Olga's Craftin' Haven

Cyber Monday sale on Etsy

2011-11-27T11:35:00.001-05:00

I'm currently having a HUGE Cyber Monday sale in my Etsy shop. Everything and I mean, everything is 20% off, including sale and clearance. If you were waiting to get something, drooling over that crochet scarf, shawl or sweater NOW is the time. Click here to be taken to my shop and buy handmade this Holiday Season. You will not be disappointed! Here are some pictures of my new crochet scarves:

Pom Pom scarves now available in my shop

2011-11-16T19:48:00.004-05:00

Awesome crochet pom-pom scarves available in my shop! Many colors are available, if you don't see a color you like, just ask! They're only $12, which is truly a steal for a handmade crochet scarf. This makes a perfect Christmas gift for mom, daughter, niece, sister, friend, maillady or just about anyone.

Auburn beanie

2011-10-26T10:28:00.004-04:00

I had to bring an Auburn item for my son's school fundraiser. Well, why buy something when I can make it? So I decided to make an Auburn crochet beanie. I used navy blue acrylic yarn for the beanie and orange cotton yarn for the flower. It turned out pretty cute and was a big hit at the fundraiser. I'm thinking about putting one of these up on Etsy as well.

It's been a while.

2011-10-14T20:45:00.004-04:00

Basically, I've had a baby and we have moved. It was too much going on for me to handle the blog, but I'm back!

Recently I made 2 pineapple shawl in exact same pattern, they turned out beautiful!

Crochet fashion sweater and baktus scarf

2011-01-31T09:08:00.003-05:00

I had some wonderful Turkish yarn, so I decided to make a fashion sweater/tunic/cardigan out of it. I had enough left over to make a baktus scarf. Both can be found right now in my Etsy shop.

Beautiful crochet pineapple shawl in red.

2011-01-29T18:25:00.005-05:00

I worked on this shawl for a few days and I'm very happy the way it turned out! It's so soft and beautiful! It's made out of blend of Merino wool (80%) and polyamide (20%). I used the pineapple and lace pattern and love, love, love the way it turned out.

Crochet wedding capelet

2011-01-21T08:42:00.003-05:00

I made this lovely crochet capelet out of mercerized cotton and embellished it with white satin ribbon. It turned out quite nicely! I'm going to list it a bit later on in my Etsy shop. Right now I'm packing my sold orders and will be going to the post office to mail them out.

Crochet Scarves for Valentine's Day

2011-01-19T15:56:00.004-05:00

Again, I've been busy and made a few crochet scarves for Valentine's Day. They're listed for sale in my Etsy shop.

Brand new crochet stoles

2011-01-06T21:22:00.001-05:00

New vest and crochet tunic

2010-12-31T15:28:00.003-05:00

I made a brand new vest and a crochet tunic for my Etsy shop. The vest is made out of beautiful italian wool, mohair and acrylic yarn and the top is made out of viscose and lurex yarn.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas to my fellow bloggers!

For me, this Christmas is simply wonderful just because of the fact that my husband is not away on deployment or any other activity and we're able to celebrate as a family. We had a great morning opening the gifts and watching our 7 year old son overjoyed as he got "everything and much more" then he wanted. Those were his exact words :)

My husband is thrilled with his Kindle and other small gifts and I'm excited to start using my brand new Sketchers shape-ups after the baby is born and there is no more snow on the ground. I also got some brand new skillets, excited about that, it was much needed in my kitchen.

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and now I'm off to finish the brown sugar ham, mushed potatoes and veggies and we're going to sit down for dinner.

5FBGX22AHNY7

New crochet shrugs I made

2010-12-24T11:24:00.002-05:00

I've been so busy again working on some crochet items for my Etsy shop. I made a few shrugs and some stoles.

Yet another treasury

2010-12-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

My Peaches and Strawberries Shawl was featured on yet another Etsy treasury! How lucky am I???

