Baby Girl Stuff

We still don’t know if the grandkid is a boy or girl, but I could not resist making these things!  I saw the dress and bonnet on Sandy’s blog yesterday.  Thanks for the inspiration, Sandy, and for letting me be a copy-cat.

For all the pieces, I used Hobby Lobby’s ILTY in Buttercup and Amethyst.  I used sizes H and I hooks; a little smaller than what was called for in the pattern.  Now let me give you the links for the patterns.  They were free except for the sandals, which I gave you the link for the other day.

This little dress was fun and quick to make. I think it only took me maybe two hours or so – maybe a little longer with the trim, but I can’t remember exactly how long it took. The pattern can be found HERE and is on Ravelry if you want to see dresses others have made.

Then I made the bonnet in about an hour. The pattern can be found HERE and is also on Ravelry. So cute! I used a crochet chain instead of ribbon because I didn’t have any ribbon in purple.

 

I purchased the little sandals pattern HERE. The pattern was easy to follow and these are very well-made with a double-sole. They are sturdy little boogers. These took me the longest of any of the items to complete. I spent between 4-5 hours making them today. I’m sure my time will shorten considerably when I make them again. This was my first attempt at the pattern. Mine came out too big for a newborn because I used worsted yarn since I wanted them to match the other things. Oh well. They are still too cute for words. You can leave the flower off and just sew the button on if you want to make them for a boy.

I had so much fun making these things yesterday. I had a great day just doing my thing…baking in the morning and crochet the rest of the day.  I would recommend that anyone make at least the dress.  You can find someone to give it to if you don’t have a little baby girl in your life.  You could always have a giveaway on your blog too!  I promise, it will be hard to let go of even if you don’t have a baby.  I threatened to put it on Sammi this morning.  Hee-hee.  It’s probably too small for her though, and I don’t want to get it all doggy and snotty and slobbery and hairy from a dog.

The grilled BBQ chicken and potato salad was so good. In fact, it was so good that I asked the Captain to go get more chicken today and make it again! We only had three pieces left from yesterday, and that’s just not enough. I’m always afraid I will starve. Ha-ha.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my crochet projects today, and I hope you’ll give at least one of these a try.  Be sure and show them to me if you do.  I love looking at other people’s crochet stuff!

Have a great weekend.

Bye, Friends!

Healing

I know…scabs are gross.  Sorry.  My hand is really feeling better and is less swollen, although I still can’t get my wedding ring on.  I can type and crochet, and I actually have knuckles showing now so all must be going well inside there.  The bruising is showing up in the pictures now that it’s turning yellow and green and brown.  So pretty and feminine looking, no?  I think that green matches my eyes perfectly.  ;)

I made this Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake this morning.  I’m going to be making potato salad later because the Captain is going to BBQ some chicken on the grill for dinner.  We have a NASCAR race to watch tonight so we must have good race food to go with it.

Here’s the recipe for the cake.  I don’t remember where I got it.  You can click on it and print it out bigger.  I was lazy and didn’t want to type it out.  (I accidentally cut the top off, but that’s just the title.)

It’s a beautiful day here in Texas, and I hope you have a beautiful day to match.

Happy Friday!

At My House Today

I’ve been making Sunny Spread circles with my Knit Picks Chroma yarn.  I’m loving the orange, and I like the splotchiness of it.  Shut-up spell-checker.  It is too a word!  These were made with the skein that has the gray in it except the middle one.  The next skein is all the lighter colors.  The middle circle is made with that skein.  (I have three balls of each skein, but I think I need to order more.)  I haven’t decided yet what color I’ll use to tie them all together, but PINK is coming to mind.  Yeeowza!  Orange and pink?  That’s right.  I’m just crazy mixed-up color lady. 

I hear some of you sitting there saying, “Those are the ugliest things I’ve ever seen!”  But you just wait.  You’ll see.  It will be beautimous and you will covet my blanket.

