Sunday, June 30, 2013

Crochet Openwork Handwarmers - Stash Buster Project

This photo is horrible...but it's the best I can do.  I've tried several shots but without someone to model them, you're just not going to get the correct impression of what they are.  However, the creative yarn blog has a great photo of them as well as the free pattern.  You can find it by clicking here.
I have made these handwarmers before and they are always a big hit.  In fact, these were another request from one of my sister's friends.  I used Caron's Simply Soft yarn in Black and a size G hook.  It takes about half of a skein or less to make these.  Since I was using a partial skein of yarn out of my stash, these count as a stash buster project for me.  :)  I haven't had one of those lately.

Last night...

was quite a night.
My "kids" were all out at a Red, White and Blue party so Big Daddy, Little T, Medium J and I spent the evening watching TV and messing around.
 Here's Little T....during one of his hysterical laughing episodes.
 I saw this several times through the night.
 He just couldn't get over what I was making.
He kept getting up and coming over to look.
And when I asked for "input" from the guys...well, that really set him off.
 I have a couple of orders for a guy version of the boobie koozies I had been making.
So...I set out to come up with a pattern for them.
The ones I was making last night were the African American version (which is what was ordered).
In between all that...I had a craving for peanut butter cookies.  So...I tried out a recipe I found on Pinterest that only has 4 ingredients.  They were ok...but not my favorite recipe.  I'm a peanut butter idiot and like it just so in my cookies.  But...I would use this recipe again since they are so quick to make.
Well, that was my Saturday night in a nutshell.  I managed to get to bed at 4 am so this morning is a rather rude awakening for me.  :(

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Another one...

Another quilt square cross stitched.  
So happy.  :)  lol

Crochet

I managed to get a bit of time to crochet last night.
I really like how this piece is turning out.  :)

Quilt Squares

I finished cross stitching a couple more quilt squares.
These make 7 ... now there are just 5 more to go for the cross stitching.  Then I can give them back to my stepmom so she can do the back stitching, etc..


Friday, June 28, 2013

Tiny Striped Turtle - Stash Buster Project

He's finished!
And is sitting on Small T's bed with a little note from me.
I said that I made him for her car...that way she would have company when she's out and about.
I also said I could add a string if she wanted to hang him from her rear view mirror.
I hope she likes him!
Now...for a little photo shoot...


 I love the rear view!
And I gave him an off center sculpting of the face...that way he looks "inquisitive".  :)
I made this cute little turtle with a couple of small balls of yarn out of my yarn stash and that makes this another Stash Buster Project for me.  Woo Hoo!

Tiny Striped Turtle

Last night and a little bit today, I've been working on a tiny little turtle for Small T.  She absolutely loves turtles and now that she has her own car and a brand new driver's license, I thought she needed a little turtle to put in the back windshield or hang from her rear view mirror.  She doesn't know I'm making this and I want it to be a surprise, so it's coming together a bit slower than normal.  I found a bit of time at the pool today and made the four legs/arms.  I hope to get it all sewn together tomorrow as well as getting the head shaped and the eyes added.  After that, I just really hope she will like it.  :)
The pattern for the turtle is called Tiny Striped Turtle and can be found here.  The yarn I'm using is a couple of small balls out of my stash.  They are both Red Heart Super Saver with one being a camo color and the other being a medium thyme, I think.  I'm using a size F crochet hook and it takes just a bit of fiberfill for the stuffing.  I had some in a ziplock sandwich baggie and didn't even use 1/4 of it.

What I Like...Today...

While sitting in the ER tonight with Small T, I saw a couple of things that interested me.
 First...this bracelet.  I really like it.  And it's for a good cause.  Small T is heading out of town next week to the mall and there's a Target store there.  I asked her if she would pick me up one of these.  She made some snarky comment, but I'll text this to her while she's there and do a bit of begging and see if that inspires to get me one.  LOL
Second...I love this color...it's a shade of orange with lovely sparkles in it.  Wonder if I could get Small T to find this for me as well????  (I'm currently sporting a dark orange with gold glitter on my toenails but it doesn't look anywhere as FAB as this does!!!)
***Update:  Small T went to the mall on Tuesday and guess what she brought home for me????  Yep.  The bracelet.  Here I am...wearing it.
I love my daughter!!!

Fishing...

Yesterday evening, Big Daddy and I decided to spend some quality time together....fishing.  It's something we used to do all the time but with the kids all growing up and everything that it constantly going on, we seldom have any time together and Big Daddy is always running around after us.  So...I decided that I should try and get him out of the house to do something that he enjoys and hasn't been getting to do much.
 Here he is getting the poles ready to go into the water.  Right after I snapped this photo, this little tiny fish jumped up out of the water and grabbed onto his hook.  It didn't even have any bait on it.  And would you believe, it was the ONLY fish that was caught.  We didn't get a single nibble after that.
However, it was a beautiful evening to be fishing and that made up for not catching anything.  :)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Cross Stitching...

Around mid-May, I told my stepmom I would help her out with some quilt squares she needed cross stitched.  I've been being pretty lazy and had only worked on one of them.  The cross stitching part was fine, but all the back stitching that needed to be done was really kicking my butt and keeping me from wanting to do them.  So...when I called her to chat the other night, she suggested that I do the cross stitching and she would do the back stitching.  Heck Yeah!!!!  So...I've been working diligently the past two days and have completed five of the twelve squares.  Woo Hoo!  Here's a little preview....





