Saturday, December 31, 2011

T-SHIRT YARN

I have to say that making t-shirt yarn is fun.  I love the idea of taking something that appears worn out and useless and turning it into something useful and completely different than the original.  However, t-shirt yarn is not the best choice for the dishcloths I was hoping to make from it.  It is at least as thick as rug yarn if not thicker.  While it is not difficult to crochet with, it is more suitable for a project that loves bulk.  I'm thinking rugs, totes, coasters, baskets, maybe placemats.  Things like that will be fantastic with t-shirt yarn.  But I like my dishcloths to be easy to handle and not so bulky.  Terry cloth is my idea of an ideal weight for washing dishes with.  Maybe that's just because it's what I'm accustomed to using.  But I think I will just stick with it.

So, I will be shopping for my dark colored kitchen textiles in the next few weeks.  And as for the old t-shirts begging for new life, I will continue to search the web for fabulous ideas for projects.  With so much creativity floating around the web, I'm sure there will be a plethora of projects to be found.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

First Goal Accomplished.....

Yes, that's right!  I have already accomplished my first goal for 2012 and it's not even the new year yet!  Would it be fair to say I'm on top of the game so far?


I completed transferring all my contact info into my iPod today.  No, I did not toss my old address book.  Well, I did toss it...into a drawer.  If my iPod crashes or gets lost I may need to refer to the book again, but I hope that doesn't happen,


Now, for my next feat of New Year's Goals daring.... I shall replace all white and light colored kitchen textiles with dark colors that do not show stains.  This may take a bit more time since I want to combine this  with a crafty idea I found on Pinterest.  BTW, if you haven't discovered Pinterest yet, I highly recommend it.  Just Google it and take a look.  It is amazing!


The  crafty idea is to make t-shirt yarn, (what a great recycling idea) and crochet it into kitchen cloths.  I'll have to try one to see how I like it first as I am pretty fond of terry cloth to wash my dishes with. ( And no, I do not own a dishwasher.)  And I'm not sure if a crocheted cloth would work well for a kitchen towel.  But I promise to let you all know once I have made and tried them.  Should be interesting at the least.


I read a blog post today from Jonathon Roche, fitness guru:  (you can find him at the link below.)


http://www.NoExcusesWorkouts.com/


and he said that we should set big goals.  He thinks that most of us set goals that are too easy to achieve and when we achieve them we are living way below our potential.  He may be right, but what about us who set easy goals and still don't achieve them?  Therein lies a dilemma. However, on his advice I am going to think of a few 'big' goals just for the fun of it.  I'll have to ponder on them for awhile because I don't want them to be so outlandish as to be totally impossible for an old gramma like me.  I am open to suggestions if you care to leave me a comment.  If you do, please keep it nice.


So for now, I'm off to make dishcloths.  Now that's a goal any granny can achieve, right?

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Goals for 2012

Well, it's time again to reflect on the past year and set a few goals for the year coming up.  I've been giving this some thought, as I am wont to do this time of year.  I know that there are many folks out there that do not set goals or make resolutions for various reasons.  If you are one of said people, bless you!  It's your life.  Live it as you choose.  But I, for one, love doing this each year.  

Now I will confess up front that I seldom reach my goals or keep my resolutions.  It seems that my pleasure is more in the making than the keeping.  But just because my follow through is weak is no reason to stop.  I always go into the new year with the best of intentions and renewed determination to 'get fit', 'lose some weight', 'keep my house clean', 'de-clutter' or whatever.  And I really do think I make a bit of progress in some areas each year.  And every little improvement counts in my book.  So, here I go again.


This year I am starting out with random things that come to mind, so they will not be in any certain order or listed by importance.  

                      #1.  Transfer all names, addresses and phone# from my address book to my IPod contact list.


I have already started this and expect to complete it.  This will put all my contact info at my fingertips and hopefully make connecting with others easier.


So that's as far as I have gotten at this point.  But, hey, it's Christmas and I have other things to do right now.  Still, it's a start and I feel good about it.


I'll try to keep you all posted on my progress and on any other goals that come to mind.  In the meantime......

Merry Christmas!!!!!



Blessings!
Reny

Thursday, December 15, 2011

White is NOT My Color

No, I'm not talking about fashion or skin color.  I'm talking about laundry.  White never stays white for very long.  A few washings, and I have a dingy shade of grey, brown or multicolored stains.

 My mom used to have sparkling whites.  My daughter seems to manage to keep her whites sparkling as well.  I used to do the same. But these days I just can't seem to do it.  On laundry day it's all I can do to keep myself from just tossing it all in together.  I do sort lights from darks, but that's about as far as my laundry sorting goes.  I used to wash almost everything in hot water and add a good amount of bleach to the white load.  But it seems that no one washes in hot water anymore and utility prices have caused me to follow suit.  Bleach is hard on clothes and doesn't seem to do what it used to in getting my clothes sparkling white when I do take the time to sort and bleach my whites.

Then there are the emotional issues.  Every time I pull out a stained dish cloth or a dingy pair of white socks I feel like an epic fail.  This is the worst part for me.  I don't know why that should matter after all these years.  It must be because of my upbringing.  Yeah!  That's it.  I'll blame it on Mom!  It's all her fault for doing things right and expecting the same from her daughters. ;-) 

Actually, my mom was an amazing woman!  And she did teach us all excellent housekeeping skills.    I love her and miss her a lot.  So, Mom, in honor of you, I will give it one last shot.  Hot water and bleach for the whites.  If they don't come out sparkling this time, I'm replacing all white items with dark colors.

Blessings!
Reny

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Pinterest....A world of Wonder!

Here are my versions of two handmade greetings from Pinterest.  I simply adore the colors and the way these are put together.  Of course the originals are much more striking than my copies, but I try to use the materials I have on hand.  I also have to cut out some of the images by hand since I don't have a large collection of cutting dies.  This makes it quite time intensive.  However, I am delighted with the finished products and these cards will go to some special people on my list this year.
A special thanks to my Sis, who always sends these special 'pins' my way.
 Love you, Sissy!!!!!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Days Off!

Ahh, I have two days off!  I like my job, but I love my days off.  Plan for today is to tidy the house and finish a crocheted Viking Helmet for one of my grandsons.  I'm making one for each of the little ones.  Hopefully their mom will send me a pic of them wearing their new headgear and I'll get to post one here.  I haven't done any crocheting for awhile, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it.

Christmas!!!

Normally I go all out for Christmas, but this year I'm scaling back.  Money is tight for most of us these days, and Christmas time brings with it the potential for all kinds of stress.  I've spent years trying to find just the right gift, or the most interesting way to package a gift.  I've given expensive gifts that often end up in the trash, on the floor or at the Goodwill.

I'm opting out of all that this year.  The gifts we give will be small and practical.  I'm hoping the gifts we receive will be small and practical as well.  I would much rather spend some quality time with those I love.  I'd like to have a bushel basket full of sweet memories this year. 

That said, I still love this time of year!