Drinking your coffee in a corset?

Hahaha. It's not what you think!

A fellow crocheter, who runs a nifty shop on Etsy as seller Jenster76, was kind enough to pass on a tip regarding my coffee sleeve pattern. She informed me of a sc foundation that was chainless. It sounds weird, but it keeps it from getting too tight. I went over to Youtube to check it out and my excitement died pretty fast...it's going to take me a month of minutes to grasp that one well enough to make it look decent on anything I make! So I pondered it and pondered it, because I had the feeling that she had a really good point. She's a veteran with a successful shop online, so she knows what she's talking about....so how do I change it? I decided it might be easier if I added another chain or two on the base but that wasn't it. *Light bulb turns on* I needed to make it adjustable. That would definitely be unique. But how???? LOL. The corset was born! :) I was going to name it after Jen, but I wasn't sure how she'd like it so I just named it Lady's Coffee corset instead.
What do you think? I'll be working on the written pattern at some point with some changes to this one. I wanted it to be a little less wide, so that you can see the opening better. But maybe not, because it wouldn't fit wider cups as well.

My first pattern!

I had bought a reusable felted coffee sleeve from my friend Sarah's Etsy shop (there's a link to it in my sidebar). But it seems I have misplaced it...

So, I just made my own and here it is!

Tensy Coffee Sleeve

Items needed:

I ball Lily Sugar N’Cream Cotton yarn

Size 6.5mm crochet hook

*I did not gauge this, but see “Tip” at bottom of pattern.*

1. Chain 25, slip stitch together through the first stitch. Be careful not to twist the loop when bringing it together.

2. Chain one, then sc in each stitch around. Slip stitch together in the chain one.

3. Chain one, then *sc in next 10 stitches, 2 sc in next stitch, repeat * to end. Slip stitch together through chain one.

4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 three more times. You should have 8 rows total.

5. Repeat step 2 three times. You should have 11 rows now.

6. Finish the sleeve by slip stitching all the way around the top edge, to keep the edge from rolling outward.

Tip: This is made using a 100% cotton yarn, so there will be some shrinkage if you dry it after washing. I saved a cup from my local Starbucks, washed it out, and used it to test each line of my crochet as I made it. Once I start washing it, I will keep the cup to re-stretch the sleeve once it’s done drying. Also, since cotton has some “give” in it, I recommend pulling your stitches tight as you work, so that the end project doesn’t come out too loose.

Feel free to email me at asgodintended@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments, or (hopefully not!) corrections I need to make. This was my first written pattern attempt, so hopefully it’s easy enough to follow and execute as intended.

This pattern and it's images are posted here for PERSONAL use only. Please do not sell anything you've made using this pattern. You can copy/reprint or link, but please make sure that you list this site and my name as the designer. Copyright Noelle Nastari 2010.

Thanks!

Noelle

Trials and Endurance- James 1

Needing to find the time daily to read in the Bible, I finally forced myself to schedule it in. Today, I started it out scheduling in 30 minutes, and started in James 1.

"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:2-8 (Holman Christian Standard)

I never seem to read James without being able to apply it to my life. No matter what stage I am at, it always sticks. I have been struggling lately with having faith in my petitions. I don't know why it is that I doubt that God will answer it, but when I pray I have been feeling like I'm guessing. So, today's verses were the encouragement I needed to remind me that I need to be strong in my beliefs, otherwise, I really am just guessing. And if I come to God not believing He can do what he says, I'm not going to be heard or answered.

I also looked at the verses today with the mindset of a MOP (mother of a preschooler). It was interesting how I could see the word endurance differently. I used to view this passage in context of a trial of life, a struggle that is sent to test you and give you a tough lesson that changes you for the better. However, seeing as how it can be a real struggle to get through a day and feel semi productive, I can now see endurance in this passage as getting through the day and coming out on top, rather than merely checking the box and collapsing into bed exhausted and fighting a headache. I can't speak for all the other MOPs out there, but I know I feel a lot better knowing that I can live better than I am now, and all I really need to do is just trust God, hold His word close and remember to keep Him close all day long to do that.

Now, to make the real life application of this...

How fun!

Logged in this morning to find myself the recipient of this award. That's kind of fun!


So, now it's my turn to pass the love. The idea is I let you know what my 5 favorite things to do are, and then give the award to 5 of my blogging friends.

My Five Favorite Things To Do are:

1. Crochet
2. Read
3. NAP! (I don't get to do it as often as I would like.)
4. Sew
5. Lose my soul in Facebook (ok, that was a little sarcastic, but seriously that page is like a black hole. It's really hard to escape from once you get sucked in.)

I'm passing the award on to a few bloggers I enjoy reading. I think you'll like them too!

