Summer fun

It's Summertime! At our house One of the things that mean Summer is here is freezie pops.

We all enjoy them as a cool treat. Even the dog likes to eat them. Mandy taught her to open her mouth so we can shoot a piece of icee in.

I usually buy them by the case so there is plenty in the freezer. I think everyone eats them two at a time.

There is one problem with eating icees though.....your hand freezes while you are eating one. There is a solution...

The freezie cozie! They have cozies for everything now. These little cozies keep little hands and big comfortable while enjoying a Summertime treat. As a bonus they stop that annoying drip of condensation.

New booties

I finally finished these booties today. I have struggled so much with this order it has driven me crazy more than once. A friend on facebook posted a picture of the adult version of these slippers on my wall about a month ago asking if I could make these. Finding the pattern was the easy part. These booties have been floating around facebook and blogs for some time now. My first obstacle was finding the right yarn that not only my customer liked, the Mom that was going to be receiving the baby booties liked, and a yarn that would work for the design. For the adult booties I ended up using Red Heart's dark orchid and Knit Picks Chroma lollipop for the baby booties.

Once the right yarn was ordered then I had to learn how to do the crocodile stitch. I've watched this video a few times before so I had a good idea how the stitch worked. The actual crocodile stitch was pretty simple. The baby bootie used fingering weight yarn on a tiny hook so it was a bit fiddly but the actual stitch was easy. The hardest part was the actual bootie. I have the hardest time making the foot portion on booties and slippers.  I must have torn out and redid the purple slippers five times before I got a handle on it. By the time I made it to the last baby bootie (bootie #4) I finally was able to make one without ripping out too many stitches.

Even after all the trouble making these I would definitely make them again. I like the look and they feel very comfy. I think the adult version would look nice with a leather or suede sole stitched on. 

Where have I been?

Miss Mocha 5-2013

So, while I took a break last year from blogging I didn't stop crafting and chatting. I spent alot of time on my personal facebook page and a bit of time on my business page. I'm trying to find a rhythm of posting on my business page but it is a bit hard for me. I also started posting more projects on my ravelry page. I'm trying to keep better track of not only what I have made and from what pattern but also the little things like what yarn I used and how I changed the pattern.

Like Mr. & Mrs. Winter that I made last year. I made these for my old neighbor but I think I need a set for myself because I love the way they turned out.

I've been feeling the blogging bug again so I am going to start out posting once a week hopefully. If you follow me on facebook or Instagram you have probably seen most of what I will be posting here picture-wise but there will be new things too. Plus, you get to here me babble.

Also, I have become the crazy cat lady so you will be seeing various pictures of my two favorite cats, Whiskers and Miss Mocha at various times last year.

I hope everyone is staying warm and safe!

Whiskers taking care of her new buddy.  5-2013

Flamingo Love

I've always loved Flamingos. My facebook picture is a stuffed flamingo I crocheted a couple years back. When I saw that Heidi had a new hat pattern I had to buy it.  As usual I had most of it done but I needed to sew the wings on and make the earflaps. It sat like that for a couple weeks before I got tired of seeing it sitting there and finished it.  I think she looks cute sitting in our lemon/orange tree.

This tree was here when we bought our house 10 years ago. Each year it looked like it was dying and Hubby wanted to chop it down but I wouldn't let him. Every few years it would produce 1 or two fruits. They looked like oranges but they tasted sour like lemons. Last year it poofed out with all this foliage and think it looks cute. Last year it produced 8 fruits but most of them fell off before they ripened. Some birds made a nest in it 5 or 6 years ago and we see different birds use it each year. When I put the hat in there to take pictures I saw a second nest. I love watching the birds work on the nests and seeing the new babies.



*** I just saw an episode of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives and they were using a sour orange that looked just like the fruit that grows on our tree. It sounds right. ***

Blankies

I've been working on these baby afghans a bit here and a bit there. I knew I needed to get them finished but never found the motivation. With three new babies due to arrive later this year I figured now was as good a time as any to get them finished.

This one was knit diagonally. Simple brainless knitting.

This one is a gorgeous green color and was crocheted. The pattern was on the back of the Pound of Love yarn label. It only takes one ball to make the afghan. This pattern is a favorite of mine. It has such a nice texture for babies.

I had the hardest time getting pictures of these afghans. They were either too dark or too light or the pics just looked "off".

Another round of Viking hats

How I spent the month of January

Back in January of 2010 I had a custom order for 34 blue and grey Viking hats. The hats were for a group of high school cheerleaders from Staten Island, NY that were going to a cheerleading competition down here in Florida. This year the same school (different girls) ordered another set of 19 Viking hats because they once again were going to a competition down here.

I haven't been in the sewing room much lately and I sure do miss it. I think I will need to spend some quality time with my sewing machine very soon. I have a couple projects that need to be finished soon.

It's Monday again and a give away

I thought since we have started a new week we may as well start it with a give away.

While I was hunting for Eagle patterns a bit ago I found this book on Ebay. I went ahead and made the Eagle even though it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

He turned out cute though. Different but still cute. He stands about 6" high and is crocheted.

He has safety eyes so he is safe for kids but I would still keep an eye on the little ones just in case.

So if you would like to give this little eagle a new home just leave a comment on this post. I will keep this give away open until this Friday night. Then I will have one of the boys draw a name. 

New scarf patterns in the mail

***Today's the last day to toss your name in the hat for the stocking(s) give away. You can find the post over here. You can also visit these blogs for a chance at their stockings:


Quilting Dreams
Tangos Treasures

Jane's fabric and quilting

Gingerbread snowflakes

Cloth to creation

Quilting dreams

I recently ordered some new patterns for crocheted novelty scarves. I picked these up from Crochet Village over on Etsy.