Etsy Treasuries!

2010-12-15T08:49:00.005-05:00

My stuff made it to 3 more treasuries! How awesome! Two of the treasuries featured my shawl and one of them featured my snow white crochet hat.

Check out the treasuries here:

Treasury 1

Treasury 2

Treasury 3

Etsy Treasury

2010-12-10T09:05:00.004-05:00

I'm beyond excited! My blue cardigan I made was included in a Treasury! It's a beautiful one as well. I'm so honored!!!

Check out the Treasury HERE and be sure to leave a comment :)

Crocodile Shawl

2010-12-09T09:20:00.002-05:00

I made this crocodile shawl to sell on Etsy.

It took a little while to make it, but it turned out absolutely gorgeous! It's made out of the blend of mohair and acrylic yarn that I bought online from Turkey.

Grey Scarf sold on Etsy

2010-12-06T15:39:00.002-05:00

Sold the Grey crochet scarf on Etsy. Woo-hoo!

Sold the Grey crochet scarf on Etsy. Woo-hoo!

Pink Cowl

2010-12-05T15:28:00.001-05:00

I'm selling this on on Etsy as well

I've caught the crochet bug

2010-12-04T11:11:00.004-05:00

Not sure what exactly happened, but I've been doing a lot of crochet lately. I made 2 tunics and a few scarfs and cowls. I listed them all in MY ETSY STORE

I'm still working on a few shawls right now. I feel like I can't stop!!!

They Did Their Share

2010-11-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.
Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;
In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.
Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk;
All of them did their share.
No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.
Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died;
What they did, we can’t repay.
We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Custom made kitchen towels and hot pads.

2010-11-10T09:05:00.005-05:00

One of my husband's distant relatives is getting married this Saturday. Unfortunately, due to my husband's illness, we had to cancel our plans and couldn't go. But we still mailed the gift. Along with that, I wanted to make something nice for them, as they've always been very nice to us. I bought some terry cloth and made kitchen towels, embroidered their names on them. I also made matching hot pads. I hope they enjoy it!

Update on Icon

2010-11-09T21:06:00.004-05:00

I haven't done much the last week, as my husband has been pretty sick and was even admitted to the hospital, He's doing much better now and I'm back to crafting! Here is the update on Russian Icon I'm working on now. Still long ways to go, but I can say it's coming along!

I tried to photograph the best I could. It's really hard to photograph the beads, they're really shiny and look so much prettier in person. Oh well, you get the idea :)

Accuquilt Go! giveaway

2010-11-07T16:26:00.002-05:00

I've had a hard week and haven't had much done. But today I went to Jo-Ann Fabric, they had a HUGE sale, plus I had a 20% off coupon for the entire purchase, so I really stocked up on some cute fabric. Right now I'm about to go and make some stuff, I'll try to post pictures later.

Oh, there is a Accuquilt Go giveaway on Lavender Ridge Blog , if you want to enter, you better hurry over there. If not, just wish me luck, I'd love to be a proud owner of one of those.

Day 2 and 3 of working on the beaded Icon

2010-10-21T08:40:00.003-04:00

So Tuesday and Wednesday I got a lot done! I was watching some shows on the computer while working on the Icon and it's going pretty fast. I have also adjusted my frame and have been very careful with the beads, so no more spilled beads for me! Unfortunately, the picture will never show the true colors and true beauty of the seed beads. By the way, I'm working with Matsono beads (made in Japan) and Jablonex (made in Czech Republic).

Everyone have a happy day!!

New Icon!!

2010-10-19T08:16:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I had the urge to start on a new Icon. I pulled this one out of my stash of about 20, that I brought home from Ukraine and started working on it. And then, I remembered the magic powers of Icons - once you start working on it, you can't stop!!! I really couldn't! 3-4 hours later and after I spilled the beads on the carpet twice and had to collect them, I decided it was time to take a break. I got a lot done in just one day! This morning I want to get back to it again :) It's truly magical!

