Something Dangerous Going On...

I've been thinking! Yep, things get dangerous when I do that. I'm going to have a giveaway here when my blog hits 100 followers. I have some vintage patterns that I'll never use so I've been thinking about giving away one of them and a new pair of the slippers that I love to make--all for 1 lucky winner. So, y'all tell your friends to follow and when this blog hits 100 followers I'll tell you how we're going to do it.

Edited to add--You will have a choice of slippers for a man or woman.

Leftover Yarn Slippers

Just wanted to show you the slippers I made out of leftover yarns. Seems like I've worn out a few pair this past winter and I needed more so these will work out fine.

Have a nice weekend!


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Curly-Q Scarf

I needed a quick project to boost my lagging crochet mojo. I made this scarf last night as I sat in my kitchen listening to my Kindle read a book to me.  I'll be back into the squares for the toddler 'ghan. I love that pattern now that I've figured it out. Seems like working with basic squares and different colors can result in unique afghans.  Anyway, here's the picture of the scarf I made:

Pattern Has Error!

Darn pattern I'm using to make the toddler 'ghan has a couple errors in it! I'm matching up my stitches and sewing the pieces together and the darned stitches aren't matching up!

After making and joining the first 5 granny squares the pattern says to do 7 rounds but that doesn't work so I had to do 6. Supposedly this situation happens again after the 2nd set of grannies are sewn on. That's where I'm at now so I'll let you know later if I had the problem again. I wasn't going to give the link to the pattern until I was finished but I'll give the link anyway in case someone is making this and running into the same problems. Here's the link.

I can't really blame my slowness on the pattern alone--whenever I work with squares I get slow. Afghans made from squares are one of my favorites to have, just not to make. :)

Anyway, here's the progress I'm made--

I need to get some confidence in myself that when a pattern isn't working out that it might be the pattern and not me. If I can't do that then I need to google for problems before I start frogging the 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) time.

The colors are purple and gold for a young Minnesota Vikings fan.

Hope y'all are having some nice weather like we are (low 80s) and having a great week!

Hugs to all my family and friends....


Yarn Winders Marked Down at Amazon

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (12 March 2012)

Here is an interesting pattern for a shopping bag. It is so neat that the top of the bag tucks into the bottom of the bag all nice and neat then you can pop it in your purse and have it handy for shopping trips. Enjoy y'all!

When it Grows up--

It'll be a shawl!

I almost always work on 2 projects at a time. The yarn I'm using is Carons Dazzleaire that I found at Dollar Tree so it was a real steal bargain.  Anyway this shawl I'm making is reminiscent of the shawls many of us wore back in the 70s. I don't have a pattern as such for this but rather some notes I copied and saved quite a few years ago (from a posting somewhere) from a lady who made similar shawls.

I'm still working on my squares for the toddler-sized blanket I'm making and it's my #1 priority right now.

Well, It's My Birthday...

It's my birthday now that the clock has inched past midnight. I'm now (gasp, choke) 55 and that means I'm eligible for senior discounts at a few more places lol! Hubby gave me a choice for my birthday present--new 6 panel doors on the bathroom and linen closet or a Kindle Fire. I chose the doors because I have been waiting for them for more than a few years. Last year hubby decided he was going to retire and we would live off of his military retirement check so things have been tight and our little home improvement projects have slowed way down and so I decided that it was less selfish of me to have the money spent on the house and then it would be for something just for me. I have saved almost half of what I need for a Kindle Fire in gift cards anyway.

Back to my birthday stuff. I was the oldest granddaughter in my  mom's family and I was born on my grandma's birthday. Grandma was one special lady--very spiritual and full of love for her family. Here's an old picture of my grandmother, grandfather, my siblings and 4-eyed me on one of our joint birthdays.

Have a great day everyone!

Slow Going...

I'm working on a toddler sized afghan. My inspiration was a baby blanket pattern that I'll be enlarging a bit. Squares, squares, squares--how I love thee but how I loathe sewing your ends in! Here's my status as of today:

I'm sewing the ends in as I go along; it makes it slow but in the end I won't be faced with a gazillion of them.

I'm not going to post the pattern until I'm finished because I want to keep "the big picture" a surprise until the end.

Take care everyone and have a great week!

Like to read?

You can get Used Kindles and even a refurbished Kindle Fire on Amazon.

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (05 March 2012)

Here's this week's link to a free crochet pattern. It is for a soap holder. Has anyone used one of these? What do you think about them? I haven't used one but I like the idea of making one and using up all the small scraps of soap.

Have a great day!

