G's Crafts n' Things

Carl (our cat) has passed away

2012-02-06T14:32:00.000-08:00

Not to long ago we aquired a stray cat that decided he was going to live at our house. I did a post when we "Got" him in the post We do(n't) have a new cat. Well Carl ended up getting sick as he was an indoor/outdoor cat (he made it clear it wasn't going to be any other way). We tried antibiotics and he got better but as soon as he was done with the antibiotics he got really bad really fast and was favoring his wounded leg again. He was a tough cat (or at least he thought he was). We (the kids and I) took him to the vet Sunday to see what was wrong.

Of course he didn't much enjoy the ride there.

After a blood test it came out that he had feline AIDS. We had to have him put down. He was a good cat for the short time we had him. The kids were there and got to pet him as he went. DD held him as they gave him the medicine to put him down.

He will be missed but we loved him while he was here. I'm glad the kids were able to be there when we let him go. The vet said we could bring him home but I figured he hated the ride there and wasn't going to get better so we thought it best to just make him stop hurting.

in memory of Carl the cat

Granny square sampler

2012-01-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

So I am making the Granny square sampler found in the Better Homes and Gardens Treasury of Needle Craft . I have found major errors already and I'm 3 squares in. So I'm going to post my edited directions to complete the squares as I come across the errors. Now these won't be full block patterns but I'm posting them for anyone else who may have this book and want to try to make this blanket.

as an extra round on all blocks I'm working 1sc in each stitch around and 2sc, ch2, 2sc in each corner. this I think will help tie the colors together when I get to joining them.

A 1 - 6: these are simple, classic granny squares so no flaws there

B 1 - 5: on round 2 your stars will bunch less if you add 1 chain stitch to either side of the slip stitch that you use at the top of the points. Also at the beginning of this round simply attach your yarn w/a slip stitch (do not sc in same space) ch 1 and work pattern, ch1 slip stitch to top of next point...

B2: this one has major problems! Follow rounds 1-3 as written w/modifications noted above.
round4: join with a sc through top loops of chain 1 stitch (not in space), sc in same stitch, *2 sc in next stitch, 1sc in next 2 stitches, sc2tog, 1 sc in next 2 stitches, 2sc into next chain stitch (not into chain 1 space)* repeat from * around, join to 1st sc of round fasten off

round 5: Join with a sc to 1st sc of the 1st double sc at top of point, 1sc in next 3 stitches, *skip the next 2 sc, (1tc, 3dc, 1tc) in next stitch, skip next 2 stitches, 1 sc in next 4 stitches* repeat around ending on the TC of cluster and join to 1st sc join. fasten off

I did make an error in one of the spaces between points and only worked 2 dc instead of 3, but this also seemed to make the stitch count work for the next row. So you can either follow the error or fix it and just either skip a stitch in the next round or work 2 stitches together to get rid of the extra stitch

round 6: join yarn to 3rd dc of any 3dc group, ch4, 2tc in same space, ch3, 3tc in next stitch, *1dc in next 2 stitches, 1hdc in next stitch, 1sc in next 3 stitches, 1hdc in next stitch, 1dc in next 2 stitches, 3 tc in next stitch, ch3, 3tc in next stitch.* Repeat form * to * around and end on last DC, join to top of ch4 at beginning of round.

round 7: join in any ch 3 corner. sc in each stitch around on the sides and work the corners as 1sc, ch3, 1sc . join to beginning of round

round 8: join in any ch3 corner work corners as 3dc, ch3, 3dc, *skip next 2 stitches, 3dc in next stitch* repeat around and join to beginning of round.

Spinrite buys out the Caron yarn line

2011-12-24T21:33:00.000-08:00

Don't know if anyone reading this has heard yet but Spinrite has bought Caron. Spinrite is the Canadian company that currently owns Bernat, Paton’s, Lily, Pisgah and the Michaels house brands of yarn. They are the company that bought Peaches n' Cream earlier this year.

Now Caron will no longer be an American company and will be moving to Canada. I will be looking to see what this means for the Caron line of yarns, particularly Simply Soft which is my favorite yarn for my lace scarfs.

I will also be keeping an eye out to see if this means they will be liquidating their US stock like they did with Peaches n' cream.

Christmas cookie party

2011-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

So this year I invited friends and family over again for cookie decorating. But instead of regular Christmas cookies I made a cookie tree for each family to decorate. This ment I had to make 7 trees! I have a cookie cutter set that is 10 star cutters in stepped sizes and you make 2 of each and stack them into a tree.

Now I will suggest if anyone is thinking of making these trees. Start with making the smallest stars 1st. that way if you run out of dough or energy you can stop and have a smaller tree but still in proportion. I made the bottoms and than tops so was committed to making all the cookies in between. And it took me 6 batches of dough to make 7 trees

before we got started

Kitchener - abridged version

2011-11-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

So the ever illusive and intimidating Kitchener stitch (aka, grafting & invisible join). It's really not that scarey of a stitch. though a note card to remember may be of help.

This is the directions for grafting stockinette, don't worry about a set up, just start straight out as written.

place your seam back to back (wrong sides touching, tips pointing the same direction)

You have your front needle and your back needle.

Thread your tail onto your yarn needle.

When you enter your stitch, enter it form the leading leg like you would when inserting your knitting needle into the stitch. Your leading leg will be the leg of the stitch that is closest to the tip of the needle. Depending on your style of knitting, this will be in front or back... either way, just be sure to enter form the leading leg and you will be fine. Stitch mount really has no effect on how you need to work the kitchener stitch.

front needle: insert yarn needle as to knit, take stitch off the needle, insert yarn needle into next stitch as to purl (leave this stitch on the knitting needles)

back needle: insert yarn needle as to purl, let stitch fall off the needle, insert needle into next stitch as to knit and leave this stitch on the needle.

repeat over and over. until you have removed every stitch from the needles.

Abridged notes if you want to write it down for handy reference.

front needle: knit, drop stitch off, purl
back needle : purl, drop stitch off, knit

even more abridged...

front: K, off, P
back: P, off, K

and that is the ever elusive, forever intimidating Kitchener stitch.

Halloween and... Pumpkins!

2011-10-31T05:26:00.001-07:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. for me it feels like the whole holiday season kicks off with Halloween.

I took Anja to see the Rocky Horror Picture show Friday night. I did watch the movie with her at home a few weeks back and explained what seeing it in the theater would be like. But you just cannot explain well enough what the RHPS experience is like to someone who has not been through it.

Our theater didn't allow water but we brought our toast, rice, cards, nose makers, party hats, and toilet paper. We didn't have news paper. When the move started and people were yelling at the screen I don't think she quite knew what to think. Than at the wedding sceene when the rice started to fly she just exclaimed Oh My God! Of course I did what any good mother would do... handed her rice!

The theater was sold out. When they yelled Dr. Scott! I handed her our roll of toilet paper, she asked what to do with it and I told her to throw it ♥

She did have a good time. This is a shot of us at the theater

So we carved our pumpkins last night. We carve the day before or Halloween day because the thin line designs don't last long. I am very proud of mine this year. I think this is my best one yet!

and in the dark

Anja did Jack

and these are the boys pumpkins (Robert's is the one in front)

I dressed up for the trick-or-treaters this year. The makup is more convincing when not under such bright light. I stopped by unannounced to my sister's house and I scared my niece. I asked Anja to take a photo before i started to wash up. She only got a face shot. I had a gaping wound in the middle of my neck and my shirt was shredded (I had a flesh color cami underneath) and sprayed w/fake blood.

following a cable chart left to right - mirror knitting

2011-10-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

So we left handed people who knit mirror (left to right) have to make small adjustments to the meaning of stitches that lean a particular way. Right handed people read a chart right to left and knit right to left which means they are approaching their stitches from the right. Mirror knitters knit left to right and we read charts left to right which means we approach our stitches form the left.

In regular charts where decreases are marked we just switch the meanings. So in a standard chart / = k2tog. And of course a k2 tog is going to slant to the right if you are approaching the stitches from the right. But for mirror knitters \ = k2tog because we are approaching the stitches from the left.

At 1st when you are new to charts and knitting it helps to make these notes on your chart. But as you get comfortable with it you will find you no longer look at the legend and simply do what the stitch is telling you to do because you have come to know how to make things lean left or right and the symbole will either lean left or right \ or /.

The same goes for cables. Because mirror knitters approach the stitches from the left, knitting left to right, our terms for cable symbols also need to be switched.

Your standard, simple cable is a front cable where you place your stitches onto a cable needle and hold them to the front. In mirror knitting this results in a right leaning cable (it leans in the direction you knit). But a right handed knitters front cable will lean to the left because they are knitting right to left.

So when the cart shows a left leaning cable and tells you it means C#F you will C#B and hold your stitches to the back. Or if it shows you a right leaning cable but tells you to c#b you will need to c#f to accomplish the same symbol in the chart.

Again, as with any chart, when you are new it can help to make the notes for the stitches YOU have to do to create the symbol in the chart. But as you get used to charts, cables and knitting you won't need to make these notes as it will be second nature to create the cable the leans proper to the chart instructions. But until then, here is a sample and/or suggestion as to the notes you may want to make on your own chart before embarking on the project.

Here is the chart legend for Knotty but Nice hat (which is a free pattern) with the changes a mirror knitter will have to make.

You will follow the directions for the new meanings for the symbols on the right.

In written patterns it's not usually a big deal but your c4b will lean the opposite way as the designer intends. this may affect a few patterns that are dependent on cables coming together in a particular way. But in general a written pattern can just be followed as written. IF you find you are having problems, all you need to do is swap the front and back instructions.

Life would be much easier if designers simply referred to cables as left and right leaning. No translation needed if they did that ♥

Art Prize 2011

2011-10-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here in Grand Rapids Michigan we have an art festival each year (this is the 3rd year) and it is open to anyone and everyone world wide who can find room to put up their art. It's an amazing festival and our museums and other venues are open to the public for free during art prize. The whole down town area transforms into a city filled with art.

These are just a sampling of the art that we had on display this year. It's not limited to paintings and sculptures. Atrists transform the buildings and we have masive murals that crop up around the city.

You can find out more about it at the official site for Art Prize

The winners are determined by a public voting system. People flood the down town area and regester to vote (if you so choose) and those public votes determine the winner of Art Prize.

Art can be found in hotels, businesses, museums, on the street, in bars and restaurants, in the middle of the river... any where and everywhere the artist determines a great spot for their art.

you can click on any of these pictures for a large, clear full screen view. And you can see more of the art that is on display at the Art Prize site

This is the view from the parking garage when we 1st got there. The building is the B.O.B. (a 4 floor bar w/a comedy club in it) and it is accords from our hockey arena.

3 blind mice

This one is done with marker directly on the wall. The guy stood in the center and drew this (one of 3) with both hands at the same time. It is on display at the art museum.
This one is entirely done in ball point pen on fabric.
This one is made of duct tape!
All yellow Lego's!
Monkeys hanging from the walking bridge down town.
Someone had scattered these hearts in the Grand River

These are made from pages from an encyclepedia

One of my guys in one of the exhibits. there are a good few that are interactive!
In this one one guy was a real statue and the other 2 were real guys.

Broken stripes moebius & scarf

2011-09-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Broken Stripes Moebius

This is a pattern for a slip stitch striped moebius cowl. Also part of the pattern is another to create the stitch pattern in a regular scarf. There is a great tutorial for the moebius cast on by Cat Bordhi on you tube. Knitting a moebius is really fascinating!

To create this cowl you will need size US 9, 60 inch circular knitting needles and a stitch marker. the cowl is knit mostly in stockinette with a just a few purl stitches. I used worsted weight acrylic yarn.

This pattern is available as a PDF file

Tangents

2011-09-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Tangents

This is my new pattern I'm offering up. It's qute a unique one and I pulled the stitch out of the book Reversible Knitting: 50 brand-new, groundbreaking stitch patterns .

I worked up a smaller piece so that i would have an image of a finished object for the pattern but I intend to make this into a scarf.

This is a rows within rows pattern, it is worked in one piece without breaking or joining the yarn. Even though the body of the fabric only requires 2 rows, each of those rows have smaller rows within them as you work across completing one point at a time. It is fun and gives you a mini sense of completion with each point you finish!

This does require a lot of turning so may not be for everyone (but what pattern is?)

I am working mine on size 4 needles using sock/lace weight wool yarn. But this can be worked in any size yarn, just use the needles recommended for your yarn.

I accidentally took the photo upside down for this image (and used the same image on the pattern page). I've fixed it here but it's still upside down on the PDF

This is available as a PDF file

Michigan Fiber Festival 2011

2011-08-21T17:10:00.000-07:00

So I went out to the MI fiber fest today and had an amazing time! We had really nice weather for it, not to hot and breezy.

I scored some mill end yarns. the bright pink one is a hand dyed and was only $8 and the cone was only $6 ( it's cotton).

And here are some photos I took from the barns and booths

I love this photo!

They had a costume parade which was really cute!

How to make a hat... any hat... any craft

2011-08-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

Hat's are easy to make and quite fast to work up. You don't need a pattern to make a nice hat. These tips will work to help you make a hat out of what ever craft you choose be it knitting, crochet, nalbinding or what ever... it all works the same.

Now this method does tend to a bit of frogging some times to get it right but if you start at the bottom and work your way up this is minimal. With knitted hats you may like to see what your gauge is via a swatch but it's not necessary. For my knitted hats worked in standard worsted yarn on about size 7 needles I cast on about 70 - 80 stitches.

To make a hat you just make a strip long enough to fit generously around the head. It is common for this strip to snug up as you work into it on the next round which is why you don't want to make it just snug enough to fit or it may become to tight.

Work in the round how ever you like (joining each round, working in a spiral) untill the hat is long enough for your taste. you can make it a roll brim or a beanie style, it's up to you. when the hat has cleared your ears and is to the point you think it should start to round off for the top you can reduce it.

For a long time i reduced all my hats on 4 evenly spaced corners (I did this for knitting and crochet) and just kept reducing until the opening was not much more than an inch and i would run my yarn through the stitches and cinch it closed.

You can also reduce every 10 stitches for a more rounded top. If knitting reduce every other row.

you can use any stitch pattern your want to make your hats. Plain, ribbing, cables, single crochet, double or any combination you desire... it's entirely up to you. Make it out of what ever makes you comfortable.

to reduce you generally either knit 2 together, you put your hook into 2 stitches at the same time or put your hook into one draw up a loop and into the next and draw up a loop than draw a loop through all the loops on your hook, or put your needle into 2 stitches at the same time. How ever you do it, you are turning 2 stitches into 1. If using this for nalbinding I would suggest making more drastic decreases as the rows are so tall yet the stitches are close together so it will take more reducing, I'll work 4 stitches together by putting my needle into the next 4 stitches before completing the stitch.