And finally,

I present to you…

Flesh-Eating, Dog-Fighting, Skin-Puncturing, Arm-Ripping, Hand-Mangling, Man-Eater!

He was eating bites of banana out of my teeth this morning.  (He really was.  I’m gross like that with my dogs.)  He’s harmless!  WAIT…Um, unless he’s kicking some dog ass, then just feed him from a bowl please, lest you lose the first few layers of your face.

 

The arm & hand are much better and the swelling has gone down a lot.  I can even crochet, as you can see by the circles pictured above.  I’m still young and resilient, obviously.  heh-heh.

Wednesday

I woke up with a zit on my nose today…PERFECT!

Mauled By My Own Dog

The picture above was taken yesterday right after it happened.

My sweet dog, Fletch, turned on me yesterday when I was trying to break-up a fight between him and Eli.  Eli is constantly jumping on Fletcher when he has a toy he wants.  I usually just grab Eli by the neck and he lets go of Fletcher’s neck.  This time he didn’t let go.  Fletcher was trying to go after Eli to make him let go and instead got a hold of me TWICE on the left arm and hand.

 

The least severe-looking of the bites (the one on the back of my hand) is actually the worst.  The stitches I got are on the palm side.  When he got a hold of that hand, he began shaking his head.  You know how dogs do.  I could feel the muscles inside of my hand ripping…in slow motion.

 

You can see that my hand and fingers are swollen up today.  (Compare yesterday’s picture to today’s.)  Two knuckles are blue and the back of my hand is blue, which doesn’t show up in these pictures for some reason. 

That doesn’t even look like my hand.  It looks like someone else’s hand with sausages attached.

I knew better than to do what I did.  It is not Fletcher’s fault that I was bitten.  He was in fight mode and acting out of pure animal instinct when it happened…and he was not intending to go after me.  I just happened to be in the way.  I will NEVER-EVER try to break two dogs fighting up again.  In fact, as sad as it makes me to say this, I think we need to get rid of Eli.  He is the instigator, and it’s not like this is the first time he’s jumped on Fletcher trying to rip his throat out.  It has happened many times.  I was just lucky those times that Eli let go of Fletch when I grabbed him.  It’s that male-on-male dominance thing that is not ever going to go away between them.

I went to the hand doctor that I had just seen a couple of weeks ago about my elbow.  There is no major damage to any tendons and no bones broken or joints involved, which is good.  I’ll get the stitches out in 10 days and I’m on antibiotics also for 10 days.

I have never been bitten by a dog, much less my own.  The power in him and the look in his eyes was frightening and shocking.  Yes, my hand throbs, but more than anything, I’m freaked out and sad.

Shawl Patterns Link Fixed

Link should be working now...

Can't post anything more today but thought I'd share this link with those of you who like to crochet/knit shawls.  It's an unbelievable resource!

272 Shawls

Granny’s Coleslaw

I got this recipe from Sandy last year sometime.  I’m so glad I took her advice and tried it because it is a favorite of mine now.  I believe I have told you about this before, but it’s worth another mention.  Even if you don’t usually like coleslaw, you’ve got to try this recipe.  Here we go…

Granny’s Coleslaw

1 package of shredded cabbage mix

2 Apples, peeled & chopped

1 pkg Dried Cranberries (I like the cherry flavor)

Dump your cabbage mix into a big bowl.  Add the dried cranberries and apples and toss.

In a small bowl, mix together:

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/4 tsp celery seed

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

Dash or two of cider vinegar

Pour over slaw and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate a few hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

This is a great make-ahead dish that goes with a lot of meals.  I usually eat it all alone for lunch.  YUM.

Thanks again for the recipe, Sandy!

 

Teeny Tiny Turtle

How cute is this?

Now look at mine:

Ha-ha-ha!

I’m not very good at amigurumi crochet.

In fact, I suck at it.

Let’s just be real here.

Free Pattern HERE

See more that others have made on Ravelry HERE

Aqua & Red Pillow

The Front

The Back

I gotta run.  My mom called and is having coconut cake and coffee at her house this afternoon.  I need to slap some make-up on and leave.