Soft Yellow Baby Blanket

Last night I finished this sweet little baby blanket. I saw a picture of a similar baby blanket and I thought, "I don't even need a pattern to make one something like this." So I made my own version. Baby blankets seem to be my thing lately. I started another one last night and I think  I'm going to make it a little bit larger so that it will work through the toddler stage too.

Wishing everyone a blessed day...

I'm Late With Link to Monday's Free Pattern

Here's a link to Monday's free pattern. I'm so slow but I guess it's better late than never. :)

Enjoy!

Sunday's Projects

Today, or I should say yesterday, I finished one pair of slippers that had become a ufo (in the bottom of a basket) and also made another pair. The ufo pair, was a super-sized pair for a man.  These seem to take a lot longer than a ladies pair of slippers. Here's a look at them:

These slippers are made out of 1 strand of brown and 1 strand of navy blue yarn.

The next pair of slippers are sized for a woman. They are made out of 2 strands of light purple but they are slightly different colors. I  made a flower for the front of these and here they are:

I started another baby blanket but since it has a lot of granny squares, my C.A.D.D. started kicking in after weaving the ends in on the 1st few squares. I'll work on it between projects so I don't get burned out with it.

Hope y'all had a nice weekend and I'm wishing you a great week. Hugs...

Just Wondering...

I went to a blog and the blogger offered some very nice patterns for free. Now, why would this blogger not allow you to copy and paste pattern into a blank document, nor offer a pdf? Am I supposed to sit in front of my computer as I crochet? I don't mean to be a whiner, I just don't get it.

Baby Blanket Finished

I finished another crochet project today. I made a baby blanket. It's made from yarn in my stash. The main color is a creamy white and the rest is an aqua color and a variegated color that has blues, tans and greens in it, kind of reminds me of the ocean. Anyway, it is just a giant granny square with a simple picot edging. Here's the pictures of it:

Hope y'all are having a great weekend. Hugs to all...

I Am Amazed....

The designer of the pepperoni pizza scarf I just finished sells hers for $140!
I think I like mine just as well made out of my stash yarn!

I just had to post this because I am in shock at how much she is charging!

Traditional Winter Hat for Youngster

I was perusing some pattern books that I've had for eons and decided to make something from one of them. This is a kid's hat (comes in adult size too) that I decided to make. It is made out of double strands of worsted weight so it is quite thick when finished. I know that it will keep some youngster's ears toasty warm.

The hat is part of a set that includes a scarf and matching mittens. I didn't have enough coordinating yarn to make all 3 so I decided to make just the hat. It was very easy to make. This is the book that also has the pattern for my favorite slippers. Here's a picture of the book:

I started a baby blanket today. I think I have my CADD (crochet attention deficit disorder) under control at the moment and hope to stay in a productive mode.

Guess this is it for now. Take care everyone...

The Funny, Goofy Project is Done--Finally

Here's the reveal for the funny project I was working on but ran into a problem with. It's a pizza scarf! I got the pattern from Twinkie Chan's book Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies 20 Yummy Treats to Wear.

It was very easy with the exception of the crust and it confused the heck out of me. Twinkie does have a video tutorial  that helped and here it is:

Untitled from Twinkie Chan on Vimeo.

I ended up not using all the pepperoni that I crocheted because I thought there were more than enough and I was a bit tired of sewing them on :).  Without further ado, here's a few pics of it:

And a close-up of the crust that kicked my butt:

My colors looked similar to what was used in the book but I think they're actually darker so maybe I should call it the "Over Baked Pizza Scarf." I do like it but not sure where a woman of a certain age such as me would wear it. I'm going to put it in my gift drawer for now.

OK, that's it for now folks!

p.s. Here's an ad if anyone is interested in this book. I was excited to note that it is now available for kindles too!

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (20 February 2012)

Since I'm suffering from CADD (crochet attention deficit disorder) I thought maybe I'm not the only one and that's why I'm posting a pattern that will finish up quickly. Today's pattern is for coasters that have a St. Patrick's Day theme. Enjoy!

OK, My Funny Project Still Isn't Finished But These Are

I'll admit it, sometimes I suffer from CADD-- Crochet Attention Deficit Disorder. I was a little frustrated with my "funny" project so I took pictures of a pair of slippers that I recently finished--

I modified the original pattern because I was using partial skeins of yarn and wanted to be sure I had enough so I shortened the back portion of the slipper. I was going to wait until I had several more pair done before I showed them to you but I figured it was ok to show them now because I'm also going to show you a picture of the scrap 'ghan that I finished last night.

It is truly one heck of a gaudy delight! The next time I make one of these, I'm going to go ahead make it a double strand 'ghan with one strand being black. I think the black helps out with multiple colors that don't necessarily  match by themselves.