Nalbinding hat

2011-08-09T09:00:00.001-07:00

So I've learned me a new craft... nalbinding! I don't really have time right now to post in detail about what it is exactly but it's a very old craft which predates knitting and crochet. I believe it was used in the Viking era and probably even before. It uses wool yarn and a needle to create interlocked loops of yarn. You break the yarn into workable lengths (I'm using 2 fathoms) and than spit splice them together as you run low.

the craft is so old that there is not a clear translation of how to spell it. Nalbinding is one way of a few to spell it. I am using a big fat yarn needle.

This will be a hat.

The videos I used to learn this are right handed videos and he worked with his needle in his right hand. I am working with my needle in my left hand.

A great easy scarf pattern!

2011-08-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

So I was rummaging through my stash last night and found this skein of green/purple camo yarn I forgot I had. Wanted to make something out of it but I knew it had to be able to be made with 1 skein as i know I would not be able to match this after so long. So I made this drop stitch scarf.

this is a easy, fast and fun knit. A great pattern if you have that 1 skein of variegated yarn you just don't know what to do with. I knit mine on size 10 needles.

I crochet up a swatch in this yarn using my brick stitch scarf pattern and it really was pretty but I just couldn't crochet this in just one skein so I used this pattern instead.

the drop stitch scarf pattern is not mine but it's a really nice pattern!

Ravelry pattern page

PDF pattern file

Different types of color work in knitting

2011-08-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

So I thought it would be nice to do a post about the different types of color work used in knitting.

Most common I think is stranded color work. Fair Isle is a form of stranded color work but not all stranded color work is Fair Isle.

Stranded color work is the simple process of working multiple colors in 1 row and carrying the one not used along the back. If the strand is to be carried for more than a few stitches it should be tacked up as you knit along the back to reduce the chance of long floats being snagged. I used stranded color work when I worked my Dead fish hat.

The eyes on the hat are worked in a duplicate stitch. This is a way to add color to a finished project. Instead of knitting the color as you work it you thread a yarn needle and trace the stitches with the new color to add a layer of color on top.

Fair Isle is a more intricate form of color work which has a rich history in origins and design. Only 2 colors are used in any given row but one color is switched out after only a couple rows. Fair isle is traditionally worked in the round and than the knitting is cut to create openings for sweaters and front openings. It must be steeked as a prep to cutting the yarn to prevent it from unraveling.

This is an example of traditional Fair Isle

Intarsia is a form of color worked used to add large blocks of color to a solid background. This technique does not require carrying your yarn on the back of the project. The different colors are held on bobbins and hang from the project when not being used. To transition between the 2 you must wrap your colors around each other to make the knitting flawless.

Here is a good example of intarsia

the technique used to create intarsia is not limited to adding blocks of color to a project but can be used to add borders of diffrent colors while you knit.

Slip stitch is another technique which you do not carry any colors and only work one color per row. For slip stitch designs you slip the opposing color which pulls it over the background color. This is an afghan I am making that uses slip stitch. It is worked in 6 rows of color worked in stockinette separated by 4 rows of garter (which is the gray). I slip 2 stitches while I knit the color portions and than I connect it with the gray when I knit my next band of gray which pulls the gray over the colored background.

Also I have added an edging on this in gray which is 4 stitches wide on either side. to do this I use the intarsia technique and use a bobbin to hold my gray yarn for the opposite side so this blanket has 3 strands of yarn coming off of it but only one is worked at any given time (I carry the unused strands up the edges between the color and the gray). the back just has colored bands and you cannot see the front pattern on the back.

When this photo was taken I was about 1/2 way through a band of color and you can see how the 2 gray stitches are slipped and starts to pull up. This is a stitch pattern found in the book A Treasury of Knitting Patterns

Double knitting is a technique that has you knitting 2 sides at 1 time. both sides are the right side. Often double knit designs provide a negative image on either side of the opposing side. Double knitting also can be used to create 2 completely different designs on either side of the fabric. Here is a sample I did of a double knit swatch. this was my 1st double knit so the stitches are a bit wonky. This is a pattern I pulled out of the reversible knitting book

If this was done in the more standard version of double knitting the reverse side of the spots would be a negative image of what you see here.

This more advanced form of double knitting requires you to use circular needles and you have to slide your work back and make 2 passes for each side before turning your work.

this is side A
and this is side B

Book: A treasury of knitting patterns

2011-07-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

Book: A Treasury of Knitting Patterns by: Barbara G. Walker

A truly indispensable book for any knitter! And a fixture on many a knitters book shelf already. It does not give much in the way of instructions and ho-to's but this book contains over 500 stitch patterns to get your creative juices flowing! All patterns are in written form

The section in the book on color work is almost entirely about slip stitch color work which I think is really nice for blankets because you don't have yarn trailing across the back of your work.

All the photos in the book are in black and white. Each stitch pattern has it's own photo and many of them show variations of each stitch pattern as well.

I enjoy simply sitting down and browsing though this book over and over. I can't wait till I get the rest of her collection for my knitting library.

If you are looking for a bare bones dictionary without all the how-to's and pages of diagrams this is it!

This was originally published in 1968.

This book is available at Amazon

Book: Reversible Kniting

2011-07-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Book: Reversible Knitting - 50 Brand-new, Groundbreaking stitch patterns.

I purchased this book while browsing the shelf at our local book store and couldn't pass it up! This is an amazing book. the stitch patterns are not simply reversible but often provide completely different looks on both sides of the fabric. I have made the one run socks (I call them my strapy socks) and worked one of the DK patterns.

The book is broken up into 3 main sections.

Reversible stitch patterns:

Faux crochet - (9 stitches) these are actually quite impressive in their simulation of crochet and at some points it basically is crochet with a knitting needle.

Rows within rows - (6 stitches) these require you to knit off into completely different directions and return to the body of the project.

Openwork - (7 stitches) stitches with open spaces or a rather lacy feel to them

Divide & Combine - (6 stitches) these are patterns that require you to divide your stitches and knit separately before rejoining into the main body.

Picked up - (6 stitches) these require you to either pick up stitches for joining or to knit off the fabric that has already been knitted.

Double knit - (6 stitch patterns) These are not your standard DK designs. These patterns offer completely different designs on opposite sides of the fabric like stripes on one side and dots on the other for one example. Very easy to follow charts

Reversible designs:

20 different designs

folded scarf
branching ribs (upper left back cover)
two-tone vest
investments (a vest)
double knit vest
geometric dress (a slip stitch pattern)
folded mini dress (this has a folded ripple like design on the skirt portion)
Double wrap stockings (a thigh high stocking with a net and strip design)
Winding path (a sweater that can be worn upside down and inside out)
faux warp (clever sweater with reversible cables)
Syncopation (a brioche headband)
laced wrap
incognita (a brimmed hat pattern with attached scarf)
reverse me ( a cardigan that can be worn upside down or inside out with reversible cables) pictured on the front cover
lice jacket (a traditional style DK jacket with a reverse image on either side)
Brioche bag
Flip your lid - pictured on back cover
tie socks (these tie around your legs)
one run socks - picture on back cover
linking hip sash (a decorative tie belt)

Special techniques:

This section has detailed photos for the techniques used in this book. Covers various cast on's (including 2 color), Kitchener plus (how to Kitchener ribbing and seed stitch) and other assorted techniques.

For the most part these use advanced knitting techniques and several require multiple sets of needles for the same project.

I would like to note though that if you are left handed and knit left handed this book may take a bit of brain power to flip around as it refers to left and right needles almost exclusively rather than using the term "working needle"

This book can be purchased on amazon

Is your square crochet slanting?

2011-07-24T12:09:00.001-07:00

One of the most common problems for people when they start crocheting is loosing stitches on the edges. This is really easy to do (honestly no matter what your skill level is) because the turning chain kind of gets lost and does not look like a stitch when you return to that spot. Some patterns are particularry hard to identify where the turning stitch is.

I made this swatch to help someone else on this issue. The swatch is made from SC clusters which can be found in this sweater pattern Twila. for this one you chain 1 at the end and 2 at the start of the next row (so chain 3) this chain get's lost though once you start to work into the stitches.

To make sure you won't be loosing stitches, no matter what the pattern, you will need 2 markers. I often prefer paperclips (or piece of contrasting waste yarn works fine as well). Place your marker in your top chain you just made before you start to work your row. When you get to the end of the row you will place your hook into the stitch which you placed your marker in the beginning of the previous row and than remove the marker, chain up and place the marker back into the last chain of your turning chain.

Repeat these steps and you will be sure to not loose stitches on your edges due to not seeing the turning chain.

This works for any stitch pattern, even if you are doing plain single crochet of double crochet.

crochet shawl - pattern wip

2011-07-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would post this. I'm working on a shawl pattern that will be quite simple. I think Iw will have the corners wrap around rather than be a traditional triangle. More V shaped.

I'm crocheting it with an I hook and using Ultra Alpaca yarn

I make no promises but if all goes well I should be able to write this one up after a while.

Knitting vs. Crochet

2011-07-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is not your crochet bashing knitting or knitting bashing crochet but my views on both crafts as compared side to side.

Knitting vs. crochet

I love them both. I have been crocheting for nearly 13 years now and knitting a few as well. I am self taught for each. I conciser my self equally good at both crafts. I also conciser my self to be quite good and write patterns for both crafts.

crochet plays on the beauty of the individual stitch to were knitting plays on the flow of the fabric over all as the columns of stitch flow in, out and around each other to create patterns.

Crochet is sturdier than knitting as in you are not going to snag a run in crochet. This makes knitting a more delicate fabric (I’m not speaking of the design just the care). Knitting needs to be handled more gently than crochet at times.

Crochet is easier to shape on the fly. you can see what your fabric is doing instantly. Knitting takes a few rows to “see” what is going on.

Crochet is easier to design IMO because you can see what is going on. Knitting deals w/more math with your increases, decreases and keeping your stitch count the same. You gotta figure if you are designing in knitting and you add a YO you need to figure out where you are going to take that stitch out.

both crafts have worthy application for similar items. you can make some really nice crochet sweaters and of course knit as well. Some say knitting is for clothing but really it’s all a matter of personal preference.

both can be felted and anything you make with one can be made in the other

as we all know, crochet is faster in general but uses more yarn so using the same yarn and needle/hook size your crochet fabric will be heavier than your knit. Crochet is not faster when you get down to the tiny needles and some lace projects like filet but in general it is faster. Similar projects to filet that are knit use YO's instead of individual chain stitches and that can take longer.

I don’t much prefer one over the other I enjoy them equally for everything I make.

Though I do havea couple exceptions… I do prefer crochet lace for when I do 3D and stiffened items like my angle and snowflake tree toppers. I also prefer crochet for my kitchen wares and hair accessories.

Oh, about the colorway though, crochet color work creates a reversible fabric as the running strands are concealed under the stitches, to where standard knitting color work (aka. fair isle) does not. All the floats are on the back as knitting has a distinct front and back. Double knitting, how ever, does create a reversible fabric but generally a mirrored image or different image on opposing sides. Crochet color work creates the same image on both sides.

And that is my assessment of knitting vs. crochet

Pantie liner

2011-07-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

OK, so here's something a bit different. I know this isn't for everyone but If I am seeking something like this I can't be that unique that nobody else would also like it.

I'm all about natural stuff and I have been using a menstrual cup for over 5 years now. the thing is I still use pantie liners and have been toying for a while about a way to make my own. I did have some flannel ones but they would scrunch up in uncomfortable ways. I recently tried one in seed stitch and it was just to thin and flimsy.

this is the design I settled on. it's a 1x1 rib so thicker and more stable. I like mine a bit wide. This is rather the formula I used to create one so adjust as you desire. for a general guideline I took one of my liners of my fave brand and used that as a visual adjusting size as I saw fit.

This is not designed to replace a pad as it's not thick enough for such use. But it is a nice substitute for a every day pantie liner.

needle: us 5
yarn: Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Cotton!" This is a VERY soft 100% cotton and feels nice against the skin. I t is a sport type weight.

I like to slip one stitch on my edges, It helps to keep things looking neat.

I suggest making 1 and using it and washing it to see where you may want to customize this more to your liking. Also I suggest making it just a tad wider than what you think is good. they do compress a bit when you wear them.

for the increases just either make one knit or make one purl. I prefer to do this at the end of the row but I like to set it up with a YO at the beginning of the row which makes it easier to twist the stitch when you do your m1. Being a 1x1 rib if you want to set up with a YO you will have to do either a yo front or yo bak depending on weather you have a knit stitch or a purl stitch following the yo.

For mine I cast on 15 stitches.

(always knit the 1st stitch).
row 1: k1, p1 to last stitch, slip last stitch with yarn in front
row 2: k1, yo, work the k1, p1 rib to last stitch and slip last stitch wyif
row 3: k1, yo, work rib to yo, use the yo to either make one knit or make one purl by twisting the yo as you stitch into it, slip last stitch wyif.

repeat row 3 till it is of the desired width. (I increased till I had 21 stitches.)

work a few rows in the k1, p1 rib till top is desired length and you feel it's time to start to reduce. (I worked 7 rows before reducing)

To reduce: k1, work ribbing to last 3 stitches. either k2tog or p2 tog on next 2 stitches, slip last stitch wyif

Repeat reducing row until narrow enough to fit. (I reduced to 10 stitches)

Work k1, p1 rib till the center is of desired length (I worked this for about 10 rows)

Work increasing row 3 for a few rows till bottom is of desired width (I increased to 13 stitches)

work 1x1 rib for a couple rows (I worked for 3 rows).

Reduce again following same formula in row 3 till you have about 6 stitches. bind off.

Of course customize this shape for best fit and comfort.

In short: cast on about 15 stitches, increase till top is desired width, knit till top is desired length, reduce till narrow enough to fit, knit till desired length. increase a little for the bottom and decrease and bind off.

Gail in the Round

2011-06-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

It's not to often I make more than 1 of a pattern, let alone 3. But I have just finished my 3rd Gail pattern. But this one is not a shwl but a blanket/throw instead. I knit it in the round so essentally it's the pattern repeated 2x. To start it I cast on 8 stitches. Being that it was going to be a blanket I wanted the corners to be more stable than what the double YO provides so 4 of the cast on stitches were inserted to be between the YO's on what would be the center points of the shawl, the other 4 stitches cast on were to start the pattern. I worked the pattern chart every other row and did plain knit every other row. When it came to doing the edging I did plain stockinette and increased on either side of teh final leaf points by doing a after though YO (aka knitting into the running strand w/o twisting it) and worked those spaces as plain stockinette. the afterthought YO creates an open space but not as large of one as a regular YO woul give.

