Hats! And Finally a Reason to Wear Them

Down here in South Texas, it rarely gets cold enough to really wear sweaters, coats, and other winter gear. However, that changed last Friday when we experienced a freeze with precipitation. That's right -- we got ice! Which means, of course, no school for the boys and the city pretty much shut down. Brrr.

When I did venture out, I wore one of the hats that I made for myself this winter. Usually I don't wear hats because it's a committment of sorts -- my naturally-curly hair does not recover well from being squished under a hat. But this year, I said to myself, 'Self, sometimes a cute hat is worth squished curls.'

(Heartbeat Skully by Gleeful Things)

I found some cute hat patterns from some of my favorite designers. (Luckily, my no-new-yarn resolution does not apply to patterns. After all, how will I ever get through the stash of yarn I have without new patterns for inspiration!)

(Johnny Slouch by Sincerely Pam)

Both of the patterns I used above are available on Ravelry. 

Speaking of hats, another favorite designer Crystalized Designs has updated her Ethan beanie and is having a giveaway of the pattern to celebrate! It's such a cute beanie! I really love that it is so boyish!

Check out her blog post and enter to win! Good luck!

Girls Weekend!

I just spent 3 fun-filled days in San Antonio with 8 of the most loving, creative, fun, and wonderful women I know -- my sisters and my cousins, the Gonzales Girls!

One flew in from California, and her sister flew in from New Mexico. Four came down from the Dallas-Fort Worth area (one of those by way of Mexico -- long story...). One drove up from Brownsville, and the other one drove down from Austin. I'm so blessed that they are my family and also my friends!

Here are the 9 of us in birth order from left to right (I'm the fourth one from the left):

This photograph is courtesy of MeriBella Photography (Gonzales Girl #8), which leads me to a collaboration that I am thrilled to share!

My cousin Meri asked me to create a cocoon/wrap for her to use when taking photographs of newborns. Here's the image she created with the wrap I made for her:

During our reunion this weekend, Meri and I discussed more newborn items/props. I can't wait to create these, and share them with her and with you. More information on MeriBella Photography, based in Brownsville, Texas, is available on the website or the Facebook page!

Reminder: the giveaway for the set of lip balm holders will end on July 1. Please read the last blog entry (I'm Published!) for ways to enter the giveaway. Good luck!

I'm Published!

Well, sort of....it's not the Great American Novel but it's a good start! One of my goals for 2010 was to be published, and it's finally happened, not once, but twice!

The first is a book called Craft Corps by Vickie Howell. It's full of inspriring interviews with famous "crafters". I'm on page 39 (Ds1's favorite number) with a crafty story about making Christmas ornaments for the boys every year.

Thanks for including my story, Vickie!

The second publication just came to me in the mail today. It's the July 2010 issue of the British magazine titled Knitting, and it's about, well, knitting. It has beautiful patterns, yarn and book reviews and makes me wish I could coordinate using 2 knitting needles. (I'm all thumbs when it comes to knitting!) My neapolitan stripe scarf was chosen for their inspiration page! Plus I'm on page 11 -- my lucky number! So exciting!

Thank you Emma, for choosing my scarf!

To celebate reaching this goal, I'll give away a set of the ice cream-inspired (what else?) lip balm holders shown here (a $15 value):

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this blog post telling me what inspires you. You can earn additional entries for the giveaway by following my blog, becoming a fan of The Lavender Lizard on Facebook (click on "like), or following @lavenderlizard on Twitter. One person will be randomly chosen to receive the lip balm holders on July 1. Good luck!

It's No Trick....

The Lavender Lizard is now featured at The Present Professor!!! Can't tell you how exciting this is for me!


Carli from The Present Professor contacted me last week to say she liked my lip balm holders and wanted to feature them on her website. I was floored!!! So to celebrate, I'm giving away 3 of the handy little holders! Just leave a comment at The Present Professor for a chance to win! (The contest will continue until Wednesday evening 11/5).

** Thanks, Carli! You rock! **