OK, this is it for now. I really need to kick the CADD in the butt and finish my other project before the Fiber Fairy goes "poof" and turns it into a ufo hidden in the closet!

Y'all take care and stay warm. We may get our first real snowfall this weekend so I'll be wrapped up in an afghan wearing some crocheted slippers as I hook on a project.

Hugs to all...

Ran into a Snag with My "Goofy" Project

I ran into a problem with the last bit of crocheting on my "goofy," fun project. Luckily, I found a video tutorial to help me. Seems like I'm not the only one to have this problem. Anyway, as soon as I'm finished, I'll post pictures and a link to the video tutorial--shouldn't be much longer!

Since I was frustrated with my fun project, I switched over to my scrap 'ghan. It's getting pretty darned big so I'll be finishing it up pretty soon. I'm down to only a few small balls of left-over yarn so I'll consider using up the small odds and ends of yarn a success.  Guess this is it for now.

Have a great day everyone...

Did You Ever Crochet Something Goofy?

I am currently working on a project that is a bit off the beaten track for me. I just wanted to make something fun so I am. I'm not going to spoil it and tell you what it is but I'll let you know that I had to crochet 30 round motifs as part of it. I think I have about a 1/2 hour or so of actual crocheting left then there is the loathed assembly and weaving in of the fearsome ends. I hope to have this project finished in a day or 2 and then I'll do the grand reveal;-).

Had a nice Valentine Day. It was son #1's usual day to do laundry but he made brownies while he was here too. Son #2 came over on his dinner break at work and had his meal here. DH gave me a stash of chocolate--a heart full of peanut butter cups and an assortment of other chocolate. We had pizza from one of our favorite places--Papa Murphy's. For those of you who don't know about Papa Murphy's, you buy a pizza from them but then you have to bake it at home. They assemble the pizza as you watch. Our favorite is loaded with all the meats, pineapple and extra cheese. It is so Yummy!

Much to my little girl's distress, I dressed her up in honor of the holiday but she ran right to her dad to be undressed.

Later on, both "kids" cuddled up with their dad in the recliner amid a pile of throws--

Take care everyone...

Happy Valentine Day Everyone!

For my family--

And my friends--

To Wait an Hour--Is Long
To wait an Hour—is long— If Love be just beyond— To wait Eternity—is short— If Love reward the end—  by Emily Dickinson

Monday's Link to Free Crochet Pattern (13 February 2012)

Today's link is for a beautiful cardigan from Vogue Knitting. I hope you enjoy. Have a great week everyone!

Me and My Boycotts...

Some of you who have been following me for a while are probably aware that I will boycott companies that I consider to be substandard in their service or quality of their products. This year, I have started my boycott of Walgreens because they no longer accept Tricare (the military/military retirees/military dependents) medical insurance. Even though they have offered to not raise their prices for a few years, their prices were still 20% higher than other participating pharmacies so they were basically given the boot when they refused to "get with the program." I miss using the coupons out of the Sunday paper at Walgreens but Walmart will accept some of them. Please check Walmart's coupon policy because there are some "tricks" to using coupons from their competitors.

The other company I have been boycotting for almost 3 years is Taco Bell. Why??? I am boycotting them because if I wanted to eat taco-flavored taco shells rather than taco shells with filling then I would have bought a bag of tortilla chips at a dollar-type store! If you visit Taco Bell's website, you will see false advertising pictures of food items that look like they're meant for hearty eaters contrast this with a blog entry from April 2009 and you can see a picture of my taco-flavored wannabee taco. The thing is, I wrote them an email and they never bothered to respond to it. When I was on Facebook the other day, I saw a Taco Bell ad on the sidebar. It connected me with their Facebook page. When I saw someone had complained about a skimpy amount of filling on his food item I directed him to my blog entry about this and now that I've publicly brought this to Taco Bell's attention they want me to go there and fill out a complaint form or call a toll-free telephone number. If they're seriously interested in "fixing" this problem then they can contact me because I contacted them 3 years ago. By the way, we now call a local Mexican restaurant and order our tacos there, go pick them up and end up with tacos full of filling and a bonus of tortilla chips and salsa for about 2 dollars more.

Am I the only one who boycotts businesses? Let me know!

In our area we're supposed to have the coldest days of winter this weekend. Hope everyone is staying warm. Hugs to all...

Just Wanted to Share This With You...

As I was skipping around Pinterest, I found a picture for what looked like simple slippers to crochet. I clicked on it and I noticed that I could embed the pattern in my blog to share with all of you. Here it is:



It's going to be coldest weather of the winter here this weekend so I hope all of you are able to stay warm--snuggle up with the afghans and crocheted slippers! Hugs...