I did keep to the pattern for the corners and made those into points so that the blanket would be square on the corners. I finished up by doing 2 garter ridges and binding off.

If you are thinking you may want to knit a light weight throw conciser a shawl pattern in the round but knit in worsted yarn. This will be going to my Mom in Arizona so I didn't want a heavy blanket but still wanted to knit her something.

These photos are really poor quality, but you can get the idea of what I did. I used Bernat value yarn for this and about 4 skeins I believe.

Being that this is worked in worsted weight yarn it only took 3 pattern repeats to complete before adding the final repeat which contained the edging.

Peaches & Creme HUGE SALE!!!!

2011-06-17T05:49:00.001-07:00

P&C is having a HUGE sale right now. 50%-70% off balls and full cones of yarn.

Just had to pass this info on incise anyone is interested. Peaches & Creme is the yarn I love to use for my hair accessories and all my kitchenware.

The sale is going for a total of 10 days and ends 6-25-11

Peaches & Creme website

Lacy shells headband

2011-06-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

Yarn: Hobby Lobby's "I Love This Cotton!" (Band info: medium, 4 ply, 100% cotton)
Hook size: G (4mm, UK 8) & H (5mm, UK 6)

Stitches used (US):
ss - slip stitch
ch - chain
sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet

Special stitches:
Beginning shell (beg shell) : ch3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc
shell: 3dc, ch2, 3dc
double shell (dbl shell) : ch3, 2dc, ch2, 3dc, ch2 3dc

This head band works up really fast and uses less than one skein of yarn. It is worked in 2 parts and seamed together.

Tie: With H hook chain 26. Switch to G hook and SC in 2nd chain from hook and each chain space to beginning chain, ch3, ss in same st as last sc made, ch1 turn

Row1: ss in ch3 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch1, turn

row 2: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch1, turn

row 3: repeat row 2

row 4: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, dbl shell in same sp, ch1 turn

row 5: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, shell in next ch2 sp, ch1, turn

row 6: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch2, shell in next ch2 sp, ch1, turn

row 7: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch2, dc in last dc of shell, ch2, dc in 1st dc of next shell, ch2, shell in next ch2 sp, ch1 turn

row 8: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch2, dc in last dc of shell, (ch2, dc in next dc) 3 times, ch2, shell in next ch2 sp, ch1, turn

row 9: ss in next 2 dc and ch2 sp, beg shell in same sp, ch2,skip next ch2 sp, (dc in next dc, ch2) 4 times, shell in next ch2 sp, break yarn and fasten off and set aside.

Make 2nd piece the same except do not fasten off at the end or row 9

Joining: On 2nd half after row 9 - ch1, turn, ss in next 2 dc. Cut yarn leaving a long enough tail to be able to sew halves together and pull tail through last stitch.

Thread tail onto yarn needle and holding halves together whip stitch across stitch for stitch starting at ch 2 spaces of 1st shell and ending at the last ch2 space of last shell. weave in ends and finish off. When whip stitching the chain spaces go into the stitches rather than around the chains.

This pattern is available as a PDF file

Zebra gets a hoodie!

2011-05-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Robert has been asking me to make his zebra a new sweater. I finally got around to it. He raided my stash looking for my colorful yarn and found this self striping sock yarn.

I crochet it with my #1 steel hook and the whole thing is done entirely in alternating rows of DC and SC. The back is worked back and forth all the way up to the top of the head shaped to fit behind the ears. the front of the hoodie is worked back and forth leaving holes for the ears to poke through. the front of the sweater is crochet directly onto the back leaving about 4 rows unworked which became arm holes. the arms were done last.

How I make my grannie squares

2011-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is the method I have come up with to create a granny square that I find most appealing as far as the seam that shows up and other things.

ch4, join with a slip stitch to 1st chain.

round 1: Insert hook into ring yo and and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, chain 2, 2dc in ring, ch2, (3dc, ch2) in ring 3 times. join with slip stitch to top of 1st chain 2.

round 2: insert hook into last ch2 space made, yo and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, ch2. (3dc, ch2, 3dc) in next corner ch 2 space repeat * to * 3 times total. In last ch2 corner space work: 3dc, ch2, 2dc join with slip stitch to top of 1st chain 2 or round (this makes your chain up the last DC in the round)

round 3: insert hook into space where you just joined, yo, draw up a loop, yo, draw through 2 loops on hook, ch2, 2dc in same space. 3dc, ch2, 3dc in next ch2 corner space and each corner space there after. 3dc in spaces between 3dc clusters on previous row. after working last corner space slip stitch to top chain from beginning of round.

round 4: insert hook into space just created, yo, draw up loop, yo, draw through 2 loops on hook, ch2. Work groups of 3dc between each space on previous row. ON corners work 3dc, ch2, 3dc in each ch2 corner space. In last space work 2dc and slip stitch to the top of your ch2 from start of round.

See, every other round you are chaining up and that counts as the 1st dc of your 3dc group. than on the other rounds your chain up counts as your last DC of last DC 3 group of round. This I feel hides the “seam” best. your seam also stays centered along one side. I devised this after many yars of trial and error and not liking the way my grannies looked.

I only use chain spaces on the corners.

I think that inserting the hook and creating a stitch right on the 1st one also helps hide the appearance of the traditional ch 3 at the start of the rounds.

There are other ways to beef up your starting chain if interested in that as well.

I worked a grannie and wrote down each step as I went to make this post ☺

Here is the grannie I made for this post. the seam runs up towards the top.

The Big Book of Crochet Sweaters

2011-05-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

This is a book I have had in my collection for a while now. I have not made any but it is a very nice book. It contains 10 sweater designs. They are sized as small, medium and large but the stitch patterns are quite repetative so making them larger than that shouldn't be much of a problem. The book contains a clear stitch guide, inches to mm conversion chart and US to metric hook conversion chart. Also clear color photos for each pattern included in the book.

The book does not rate the patterns by difficulty but some are pretty basic and others contain more detailed stitch patterns or color changes.

I have included images of all the sweaters in this book and you can click on any of these pages for a larger blown up view to better see the sweaters.

I have not made any of them as of yet because though sweaters are pretty i just have not been inclined to make one my self.

You can find the book on Amazon

Yarn ring

2011-04-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is something I came up with when I changed the way I held my yarn when I learned to knit. Before I learned to knit I held my yarn between my 1st 2 fingers (kind of like a cigarette). When I learned to knit I learned continental and changed my yarn hold so that it wraps around my pinkie and up and over the back of my hand and index finger and this is a much better hold for me.

For the longest time I had problems holding my yarn in the same spot on my finger. To solve this I created yarn rings. I would get scraps of yarn and tie them into loops around the yarn I was working with. I would make the loop large enough to stay between my 1st and 2nd knuckle.

I then put the ring on my finger and my yarn still runs across the back of my hand and over my index finger but the yarn ring keeps it from slipping off. This is also hand when working with more than one color as you can make a separate yarn ring for each strand it it will keep them from crossing.

Here are a couple photos of the yarn ring in use. They don't need to be tight, it's just a guide. I don't need it like I used to because i have become accustomed to holding my yarn secure but it's a handy tip to pass on for anyone who is having problems keeping their yarn in the same spot on their finger.

Queen Anne's Lace - FINISHED!

2011-04-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Finally finished my QAL! I cast on last June so it's been a long time coming. It's really big but I like it and will be keeping this one for my self. IT was an easy pattern (IMO) as it's done in the round so everything is knit and it's composed of 32 sections so the rows you work are extremely short even twards the end, you just repeat them over and over all the way around.

If anyone does decide to give this one a go. Early on in the pattern there are rows that are all knit. He leaves these rows unmarked and just skips them but it's not in regular intervals so can trip you up if you are not paying attention to what row # you are on. It is both charted and written. I followed the written pattern

Here are the pattern page links.

Ravelry pattern page

Pattern off rav

I didn't get a good before blocking phto as I was so excited to see it done. Here is one mid way through the project though. This is a really good depiction of the color. This is the same yarn I used for my wrist warmers and my last Gail.

Crochet kerchief

2011-03-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

Crochet kerchief

i have this posted on this blog but it was a while back and the pattern was not written as well.

These work up fast and are easy to make. The open stitches hold your hair back without making your head hot. I wear these nearly every day. The ties are long so if you want you can pull your hair into a pony tail and tie it again around to hold the rest of the hair out of the way.

Hook size: H & I
Yarn: Peaches'n cream
(one ball is not quite enough for 2 full kerchiefs)
stitches:
chain (ch)
double crochet (DC)
single crochet (sc)
slip stitch (SS)

When starting these kerchiefs be sure when SC into the chain row to work into the back ridge leaving the braided edge open and stitch free. This not only makes a neater edge but also makes it easier to work into both sides of your chain.

You can start this 2 ways.

Foundation row: Using a foundation row single crochet and do a foundation row of 73 stitches using the H hoook. switch to the I hook and chain 20, switch back to the H hook and ch1 and SC in each chain. join to the 1st stitch.

Chain start:
Using the I hook chain 73. switch to the H hook and ch1, sc in each ch to the end. Switch back to the I hook, chain 20. switch to the H hook, ch1, sc in 2nd chain from hook and in each open chain. Slip stitch to the 1st chain you made.

If you are making your band a different color than the triangle you can either just do a foundation row of 93 with the H hook and fasten off(do not use the I hook for this method. Or chain 93 stitches with the I hook and SC in each chain with the H and fasten off.

For the rest of the kerchief you will only be using the H hook.

Row 1: ch3, skip next stitch, DC in next stitch (ch1, skip next stitch, DC in next stitch) repeat until you have 26DC and 25 ch1 spaces (do not include the 1st ch3.

Row 2: Turn, ss into 1st chain 1 space, chain 3, DC in next ch1 space (ch1, dc in next ch1 space) repeat to the 2nd to last ch1 space. Skip next ch1 space and DC into last DC.

Repeat row 2 and reduce until kerchief has reached it's final point and you cannot work row 2 anymore. break yarn and weave in ends.

In this 2 color one i worked the band and did the ch3 joined in color B and alternated between colors for each DC made. I changed colors after the DC was completed. so I with color A, DC. than drop color A and with color B I ch 1, DC 1. drop color B. with color A chain 1. continue this to the end. and at the end of the row hold both colors together and chain 3. and than work alternating colors back.

This pattern is available as a PDF file

Crochet dishmat

2011-03-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

Crochet dish mat

This is part of my kitchen crochets. These dish mats are perfect for setting on the counter to set your dishes on for air drying. Place them on the counter alone or next to your drying rack. They also make great hot pads for casserole dishes.

This uses a small V stitch which allows air to circulate under dishes yet is stable enough to set glasses on.

Hook: H
yarn: Worsted kitchen cotton (I like Sugar & Creme or Peaches'n creme)

gauge: Gauge is not really important but I get 4" = 7 dc2tog groups and 6 rows

You can make these any size you like but I prefer mine to be about as wide or slightly wider than a hand towel. Make them as long as you need, I like to have mine be the same length as the depth of my counter top.

Chain in multiples of 3. For mine like to have about 78 chains long. you can eyeball this pattern to your personal preference.

Basically all this is is dc2tog (but in the ch 1 spaces) with 2 stitches in each ch1 space, ch1 between each dc2tog. repeated over and over. I break it down in the pattern.

Row 1: dc in 3rd chain from hook, *ch1 yo, insert hook into same ch stitch just worked, yo and draw up loop, yo draw through 2 loops on hook, skip next ch, yo, insert hook through next ch stitch, yo draw up loop, yo draw through 2 loops on hook, yo draw through last 3 loops on hook* repeat from * to * all the way to the end DC in same ch as the last stitch worked.

Row 2: Turn, ch2, dc in next ch1 sp, ch1 * yo, insert hook into same space just worked, yo and draw up loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, yo insert hook into next ch1 space, yo, draw up loop, yo, draw through 2 loops on hook, yo, draw through last 3 loops on hook.* repeat from * to * to the last ch1 space. yo, insert hook into same space just worked, yo, draw up loop, yo and pull through 2 loops on hook, yo, insert hook into ch2 space of turning chain, yo, draw up loop, yo draw through 2 loops on hook, yo and draw through last 3 loops on hook.

Work row 2 until mat is long enough. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

for the trim I work them in a reverse SC.

I recommend attaching the yarn to the right corner of the end if you are left handed and the left hand corner of the end if you are right handed and ch1. work reverse sc (aka crab stitch) around the edge stitch for stitch along the top and bottom. when working along the sides work one stitch into each space and into each row. Work last reverse sc in same space where you joined the yarn. cut yarn and weave in ends.

If you do not want to work the reverse sc you can simply crochet around the edge and over the loop and join as normal.

Reverse SC/crab stitch is my favorite way to put edgings on my kitchenware's. Creates a decorative yet simple and sturdy edging.

To work a reverse SC you insert your hook into stitch behind the one you just worked into, yo and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, repeat around. Reverse sc has you working backwards to the direction you normally crochet so for lefty's you will be working right to left and for righties you will be working left to right.

Here are some great video tutorials for reverse single crochet.
Left hand
Right hand

Here is a close up of the one I just made. Sorry I don't have my camera so am using my scanner. Click on the photo for a close up detail of the stitches.

Crochet pot handle cover

2011-03-04T12:14:00.000-08:00

Crochet pot handle cover

These pot handle covers are really quick to crochet, take very little yarn and are worked in a continuous round without joining. Gauge is not important but when made and laid to be flat the wine one measures 2 inches across and mine is 5 inches long from top to bottom edge.

Hook size: G
Yarn: Peaches & creme or Sugar n' Cream
stitches: chain, single crochet, reverse single crochet (aka crab stitch)

Start by chaining 2 stitches 4 SC in 2nd chain from hook, 2sc in 1st sc made, 2sc in next sc and repeat until you have 16 sc around. 1sc in next sc until holder is desired length.

final round (this can be at any point). sc in next sc, ch8 (sc in next sc) 8 times. cut yarn and weave in ends. This is the loop you will use to hang it up. you don't have to have a loop if you don't want one.

for the trim I work them in a reverse SC.

