Patons Grace 100% mercerized cotton

I recently bought some Patons Grace 100% mercerized cotton yarn at the lys. I got two balls for under $3!  I always thought that mercerized cotton wouldn't make good dish cloth/towels, but was told they would be fine. So, I've got a cloth started on my size 6 needles. The yarn is so soft and nice to work with.

I've been in a knitting slump lately and when I saw that yarn I thought it was just the perfect thing to make to brighten up my kitchen and life. Then, I got crazy and bought a bunch of Plymouth Encore for another prayer shawl but that's another story! lol

I'll be sure to post up finished pictures of the dish cloth and towel when I get it done. I just wanted something easy and simple so I decided to knit it in garter stitch.

The good news is that the last bag of yarn was picked up today and my hoarding stash is getting bare. I still have some skeins that I'm holding on to, "might use someday" but in all reality, once I've got some postage money saved up, I'll be mailing them out to ravelry folks. I found some neat groups that I've recently joined like, "Random Acts of Kindness". You can post up your wishes and read others and send them things. I love it! If you haven't discovered ravelry yet, you're missing out!

One particular group I joined that I like is Swap/One. They have an open dish cloths swap and it's just as plain and basic as you can get. No commitments for the entire year or month. If you want to trade a dish cloth, you just post it and then someone writes back. Sometimes within minutes. :-) I love the "open" idea. I would love to be able to commit to a long term one, but know that it's highly unlikely that I will ever get to.

Well, off to declutter the camper. It's taking a long time to see any progress, but maybe one day I'll open my eyes and be shocked! lol

Progress picture:

How to make cherry cobbler in your crockpot

Last week cake mix was on sale for 60 cents a box, so I picked up a box of yellow cake mix and a can of cherry pie filling. I saw a dessert recipe in my "Fix it and Forget It" crock pot book and just had to try it.

It was so easy to make.

First, you spray the inside of your crock pot. Then, you dump in a can of cherry pie filling. I believe it was a   20 or so ounce can. Some variation recipes even said to use two cans, but I just used one.

Then, I melted a stick of butter (1/2 cup) and drizzled it over the cake mix that I had poured in a bowl. Just the dry cake mix. Nothing more added. I stirred it all together until it started to clump.

Then, with my hands, I sprinkled the cake mix/butter mixture over the pie filling. Put the lid on and walked away. For 4 hours. On low. Next time I'll make it on High for 2 hours. The smell was more than I could handle for 4 long torturous hours! :-)

After that, we spooned it up and ate it. Yum! Later that night, I ate some with some Blue bell ice cream and boy was that delicious! You could have added walnuts but I was out.

Variations- Try apple pie filling, peach or blueberry. You can also add in a can of crushed pineapple. My neighbor makes something similar in her oven with blueberries and pineapple. Yes, you can make this recipe in your oven as well, but bake for only 30-45 minutes on 350 degrees. Just keep an eye on it since all ovens heat differently.

Kind of hard to see, but here it is baking:

What's left:

Next dessert to try in my crock pot book is hot fudge cake. Oh, that sounds yummy too!

You tube

The video I posted on my "how to make a pot scrubber" has been "unlisted" and I'm wondering if anyone's ever been able to view it. I don't know why I didn't think to make it public for all to see.

It is now, so hopefully if you've had trouble figuring out how to connect the strips, you'll be able to see how.

In fact, tomorrow, if the sun is shining I'm going to make a new better video with colored strips since at the time all I had were black strips. Terrible, I know! lol

I was trying to crochet a flower today and could not figure it out. I had to rip it out twice and ask a crochet buddy for help. Then, the third time I started to figure it out a little better. I thought, "I should make a tutorial on how to do this!" I'm sure if I had trouble with it, then other people have too.

So, I'm going to start adding you tube video tutorials to my blog postings.

This weekend I'm going to be working on my newest prayer shawl. I bought some hot pink and light pink yarn to use. I'm making it striped and so far I really like how it's turning out. The only thing is that I'm going to need two more skeins to finish it, but the local yarn store has plenty of those colors in stock.

Other than that, I'll also be working on some "UFO's" laying around and hoping to make some progress on the tube sock. I'd really really like to get it done but so not into it right now.

Well, until next time!

Etsy to sell or not to sell

After taking numerous photos yesterday of my latest dish cloth.

I happened to visit my etsy shop this morning and was horrified that the color in this dish cloth did not match the color in my round scalloped dish cloth. I don't know why I didn't notice it before. They were made with the same yarn but they look like two different shades!

The problem is that one was taken outside and the other inside. We haven't had too many nice days when the sun is shining to take the latest one outside. I think the real color is a shade in between the two! Not to mention the fact, that every computer monitor is different so what you're seeing may not be what I'm seeing. Some people wouldn't mind. To them, just knowing it is organic cotton and not dyed is enough. Yes, that's right, this yarn fascinates me because the cotton grows naturally in this color. No dyes of any kind were used! Others might be upset if it's not the color they perceive it to be.

That's the main reason I am thinking of closing down my etsy shop.

Also, how can I capture the softness of this cloth? I can't. No picture can show just how silky soft it is. You have to be able to see it for yourself. Touch it.

So, for the time being, I'm not going to list any new things in my shop. I may even put it on hold for awhile.

Food PANtrie - Solar Food Dryer and Sprouter

Last year I was at a friend of mine's house and I admired her hanging food drying rack. To my surprise she offered it to me. I was super thrilled! I had seen these in catalogs and dreamed of buying one but never did.

I used it some to dry some plantain leaves which I ended up giving to my pet rabbit at the time for a crunchy snack. She loved it! I miss her. 

