Next Crochet Project

My next project is a cap and sweater set for my great nephew. I'm working on the cap now. He's 6 months old, and his head measures 17 inches around, so I'm using this pattern http://www.knitting-n-crochet.com/free-crochet-Christmas-patterns.html and altering it as I go. I just stopped at Round 11 and went directly to Round 18. It's not exactly 17 inches, but I think it's going to work out fine. I'm using Caron's Simply Soft yarn and an I hook.
As for the sweater, I'm going to work up my own pattern for it. She's getting me the measurements that I need, and I'll go from there. I hope it will turn out ok. I've not been able to find a free pattern for a 6 to 9 month old sweater.

Head Huggers Cap

My husband asked me to make him a cap for Christmas. He picked out the yarn ... Vanna's Choice, color Denim Mist. He also picked out the pattern. It was a free leaflet that I picked up in a store sometime. The hat turned out really well, and I let him try it on to see if it fits. It does. But he still can't have it until Christmas. LOL

Another Christmas Stocking

My youngest sister requested another Christmas stocking. This time, in yellow and white. I used Red Heart yarn and a K hook. The pattern is a free one and can be found here http://www.knitting-n-crochet.com/free-crochet-Christmas-patterns.html .

Afghan #3 ( Christmas Project)

Afghan #3, a Christmas gift, is finally finished. It's for one of my nephews. He requested the colors....orange and green. It's done using Red Heart yarn and a P hook. I used a free pattern for this, and altered it a bit in size. If you look in a previous post, you will find the link to the pattern.

Our Christmas Tree

We looked at the Christmas tree for three days before we were finally able to get it decorated. It's quite a change to see the before and after photos. Normally, we would use a totally different style of decoration, but my daughter wanted to do a classier tree this year. (She's 13, so imagine that!) Anyway, the finished product is just lovely! It's done in silver and blue.

I'm Hungry, Mom!

Do your dogs tell you when they are hungry? One of mine does. Here he is....paws on my leg, wagging his tail. Then he sits down by the dog food box and stares at it until I get the hint. LOL Who says he can't speak our language!!!

No Bake Cookies (No Peanut Butter Version)

My daughter begged me to let her make these cookies for two days. We were exceptionally busy or I wouldn't have made her wait to do it, but she was able to get them done the evening after Thanksgiving. We make the "without peanut butter" version due to a peanut food allergy in the household. We've made these for many years now, and sometimes they turn out well, and sometimes they don't. If you don't boil the mixture long enough, they won't set up right. But who cares....you can always eat them with a spoon if necessary. LOL In any event, she did a good job.

Turkey

My Uncle Donnie had the honor of carving the Thanksgiving Turkey this year. He did a great job!!!

Preparing For Thanksgiving

I took a couple of photos of us the night before Thanksgiving when we were preparing salads, pies, rolls, and deviled eggs, as early as possible so we wouldn't have too much to day the next day. The first photo is of my daughter peeling boiled eggs. The second photo is of my husband chopping veggies for the 24 Hour Salad. We have a system to getting the work done and when we all work together, it takes much less time to finish it all.

My Wonderful Dogs

Here is a current photo of my wonderful (well...maybe not wonderful as they tend to get in trouble a lot) dogs.......Cocoa and Pepper. Pepper is on the left and he's "my" dog even though my youngest son is actually his owner. Cocoa belongs to my daughter. This is a rare photo as they seldom sit still long enough for me to get a photo of them both looking at me.

My Car

I'm including this post on my blog just to irritate my daughter. She couldn't believe that I took a picture of my car. She also says that I think way too much of my car. That I'm in love with it. Well, she would be right. To a certain degree. I do love my car. It's a Honda Element. 4 wheel drive. Satellite radio. And a beautiful green color.....or kiwi metallic green....if you want to be specific. Isn't she lovely???? LOL :)

Decorating for Christmas

Two days before Thanksgiving, I came home to a wonderful sight....my husband was putting up the outside Christmas decorations. I took one look at the mess of tangled lights on the box (photo 1) and made sure to tell him what a wonderful job he was doing. He was trying to get the lights up before it turned really cold outside, as the temps were expected to fall rapidly during the night.

Bad Dog!!!

One day this week, while I was at work, my husband had to run some errands, thus...the dogs were left at home alone for awhile. When he arrived back home, Cocoa.....the bad dog.....was dragging Afghan #3, a Christmas present, from his collar. Apparently, my yarn loving dogs, were investigating my yarn and project bags under my desk and somehow became entangled in it. No one...not even my husband....thought it wise to tell me that this event had occurred. So when I sat down to crochet, I was just working happily away, and then I got to this. The loop sticking up. I said, "Hmmm....wonder what happened here?" and looked over at my husband where he and both dogs (sitting on his lap) were looking at me in a very guilty manner. I managed to fix it as it was no big deal, but I had to rip out all the way back to where it was. I wasn't too happy. But, all's well that ends well, right?

