on her porch while we reminisced and tried to capture the essence of red roses from the memorial service.

 It was a quiet, sunny morning, we sat drawing and painting and looking at family photos. I love old photos and she had plenty of stories to tell about her mother and father.  It was great to see the styles of the day and see places I recognized from my childhood too! 

       A mother bird with her babies. 

The Coral Cactus was extremely hard to capture with its twists and turns and funky colors! But even so, this is one of my favorite sketches, wonky pot included. 

Last month  I shared with you two of my sketchbooks, one new sketchbook and a revamped sketchbook. Wish I could tell you that I've been sketching everyday in them but alas, it is sporadic sketching at best. Still it is my goal to get into the habit of sketching daily....

Working on that.  How about you?  Get out your sketchbooks and get busy!! I will..... if you will. Check back with you soon. 

Happy Sketching!

Suzy