Other than that, it hasn't gotten much use until recently. After making a batch of homemade egg noodles, I needed some place to put them other than all over the camper! I used to have a dedicated noodle rack but found that as they dried, they fell of the holder. Imagine my disappointment to find noodles all over the floor when I came home instead of on the holder where I left them! Plus it takes up more space AND it's only good for one thing, noodle drying. I rarely keep a kitchen gadget that has only one purpose. 

Anyways, I remembered the dryer and got it out. At first I couldn't figure out where best to hang it but then realized the only place to hang it inside was on the shower rod. A strange place to dry noodles but it works. In the summer time, I'll hang it on the clothesline pole. 

One of the reasons I like it so much is because of its cover. The last one I had that I bought at an Asian store did was just netting all around and there was no cover. I always worried about birds flying overhead! lol Though I never had anything ruined by the birds. 

I'm also looking forward to using it if we ever get a lofted cabin. The cover will protect it from any dust. I like the small holes in the trays. Hanging racks I've had in the past had huge two inch spaces in the non-removable trays which made the food fall out. 

Another reason I like it is that the trays are removable. I just load it up and then stick it back in. It's designed to grow wheat grass in but I have yet to do that. The thought of eating grass doesn't sound appealing. I once smelled wheat grass powder and about lost my lunch. Though I'm sure some of you may like the smell of freshly cut grass. Not me!

My most favorite thing about it is that it folds down and can be stored in a small amount of space. 

Hoarding yarn- a thing of the past

Awhile back, I asked a friend to be a mentor to me. One of the things I told her I needed help with was dealing with constant clutter. I explained to her that my home is constantly a mess and that I needed help with getting rid of some stuff, but not sure where to start. I do desire a clean orderly home. Just not there yet.

She responded by asking me, if I was trusting in God.
Trusting God and not worrying about having enough.
Trusting God and being willing to let go because He is in charge.
Trusting God and not worrying about the future.

To be honest, when I first read that, I thought, "Why, that's not what this is about at all!? Not to say I was offended in the least bit, but felt that she was way off in this line of thinking. It kind of surprised me because it wasn't the response I thought she was going to give at all.

And then one day (I'm not sure what led to it)  I got to thinking about what Nick has told me in the past about buying yarn as I need it rather than just keeping it all "in case I might use it someday". I like the idea of having a specific project in mind and going to the store and buying the materials for it on a project by project basis.

I think that's one reason I have such a hard time not completing a project I start. It's because I don't have a goal in mind to begin with.  That I don't really know what it is that I want to make so when I get around to making it, I'm not happy with it and either let it sit or rip it out and start over.

I realized when I became completely honest with myself that I WAS hoarding the yarn because I WASN'T trusting that there would be enough later. Oh, I'd believe it a little bit because I always like to share whatever yarn I get with others, but there would still be that part of me that would hold on to a ridiculous amount JUST IN CASE something came up and I couldn't get more later.

All the while forgetting about Nick's promise to me- That I will always have something to knit. In the back of my head, I always thought, "Well, what if I can't?"

"Just in case" is not trusting.

So, yesterday I went through my yarn stash again. Each skein I picked up, I asked myself, not "do I need/want this?" but "Am I keeping this simply because I'm not trusting God that I'll have the chance to get more later?" and found that my stash went way down to one small bag. And most of what I kept is just the yarn to finish a project that I've already started. Which is going to happen by the way. This is the year to finish all my started projects. :-)

Update-After I mailed out several packages yesterday I was feeling bummed because I wanted to get some yarn to make my next prayer shawl with but was out of money. I had already promised the yarn I sorted through to others and wasn't about to be an Indian giver. Besides the fact, that the yarn wasn't the right type to make prayer shawls with.

Prayer shawl making is my one exception to the rule about not starting another project until I'm done with the old. People are counting on me to make these shawls. I do however make sure I only make one shawl at a time and not have several going at once.

After knitting club,  a friend gave me three walmart bags full of yarn. All suitable for prayer shawl making. I was thrilled!

I thank "C" for her godly wisdom to point out these things to me.

And sitting by the door ready to go out is two piles of yarn ready to bless others with.

Lionbrand Homespun yarn

Awhile back, I blogged about Lionbrand homespun yarn and how much I disliked it. Then, I was at a friend's house and watched her daughter crochet some of that yarn with such ease. No difficulty at all! I was shocked! She wasn't having any of the same troubles and problems I had with it.

So, when I found out that another friend was giving away some skeins of it, I jumped at the chance. I wasn't sure if she still had any left since I wasn't there when she offered it the first time. I emailed her and she said she still had some left. Yay!

I think my problem with it bunching and squeaking was due to the fact that I used the wrong size needles. I was trying to knit a shawl with it at the time and I didn't have any needles with me. The pair I borrowed must have been a smaller size needle than the pattern called for. A size 8 instead of a size 13. I would imagine that would make a big difference!

Also, my friend's daughter was crocheting with it, not knitting it. So, yesterday when I got the yarn, I grabbed a "K" size hook (which is what the label recommended) and started crocheting a prayer shawl with it. So far, it works up great! No problems at all! 

I feel bad for misjudging the yarn! lol

Also, I was told that the yarn was banned from our prayer shawl group because it disintegrated while being worn by someone in a rainstorm. And the thought occurred to me. Perhaps it hadn't been washed first. I know when yarn fibers such as that type are washed, that little pieces of the fibers get washed away. Or in this case, stuck to the skin.

If this yarn is so bad, then why are they still making it? So, I'm willing to give it another chance.