On the other hand, we're supposed to get snow showers today and originally I was going to a few stores to get some decorations for my son's birthday party, but I think I might stay in for a while and see what happens. So far, it's nice and sunny and the skies are clear, but I know that could change quickly.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting updates on the Icon tomorrow!!!

Soft crochet scarf

2010-10-15T15:57:00.005-04:00

I made this scarf a little while ago, but never showed it. It's made out of angora and acrylic yarn. It's very soft and I love the colors! I found the pattern on Picasa. If I can find it, I'll add a link here.

Tutu!!!

2010-10-14T10:07:00.004-04:00

I made a tutu yesterday!! It was my first attempt at making it and I like the way it turned out. It's VERY puffy!!! I already had toile around the house, it's been sitting and waiting for me to do something with it :) So here I am: toile, piece of elastic and about an hour later: baby tutu! My next project will be a crochet baby hat. That would make a perfect photo prop.

I really enjoyed making it, I'd like to make some more in other colors, I'd probably try to make them less puffy next time :)

By the way, the tutu is modeled by the sock monkey my hubby brought me from Iraq during the last deployment. He's so sweet, he always gets me something from his trips.

New crochet project.

2010-10-06T08:28:00.005-04:00

So yesterday I decided to start working on a new crochet cardigan for myself. I found this pattern a while ago on Picasa and even had the yarn for it, but just now getting around to work on it. The yarn I have is called "Begonia", it's 100% mercerized cotton in burgundy, made in Turkey. I started working on it yesterday, when I took Lucas to his Judo class and I've already gotten 4 rows down!! Here is the pattern if anyone wants to join the fun :)

It's a girl!

2010-10-01T09:42:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday we had an ultrasound and we've learned we're going to have a little girl to join our Family in February. We're all very excited and feel like the family will be complete with the boy and the girl. So I have decided not to waist my time and made some stuff for her. I started with the baby blanket. It's a star pattern, as I'm going to have a little star in my life :) It turned out very pretty and soft, I love this Caron soft yarn. I'm thinking about doing some better photography on it and maybe posting some similar ones on Etsy, but not sure yet. I have a lot of sewing and other crafts to do before the baby is born, so I don't know if I will have much time for Etsy.

Apple Orchard

2010-09-27T08:13:00.002-04:00

If I haven't posted in a while, doesn't mean I haven't been crafting!!! I promise, I've been making things, just never got around to take pictures of them. I'll try to do it this week :)

Yesterday we went to the apple orchard and picked 30lb of apples :) It happened to fit in 3 big bags. 15lb were Honey Crisp apples. I love them and can say for sure, they are the best eating apples. The other 15 lb were a variety of other apples. They also had a little store, where I bought some honey (yumm!), little pumpkins and gourds for decoration. My son enjoyed horse-back riding, maze and some other activities they had for the kids. We had a great time! On the way back we were driving by the river and noticed that there were some people salmon-fishing. Although, the season has already started and the salmon fish are jumping a little bit, my husband thought it was too early for him to go fishing... Well, not anymore. We saw some huge fish and quite a few of them were caught by fishermen. So on our way to the car we see this little shack, where they clean the salmon for you. We happened to stop by to watch them weight 2 fish and they were 37 and 29 lb!!! I just love salmon. I think it's the best fish ever, so I asked him to go and talk to the shack guy to see if he knows a place we can buy some salmon filets from and the guy just goes to his freezer and gives us this huge (I'd estimate it at about 5lb) salmon filet!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes, how nice was that! And totally unexpected. I told my husband to make sure he brings his fish for this guy to clean, when he catches some.

Needless to say, we had an awesome day! Here are some pictures :)

Look what I have!!!!

