Froggy Cardigan and Cap

Here is a photo of the green cardigan and cap that I made tonight. I need to add buttons yet. Wait until I show up at Wal-Mart for buttons....I have quite a list of them to purchase. I used Bernat Baby Bee yarn in the color "froggy". I bought this over a year ago on clearance and I used almost the entire skein on this project. It's a small skein, by the way. The pattern is off the Bella Bambina site and I have a link to it in an earlier post of mine.

Blue and White Azalea Dress

This is a photo of the blue and white Azalea Dress that I made today. I need to add the buttons and ribbon at the waistline yet. I think it turned out really well. I used Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn in blue and in white. It's a free pattern on the Bella Bambina site and a link may be found in an earlier post of mine.

Pink and White Azalea Dress

This is the pink and white Azalea Dress that I made this morning. I still have to put the buttons on the back and run a ribbon through the waistline. But, other than that, it's finished. I have my oldest son holding it up for the photo. He's 21. I keep teasing him that I'm making all these baby clothes for his first child in five or ten years. That I'm going to put them up and save them for the happy occasion. He just looks at me like I'm crazy. Anyway, the dress is made with pink and white Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn. The pattern can be found in an earlier post of mine.

Lavender Sweater Coat

I made this lavender sweater coat using the "Sweater Coat" pattern off the Bella Bambina site. The pattern can be found here https://docs.google.com/View?id-dp8xs77_13dtqck4gt . I used Bernat Baby Coordinates yarn out of my stash. I'm making a hat to go with it as well.

Blue Sweater Set

This sweater set was made using the "Kellys Sweater" pattern off the Bella Bambina site. The pattern can be found here https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_5kf73zbxm . I used blue denim marle Bernat Baby Sport yarn. I still need to add the buttons. Otherwise it's done.

White Sweater Set for Girl

This sweater set was made using the pattern called "Sweater with Ruffled Bottom" off the Bella Bambina site. The pattern can be found here https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_11rk9573rk . I used white Bernat Baby Sport yarn.

The Book Nook

I haven't put any book reviews on here for quite some time. It's high time I did so now. I've read a lot of books over the past couple of months, but I will only add the books of note and not include the many romance novels I read during our holiday.

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

There are a lot of books in this series....at least 15....but I have only read the first six:

One For The Money
Two For The Dough
Three To Get Deadly
Four To Score
High Five
Hot Six

I can't ruin the experience of reading these books for you. They are a bit different than the type of books I usually read, but I have to admit that I loved these books. I want you to give them a go. I never laugh during movies or books unless they are extremely funny to me. You see, I have a different kind of sense of humor. I just don't find some things funny enough to laugh over, even though others are. But, these books made me laugh. More than once. The author tells a great story and it's done like she is Stephanie Plum. I should add that Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter, and not exactly a very good one either. Plus, her family is a bit wacky, but very normal, in a modern day way. I would be honored to be one of their family. Strange as they can be. Her Grandma is a hoot! On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give these books an 8. High praise from me, indeed.

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

This is another Stephanie Plum story, but not along the same story line as the previous series. It's a side story, you might say. I thought this was good as well. I would give it a 7 out of 10.

"The Classic Tale of Partholon" Series by P.C. Cast

There are three books in this series:

Divine By Mistake
Divine By Choice
Divine By Blood

This is a good series as well. Set not only in modern day Oklahoma, but also the mirror image city of Parthelon. You can find goddesses, gods, centaurs, etc. in these books. Lots of magic and other mysterious creatures abound too. P.C. Cast wrote my favorite series "The House of Night" and I wanted to try something else she had written as well. I'm glad I did. I had bought these books for my daughter Tianna, but being 13, she's not quite old enough to read these books due to some adult content. Basically....sex. It's not graphic, but there's still enough of a description that she's not ready to read about yet. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give books 1 and 3 a "7" and book 2 (my favorite) an "8".

I hope that others are inspired to read these stories from my brief descriptions. I really don't want to say more about the books because I'm afraid I'll ruin it for you. Too much info can be harmful, you know?