The color I am using now is called "Golden" and it's such a lovely yellow shade. 

I'll be sure to post pictures of the prayer shawl when I get it done. 

I'm using a pattern I found in my copy of Crochet World April 2011. Rose Garden shawl. The original pattern called for Caron simply soft yarn which I realize is not as bulky as this yarn, but I'm using a size "K" hook instead of a size "M". It doesn't appear to be too large. (yet) Time will tell. lol

I had a few revelations as to why I hoard yarn but will talk about it in another post.

P.S. Even though I don't mind "recycling" this yarn (using free yarn) I doubt I'd ever spend any money on it. It costs $7 a skein and if I'm going to spend that much  I'd rather have Plymouth Encore. My favorite brand!

until next time!

Knitted towel dimensions

I got some dk cotton yarn from a friend and thought I would knit myself up a kitchen towel with it. At first, I couldn't  decide if I wanted to knit a hanging towel or just a regular one. I once knit a towel using seed stitch for a friend and like how it turned out, but can't remember how I made it!

I think I will not make one that hangs, because I'm wanting it specifically for drying my dishes with. I'm not impressed with any of the store bought towels. They don't seem to actually dry my dishes, just smears them and leaves little fuzzies everywhere!

Here are some patterns I'm considering . I like the dimensions of the second one and I'm pretty sure that it is similar to the sage green one I made for a friend.

Gridded Towel
Bumpy Towel  11 by 15 inches

well, off to try a pattern or two out!

until next time!

Crochet magic heart potholder

Some of you have been asking about where to find the crochet magic heart potholder pattern. So, here is the link for it.

I might have to try it myself later. Looks cute!

Janome 4618LE, Brother LX2500

The Janome 4618LE was the first sewing machine I ever saved up for and bought. I stopped in at a sewing machine store in Mckinney, TX and the guy showed it to me and let me try it out. I loved that machine. It had some fancy stitches. It had the basic ones too. My favorite thing about it was the rolled hem foot. I made all kinds of things with it. I sewed all my own dresses, jumpers, skirts and sewed Nick shirts with it. I made curtains, window quilts, pot holders. It handled thick layers well. I never had trouble with the tension on it. It was a great machine. If they still made them, and I had the money to spend, I'd buy another.

Sadly, I sold it when we moved to Missouri. I don't regret it really. It went to a good home. (friend of mine) When we got settled here I missed sewing. I stopped in a few times at the local quilt store and drooled over the Janome's they sold there. But it wasn't the 4618.

I debated with myself how much sewing I would do if I bought another. No longer do I need/want to sew my own clothes. Not when there is a great thrift store in town that sells clothing for 10 cents and 25 cents. I talked with a friend of mine that has a Janome and she doesn't like hers. She also has a less expensive Brother machine that she bought from Walmart. She said she likes it better. I was so set on saving up for another Janome, but all I wanted was a machine to take out once in awhile and sew some small craft items with. So, after talking to her about how much she loved her Brother machine. (I don't even know what model she had as she bought it several years ago.) I decided to just buy a Brother machine. I bought the LX2500 and LOVE it. It's just perfect for what I want to use it for. So far, I've just sewed some small things with it but I don't doubt that it could handle me sewing a jumper or two. It handles thick fabric well. It was ready to use straight out of the box. I did not touch the tension dial on it at all. It came with a DVD that I have yet to watch, but also a nice manual.

I do prefer to buy local when I can, so I regret buying this machine at Walmart, but honestly, I did not want to spend more than $100 on a machine and the local quilt store machines start at $300. I'll buy my thread and notions from them though. They have a nice selection of fabric too.

The machine cost me $75 and was a great investment. I'm looking forward to all the things I will sew with it. It doesn't have many fancy stitches but I found that I only used one of the fancy stitches on my Janome and this machine has the exact same one. Scallops.

Another machine that Walmart had was the Singer Simple but my friend said to stay away from it. She felt that the more things a machine offered, then that was more that could go wrong with it. I really thought about it at first, but I've had several friends that have bought the newer singer machines and have had the machines break on them or not last. Also, I was shocked that even though the Singer machine claimed to be great for beginners, it had the kind of bobbin that I can't stand on a machine. The kind that is confusing (at least to me) to load. Front loading bobbins tend to have more trouble with the thread jamming. No, thank you! When I saw that the Brother machine had a drop in top bobbin,  just like my Janome 4618LE, I was hooked!

Acrylic vs cotton, dish cloths

I've talked before about acrylic dish cloths versus cotton but I was doing some research yesterday on tawashi patterns and one of the things I found was that with acrylic yarn, some people weren't using detergent to wash their dishes with! Now, I will always use some kind of detergent, but wondered why they said that. Not much was said on it, but something along the lines that the acrylic could cut the grease on the food without any soap being used. I have found that I don't need to use as much when I wash with acrylic dish cloths...

I know some people have trouble with their dish cloths going sour, and if that's the case, try using a larger needle. I've heard that if the dish cloth is having trouble drying then it gets that sour smell. I try to stay away from knitting super tight weaved dish cloths because of this.

