Things Are Heating Up!

Are any of you experiencing a heat wave like we are? Not only is it hot, but it's sticky too! Here's a look at the temperature at our house yesterday. Remember, this is on our shaded patio with the ceiling fans running there. Oh, it's supposed to get up to 105 today!

How do you beat the heat? I make sure there are lots of cool drinks such as caffeine free sodas, ice tea and water to keep us hydrated. We stay inside and avoid swimming during the "heat of the day." We do take a dip in the cool times of the day to avoid sunburn--don't forget sunscreen too.

Keep cool my friends and have a wonderful weekend!

More Inside-Outside Thermometers

You Have a Chance to Win "Unexpected Afghans" Book

The Crochet Dude is having a giveaway! Go to this page and enter for your chance to win Robyn Chacula's new book (digital copy) Unexpected Afghans. Good luck!

Recycled Silk Yarn Giveaway!

All Free Crochet Afghan Patterns is having a giveaway for Lux Adventure Collection Recycled Yarn. It is made of 100% mulberry silk from recycled silk saris. Go ahead and get your entry in quick. I hope that someone I know wins it! Good luck and let me know if you win.

Faux Tie Dye Using Permanent Markers

When Leslie spent a few days with us last week, I wanted to make something with her that she would enjoy and would use too. Unfortunately for me, she's not interested in learning to crochet.  I found many online postings about tie-dying with sharpie markers. So, off to the store we went for an assortment of sharpie markers and a plain-white, 100% cotton t-shirt. The plain, adult sized t-shirts were rather pricey at Michaels so we went to Burkes Outlet and found a very nice one (Cherokee brand) for $4.99. Here's a couple pictures showing the artist and her creation:

Leslie wasn't into making "symmetrical" designs but that's okay too.

Here she is modeling her new shirt:

Papaw saw us having fun doing this and he brought out an old t-shirt of his to have us make designs on:

A couple sites we looked at before making these were:

• http://blog.sharpie.com/2008/11/sharpie-to-tie-dye-for/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V640P6rm1I

You can get a nice set of sharpies here:

Any permanent marker would probably work if you don't want to use sharpies.

Twinkie Chan Is Having a Giveaway!

Twinkie Chan is having a giveaway on her blog. Three people will win an iphone 4 cover, a notebook and a 20% discount at her etsy shop. Go here to enter! You may remember that I made a pizza scarf from one of her patterns:

Good luck!

Kindle version of her book:

Print version of her book:

Afghans--1 Down and 1 to Go!

A dear friend commissioned me to make 2 afghans. She sent me the yarn (way too much yarn) and has already paid me by gifting me with  a new Kitchen-aid mixer. She is such a kind person and a friend since we were in  junior high  (aka middle school ) back in the late 1960s. We had an afghan planning meeting via land line and Internet and we decided to use the Hills and Plateaus Throw pattern from Red Heart. We did decide to make it a bit longer than the pattern called for so that there would be plenty of head-to-toe length to snuggle with on cold evenings. Here is the completed afghan and a closeup view of the pattern:

I think the black row gives a 3D look. This afghan is going to a 49ers fan.

Last night, I started the 2nd afghan. This one is for a Vikings fan. Not much done yet but you can see the bold colors.

We decided to make purple the main color and I think that was a good idea.

I need to make something special to gift this friend with. She only wears natural fibers so maybe a wool scarf might work. I think I may have enough blue yarn in my stash or maybe I'll splurge on some bamboo yarn. I do believe I have time to figure something out.

I'm still not caught up showing you what I want to show but that's okay because I have something to write about for another few days. :)

Y'all have a great week!

A Little Bit Different Sort of Crochet Project

I know I have been more or less absent from here lately and I'm sorry about that. I'm behind on the CAL to make my chi's hats, posting Monday pattern link and the photo a day for June. Life has just gotten in the way.

I'm frogging a blankie I made for Opi and Nellie Belle a few years ago out of magic ball (left over) yarn. The stitches were too big and their little paws got tangled up.  Out of the salvaged yarn, I am spool knitting a super-thick cord and crocheting it with an "S" hook into a round comfy  mat for them to have on the chilly floor. This is a project to work on when I'm out on the patio. I must say this is a very time consuming thing to make.