Little Sock Bag Pattern

I knew I had the pattern link for the little sock bag and I finally found it. Here it is http://coggiesyarntale.blogspot.com/2008/07/little-sock-bag.html .

Little Sock Bag

I found a pattern for the Little Sock Bag while browsing some crochet blogs a week or so ago. I thought it was really cute and that it would make a great little "purse" for one of my young nieces. So, I grabbed some yarn out of my stash and found this pretty button in my sewing box and here it is. I would include the link for the pattern, but I cannot find it at this time. Somehow, it didn't print out with the pattern.

Patchwork Bag

I made this Patchwork Bag out of Red Heart yarn in white, hot red, and black (our school colors). I used this free crochet pattern on Lion Brand http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80992AD.html . This bag is going to be another Christmas present for a niece.

Gold Amulet Bag

Obviously, this is not a Gold Amulet Bag. But I did use the pattern for it to make this little purse. It's made out of Sugar 'n Cream cotton and an E hook. The free crochet pattern can be found here http://www.geocities.com/pmshc/goldamuletbag.html?20095 .

Crayon Purse

I made one of my nieces a Crayon Purse. The package of crayons (24 count) fits perfectly inside. I used Red Heart yarn and an I crochet hook and a cute little hot pink button out of my sewing box. This is a free pattern and can be found here http://suzies-yarnie-stuff.blogspot.com/2006/07/crayon-purse-pattern.html . I should also mention that this is a crochet pattern.

Pixie Purse #2

I made another Pixie Purse for a Christmas gift to a niece. This is one is made out of a varigated Love My Yarn color in dark purple, blue, green, and a fuschia color. This is a free pattern on Ravelry. Click on this link http://web.archive.org/web/20080121173320/http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art11383.asp .

Class Ring

Chance, our youngest son, is a sophmore in High School this year. That means a letter jacket and a class ring. We already bought the letter jacket and it appeared in an earlier post this month. To carry on with the tradition, I'm posting a photo of his class ring. Do you see all the "BLING"? (sigh) I wanted him to get a different ring, but he had his heart set on this one. All 400+ dollars of it. But, at least he's happy. That's what counts. Now I'm just waiting for him to lose it like his older brother did.

Meet the Wildcats...

Here's my daughter, the injured cheerleader, cheering from the sidelines for the JV squad. She's actually a Jr. High cheerleader, but for "Meet the Wildcats", the JH cheerleaders will cheer for the JV squad of the HS team.

Nov. 19th was "Meet the Wildcats" at school. It's where you come and meet this years High School Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball players before the season begins. The players are all introduced, there are games between the Varsity and Junior Varsity players, and then you have games that include the players and members of the crowd. It's loads of fun!!! I'm spotlighting my son, #55, here in my blog. He's a sophmore and a member of the JV squad.

I Learned Something...

I've always thought you couldn't wash and dry pillows. I've tried it out over the years and the pillows came out of the dryer all bunched up toward one end. Well, let me tell you...you can definitely wash and dry pillows. I have finally figured it out! A real TA DA!!! moment along life's road. Here's what I've learned. First, wash the pillows on the delicate cycle with two pillows per load. I know, it's a waste of water, but hey...it's not like I wash bunches and bunches of them in one day. Then, dry them in the dryer on the air fluff cycle. When you pull them out, if they aren't comepletely dry, try drying them again, or lie them out to dry on a surface suitable for it. They look wonderful. They aren't bunched up along one end or twisted or anything like that. This is going to save me a lot of money in one respect...I won't have to purchase new pillows for everyone (several times a year) unless they become to flat to be used. Even then, two pillows put together in a pillow case, will still work in a pinch. But I happen to love those flat pillows, so they would always be welcome in my bedroom.

106

This post is about hangers. You know, those things you hang your clothes on. Every week, when I'm doing laundry, I'm searching and searching for hangers. I check everyone's closets...except for Tianna's. It's taboo to enter her closet, for some reason. Well...this past Thursday, she wasn't home and I needed hangers desperately. So I opened her closet and I was astonished!!! She had half of the closet rod full of empty hangers. I pulled them all out, called to my husband to come and see the treasure I had found....and then I counted them. Guess how many there were??? Yep...106!!! No wonder I've been having trouble finding hangers when I'm doing the laundry. Now what do you suppose she was hording them for??? It makes you wonder, doesn't it? When she came home, she was very unhappy with me for raiding her closet. She wouldn't speak to me about it either, as she was upset. So she still has no idea that I pulled "106 hangers" out of her closet. LOL

Afghan #2 (Christmas Projects)

I have finished the second afghan that is going to be a Christmas present. I used this pattern http://www.craftbits.com/project/charity-pattern-4-1-2-hour-crochet-afghan and made it exactly like the first aghan featured in an earlier post. I used Red Heart yarn in the colors "Pumpkin" and "Blue" which was my niece's choice. This will be her blanket. I also used a P hook.