The nice thing about using acrylic yarn is that your cost is very low. I plan on offering both acrylic and cotton in my etsy store eventually. I've found that I tend to make one particular item until I am sick of it and need a break. lol

First it was crocheted rugs, then bone rugs, then dish cloths, etc... When I branched out from making only dish cloths, I thought I'd never miss making another one again, but I was wrong. Lately, all I want to make are dish cloths. I haven't yet because I'm waiting to buy more yarn and in the meantime use up my other yarn- wool blends. Perfect for hats by the way. I'm having a hard time trying to decide what kind of dish cloths to offer. Do I offer one style but in a variety of colors? Or do I offer a wide variety of styles in few colors? Or in more colors? These are things I think about way too much! lol It used to frustrate me that I'd make up a dish cloth in let's say blue and someone would love it but want it in red. Yes, I do allow custom orders, but it would sure be nice if I could just figure out what everyone would want and make only those colors. Yes, that's right, be a mind reader. ha! ha!

I've thought about using colors based on the seasons. (not  holidays). Right now though, I'm knitting a Country Scratch cloth with orange, yellow and pink and I'm LOVING the colors. I'm not sure if it's because it reminds me of sherbet or what, but knitting it makes me hungry! I've forgotten about the country scratch design. Nick's grandma nicknamed this cloth "Country Scratch" and the name just stuck.

For the pattern to this "easy wash cloth" click here. It's fun to make but I've found that it's hard to remember what row you're on. (at least it is for me) So, keep track. I always try to end with either 3 or 4 and start with 1 and 2. Or vice versa.

This weekend if I can find my size "J" hook, I plan to crochet up some hats, try some new tawashi patterns, and possibly knit some dish cloths. Oh, and learn to crochet a rose.

until next time!

Heart knit dish cloth patterns

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I'd knit up some heart themed dish cloths.

Here are some links to share for making your own dish cloths:


Enjoy!

Lattice Hearts
X's and O's
Quilted Hearts
Valentine Dish cloth
Love

Nine-O-Hearts
Topsy Turvy Hearts
Knitted "Love"

http://www.designsbyemily.com/freepatterns/
Scroll down to see February 2007

If you make any cloths, using their patterns, be sure to send them a photo of the finished cloth. I'm sure they would love to see it!

I made this one,  this one and this one from my Leisure Arts Booklet Dish cloths from the Heart!

Sewing fun!

Yesterday I sewed a cover for my sewing machine. I wanted something basic and simple just to keep extra dust off and to protect it while it's in my closet:

I had an old shirt I wasn't wearing anymore and an old jean dress so I cut a piece large enough with extra room and just sewed it right sides together and turned it inside out. Easy peasy!

Then, I took some leftover jean material and made a cover to keep my sewing cord in. It is a bit more narrow than I would have liked but it works. I sewed some velcro to the top to hold it in place.

It looks a little funny but it's just a rectangle.

Then, today Nick gave me the idea to sew a liner for my basket. I was using it for a knitting basket but didn't like how the yarn would snag on it, so I just took an old dress that I had and noticed it had a ruffle on the bottom, so, I measured it around and cut a circle the size of the bottom which was 9 inches in diameter. Then, just sewed the circle to the strip of material. I had a bit of trouble with it bunching, but you can't tell and I'm happy with it.

It does the job good! Keeps my current knitting projects in one place!

The basket has a handle on it but there wasn't a way to put the liner and not have the handle be in the way. Though I'm already thinking of a way I might could get around that. Oh well. This works for now.

How to sew a crochet hook case

Before I got my new sewing machine, all I could think about was all the things I couldn't wait to make. A handy crochet hook case was one of those things. But after I got my machine, I worried that I wouldn't be able to make one. I don't know why. I made two crayon rolls for my niece and nephew that turned out fine. 

So, this morning after a nice big cup of coffee, I grabbed my courage and some flannel lined pants that I was saving for a craft and began cutting. I cut along the seam of one of the legs all the way up to the top. 

Then, I grabbed my iron and ironed both sides. I had hoped that the flannel wasn't sewn or glued to the pants. It wasn't. The only thing was that it was all wrinkled and uneven, so I just ironed both pieces.

I really didn't have any idea how long I wanted it. I poured over SO many patterns that all were different yet the said the same thing. Which I found frustrating and stressful. So, I just made up my own pattern as I went along. 

My crochet hooks were about six inches long and I wanted the pockets to be deep and narrow.

I cut out 2 pieces that measured 9 by 13 inches in the khaki material. Then, I cut out a piece of flannel that was 10 by 13. I wanted the material to be tall enough to be able to fold down to secure the hooks. I noticed when I made the crayon rolls that they had to be carried just a certain way or else the crayons slid right out of the pockets, even with it tied. 

I cut out a piece of material 4 by 19 inches long for the ties.  I sewed it with the right sides facing together and left an opening on one end. Turned it inside out. Pressed it with the iron and folding the insides together, I sewed it down and around the edges to make it lay flat. I ended up with 2 inch wide ties and about 18 inches long. (Only, if I could do it again, I would make it at least 25 inches long to begin with!)

What I liked about the flannel is that I didn't have to mark any lines. I just used the lines of the flannel as guidelines which worked out great!

I folded the flannel piece in half (10 by 13) and laid the material with the fold side on top and the raw edges at the bottom and laid it on the khaki colored piece with the right side showing. Then, I sewed the pockets based on the size hooks I had. I mainly use my hooks: "G", "H" and "I", but wanted to store my larger size needles too.

For the "G", "H" and "J" hooks, I sewed the pockets 3/4 inch wide. I didn't want them all the same size though you can make them however large you want. Then, for the "J"- "N" size, I made the pockets 1 inch wide. For the "P"- 1 1/8 inch wide and the "Q"- 1 1/2 inches wide.

