June 13, 2011 by debi.

It has been a while since I have written.  I have been taking some marketing classes, trying to get some new inventory made, and traveling.  I think I am going to be home for a while, which will be nice.  My last trip was to see my 22 year old son off to Afghanistan.  I spent last week in Jacksonville, North Carolina with my son and his girlfriend.  It was wonderful to spend time with the two of them.  Keep him in your prayers, he will be gone until sometime in January or February.  This tour should be a little safer, then his last one.

I finished my last class about a week and a half ago.  They were pretty time consuming and very informative.  Now that they are done, I can focus on working and making for scarves, hats, shawls, and purses for this fall.  I am also going to finish a skirt and camisole during the next week, and get them on the website.  Here are pictures of these two items, they just need to be sewn together.

I am very excited to finish these two beautiful pieces for summer.  They will be a great addition to any wardrobe.  They are both sized as larges.  I can make the camisole in other sizes, and I can also make it in white, if someone would like it as a special order.  When it is done it will have rhinestone buttons, and it will be priced at approximately $199.00.  The skirt be priced at $349.00, and when I add it to the website catalog I will include the measurements.

Also, keep an eye out for a facebook promotion that I will be doing.  You can enter for the drawing by liking the two facebook pages between June 15 through August 15, for a giveaway for a scarf.  The drawing will be held on August 20, and the prizes are hand knit scarves.  So check out the facebook page for Dreams by Debi, and the facebook page blog.dreamsbydebi.com to enter for your chance to win a free scarf, and for all future giveaways.  Tell your friends also, the more the better.

I have also put 3 new hand crocheted hats on www.dreamsbydebi.com please take a look at the new hats, and watch for the free scarf giveaway.

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March 10, 2011 by debi.

Color and texture are such an important part of designing.  When I walk into a yarn store or fabric store the first thing that I notice are all of the colors. These stores virtually assualt your sense of vision.  There are colors everywhere, and there is every color under the sun.  I, unfortunately, am attracted to all colors.  Yes, like everyone I have my favorite colors, but to me color is like eye candy.  The picture below is of a tile at the top of a the stairway that someone built into the side of the cliff next to my home in Mexico.  It is a perfect example of color and texture.  The tiles are beautiful and I love the colors, but you also have the texture of the broken tile, the concrete,  the sand and dirt on the tile, even the cracking of the glaze on the tile add texture to the picture.

 When I designing hand knits or hand crocheted items or looking for a fabric for a dress, I also touch for texture.  Even though the picture of the tile has texture, it is not a kind of texture you would want to touch.  One of the things I do when I walk into a yarn store or fabric store is to start touching the yarns and fabrics. I love the soft feel of cashmere yarn or the feel of a beautiful silk or rayon fabric.  We live in a world where our senses are constantly being assualted.  So when I feel something really soft like a wonderfully soft cotton, I know that it will make a wonderful lace hat for summer, a soft pair of socks, or that cardigan that you never want to take off.  When I touch a beautiful rayon at the fabric store with a pastel floral pattern, I know that it will make a fantastic sundress for those really hot days, or a skirt that is so soft and floaty you will feel like you have nothing on.  This shawl below is one of those accessories that you never want to give up.  The color is perfect, and the soft chenille is comfy and cozy.  It is light enough to use in the summer on a cooler evening, but warm enough to use in the winter also.  It’s texture and color are what make it the ideal accessory.  This shawl is available only at  http://www.dreamsbydebi.com/mauve-lace-hand-crocheted-shawl-p-92.html

The scarf below is a perfect example of color and texture.  This scarf is hand crocheted with 100% mercerized cotton, and the color is so, so pretty.  The cotton is really soft, so it has a very smooth feel to it.  What give this scarf texture are the actual crocheted stitches.  This scarf is crocheted in sections, and each sections has different stitches, which gives its unique look.  So it is not only soft to the touch, but the stitches give it lots of interest.  This scarf is available at http://www.dreamsbydebi.com/deep-lavender-hand-crocheted-scarf-p-89.html

So the next time you walk into a yarn or fabric store, let your senses take over and enjoy what you see and feel.

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March 4, 2011 by debi.

 It is fun working on my website.  I have just added a bunch of new scarves to the website, including the scarf above.  It is so pretty and lacey.  I love lace.  It is really fun to knit and crochet also.  It is so exciting when you start knitting lace, and it all starts to come together.  After 5 or 6 inches you start to see how the pattern is going to look with the yarn that you are using.  You know that it is going to look good when you start, but you can’t tell about the feel and look until you have knit several inches. Visit Dreams by Debi at www.dreamsbydebi.com to see what is new.

 I have also started a new line of faith based inspirational accessories and journals.  I just put the first scarf on the website yesterday.  It is a green with pink letters and a pink border.  I have knit the word “FAITH” in the scarf.  I am working on another scarf it is white with red letters and has “FORGIVEN” on it. 

