#WorkInProgressTuesday

Greetings dear friend!

It's that time again to share what you're working on for #WorkInProgressTuesday! This month will bring many new projects for me and I'm excited to share them all with you here and on Instagram. I'm in a total growing period, full of research, change, and creative projects! I like this idea of sharing current projects for the simple reason that everyone generally likes showing off what they're working on. Plus, it's a great way to get feedback and some love on ideas that you are making come to life!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been working on this royal blue infinity scarf (pictures above & below) and I'm really super in love with it! I must say that I'm glad it's done though. A labor of love we'll call it. I seem to have two types of projects that I work on. Ones that I'm just trying to get through and others that I can take time on, detail, and really make special. Is it like that for you too? I was able to take my time on this blue scarf and I poured all my love into it.

Now I'm on to a new project and this one is for myself! It's not often that I get to make a scarf for myself, but I needed a prototype and so I figured what better way to test it out than to make it for yours truly. :)  I made this chunky white scarf a while back and I really wanted to play with that type of yarn again. The thing is, I don't have anymore chunky yarn in stock. What I do have however, is plenty of worsted weight (or normal size) yarn in lots of beautiful colors! So I decided to use two together and this is what I came up with...

If you follow me on Facebook then you will have seen this picture of the beginning of my new project. At first I was going to do a simple double crochet stitch, but I frogged the whole thing and started over mixing the double crochet & a criss-cross double crochet stitch! I love the texture that it brings to the whole look of the scarf.

I wasn't sure how I felt about pink & yellow together after I started working with them, but I started to warm up to it and now I think it looks quite nice actually. It will certainly garner looks and conversation if nothing else. Ha ha. Being at home sick for the last couple of days has allowed me to work on it while watching listening to the tv in-between naps. I'll probably be done with this scarf by the time next Tuesday rolls around and of course I'll show the end results!

So what do you think of the pink & yellow together? What colors would you pair up? What have you been working on lately? Show it off on Instagram with #WorkInProgressTuesday!!

Ciao!

Art & Crochet

Greetings...

Happy Thursday! I've been in a super creative zone as of late and I've been riding the wave and will continue to do so until it has exhausted itself. Don't get me wrong.. I'm also creative otherwise, but there are moments when it's so overwhelming that you have no choice but to create something, anything, or explode! If you hadn't noticed, I have a new look and new name now (trying to get the domain name loaded has and still is a hassle!!), which is as you guessed a part of this creativeness oozing out all over the place. To be honest, it's been in the works for a while now. Something said, 'Do it now!' and so voila! I did. :)Did you notice that I know have tabs at the top of the blog?? Go check it out already!

I have to wonder if that's what happened in this instance with this street art. I was at Kroger minding my own business when this guy here on the pavement let out a forlorn moan. I don't know why he looks so melancholy. Maybe that's what the artist was feeling when he/she did it? I always wonder what time of day street art occurs... Is it all at 3 am or in broad daylight?

On to a little art of my own.. These are my newest yarn addiction projects. I finally made a slouchy hat for myself. I've made these for quite a few people now and I wanted to keep each one of the hats I made. Well now I can sport mine. Self-promotion, anyone?

If you've been following me on Facebook or Instagram then you'll know that this is my first Man Scarf of the season! Please excuse the rough quick pictures.

What's more manly than ribbing, right? And guess what else?? It's reversible! The guy that requested it wanted these colors, I guess for those light or dark khaki days at the office? You like it, I love it!

It's another snow day here in Atlanta and I'm pretty much trapped in my complex until tomorrow's temps melt it all away. So enjoy the day kiddies, because I certainly will!

Ciao!

A. Sparkle

Cyber Monday and Sales!

Greetings peoples!

You know what day it is! It’s Cyber Monday! That means all of us entrepreneurs are peddling our wares for the entire week and having crazy sales! Yay, for you! November 30^th was Small Business Saturday, where you go out and support your local small shops and businesses. If you missed out you can still support your community and I recommend buying handmade as well.