2010-09-05T12:01:00.004-04:00

I won my 1st giveaway and I'm so excited! Edit had a lovely giveaway posted on her blog a little while ago an d I was the winner! We actually were on vacation, so when I came back, there was a lovely package waiting for me at the mailbox. There was my gobelin and she was also kind enough to include a cross-stitch magazine and a lovely handmade card. This totally made my day. Thank you Edit!

Granny's Icon

2010-08-05T08:56:00.003-04:00

Just realized that I never showed off the finished project. I framed it and gave it to granny for her birthday which also fell on Easter this year. She absolutely LOVED it! Every time I talk to her, she tells me how beautiful it is and how much she loves it. Here it is all framed and finished.

Icon for my brother

2010-08-05T08:49:00.004-04:00

Here is the Icon I have finished right before I left Ukraine, so I didn't have time to have it framed or to even post it on here. I made it for my brother and my parents framed it after I left and gave it to him. I think he really liked it. You know how brothers could be - not a lot of emotion going on :)

It's another version of St.Nicolas.

Long time no see :)

2010-07-27T11:16:00.002-04:00

I've been back to the States for almost 2 months now and I hate to say it, but I really have not done any crafts. We moved into our new apartment and my hubby is back from Iraq! I was busy unpacking and setting the rooms up. And we have some news: we're going to have a baby!!! Still too early to find out what it is, boy or girl? Or maybe twins? Or triplets? We're all super-thrilled either way!

I haven't unpacked any of my crafts stuff yet, but I'm planning on doing it in the nearest future and hopefully I'll have some projects I will post soon.

What I've been up to...

2010-03-11T09:02:00.006-05:00

If I haven't blogged recently, doesn't mean that I haven't got anything done. I have finished my icon #3 for grandma! It turned out so pretty and doesn't matter how hard I tried, I couldn't take a picture that would show the true color and beauty of it. I might have to take some photograpgy classes to improve my picture taking :)

I also finished the kit that I purchased called "Winter". I like the way it turned out, however not sure how easy it will be for someone to frame it. The silky fabric that I have stitched on easily puckles up. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed. The company that makes these kits is called "Nova Sloboda" and they have another 7 kits in this series. They are all gorgeous and I'd like to make at least another 2, but I'll have to frame this one to see how it turns out before I buy anymore.

And finally more news: I have started on the icon #4!!! Another St. Nicolas, bigger and better for myself!!! Here's some pictures, check them out!

Beaded Icon days 5,6,7.

2010-03-02T09:34:00.003-05:00

So I got quite a lot done... I'd say a few more days and it will be finished. I like the way it's turning out, it actually looks a lot better then on the pictures. It's really hard to take a picture of the beads, never turns out the same. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm using the fabric print I purchased ( about $5.00). It has the colors marked and also includes the amount of beads to purchase. I've been using Jablonex czech beads (size 10) and also some chinese beads. Of course the czech ones are gorgeous, but they're also a lot more expensive. If I use only the chinese one, it doesn't look as pretty, but when using a mix of both, turns out very pretty and also economical :)

Beaded Saint Nicolas. Day 3 and 4.

2010-02-27T06:56:00.005-05:00

Just a quick update on my progress. Days 3 and 4. It's going pretty fast and I like the way it's turning out. My grandma's birthday is April 4th (which is also Orthodox Easter this year), so I need to hurry up and finish it. Then take it to get framed.

Oh, my mom's boss who bought the 1st and 2nd beaded icons I made, came to her yesterday and was asking for me to make him another one. This time he wants one of Jesus. So I guess, I'll work on his next, then make one for myself.

Working on a Icon # 3

2010-02-24T07:59:00.003-05:00

Finally, the last but not least, I started working on a beaded Icon # 3. This is St. Nicolas for my grandma. Her birthday is coming up this Easter, April 4th and I want to give it to her as a gift. She absolutely loved the first icons I made and was a little sad that I sold them. Oh well, I can make myself new ones, bigger and better. LOL. Here's the pictures of the progress: 1st, 2nd and 3rd day.