I love cute scarves. I bought this pack because of Santa Clause and the mittens.

I love all of these.

I think the penguins in this pack are cute. I received permission from Crochet Village to sell the finished scarves in my shop. If there is one that you would like to own, let me know and I can make one up for you.

Look at all these other cuties I saw in their shop! I just might need to place another order for these guys.

Mish Mash

I have wanted an immersion blender for some time now. I recently became a happy owner and tested it out. That orange glop you see is actually some delicious butternut squash soup. It's just a bit thick but still yummy. I didn't have a recipe. I just winged it like I usually do. I sweated some onions, carrots, celery and garlic until the onions were soft. I added in 3 white potatoes and a medium size butternut squash. Both were pealed and cut into 1" cubes. I covered them with chicken broth and brought it to a boil. Once it came to a boil I turned the heat down to a simmer and let it go until the potatoes were soft. It took about 45 minutes. Then I took the immersion blender to it and made it smooth. I had a bowl for lunch and put the rest in the freezer. It will be great for quick dinners at work with a piece of hearty bread.

I also made faux banana ice cream and faux mango ice cream. For the fake ice cream you chopped up your fruit and place it in the freezer. After it is frozen you use the immersion blender to chop up the fruit until smooth. It comes out cold and creamy just like ice cream. It's great for me because of my milk allergy plus it's healthier than ice cream.

I also received this little package in the mail this week. Val  sent these out to all the participants in the YOE. The card says not to open until Christmas. I'm trying to be good and wait but I don't know if I will make it.

I also finished the main portion of the cupcake scarf. It just needs the embellishments. Plus, I am waiting on customer approval of the colors.

Scarves....DONE!

I finished all 6 of the scarves from my to do list.  I was going to give them as Christmas gifts but now I'm not sure. I'm not sure if the crew that I was making these for wants/needs/uses scarves. I might put them in the shop and stop worrying about it.

I also went out and bought some things for my Stocking. The first is coming soon and I want to be prepared.   I found some great deals and it isn't even Black Friday yet.

Golf club covers

I have been making Viking Hats  for a couple years now. I have one customer that has ordered many baby hats from me over the last year or so. She has a company and I believe she purchases these hats for the new babies of the employees and customers. Recently she asked me if I could make some golf club covers using the Viking hat design. These are what I came up with.

I think they came out fun. They are definitely a novelty item. All I see when I look at them is a cactus though. I keep picturing them in green lol.

I love the challenge of working a bit out of my norm. Another item crossed off my to do list. See, it wasn't too bad of a list, right?

Couple Scarves

This rainbow scarf is a toddler length. I bought one skein of this yarn a couple years back because I love the colors. It sat in the yarn stash for a long time. I found it again recently and decided to whip up a quick scarf.

I found this yarn the other day at Walmart. I've always liked blue and yellow together. I crocheted this one sideways so the colors wouldn't line up exactly like they do when you crochet side to side.

That's 2 of the 6 scarves I'm hoping to get done.

A bit of crochet

This is the afghan I am working on for Robbie. I made one for Rob a couple years ago when he was in the hospital and Robbie loves to snuggle up in it in our bed. I took him to A.C.Moore and let him choose the colors. I love the two blues he chose but he also chose a forest green. I was a bit concerned about how they would work together but decided that if Robbie wants them then they look great together. Now that it is getting bigger I find that it is OK. Of course I would have chosen black instead of green but at least it is a dark green so it works fine. This is a great project to work on at night while watching TV.

Witch-y women

I also made three of these witches to go with all the cats on the last post. The pattern is from here again. These patterns are not for beginners. I have been crocheting for many years and I had a hard time following the pattern. At least there were charts to help but even they weren't very helpful. I'm thrilled to help my customer by making these but I hope I never have to make any more lol.

Little things

I haven't been in the sewing room much lately. I have been busy crocheting little cats for a customer. Love the Turkey Cat. The patterns can be found on Ravelry or Cecinatrix's blog.

Spreading the love

I have been a member over at Ravelry for 3 years. I love the format they have there. There are so many amazing patterns and designers. I haven't visited there much in the last few months though. I've recently been drawn back  in.  As a designer and member, I have the ability to place my patterns in a store.

These are my current patterns. It took me a couple hours to figure out how to get my store ready and get these patterns uploaded/listed. It wasn't hard, just user error. Probably shouldn't have tried when I was tired and had a headache.

I love the mirrored effect in this picture. I found it playing over at Picnick.

September is for mice

Over at YOE the theme for September was mouse/mice. My partner this month was Courtney. I went simple this month because I didn't want to over think what my shoulder could handle.

The green birdie thing in the middle is a potholder. I didn't have any mice fabric but mice and birds go together, right? I also crocheted a mousie ornament all dressed for winter. The fuzzy things are knit mice with googly eyes.

New Scarf Pattern

I drafted this crochet pattern a couple years ago. I finally sat down and wrote the pattern up. Pattern writing is a struggle for me. It can be hard to get what's in my head onto paper in a way that other people can understand. I love making fun and colorful scarves and rainbows are something that have always been a favorite of mine.

You can buy the pattern here and here.  I have a few other ideas swimming around in my head. Now to just get them out. It is getting a little crowded in there :)

A new friend

This month's theme over at The Year Of Enchantment Swap is Octopus. I've always liked this pattern so I thought I would make him up in rainbow colors. The pattern is from an old Crochet World magazine. Once again the poor guy has lopsided eyes lol.

Perfect Purse

sorry about the glare but the weather has been weird here

I receive weekly emails from Lion Brand Yarn. Last week I received their latest newsletter and saw their crochet pattern Perfect Purse.  I love the lacy look so I had to give it a try.

I didn't bother to line this since the main part is done in single crochet. The top portion needs to be blocked but I love the look.