I didn't start sewing the first pocket right along the edge because I would be turning it inside out. See note on picture to where I sewed the first pocket. I would say it measured about an inch from the edge. I hadn't planned on using the first pocket as a real pocket but found it held my size "D" hook nicely. -I didn't even know I had a "D" hook! lol

After I sewed the pockets and made sure to back stitch at the top of the pocket on each one, I positioned my ties to sew on. I wanted to measure where the ties would be AFTER the flap was folded down. There was about 2 3/4 inches on either side. 

This picture actually shows the ties in place before the pockets were sewn, but I forgot to snap a picture afterwards. 

Then, I took my other piece of khaki material and with right sides facing together, I sewed a 1/4 inch seam along the edge all the way around and left a 3 inch hole at the top to turn it inside out.

Turning it inside out and making sure that all the stitching was secure. I folded the ends on the top piece and then top stitched it about 1/4 inches around. I was worried that my machine couldn't handle the thickness and might break a needle but I had no problem whatsoever with it. 

Lastly, I just trimmed all my stitches.

Finished it measures 8 1/2 by 12 1/2. 

It holds 10 of my most used hooks.

Ready to go!

By the way, I learned that my larger sized hook,  "Q" did not fit in there, but that's okay! 

Kids Earflap Hat pictures

Here are some photos I took of the kids wearing their new hats:

(Teaching her to make a crochet flower)

better a little big than too small. :-)

I'm glad they all fit. (for the most part! lol)

How to crochet a headband

Using a ball of Cascade Fixation and the pattern from Mom of 5's Daughters, I made some headbands last summer. They were great for keeping the hair off my neck and in my face.

Summer time will be here before I know it, so I'm going to start and make some more for this year.

I also found this neat sewing headband pattern. Looks nice and quick!

Here is the headband I crocheted. A bit hard to view in this picture but you get the idea!

How to crochet a flower

I got five of the hats done today and just have one more left to go. I'll take some photos of the hats tomorrow. On the last hat that I made I wanted to do a flower but wanted it to look a little different than the other ones.

So, here's what I did: I started out making the flower like on a blog I read, but then changed it a little.

I did the magic ring method, which I LOVE by the way!! If you don't know how to do it, learn. You'll be glad you did. Perhaps, I will try to do a video tutorial on the method. Anyways, after you do the magic ring method, chain 3 and put 11 double crochets in ring. Pull tight. Slip stitch to top of chain of chain 3.

Then, chain six, skip one space, and slip stitch in next double crochet. Repeat around finishing in base of original chain six.

Now, that you've got all the loops done, on the first chain loop, put a single crochet on loop, followed by 6 double crochets, then a single crochet. Move to the next loop. (don't slip stitch in between, just move on to the next loop. Go all the way around doing the same for each loop and when you get done slip stitch at the end. Leave a long tail for sewing on and you're done!

I will post a picture of the flower I made this way tomorrow. It's late and I want to get a decent shot of it.

I used some Plymouth Encore for this hat as well, but it's not the same as the other colors. At first, I didn't like it as much. The colors are pastel instead of the rich colors of the other hats, but I do like how it turned out. I'm only wondering if I can find more of this pretty yarn!

I'm anxious to finish the last hat and hopefully my friend can come let the kids try the hats on soon. I'm going to be so disappointed if they don't fit, but there is no reason why they shouldn't. My gauge is what it should be and they look the right size.

Tying up loose ends

Yesterday I was in the bedroom making the bed when I noticed all the water pooling up on the windowsill. I knew it did that but I couldn't figure out why the water wasn't draining. I looked at the main window compartment where the window screens are and in the camper the window screens are on the inside not outside. Which makes it nice when you want to take them out in the winter time to clean them.

Or if you have annoying cats that like to hang off the window screens and meow at the crockpot. Tinkerbell would totally do that if she could reach the window by the way and if the screens were on the outside! That's how she came to be in our yard ALL the time. I cooked some chicken one day in the crockpot and had the window in the kitchen open. She sat outside that window ALL DAY LONG and meowed so pitifully.

Anyways, I took the window screen out in the bedroom on Nick's side and was completely shocked at how much junk was in there. Mold, leaves, bugs all stuck in the grooves. I grabbed some diluted bleach and began spraying down the windows, grooves and cracks. Then, I moved on to the next window and did that all afternoon long. We've got only 7 windows but it took a long time. Mostly to figure out how to pop the screens out and back in again. They seem a bit bent up but at least the window area is clean. I just can't believe I've lived in the camper for almost 2 years and never thought to do that! I'm thinking it's going to have to be done on a weekly basis, but I'll have to just check on it to see how well it's draining. The holes to drain are actually in the middle compartment and the outside windows are what's filling up. But when I checked on it today, the windows weren't full of water! Yay!! So, there must be a space in the outer windows to drain into the middle ones. Though I can't see any holes.

After I got all them done, I was so exhausted! The cloth I used to wash the windows is now full of holes from using it so much. I didn't want to do much when I got done so I just sat around and played on the internet.

Last evening, I dragged out my crochet hat projects and tied up all the loose ends and weaved in the last bits on four of the hats. Made ties. Re-made new ties. Three times over. The directions were wrong! On the angel's crochet link it said to cut 24 Two feet lengths of ties, but they were too short! So, instead, I cut 4-8 30 inch length ties folded them in half and braided them.

I am still working on the boy hat which is taking forever since it's only half double crochet. I'm not going to make another one in that pattern. I really like both the Angel's crochet pattern and the Vallie's kids. I like the angel's crochet one a little more because the ear flaps are larger, but I like the idea of the ties for vallies kids more.  :-)

I did start on the last hat which is going to be royal blue and red. I may add in some other colors to it.

well, off to knit!

