Autumns Baby Shower

I was glad to be here to help with Autumns shower, just wish I would have been set up in my own house prior.
Not a very good picture of the cupcakes, but they were chocolate with white ganache filling.

This was the first try at a diaper cake, really wasn't that hard, and I liked the results.

The baby blanket I crocheted, everytime I do squares I swear that will be the last time. And these were 3 inch ones, so it seemed like I had to make a million, but the results were worth it.

A few minutes

I've been so busy this summer, when I get a chance to sit and crochet or knit I have been working on my daughters baby blanket (sure hope we're having a girl), but when that gets boring and I want to whip out something quick I go for hats. I love this swirl design, while working on the hat I came up with the mitten idea, and while working on the mittens I came up with the bootie idea. I love these red hats and mittens, I think Kyler and Danny will look good in matching caps this winter.
Here's the bootie and hat one, I think I'll make more in brighter colors when I can get to some more yarn!

Mis-matched

Really, I've been knitting this summer, but I can't seem to make more then 1 sock, then I want to go on to another one! What's with that! I am making myself finish the footie sock though, it's for our friend Chase, man he has big feet! Slowly but surely! I love the blue stripped yarn and I'm planning on keeping this pair (if it's ever finished) for me!!!!

Scruffins?

I got this recipe from the Good Things Catered blog. I had been calling them Scruffins, then I went to make a copy of the recipe for a friend and Frank noticed that they are not Scruffins, but Scuffins! Makes more sense since they are a cross between a muffin and a scone, no "r" in there anywhere! Good Things Catered had them as lemon poppy seed, but I changed it to blueberry lemon. They all got great reviews from the customers on our charters last week, and from our friends over the week-end.
Not such a great picture, but here's the great recipe:

Lemon Poppy Seed Scuffins

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 c. yogurt
1/2 c. cream
1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tsp poppy seeds

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment.
-In small bowl, combine egg, yogurt, cream, lemon juice, zest, extracts and whisk to combine thoroughly; set aside.
-In large bowl combine flour, sugar, powder, salt, poppy seeds and whisk to combine.
-Using pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into flour until all pieces are smaller than pea-sized.
-Add wet ingredients to dry and mix in lightly with fork until dough just comes together.
-Using cookie scoop or hands, grab loose balls of dough and place onto prepared baking sheet.
-Place baking sheet in the oven.
-Bake until turn slightly brown, about 20-25 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
-Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
-Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

A Blanket for Danny

I finished the baby blanket for the new grandson that is due in July. JC and Courtney are having a boy, Danny Ramero. I crocheted it in the same colors as Kylers, thought that would be kind of cute, both have the same colors, just different patterns.
This shell pattern is from the Lions Brand website. I think it would look good in a thicker yarn using a bigger needle too.

I knitted up these little socks, I don't know what I was thinking, but for some reason I didn't think there was that much pink in the yarn. So I don't think these will work for Danny, maybe I'll get a girl grandbaby someday. I think a little knitted hat would be a cute match with these. I picked up this pattern when I was over in Juneau last, now I'll have to search for a hat pattern.

And What Did I Get In Return?

This is what I received in return for the slippers and purse:

It has so many little pockets for my knitting needles, scissors, and circular needles, plus it's just like I wanted, it is made to hang on the wall. "Luckdragon" on Craftster did such a great job!
As a bonus she put in some Sensations yarn too, I'm not sure what I will make out of it yet, but there is enough for something cute I'm sure.

A Personal Swap

I just finished these for a personal swap on Craftster. I'll be getting a holder to hang on the wall or back of a door for my knitting needles. I seem to keep getting more of them....


Both of these patterns are in Debbie Strollers Happy Hooker Crochet. I modified the slippers though since the pattern was a little hard to figure out.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Munchies

With summer fast approaching I decided to try one of the many cookie recipes I've been collecting over the winter. I try and have homemade cookies on board the boat for our guests, just as an extra treat. Plus, since I love to bake, this is a good excuse to do so without eating everything that comes out of the oven. I found these on the Bake or Break Recipe Blog but I know I've seen them on other blogs too. Instead of rolling them into balls, I just did them one at a time, rolled one in my hand, then flattened it in my hand added the peanut butter filling, oh and I added a small marshmallow too, then rolled it all back up keeping the filling inside. Seemed easier. I was expecting a big chocolate, marshmallow, peanuty mess when I opened the oven, but they came out looking great, and tasted so good I had to share too.


Ingredients:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
½ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Stir together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Set flour mixture aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and the ¼ cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Form chocolate dough into 32 balls about 1¼ inches in diameter. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and remaining ½ cup peanut butter till smooth. Shape into 32 (3/4-inch) balls. I used chunky peanut butter, so it was a little on the dry side when I mixed this up, so I just added a little milk and it worked great.