I have some more things to share with you but that's for another time. I'm still trying to catch up on my blog reading.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Today this spool knitting book is free on Amazon. Be sure to check the price at checkout to ensure  that it is still free.

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Spool Knitting Goodies

A Chance to Win Bernat Mosaic Yarn

Bernat is sponsoring a giveaway of 3 skeins of Bernat Mosaic Yarn. Go to this All Free Crochet page to get your entries. Good luck!

You Can *Win* Some Great Stuff!

Over at Not Your Average Crochet you can enter the giveaway for 5 small skeins of yarn, 3 pretty hooks and some cute buttons. Go here and get your entry in.

Catching Up With Photo of the Day AGAIN!

What can I say, I'm a procrastinator and a forgetter. So here are the pictures for 2 days, 1 late and the other on time (believe it or not). Yesterday's topic was "Art." This piece of artwork was made by my baby boy who is now 32. I have carted this around from our military family days in Hawaii, to Oklahoma, to California, to Illinois and finally to hubby's retirement in Kentucky. I'm not the kind of mum who saves all her children's artwork just a few select pieces that really touch me in their childlike simplicity and in this case love.

Today's subject matter is "Time" and what says that more simply than a clock and this one gives you a little look at the weather too. Guess this picture is a bit boring but then I don't get out much because I'm a Hermit and yes, that capital H is on purpose. :-)

Hope Y'all are having a wonderful day. Hugs...

Sunshine Award!

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Homeschooljewelrymom of Stitches, Scraps and Sparkles in the Sun gave me this award. Here's the rules of the award:

Sunshine Award Rules:
1. Thank the blogger who nominated you - done.
2. Answer the 10 questions on your favorite things.
3. Nominate ten blogs to receive the Sunshine Award and let them know they've been nominated.


Favorite animal: chihuahua
Favorite number: 57 because that's the year I was born
Favorite non alcoholic drink: coffee--straight up black and hot
Facebook or Twitter: both but only go to Facebook although I sometimes tweet things that I find intereesting
My passion: reading,crocheting and Internet
Getting or giving: Giving 
Favorite pattern: Slippers-- http://www.knitting-crochet.com/crochet/slisoc.html
Favorite day of the week: Tuesday because that's the day older son comes over to do laundry
Favorite flower: tie between roses and carnations
Favorite country: USA


Now for the hard part (and this is why I stopped accepting awards for a while) and that's picking 10 blogs to pass this award on to. I want to be fair but I read so many blogs that it is very difficult to pick only 10. I'm not going to duplicate awards to those who received one from the person who gave it to me because we want to share the wealth right? Believe me, I want to give this award to some of those bloggers. Anyway, here goes...

1. To Miss Leslie's Place this is to my great granddaughter of my heart because she's special. She hasn't posted lately so maybe this will get her back in the swing of things!
2. My Secret Crochet Blog
3. Posh Pooch
4. Crocheting and Life in General
5. Petunia Pill
6. Handmade at Home
7. Homestead Survival this blog is new to me but it is chock full of interesting things to make/do
8. Sunflowerz Crochet 
9. Sandy Sewz 
10. The Crochet Way good place to show off your creations

This took quite a while. I'll be sending out notices to winners a bit later today. 

Until later...

I'm Falling Behind on My Photo of the Day Challenge! Oh NO!

Catching-up time

June 10th--

"Best Bit of Your Weekend"  = Having the time to appreciate nature's beauty.

June 11th--

"Door" = New deadbolt on Sunday means a new paint job needed on Monday.

June 12--

"From a Low Angle" = Animal habitat in tree

I'm caught up for now and I hope to stay that way. I really need to force myself to get out of the house with my camera in hand and get some variety in my surroundings. I am realizing by taking these pictures how limited my exposure to new/different things is.

If you're interested in how this picture of the day thing works, go here.

This 'n That...

As you can see, I did a bit of remodeling here. I get bored pretty quick with the same look and then I remodel every now and then.