Filet crochet doily.

2010-02-24T07:50:00.004-05:00

I finished the doily a while back, way before Christmas, but finally got a chance to take a picture of it. This is the initial post Here is the web-site I got the pattern from, it's free and it's really easy to follow.

And here is the result:

Beaded flowers

2010-02-24T07:42:00.003-05:00

There will be a few posts today. I finally uploaded some pictures from my camera and can't wait to show off some of my work. The 1st one to show is a pcture of beaded flowers. This one was a kit I bought in Ukraine, cost me about $8.00. The kit had the beads and the fabric. I took it to the frame shop and it cost me another $8.00 to get it framed. It didn't turn out very big, but I like it. I might gift it to someone before I leave, not sure yet.

Beaded Icon #2

2010-02-21T18:53:00.005-05:00

Here is the beaded icon #2 that I have finished. The pictures are very bad quality and here's why: as soon as I brought it home from the frame shop my dad took some pictures with his cell phone. Then, my mom decided she wanted to take both icons to work to show them off. So she took them to work, then she called me because her boss was very impressed and wanted to buy them for himself. I was a little hesitant at first, because it was a lot of work, but I went ahead and sold it to him (besides, I got a lot of money for it). So here I am - without any decent pictures, but with a bunch of money. Well, actually I went to the market with my mom this week-end and got me some more stuff. Now I'm working on the Icon #3 for my grandma. I learned my lesson and for sure I'll be taking pictures before I let anyone touch my work :)

Found a new toy

2010-02-16T06:08:00.004-05:00

I have discovered Polyvore! And I absolutely love it. I played with it a little today and here's the collage I made. I think there will be more to come. I found it to be very calming. Check it out right here

Etsy treasury

2010-02-14T18:39:00.004-05:00

So today I couldn't fall asleep and decided to browse around Etsy. Then I realized that I haven't created a treasury in forever. One thing that's been on my mind for the last few days - can't wait for spring, so tired of this snow :) So there is was! Please click here to check out, feel free to leave your comments.

Beaded Icon finished

2010-01-20T05:23:00.003-05:00

With the holidays I have not had the time to post anything on here, but I still had the time to craft. I have finished my first beaded icon of Saint Nicolas and now I'm working on another one. That one is almost done as well. This is just a quick post to show the icn off. I'll be back soon with more pictures of the projects I've finished.

Beading

2009-12-11T05:06:00.004-05:00

While in Ukraine, I bought a few beading kits. One of them - the Icon - I have already finished and took to the frame shop to be framed. I will post the picture of the framed icon after I pick it up. For right now - here it is right before it got done.

The other one is "The Apples"... That one is almost done and needs to be framed as well. I'm thinking about giving that one to my grandma for Christmas. She really liked it when I was working on it and I think it will be a huge surprise if I give it to her :)

I have also finished the snowflake dolly I started a few days ago. I will have to take a picture of it later today.

Felted pouch.

2009-12-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

So a few days ago I decided to create a fleted pouch for my phone. This is my first try at felting anything, so I was just testing it out. My mom got me 100% wool out of her stash and I was on my way. I crochetted a pouch bigger then my phone and a little rope. Then, I felted them for about an hour in a hot soapy water and rinsed in ice cold water. Then, I put it over a shampoo bottle to dry and voila - it was done! I love the way it turned out, but it's too big for my phone, so I decided to use it as a case for my sunglasses... I will have to make another one for my phone :)

Filet crochet

2009-12-07T07:32:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to to filet crochet for a long time now. Yesterday, my mom found me a skein of YarnArt merserized cotton and I started looking around for a pattern. I found one I liked on here and started working on it right away. So far I only have a few rows done, but it looks very pretty. I will have to post it here once I'm finished.

The other pictures are from the snow that we have today. I took them off my balcony. It's so pretty to look at, but it's so wet out that we decided to stay in today.

It's been forever...