Slightly flatten a chocolate dough ball and top with a peanut butter ball. Shape the chocolate dough over the peanut butter filling, completely covering the filling. Roll dough into a ball. Repeat with the remaining chocolate dough and peanut butter filling.

Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Lightly flatten with bottom of glass dipped in remaining sugar.

Bake at 350F for 8 minutes, or until just set and surface is slightly cracked. Let cookies stand for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Makes 32 cookies.

The "Crazy Quilt" Afghan

Here it is, all the squares put together. I wasn't sure if it was going to be semi squared the way it was going together. But I am really pleased with the results. Now all I need is a red room to put it in.....
I used Genova yarn that I had bought on Smiley's website. It's a really soft yarn for being acrylic, but I wanted something washable.

A Granny Oblong?

I haven't just been taking morning naps, followed by afternoon naps! I'm determined to get my red and white afghan done before we go on vacation next week. I'm in the process of joining my squares now. I wanted to do a "crazy quilt" type afghan using only red and white for colors. I can picture the outcome in my head, we'll see if it actually looks like I plan when I'm done. I had a hard time figuring out how to do an oblong granny, I had found a small granny square I liked from my handy dandy Readers Digest book on needle craft:
The largest squares I adapted from a pattern on Lions Brand website, they look kind of like poinsettias to me. I hope that will not make this afghan look too Christmasy:
I couldn't find any patterns to adapt for the oblong sections, so I just made my own:
The oblong granny.............Finished "Crazy Quilt" will be posted next. And as I hook it together, it is getting more and more crazy!

The Hannah Sweater

Well, I'm hoping for a grand daughter in November, and for Autumn to her Hannah. That's not too much to ask for is it? Since Craftster was running a challenge for the shell stitch in their crochet forum and I had never entered one before I thought this would be a good opportunity. I used 2 skeins of Bernat Cottontots, I love the feel of this, it is so soft. But with this stitch it made the sweater feel more like a jacket. Oh well, it's still cute, I just wish I had a new born handy to try it on.

This is called a Ripple Stitch, it's a form of a shell stitch. I love this yarn so much I may just have to make me something out of it.

Blocking A Finished Item

I've read many ways on how to block an item after it's finished. I still like the way my dad used to block his crocheted items though. This scarf I knitted, YES, I KNITTED, what a feeling, really needed some blocking done to it as you can see.
I just use a big towel to lay it on, pin it in place, get a damp cloth to lay on top of it. Then use the iron on the steam setting to press it flat. This scarf was really curled, so after steaming I let it cool while still pinned in place.

On items that are not out of proportion too bad, a lot of time I don't pin them down, and just shape them when they are warm from the iron. But always use a damp cloth between your iron and finished product so you don't scorch all of your hard work.

I think this scarf will be used more as an accessory instead of warmth. I used Jaeger Roma yarn that I had bought online at Smiley's Yarn I didn't realize I would LOVE this yarn as much as I do, and now I'm kicking myself for not buying more. Of course they are out of this now at the price I got it at, but I will keep checking back.
Like Frank says, at least my holes are where I want them now!

Fuzzy Feet

These are some of the cutest booties and slippers I make, I think anyway. They don't take that long and don't take much yarn either. I can't figure out why all the little ones I know don't have these on their feet though. I really don't like to mass produce anything, so that's probably it. My daughter, who has the same size foot as me, thinks she would like a pair too, (in pink, of course!) I haven't made adult sizes yet, but they might be kind of cute. If nothing else it's a good way to use up any fun fur you may have laying around.

To Market, to market

I just finished this market bag for a personal swap I'm doing. Last week I received from my chocolate swap, and the bar lotion I got I just love. And being the greedy gus that I am, I want more! Actually, I'd like to use some for presents, so Shadeweaver from Craftster agreed to do a personal swap for some more. This is the bag I came up with:
I got the stitch from my dads old (1979, has it really been that long ago?) Reader Digest book, Complete Guide to Needlework. I love that book! It has a lot of stitches, but not a lot of patterns, so you have to figure that part out for yourself. This is the "Bushy Stitch", very easy. I just used cotton yarn.

Chain in multiples of 3, plus 1
Row 1: sk 3 ch (1 dc, ch2, 1sc) in next chain, *sk 2 ch (2dc, ch2, 1sc) in next stitch* , repeat after * to end, ch 2, turn.
Row 2: *(2 dc, ch2, 1sc ) in each 2-chain space*, repeat to end, ch 2 turn.
Repeat from Row 2

Oh the laziness of it all!