I'm still working on the afghan. it's between 2/3rds and 3/4ths done. I'll hold off on pictures for a while since I've shown status updates on it a few times already.

I'm doing the CAL for a dog hat. Actually I'm doing it twice so both Opi and Nellie Belle each get one--can't have one getting jealous so have to treat them the same. I was surprised that there is a 2" difference in their head circumferences. Opi was a little-bitty thing until he chunked out and his body is shorter (top to bottom and front to back) when you compare him to Nellie Belle.  Since this is a small item, today's status doesn't show much.

The variegated one is for Nellie Belle and the off-white is for Opi.

My dumb question for the day:  "Why when you buy things for outdoor use, does the manufacturer include parts such as screws, nuts and/or bolts, that are made of materials that will rust when exposed to the elements?" Example is this solar light cap on the porch. It's a bit hard to see in this picture but the screw that mounts it is all rusted and we just installed it this spring.

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (11 June 2012)

Do you ever have the urge to crochet a matching jacket for you and your furry pooch? Now you can. Today's link to a free pattern will show you how you and your pooch can wear matching, ripple crocheted sweaters. Go here and get hooking quick!

Have fun!

I'm Doing a CAL--Making Something for My Babies :)

The other day, I told you about an upcoming CAL to crochet summer hats for your K9 children. Sara of Posh Pooch Designs has put the day 1 instructions out. Today is pretty simple and all you'll need is your measuring tape. My Opi cooperated for this and his little head is 10". I tried to chase Nellie Belle down but she's not cooperating so I'll have to wait until later when she's less suspicious of me. I think I'm going to enjoy this CAL. I'm trying to figure out what embellishments to use on these hats though. I'll figure something out. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's creations.

Here's a couple pictures of my "kids."

Nellie Belle

Opi

My "kids" aren't going to be happy with me after today. Starting tomorrow, they're going on a diet of allergen-free dog food. They both get allergies, Opi pretty bad sometimes, so we're taking them off all goodies and the special Sunday dinners (canned food) and after 6 weeks, we'll reintroduce things one at a time to see if we can figure out what triggers the allergies. They're not going to like it...

Interesting Site

photo/design from here

I've wanted to learn how to crochet off of charts for some time now. I was going to take an online class but it's $75 and I just can't justify spending the money on myself right now. This site was mentioned in one of the crochet groups I follow on Facebook and I thought I would share it with you. The charts are for cross-stitch but you can also use them for crochet too. There is also the ability to take your own picture and make a chart for it too. Check it out. I'm hoping to see some examples of this type of crocheting in the future. Have a fun weekend folks!

Photo a Day for June 9th

Today's topic for photo-a-day in June is "Your View Today." I love my backyard, sometimes it's like a garden/wildlife preserve. Today, I wasn't able to get a snap of  the wildlife with the exception of a robin in a tree. I ended up making my photo a collage of some of the spots in my backyard--flowers, chives starting to sprout in a pot, garden and the robin I've already mentioned. I just noticed the "orbs" in my garden picture--does that mean there are spirits floating around my veggies?? lol :)

Have a great weekend folks!

Found a Crochet-A-Long for the Dogs!

Sara over at Posh Pooch Designs is having a crochet-a-long. Participants will receive the instructions for crocheting a cute hat for their canine baby via email. After crocheting the hat, you should post pictures of it on Sara's Facebook page. It sounds like great fun so I thought I'd let you know about it too.  Here's the link for it.

Whoo Hoo--More Yarn Up for Grabs!!!

Over at Stitches, Scraps and Sparkles in the Sun there is a yarn giveaway. This is a great blog and you might want to check it out. Homeschooljewelrymom is giving away some Sugar 'n Cream 100% cotton yarn (your choice of color) or two skeins of Bernat Shakerspun 100% wool yarn.


Good luck!

Photo a Day for June 8th

Today's photo subject matter is 6:00.

Here's an older picture and it represents what the "babies" want about 6 PM--a snack! Here Opi is chowing down on a pig ear. When we have our supper, either we give the "babies" something to snack on or we have to listen to Opi cry and see Nellie Belle's sad eyes staring at us. The spoiled little ones sure have us figured out.

