Three Hats and a Hoop

 On our long road trip to Florida from Virginia, I had lots of time to crochet when I wasn't driving, of course. I only brought one skein of yarn, so unfortunately everything is the same color. I didn't get a chance to splurge at any craft stores. I did get to hit one store in Tallahassee called Beadz. They had so many beads and things, I didn't know what to do! They had a beginner's class that I would've liked to attend, but we were leaving the day before the class. Maybe next time. So on to my new hats. The first one was an experiment and a tragedy. I think I'll redo that one someday. I'm almost embarrassed to post a pic but here it is..

The next one is not so bad. I actually like it. It's a basic beanie with a brim. The brim is crocheted with two strands so it is a bit stiff.

 This last one was also an experiment, but came out much better than the first. It has a floppy brim all the way around. I think I'll make another with a bigger floppier brim, like a sun hat.

 Now if you're wondering about the hoop, I did make one. It's made out of polyethylene tubing that I got from Lowes. I was going to do a tutorial but you can click here for that. The best part of making a hoop is making it pretty. I used vinyl and duck tape. This hoop was requested by my friend, Kat. She had to have silver, and my silver duck tape doesn't go on  as smooth as the other tapes, but it's still pretty. I even personalized it for her. What do you think?

The Best Bead Giveaway!

 I know I've been slacking with the blog posts this month. I took last week off to visit some family in Florida. On that long road trip (14 hours), I made three hats. Those hats will be in the next post... Right now I want to talk about this fantastic giveaway that I found through another blog (Dana's Jewelry Design).

Denise Yezbak Moore Bling it On! is having a generous giveaway on her blog,  It's not too late to enter, the contest will be over on Friday, July 2nd, so hurry! Visit her blog to see the rules and the beautiful beads she is offering. It's over $350 worth of beads!! Amazing!

Click here to go to The Best Bead Give-A-Way Ever! 

"Don't eat with your eyes"

 Have you ever heard the saying, "Don't eat with your eyes?" My parents would say that to me all the time. It's when you see the yummy food, put too much on your plate, and then you can't finish it. Well, that's kinda what's happening with my crafts lately. I want to try so many different things that I can't finish one project. I need to focus on one at a time. I was doing well with that for a while until I got distracted here and there and ended up with all this "food" on my plate. The problem is that I don't have enough time to do it all. I did finish one small project this week, and that is my new corkscrew earrings.

 This past weekend I was trying to teach myself how to crochet with beads. I got this book from the library called Beaded Crochet Designs by Ann Benson. It was a little frustrating at first, but I think I got the hang of it today.  I was trying to make a bracelet, but I didn't put enough beads on the string, so this is what I have.

 I think it looks pretty cool. It's very flexible. I guess I will have to start over and string more beads. I must say, I thought it was going to be easy, but it's definitely not so easy. The first time I tried, it was horrible and confusing because I used all the same color beads. The alternating beads made it much easier  to see and work with. I also put some fabric stiffener at the end of the string to make it easier to string the beads. Any white glue would do the same. Maybe next time I will have a finished product of my beaded crochet.