I am a happy happy girl ....

This is the vision of pink goodness that I am working on. I'll share the full scoop. Last year during soccer/volleyball season I was really working on the use what I had idea. I had a huge box of miscellaneous yarns that had accumulated at the house. I carried those everywhere we went and finished this afghan. I am so happy with it. It is bright - colorful - fits perfectly across the bed - and I used up a ton of yarn. Successful stash busting it was. I was excited to see the empty space where that bag of scrap yarn was.



Well the universe is so very generous. Immediately after finishing that blanket and being so excited about using up the excess, I was gifted by the pastors wife with two big copier paper boxes of yarn. A customer rescued two lawn and leaf bags full from the garbage and gave them too me. I found a box full in my attic. Add all of that to the still massive pile that I still had and you still have a ton of yarn. I have finished three baby blankets - made some 40 beanie hats - bunches of bird nests - and made a neck warmer. Have I made a dent in the pile???? Maybe - but it is still massive.



There was one yarn in particular that I passed over and over time and again. A red heart brand in varigated dusty rose. I really did not like this yarn. I used a little of it in the big blanket, but I had several skeins still. I was just flat tired of looking at it. Crochet is so easy to travel with. For me, once I get started, I can pick it up and put it down easily. So here is the result. A "random" stripe lap blanket. Simple, single crochet then chain. The next row is an opposing pattern crocheted in the chain one opening creating a fairly dense but lightweight blanket.



I found some more pieces of skeins in pinks and am using those to break up the varigated yarn. This will not be perfectly symmetrical but still eye catching. I have twin cousins and this one will be a Christmas gift for one of them - I'll do something similar for the other one. oth of my girls have similar scrap blankes on their beds or carry them in car for naps. I'm just happy to be checking more stash busting off the list.



In other news - I registered for my etsy shop this week. Paypal setup completed. Now I just have to figure out some stock for that shop. More to come. Just having the addresses and accounts open is huge for me. Making that step makes me happy.



The bottom picture is making me the happiest of all. One whitewashed wall in MaggieGrace Studio. Way back in November - we started hanging walls from the lumber recycled when we remodeled the house. It was so dark in there that I decided I wanted a whitewashed effect for this. I finished one wall last night. Look at this. To me it looks like a beach shack and I am so in love with it. This is rough cut lumber so in reality it is very textured and irregular. Did I say I am in love with this?? The peak of the roof will be filled with syrofoam insulation board and will have a patchwork of wall paper scraps glued to it. ( Thank you Pam Garrison and Alicia Paulson). I do not have vintage wallpaper, but I do have two big boxes (boot boxes) of 80's wall paper pieces. I have used wallpaper paste on a test piece and discovered that covering the styrofoam needs the paste designed for pasting border over vinyl paper. I think because the foam insulation has some sort of vinyl or plastic protective coating one it.

Is it just me or does this look like a beach shanty to you too? And did I say I am so in love with this?

I AM A HAPPY HAPPY GIRL.

Have a wonderful day.