Azalea Dress

This is the Azalea Dress that I made from the Bella Bambina blog/site. It turned out pretty well. The only thing I did differently was to add a border of sc up the back opening and around the neck and down the back on the other side, meeting in the middle. I thought it really needed this in order to look "finished". I also need to sew the buttons on the back. Once I buy them. I really need to go shopping, don't I? Anyway, the free pattern can be found here https://bellasbabies.vpweb.com/Azalea-Dress.html .

Second Sweater Set

This is the second sweater set I made. It still needs to have the buttons sewn on, but I have to buy them first. I made it from a pattern off the Bella Bambina blog/site. Here is the link to the free pattern https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_7dmn4r7hb . If you've never been to this blog/site before, you really should take the time out to visit. It's wonderful!

Upcoming Entries

I have plans to sit down and do a few book reviews on here within the next few days. I have at least 9 books to add to my blog. So....bear with me and I'll get to it soon.

Weird Photo

I found this photo on my digital camera this morning. Obviously it's my daughter's eye. There is an on-going debate around the house right now. She used to have blue eyes like her oldest brother and myself. My husband and youngest son have green eyes. Now my daughter says that her eyes are green. What do you think?

My Guys

These are my guys. Up from their nap. But only for a little while. They are all asleep in the recliner now. Imagine that! LOL

Nap Time

It was nap time earlier. There is indeed two dogs on that bed with my husband. The other one is under the blanket...see the big lump in the middle at the end? That's Pepper. Cocoa is asleep between Kenny's legs. LOL

Second Sweater and Cap Set

I've started making a second sweater and cap set. Here's what I have done so far. I'm using this pattern off the Bella Bambina website/blog called "Cardigan for Babies" https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_7dmn4r7hb . If you can't access it this way, just go to the Bella Bambina site http://bellabambinaknits.blogspot.com/search/label/sweater . I'm followign the pattern exactly this time and it's turning out quite well. I should have done that with the first pattern, right? Yep. By the way, these patterns work up really quick. And they are very easy to follow. She writes a good pattern. I'm using Bernat Baby Sport yarn in pink and an "I" hook instead of a "G". That's the only change I made.

Baby Sweater and Cap

I made my first baby sweater and cap. I used this pattern https://docs.google.com/View?id=dp8xs77_13dtqck4gt . It's Bella Bambina's Sweater Coat pattern. The link to her website is here http://bellabambinaknits.blogspot.com/search/label/sweater . Her patterns are very easy to follow. Saying this, I still thought it wasn't turning out right so I ripped it out twice and then gave it a third try and it's looking just fine. I should have kept with it the first time. Anyway, this is the one I made first using my weird thinking. I held two strands of Bernat Baby Sport yarn together and a J hook. But then, my thinking was off. It still looks nice and didn't turn out too big. I used this pattern to make the cap http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemieround.html . I made the newborn size cap.

Worn Out!

It's easy to see that the first week of school was tough! Especially when your very social 13 year old daughter is asleep on the living room floor with the two doggies on a Friday night instead of out socializing with all her friends! She did wake up later on but only to climb up on the couch and go back to sleep until morning. I'm sure glad I'm not a student anymore!

Spoiled Rotten

Here is a photo of one of our dogs....Cocoa....he's spoiled rotten!!! He was tired today and I made him move out of my recliner on the end of the couch, so he snuggled up on a pillow and I covered him up. My daughter thought he looked adorable. So she took a photo! I tell you, my dogs are the kings of napping! LOL

Another Round Ripple Blanket

This photo did not turn out well. Sorry. I started another round ripple afghan/blanket last night and finished it up today. It's made in pink Bernat Baby Sport held together with a strand a white Bernat Baby Sport yarn and a P hook. I did this because I wanted a blanket that had a more lace like look for a girl instead of looking like the blue blanket I did previously. I think it turned out well and I'm happy with the finished product. This is a free pattern and can be found in a previous post.