Attach yarn at some point opposite the loop and ch1. work reverse sc (aka crab stitch) around the edge stitch for stitch up to the loop do a reverse sc into the last stitch. Starting on the opposite side of the loop as where you did your last reverse sc work 14 regular SC around the loop covering it, chain 1 and continue your reverse sc stitch starting in the next sc on the other side of the loop and work around to where you joined at your start. cut yarn and weave in ends. I like to work my very last reverse sc into the same stitch I joined my yarn into. You have to cross over the loop this way to be able to transition from reverse SC to regular SC. you can see in the 1st image how it crosses.

If you do not want to work the reverse sc you can simply crochet around the edge and over the loop and join as normal.

Reverse SC/crab stitch is my favorite way to put edgings on my kitchenware's. Creates a decorative yet simple and sturdy edging.

To work a reverse SC you insert your hook into stitch behind the one you just worked into, yo and draw up a loop, yo and draw through 2 loops on hook, repeat around. Reverse sc has you working backwards to the direction you normally crochet so for lefty's you will be working right to left and for righties you will be working left to right.

Here are some great video tutorials for reverse single crochet.

Left hand
Right hand

now using PDF file format

2011-01-20T06:18:00.000-08:00

I just went and got a host to load my word document pattern stuff to PDF files which are easy to save to your computer. I don't have but 2 at the moment but as I make stuff here and there that is somewhat worthy of a pattern page I'll link them as a PDF file in the post.

Also on the left between where the followers are listed and my flicker photo widget I have added a page link which will also list the links in just a alphabetical list for quick reference.

Simple and squishy rib scarf

2011-01-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I knit this on size 10 needles but you can use what ever size you desire for your yarn. I got this stitch pattern from someone on one of my knitting message boards and it has become my favorite "go-to" scarf pattern. Suitable for men or women!

Cast on in multiples of 6

row 1: k3, p3
row 2: k1, p1

repeat these 2 rows till the scarf is of desired length.

If you want a cleaner edge you can cast on a extra 2 stitches to your grand total and just slip them on each side.

Here are some close up photos of what this stitch pattern looks like. The Pink scarf was done in Bernat Camo yarn and the black and white one was done in Red Heart Super Saver Zebra color. The pink scarf is 36 stitches wide.

Light and lacy spring hat

2011-01-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

I could not find my camera but I put the hat in my scanner and it came out rather well.

This is a nice and open, light and lacy pattern. I used Caron country in the colorway Ocean Spray. This hat is a beanie style but rather loose. Caron Country tends to be on the splitty side so if you would rather substitute a yarn with a tighter twist go ahead. I would probably stick to a medium weight.

I made this to fit me and I have somewhat of a larger head so I would describe this as a large size in how it fits around. It is easy to adjust the size simply by adding or taking away pattern repeats (12 stitches on the cast on row). If you like a roll brim hat, knit a longer portion of 2x2 rib.

Try your hat on as you are making it to get the right fit for you.

For me, one pattern repeat is about 3.5" and 4 rows is just under 1"

this is knit in the round.

Needles: Size US 6 (4mm)
Yarn: Naturally Caron Country (much less than 1 skein)

Using a stretchy cast on of your choice (I use the cable cast on), cast on in multiples of 12.

*For my hat I did 8 pattern repeats so I cast on 96 stitches though 7 repeats (84 stitches) would have been fine as well.

Join for knitting in the round making sure not to twist your cast on row.

Do a 2x2 rib for 1 inch.

Hat body

*K9, p3 for all even numbered rows

Row 1: k2 tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, ssk, p3 repeat
Row 3: k2 tog, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1, ssk, p3 repeat

Repeat these rows until the body is of desired length ending on row 4. for my hat I did 7 repeats. My hat just comes down over the tops of my ears.

Crown
Row 1: ssk, k1, yo, s1, k2tog, psso, yo, k1, k2tog, p3 repeat
Row 2: k7, p3 repeat
Row 3: k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1, p3
Row 4: k5, p3
Row 5: ssk, k1, k2tog, p3
Row 6: k3, p3
Row 7: s1, k2tog, psso, p3
row 8: purl all stitches
row 9: p1, p2tog, p1
row 10: purl all stitches
row 11: p1, p2tog

run yarn through all live stitches to remove from the needles and cinch the opening closed, secure and weave in ends.

This is available as a PDF file

I hope this helps. I have made this into chart form. You can click on this image to enlarge it or download the chart in the link below

I have charted this and made it a PDF file

Book: Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for Fashon Foodies

2010-12-17T13:46:00.001-08:00

Twinkie Chan's Crochet Goodies for fashion Foodies - 20 yummy treats to wear.

I saw this book and just had to get it! I ordered it from Amazon for $10.19 (USD) The designs are so cute! There are 20 patterns in this (mostly scarfs). It has great directions for all levels on the techniques used including the basic stitches.

You could easily mix up the designs like if you wanted to add toast to your bacon and eggs scarf it would be easy to do.

It's broken up into 3 sections.

Sweet Things

Cupcake scarf
Candy button scarf
Cookie scarf
Gingerbread man scarf
Lemon coconut cake tissue cozy
Rocket popsicle scarf
Soft-serve ice cream scarf
Chocolate cupcake hat with blue frosting

Fruits & Veggies

Green salad scarf
Pink grapefruit scarf
Baby radish lariat scarf
Pear scarf
Giant carrot scarf
Strawberry fingerless mittens

Savory Stuff

Bacon and eggs scarf
Buttered toast scarf
Sushi scarf
Pepperoni pizza scarf
Popcorn scarf
Spaghetti 'n' meatballs scarf

You can click on the cover images to enlarge.

Brick stitch scarf - crochet

2010-12-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

also called crazy stitch or crazy shell. I reverse engineered this from a rug that was crochet for my grandmother as a wedding gift in the late 1930's. This is done a bit different than other similar stitches I have seen which I believe is why all edges on this are nice and "brick" like and even all the way around.

The scarf pictured is rather old and well used. i used a washable wool blend yarn and it is very warm.

Using the recommended hook for the yarn you choose to use (or the hook of your preference), chain in multiples of 5 + 2

row 1: DC in 3rd chain from hook and in next chain, skip next 2 chains and slip stitch into 3rd chain. This is one "brick" of 3 DC and 1 ch3 space (the 1st ch3 counts as a DC) * ch3, DC in next 2 chains, skip next 2 chains and slip stitch into the 3rd chain.* Repeat * to * all the way across ending in a slip stitch to the 1st chain stitch you made in the starting chain.

row 2: Turn and slip stitch over last 2 DC of previous row and in 1st chain of the ch 3 space. *ch3, 3 dc in same ch3 space, slip stitch to the 1st chain of next ch 3 space.* Repeat * to * to end. ending with 3 DC into last chain 3 space.

repeat row 2 for all other rows till scarf is desired length.

If you want to do it in 2 colors: I recommend crocheting length wise. If you do it width wise you will have a lot of ends to try to weave in up both sides. That is how I did the scarf in this photo and you can see all the ends starting to poke out. Doing it length wise won't change the appearance very much from what you see here.

At the start of each row you can leave a long tail and when finished with each row fasten off and you can leave the ends to incorporate them into a fringe if you like.

for each row turn and join w/a DC to the last ch3 space of previous row, 3 dc in same ch3 space and continue as + to + of row 2

sorry for the laps in posts

2010-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

I just got done painting Christmas cookies. I invited the family kids over and we had fun. I made 2 batches of cookies and a load of icing which we colored into many different colors.

My camera is currently MIA and i have so much I want to post and update for this blog. Hopefully I'll find my camera soon!

Family update

2010-09-22T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I was called to Robert's (my middle child) school. He had an asthma attack but we didn't know he had asthma so nobody was prepared. I rode to the hospital with him in an ambulance where they kept him for several hours and still could not get his blood oxygen level to raise w/o him being on oxygen so they admitted him into the hospital and I stayed with him all Wed. night.

He is now doing great. They say it was intermittent asthma and was allergy induced. He's fine inside the house but has a rough go at it when he goes outside though he has been fine lately. I want to get him tested to see what it is he is allergic to. Michigan is a bad place to live if you have allergies. I have seasonal fall allergies and never had them till I moved to Arizona then came back to Michigan.

And then the other day Michael clogged our toilet (it's an old toilet and clogs easily). But he flushed and flushed and flushed till he jammed the valve into an open run. I was taking a nap before work and Anja came in saying it was raining in the basement... sure enough the whole bathroom, hall, entrance to the boys room and our bedroom was beginning to flood (or was well flooded already). The water was raining down through the floor into the basement! What a mess! Luckily it stayed on the side of the basement that didn't have the pool table but I had to shop vac the upstairs than shop vac the basement and everything is a sloppy mess!

WE have all hard wood floors which will need to be replaced and refinished as needed. But I don't intend to even think about that until the kidlets are older and out of the "oops I destroyed the house" stage. What would be worse than flooding our house is putting in new floors and THAN having it flooded.

So Now I'm cleaning the basement and everything that got wet. Well I have been putting it off for way to long so i guess this is my motivation.

Why does it seem we put things off and then it's 10x the hassle to clean when something happens?

We do(n't) have a new cat

2010-09-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

So we have had this stray kitty on our porch. I was feeding it to keep it near as I posted a found add on Craigs List and also a "seeking a good home" add.

Well, DH felt sorry for it as it was storming and let it in. It is really friendly with the kids and lets them pet him and pick him up. I went and got a litter pan and small bag of food but it looks as though we have a kitty now! He doesn't have fleas and is litter trained. I will take him to the vet down the road to see if he has a microchip in him and if not, he's good as ours.

Robert has decided on his own that the cat's name is Cookie.

Book: The Doubleday Large Print Nedlecraft Book

2010-09-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Doubleday Large Print Needlecraft Book

This is a great book with simple projects and is written for those with vision impairment. It contains many simple projects using common yarn weights, needle sizes and lighter colors. The projects in it are small and flat some times with some easy seaming to shape them.

Printed in large type so it's easier on the eyes this is a great book for anyone who's eyesight as started to slip, anyone seeking easy patterns to learn from with clear instructions and tips for making your own stuff.

Chapters cover:
Crocheting
Knitting
Quilting
and
Decorative stitching

You can get this book used at Amazon

This is the ball I made for what I believe will be our new kitty. The pattern is in this book and it's crochet flat and then sewn into shape. My youngest also enjoys playing with the ball as it's so soft, light and squishy he can throw it in the house. A quick little project I had done in a hour or 2.

Great Wolf Lodge

2010-08-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

So we took the Girl Scouts up north to Traverse City MI and stayed the night at Great Wolf Lodge (they have locations around the US). We had a blast! GWL is a massive indoor water park and they have pools, play areas, lazy river and 5 water slides. so much to do there. Just had to share. This photo was taken of the fort in the middle of GWL the bucket at the top dumps 1000 gallons of water every 5 minutes and this is the big dump. It really comes at a huge force and knocked some PPL down who weren't expecting it.

Book: Tasty crochet

2010-08-05T05:19:00.001-07:00

So I was browsing the book store yesterday while I was out getting a memory card for DD's PS2 as she got Guitar Hero for her b-day and just couldn't resist this gem!

A cute little crochet book that has 33 patterns for food in it. It's broken down into

Breakfast - 7 patterns
Lunch - 12 patterns
Dinner - 7 patterns
and of course...
Dessert - 8 patterns

Stitches are pretty basic and these are small easy to work patterns. I have not made anything yet but they appear to be well written. Just an over all cute little book.

My boys love to play with their kitchen and their play food but the plastic stuff just get's broken and poses pinch hazards so I thought this would be fun.

you can get this book on Amazon - Tasty Crochet !

back cover *you can click to enlarge these cover images.

Illusion knitting

2010-08-01T06:24:00.000-07:00

I will be updating this post with photos of the progress on this piece.

1-23-11

I have decided not to continue on with this because I have had some bad experiences with Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn not holding up well at all. I intend ot make this with a much sturdier yarn because this will be for me and i intend to use it well.

So I started this w/the intention of making a scarf but got lazy at finding smaller yarn so it will be an afghan (my 1st knit afghan). Illusion knitting is a visual play on the garter stitch and knits and purls. It's quite simple to do but you have to keep good count of your stitch. Form a top down view it looks like stripes (maybe a tad wonky) but as you look at the same piece at an angle the picture starts to emerge. I am making a Harry Potter afghan out of this. I think one square will be like this and the other will be reversed (a negative if you will). I am using the EXCELLENT pattern found at Wolly Thoughts. He Does an excellent job of explaining the process of illusion knitting and how it works.

When looking straight down at the project (you can super size the image if you like to see the stitches). You can see the slight disturbances in the stripes but it's still mostly just stripes. I have placed my stitch markers spaced every 10 stitches (added one stitch to each side ) this matches up with the grid on the pattern and it's easier to follow my spot. I also have tied contrasting yarn to mark every 10th ridge which also is the way the pattern is marked to keep better tract of my place.

But when you tilt it at an angle you see the design.

Being a left handed person and knitting as such when I follow this chart as written it makes the image appear mirrored. This really isn't a big issue but if you are intending to do an illusion knit and want it to face the same way as the designer I recommend printing out the charts in mirror image that way your finished project will face the way it was intended to. Some day I want to knit the Mona Lisa but she will face the wrong way If I don't flip the charts and who want's the Mona Lisa to be facing the wrong way?

I'm editing this so that I will be putting the most current photo on top.

8-7
8-3
8-2

Here is a short video that shows how this illusion works.

Book: The Best of Terry Kimbrough Afghans

2010-07-19T18:24:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite books to go to for crochet afghans. The patterns are very well written and there is quite a variety to choose from. Some solid some lacy, others with motifs and flowers.

You can purchase this book on Amazon

Patterns I have made in this book are: Timeless Lace, Shells Galore, Lacy Valentine, Rosebud and Loving Hearts. Each one was easy and a joy to make.

Full pattern list for this book:
Tantalizingly Teal - A bulky afghan worked holding 2 strands together.
Exquisite Shells - Lacy afghan worked in motifs.
Ribbons & Lace - a unique looking afghan with a "ribbon" going through the center of each row.
Victorian Garden - Lacy afghan worked in strips with a flower pattern.
Lacy Diamonds - Lacy diamond pattern worked in strips.
Peachy - lacy shells worked in one piece.
Tea Time - A lacy afghan made of squares joined as you go.
Boudoir - Lacy afghan worked in one piece containing shells and puffs.
Pansy - Square motifs and some contain a 3D pansy flower.
Wildflowers - Squares containing 3 3D flowers each. Pieced together at the end.
Vintage Lace - A one piece afghan done in a ripple lace pattern.
Timeless Lace - A one piece afghan containing many picots.
Grandma's Lace - Lacy square motifs joined as you go wit ha shell border.
Handsome for Him - solid afghan done in panels containing a diamond pattern.
Pretty Pansies - Squares containing very colorful 3D pansy flowers, joined at the end.
Shells Galore - A one peice afghan composed entirely of shells.
Simple Stripes - a chunky afghan worked in one piece.
Aran Comfort - A solid afghan with varying textures.
Hearts Aplenty - A one piece filet afghan but with written instructions (no chart).
Snow Glories - A lacy flower pattern worked in strips.
Wedding Rings - Composed of ovals, large and small squares in a classic wedding ring pattern.
Lacy Valentine - Worked in squares containing 4 hearts each and joined at the end.
Absolutely Gorgeous - A lacy pattern worked in strips
Rosebud - Worked in squares and joined as you go with alternating plain and flowered squares.
Loving Hearts - Worked in open lacy motifs joined as you go with a border of hearts that have flowers in the centers.
Bouquet of Shells - Made in 3 wide panels.

