Happy Turkey Day, Everyone!!!

I'm thankful for each and every one of you!

Crobaktus

I have a new pattern!!!

And it's free for all you Ravelers! Just go here and download the PDF!

I'm so happy with it. It's super simple, mindless fun... I see many of these in my future! I can't wait to make one in a heavier weight yarn! Here's a blurb from the Rav page...

This is my crochet version of the awesome Lacy Baktus pattern. It’s very easy (only uses sc, and hdc stitches!) and takes no time at all. Mine only took a week, with lots of breaks, and was made with lace weight yarn, so imagine how fast a DK version would be!

Pattern is written in such a way that you can use any yarn/hook combo. Just as a reference for you all, mine took 375-400 yards of handspun SW BFL at 18 wpi.

Enjoy, friends!!!

Oh, hi...

I have a spinning wheel!
A spinning wheel that I stained PINK! I heart it so much... It's a double treadle Roadbug made by an awesome little company from Vermont, The Merlin Tree.

My first yarn is pink, too...

FLUFFfiber Merino, 4 oz in This Bouquet... I got about 300 yards of 10-11 wpi (about dk/worsted weight) yarn! That's soooo awesome!!! It's not very even, some over plyed areas, some under... but I really love it. It has character, right?

This is a very nice, relaxing addiction :) I think I'm going to knit a pair of Toasties with it, and then maybe a One Day Beret, if I can squeak out that much yardage, lol...

Oh, Thor wanted to say, "Hi!" :)

How Thor Thinks I Should Crochet

silly kitty!

New Scarf Pattern Available!

I present... the Castle Walls Scarf!

This beautiful scarf can be made either thick and toasty or light and lacy. Either one results in a stunning accessory. The name came to me while blocking… the circular holes staggered on top of one another reminded me of a stone castle wall.

The fingering weight version of this scarf only takes 1 skein of Knit Picks Palette yarn! Can you think of anything better than a gorgeous wool scarf for only $1.99?!?!?

An easy pattern, this scarf only uses sc, dc and chains! A great option for the beginning crocheter, but the mix of stitches won’t bore the more experienced fiber artist!

Buy it on Ravelry by clicking or in my etsy shop by clicking the link in my sidebar to the right... I really love this scarf, I hope you do, too!

And, thanks for all the suggestions about the blanky... I'm finishing the first one up for the in-laws and will make another for the hubby. Good news is that I have a few more weeks to finish the one for the in-laws... Phew!

I Have a Dilema

Ok, so a few months ago I saw this beautiful vintage table cloth, with these tiny little thread motifs that reminded me of lotus flowers. I immediately thought, "Make it bigger! Worsted weight yarn and COLOR!" So I tweaked the design in my head, came up with something rather pretty and decided it would be the perfect 5th year wedding anniversary present for my bro/sis-in-law. I started making it up and, much to my surprise, hubby actually really likes it! Like, really likes it enough that I think he'd love to have one for himself, and would be a great 3rd year wedding anniversary gift for him... I think the boys like it, too!

So, now what do I do? Make 2 exactly the same? Make another in slightly different colors to give to hubby? Or keep this one and make something different for the in-laws (mind you, it needs to be complete in 3 weekends)?

I'm so confused!

Ok, maybe I'm getting good at this...

Two things... Knitting!

The first of two Bella's Mittens... Pattern is AWESOME! Made for my cousin's 15th birthday. She loved them (even though there's only one for her left hand so far, lol).

And second... Kool-Aid dying!


The Ravelry Group "What a Kool Way to Dye" has a DAL (dye-a-long) this month and you are supposed to use a painting as your inspiration. I've loved Alphonse Mucha's work forever, so I used one of his prints, La Primevere, as my inspiration. Pretty good match, huh? The roving started out as mill end roving from Sheep Shed Studios and I hand dyed it with Kool-Aid, and Crystal Lightish single serve packets. I LOVE IT! Now to spin it up and figure out what in the heck to make with it!

Ok, so I'm late...

But, I have a hat. And not just any hat... A knitted hat! Woo! I love it, I love it, I love it!

It's the Chunky Slouch Cap pattern that you can download on Ravlery for free by clicking on the link... Mine didn't turn out so slouchy, more beanie style, but it's ok, it's still super pretty! I doubled my handspun with some Lion Brand Wool-Ease that I had in my stash to make the bulky weight and cast on 48 st instead of 40. I think my gauge is really too small on this tho, cause I have a pretty small head :) I also only did 4 rows of the ribbing instead of 8 because I was worried about running out of yarn. I didn't, so I probably could have done the full 8 rows and my 75-80 yards of handspun would have been perfect. Oh well, maybe next time!

Oh, and I promised a picture of my yarn all wound into a ball, didn't I?

Totally overspun (see all the little kinks?) but hey, it was my first try, right? It still turned out gorgeous, and of course this picture doesn't do it justice at all! I have another braid of roving from FLUFFfibers and can't wait to spin it up, but first, I have an anniversay present to finish (for my bro/sis-in-law, 5 years in September!)...

My Own Handspun... Parto Uno

I have a new obsession... Pretty, pretty, soft, soft, soft, GORGEOUS unspun roving! Looky...

I bought it from Coley's Etsy shop, FLUFFfibers. This stuff is soooo fantastic! I purchased another colorway first, but then saw this one in her "Sold" items and begged for a recreation... It was done in like a day... I swear, SO FAST!

Anyways, here's an in-progress pic... I think this is the most interesting part of hand spinning, when you draft the fiber before spinning. I split my braid of roving in 7-8 sections first and then each section had to be drafted. (If you're interested, visit youtube and search for drop spindle. There are tons of instructions.) This picture shows the predrafted fiber on the right and the drafted, even fluffier fiber on the left.