Have a lovely Easter Weekend

Coffee & Crochet

That’s what’s on my menu this morning…

One of my favorite things to do is refill my coffee canister when it needs it, which is at least once a week.  It means I get to stuff my face into the coffee sack when I open it and take a big ’ol whiff.  Do you do that?  I do it every single time.  There’s hardly anything better-smelling than fresh coffee grounds, except maybe the smell of yeasty bread baking in the oven wafting through the house.  YUM.

I thought I’d give you a peek in that picture at just a tiny part of what will be a finished project in a couple of hours.  I’ll be back with a photo or two.  For now I’m going to gulp some coffee, sit in my crochet spot a while and put the edging on it while watching some Saturday Food TV.

Also, I wanted to show you this…

Tulip Blanket & Photo by Kimberly

I found this photo on Flickr when surfing around.  It shows the style that I’m going to use for my Rose Square blanket.  I’m not using the same pattern for the plain squares, but this gives you an idea of what it will look like.  Do you think I should stick with all pink roses or put some other colors in there too?

Back in a bit with that finished project.

Roses & Bad-Mouthing

 

 

I could cover the world in roses…

And never tire of making them.

I’m such a dork for saying that.  Nobody talks that way.  When people say things all pretentious like that, I just want to slap them.  Which reminds me…

Warning:  Rant ahead…

Skip this part if you are the sensitive type.

You know what else makes me want to slap someone?  When they dress up in costume-like dresses and aprons and stupid shit like that and stand on a stool and take a picture of themselves from the waist down on a regular basis.  And then they talk in third person when they are talking about themselves like, “She is wishing you a delightfully peachy-keen day!”  “She is quite tired today and needs a wee nap!”  If you do that, you’re an ass.  Stop talking like that.  It’s quirky and fun at first, but then it just gets on everyone’s nerves day after day after day.  I mean, I know it’s your blog and you can talk however you want, but seriously?  You’re a grown woman and a human being, not a character in a children’s book.  There are some serious psychological problems going on there.  Trust me on that one.

I’m so glad I got that off my chest.  It’s been bugging me for a long time.  You are more than welcome to go away if you don’t like that I said it.

Rant Over

And so is this entry.

Bye!

Patterns, Patterns, Patterns

The rose squares are coming along nicely.  Time to make more of the roses tonight…my favorite part.  I think I’m going to make some plain squares without roses on them to place in-between the rose squares…just plain off-white squares.  I think that will be prettier than just solid rose squares.

I went a little nuts and bought six patterns from THIS SHOP.  I originally only bought one, and then she emailed me and told me that there was a coupon on HER FACEBOOK PAGE with a 30% off coupon.  So I HAD TO get more!  I love her little bootie patterns.  They are all so cute.  I had a hard time making up my mind which ones I wanted.  I got the 5 for $15 deal and then got 30% off of that.  Yipee!

I have some recipes I want to share, but I want to make them first.  I should have time over this weekend to make them so stay tuned for those.

I also have another GIVE-AWAY on the horizon coming very soon.  I see I am about to hit the 300 Followers mark.  That’s a good enough excuse for me!  I’ll be giving away some crochet pattern books.  You can never have enough of those!

Bye

A Little Crochet

Bombay Love Baby Jacket

Free Pattern HERE

I had a heck of a time crocheting this simple little jacket last Saturday.  I ripped it out twice before deciding I had it right the first time through.  Gah!  I hate when that happens.  The little bootie isn’t done exactly right.  I got the pattern on Ravelry ($5.95), and I need to start over.  If you look really hard, you can see that I just have the straps pinned down. Those will be wooden buttons as soon as I can get to Hobby Lobby and buy some.  Mine also came out a little crooked.  Here is what they should look like:

Cute, cute, cute!

Pattern HERE

I’m trying not to make too many baby things until we find out if it’s a boy or a girl.  And how is that working for you, Pammy Sue?  Ha-ha.

