Going on a play date...

This will be fun!

Darrin is travelling this week, so I'm scooting over to visit with Ashley for a couple days of mom and daughter time.

On Saturday I'm going with her to a 'crop' - a meetup with so many wonderful crafters - scrapbooking, mixed media art. Her peeps!

She made me this little mixed media art a year or so ago. I love it. It sits in a corner of my kitchen counter, along with a ceramic fish she gave me ages ago.

I have a fish fetish...I love fish ceramics, metallic scultures, found art - and Mr. Fish.

So I'm putting together a few projects to take with me, things I can work on and talk at the same time.  :-)

Motivated by my Mexican crepe paper flowers, which are now about 16 years old and fading (I just hate to see that happen), I decided to try my hand at making some new ones. These materials are from A.C. Moore, and frankly, the crepe paper is not as heavy or pretty as I'd like. So I might order some Italian crepe paper. Meanwhile, my first rose and the makings of more, going to the crop...

Of course, I had to research this project, and I found a really good tutorial on YouTube. I like this one because it isn't voiced, it's about 10 minutes long, and it simply goes through the process of making a rose. And it's what I'm following in making mine.

Another project that's going with me, looper bracelets! These are a great hit with Darrin, Ashley, David, and Preston. David has discovered that wearing them in his pool causes them to break pretty quickly - blame the pool salts. So he has an order in for a new Gator version. This is not the right blue, I need something a little deeper, and I've already gone through the pack I had. It's getting hard to find these things in a store, so soon I'll be sourcing colors online...

Isn't that a cute little bag? Gifted by Ashley, it's from Thirty One. All my loopers and gear are inside. Maybe one of her friends will want to try it, so I'm taking the whole shebang and what-nots with me.

And I'll take my knitting and crossword book. My stamina level flags these days, so both pretty much always go with me on a visit with the kids.

I'm working on my third Weekend Retreat Cardigan - the pattern is on Ravelry if you like it. It's fun to knit, free from Lion Brand, all top-down and a quick make. Super nice pattern. I've made one just like the pic, in sport weight yarn.

Father's Day is Sunday, so I got a card off to David this morning. He and Preston are so precious. This pic is from their Ski Week trip to Colorado earlier this year... David is an incredible Dad.

And that's it! Mr. Fish and I are taking a nap soon - I hope you're having a nice day,

Bye for now, Coco