Rosebud baby blanket

2010-07-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

I just finished my Rosebud baby afghan for a co-workers son. One of the ladies I worked with asked me how much I would charge to make her a blanket for him and I told her that if she bought the yarn, picked the pattern and I would make it and we could call it a gift from both of us. So this is the pattern she chose. I got it out of my afghan book (Best of Terry Kimbrough Afghans).

This afghan can be made with any amount of squares and the border instructions do not need to be changed.

Here are a couple other views. click for larger image if you like.

close up of the corner.

DD's b-day cakewiches!

2010-07-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

So we are having DD's party today and we just finished the cakewiches. one is ham & cheese on "rye" and the other is yet another pb&j. The ham & cheese one is butter creme frosting for the "mayo" and marshmallow fondant for the ham and cheese it is a yummy fondant recipe! easy to follow and make. for the ham I used brown Wilton frosting coloring and a touch of orange. the cheese is just orange. I colored the ham frosting before putting it on so it would be more marbled but the cheese was done as it was being made to make it more uniform. The fondant frosting is a marshmallow fondant which is really quite good and easy to follow.

I"m going to dust the white spots w/cocoa powder to help hide them.

Cakewich

2010-07-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

So Anja's b-day is coming up soon (and I will soon be the parent of an official teenager). She has my since of humor and we saw this cake pan made by Fred & Friends. I bought my pan from Amazon.

I figured that since I have not made it before I would do a test run to see if there are any changes needed. the box comes with recipes for a pound cake and peanut butter frosting. It's really quite good. The cake is not large but being a pound cake you don't need large slices. I will be making 2 for her party. The directions say to cool it for an hour in the pan and then remove. But I think next time I'll cool it for less time as it cracked while unmolding it. But here is my 1st cakewich. I used strawberry preserves along w/the peanut butter frosting.

A small town celebration

2010-07-03T21:27:00.001-07:00

I went to my Grandma's town yesterday and they had their 4th of July parade on the 3rd. I took some photos. She lives in a small town. My uncles were in visiting and after the parade we took the kids to the ice cream shop around the corner. I like small town stuff like this.

Here's my youngest with his bag of candy he collected.

And what parade would not be complete without the hot dog eating camp!

Saginaw River - Graveyard of ships

2010-06-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Bay City MI this weekend for my grandmother -in-law's funeral. She passed away at the age of 93 in her sleep.

I took some photos of the graveyard of ships along the Saginaw River in Bay City and thought I would share as I think it's interesting so maybe someone else may as well. Please click and enlarge the images for better views and to be able to read the description of the graveyard.

These ships sunk at least 100 years ago and were left where they lie and what you see are the remains of these "tall ships". You can see the outlines of the hulls and different portions of the ships. Back then the water in the Saginaw River was much higher. I have another series of photo's which detail just how much the water has dropped in the Saginaw Bay.

This one is "E"These are "F, G &H" actually not sure if H is visible.

Another good shot of "E"
This is one I took off the River Walk which you can see in the background of the other photos. I do not believe this one is on the map and it runs directly under the river walk bridge. IF you enlarge the 3rd photo in this post you can see the river walk and then the stubbs of this ships remains sticking out at the base of the massive pillar. it looks like small sticks sticking out of the water as it's a far away image in photo #3

And here is one of me.

Purple Gail

2010-06-11T12:56:00.001-07:00

I finished another Gail. I love the color purple and saw this yarn. it's serentiy sock yarn and is a self striping yarn. The color changes are really short as it's designed to have really narrow stripes. I was a bit concerned due to the nature of the color changes as they are really sharp and do not blend but my love of purple made me go forward and I'm glad I did! I love the way the gray plays with the purple!

This yarn is so soft! it's a blend of 50% wool, 25% nylon and 25% bamboo.

I'm now using the left over yarn for a pattern called Queen Anne's Lace (PDF file). Which is coming along quite nicely and is a easy knit.

And of course, you can click on any image for a super sized, detailed, photo.

this is before blocking

No, I haven't abandoned this blog

2010-05-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Things are really busy and I'm wraping up the school year. last week I had a concert for Roberts class and a band concert for Anja. Today I went on a field trip to the zoo w/Michael and later will go to a band awards thing w/Anja.

Trying to wrap up Girl Scouts and prepare for our trip to Great Wolf Lodge.

I have some things I want to post but will need to do so when things settle and I have a bit more time.

I've been working on a new Gail shawl and started a broomstick lace scarf. Still working on the afghan and other things.

Knitting Gail

2010-04-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

So I knitted up Gail (AKA Nightsongs) and I love the pattern! It did take a bit to figure out and I had to make a couple minor mental changes to the pattern to make it work for me. Not really changes to the pattern it self but things to make it "click". You can get the pattern free on Ravelry but I don't think it's available off the Rav site (though Ravelry is free to join).

For starters the pattern has a left and right side chart. You don't need both these charts as the shawl is symmetrical and one chart works for both sides. And as for the double YO's at the peak, I purled into them so as to twist each stitch. this worked much better than knitting and purling, makes a cleaner, more consistent stitch.

Then the pattern says to repeat it 7 times. I had one skein of yarn so did 6 repeats as one is not quite enough to get 7.

It says to repeat the chart. But you will make the full chart on the 1st repeat and then after that you will only need to repeat rows 23-37. I made a line to mark this on my chart. This is a small clip of how I drew my lines for the repeats. I repeat the center part as many times as needed and when headed twards the peak or end I then followed the chart to the edge (ignoring the stitches in the yellow poriton). This is my marked on chart but you can transpose the lines to your chart.

The pattern says to repeat and end on row 33. I ended on row 35. On the last 2 pattern rows you need to do the peak slightly different. On row 33 make 1 YO instead of 2. and at the peak on row 35 I did yo, k1, yo. this will set you up to easily make the border.

Because by knitting up to row 35 you will need to start the border chart on row 5.

Here is a photo before blocking. You can click on them for super sized images.

And after blocking. I, again, used my steamer and blocking this way was really fast, I was able to unpin it as soon as I was done steaming it.

Sausage gravy and biscuits

2010-04-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

One of my son's (and mine) favorite breakfasts! Easy to make and well worth it.

For the gravy I brown and crubmle a 1lb. roll of sausage. I always make this in one of my cast iron skillets. When that is browned I add 1 stick of butter and pour milk into the skillet to reach the bottom of the pour nub indents on the sides and simmer. I dissolve several tablespoons of corn starch into cold water and add to the gravy till it's the desired thickness.

For the biscuits I use this recipe. You can add some flavor by substituting what ever amount of the shortening for reserved bacon fat/drippings if you happen to save them for cooking. I also like to sprinkle in some garlic powder and Italian seasonings. If I have it I also like to shred in some cheddar cheese. I generally double this biscuit recipe when I make it for the family as we are a family of 5.

I prefer to roll the biscuits in my hands and drop them onto the baking stone (I bake on stones). But you can also roll them out and cut them with round cutters or what ever you desire.

I like to hard fry an egg and break open a biscuit or 2 and then smother the plate in gravy. I used to buy white gravy mix till I was reading the side of my corn starch box and realized how simple it is to just make it.

Baking Powder Biscuits

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breakfast
Side Dishes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour -- see notes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tabelspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

1. Heat oven to 450

2. Cut shortening into flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium
bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks
like fine crumbs.

3. Stir in milk until dough leaves bides of bowl (dough will be soft and
sticky)

4. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 10 times, Roll
or pat to 1/2" thickness. Cut with floured 2 1/2" round cutter. Place on
ungreased cookie sheet about 1" apart for crusty sides, touching for soft
sides.

5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from
cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Source:
"Betty Crocker's NEW cook book"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 165 Calories; 9g Fat (50.3%
calories from fat); 3g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 2mg
Cholesterol; 307mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2
Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : *Add a bit of extra flavor to your biscuits by stirring in
2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
or basil with the flour.

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0

My son loves to help make this and here is a photo of him kneading the dough.

Irony

2010-04-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

So last night at work we decided to get subs. There is a 24 hour Subway not to far from work. A lady called them to see if they would be open at 3am (I work 3rd shift and that's before last break).

She gets to Subway and.... they are out of bread! How does a sandwich shop run out of bread?

Walpapering the van

2010-03-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Or, Contact papering the Woodie!

So we have 2 Voyager's. The newer one ("99" is mine "88" is DH's) So the 88 is a "woodie" meaning it has wood panels on the sides. Well the trim around those panels had gotten rather ratty looking so DH took the better part of 2 days and removed the panels, cleaned them very well and covered them with wood grained contact paper before putting them back on.

So, I suppose you could say that our van has been freshly wallpapered!

And this is not the 1st time he has done this. But the last time he did not take off the panels before adding the contact paper so it didn't last long at all. Although I don't know exactly how long you can expect this to last.

He calls the van his Woodie. He doesn't like calling it a van. I think he just likes to say he drives a Woodie. Oh well.

I would like to add that the Woodie only cost us $500 and we have had it for at least 4 years now... one of the benefits of marrying a mechanic!

Here's a photo of the newly wallpapered Woodie.

Book: Blue Ribbon Crochet

2010-03-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone w/a divers taste if what they like to crochet. Wide range of projects. You can find it at Amazon . I have scanned the cover and chapter pictures page, click on them for a larger view if you like.

This is not a book to learn by, many of the patterns are rather advanced but well written and easy to follow.

chapters include:
*Judges' Choice Afghans - 9 designs
*First Place Fashions - 9 designs (sweaters, purses, earrings, shawls and more)
*Heirloom Masterpieces - 9 designs (doilies, curtains, coverlet/bedspreads and more)
*Best-In-Show babies - 8 designs (blankets, clothing, bibs and more)
*Award-Winning Dolls & Toys - 5 designs (puzzle, stuffed dolls, animals and cloths for them)
*Home Accessories Showcase - 9 designs (pillows, afghans, rugs, place mats and more)

Crocheting to skydive

2010-03-18T05:23:00.000-07:00

So guy at work is all excited and wants to go sky diving. I did it about 8 years ago (2 times) and wouldn't mind doing it again but realistically with a family of 5 there are other things I can spend my $$ on than jumping out of a plane.

Well this guy also wants to pay me to make him a crochet ripple afghan. I told him that I got a deal for him... he pays for me to sky dive and I make him an afghan. He was all for it. So we will just have to see how the follow through goes with this one! So often with these sort of things they tend to loose steam before they are realized. But i told him that if he really wants to do it he knows I wont back out cuz I have already done it.

I guess this is what happens when your interests are truly all over the place... you end up trading crochet for skydiving. I suppose it just goes to prove that I'm quite the diverse person.

I wrote a poem about the last time I went skydiving and you can read it on my poetry blog.

5,000 feet

I do love me a good zombie movie!

2010-03-14T10:06:00.001-07:00

Ah, last night was movie night (if you couldn't tell) and I also rented Zombie Land. That was a really good zomibe movie IMO. Don't worry, no spoilers here.

But seriously, it's a zombie movie and I bet you can already guess what happens.

What makes a good zombie movie?
special effects - keep them "old school" no need to get all technical and fancy, get a good makeup artist and you must have LOTS of rotting flesh and blood. Not to mention the occasional broken bone sticking out for effect.

humor - seriously, they are zombies and it's been done before. Lets not pretend to be all serious about the whole thing. The more gruesome the effects are and the better and cheesy the humor is the better the movie is. Sure, there are some good serious zombie movies out there. But at this point in the history of zombie movies, humor is where it's at.

And I expect some good zombie action in my zombie movies.

I loved this movie. Had all the right stuff for a great humorous zombie flick. The zombies were faster and more energetic than your average zombie but it was a nice touch.

I can't pass up a zombie flick when I see one, no matter how bad or good they look like they will be.

Another AWESOME zombie movie that is funny is Shaun of the Dead! A must see IMO.

Why is there always a donut?

2010-03-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

So I just got done watching 2012 (not half bad, a bit over the top, but pretty good) And of course they have a scene where everything is getting ripped apart and a big donut goes rolling down the street.

Just makes me wonder why movies with disasters or creatures ripping up the land seem to work in the rolling, larger than life, donuts.

Maybe I watch to many of these movies. But it's become quite a matter of .... "Oh look, there's another donut rolling down the street"

Anyone else notice the extensive use of giant rolling donuts in movies? Or is it just me and my weird taste in movies that brings me to the ones that use giant rolling donuts?

I do enjoy disaster movies, zombie movies, sci fi and weird humor.

Beer Bread

2010-03-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

This is is quick and easy bread to whip up. I often make it to go along with my Lemon-Herb-Chipotle Roasted Chicken. Also great with chilies and other dishes. My kids love this bread!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Beer Bread

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Cooking With Beer

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 cups self-rising flour -- *see Note
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter -- melted
1 can beer -- warm
4 tablespoons butter -- melted

Preheat oven to 375

mix all ingredients except the last 4 tablespoons butter in a bowl and
pour into a greased/buttered bread pan.

Bake 45 minutes

Take it out and pour the 4 Tbs melted butter over the top

Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 238 Calories; 10g Fat (37.7%
calories from fat); 4g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 25mg
Cholesterol; 572mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 2 Fat; 0 Other
Carbohydrates.

NOTES : 1 C self-rising flour = 1 C all purpose flour +1 tsp
baking powder + 1 tsp salt

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0

Lemon-Herb-Chipotle Roasted Chicken

2010-03-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

This is a family favorite. This chicken is nice and juicy thought with a rich flavor. The chipotle rub gives it a wonderful flavor and the chicken is not to spicy. All my kids eat this up!

Left overs make a great chicken noodle soup. Make the soup with the skin for added spice, remove the skin for a milder soup. As of course I always make home made egg noodles for my soups!

This is also excellent with Beer Bread.