Orange, yellow and red ear flap hat

Just finished this one last night. Starting on another today. This is fun! I found another cool pattern and really excited about it. The sizes are from baby to adult large. I love it! This photo is from Vallies Kids. The next two will be this pattern, if it works how I want it to. I found a couple other promising ones on ravelry last night, so I may just make one with this pattern and see how it goes.

Here is the new pattern I'm trying next.

Nik's Knots

I'm going to try the size 3-5 years old.  There are 9 sizes total. It just doesn't say what the finished circumference is, so I'm a bit nervous as I won't be ripping it out. I love Plymouth Encore but it's not very forgiving with ripping out your mistakes. The yarn tends to stick tightly together. But I've still got plenty of leftover yarn to use up, so no big deal if it doesn't work. Fingers crossed though!

until next time!

Two more crochet ear flap hat patterns with pics

Now that I think of it, I may have already shared these links, but here are the two patterns I've been using to create the six hats on my to do list.

Do your Ears hang low?

and

Mountain hat

Here are the hats I've made so far:

I made them in the order they are listed.

this purple and blue one is made with the Vallies Kids pattern. I like it a lot! I just wish the ears were longer and wider like on the other pattern. I used a size I hook. The finished circumference is 20.5 inches. I added the crab stitch to the edging after I did the original part. I only wish I had thought to add some white or cream to it as it seems dark, but these are the colors that were requested.  I'm still not sure what I think of the flower and may change it yet since it's not sewn on.

Next, purple, red and cream. I used from the Angel Crochets website. I used a size I hook. The finished circumference is 22 inches. That may be due to the fact, that the cream colored yarn is bulky and thus made it larger than it was supposed to be. But not 100% sure on that.

For this light blue, navy blue and white hat, I wanted it to come out a smaller  circumference, so I used the Angel crochet's pattern but used a size H hook instead. And the finished circumference was 18.8 inches.

This orange, red and yellow hat is what I'm working on now. I used the Vallies Kid pattern for it and planned to add an extra row to it, but it turned out way too large so instead I'm making it the same as the first one.

After that, only two more hats to do. I am just making up the striped patterns as I go along and so far I'm happy with how it's turning out. I just hope the kids like them.

It's a new day!

I was planning on writing out some New Year's Resolutions and completely forgot! I'll see if I can't come up with my list by the end of this week. (I know the first one will be to stop procrastinating! lol)

Today, I tried something I haven't done before in a long time anyways.

First off, I stayed home this afternoon instead of putting aside my daily tasks like I usually do.  Had I started the morning out right and gotten all my things done, that would be another story.

Second, I made out a list of things I knew needed to be done today. Usually, I make the list really long and detailed and get so overwhelmed by the hundred things I need to do that I either don't do them at all, or I half do each one and nothing still gets done.

Anyways, I made a list of five or six things that needed to be done today:

1. Laundry
2. Dishes (includes putting them away)
3. Dust
4. Vacuum (but then changed to make cinna bites) Didn't want to run too much power to the camper
5. Clean up hot spots (Fly Lady explains it all so well)
6. Make potato salad

I wrote down the time I had to complete these things. 1:30-5:00 p.m.

Then, below I wrote Accomplished so when I got it done I could write it down.

On the back of that paper, I wrote Reward and listed off what I could get if I finished these things:

Internet time
Sew crayon rolls
Crochet hats

On another piece of paper, I wrote out how I planned to accomplish these things. (I think at this point, I was stalling but I knew if I didn't hurry, then I wouldn't get my reward. I was always one of those kids that wanted a chart to earn stickers which would then give me a big treat of some kind. But my parents weren't the type that did those sort of things.

So, as a kid at heart,  I get to "treat" myself!

And as a kid at heart, I usually try to get my dessert first and then clean later, which always ends in failure. Before I know it, Nick's home and I haven't done a single thing!

Well, for the first time in a long time, I actually went about trying to accomplish those goals. When they got done, I wrote them down and moved on. Sometimes it seems like I just piddle around and do a half job of every little thing. Like I just can't stay focused on one thing.

I've always been a list maker and I think this is going to work wonders for me.

And yes, now I get to spend some time on the Internet for the next thirty minutes!

Sewing a soap saver

When I was a kid, one of the things I remember about bath time was that we had a special wash cloth with a pocket. I don't know where it came from or if my mom made it or what, but we only had one. And of course that meant, my sister and I fought over who got to use it.

With the pocket, we could put a bar of soap in it and not have to worry about dropping the bar. It made the soap lather up nicely too.

I've crocheted and knitted soap savers, but never thought about sewing one until now. I'm not even sure what reminded me of that old brown wash cloth with the pocket but, now that I have a sewing machine I'm going to have to make one. I may even sew a brown one! :-)

I thought about sewing a plain old boring one but then found this great tutorial to sew for kids!

Here is a plain style one for adults. It is made from a wash cloth folded over. Easy peasy!

Crocheted ear flap hats for kids

The other day one of my friend's daughters stopped by with her dad for a visit. The dad was talking to Nick about web design and I was able to talk to the daughter for a bit. She wanted me to teach her to knit. Teaching a six year old how to cast on is harder than I thought. But she got the hang of it pretty well. I only wish I had thought to use my "teaching" needles. My size 50 knitting needles. It's so much easier to show the stitches when I use them. Anyways, we got to talking and I showed her my recent baby ear flap hat that I'd made last week.

Without much thinking, I told her I'd make one for her too. Not that I mind one bit! I also knew I was committing to making 5 more for her siblings. Again, no problem at all! I have been wanting to use up some of this extra yarn that I've been hoarding and this is a great way. My main problem this week has been figuring out how to make them fit. I have their head circumferences but I'm finding out that isn't enough especially when the pattern you're using doesn't give any finished size ideas.