2009-12-03T07:49:00.002-05:00

So I have not been on here in ages. There has been a lot of things that happened. My DH got deployed for a year and I have moved in with my parents to survive this year. They live in Ukraine. It's been 2 months already and I'm adjusting to living here. I have left Ukraine when I was 18, I lived in Germany, met my husband there, then moved to the States with him. So after not living in Ukraine for 10 years, it's been very difficult for me to adjust. I think I'm doing ok now.

I have not listed anything on Etsy and have not twitted... I think when I go back to US, I'll get back to selling on Etsy. Right now, I'm just creating for myself and family. I have made a few things since I've been here, I'll load some pictures and post them on here.

My son likes it here. Until now, he has spoken very little Russian, however in 2 months, his Russian became pretty decent. I take him to the playground and he makes friends easily.

I intend on keeping my blog going. I'll try to post at least weekly...

Here are some pictures I took a few months ago.

New Scarf

2009-08-05T19:51:00.002-04:00

I just listed a brand new swirly green scarf in my Etsy shop.

Snow white hat

2009-08-03T08:11:00.001-04:00

I finished my snow white hat and it could be found in my Etsy store

Soap I got from Etsy

2009-08-03T07:47:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I have received my soap from Nothing but Soap , I used it and really liked it. The best thing I loved about it was the peppermint leaves - it gives your skin really good scrubbing effect.

You should check this store out, you can find it on Etsy.

New hats!

2009-07-22T23:22:00.002-04:00

I've been quite busy and made a few new hats for my Etsy store

Here are some of the new ones, I will be listing more tomorrow after I take pictures of them.

My husband has been gone for the past 3 weeks and he'll be home in a few days. It's just been me and my son, we've gone a lot to the swimming pool and library. I'm having such a great time just being home and getting to create things. Life is good right now.

My first Etsy Treasury!!!

2009-07-20T14:58:00.003-04:00

I am so excited, I was able to create my 1st Treasury ever on Etsy!!! I've been lurking around for days and every time I wanted to create one, it was not available due to the amount of treasuries already created by other members. Today I patiently waited for the number of treasuries to go down below 333 and as soon as the little "create" box appeared, I was able to click on it and start my 1st Treasury.

This one is about military... it's so close to my heart. I personally love the items I featured and I hope that they're sold quickly.

If you want to see my treasury, click HERE

Free soap!!

2009-07-19T02:37:00.004-04:00

I was very lucky to find this one: I was looking for some soap on Etsy and I found this listing

You get a bar of soap absolutely free just to sample it and try it out. Can't wait to get mine. Check it out, it's very easy.

Black Alpaca and wool crochet top listed on Etsy

2009-07-13T23:47:00.002-04:00

I have listed a beautiful crochet top and at nice price for an easy quick sale. It's made out of very soft alpaca and wool yarn, I also created the pattern by myself. This one is in size 8/10, however I'd definitely be interested in making some more in different sizes and colors if this sells quick.

Comments are welcome.

Some things that I made over the last few days

2009-07-13T09:52:00.004-04:00

I've been busy sewing! I made another purse, a tank top and an infinity dress (some call it a wrap dress). The dress in particular looks pretty good on a dress form, but not so good on me. I might have to make the straps longer and try to wrap it around once again to see if I like it any better.

The tank top turned out pretty good and I'm wearing it today. I'm also pretty happy with the purse, but I'm thinking about giving it as a gift to one of my friends.

Comments are welcome!

The BBC believes book list

2009-07-10T22:08:00.002-04:00

I've seen this on a few blogs before and I found it pretty interesting. I have read 37 out of 100. I guess it's better then average, but I still have room for improvement :)

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.