I have also been working on journals, which will have an inspirational word on them, with a quote from the Bible inside.  I made my first one last week, and stamped Faith on the front, and wrote Hebrews 11:1 about faith on a card inside the journal.  I gave it as a gift to my Bible teacher.  They are still rough, but they are coming along. 

I look for inspiration for ideas in everyday things around me.  Like the picture above of the umbrella on the beach in front of my house in Mexico, or the picture that I took below of these peppers taken at a vegetable market on the island of Capri in Italy.  The colors are spectacular, and great to choose from when I am putting fabrics and yarn together.  It is fun being able to be creative, whether it is designing clothing, knitting or crocheting accessories and clothing, painting, or taking pictures.  I love color and texture.  It is fun having a job that you love,

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February 28, 2011 by debi.

Puerto Vallarta was absolutely beautiful over the last few weeks.  I was going to try to blog from there, but the internet connection at my house was not strong enough to upload pictures.  It was very chilly for the first 5 days that I was there.  My mom and I had to sleep with the windows closed, under lots of covers, and wore sweaters most of the day.  Mid afternoon was warm enough to go without a sweater, and that was about it.  It warmed up the day my mom left. 

We had a really relaxing time; we read, watched movies, ate out, had picnics on the bed watching movies, and walked on the beach. I am posting some pictures of the water, because I encountered something that I have only read about and seen in movies, a red tide.  It is an algal bloom, a type of algae, which is often phytoplankton.  It apparently can come in many colors, but this looked purple when you looked out at the water.  It was not really affecting my end of the beach, but down by the Four Seasons, the water in the waves looked almost black.  There were dead fish and sea snakes all down the beach as we took our walk the first day.  It was really interesting to see.  So here is the first picture of the red tide at Playa Careyeros.

You can see it as an area that is a reddish purple color.  My neighbor told me that it had been there for a couple of days, and that it was moving south, so it was heading around the end of our little bay on the Pacific towards Punta de Mita. You can also see it in this second picture.

Our house is next to a cliff, and this is where I took the pictures of the red tide from.  It is interesting, because as you can see below, there are hand tiled stairs going up the side of this cliff.  I have no idea who put these stairs on the hill, but whoever it was was an artist in his or her own right.  They are beautiful, almost like a mosaic.  All different tiles, different colors, different shapes and  sizes, broken pieces and whole pieces it is such a beautiful piece of art in the middle of nowhere.  It is amazing to see, and I think most people take it for granted when they walk on it.  I do not think that they think about the time, energy, and creativity that was put into these stairs.

These are just a few of the tiles up there.  I have more that I will post later.  It is an amazing thing to see.

The two days after my mom left, and before everyone else arrived,  were nice.  I went to the fabric store in Mezcales, and bought oil cloth and fabric to make sundresses with.  I spent a whole day making a dress and a bag for the pool with the fabric that I bought.  I bought extra fabric to make oil cloth bags and sundresses for the website.

I also spent time reading, and read a new magazine called Life: Beautiful, which is absolutely beautiful.  It is a spiritual, bible based magazine.  I read an article about making journals.  It was a really wonderful idea.  I made the first one last week and gave it away as a gift.  I am also going to make more and put them for sale on the website.  The first one that I did I stamped Faith on it, and put a card inside with Heb. 11:1 on it.  It was really fun to make, and was a great gift to give.  I will post pictures of the next ones this week. 

I have also been working on some new hand knit scarves.  I am finishing the edging on the first one, it is a new “Faith” scarf, and I am working on a really special one in white with red fun fur letters.  It is “Forgiven”, white for purity, and red for the blood of Jesus.  It is really special to me, and I am happy that God gave me the ability and creativity to make them, and this blog. 

So today I am thankful to God for all of the things that he is showing me and doing with my life.  Today, I am thankful.

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February 8, 2011 by debi.

Today was another cold winter day.  It started snowing sometime in the middle of the night, and has continued on and off all day.  The temperature has been hovering somewhere around 0 degrees all day long.  My dogs do not even want to go out in this weather.

This is a picture that I took of my deck.  I was trying to get one of the lake, which is frozen over, but it was too hard to do tonight.  It was definitely to cold to go out to take the picture.  Especially since I am in my slippers. 

I worked on my website most of the day, and finished putting the last of the inventory on my website for now.  I will still need to take pictures of additional items, but that will wait until I get back from Mexico. 

I can’t wait to get to my little house down there.  A new garden has been put in near the kitchen since I was there in December.  I am excited to see what has been done.  I always love the bouganvilla and the cupa de oro’s that grow over the roof of our kitchen.  It is always so pretty when the flowers are blooming.