The original recipe called for 2 smaller fryer chickens but for simplicity of only working with one bird I use a large roaster. In my post about Smoking a turkey you can see what I mean about spreading the seasoning under the skin.

For left over chili pure, freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer to a zipper freezer bag for storage for future use.

This recipe can be found in the Chevy's fresh mex cook book. I really like this book!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Lemon-herb-chipotle Roasted Chicken

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Mexican

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 pounds whole chicken
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
6 sprigs rosemary
6 sprigs oregano
1 whole lemon -- cut in half
4 large garlic cloves -- cut in half
2 tablespoons chipotle chile canned in adobo -- *see Note

Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the giblets from the body cavity, and trim
away the excess fat. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water
and pat dry.

Combine the olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

Spread the seasoned olive oil under the breast skin. Place garlic clove
halves under the breast skin on each side and down into the legs if
possible. Strip the leaves of the remaining sprigs of rosemary and oregano
and mince; distribute evenly under the breast skin.

coat the cavity generously with the remanding seasoned olive oil. Strip
the leaves off 3 sprigs rosemary and 3 sprigs oregano and mince; place
inside the cavity. Place 2 each of the remaining sprigs of rosemary and
oregano (leaves still attached) in the cavity. Squeeze the lemons into the
cavity and stuff the halves into the cavity.

Sprinkle pepper and salt over the entire chicken. Truss the chicken drum
sticks, closing the cavity. Or with a wooden skewer, pinch the skin
together over the cavity and pierce through the skin and work your way up
the body "sewing" the skin together. Rub outside of chicken with the
chipotle puree.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and roast until the
thigh juices run clear when the skin is pierced with a knife, about 2
hours, basting with pan juices every 30 minutes, or until the thigh meat
registers 165 on an instant read thermometer.

Carve and serve.

Source:
"Chevys & Rio Bravo Fresh Mex Cook Book"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 748 Calories; 58g Fat (69.6%
calories from fat); 49g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 235mg
Cholesterol; 2082mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 6 1/2 Lean
Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 7 1/2 Fat.

NOTES : Puree the contents of a entire can of chipotle chile in
adobo sauce. Or you can make your own.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Zebra's new sweater

2010-03-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

So, Robert (my middle child) came to me and asked me if I would make zebra a sweater because he was cold. I asked him what color zebra's sweater needed to be and he said he zebra wants a gray one.

So I whipped up this little sweater for zebra and I think he's quite happy ;)

Lacy Vine Scarf

2010-03-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

Lacy Vine Scarf

So, I found this stitch pattern for a lacy vine stripe I cast on thinking this would make a really pretty scarf. But it appears that most of the decreases and increases were slanting wrong for my taste. they did not create the same look on both sides so I had to do some tweaking. and after all was said I really like the new look of it. I like my stuff to look the same on both sides when they are supposed to look the same.

I have made this available as a PDF file.

3-12-10

I finished the scarf and blocked it. My Dad was over and watched it being blocked. He agrees, blocking knit lace is like magic! He was really surprised at how large it was after being blocked compared to it's size when simply finished knitting.

Do people really fall for this junk?

2010-02-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

CONFIDENTIAL DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY PAYMENT

Dear Sir/Madam,
bla... bla bla bla

In this regards we are going to send your contract part payment of 7.6Million USD. To you via our accredited shipping company and I have secured every needed documents to cover the money. Note: The money is coming on 2 security proof boxes. The boxes are sealed with synthetic nylon seal and padded with machine.

Please you don't have to worry for anything, as the transaction is 100% risk free. The boxes are coming with a Diplomatic agent who will accompany the boxes to your house address. All you need to do now is to send to me your full house address and your identity such as, international Passport or driver’s license and your mobile phone and telephone number, The Diplomatic Attach? will travel with it. He will call you on his arrival to your country's airport. I hope you understand me.

bla bla bla bla
send us your...
1) YOUR FULL NAME.........................
2) PHONE AND FAX NUMBER................
3) ADDRESS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR fund..................
4) YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCPATION........................
5) A COPY OF YOUR IDENTITY............................

Congratulations.
Best Regards,
Lt General John Martins.
National Security Adviser to the President
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

and a follow up message...
After the Board of director's meeting held in Abuja, we have resolved in finding a solution to your problem. We have arranged your payment through our SWIFT PAYMENT CENTRE(UBA BANK).

This is part of an instruction/mandate passed by the Senate inrespect to overseas contract payment and debt re-scheduling. You will be provided with access to an online account in which your funds, Five million Unites States Dollars($5,000,000.00); will be deposited.

And if you are wondering I really am rich... last year I aparently won a Canadian lottery and had het another prince offer to send me $$.

Really, I mean how can PPL actually fall for this crap.

Time to update my spam filters

Cabled balaclava

2010-02-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

So I'm participating in the Ravelympics and representing Team PissDrunk. My 1st project was From Russia with love: Cabled Balaclava . It's a really pretty and easy pattern. I chose a wool blend yarn. I would suggest though that if you want to make it I did it on size 8 needles and it's a tad snug for my taste so adding a pattern repeat (18 stitches) is my recommendation.

At one point I dropped a stitch in a cable and didn't realize it till I went to twist the cable again and didn't have enough stitches on the needles. It was 8 rows down! I didn't want to rip 8 rows so I dropped the stitches in the damaged cable and worked my way back up with a crochet hook and sock DPN for aids. 1st time I tried to do a fix in this way before. It was a tad tedious at times but worth it.

I am going to make another Balaclava but have taken a break to make a felted lunch sack. Inspiration from Brown Bag. I'm not really following the pattern cuz it's so basic. I'm making mine much larger than the design so we will just have to see how it works out. I'll also add a handle.

Incase anyone is wondering and doesn't already know... on Ravelry I'm GsCraftsNthing

Here is where I fixed the dropped stitch. This made me a bit nervous but it worked fine.and the finished balaclava. The cables are a bit difficult to see on the charcoal yarn but you can click for a larger image if you like.

If it's not broke... DON'T FIX IT!

2010-01-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a little rant.

The boys got 2 sets of Lincoln Logs for Christmas. I got a large comerative all wood set and my parents got them a smaller set with plastic roofs. Lincoln Logs are a timeless classic right? I grew up with them, my Dad grew up with them and my daughter had a set when she was the age the boys are now.

So I just dumped all the sets together and didn't think much of it. Till today.

I was building with Robert and the logs just weren't fitting right. Upon closer inspection they are NOT THE SAME SIZE!!!! The notches are not spaced the same, the roof was completely different and COMPLETELY incompatible! And the diameter of the logs isn't even the same.

Now the beauty of classic toys is they ae classic! you can put 10 year old lego's on todays Lego's and you should be able to build with 10 year old Lincoln Logs along with new ones. So I had to sort out the LL's which, sadly, greatly reduced the size of their set.

Just thought i would also share a couple photos of the differences.

Old logs on the left. New logs on the right.

New log on the left and old log on the right. These are the foundation 1/2 logs and you can clearly see they are not the same size!

steam blocking acrylic

2010-01-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

1st, here is an excellent blog post about blocking acrylic.

You can block acrylic

And here is my post.

I figured I would do a more detailed post on blocking the acrylic scarves I have been making. I did another Branching Out using Caron Simply Soft in the Autumn Red color. I really like Caron SS for these as it's a lighter weight and so soft and has good drape. Fancier lace yarns and wool are also great for lacy items but you are not limited to them. They can be quite pricey and higher maintenance. And if I am to gift something to someone i want it to be easy for them to care for. I was speaking with my cousin and she agreed that if she were to receive something that took extra care she would be afraid to use it and I don't want PPL to be afraid to wear my stuff! Now I do in tend to do some fancy fiber lace but this works great till then. And let's face it, if you are on a budget acrylics are very appealing!

So here is the scarf on my dining room table straight off the needles. I did tie in my ends but that is it. It's rather scrunched up as these type of things tend to be.
Here's a closer view of the stitch pattern. Hard to see right?

Ahh, and my new toy! It works great! Conair fabric steamer There is not a brush on the head (fine for my uses) and there is not an off switch to keep the steam from flowing freely when not in use but other than that it's great!

I am using a little portable ironing board that I keep stashed next to a shelf. It has a pull out rack on the back which supports the steamer head. I don't iron (avoid it as much as possible) so this is the board I use.

As you work, you will want to stretch the fabric out with your hands. Steam and shape, steam and shape. Do not try to hold it while you are steaming or you may likely get burned!

And here I'm steaming away! Doing small segments at a time so it's easier to handle. don't move on till you are completely satisfied with the shaping of the area you are working on. Notice i'm not using pins? Don't really need them as the stam relaxes the fibers and it's easy to shape them by hand. I'm not actually touching the fiber with the steamer, I'm hovering just above it so as not to squash the yarn.

Here is a good view of a section that has been steamed against the next which has not.

And the finished scarf laying on the same table for sizing refrence. It gew quite a bit!

Closeer view of the stitches.

And as you see the steaming has not affected the drape in any way, infarct I think it made the drape better!

You can do this with a good steam iron as well. just make sure not to touch the iron to the fabric or it will melt it (acrylic is plastic after all).

Happy crafting and don't let your budget get in the way of creating beautiful things!

Cabeling without a cable needle

2010-01-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post how I cable w/o a cable needle. 1st, I should remind you I am left handed and knit as such (from left to right) so this may seem backwards if you are a right handed knitter. This method works best when knitting in the round. For this swatch, because I turned the work, I had to slip the cable stitches knit wise to reposition them and then put them back on my right needle. When knitting in the round the stitches are already in the right position for this method so this step is not necessary.

I began to figure out I knit differently while making this post. this was the post that opened my eyes to the fact that I am a combination knitter. This tutorial is done form the stitch orientation of the leading leg being in back so I am knitting through the back loop, but it doesn't twist my stitches.

This is a 6 stitch wide cable and equals a cable stitch wehre it directs you to hold the stitches to the front. For me these cables twist to the right due to the direction I knit.

Here I have my stitches in the right position and am ready to start the cable.

Here I have skipped the 1st 3 stitches, leaving them on the needle and knit into the 4th stitch back.

Leaving the 3 skiped stitches on the needle along with the one I just knit I knit into the next stitch.

Here I have knit my 3rd stitch. You see the 1st 3 skiped stitches on the needle still and the next 3 stitches are actually still on BOTH needles.
Now I pinch the 1st 3skiped stitches and pull out my right needle leaving the 3 stitches i just knit on my left needle.

holding my left needle to the back I put my right needle back into the life stitches I was pinching this is where the cable crosses.

Now I bring my needles back to the normal positions and knit into the stitches that were originally skipped and continue on as normal.

new scarf, new toy

2010-01-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

I just got my Conair steamer from Amazon $30 free shipping. I have been working on the Branching Out scarf pattern. If you are left handed you may find it usefull to swap the k2tog for ssk and such to have the proper leaning of the stitches. I am new and it is just easier for me to read the chart as is rather than try to remember which new stitch I should be using instead of what the chart reads. Also I use sssk instead of the sl-k2tog-psso for the mirror to k3tog. sssk is the exact opposite and gives it a smoother look. For those who don't know, as a left handed knitter (knit from the right needle onto the left) our stitches lean the opposite direction as the same stitches done right handed.

I think I"m going to love the steamer! it has alot of power and pumps out really hot steam. it was like magic watching the fabric relax and the design emerge. For acrylics you gotta use steam to reset the fabric so to say. wet blocking doesn't do much for acrylics as it's basically plastic.

Cherry leaf scarf

2010-01-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

So I finished my 1st lacy knit project. Cherry Leaf Scarf is a free pattern. I used Carron Simply Soft Eco and I steam blocked it ( as it's an acrylic). This was also the 1st time I grafted 2 pieces together And the 1st time I blocked knitting. I guess you can chalk it up to progress! Anyway, the pattern was fast and easy. I made a few mistakes on the1st half but plugged away and used it for a swatch so I could try some things and iron out some kinks and see how it looked doing it different ways. Then I started on the "real" thing when I felt good enough to do so.

my grafting, pretty good for a 1st try IMO.

Yarn babies

2010-01-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

If your SO ever wonders why your stash keeps growing....

Yarn get's lonely and an unattended stash of yarn set quietly in a corner or tub will reproduce. Acrylics don't always produce acrylics, and natural fibers don't always produce natural fibers. If acrylics and natural fibers are stored together and left alone some strange and fun yarn babies may soon pop up.

Now some yarn babies are rather simple and plain. Others may require more attention and be higher maintenance then their parents. Some may not like your trusty hook or needle and my cry for some new tools. It may help to try different things to find what they want and nurture them. Also some yarn babies may not want to be like their parents. They may require some new patterns you never thought of making. You may need to learn some new stitches to help build their character.

Stash growth is not limited to the creation of yarn babies. Some times old family members will return home when they hear there are new arrivals and you may find a reunion on your hands. This may come in the form of some vintage yarns.

Stashes also tend to migrate towards each other. You may find odds and ends making their way into your stash from the strangest places and different corners of the globe. Diversity is good, it breeds a healthy yarn environment. And don't be ashamed of those crazy family members that pop up in the form of novelty yarn. They may seem to wild and crazy, but fun fur and ribbon yarn deserve love to.

Be aware that your stash may also draw you to other stash owners. This should provide endless opportunities for yarn bonding amongst fiber and friend.

So love your yarn, and your yarn will love you back!

fingerless mittens/gloves

2010-01-02T20:47:00.000-08:00

12-6-10 update
After finishing the mitts I have realized that a slight change in the pattern would bennifit the end result. The main pattern on the mitts seem to be pulled twards the thumb. I believe to solve this I intend to do 2 knit stitches on either side of the cable and leave 2 knit stitches between the main pattern and the thumb. this should even it out. they are pretty either way though.

So I finished another knit hat with the brim and it inspired me to make some fingerless gloves.

Now I should make the disclaimer 1st before i go on with this...

I have never knitted a glove or mitten for that matter. I am still shaky on knit pattern reading and don't even think I could pretend to write one!

I did not have a pattern. I used the same yarn I used for my last hat which was 100% merino superwash.

so I cat on 36 stitches using size 5 needles and devided them evenly. I did about 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing and started in on the pattern.

Half of the stitches are all stockinette for the bottom so that leaves just the back of the hand for the pattern.

the "pattern" for the strips are 3 stitches in seed stitch, k1, p1, 6 stitch cable (6 rows betwen twists), p1, k1, 3 stitches seed stitch.

for the thumb gusset i made one pearl stitch (m1p) and left one row of the stockinette stitch to seperate the thumb seed stitching and the back of the hand seed stitching.