1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Put a % after those you've read a portion of.
3) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
4) Star (*) those you plan on reading.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (+)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien ()
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (x)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (%)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (*)
6 The Bible (+)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte ()
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell ()
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (x)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (x)
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ()
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ()
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier ()
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien ()
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ()
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (X)
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ()
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (+)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald ()
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ()
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (X)
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ()
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ()
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (+)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck ()
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (X)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ()
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (+)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (+)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37. Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini ()
38. Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ()
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (X)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ()
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (++++++)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ()
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery ()
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding ()
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ()
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ()
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ()
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ()
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ()
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ()
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens ()
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ()
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ()
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck ()
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (x)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ()
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ()
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (x)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ()
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding (x)
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie ()
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (x)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (x)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (x)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett ()
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ()
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ()
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath ()
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ()
78 Germinal - Emile Zola (x)
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (x)
80 Possession - AS Byatt ()
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ()
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (x)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ()
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (+++++++++)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ()
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ()
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (+)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ()
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams ()
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Toole ()
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (x)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl ()
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (X)

wow, it's been a while!!!

2009-07-10T20:05:00.004-04:00

So I thought after I quit my job, I'd have more time to work on things and get things done. No way!!! It seems like the life runs by even faster - as soon as I wake up in the morning, it's time to go back to bed... Interesting, huh?

Well, let's see what happened the last few weeks: Lucas finished Kindergarten and the Americana quilt I made, I gave to his teacher as the appreciation gift (it was finished 10 min before the school bus was here).

I have also made my 1st purse!!! That wasn't hard at all. I'm actually excited to make some more and possibly sell it on Etsy. My friend is coming over tomorrow and we're going to get cranking!!! :)

We also went camping for the 4th of July, which was ok, because for 2 days out of 4 it rained :(

I will try my best to update my blog tomorrow with whatever I make tomorrow! Pinkie promise!!!

Americana quilt

2009-06-22T12:18:00.003-04:00

So a few days ago, I started working on Americana quilt for the table and yesterday I finally got the top finished! Yay! I really like the way it turned out. I used 4*4 cotton squares I bought on eBay a long time ago. I had the idea in my head for a while now, I think I've seen something similar to this before. Any comments are welcome, for now I just need to base it and quilt it along with the baby quilt.

Working on a baby quilt: Part II

2009-06-16T12:55:00.002-04:00

So, I worked on the baby quilt for a little bit yesterday and this morning. The top is now finished and all I have to do now is to line it and quilt it, which is still a lot of work. In the meantime, I got distracted and decided to make matching dresses from some leftover fabric for my babysitter's girls. I hope they fit! The girls are 2 and almost 4, but they're almost wearing the same clothes, so I made the dresses the same size. I didn't use any specific pattern, just cut and sewn fabric together :)) I'll have to take them to her later today, hope they like it!

Working on a baby quilt

2009-06-15T08:30:00.005-04:00

My sister-in-law is going to have her baby girl at the end of July. She already has 2 boys and this will be her 1st little girl. I make something for all newborn kids in my family. I wanted to make a quilt for her and send it to my sister-in-law before the baby is born. She lives in Cincinnati and it's a very long drive from here, so unfortunately, I don't think that we're going to be going there to see the baby right away.

So, I started on this quilt yesterday. I've had the embroidered blocks for a while and just kinda started sewing around them and making my own pattern. This is what I have accomplished as of yesterday.

Things I got from Hobby Lobby

2009-06-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

So as promised, here are the fabrics and other things I got from Hobby Lobby on Friday.

LOVE this workout!

2009-06-12T21:34:00.003-04:00

I love this so much, I decided to post it here!

and ZUMBA!!! My fave!!!

Going to Hobby Lobby in Syracuse!!!

2009-06-12T06:29:00.002-04:00

I'm so very excited today! My new friend Courtney and I are driving to Syracuse to Hobby Lobby. I'm planning on getting some sewing stuff and possibly some other stuff - you never know what you can find there, it's such an awesome store. Soooooooo, I'll be back later. With stuff!!!!

Sorry it's been so long!