One pattern that I liked the sound of said it fit a one year old whose head was 19 inches. Well, that is the size of one of the siblings heads.  I mean if the finished hat size was 17 or 18 inches, then I could see how it would fit the one year old. But then I believe I did read somewhere that the finished hat was 19 inches, so does this mean it fit loosely right on his head. Does this mean that it would definitely fit a 20-22 inch head circumference.

I also found another hat pattern that said it fits most people. It was a small to medium size. Well, what does that mean!? :-)

So, instead of stressing out (as much) I decided to just start making hats. If they fit these kids, great! If not, they'll fit someone. I hope. And then I'll make more. I'm learning a bit about how to have some sort of an idea as to what the finished size is. I thought it was right to just measure across the hat and then double it but no I found that does not give me the finished circumference.

If this calculator is correct (and I mean that I'm punching in the right numbers in the right places) then, the last hat that I made which had a 6 inch diameter has an 18.8 finished circumference, which should fit the baby of the family since his head measures 18 1/2 inches. The hats should stretch at least an inch if not more.

So, I'm trying to have the hats be slightly under their head circumference size so they won't be too big.

I'll post up my pictures later with the pattern below the photo with the changes I made. I found that sometimes it works to use a smaller size needle to get a smaller size. Other times, I simply had to skip the last round. I'll also measure my stitches to see what my gauge is since that will vary between each crocheter. Hopefully, someone reading this will be able to figure out how to make a hat for themselves with the size they need.

How to make clove tea

Almost a year ago, I mentioned drinking clove tea and how I got immediate results with a cup of warm clove tea. I don't know that I've ever mentioned how I make a cup, so here's how.

You'll need whole cloves.

You take ONLY 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of the clove buds and simmer them in a cup of water for about 10 minutes in a covered pot. It won't look really dark, but that's normal. The cover on the pot is to protect the good oils from evaporating more than necessary. You can even save the clove buds for another cup of tea. They're pretty potent little things! You can sweeten the tea with a little honey, vanilla or milk if you want. But if you're sick with a cold the last thing you want is to drink some milk or dairy products. I found it only creates more mucus to have to deal with.

If you simmer it for longer than 10 minutes, it will be pretty strong and numbing. Yes, that's right. It might tingle your tongue a little and make it go numb. Again, that's normal.

That's one of the main reasons I drink clove tea when I'm sick. It numbs the pain in my throat and makes me feel better. Breathing in the steam from my cup helps relieve sinus pressure and sometimes I don't even drink the tea if it's just my sinuses bothering me. I'll just leave the tea in the pot cover my head with a towel and breathe in the steam. Ahhh! relief.

I found this awesome facial massage video and combined with the clove tea spells relief. The self massage is so easy to do and I can instantly feel a difference while I'm doing it!

Clove tea also helps me relax before bedtime. It has a calming effect so that especially when I'm sick, my body can relax and thus heal faster.

Clove tea also helps break up mucus and helps you cough it out.

I learned all about the benefits of clove tea plus so much more in this book. I recommend it! I will say I have not tried Chaparral or some of the other herbs mentioned but just stuck with the herbs found in my cupboard and local grocery store.

Peppermint, onion, cayenne, ginger, clove and garlic. With just these herbs I have found plenty of help!

happy reading!

Pictures coming

I took an unexpected trip into town yesterday, so that's why I did not get any pictures uploaded. I took a few inside, but think they'll turn out better if I can get them with some natural light. I took the hat and showed a friend of mine and she gave me a bunch of ideas for color combinations.

I was hoping in my yarn stash that I'd have some colors to use for hats, but sadly no. I'm thinking of destashing all of my yarn that isn't hat yarn and just focusing solely on making hats, prayer shawls, and helmet liners- which I did knit a few rounds of last night. I forgot how my hands hurt after only a few rounds. I guess it's because the needles are so tiny.

I love the idea of having a dozen or more baby sets made up, so that when my friends are expecting I can just mail them a set from my stash. Or if someone wants to buy a set from me, then it's all ready to go. Going to look at buying a plastic crate to keep them in as well. I'll make up pink, blue and generic colors.  

I will try to upload some pictures soon! check back often.

until next time!

Crocheted baby ear flap hats all sizes

I found a crocheted ear flap hat pattern that I like better. I love the blog too. So many cute patterns and she gives permission to sell the items from it. That's so nice!

I like this link because of all the sizes given. I'm hoping to try out each size this week and hopefully be able to figure it out. I've got a few ideas yet on who they are going to but for now I'm just practicing.

This is the pattern. She has a new version and an old version. The one I am trying is the newer one.   At first I had a lot of trouble with it. When I went to do the second round, I wasn't sure where to place that first double crochet. I still consider myself a beginner crocheter. I have learned the importance of counting each round right away. That's why I had so much trouble last night with the other pattern. I happened to count my rows after I got done and I had about 20 more stitches than I was supposed to!

Anyways, I wasn't sure, do I put the first double crochet in the first spot, where I had just chained, or do I go to the next spot. When I got to the end, there was an extra space, which got me thinking about it in the first place. Skipping the first spot, left a hole that didn't seem right, but then it made sense when I got around to the end, because it ended up right.

Now that I'm on round four, I can see that there is a small hole diagonally along each round, but I think it's supposed to be like that. I am also pulling just a bit tighter to keep that hole from being too noticeable.