Afghan #1 (Christmas Projects)

I have three afghans to make for Christmas presents this year. Here is a photo of the first one once it was finished. I used this pattern http://www.craftbits.com/project/charity-pattern-4-1-2-hour-crochet-afghan . I made the following changes to make it bigger: Chained 96 instead of 64; crocheted 90 rows total for the length. I used Red Heart yarn in navy and black and a P hook. The afghan is crocheted holding two strands of yarn together for warmth. The young man holding up the blanket in the photo is not the one that will be getting the afghan, but he's about the same size as the one it's meant for. This guy is also a nephew of mine. He spent the weekend with us and I commandeered him as my model. LOL See the cheesy smile???

Sweet 16!

Yesterday, Nov. 13th, was my youngest son's 16th birthday! He was born 16 years ago during deer season, much to my husband's dismay. LOL He dearly loves to hunt, but that year, he had his precious baby boy. After all of these years, he still shows off Chance's baby book and the 5 deer tags that have their own special place inside of it. To celebrate this year, Chance had a KU birthday cake. Happy Birthday son!

Newest Project - Afghan

I've finally started the first of the three afghans that I need to have made for Christmas presents. They are all going to be made using the same pattern, which can be found here http://www.craftbits.com/project/charity-pattern-4-1-2-hour-crochet-afghan . This is the same pattern that I used to make the Ugly Duckling Blankets last winter. I will be doing these three differently though, as I need them to be bigger. Instead of doing a ch 64 at the beginning, I am doing a ch 96. This makes the blanket a half size bigger. This one is for my nephew, Mickey, and he requested the colors...navy blue and black. I'm using Red Heart yarn and a P hook.

Pattern To Share - Kitchen Sponges

I have seen a few kitchen sponge patterns out there on the internet but they didn't exactly fit my idea of what I wanted to make. So...I made my own pattern up.

Supplies:

1 ball Sugar 'n Cream cotton

size G crochet hook

4.7 inch x 3.0 inch cellulose sponge

Directions:

(You need to make 2 of these)

ch 20

Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, and in each ch across. ch 1, turn.

Rows 2-12. Repeat Row 1.

At the end of Row 12, after the ch 1, sc evenly down the side and around the edge of the rectangle, putting 3 sc in each corner. Join with a slip stitch into the 1st sc of the round, fasten off.

With right sides facing, holding the two pieces together, sc around the first two edges (putting 3 sc in each corner). As you sc on the third edge, insert the sponge inside the pocket being formed. This will be fairly tight. Continue to sc around until you have encased the sponge inside the two pieces. Join with a sl st to the beginning sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Note: If you crochet really tight, you will probably need to add a second round of sc to each piece at the end of Row 12.

You can get two of these out of one ball of Sugar 'n Cream cotton. Possibly a third.

This is my own pattern that I wrote up. If it is similiar to someone else's, I didn't know it when I was writing this up. This pattern is free.

To care for the sponge, you can do what I do. Just throw it in the washing machine with the towels but don't dry in the dryer.

Surprise!

We surprised our youngest son this week by giving him his letter jacket. He had no idea that we'd ordered it yet. So he was thrilled to get it. Don't you just love to surprise your kids every now and then? It's great to see them smile.

Stocking Caps/Beanies

I finally got the chance to stop and get another skein of Vanna's Choice yarn in black. So, I've finished two more stocking caps/beanies for Christmas presents. The free pattern can be found here http://web.archive.org/web/20080602221208/http://www.yarncat.com/Solitude.html .

I've finished the last two skater beanies that I am giving as Christmas presents. Woo Hoo!!! The free pattern can be found here http://chiescrochetandknitting.blogspot.com/2005/11/very-simple-skateboarder-beanie.html

My Poor Baby Girl

My poor baby girl. She's got an injury. From trick-or-treating Sunday evening. We've been to the doctor, the ER and now...the orthopedic surgeon. She is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday and then back to the surgeon on Wednesday. Apparently she tore the Liz Frank ligament and fractured a bone. Wow! All she did was fall in a ditch. Who knew trick-or-treating could be so hazardous!

Pecans Again

Well, it's that time of the year when I'm busy working with pecans at a local farm. I use the money for all of my Christmas shopping and a few other things. I thought I would show the various sizes from this year. The great big ones are called "05's" and the babies are just that...babies. The middle two pecans are more along the normal size and we would call them a size "9". We crack 9's, 10's and 12's, and bag them for sale.

Pecans

What happens when a female pecan meets up with a male pecan??? They have baby pecans. LOL Bad joke, isn't it?