And finally, here are a few squares I made from the pink roses.  I’m using the Bernat Chunky yarn for the last two rounds. I had ordered it for the Bernat Crochet-Along and ended up not participating.  The pink and green are H.L. ILTY.  Isn’t that what I always use?  Pretty much.

And that’s all for today.  I have gobs of work to do.  Bleh.  Why can’t I be independently wealthy so I could crochet all day?  Ah well.  I’m a very lucky girl and should not complain.  Life is good.  Bye.

Alien in Russia?

From Fox News

Incredible footage has emerged of what a group of Russians claim is the remains of a mangled alien. The lifeless 'body" was supposedly discovered lying in snow in the Irkutsk region of southern Siberia following reports of a UFO crash last month.

The "extra-terrestrial" appears to have suffered horrific injuries -- including the loss of one limb.
Shocked villagers had told of seeing a pink and blue glowing object hurtling towards the town before the alien was found. The bizarre reports were taken so seriously, they were investigated by the country's Emergencies Ministry staff.

The mystery deepened when investigators said no aircraft were reported in the area. And search and rescue teams found no evidence of an aircraft crash.

Hmm...

Baked Chicken & Some Roses

Since I’m stumped for anything to blog about, here’s the baked chicken recipe that I use at least once a week.  I usually bake six pieces at a time and keep them in the fridge.  The Captain really likes it and it gives him something to eat for “dinner” when he gets home at 4:00AM.  He likes it cold.  I prefer it hot or at least warm, although it’s good cold for a sandwich.

It’s super-easy and fast…

Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts

Garlic Powder

Dried Oregano

Dried Chopped Onion Flakes

Kosher Salt & Fresh-Ground Pepper

Rinse your chicken breasts and lay them in a pan that has been sprayed with Pam (for easy clean-up later!).  Sprinkle on the ingredients in the order given, coating the chicken well.  Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until juices run clear.  I do 25 minutes for just two breasts and about 35 minutes for six breasts.  That’s it!

My favorite way to have it is with a can of Stewed Tomatoes.  Sometimes I eat them right out of the can because I’m just a refined Southern Belle like that.  Hee-hee.  But today I had it with half a can of Seasoned French-Style Green Beans for lunch, and I actually put them in a bowl.  I know…fancy! 

***********************

Last night I made a big pile of Pretty Pink Roses for squares while I was watching TV.  I’ll probably make squares out of them tonight.

I think I made 15 or so.  These will be for an adult blanket so there are many more to make!  I need to make a run to Hobby Lobby for more yarn.  As usual, I have a ton of yarn but not what I need (want).

~ Love & Hugs ~

 

I Gots Nothin’

But…

How gorgeous is this?

Cyanne Throw

by Sunroom

Simply Amazing!  I do not have the patience for something like this, but it’s fun to marvel at it.  The free pattern link can be found HERE. 

 

I’d like to say thank you to everyone who commented on my latest afghan, Spring Fling.  It’s so nice for others to appreciate and enjoy what you’ve done.  Y’all are sweethearts.

If I’d quit goofing off and do my work today, I could have some free time this afternoon to crochet on something of my own, although I have no idea what yet.  Maybe more of those rose squares?  We shall see.

Have a lovely day.

My Baby’s Baby!

Last night I made these…

I’ve been carrying them around staring at them and thinking my son’s little baby’s feet will be in them some day!

Spring Fling Blanket

TA-DAH!!!

Enough with the pictures you say?

Nah…one or two more!

Spring Fling Blanket

Pattern Link:  Flower Burst Square

Measurement:  66” x 55” (11-inch squares)

Hook Size:  G

Yarn:  H.L. ILTY, but the Beige is Vanna’s

Border Pattern:  Based on Best of T. Kimbrough Baby Afghans, Pg 31.

I loved making this afghan!  I was a little over-ambitious with the border pattern I picked…it seemed to go on and on forever, but it was worth it in the end, as I knew it would be.