Finished a Pair of Slippers from a Different Pattern

I love to make slippers because I have cold feet and also because they seem to go over well as gifts. I thought I'd try a different pattern for a change. The pattern I got is from this book:

These slippers are real stash busters so that's a plus. I think they're cute too. What I don't like is that there are so many ends to weave in and sewing to do. Check out the pictures of mine:

I may make these again, but they won't replace my favorite pattern for slippers. I'll be saving these for the summer and warmer weather. My favorite pattern uses double strands of worsted weight yarn and they're great for winter wear.

Hope everyone's having a nice week. Take care...

Finally Got a Pinterest Account and Look What I Found!

When you think you've seen it all; would a real classy lady wear this to church?!--lol!

Source: etsy.com via Cyndi on Pinterest

I recently became a member of Pinterest after finding out the quickest way to do it was to log in with a facebook account. I had been waiting for a couple months trying to sign up at their site. Now, I can see why some folks say the site is addictive because it IS! I mean no disrespect to the designer/seller of these earrings, they just tickled my funny bone and I wanted to share a bit of humor with you. Enjoy!

Respectfully Decline...

I'm very happy today as I'm typing this because Debi of Dly's Hooks and Yarns wanted to give me the Versatile Blogger Award. I am so appreciative of having my blog liked and that is the best award there can be. I'm not going to accept awards though. I was going to but I can not limit who I pass the award on to. I've sat here in front of my computer for almost an hour trying to figure out who I'll give an award to and I just can't do it, so I'm very politely declining to participate in blog awards. I do hope y'all will visit Debi's blog and see why she is so deserving of award status! Take care everyone...

2 Things Today: Flag-Like Crocheting Projects & Some Slippers Too...

I had always thought that flag afghans were ok but I was WRONG! After doing a little researching online, I found the following information about flags on clothing, bedding and that sort of thing:


According to the Flag Code, a flag is anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag."

The words "flag, standard, colors, or ensign", as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.

Source: Flag Code, Section 3

Therefore, a flag includes any representation of it of any substance, with stars and stripes of any number. This would include T-shirts and ties.

Other references in the Flag Code relevant to this question are:

• The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. (section 8d)
• It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like (section 8i)
• [It should not be] printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes (section 8i)
• The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. (section 8g)
• No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. (section 8j)

The Flag Code states that the flag should never be worn. (Section 8d): "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel."

I always thought the beautiful flag-like afghans were ok to make because they're not an exact replica. Guess it's true that we learn something new every day. For more information on the U.S. flag, go to this page.

I was working a little bit last night on my scrap afghan that has been a WIP seems like forever. I had some purple and a variegated purple that I thought I could get a pair of slippers out of before I used the remainders in the scrap 'ghan. I modified the pattern a little bit so that I was sure to have enough yarn. Take a look:

Flower for Slippers

Flower for Slippers

Materials:

Small enough amounts of 2 colors of yarn (known as color A and B)

G Hook (I crochet loosely so you may want to try a different hook size)

Yarn needle

Instructions:

*With color A chain 5 then connect with a slip stitch

*Chain 1 (this is considered a sc), then do hcd, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc

*Then do 4 sets of sc, hdc, dc, tr, dc, hdc, sc

*You will now have 5 petals on your flower. Fasten off.

*With color B, chain 10

*In 2^nd stitch after hook, sc. Then sc in remainder of chains to end (9 sc)

*Fasten off and leave about a 8 inch tail

*With tail, weave in and out of top of all sc.

* Pull tight and sew ends together (sort of like closing a smushed-up circle. Now it should look like the center of a flower (bowl shape).

*Sew center of flower to the middle of the flower’s petals.

You can use the ends to sew it to your slippers or other project.

I hope this pattern is understandable; if it’s not, just let me know and I’ll revise it.

I will get a better picture later on.

Actually Finished 1 of My Small Projects

I finally finished 1 of the 3 small projects I recently started. Today's show and tell is a pair of slippers. I modified the pattern I normally make most of my slippers out of and added a flower. I couldn't find a flower pattern that I liked making so I created my own. If anyone is interested in the flower design, I'll type it up and post it. Thanks for looking!

Pattern for the slipper is here. I did modify the cuff.

Monday's Link to a Free Crochet Pattern (06 February 2012)

Here's an interesting pattern for a pair of crocheted slippers. It's made out of granny squares. I'm making a similar pair but the pair I'm making uses 6 same-sized squares. I'm going to try this pattern when I wrap up what I presently have on my hook. Hope you enjoy!