1. One of my absolute favorite of all blogs because she does rad giveaways and has the most fun style of writing is Tamara over at "Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom"
   
2. Sarah at "Grabba Cuppa Joe" (she's my superstar crochet buddy, who's blog has been slightly neglected lately due to the recent birth of her third child, son, Aristotle)
3. Melissa at "Frugal Creavtivity"
4. Rima's "Yarny Days" because I totally love her Bombay Love pattern, and will be following her blog hoping I can beef up my crochet patterns with more of her very cool stuff. (And she has a very adorable little baby too.)
5. The super creative Cassi, who runs the blog "Bella Dia." I got linked into her by a friend when I was looking for a good heart pattern to crochet for my daughter's first birthday. She was born on Valentine's Day, and she had a great pattern for making a garland/banner out of crocheted hearts. They made great decorations!

Can you say no?

Because I know I have a really hard time with it....especially when it comes to crafting. I'm most definitely the "Queen of Works In Progress" (WIPs). I am always coming up with something new to try out, really more for the practice than anything else. I'm having a hard time progressing from "easy" ability in crochet, and I won't even start to discuss my sewing abilities. (I don't have any.) When I get done, I like to give it away as a gift, because I always feel better giving a gift than trying to sell it to make some money. I know my husband probably wishes I was selling it so I could at least recover the cost of the yarn.

Every once in awhile, I make something and post a picture of it to show the finished goods off, and someone will really like it and request one for themselves. I don't mind making it but feel uncomfortable, hoping when they get it they will like it as much as they liked the picture. Well, this time, I got a little in over my head. Using a pattern from my buddy Sarah, I made her a sock monkey hat for her soon-to-be-born third child. I still can't believe Aristotle was so big he could wear the hat- a 0-3 months size- when he was two weeks old. Well, someone saw it, loved it and wanted one too. So, in my queue that went. Shortly after that, I finished making an Elmo hat for my little girl. That one was a big hit, and in my queue went two more. I also had a request for one of each for someone who's having a baby in March. Add that to the fact that I also have 4 baby sets to make as gifts, and I think I will be spreading Christmas cheer until Spring Break.

My head is spinning from all the "balls I have in the air" and I'm still thinking about stuff I want to make for me and Fionna....does that show you what I mean by the title of this post?!

Here's the links to the stuff I am working on now because I think the patterns are awesome and the designers should get some love.

Baby kimonos
Newborn Hats and Baby Booties

Here's a link to a similar Elmo hat which inspired the one I made.

Finished the 21 Day FLY Lady Challenge!

Well, it took me a few days to get around to this because a visit to my parents got completely re-planned while I was there. I'm not complaining though, because the change in plans was my husband flying into town to spend 4 days with me. That was much needed rest and quality couple time!
However, back to FLY Lady....
I really liked the plan when I was able to keep myself to it. Yes, it's easy to get sidetracked. I didn't sign up for all the emails, and I didn't follow all the steps. It did however help me accomplish much more than I would on a daily basis my way, which is what I was hoping to do, so I vote it's a keeper. (For me at least!) I don't know if it will work for everyone, but if you're place is super messy or extremely disorganized, I can guarantee you that it will most likely work for you no matter what degree you follow her guidelines. She recommends small steps, has a ton of info for when you are starting out, and explains things quite well. You can decide to journal to help you see what you need to work on and how far you've come. I did everyday during the Challenge, and found it did help me to see where I struggled. I also really like the fact that she encourages you not to slouch in your personal care if you are a stay at home wife or mom. She pushes dressing for the day (as in NO PJ's!) before you get started, and incorporating at least 15 mins. of exercise daily. I hate keeping myself on a schedule because with a one year old running around that's almost impossible. But, working in short segments turned out to really help a lot. I didn't Zone clean like she recommends, but aimed to do a little in each area or room every day so that I could see more of an improvement, and also because I thought it would help me to have a change of scene as I went about my business. Also, it can be hard to clean or organize in area away from my daughter during the day, so doing it in small doses in each room actually enabled me to get more done. I am planning on writing a short article about it for Associated Content and including more detail on how I went about it, so hopefully I can link the article once I am done. :)

I am now obsessed with Ravelry.

Thanks to Sarah. DOH! Ravelry has more pull than Facebook, if you are into crochet or knitting, that is.

Unfortunately, I am seriously into crochet. I have two projects in my queue right now, but in reality, it's more. I am also working on some wash cloths for a friend, and I am making the design up as I go. If I like what I finish with, I may write the pattern up and post here later! I haven't decided, but I may also make a few extras to save up for when I finally get around to starting my Etsy shop. Who knows when that will be though...and I shouldn't mention that I just found the awesomest pattern ever for an infant beanie cap that has the sock monkey face on it. Oh, that's going to be gifted and gifted and gifted since I know about 5 pregnant women right now. Want one Sarah?????