Okay, scratch all that above. First off, I found this super helpful link yesterday. It turns out I WAS doing it wrong. I was skipping the first hole and putting it in the last. Since I figured this out, crocheting has been going much more smoothly.

I finished crocheting the pink ear flap baby hat and loved it! Until I realized I did not have enough pink leftover to make the matching baby booties. I really like making them as sets now and probably won't ever make any that don't go together. The baby bootie that I made the other day that turned out three sizes larger than the other. Well, it was the right size and the first one I made was too tiny. What!? Not sure what I did wrong. So... I then took out the reverse single crochet that I made previously on the pink hat as well as the cute braided ties and re-did the edging in a cream color. Then, I made the ties a bit longer since they were really too short in the first place and mixed some cream in with the pink.

I don't want to brag, but I LOVE the way it turned out! I almost don't want to give it away and just keep for myself! lol I also crocheted a small flower and sewed it on the hat. I started out making a crochet flower like the one here, but I realized with the bulky yarn it was going to turn out too large, so I made a few changes and made it a bit differently. Then, when I sewed it on, I used pink for the thread so it stands out a little better.

To make the flower, I just did a sc crochet for the center instead of a dc. And stopped after round two.

I know you're probably wanting to see some pictures but it will have to be this afternoon before I can upload them.

Yesterday I dropped off the two camo sets, the red set and the lavender cream one. I also got the stuff that I had from the flea market booth. I'm going to take some of those items and put them in the quilt store. Then, I'll be working on new items for the flea market. I want to always have fresh new items in both places. So, rotating them seemed like a good plan while making up new items as well.

Well, got to go take some pictures of the new pink hat and finish a pair of booties to go with them.

until next time!

Leaving comments

I've noticed when I try to leave a comment on friend's blogs that after I type in my comment, that I'll think it's done but usually what happens is in a few seconds a window will pop up or sometimes the page stays the same and then it will ask me to type in a verification code. A lot of times I don't wait long enough for that to happen and then my comments never go through.

Does that happen to any of my readers? The reason I have the annoying verification code is to keep out spammers. I also moderate all comments because sometimes the spammers still get through, and I don't want inappropriate comments on my blog.

So, I hope that none of you have ever experienced any trouble with leaving comments. At least not recently.

I love hearing from my readers especially links to pictures of things they've made through a pattern they found on my blog. hint! hint! :-)

Busy day crocheting baby sets

Today was a busy day for me. I got a lot done. Yay!

I got two camo baby sets done. Hat with booties Got the tags and labels on them ready to go.

I finished the red baby bootie set. The hat has a petaled look which I like and can be folded up or down depending on size.

I finished the lavender and cream set as well. I like the way it looks with the two colors but it was more of a pain than I want to deal with. I would consider doing it again for a custom made item, but not for ready made. I thought I could use just one color to do the sewing up the sides but when you turn it inside out, it shows and so I had to sew it up with both colors. Then, I had both colors already with ends to weave in. I really hate weaving in my ends!

But I guess I should look at it as a good thing, meaning that I am done with it. Well, almost! :-)

I worked on getting the pink set done tonight but when I got done with the other half of the baby bootie, I messed up big time. It was three sizes larger than the first one! Oh no! I'm not sure yet what I even did wrong. I had the same number of rows for both. Same hook size. I thought my tension was the same size. So, I ripped it all out and of course, I didn't realize the problem until AFTER I had weaved in all my loose ends!

After that happened, I decided to take a long break from it. I googled crocheted baby ear flap hat patterns and found this one. I'm excited about even though I'm a bit nervous since a lot of people apparently had problems with the pattern. But I think I noticed where the author said she fixed them. So far so good.

I'll post up pictures tomorrow, if I don't forget before I turn them in. I'm excited the most about the lavender set because as a hat alone it did not sell, but with the cute baby booties, I think it has a greater chance. I also have two other hats that didn't sell by themselves and planning on fixing them up a little fancier and hoping to have enough yarn to make some booties with.

I've also been faithfully working on my prayer shawl for my friend having a baby boy. I love the colors I picked and hope she does too! Even though I've messed up several times it's still coming out faster than I thought it would be. I think that's because I decided to use size 13 needles for it. Remember how I had accidently done that last time. Well, I liked the look it gave. She's having a baby in spring and it may be summer when she still wants to wear it, so I didn't want it to be too hot to wear.

I tried to make each hat a little different except for the camo ones. By the way, I thought for some reason I could get several (4-5) baby sets from one skein of the Red heart yarn, but was shocked that I got only two complete sets. Now, I'm wishing I had charged a bit more for them, but still happy with the price. ($7) I have to compete with the other like items made in the shop that are marked for $3 or less!

I also stamped about 19 more tags. I really like the idea of including a gift tag and washing instructions with each set. I think that also helped to sell it quickly. People want to know that it's machine washable and if it's for a gift the tag is nice.

I stamped some with teddy bears, baby face, baby feet and baby shoes. And then I was able to find a "To and From" Stamp which made me jump for joy! So, I stamped them on the inside.

I really like this baby set I borrowed from my neighbor to make the gift tags with.

Will post up pictures of the tags and sets I made later.

Well, off to finish some loose ends.

Until next time!

And the winner is...

I had one person enter who did not leave me any contact information, so I did not include them in the drawing.

And the winner is....

Drum roll, please...

Jen said...

I am in! I tried to win from her, lol! I would want #2 and either spearmint or patchouli. Thanks!

December 22, 2011 10:21 AM 

I have your contact info already. Let me know which soap scent you want, unless you want me to pick and I'll mail it out on Tuesday.

Congratulations!!