Every other round I did either m1 or m1p depending on what the seed pattern called for. I did this on both sides of the gusset area. one row of plain seed stitch, one row of increases untill the thumb hole was large enough. When it was large enough I bound off all the thumb stitches and went back to the original stitch pattern making sure I had 36 stitches on the needles when the thumb was done. I continued with the pattern in the round till it was long enough and finished with a 2x2 ribbing at the bottom.

Some assembly required...

2009-12-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

MY ASS!!!!

My parents got the boys a play kitchen for Christmas. Robert was so excited that as soon as he unwrapped it he suddenly wanted to go home and didn't want the rest of his presents. He even started to shove the box towards the door.

So I got it home and opened it up. There couldn't possibly be more assembly required. All the pieces were connected together with runners. So just to start putting it together I had to cut it all apart!

But needless to say at least 2 hours and 1 beer later It was done and is well loved! So all the effort was worth it. The boys really love their kitchen and playing with food (which they have a TON of!)

And lets not forget the best part.... THE BOX!

And all that turned into this.... And the final product!

Painting sugar cookies

2009-12-26T14:03:00.001-08:00

So we painted sugar cookies on Christmas eve. This is a fun thing for the kids (and adults)! It takes more time than other methods of decorating cookies but it's quite fun. You start with your favoriate rolled sugar cookie recipe and make a bunch of cookies! And for the "paint" I don't really have a recipe exactly but I take a medium bowl and fill it with powdered sugar. Add about 1-2 tsp vanilla extract and I like it to be a bit buttery so I add 1-2 tsp Whilton imitation butter flavoring. Gradually add milk and whisk to the desired consistency (paint). divide into small bowls and color the icing. get some cheap plastic craft paint brushes and let everyone have fun!

Here is the sugar cookie recipe I used:

Rolled sugar cookies

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Deserts
Holiday recipes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups butter -- softened
2 cups sugar
4 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in
eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and
chill dough for at least one hour (or over night).

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4
to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.

3. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6-8
minutes. Cool completely.

(click on any image to enlarge it)

Finished my last Christmas project!

2009-12-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Talk about waiting till the last minute! I was getting a bit worried. All the hours I have been working (6 day weeks on 3rd shift) has really slowed down my holliday projects. But i made both my nephews hats. My older nephew asked me to make him one and I figured I might as well make one for my younger one as well. So. here are the hats. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. The one on the right was the 1st one I did and I just finished the one on the left. It's only by chance that they ended up with stripes in the same spots.

Maple nut sticky buns

2009-12-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

A great recipe for breakfast. Make these the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator over night and take them out while the oven is preheating then just pop them in! This will be our yummy treat come Christmas morn.... and good any other time of year to!

Maple Nut Sticky Buns

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breakfast

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup nuts -- coarsely chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water -- warm
6 tablespoons butter -- softened
1 whole egg -- room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan and spread nuts and syrup evenly over the bottom.

2. Combine 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water, 2 tbs. butter and egg. Beat until smooth; gradually stir in remaining flour until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

3. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread with remaining butter. Mix brown sugar with Cinnamon; sprinkle over surface. Starting with a 12" end, roll up tightly.

4. Cut into 12 slices; place cut side down, evenly spaced in prepared pan (they will rise to fill the gaps). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until buns double. 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375º F. Uncover buns. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool for 1 minute. Loosen edges;
invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 280 Calories; 7g Fat (23.5%
calories from fat); 6g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg
Cholesterol; 191mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1
Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : You can place yeast doughs in a slightly warm oven to provide a dry, warm place to rise. To easily cut dough, use string by wrapping it around the dough and pulling it through.

Mix 'n' Match
For cinnamon rolls, omit syrup and nuts; glaze with a mixture of 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

It is best to judge rising by size and not be concerned by the time it takes.

Peanut Brittle

2009-12-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

So, here's the steps and recipe for the best peanut brittle ever (seriously, this is what many PPL say about it)! I have found out that you can get the silicone baking liners and use them and this eliminates the need to line and grease the pans.

Another thing about candy. Hard candy is dry candy. it's hard because you have cooked out the water. So, if you make hard candy on a humid day it will adsorb the moisture from the air and get tacky Which is why it's really popular in winter (the air is dry). This is also why it is important to make sure you keep it covered. And do not store softer candies along with hard candies. I did this once and my brittle got soft and tacky due to the moisture in the other candies.

Peanut Brittle

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Candies Holiday recipes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound peanuts -- raw

1. Heat oven to 200°F. Grease 2 cookie sheets, 15 ½ by 12 inches and keep in warm oven. This makes the brittle easier to spread. Grease long metal spatula, or the back of a metal spoon and set aside.

2. Mix baking soda, 1 tsp. water and the vanilla; set aside. Mix sugar, 1 cup. water and the corn syrup in 3-quart sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240°F on candy thermometer (soft ball stage).

3. Stir in butter and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, to 300°F (hard crack stage). Watch carefully so mixture does not burn. Immediately remove from heat. Quickly stir in baking soda mixture until light and foamy.

4. Pour half the candy mixture onto each cookie sheet and quickly spread with buttered spatula about ¼" thick. Cool completely, at least 1 hour. Break into pieces with butter knife handle and store in covered container.

Source:
"Betty Crocker cook book"
Yield:
"2 pounds"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 4978 Calories; 258g Fat (43.9%
calories from fat); 117g Protein; 625g Carbohydrate; 39g Dietary Fiber;
93mg Cholesterol; 2728mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 1/2 Grain(Starch); 15 Lean
Meat; 42 1/2 Fat; 37 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : It is easier to spread the hot brittle by pouring it out onto the sheets and then shaking and rocking to make it flow thin. You do not need a greased spatula or spoon this way. Click on any image if you like for an expanded view.
-----------------------------------------------

In this photo the sugar has just dissolved. Because brittle does not have the dairy in it like caramels, you do not need to tend to the pot as often because it will not boil up and over making a mess. Just keep an eye on the temperature.
Here it has reached 240ºF and is ready to have the peanuts and butter added. Make sure you have RAW peanuts because they will cook in the syrup for quite a while and roasted ones will simply burn. 1lb of raw peanuts equals just a bit over 2 cups. You can see the syrup has begun to yellow and the bubbles are a bit thicker. In the cup with the small spatula is my vanilla, water, baking soda mix for later.
Here i have added the peanuts and butter. This will greatly cool down the syrup and it can be a bit stiff to stir as it gets back up to temp. Once the peanuts are in it you will want to keep it moving. More so after they start to cook and darken so they cook evenly. I only use real butter. When it comes to candy, there are so few ingredients I don't dare cut corners!
Here it has reached 300ºF. At this point you will want to work fast! You can see how brown/dark the brittle has gotten and the peanuts are also quite dark. This is good! And by this time your house will be filled with the wonderful smell of roasted peanuts.
Remove it form the heat and take out the thermometer (you will be siring very fast and dumping out the syrup). Pour in your vanilla (again, I only use real vanilla extract), water and baking soda mixture and mix fast and hard. It will froth up as you see in this image. It's quite a neat process. This is how the brittle gets light, bubbly and crunchy. Without the baking soda it would just be a hard lolly pop type substance w/peanuts in it.
As soon as it is all evenly mixed quickly pour it out onto your pans and spread. Make sure you are pouring it onto a flexible surface (don't use pyres or stoneware for example). Candy makers use marble slabs and the candy cools on contact. When it is cooled and done break up and store.

This brittle is light and crunchy with rich flavors. IT does not tack to your teeth or hurt to bite it.
Cleanup is easy! This is just hardened sugar. So, no matter how bad your mess is, just soak in water and give it a bit of time and it will be easy to wash your pans.

The last of the tree trimmings!

2009-12-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have received what i think are the last of the decorations to add to the tree this year. for our Holiday Craft Exchange on the HGTV knitting and crochet message boards I received this really cute Christmas doll and the large colorful ornament stars on the tree which are made of yarn. and this year my youngest sons class made ornaments. The teacher took photos of the kids at one of their field trips and some how had them printed on clear plastic. then she cut them and tucked them inside clear glass globes and the kids added glitter. It's so pretty! It's hard to see the picture inside due to it being in the globe and clear it self but I did get it to show up.

I have recieved what i think are the last of the decorations to add to the tree this year. for our Holiday Craft Exchange on hte HGTV message boards I recieved this really cute christmas doll and the large colorful ornament stars on the tree which are made of yarn. and this year my youngest sons class made ornaments. The teacher took photos of the kids at one of their field trips and some how had them printed on clear plastic. then she cut them and tucked them inside clear glass globes and the kids added glitter. It's so pretty! It's hard to see the picture inside due to it being in the globe and clear it self but I did get it to show up.

Girl Scouts at the Griffins - hockey

2009-12-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

Last night we took the Girl Scouts out to the arena fora Griffins game. We had 9 girls and our troop filled one row. Because some of the girls wore their badge vests & sashes the troup got large posters for Griffins Hockey. They also had a autograph session with one of the warewolfs from Twilight (Alex). That was a bit of a disappointment as they were allowing some to pose with him but kinda shoved our girls through. But the girls got their autographs. Rachel & Jessica cought T-shirts that were being thown into the crowd. We left at 5:45pm and got home just before 11pm. THAT was a long night! I had to work the night before as well so needless to say when I got home I passed out! Rachel spend the night here w/Anja after the game.

But here's our troop

Michael's hat

2009-12-13T06:24:00.001-08:00

I made another one of these knit beanie hats. The pattern is Struan By: Ysolda you can find it further down the page in the link. It's a really fun hat to knit and easy to make any size you like. This one is an XS hat for my son. It a top down knit and starts with 5 cast on stitches. Each stitch you add to the cast on it creates one pattern repeat of cables & seed stitch. The brim is a cut piece of plastic canvas. The hat is very warm. You knit the pattern to the top of the ears then you knit 4 inches of the edging and fold it under, tuck in the brim and stitch it up so there is an extra thick band around the ears.

Winter recipes

2009-12-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

Here are 2 fun winter recipes.

Snow Ice cream

Get about 1 gallon fresh fallen snow. You will want to wait till the snow is deep enough to be sure to get CLEAN snow! and the fluffy stuff works best, don't want wet snow.

Add about 1 cup white sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
and about 2 cups (give or take) of milk

The richer the dairy product, the creamier the ice cream.

Mix the snow, vanilla & sugar and gradually add the dairy till you reach the consistency you prefer and enjoy! Kids love to make this!

Snow slushies
Get fresh fallen snow. Mix Kool-Aid into a really concentrated mixture. Works best if the mixture is chilled so it doesn't instantly melt the snow. Pour over a cup of snow and enjoy!

My large, family sized hot cocoa mix

This is another really easy recipe and great to have on hand.

In a salable container. Mine is 4.5 qt/4.3L large. I dump in an 8 oz container of regular cocoa powder (buy using this size container you do not need to measure the ingredients).
1 box (makes 8 quarts size) powdered (dry) milk
then fill the rest with sugar.

I don't like to mix it in my container as it's tall so i dump the ingredients in the container then put them in a big bowl for mixing and then back in the container when done. I use generous 1/3 cup scoops per mug. The kids love having it on hand during the winters. And it's good in coffee to!

Oh, the weather out side is frightful...

2009-12-10T06:33:00.001-08:00

So they have been talking about nothing but this HUGE storm we are supposed to be having. IT was supposed to hit yesterday. So yesterday morning we had a thunder storm which turned all our existing snow to slush, that was a MESS! But the blizzard never came. we got a flurry instead. only a couple inches. It still made the roads slick though because of all the rain & slush that was on them. So last night it started to snow again. All the schools are closed AGAIN so the kids are home. The snow is coming down fairly well but still not the blizzard they promised. Right now it's about 16ºF but the wind chill is a -3º so it's pretty chilly. I decided to snap some photos while I was out shoveling this AM for the heck of it... No, I wasn't shoveling for the heck of it, just taking photos for the heck of it ;) .

So here are photos of our 1st snow "storm" here in West Michigan.

I am glad though that we didn't get the storm they predicted as they were saying we were going to have a thunder storm followed by sleet and ice and then blizzard like conditions. That would have knocked down many a tree and probably cut power to a lot of homes (which happens every year). I do think though that the ice is so pretty on the trees, just seriously dangerous as you can hear cracking limbs all around when we have ice storms.

AND THE WINNER IS.....

2009-12-08T10:06:00.000-08:00

with 6 people who entered I left it up to the roll of a dice. I rolled a 2 and Jennifer was the 2nd person to reply to my post. So the winner is...

Jennifer!

And seeming how it appears you are in Italy I will need your address the exact way you would write it on the envelope so I can copy and paste it onto my label.

you can e-mail me through my profile here or on ravelry.

Creating an angle

2009-12-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

I have been making another pineapple lace angle. The pattern can be purchased at Crochet Memories. The pattern is very well written (as all of her patterns are). My only suggestion is instead of trying to crochet into the chain stitch just crochet into the space, it's easier.

You can click on any image to get a large detailed view.

So here are the stages. 1st 2 photos of the pieces simply off the hook and having nothing done to them.

this is my drying station if you will. I cut a paperboard cone and taped it on top of my large Pyrex bowl. Then wrapped another cardboard box with a plastic bag (turned inside out) for the flat pieces. The 1st time I did this I didn't pay any attention to which side of the bag was out. The ink didn't bleed onto the project buy why take any chances.
I am short on pins so I soaked the wings in Elmer's glue all - all purpose glue (slightly diluted with water) and pinned the wings. I took my blow dryer and held it on the wings so it would dry faster and I could use the pins for the halo.

Here is the angle body drying. There is a white pipe cleaner thorugh the arms for shaping and to help hold the trimmings when she is done.

12-7

She is finished! I used the glue nearly full strength so she is very hard! But this is going to someone else so she has to be more durable. The rose is just slipped into the "hands" and tied with ribbon. The ribbon is tied and not glued. I figure this will allow the owner to change the look if they desire to. Or replace the rose/ribbons if they fade.

Santa and kids

2009-12-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up all the presents were from Santa. this is how my folks did it so when I had kids automatically this was also the way I did it. Tagged all the gifts from Santa. Well Anja is now 12 and we have a new way to do it. One gift per child is from Santa.

When Anja was little she loved the Christmas magic and we have never been over spenders but i tagged all the gifts as from Santa. The problem with this that I suddenly noticed is that it made her sad because she believed in Santa so she thought that I/we didn't get her anything cuz it was all from Santa. And not wanting to spoil the magic for her I couldn't say "but sweety we got you these gifts". She has never been a selfish child and we never spoiled her with a ton of gifts. But tagging it all from Santa made her feel like we didn't bother to get her anything.

