New Toy!!

At the beginning of the year I made a decision to do something about the extra weight I have gained over the past couple of years. I told myself that if I lost the 10 pounds I wanted to by my birthday, I was going to buy myself a nice new toy to make a project I saw in a magazine that made me drool.

Since I lost the weight, and last weekend was my birthday, I ordered my new toy and all the supplies for that drool worthy project. I was so pleasantly surprised yesterday when I got home from work to find that both orders had arrived.

Behold my new Boomerang Bead Loom. Isn't she lovely? It took me about an hour last night to warp the loom, and about another hour and a half to weave the first 2 rows of that project.



As you can see below, at 2 rows per hour and a half of work, this project is going to take me forever to complete. But complete it I will!!



Too bad my photography skills are so poor that you can't see the pattern emerging. Hopefully when more of it is complete I can get a better photo. Today I did another 3 rows. Woohoo!!



This afternoon was an extension to my birthday. Mom took me to lunch and we went shopping! We went to my favorite mexican restaurant, then hit the mall and wandered around the stores. The stop at Pier 1 was productive. I found a great terra cotta turtle for Paul to put on our back patio this summer. Mom and I both got a reed oil defuser to put in our bathrooms (she bought mine as my gift). I'm going to have to go back to stock up on this fragrance oil (fresh fig). I love it! Next we checked out a beauty supply store, and I scored one of my favorite Bliss body scrub/moisturizer sets. One I haven't seen in Sephora for quite awhile. Of course, since we were at the mall, I had to hit Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to grab some more dark chocolate covered pretzels. Paul is in heaven now. I believe he likes those more than I do lol.

Even with the beading and shopping, I've not neglected my knitting and crocheting. The Merging Colors Bolero is coming along quite nicely. The body is complete, as well as the first sleeve. Tonight I should finish the second sleeve, and in a couple of days I should have the collar piece done. All that will be left then is the seaming and the weaving in of eleventy bazillion ends. This is knit using 3 strands of lace weight yarn held together. The shading is accomplished by changing 1 strand of the darkest color every 6 rows to the next lighter shade. I'd love to make a pullover using this technique one day.



Last Monday at a crochet group I go to, I finally pulled out the Yesterday Once More jacket again. After having to frog the entire thing since I apparently couldn't count on my starting chain, it took some time to face redoing the entire thing. It's well on it's way now. After this upcoming week's group meeting, the back should be complete, and I will again be back to where I was when I frogged it. I'd really like to get this complete so I can start on the skirt that goes with it.



The second of the Flying Carpet Socks is almost to the heel turn. I haven't knit on these much over the past week, and really should pick them up again. They are so close to being finished and it would be nice to knock another project off that endlessly long list of Shameful Projects I have.