Prayer Shawls

"Shawls ... made for centuries universal and embracing,
symbolic of an inclusive, unconditionally loving, God.
They wrap, enfold, comfort, cover, give solace,
mother, hug, shelter and beautify.
Those who have received these shawls have been
uplifted and affirmed, as if given wings to
fly above their troubles..."

Written in 1998 by: Janet Bristow Copyright ©2009
The ladies of our church have been knitting and dedicating these shawl over the past several years to those who are in need of comfort.

This is one that I have been working on, I kinda put it aside when I started making candle mats but know that I need to get back to it, so by posting about it may keep me on track. We usually bring them to a Sunday service and have our minister pray over them before we box them up. As we hear of someone in need, a shawl is

sent out. Many of whom we have sent the shawls to have responded with such heart-felt thanks and usually say that they felt the comfort of peace as they wrapped themselves in them. If you would like to know more about them please visit www.shawlministry.com

Speaking of my candle mats, I plan on listing three this evening. These will be the last Valentine candle mats that I will be making for this season and plan on offering them at a discount starting price so if you get a chance check out my e-bay link.

Well stay warm and have a good week

My new Valentine candle mat

 I will be listing my new candle mat this afternoon on E-Bay. Thanks to all the helpful information from Cathy Wagner about copyrighting, I decided to mark my designs. It was quite simple to do with my Photo Explosion program. I am unhappy with the way the colors have shown, (darn camera) it is more of a cream and a dusky rose.
I received a question about the wool that I use. I use wool blends that I purchase at Jo-Ann Fabrics. They are different %'s of wool in the blends, mine are usually around 35%. I also visit Good-Will and sometimes get lucky and find a nice piece of 100% wool. All my wool gets felted (washer and dryer) which leaves it nice and thick with a slightly bumpy texture. I am a quilter but have found a love for working with wool.

The problem I am having is uploading pictures to this blog. It seems like it either takes forever or it loads fast without any picture. Guess I'm gonna have to practice and have more patience.

I also promised to update you on my Skecher Shape-Ups. Well I've had them for two weeks now and they are very comfortable. I am sometimes on my feet 12-16 hours a day and find that after about 8-10 hours my feet start to hurt....but I don't think any shoe out there could help after that much time. They do take a lot of pressure off my heels. I haven't really noticed any firming up yet but the bottom line is that I'm giving them a thumbs up.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Please don't copy!

Guess I better post. I've been busy all week (picking up more time at work) and trying to get some more of my candle mats done. I sold two last week and relisted one. I just finished another today so at least I will have one to list next Sunday. I follow the blog Cath's Pennies and she is having some stress due to e-bayers who have basically stolen her ideas and have made and listed candlemats I sent her a note on her blog because I bought a pattern from her before Christmas and sold the mat on e-bay with her permission giving her credit for the pattern. I don't want to get hate mail from her followers. After reading her blog I went on to E-bay and found the ones shes been talking about. They certainly have been copied, I can see why Cathy is so upset. Good Luck Cathy hope things go your way!

New Candle Mats

I sold all three of my candle mats that I listed on e-bay last week. Here are three newly listed ones for this week . I never know how they will turn out. I just start sewing the roses on the hearts and then  placed them on the mats. They are all different, so I have names each of them differently. The Pearl Heart has small beaded pearls sewn on the hearts. They have all turned out very nice. I so enjoy working with wool. I also have a link on my blog that will direct you to my e-bay site. Eventually I plan on adding pay pal, so that I will be able to sell from my blog. Well it's Sunday evening and I'm feeling more tired then usual so guess I'll go and watch Desperate Housewifes and veg.

Take care

Our Freckles

Freckles is our dalmation that we love dearly. My husband had always wanted a dalmation so 14 years ago my son and daughter and myself set out to find him one. She was a challenge during her puppy years. I can see why after the 101 dalmations movie (when everyone was buying them) many ended up at the APL. I always threatened to take her there. She was suppose to be for my husband and though he loves her dearly and always finds excuses for her bad behavior, she is really my dog. She is the most lovable dog we have ever had. She is the first dog that has been allowed on the bed. When I talk baby talk to her she coos as if to say don't stop. I decided to start taking more pictures of her. She is getting up in years and it makes me sad to think of not having her. I thought I would share a picture of her with you. Her feet get so cold in the snow that she won't walk so we have to go out and pick her up. So now she has snow boots and a sweater when it's cold.

Well I went out today and bought the new Skechers Shape-ups. A little pricey but if they do what they are suppose to do well worth it. They are a little weird looking and come with a CD to instruct you how to walk while wearing them. Very comfortable.....but that was only in the store. I will know better after wearing them for 12+ hours. I have a job that keeps me on my feet. They are suppose to:

• Promote weight loss
• Strengthen the backReduce cellulite and tone your thighs
• Increase cardiovascular health
• Improve posture
• Reduce stress on knee and ankle joints

I will be sure to give updates.

It's like living in a snow globe

Here's a picture of our yard....the snow just keeps coming down, I'm lucky that I don't have to go out today. Using Photo Explosion I decided to put the picture in a snow globe, because that's how I'm feeling.

Last nite I made some wintery comfort food. We have a local cooking school nearby that was just featured on Robin Swoboda's "That's Life" and I decided to make one of the recipes. I will be glad to share it with you, my husband had two and half servings. You will need to go to her site to get it the recipe. It's called Cheeseburger Soup. Very good but just a little too cheesy for me, next time I plan on cutting down on the cheese a little.

http://laurelruncookingschool.com Don't miss the hint she gives about using the vinegar to keep the cheese from clumping.

I listed three of my Valentine candle mats on e-bay last nite and already have a bid on one. Yippee!!! They are very Valentiney (is that a word?) I really enjoy making them. One of my mentor's is Cathy Wagner from Cath's Pennies (blog). She does an awesome job when it comes to designing and sewing candle mats and gives helpful information on her blog. I hope to someday be as talented as her.

Better get going. Have a good day!!!

Good O' Lake Erie Snow Effects

Last nite we had bands of snow crossing Lake Erie and dumping in our drive. Luckily we have a son with a tractor and snow plow. He was here bright and earlier to get our drive plowed. Thanks Mark! Temps are suppose to be dropping throughout the weekend, brrrrrrr.

Our home is quite a distance from the road (winter can be a challenge).


Speaking of last nite....what about those Ohio State Buckeye's. What a team, what a coach, what a band and great fans. I'm not really a sports type but I do enjoy watching Ohio State. Maybe because I live in Ohio.


I have three of my Valentine candle mats ready for e-bay. I just have to take some pictures and get them downloaded. Sometimes it takes forever to download. One of these days I'll get it right. I'm O.K. with the computer but there is just so much more that I would like to learn. I have a Photo Explosion program and love working with it.

Happy New Year!!!!

My New Year's resolution is to start writing in this blog. I started setting it up about nine months ago, but just didn't feel comfortable with getting it started. Well here goes...........

I have been listing Penny Rug/Candle Mats on E-bay since the fall. I love working with wool and wool blends. I have done many crafts and sewing in the past and have a craft room full of supplies, but have tried to commit to spending most of my time with wool. I recently changed my ID on E-bay to thekraftyrose from rdl19. I have a E-bay button on my blog site to direct visitors to my E-bay, so I thought I would change my E-bay ID to the same as my blog.

Well, guess I better get going and get our New Year's supper started. Gotta have pork and sauerkraut (we need all the luck we can get). Than later comes the Rose Bowl....Go Bucks!!!

Happy and Healthy New Year to all!!