First Day of School 2010

Woke up way too early wondering how summer flew by soooo fast! It's the first day of school today, and the boys are all at different campuses (for the first time ever). Sigh...

DS1 starts high school today (!) at the best magnet school in town; DS2 is in 8th grade, ruling the roost at the best middle school in the district; and DS3 starts 4th grade with his 2 besties in the same class (pray for his teacher). So now it's just me and DS4, the baby, who is spending his last year at home, before tackling kinder next year. He's just handed me the Wii Fit Plus; I wonder what he's trying to tell me.

On a happier note, I treated myself to a slew of new sharpies while shopping for school supplies. I think I'll doodle until dismissal.

I Made a Rug!

I've been thinking about this project for months, and I finally took a day to sit down and make it. Back in the spring, my DH painted our bathroom and redid the flooring. It turned out great! But the wall color didn't look so hot with our Texas flag shower curtain, which truthfully, after 8 years, I was getting tired of anyway.

I bought a new shower curtain with soothing stripes in aqua, blue, and purple. I love the way it looked with the soft blue walls. It brightened up the whole room! Then I realized why I loved the colors of the stripes so much -- I had a collection of yarn in the same colors!

So then I decided to crochet a striped rug for the bathroom. To make it nice and thick and durable, I used three strands held together of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease yarn and a size P hook. The great thing about this technique is that your project will work up quickly (once your hands get used to holding this much yarn!). Then I chose three of the colors and combined them for the border.

Our bathroom is kind of long, so I'm thinking of making a second rug. Just gotta find a day to sit down and crochet it!

First Monday is Back!

After a six month hiatus, the First Monday sale from Etsy Texas Crafters is back, just in time for Back to School!

I have taken over as coordinator for First Monday, and I'm so excited to do this for such a great team! Join us here to see the complete listing of shops and specials.

Today you can save 25% at both The Lavender Lizard and at The Lavender Ladybug! Please wait for a revised PayPal or RME invoice, or I can refund the difference as soon as possible.

Happy First Monday!

Projects for My Primas

I can't believe that it's already late-July.....where has my summer gone?

I've been keeping busy with the boys. We've been swimming with friends and out to the ranch (new kittens!) and to the zoo and the movies. Today we headed to the library for more summer reading.

I've also been busy with projects! During the cousin reunion, my cousin Meri asked me to crochet newborn beanies for her photography business. I made 3 slightly different versions in hot pink and black:

plus 4 flower pins to accent them:

My cousin Josie asked me to crochet a poncho for a gift for a 6-year-old girl. I just finished it in beautiful neapolitan colors of pink and brown (plus another flower pin) and will be mailing it to Albuquerque this week.

Speaking of summer, I've also been working on a special order from The Lavender Lizard. One customer asked me to make a baseball-themed tape measure. I love the way it turned out! This will be available on Etsy, and it's also inspired a couple of new designs that I hope to make and list soon. Stay tuned!

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!

The End of the School Year!

I finally got around to downloading the photos from the end of the school year. Next year will be monumental in that all 4 boys will be in 4 different places (high school, middle school, elementary school, and the baby at home). Wish me luck!

Sadly, one of our favorite teachers EVER retired this year. To celebrate her retirement, I cross-stitched and framed a quote from Albert Einstein, her hero.


It reads: " Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

Here's Mrs. K with the boys in her very empty classroom (except DS4, who of course, wouldn't cooperate). Mrs. K taught GT and had DS1 and DS2 for four years each in elementary school. She's a superb teacher and a great friend, and she will be missed!


Over at the middle school, the PTA hosted an end-of-the-year breakfast for the staff. I made a market bag and two scarves in school colors that were given away as door prizes.

Time to enjoy the summer break!