Cabled Star Square (Crochet)

The finished size on the pattern for the cabled star square is 8 x 8, but I needed some thing smaller (6 x 6) for my swaps, so I left off rounds 7 & 8. The star is what I luv'd about this pattern. I thought the star would be the hardest part, but it ended up the easiest. I got stuck on Rnd 5 and had to rip it out several times, until I figured out to mark every 10 stitches in Rnd 4.(Yes I know I should have done that first, oh well live and learn.)For this pattern it is important to check counts after every round. Like I said before, I finished off on Rnd 6 for size and also used a smaller hook (G) since I tend to crochet pretty loose. Once I figured out how to get passed my trouble row it wasnt so bad. I was looking for some thing unusual and not the traditional granny square.

(For the free pattern click on the link above)

Granny Square Swap

The term "Granny Square" was used as a generic description for this swap. We are supposed to knit or crochet a 6 x 6 inch square, any color, any design. This is one in a series of swaps...in the end we should have enough to put together an afghan, sorta like a mystery project. Im excited, its been a long time since Ive done any swaps like this. I'm looking forward to seeing all the color combo's and designs. I have been searching through patterns looking for uncommon designs & practicing so I can send my partners some thing unusual. I got a late start on these swaps so I plan on using some of my practice squares as fill ins. I am doing some private swaps to get caught up too...I like the idea of receiving squares from other countries & different states around the US. Makes for a great story behind your afghan.(Above: each square I make doesnt need to match since each one goes to a different partner.)

If I do decide to make my own afghan some time, I would go with the multi and dark raspberry. Luv the colors!

Found a great tutorial on how to sew all these granny squares together...she has a great blog and some really cool square patterns.

This pattern was published in Country Afghans Magazine Spring 2000 issue.

"Reversible Delft Tiles"

Random Crafts

What can I say? When I was big into swapping, I swear I tried almost every thing at least once. As you can tell by some of my previous posts I have been digging through some of my craft stuff..spring cleaning I guess and found some of my projects. Above, is one of my Dotee Dolls and I have to say she is my favorite. I like her funky hair, sassy smile,and hand embroidery. What makes her a Dotee Doll? They all have a top hanger and a bottom tail/tassel. Her face is original to me, done with felt and free hand embroidery & her hair is yarn that Ive stitched in place and styled. There are a ton of interpretations for this type of doll and are frequently swapped between crafters. Ive quit swapping things like this since I dont really have extra storage room for collections and things that sit around, but they are fun to make and get creative with.

The second picture is an altered domino...they are addictive! I had color every where. It has a few steps to it, and I found it took some practice. There are some really great designs out there...Ive made a few cool ones for swapping or thank you's for other crafters, but for the most part I never quite got to the level I wanted. So I was happy just to dabble for a while.

Wow! Really?

I have this knack of putting things in a "safe" place and not finding them again for a few years. Im not sure how its come about that I have this talent, but its very frustrating! I lost one of my favorite rings (claddagh) & found it 3 yrs later. The matching ring in silver I got my daughter for her 16th birthday was also put in a "safe" place and she turned 20 this year. Still looking for that one! One of my cross stitch projects in progress has gone missing now too. Pattern, floss, everything! Ugh! So I guess its no wonder that I found this cross stitch that I finished for a friends wedding gift 18 yrs late.LOL I swear I thought I sent it along in the post but SURPRISE! Yes, that does sound like some thing I would do, but 18yrs late is even a bit much for me. The good news is they are still happily married and together, so maybe she will like it for their upcoming anniversary & be just as surprised as I was ...

Forsythia Twinkle Lights

Ive always liked the bright sunshiny color of the Forsythia bush (pictured above)...still trying to find the perfect spot in my yard where they will be able to survive. In the mean time, Ive added forsythia twinkle lights to the fireplace for a burst of color. Totally luv it! My guys seam to like to sit in the dark for some reason & me well, I hate the man cave effect. Guess this is a small victory...the twinkle lights will provide just enough light to keep every one happy.

Mineral Springs Park

Stopped by the park to enjoy the spring weather & just the beauty of it all. To bad Im not artisticlly inclined, this would have been wonderful inspiration.