I can't figure out what the block is, but I have the yarn to make a red and white afghan for me. I've almost got the design figured out and have started on a few of the squares, but for some reason I keep finding other projects to work on. I will even go exercise before picking up my red and white yarn. I love the yarn it is so soft and feels so good in my fingers, easy to work with too, but there is this wall or drudgery when it comes time for me to actually work on the squares. Last week-end I made 4 pairs of fingerless gloves, 2 wash clothes (knitted even) and now I've started a pair of slippers. I'm looking through my books for other ideas of things to make, just so I don't have to work on THE afghan. I have got to get over this. The only thing I can think of is that I have yet to figure out the oblong 3x6 block that will be needed. So I am going to just make 1 square a day until it is done. (sounds like a good plan anyway)

The knitted wash cloth. Lots of mistakes, but I learned A LOT making this. The first time through I didn't have the pattern figured out and it was all a mess, until the last 12 rows something clicked, and it looked so good. So I took it all out and started again. I crocheted an edge all the way around, I just like the finished look that gives. I'm looking forward to the day I take on a knitted sweater!

Be My Valentine, or Not

I hardly bake anymore since it's just me and Frank, we'd end up more over weight then we already are. I used to make sugar cookies when the kids were home and they would help me decorate them. I sure miss those times. I always seem to break down at Valentines and Christmas and make my sugar cookies. I don't like Royal Icing, it gets so hard and there's no flavor, I'm sure it's easier to decorate with, but I'm all about flavor. I used buttercream on these, like always. Too soft to work with, but so good to eat. Happy Valentines Day, I'll eat a cookie for you!

Broomstick Lace

I love the look of Broomstick Lace, I've only tried it once, and well it was a disaster. So when I joined on of my last swaps on Craftster, the sweat shoppe swap, and this scarf from Broomstick lace was being offered I had to make it my first choice. In this swap you make 5 items all the same and then pick your top 5+ items and hopefully you get some that you picked.
The finer the yarn you use the more lacy it looks.
The gal who made this scarf goes by Guineverefree, I think she did a really good job. It's inspired me to try it again.
I also got this tile necklace. Made by Klum78. A lot of the items I get I use for presents, but I really like the looks of this, so I'll probably keep it, and maybe someday I'll even wear it! I guess I could use it as my "fishing" necklace, since I don't have fishing "diamonds"!

A Little More Tie Action

When I talked with my friend Zonia last, she mentioned the tie aprons I was supposed to be making, in other words get off my butt and get busy! They seemed to go together really easy, I'm thinking it was a nice break from crocheting. I would have modeled them, but for some reason aprons and short chunky people don't go together. I think you need to be tall and thin for an apron, at least these aprons! So the pictures aren't that great, but here are 4 of the 7 that I managed to crank out the last couple of days:

I was hoping to use most of my stash of ties, but it barely made a dent. So I supposed I could always make more if needed.

A Little Chocolate for Inspiration

I joined a chocolate swap on Craftster while I was in Washington, made most of my stuff while I was gone, but finished up and sent the last item this week. Since she has received I can post pictures now. I had seen this swamp and had wanted to participate for a while, so I'm glad I finally had the opportunity. I'm still waiting to receive my package, but will post pictures when it arrives. Along with the chocolatey goodness like, Seattle Chocolates, Mocha chocolate bar from Sitka, a Cadbury Flake bar, plus other chocolate bars and some chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treats, I did craft these items to send too:
A magnetic recipe holder, with the chocolate rice crispy recipe,


A chocolate inspired scarf, Chocolate Squares, with pockets to either keep your stash or keep your hands warm,
And some long fingerless gloves that my partner had on her "wist" list. How better to eat chocolate and keep you hands warm?!

J's Shawl

Here is the shawl I made and forgot to take pictures of for J at Christmas. I made sure I got some pictures when we stopped at her house before getting home:

The color fades from light to dark purple, there is no red in the yarn, that is J's sweatshirt showing through.
I used Sensations boulce yarn, it has a great feel, but was hard to crochet since you couldn't see the stitches, I had to mostly go by feel. The pattern is here:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=147576.0

It's a crochet along, so there are many pictures of this pattern with different types of yarn.

A Scarf For ME!

It's for me because it's not good enough to give as a present. And I haven't made me a scarf yet, so, looks like this one is mine. I love the feel of it, soft and cushy. I made it out of chunky yarn, and I wish I could put the link to the pattern here, but I don't have it! I was cruising blogs and found it, but didn't link to it! ARGH!

But it's for beginners, very simple, cast on 18 (or sets of 3)
then * k1, yo, k2 tog, repeat from *

Both sides are the same, so you don't have to worry about a front or back. Easy, unless you are watching tv, mess up and have to take some rows out!

Knitting, What a Concept

Thanks to Ruth and all of her help I was able to knit another wash cloth, this time with an actual pattern, the basket weave. Being able to watch someone and ask questions makes all the difference in the world when learning something new. I still had a couple of small holes in this when I was finished, but I'm actually starting to see what a purl looks like vs what a knit looks like and how to count my stitches. I think I will try a scarf next........I do need to get some smaller needles though, I think that will also help.
I finished the edges on this baby blanket from The Happy Hooker Crochet book, no holes in this or missed stitches! Weaving the braid in the ends really finishes off the look of this blanket.