Here's some more information on the Photo of the Day for June if you're interested.

Chance to Get some Silk Sari Ribbon Yarn fer 'Nuthin!

Fair Trade Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon Yarn
Gifted By: Darn Good Yarn
Reviewed By: Jeanette Benoit, Editor for AllFreeCrochet.com

This Fair Trade Recycled Silk Sari Ribbon Yarn from Darn Good Yarn is a must-have for your yarn collection. This intensely dyed silk ribbon yarn supports a great cause, and creates unique yarn that's perfect for any knit or crochet project.

There have been many chances to win yarn lately. I enjoy sharing these with you because chances of me winning are small but there is a better chance that maybe someone I am "blogger buddies" with may win and that's almost as good! So, you should go here to see the details on how you have a chance(s) to win this beautiful yarn. Good luck everyone!

Photo of the Day for June 7th

Today's photo topic is "drink."

A cold one can taste good after mowing the yard. :)

If you'd like to join in with your own photos, you can get the info here.

WIP Wednesday (06 June 2012)

Getting there...

Photo a Day for June 6th

Today's subject is "hats." This is a picture of my gardening hat.

Bet you thought I'd post a crocheted one. Got ya!

Photo a Day for June 5th

Today's topic is "signs" and I couldn't think which of these I wanted to post so here's 2 pics for today.

Get a Chance to Win "Huggable Crochet" Book

Huggable Crochet
Gifted By: Krause Publications
ISBN: 978-1-4402-1423-3
Reviewed By: Jeanette Benoit, Editor for AllFreeCrochet.com

Huggable Crochet by Christine Lucas features the most adorable cute and cuddly animal crochet patterns you'll ever find. Inside, you will find more than 19 wonderful crochet patterns of animals from around the world. They are divided into 5 chapters: Forest Critters, Farm Friends, Ocean Dwellers, Safari Animals, and Exotic Creatures.

Go here to enter. Good luck, I hope one of my blogger friends wins!

Just off the Hook!

This was a "purse project" (project carried in purse) that I finished this morning for a quick sense of accomplishment. This is a modified version of the pattern I often use for slippers.



Dusting Slippers

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (04 June 2012)

photo from http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90234AD.html

This week's pattern is from Lion Brand. It is a circular afghan called Caitlin's Circle Afghan. If you look under my blog's header you will see a tab that lists other links to free patterns for round(ish) afghan patterns. i like this pattern because of the big wedges of colors.

Photo a Day for June 4th

"Close up" is the topic for today's photo. Here is a closeup of a lily in my backyard. My camera is not efficient when it comes to closeups. The auto focus seems to "slip" in and out as I aim the camera--grrrr....!

I love my lilies. I have this one growing in 1/2 of an old whiskey barrel that sits on an old tree stump. Originally, I put the lily bulbs in the barrel as a temporary measure until I figured out a place to put them. I liked them so well in the barrel that there is where they'll stay.

And It's Coming Along Nicely So Far--

The afghan I'm making for a friend! Love, love, love this pattern. It's simple and by varying the colors you can get an entirely different look. Pattern is found here.

Photo a Day for June 3rd

June the 3rd's photo topic is "On your plate."

I made hamburger patties to freeze. I buy the super-duper size chub of very lean ground beef at Sams and then use an old Tupperware hamburger press and containers. There were 26 hamburger patties and 3 packs of hamburger for other meals that I got out of 1 large chub.

I stopped at Big Lots to check out their yarn. I really like this color and came home with a pile of it. I hope it's good stuff. Big Lots price is printed on the label so it might be "cheapo stuff." It's a dark purple with a white thread running through it. I thought it would make a nice hat and scarf set. I'm bad, I'm supposed to be busting my stash and not adding to it. Sigh...

For more information on Photo a Day for June see here.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Hugs to all...

Score

My mil brought me this yesterday. She found it at a thrift store. Score! It's a soft, fluffy-ish, light gray yarn. I think it will make nice hats or maybe a scarf.