(The church in the middle arch of the trellis is where my husband & I were married. It will be 18 yrs this summer - 3rd picture)

My "New Book Release" To Read List

It seems to me that my most recent "new book release" wish list all comes out within a couple months of each other. I have to say I have been most impatient to get my hands on these good reads. So Im posting my list. This is mostly so I can keep it all straight, but I thought some one might find some thing to their liking and enjoy it just as much as I will. So here it goes:

* Knit One Purl Two by Gil McNeil (Beach Street Knitting and Yarn Society Series -

book 3) Already released (done)

* Meeting by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Magic Next Door - book 2) Already Released

* Till Death Do Us Purl by Anne Canadeo ( Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series - book 4) I believe this one was released early Mar. 2012 (done)

* The Promise by Jessica Sorensen (Fallen Star Series - book 4) release date on Mar. 24,2012

* The Unseen by Heather Graham release date Mar. 27, 2012 (done)

* Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz (book 2) release date Mar. 27, 2012

* Indebted by Amy Bartol (Premonition Series - book 3) release date - April 2012 (done)

* Silence by Michelle Sagara (New Series - book 1) release date May 1, 2012

* A Fatal Fleece by Sally Goldenbaum ( A Seaside Knitters Mystery - book 6)

release date - May 1, 2012

* City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare ( Mortal Instruments Series - book 4)

release date May 8, 2012 (the countdown is also posted to the right of my blog)

*Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep ( Mythos Academy Series - book3) May 29, 2012

*The Departed by J.A. Templeton (MacKinnon Curse Series - book3) ?End of Spring 2012(done)

* Cast on Kill Off by Maggie Sefton ( A Kelly Flynn Knitting Mystery Series - book 10)

release date June 5, 2012

Above: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I read this book about a month ago and thoroughly loved it! At the time I didnt realize that it had a Christmas theme to it or I would have read it during the holidays, but I enjoyed it none-the-less. Totally made me laugh and proved at times comical. I couldnt put it down. Refreshing. I think it falls in the category of teen or young adult.

Note:I found most of these of book titles on Amazon.com but there are a few on my list that are not on Amazon yet.

Spring Wreath

Wow, usually Im not quite this early with the spring stuff, but its so nice outside I couldnt resist.

Its only March and it will be high 70's to 80 all this week. A lot of my plants have been coming up for a couple of weeks now. Ive already dug out all my porch stuff & rehung the swing too.(That might sound easy,but you should see my basement.)

I must have gotten my craftyishness on today(haha say that 5times fast)...besides getting my rattan ball lights done, I have also made my new spring wreath. After hanging an older one that I made, I decided it looked pretty haggard & faded. Found all the flowers & ribbon at Dollar Tree, just needed to go pick up a straw wreath for the base. Not a bad days work.

Rattan Ball Lights

Ive had my eye on the rattan ball string lights for quite a while now, BUT they were $27.95 (Amazon) without shipping and handling and only had 10 lights per strand. Way to much for that sort of thing (bottom picture).

Ive had my drink dispencer jar for a while now ...found it 50% off & today found the rest of the materials to fill my jar and make my own rattan ball lights. I unscrewed the spout to the jar and strung the lights thru then worked on them. Easy. Used fillers to take up the extra space. I like mine even better because they had the same colors Im doing the kitchen in. YES! I am a happy camper:)

This pretty much serves as a big night light for my kitchen in the evenings...works great for us.

New Riverfront Knit Shop

I visited this great little knit shop last week...but I was with my hubby and he's not exactly into shopping (especially for yarn).He was a good sport though and let me look around for a bit before we grabbed lunch on the riverfront. I'm planning on rounding up some friends and visiting again on knit night. All around, it was a good day:)

http://www.thefiberuniverse.com/

Stitching Socks

I thought this was to funny, but I luv these pictures and thought the cross stitch pattern for the socks were perfect! Im sure I will get a "talkin to" for posting these pictures, but isnt that part of a moms job? (Kelsey-6th grade=)

Found this Free pattern on: http://www.brigittedadaux.com/article-vos-realisations-71505963.html I have to say this is one awesome blog! Check it out...

Bella ....who let the cat out of the bag? haha She just couldnt resist.

