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Future plans

Ok, so here is where I tell you all my great and wonderful future plans….

I am going to make at least one large size afghan like this one.

I am going to finish this diagonal afghan. The brown one in the middle.

I know that the above picture leaves a lot to be desired but the afghan is so incredibly soft and beautiful. I will have better pictures soon. I am also going to make some more football team cup sleeves. Like this one only different teams than what I already have…

https://www.etsy.com/listing/89660331/coffee-cup-cozycoffee-cup-sleeve-coffee
https://www.etsy.com/listing/82106339/cup-sleeve-cup-cozy-green-bay-packer-cup

I am going to clean out the studio…well, unpack it better and set it up. I am going to get ready for the Christmas buying season by creating more Christmas ornaments and cozies. All of this planning is making me hungry and tired at the same time. So I best get to work.

talk to you later,

Karen

 

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New baby blanket

I just had to show my newest creation Noelle’s baby blanket. It is a custom order baby blanket and I just love the colors. They are a bit daring and different for this part of the country. It completely updates the granny square afghan and in beautiful modern colors. The yarn  is soft, cuddly and completely washable. Pop it in the washer and the dryer and have it out clean and ready to go in no time. Perfect for new babies.

Check out the bright and beautiful granny stripes.

Completely bordered with granny circles. This beautiful baby afghan is finished with beautiful scalloped edging and a ChocolateDogStudio tag. There is a teeny tiny baby bonnet with flower to go with it. I am so excited that it turned out so well. It was tricky to get it finished while moving from one state to another. So finishing it on time was the icing on the cake. This one won’t be in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop but I sure hope to make another in a similar style also complete with bonnet! So keep checking back and I hope to have the next one up quickly.

You can find the pattern here.

talk to you later,

Karen

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Monday: Goal Check 1!

Here we are another Monday. I am running a goal check. This helps keep me on track and remind me that I AM reaching those goals and actually doing something!

Business goals:

  • Finish three two afghans (I have two left to finish this goal. Currently I have three afghans started….

 

The zig zag chevron stripe is finished. The one on top is started….and I have a granny striped started in my new yarns, and a sampler granny square afghan started.

  • Start three more afghans
  • Sew 50+ cup cozies in new styles ( I prepare for the holiday buying season in advance, because I also home school.)
  • Sew the 30+ new items I need him to photograph
  • Make the new Christmas items….
  • Blog more consistently (I have been writing ahead and found my blog planning pages…)
  • Write a business plan

Family goals:

  • Take two summery day trips every week
  • Make some meals for the freezer for THOSE days when I just really need them (one lasagna down…)
  • Help K get her things ready for College…. (two major things marked off our list.)
  • Take T for driving practice
  • Exercise (walked and/or exercised three times last week.  YAY!)
  • Make the kitchen a better place to be, using things I already have. (It seems small and I really have to work at loving being in there.)
  • Make the curtains in the living room fit the windows better and the hems the same length (I put these curtains up super quick when I realized that the bamboo shades are see through at night with the lights on.) 

Rather lofty goals aren’t they. I also have some personal ones that I have not added to this list.

Personal goals:

  • Work through my Bible study that I stopped this Spring.
  • Have us sit at the table for dinners 5 nights a week. (Totally missed out on this one this past week, but we have another week ahead of us!)
  • Keep my kitchen and laundry caught up and ready for action. ( Frankly, got clothes washed but not folded or put away. Laundry is my most hated chore. It is never finished)
  • Have some friends over for dinner…or coffee or dessert or something.
  • Read some books about homeschooling
  • Attend the home school curriculum sale this weekend.  (Totally missed out on this. Now, I need to find inspiration in another place…)
  • Help with the Youth at church at least 2 times a month.

Well, those are my rather lofty goals. I hope that things get better and I get more organized at meeting my goals.

Things I/we accomplished that weren’t on my list of things to do!

I started cleaning and organizing my studio areas.We also moved the furniture around in this area and I need to finish organizing, pitching or donating items.  I have a lot of boxes left to go through but we are happy with the new arrangement of the room and how it is starting to come together.  I re-opened my Amazon.com shop by listing more books for sale. We did a quick check up on our budget and re-affirmed our money goals. I sat down with our calendar and checked dates and times of appointments as we missed some important things last week.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Wednesday Squared: square 1

I enjoy the mindlessness of crocheting granny squares. I have long felt that I need to try some new squares. I have been intrigued by the sampler blankets that I have been seeing on Pinterest.

This pattern is taken from Beyond the square Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman.

I think I will use at least four of these in my crochet sampler blanket.

What are you doing new this week?

See you later,

Karen

I have included affiliate links to the book on Amazon. I will receive a small percentage of any sale.