So now there is a 6.5 year difference between her and my oldest boy. Our boys will be 4&6 Come January so we have the ability to switch it up with the boys to save them the feeling that "Mom & Dad didn't get us anything" one gift is tagged from Santa and the others (which will only be a few more each) will be from us.

We do focus on family and togetherness for the season and base most of our Christmas experience around building memories that will last a life time. But i want them to experience the "magic" also.

So, I'm just telling this story so that if anyone was also raised this way and has young children that "From Santa" is nice and the magic of the season is fun, but if over done it can leave the children we love most feeling sort of forgotten.

Just offering another perspective that I wish someone had told me before hand.

Trimming the tree

2009-12-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

So the tree is up. The decorations are on, the popcorn is popped and strung. Here are some photos of the trimming. As you see our decorations are a mixture of collected ornaments throuhg the year. Some made by me others by the kids and other family members. And of course the angel was made by me.

My new tatted dragon

2009-12-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

12-5
Finished the dragon. These are fun to tatt!

So I'm making another dragon. This one is for a friend to give as a Christmas gift. I only need to make the other wing and it will be done. I took the tips from tatting chick about climbing out of a round with 2 colors and applied it to my dragon. i think it looks really cool (but I may be a bitbias). I also have had a revelation. I figured a way to hide my begining tails but not my end till today. I figure if I end on a ring I can do it as a SSSR then just snip the tail close to the work when it's all done and no weaving needed the end is locked under the stitches!

Crafting for charity/good will

2009-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

First thing you should check your local hospitals and shelters and see what you can donate locally. Many hospitals take donations which they give out for diffrent things. One time my older son was in for a nasty cut on his head and they gave him a mini granny square afghan to help him feel better. Cancer wards can greatly use chemo caps. Infant neo/natal can use hats and small wraps for the unfortunate circumstances that a baby is still born so they can present the baby in something better than a scratchy hospital blanket.

Here are some other charities to consider...

Head Huggers (USA)a site for making and donating chemo caps with patterns
Knit one Save one save the children campaign to provide hats to newborns in impoverished areas
Knitted helmet liner (USA) helmet liners for the troops in cold climates.
Project Linus (USA) provide blankets to ill, traumatized or otherwise needy children
Warming Families (USA & Canada)

In need of shawls that don't have points made form acrylic. Also throws
GRAND RAPIDS HOME FOR VETERANS
3000 MONROE AVENUE NW
GRAND RAPIDS, MI 49550

pattern sites
chemo caps

Great charity patterns
The convertible (C) a great hat for charity and shelters as it's so multi useful.

*If anyone has any charity you would like to add let me know and include what country (if any) it is in/for. I will be building this as a ongoing thing.

Crochet kitchen set give away

2009-12-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out my corner where my rocker and crochet/knitting stuff is and I found this set tucked away all tied w/a bow. I have already given away the sets I intended to and though this would be a nice one to give away to someone on my blog. It is 100% cotton and includes all that you see here. I have 2 of these dish mats for my self that I LOVE to use. Lay it on your counter and stack your wet dishes on them in place of a regular towel. It allows air to circulate and of course the cotton yarn is much more absorbent than a standard terry towel.

This is open to all countries and if you are interested just reply to this post and tell me what you like best about this time of year. Next Tuesday (12-8-09) I will pick someone at random and let you know who gets the set.

Happy Holidays!

*you can click on the images for a closer view

3 Tunisian crochet dish cloths
1 dish mat
1 pot holder
1 handle cover

My little chefs

2009-11-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

So for dinner we are having turkey noodle soup with home made noodles of course. My kids really like to help me cook and I got a few photos of them doing so. The turkey is in the pot boiling with the veggie scraps for flavor. I will strain it and return the broth to the pot along w/the meat I pick from the bone. I have a basic egg noodle recipe that I make. I do not have a past a maker so they are done by hand. Robert cut the noodles with sewing thread. Michael handed the noodles to Anja who hung them to dry. You can find the recipe in my very 1st blog post Drying home made noodles along with how I created my "drying station"

Hidden fastening off - crochet

2009-11-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

Often times I just slip stitch but there are times when I want the edge to look seamless and slip stitch join just doesn't get that. I have come up with this method. This is demonstrated on my craft exchange item (but it's to close to tell what I'm making so HA!). You can click on any image for a larger view.

1st a reminder that I am left handed.

When you finish your last stitch do not do a slip stitch join. Break/cut your yarn and pull the end through your last stitch leaving it unattached to the beginning.

Thread the yarn onto a darning needle. You can use a hook also. Now stitch through the same place where you would do a slip stitch join as shown.
Now bring the yarn down through where your yarn came from on the last stitch through as shown here.
When you pull this tight to match the tension in the project the stitch is now "lost" on the top edge. Looks exactly like the rest of the stitches.
Now I like to run my needle back under the side side of the beginning chain up. This creates the bottom hump that you get when you do a normal chain.
Weave your end n as you would normally do per your preferred method.

smoking a turkey

2009-11-24T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know if anyone is interested but I'm smoking my turkey today for our potluck at work and decided to blog about it.

And 1st off. The recipe! This is an incredible recipe! This is how it is written in my book. I do not use the mop or wrap it in cheese cloth. Moping is not practical in my style of smoker as to much heat is lost when opening the lid.

Worth-the-Wait Turkey

Recipe By :Cheryl and Bill Jamison
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Chicken & Poultry Smoking & Grilling

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------

Injection Liquid
1/2 cup garlic flavored oil
4 ounces beer
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 whole turkey -- 10-11 pound

Turkey Paste
4 cloves garlic -- peeled
1 tablespoon black peppercorn -- coarsely ground
1 tablespoon coarse salt -- kosher or sea salt
1 pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon garlic flavored oil

Turkey Mop (optional)
2 cups stock -- turkey or chicken
8 ounces beer
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. The night before you plan to BBQ, combine the injection liquid
ingredients in a small bowl. With a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture
deep into the turkey in a half-dozen places, moving the needle around in
each spot to shoot the liquid in several directions. Inject the greatest
amount into the breast.

2. With a motor and pestle or in a mini-food processor, combine the paste
ingredients, mashing the garlic with the pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add
the oil to form a thick paste. Massage the turkey with the paste inside
and out, working it as far as possible under the skin without tearing the
skin. Place the turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate it over night.

3. Before you begin to BBQ, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and
let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.

4. Prepare the smoker for BBQ, bringing the temperature to 200-220
degrees.

5. Cut a 4-foot to 5-foot length of cheesecloth and dampen it thoroughly
with water. Wrap the bird in the cheesecloth and tie the ends.

6. Transfer the turkey to the smoker, breast side down (you should be able
to feel through the cheesecloth), and cook for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours per
pound, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Wet the
cheesecloth down with more water every 30 minutes in a wood burning pit or
as appropriate for your style of smoker.

7. After about 6 hours, remove the cheesecloth, snipping it with scissors
if necessary, and discard it. When the cheesecloth is removed, baste the
turkey for the remainder of it's cooking time, if possible, in your smoker
(basting is not really necessary in a vertical, bullet, smoker). If you
plan to baste, combine the mop ingredients with 1 cup water in a saucepan
and warm the mixture over low heat, Mop every 30 minutes in a wood burning
pit or as appropriate for your style of smoker.

8. When the turkey is done, remove it from the smoker and allow it to sit
for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with Carole classic BBQ sauce or
Strutting sauce if you wish.

Description:
"The name says it all!"
Source:
"Smoke & Spice... cooking with smoke, the REAL way to BARBECUE"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 1172 Calories; 65g Fat (52.1%
calories from fat); 131g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 436mg
Cholesterol; 1125mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 18 Lean Meat; 0
Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat.

You can click on any image for a larger photo.

These are the ingredients. I have Molson because that is what we drink. The white bowl is my mortar and pestle, you can use a processor instead but I like the hands on approach. I use kosher salt.

ingredients for the paste
And after it's been all mashed up and the marinade is ready to inject.

In step 2 it says to massage it under the skin this means UNDER THE SKIN! This is the BEST way to rub flavoring on your poultry as it really flavors the meat and is taped by the skin. you can work it quite far and even into the drum sticks if you are careful. This step may seem gross but it's well worth it!

I normallly use the charcoal on the right but they ony had the brand on the left. Aparently real brikets
I soak my wood chips and then place them in a foil packet as you see here to put on the coals. I have a generous hand full of wood in this packet. Then poke holes in the packet. Doing it this way concentrates the smoke and creates more smoke. The plain dry chips would go to waste if not soaked and put in a packet. You can buy reusable chip boxes but this is what I got for now. i change out packets about 1x an hour. Wood is an ingredient. And like any ingredient you can use to much.
And it's ready to smoke. The charcoal is ready. the water pan is full and the cover is about to go on. The metal cord you see is a digital thermometer. I can leave the probe in the bird in the grill and run the cord to the reader outside. This allows me to monitor the internal temp of the bird w/o having to open the lid to loose valuable heat, which greatly prolongs cooking time and it already takes a long time to cook! notice the bird is breast down? This holds the juices inside against the thickest part of the meat creating a very juicy white meat but this also make the bird look lopsided when done. But it's about the taste not the appearance!
And were smokin'!
the white thing on the ground is my thermometer reader. The pan underneath is to catch ashes. the charcoal pan originally was a bowl but I had Patrick drill some holes in the bottom so I can get the ashes out as smoking takes so long the pan can easily fill up making it difficult to keep the new coals going as you add them. The thermometer sticking out the lid is a instant read meat thermometer. I prop it in the lid to monitor the internal temp of the smoker. the thermometer that came with it only reads in ranges and this give me an accurate temp. You can also prop one in a vent hole if your smoker/grill has one. Ideal grill temp is about 200.

And a photo of the bird finished is to come. A finished smoked bird will look very dark from the smoke, almost burned. This bird is for a potluck at work so what I will be doing is cooking it nearly done and then finishing it in an electric roaster. I don't want to over cook it!

*I don't have a photo. I was only able to partially smoke the turkey and had to finish it in a roaster because I had to take my daughter to the med center and the smoker got to cool and I was not able to finish it in the smoker. IT was still good but the smoke just didn't get to penetrate it like I would have liked and the white meat got a little dry because it was roasted. Non the less, it was nearly picked clean!

Just a neat photo

2009-11-14T13:04:00.001-08:00

Thought this would be kinda a neat photo. The seeds have sence been baked.. and are gone! MMMMM I do love pumpkin seeds!

simple knit beanie

2009-11-12T09:11:00.001-08:00

Simple Knit Beanie

This is a very easy to knit hat. This is a small hat for my older son Robert (who is at school so it's modeled by his brother Michael). this is knit from the bottom up.
For this hat I cast on60 stitches and it is knit in the round on 2 sets of size 8 circular needles. Using worsted weight yarn.

After casting on and joining to knit in the round I work about 1 inch of 1x1 ribbing. The body is a simple k9, p1 repeat till the body of the hat is long enough.

The crown:
Row 1: on each panel purl the purls and ssk the 1st 2 stitches of the knit sections.

Row 2: On each panel purl the purls and k2tog the last 2 stitches of the knit sections.

Continue these 2 rows till the crown is down to just 1, and 1p per section and (12 stitches for a 6 section hat) and cut the yarn, run thorough renaming live stitches to remove them from the needles and cinch the opening closed, secure and weave in ends.

This is an easy hat to make for the whole family. For an adult cast on extra stitches in multiples of 10 to fit a larger circumference. When deciding weather it's long enough, allow a bit of extra length to allow for a bit of pulling in that happens as you finish the crown. I have made this hat pattern for my Father and my 20 year old nephew asked for one of these hats.

This pattern is available as a PDF file

Fall colors of Michigan

2009-11-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

Thought I would share what fall looks like in our corner of the world. These were actually taken by my uncle while everyone was in town for my Grandma's 90th b-day. They are different photos from around the small town she lives in. And also along the river walk. A lot of cities here are converting old rail ways into community walking/biking trails and also the old bridges along those rails. As a kid we used to walk the tracks but now they are nice and paved and just a really tranquil place to relax and take in some nature! These were taken in about the center of Michigan's lower peninsula (or the mitten as we refer to it due to the shape of our state).

click on any image for a larger view.

Halloween 09

2009-11-01T11:15:00.001-08:00

So these are my halloween 2009 photos! I didn't get to put as much into it as I normally do. My pumpkin didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped. it's suposed to be Jack from "nightmare before christmas" and the other ones are the kids pumpkins. Michaels's is crying (anja did that one) and Robert's has the goofy mouth.

I somewhat decked out the porch for the cause. now to get all that cotton down! I'm going to see if I can get a better photo of my pumpkin tonight. last night was really windy and my candles kept blowing out.

The Piglet costume is one I made my self w/o a pattern several years ago for Anja.

My favoriate Halloween photo

2009-10-30T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is a old photo. In fact Robert is wearing this same Tigger costume this year and Anja is 12 now. But her cousin Brad is in the front

Grandma's party cake

2009-10-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

So I did the cake for Grandma's birthday party (she is 90). And it was quite an ordeal. I had to bake it 2 (and nearly 3) times! the 1st time the cake cracked on the vanilla side (grandma wanted it 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla) but it still formed a rectangle so I was considering frosting it as was. but Michael decided to eat the vanilla portion from the inside out! So I went and baked ANOTHER cake. cut the top off to level it and had the top pieces in a bowl. I turned the cake out onto the cake board and went to use the restroom. When I got back Michael was trying to eat the chocolate part of the cake! I wanted to die.

I ended up using the chocolate portion of the 1st cake to patch what was gone from the 2nd cake.

But everyone was happy. i wanted to do more with the cake but ran out of time between making the apple pie toppings and getting ready for Grandma's party and everything else going on right now. I just decorated it rather simply with a butter creme frosting of course.

You can click on the picture for a larger image but the cake reads "Celebrating a life well lived"

I got this nifty little contraption that you slip your letters into and then press them into the cake so you can use the imprint as a outline for piping in your frosting. Makes neat, straight letter.

The 2nd photo is my Grandma (on the left). Doing really well for 90!

1100 apple pies

2009-10-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

I was not able to assemble the pies because i had my grandmothers 90th birthday to go to today but I did partake in the topping assembly process. We did not have as many volunteers this year because the day they had reserved for pie making was also the same day they had a football game and the band members had to be at the game. Also the next day was a volley ball game so they had to move the pie assembly to the elementary school. But here are 2 shots of the topping making going on. The 1st one is of my DD. In the background are the 2 stand mixers I brought (I borrow my step mom's mixer for the cause).