What to do, what to do??? Make a Crochet Turtle I guess!!!!

  
 I am running out of ideas of what to make that is new and exciting.  This has never really been an issue for me but all of a sudden I have no idea what to try to make next.  I am thinking maybe a purse or shoulder bag.

     I have a bunch of this brown, pink and green bulky "Loops & Threads" Charisma yarn that I need to do something with but it is way too bulky for a hat or glove set, and the colors aren't that pretty together if they were to be used for something like that.  I started out with a pattern for a hat with it at one point and the brown is so prominent that it looked funny.

     I should just start over and try this new idea I've been mulling over about doing a shoulder strap purse with either a button or zipper to close it on top.  I guess we'll just have to see where it leads to.  I've never done more than just a pouch when it comes to bags before, but when I went to try and make the ear flap hats, I was totally intimidated about it at first and it turned out really good.  This shouldn't be that different.  I'll just have t play around with it until it works.  And this time, write down my pattern.

    I ended up having to make up a second pattern  for the ear flaps because the first one I made I forgot to write down the pattern as I went along and then couldn't remember which stitches I had used.  Love it when I do that!!!  Not!  I have a baby booties pattern that I did that with too!  It was the cutest pattern and everyone loved them, I sold a TON of them the winter of 2009 but can't for the life of me remember the WHOLE pattern.  C-est la vie!  I will remember or come up with some other better newer one someday.  I have very few babies that even wear booties anymore around me.  My two children are 4 and 6 and haven't worn booties for years.  That's one reason why I started making hats instead.

     I finally made that little turtle that I had purchased the pattern for from Tophatter.  The $5 credit they gave me was great because I only ended up paying $1 for the pattern and it's really cute.  It is something I am DEFINITELY going to modify when I make more of them, but it turned out okay.  That is one reason I don't like using a pattern that someone else wrote.  I don't mean to be a snob but there are a lot of people out there who don't know what they are doing when they write the patterns, so they don't make sense, or in this case, the pattern lays funny.  The designer didn't use enough chains at the beginning of the rows so the part where it comes together it cinches up and looks awkward.  Minor adjustments will make it a super great pattern, and now that I have made an animal I can pretty much figure out any other design if I want to.  That is the joy and benefit of having as much experience as I do, thankfully.  I know how to make it work the way I want it to NEXT time. 

     I am going to make a whole family of Turtles for my sister.  When her son was born, she said his upper lip reminded her of a baby turtle, so we nicknamed him Turtle and ever since my sister has had an obsession with turtles.  I couldn't agree more with her about her love for turtles, I absolutely LOVE FROGS!  She got a beautiful turtle tattoo on her back that is incredible and I have my tattoo of my poison dart frog on my foot.  My sister is my best friend.  I admire her and love her more than she will ever know.  Have you ever heard of what people like to call "Twin Power?"  Even though my sister and I are not twins, we have a connection between us that sometimes scares the absolute crap outta me.  It doesn't matter if we don't speak to each other on anything except over the internet for months at a time  because it's like satellite radar when one of us is needs the other it's like we just know.  I have gotten up in the middle of the night just to check my internet and she had sent me a message that she needed to talk to me minutes before.  It happens all the time, she'll call me outta the blue when I'm in the worst mood of my life just to tell me a joke and make me feel better because she could just feel that I needed her.  We don't even know why, obviously, but it's the most comforting feeling in the world.

     I remember one time years ago I woke up from a dead sleep and called her while she was on a camping trip to tell her to be careful.  I don't remember exactly what ended up happening but someone got hurt that night, and I was just glad that it wasn't her.  Anyway, getting back to the "family of turtles" I'm making her.

     Her birthday is on April 10th.  I don't have any money to buy her something and this is a BENCHMARK birthday so I want it to be SUPER special.  I have a set of new hats that I am making her and my niece Temperance out of my Lime Green Yarn.  My gorgeous sister and niece have the most beautiful red hair that looks amazing with that lime green color.  (For me, when I wear it, I look like a washed out sick person because of my skin tone.)  I have been meaning to make them a matching set of hats, which she doesn't wear the slouchy's because she says she "can't" wear them, and have finally decided on the pattern I think I want.  She has the perfect face for my beanie's and I have a KILLER ribbon I'm going to put in them.  Light green leopard print!  It's amazing!  I can't wait.  However: along with the hats I wanted to make her something that she could keep forever.  With her love of turtles, and my new found pattern, I decided that it would be a perfect gift.  So far I have made the little girl turtle, but now am working on the little boy, the Mommy and the Daddy.  I want to make them all different but have a part all be the same to help represent their unity as a family.  Let me know if you have any suggestions about the colors.