My Cabled Afghan WIP (Knit)

Ive been making slow progress...but the pattern is working out great so I dont mind taking my time with it. Im not a fast or slow knitter, Im just average...and its taking me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to complete about 4-5 rows. Ive been working on it sporatically since its not easy to lug around, but Im happy with the progress so far:) Its totally washable, but I imagine it will be one heavy momma when its wet! Hmm will figure that one out when the time comes.

My knitting friends seem to find my big project pretty funny when they see me with this large wip in tow.....maybe I need one of those luggage bags that have the wheels and a long handle on it. hahaha

This winter has actually been pretty balmy so far...& here I was looking forward to cuddling up by the fireplace to knit my afghan. Believe me when I say this is a very hot project! I could probably shed a few pounds being covered up with this.

When I finally get this baby finished I plan to move on to all my ufo's (UnFinished Objects). I dont really make new year resolutions cause they just do not seem to work out for me, but I do like finishing things Ive started. Sooo this is just one of my goals.

Colossal Cables Throw

Gorgeous, cozy and heartwarming! Made of chunky Merino wool.
This was originally sold at http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp , but from all the posts I have found, I'm assuming it was sold some time around 2008-09 & is probably not available now. I was trying to find a similar pattern to knit, but didnt find any thing so far. Im sure there's one out there some where, maybe you'll have more luck.

Im still in the process of knitting my own Monster Afghan of cables. Its deffinately taking some man hours since I chose the larger yarn, but will get a big dose of satisfaction when all is said and done:)

earlier post:http://craftycaffeine69.blogspot.com/2011/01/aran-cable-afghan.html

Happy Valentine's Day

This is why you marry your best friend!!

Cross Stitched Birthday Wish ATC's

Received these wonderful Birthday Wishes from some sweet gals in my ATC cross stitch group.

TY:)

Owl Valentine

I got a special surprise in the mail today....my nephew David made me a Valentine Owl since owls are a favorite of mine! Looks like you worked hard ...TY honey, I luv it!

Scrapbooking

I havent scrapbooked in ages, so I dug out one of my old scrapbooks since I was thinking of my kids...
Above: I made these scrapbook pages when my daughter graduated 8th grade. Her birthday party that year was Hawaiian themed, so thats the pattern I chose for the background paper. On the left, I added words that described her or things that were important in her life at the time. On the right, I started with pictures of her when she was little and progressed in age and important events. Then I added some tags, b-day cake picture, and some keepsakes.



Above: Father & Son (right: son, Left: dad)
I couldnt believe it when I found a picture of dad and noticed the similarities to my sons school picture for that year. It was uncanny (my kids think its really creepy), but I couldnt resist scrapbooking it . When I showed my mom, she asked when my son had his potrait taken & it was actually a portrait of my hubby when he was little:)

This was a good time ...the Harry Potter book parties at Barnes and Noble! We always looked forward to these. I started reading the books to my kids while I was in college ( yes, I was a late bloomer). Couldnt afford to buy the books when they first came out, so I rented them from my college library. We read a chapter at a time before bed since I had alot of studies. It became a special ritual & the librarians were a big help letting me check out the books more than once to finish them. My medical program was demanding and they understood so gave us some leway. We would get a group of friends together and hang out all night until the newest book was ready to be sold(by then, I had graduated). I miss that, but we also had a good time seeing all the movies. Lines were long and getting seats together for our group was a challenge since the theaters were packed.Yep, thats the whole point of a scrapbook page...to bring back those fun moments.

Tatter-tot Casserole

Some one asked me for this recipe, so I decided to go ahead and post it. It's just a basic casserole, not much to it , but its one of my guys favorites for supper.

you will need:

* medium size package of hamburger

* 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup OR cream of chicken ( your choice ).

* shredded cheddar cheese

* one bag of tatter-tots ( I prefer the mini tatter-tots but use reg when I cant find them)

Directions:

* cook and drain hamburger & put drained hamb. in a 9X13 casserole pan

* add the can of creamed soup & mix well with the hamb. (might need to add just a touch of water if youve used a larger amount of hamb.-(helps even

out the cream soup for all-over coverage)

* cover the whole thing with a single layer of tatter-tots following the baking directions on the back of the package for time & temp.

* after the tatter-tots are browned, cover the top with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese, put back in the oven just until cheese is melted.Serve.

Done!

Laughs

Kitchen Colors

Above:Luv the wood floor & cabinet color...