And here's my finished, approximately 80 yards, single ply yarn. Soaking before going outside to dry in the hot Central CA sun...

Tomorrow (hopefully) I'll show you the finished product, all wound up in a pretty ball! And, if I can't help myself, which I'm sure could happen, maybe something made with it! I'm thinking this hat, maybe?

I'm Back... Mikey's B-Day... A New Hat Pattern!

Sorry I've been gone sooo long... I've got the summers.

The I don't want to do anything but hang out with my husband/family/friends summers... The I really have to work (???) summers... The eating lots of ice cream summers... The enjoying my cruise (WOO!) summers... The crocheting new hats summers... The my kitten is sleeping on my hand while I'm trying to type/read/do anything summers :)

Life has been good here, and I hope yours has been good while I was gone!


Here's a new hat pattern! Made in XXXXXXL (lol) for the big little brother and Normal Person Size for Little Little Brother. It's up on Ravelry and Etsy (see my sidebar!). I have another few hat ideas in my head, so check in in the next week or so and hopefully I'll have them up here, too!

And, would you believe me if I said that this was for my 17 year old brother?

Another version of the new hat pattern was inside, along with some funny t-shirts...

Happy B-Day Mikey Doo!

lol

That feels about right as of lately :)

Happy Mom's Day!!!

“Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world.”
-Kate Douglas Wiggin

I really do have the best mom in the whole world! Look what she made me for my birthday...

The babushka is actually a POCKET! How cool is that??? Loves it :)

Anyways, sorry for the delay about my zebra bag... It's up for sale on Ravelry and Etsy (see my side bar)! I have another idea churning in my head for a shawl, so stay tuned for that. Plus I have some mother's day things (yes, I'm late!) that I'm working on and I'll show you those when I finish!

All you moms out there... HAPPY MOM'S DAY!

Sneaky Peaky...

D&B, eat your heart out :)

I think this is my favorite bag to date!!! The pattern will be up on Ravelry/Etsy shortly! It measures about 14"x17"x4.5" and has a 26" strap.

It took me 3 tries to get the bottom right, or this would have been done last week :) Now, I want to make up a zebra print one!

And, cause they're so darn cute, some new pictures of my kitties...

Our New Babies!!!

Julius and Thor! Aren't they sweet boys???

We went to the pet store last night to JUST LOOK, but then we saw these guys. They're brothers that started as 3, but one was adopted yesterday morning. I couldn't bare the thought of these guys being separated, so we brought them both home! They're so sweet, but their favorite spot so far is under the couch :) Hopefully they'll get comfortable quick so we can watch them play!

It's Someone's Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!!! We bought some cupcakes to celebrate, but you weren't here to help us eat them :( No worries, tho! I promise to buy you one when you get here. They were REALLY, REALLY good, see I couldn't even help taking a bite before I remembered to take a picture!

I hope you like your gifts! Me and Momma put our heads together to make you something. Can you guess who did the marvelous sewing job? I have a secret, tho. This one's really mine, yours looked so cool, I had to ask for one, too!!! Momma is THE BEST EVER!!! You can see more pictures on her blog today. I think she might be selling one, too!!! (For my crochet friends out there... THIS THING IS GREAT!!!)

And here's a closeup of what I made... some fimo covered crochet hooks, all for you!

I liked them so much that I had to make me some, too! Sounds familiar, huh?

I'm really happy with them! If you enjoy using yours, I'll make you some more in other sizes...

Ok, for some progress on the D&B bag... It's sooo close, I have the front, back, sides and ALMOST the bottom done. Once I finish that last piece, I need to join all of those together, and then I have an idea for the top/handles. Maybe I'll be able to finish this weekend...

I can't wait!!!

A New Project

I've been drooling over THESE for a few months now, but didn't feel like shelling out the even $60 for a fake one, so you know what happens next...

Stay tuned!!!

Beautiful Weekend

My husband, the dork :) Click HERE to go to my Flickr page to see all of my snaps (from a castle in California to zebras grazing by the highway to an awesome nursery that we always go to). Had such a great time that I'm a little depressed to be back home, but we all promised that we'd go back soon...

Feels so good...

Doesn't this always feel so fulfilling?

Until you realize that you're probably going to need 2 more of these 7 ounce skeins to finish your project. Think I can finish by Friday?

Here's some progress...

Looks pretty good, but now I'm looking at all those ends that need to be woven in :( And of course, there's a diet coke in the background :) She always has to make a cameo in my pics!

***edited to add***
I made this recipe tonight and it's soooo good!!! Sorry, no pictures, tho...

Thai Peanut Pasta with Shirataki Noodles

4 chicken thighs, sliced into ¼” pieces

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp ginger

1 red bell pepper, sliced

½ tsp curry paste

½ cup creamy peanut butter (or use crunchy, whatever floats your boat)

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

¼ cup hot water

½ can of coconut cream

1 large and 1 small package of shirataki noodles (24 oz total)

Stir-fry chicken thighs in olive oil. Add garlic and ginger, then bell peppers. Add curry paste, peanut butter, soy, fish sauce and water. Stir until peanut butter is melted, then add the coconut cream. Add the noodles (after rinsing/drying them) and let simmer 10-15 minutes (you don't have to do this part, I'm just making sure the chicken is REALLY cooked cause I'm anal like that).

Enjoy!

Guess What Guys?!?!?

I'm going to have a new Sister-In-Law!!!

Guess what's even cooler than that??? She CROCHETS!!!

And the coolest? She has a blog! Go check her out and give a big blog-land welcome!!!