2009-06-09T08:44:00.003-04:00

Wow, I have not posted anything for almost 2 months now!!! This is insane!

So, I quit my job and decided to be stay-at-home mom and take care of my 5-year old and devote more time to my husband. It was not a last minute decision, I swelled on it for a while. I was not happy at my job for a while, but we needed the money. Then, a few bills got paid off and I scrunched up some numbers and figured out that we can make it if I stay at home and we should be ok :)

So now, that I have more time on my hands, especially since Lucas is still at school during the day, I can work on my Etsy stuff. I've been sop bad the past month, that I have not even touched my crafts, except for may be doing some crochet while at work a few times.

My plan is to have more stuff listed by the end of the month and also to finish at least 1-2 projects per week. We'll see how that goes.

Well, see ya later!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T22:57:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter to everyone who comes to my blog!!!

I've had a truly wonderful one, enjoyed great time with my son, went Easter egg hunting and then shopping at Jo-Anns. The only downfall - my husband had to leave for a few weeks for business, but still I'm thankful for so many things. I am truly blessed. Here's some pictures from Saturday before Easter:

while talking to my mom

2009-04-06T21:09:00.004-04:00

So yesterday while talking to my mom, I found this web-site (faceinthehole.com) that was quite entertaining... Here's what I made. Check it out :) My personal favorite was the first one, with Matthew Fox, guy from Lost, but my husband didn't really care for that one that much.

Easter cards

2009-04-05T14:26:00.002-04:00

Today I got busy and made some Easter cards!!! Here's what I got:

Getting ready for Easter

2009-04-04T17:16:00.006-04:00

So this morning I got up feeling creative and full of energy as always. I finally finished a blanket for my son. I think I'm going to give it to him for Easter. It's a raggedy quilt, at least I think that's what it's called. I already washed it and dried it and I really like the way it looks. It's 100% flannel and it's reversible.

Now I need to think of other things to put in his basket to surprise him on Easter morning.

What to do, what to do?

2009-03-28T10:34:00.002-04:00

Sooo, it's finally Saturday and I just had my 3 cups of coffee and feeling great!

Now, after checking out about gazillion of blogs and etsy for inspiration, I think I'm going to make some Easter cards!

Stay tuned for report on that one.

I survived Thursday!

2009-03-26T20:39:00.003-04:00

I survived Thursday! Yay! One more day and it will be week-end. I really can't wait.
Did I mention I've been on the diet lately, but I'm really craving some honey cake just like this one I made about 6 months ago? mmmmmmmmmm. The funny part is when I do splurge, I feel so guilty afterward... Is it just me?

Thursday Morning

2009-03-26T07:24:00.003-04:00

The reason why I like Thursdays, it's because it's almost Friday. After today, there is one more day of work and then freedom of staying home for 2 days, working on some projects, talking to my parents on skype and drinking coffee all day. I LOVE MY WEEK-ENDS!!!!

There are some things that I just need to get done though and knowing myself, I'll probably wait until Sunday afternoon to get started on them.

Well, I better go get ready for work!

3/25/2009

2009-03-25T20:19:00.004-04:00

So... today is my first day blogging. Where do I start?

Today I went to work and spent half of my day dreaming of being able to stay home one day doing what I do best: sewing, making cards, scrapbooking... I have been taking my crochet projects to work and played with them for a little bit on my breaks. This helps me relieve stress, but again, I can not just spread out my work, because I don't want it to look like I'm not working. Over the past several months, I've accomplished quite a few projects at work, but there are still quite a few in mind.

Well, I decided to show this dress off. This is the last project I finished at work. I originally was planning to make it for myself, but when it was all done and I tired it on, I didn't particularly like the way my mid-section looked in it, so I decided to list it in my Etsy store. It looks a little crooked on the picture, but in a real life, it's not. I want to wash it before I sell it though, so it looks even.

Ok now, I think it's enough for my first day. I better get into my PJ's and get ready to watch LOST.