Buying handmade means that you are supporting someone’s dream, helping the hard working (wo)man, and because the owner is passionate about what they do, each piece is made with love. A good place to start is on Etsy.com! If you’ve been following me then you know that I’m on Etsy as well. You can visit my shop Eclectic Oasis at www.eclecticoasis.etsy.com!

Right now I’m running a special on bracelets! Any bracelet, set of bracelets, or cuff bracelet you see if buy one, get one FREE! You know what that means right?? You get one for yourself and then give on as a gift! I would give mine to my best friend, so that she knows that she’s special and that I appreciate her friendship. You can also use coupon code HOLIDAY20 when you are purchasing $25 or more in my Etsy shop! You can use the coupon code through Dec 8^th and the special on bracelets through Dec 14^th.

I have beautiful and comfy scarves to choose from that are perfect for this colorful Winter season, starting at $20. There is an assortment of cuffs, bracelets, & bangles, as well as great statement necklaces.

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I hope everyone in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving! I most certainly did. I had my Boo, and the El parentes with me, so I was on cloud 9. What more can you ask for but good food and good company? Feel free to tell me all about your Thanksgiving!

*Ciao*

 A.Sparkle

Suited & Booted

Greetings all!

Can I just say that I'm glad this work day is over and now I can concentrate on the job after my job. In other words play in my yarn. :) I'm so excited about the new project that I'm starting. I'm making a baby blanket by request in white, red, silver and turquoise. I wasn't sure how these colors would work together, but I've decided that I like them. You can tell me what you think as well!

 It doesn't need to be done until December, so I'm glad I have enough time so that I can really plot everything out. Also I think that I'll go ahead and add the boarders around the individual granny squares instead of having to do it all later. Doing boarders AND whip stitching just seems like too much of a daunting task. I'm sure The Boo would find me either passed out in the corner somewhere from exhaustion with the crochet hook dangling from my hand or I'll be sitting on the couch rocking back and forth mumbling to myself because I've finally gone insane from repeating too much of the same thing! lol!

So in other news, in my last post, I showed you the newest scarf I had completed that had lots of bright colors and tassels. Well, me and The Boo went to the park over the weekend and I felt like it was gonna be a great time to take pictures with this particular scarf. The weather was beautiful, sunny skies and nice breezes, we had an awesome lunch consisting of cheesesteaks and chips and then we wandered off to the park. Took some great pictures, walked around and then we were off to take in a movie. It was rounding out to be quite a perfect day. When we got back to the car there was a lovely note and surprise waiting on us. There was a nice yellow BOOT on my tire and the note said to call to have it removed! Also in fine print it said that if the boot was tampered with then it was a $450 fine!!!

I was quite amused myself because in all of my years of parking where I wasn't supposed to I've never been booted or towed. Looks like it was my turn. So in my mind this is what was going on, 'OMG!!! I've really done it now! How long is this gonna take?!?! Will it be hours? Will me and The Boo be temporarily homeless out here in the hot sun while people stare at us and my booted car.....!!!??!' So yes, I had a mini freak out moment. I called the number and the dude didn't say hello. All he said was 'I'll be right there.' and then hung up. So like 2 min later he magically appeared out of thin air and explained that him and his supervisor saw us leave the parking lot. Apparently your not supposed to and they have tiny tiny signs stating as such. I think The Boo wanted to smash Mr. I Booted Your Car in the face and he could tell, because he was looking awfully shy and scared. I felt sorry for the guy. I'm sure plenty of people have yelled and cursed the poor guy out when they were in the wrong and he was just doing his job. So he explained that the fine was $75 and whipped out his Square-ish looking device and ran the credit card to take away my hard earned ducketts. All I could do was laugh after it was all said and done. So yeah that was my weekend adventure! Here is a preview of the what's to be posted on Etsy soon.

So kiddies, did you have a weekend adventure or adventure period? Let me know!

~PEACE~

A. Sparkle