More Crochet Baby Projects

Yesterday, I started the cuddle sack and matching hat. I finished it this morning. Then I started on the squares again. I had previously made the pink and aqua centers of the squares so I only had to do the purple today and then put them all together and crochet a border. I don't have a pattern for the squares since I made it up. But the cuddle sack is a free pattern and can be found here http://karensgardenofcolors.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-09T18%3A07%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7 . All of these items were made with Red Heart yarn.

Latest Crochet Projects - Baby Afghans

These are my last two crochet projects. The first photo is the round ripple afghan. It's a free pattern and can be found here http://project-angel-kisses.150m.com/roundripple.html . I made it with a G hook and Bernat Baby Sport in Blue Denim Marle.

The second photo is of the never ending blanket square which is also a free pattern and can be found here http://debscrafts55.blogspot.com/2007/12/never-ending-blanket-square.html . I made this blanket by holding two yarns together....in Bernat Baby Coordinates.....colors peach and green.....and I used an N hook. This worked up wonderfully. I wanted a heavier blanket for the cooler weather. Plus, I wanted to use up some yarn I already had on hand.

Carson City Afghan

Yesterday, I sat down in between doing laundry, and worked up this crochet pattern. It's a free pattern and can be found here http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90347AD.html?noImages=&r=1 . I used Bernat Baby Sport in Blue Denim Marle and used a K hook. It's not as big as I thought it would be, but it's quite lovely when finished. I love it so much, that I'm making another one tonight.

Facial Cleansing Pads

An internet friend shared this pattern with me. It's for facial cleansing pads. And can be found here http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-pattern-facial-cleaning-pads/ . I made 7 of them, one for each day of the week, out of some scrap crochet cotton, Sugar and Creme brand, that I had on hand. They are very soft. I also devised a container to store the used ones in, by using two washed out cottage cheese tubs. I put holes in the bottom of one of them, put a square of sponge in the bottom of the one without holes, and put the container with holes inside it, on top of the sponge. That way any leftover liquid will drain out of the sponges and into the bottom of the other container while waiting for the whole set to go to the washing machine.

Beth's Little Star Afghan

I've made two of these blankets in the past week. The first photo is made with Bernat Baby Coordinates in white, holding two strands of yarn together and using a K hook. This baby blanket turned out heavier, like I wanted, and is still very soft.

The second photo is of the same pattern but made with Red Heart worsted weight yarn in white using a K hook. It turned out nice too, but I really like the one I made with the Bernat Baby Coordinates better.

This is a free pattern called Beth's Little Star Afghan and can be found here http://www.angelfire.com/va3/heartfeltangels/littlestarafghan.html

Metropolis, IL

On the way to Florida, I saw this town called Metropolis in Illinois. It was dark and I couldn't get a good photo of the water tower. In fact, i still don't have a really good photo of it, but we snapped this one on the way home. See Superman on the water tower???

Tattoos

My daughter and I got spray on Tattoo's while on the cruise ship. Mine is the dragonfly and she has the stars.

Boa Constrictor

My daughter, holding the albino boa constrictor, in Costa Maya, Mexico.

Costa Maya, Mexico

These are photos of Costa Maya, Mexico as we were coming into port.

Mayan Cove - Animal Sanctuary

These photos are of some of the animals at the Animal Sanctuary on Maya Cove. To name a few of them, they are sting rays, sea lions, tropical birds, and howler monkeys.

Maya Cove - Mural

Photos of my daughter posing with the mural on Maya Cove. She's silly, isn't she???

Maya Cove - Mayan Museum - Part 1

We visited the Mayan Museum on Maya Cove at Isla Roatan. These are a few of the original artifacts retrieved from the original site of the ruins and are kept here at the museum.

Maya Cove - Mayan Museum - Part 2

We visited the Mayan Museum on Maya Cove and these are photos of some of the original artifacts found at the Mayan Ruins. They have been relocated to the museum for safe-keeping.