Sunday, June 23, 2013

Project List

I was able to mark a few things off my last project list so....I've updated it and here's what it looks like now.
I'm working on 2 new patterns so far and plan to start one of the quicker projects tomorrow.  I like to have something quick and easy to work on while doing projects that take longer.  If I didn't have a bit of instant gratification in there once in a while, I would go stark raving mad.  lol  By the way, these are all crochet projects.  I will probably add a knitted project in there as well.

Today...

 we had a LITTLE rain...it rained so hard you couldn't see the vehicle across the road.....
and Little Ty came back to our home after being away since Thursday....it's been lonely here without him....

New projects....

Here's a sneak peak at a couple of new crochet project that I started tonight.
 You can't tell, but this is soft yellow.
And this is a soft blue.
I'll post more about these after I get a bit more of them completed.  They are future free patterns.  :)

Camo Baby Blanket #2

I finished the 2nd Camo Baby Blanket this evening.  I was getting super bored of doing the same pattern as the previous Camo Blanket so I had no choice but to put my nose to the grindstone and get it done.
 The only difference between the two blankets is that this time I worked in all 3 skeins of camo yarn and then  for the border, I used black yarn and did 3 rows of sc and 1 row of reverse sc.
I think it looks great and it's definitely masculine, which is what the expectant mom wanted.  :)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Red & Gray Knitted Baby Blanket

Last night, I finished the Red & Gray Knitted Baby Blanket.
I absolutely LOVE it!
I hope the person it's being sent to will love it too!
 To begin with, I thought I had made it too narrow...but with the border/edging, it looks just fine.
Now, as to the particulars:
Yarn:  Red Heart With Love; colors:  Holly Berry (approx 9 - 10 oz) and Pewter (approx 3 - 4 oz)
Circular knitting needles in size 10.5
Pattern detail is 40 rows Holly Berry, 4 rows Pewter, 40 rows Holly Berry for a total of 200 rows Holly Berry and 12 rows Pewter.
Border:  Crochet - 4 rows sc spaced evenly with 3 sc in each corner stitch
To begin, cast on 80.  The blanket is worked entirely in the knit stitch.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Weaving in the ends....

 I finished the main portion of the knitted baby blanket yesterday.
Then it was on to weaving in the ends.
I finished up the ends before I went to bed last night.
And now it's time for the edging/border tonight.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Camo Baby Blanket

 I finished the Fast Easy Crochet Baby Blanket yesterday.
The free pattern can be found by clicking here.
I made the Preemie size and it was plenty big since I used a thicker yarn and a bigger hook.
 The yarn I used was I Love This Yarn in the color Green Camo Stripe.  I used a size I crochet hook.
It took 3 skeins of this yarn with a small ball left over.
For the edging/border, I did one row of reverse sc.
This blanket is for a new baby boy and the blanket needed to be "manly".  This was why I chose this pattern and then used this type of edging/border.
I delivered the baby blanket yesterday.  :)

Monday, June 17, 2013

College Visit

Tomorrow, Big Daddy, Big C and I are off to college.  We are headed to Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.  https://www.nwmissouri.edu/  Big C will be attending college here this Fall.  He will be majoring in Sports Media.  Tomorrow, he will be meeting with his adviser, getting his class schedule, and a whole lot more.  It's a full day of activities starting at 8 a.m..  We have a 3 hour drive to get there, so with restroom breaks and such, we'll be leaving well before the sun is up.  I hope everyone has a great day tomorrow ... I know we will!
**Edited to add.....we had a great college visit!  Big Daddy and I learned a lot and so did Big C.  I'm really glad he's decided to go here (even though it's where I WANTED him to go).  :)

Boobie Koozies - Stash Buster Project

The three boobie koozies are finished. I delivered them this afternoon.  Since I used my scraps of yarn for these, they are officially as Stash Buster Project!!!  Woo Hoo!!!
By the way, the pattern I use is no longer available on the internet.  Sorry.  Otherwise I would have included a link to the pattern.  :(

WIP's

I'm still plugging along on the red and gray knitted baby blanket.  I now have 141 rows knitted.  :)
 This is my project list I'm working off of.
And I've started another project.  Last night, I was bored with the baby blankets and picked something off my list to work on that was quick and easy.  So, I'm whipping out the 3 boobie koozies that were ordered back in May.  I've got all the crocheting done and I'm working on the stuffing and sewing.

Big Daddy...

Happy Father's Day Big Daddy!!!!!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Crochet WIP

Two skeins finished...one or two more to go.  :)

Saturday, June 15, 2013

No Electricity...

This afternoon and evening was a very stormy time here in our town.  We lost electricity about 5 pm and it stayed out until about 8 pm.  For awhile, I kept with my crafting....
 crocheting by candle light....
 until I had the whole skein of yarn worked in.....
and then knitting by candle light.
I eventually gave it up and went in for a nap.
About the time I woke up from my nap, the electricity came back on, so...we watched a movie while I knitted.  That made for a lovely evening.  :)

WIP's

Last night, I started one of the two Camo baby blankets that have been ordered.
 I needed a super soft Camo colored yarn, so while Small T was in Columbia yesterday, she stopped at Hobby Lobby and picked up 8 skeins of I Love This Yarn for me.  I'm using a size I crochet hook which is what it's called for on the yarn package.
 The pattern I'm using is one that I've used before.  It's called the Fast Easy Crochet Baby Blanket and you can find it by clicking here.  I'm using the Preemie pattern for this blanket because I'm using a thicker weight yarn and a bigger hook, so the blanket is plenty big.
The Red & Gray knitted baby blanket is coming along.  I've got 92 rows worked now.