This is our little house Casitas de las Palmas.  It is such an escape, especially after the last two weeks.  It has been freezing here.  Our neighbors were saying that it is cold down there, but I think it will seem tropical after the -19 degrees below zero last week.  I will have lots of time with my mom.  I will be able to spend time reading and studying the bible, and I will be able to knit and watch all of the movies that I have been recording for down there.  Here is a picture of the bouganvilla growing against the kitchen roof.

Life is pretty simple down there.  We do not have regular tv, we watch movies on the dvd player.  There is no phone, we finally have a plan on our cell phones that we can use down there.  We used to use skype, but the internet is pretty irregular at our house, so that was not always reliable. It is small, and if the whole family is there, the kids sometimes will sleep in the tents, but we love it.  It is our own little piece of paradise, for which I am very greatful.

I will be checking in from down there towards the end of the week. Thank you for checking in, and keep reading.

Here is a link to a new item I added to Dreams by Debi today. Please take a look.

http://www.dreamsbydebi.com/hand-knit-shrug-multi-purples-p-90.html

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February 6, 2011 by debi.

Since it is so cold today I am posting some links to www.dreamsbydebi.com  with suggestions for something warm to buy and wear this week.  Thanks for taking a look, hope that you find some  great wardrobe additions.

http://www.dreamsbydebi.com/wool-hand-knit-shawl-p-84.html?osCsid=254d45771bd84ba1a3feeefdb040986d

http://www.dreamsbydebi.com/fuschas-purples-hand-crocheted-p-48.html?osCsid=86926e2aabb5c154bfc281795355c22a

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February 6, 2011 by debi.

Today the city is blanketed in snow.  It is absolutely beautiful looking out my window at the snow covered frozen lake.  A day to rest and relax with my wonderful husband. I am making wings and hot dogs and italian sausages in crescent rolls for the superbowl.  Maybe we will light the fire today.

 This week I leave for the house in Mexico.  It will be in the 70’s, sunny, and beautiful.  I will get to spend a wonderful weekend with my mom, and then David and the office will come join me.  I then get to be pampered at an all inclusive hotel for 5 days.  Sounds good to me.  Especially since we are getting another Arctic Front this week, and we will be below -0 again this week.

The picture that has been posted was taken at Tino’s Maricso’s in El Anclote.  It is the town at the bottom of Punta de Mita, Nayarit, Mexico.

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November 4, 2009 by debi.

I just changed the look of the blog.  I will post more later.  Need to go to work, but wanted to add the the blog.  I’m not sure if I like the new look yet or not.  Will blog soon.  I know it has been a long time.

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March 15, 2008 by debi.

 Yesterday, I wrote a little bit about my bedroom.  Today, I wanted to show you pictures.  I spend a lot of time in my bedroom, and it used to be done in burgandies, golds, and blacks.  I got really tired of the dark colors several years ago, but had a difficult time finding the colors that I wanted for my room.  I wanted aquas, but there were not any in the stores yet.  I had to wait until last summer to find and aqua coverlet.  My duvet is white, but I have so many animals and they shed, that to keep just white on my bed would be impossible to keep clean.  My bed is a rice bed, and so it is very high, and we have the bed on a wall that is narrow opposite the windows.  I did this because I live on a lake, and want to be able to see the lake from my bed.  I am from Los Angeles origonally and living in Colorado I sometimes feel landlocked.  Living on a lake really helps with the feeling of needing to move back to the coast.  Since my bed is high I needed something I and narrow for the nightstand on my side of the bed.  I found the bookcase at a garage sale a long time ago, and last spring, I decided to paint it a pale yellow.  I also did this with an old bookcase that I also found at a garage sale.  I wasn’t able to tie it all together until recently.  I finally found the 2 chairs for in front of the fireplace, and I love them.  I am actually sitting writing on my computer right now, with HGTV on the TV. ( I love those shows)  Then I found the little aqua table between the chairs at Pier 1.  I found some yellow shams for on my bed to tie things together and pillows with aqua and yellow at Pier 1. 

There is still a lot to do in my room.  I need to redo lamp shades, and I want a yellow throw for one of my chairs.  I have not found a yellow that I like yet, so that may be something that I have to make.  We also need to redo the fireplace.  I want to put drywall above it and build a mantle for it, but that will come with time. 

I really love the feel of my bedroom.  It is really peaceful and relaxing.  I love lighting the fireplace, and sitting in my chairs or bed and knitting or crocheting.  Right now I am working on a blanket for my daughters room.  It is red and black.  Her room was recently redone, and is very pretty without being frilly.  She is turning 18 in a week and needed a more grown up room instead of a young teenagers room.

 Anyway everything will get done in time.  It is just fun doing it. 

I’ll check back in sometime in the next couple of days.

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