Peppermint Bark

And, an updated photo of the keychain critters. With the mouse (bottom right, if you couldn't tell.) ;) I have been sending these out as RAOKs lately. Well three, to be exact.... And technically, one isn't sent yet. But it's ready to go.

And here is the peppermint bark I made last night. It's super easy. Just like making the chocolate hearts and roses I have made in the past. Just crush the candy first. I bought candy canes for 88c. And the almond bark was $1.78, I think. I saw a tin of peppermint bark for $6.99 at WalMart, so the price is way better. (I haven't tried the other bark, so I can't tell you taste-wise, which is better.)

Here it is, all broke up into 'bark'. I am hiding it and divying it out a little bit at a time, or it will all be gone in one day.

I also made some in litle molds. I have no idea where I got these molds, or what it was from. I want to say from an Oreo cookie container, but some of the molds are a little bit smaller than the others. So I don't know. They look like eggs to me, except with a red middle. :P Oh, I forgot to post the link to the website where I got the recipe!: Peppermint Bark I get a lot of recipes there. Or the cooks dot com one...

Here is a close-up of one, not that it makes that much of a difference. I hate how my pictures look all blurry. I have tried everything. I think my camera is just a piece of junk. What do I expect for only $100 eh? Oh well....... Have a Nice Day everyone!

A WIP and an FO

That's a Work In Progress, and a Finished Object. Just in case you didn't know... :P This is a Baby Scrap Ripple Ghan I have been working on. I started this one a looooooong time ago. I don't even remember when. I pulled it out and decided to finish it. I wanted to do only medium brighter colors (about the first five colors of the afghan from the bottom...) but I didn't have many left like that so I guess since it's a 'scrapghan' anyway I will have to improvise and make it work... I think it looks pretty good for all scraps. Incidentally this is my own afghan design. You can find it in 40 Favorite Ripple Afghans, by Leisure Arts. It is the afghan entitled 'Baby Love'. You can also find it in the booklet, 'Ripples for Baby', also by Leisure Arts. I originally designed it to use up scraps, and with the white in between. But when they bought the design, they did it their own way....

And here is a Baby Cotton Hat I tested for Mimi. :D Thanks for letting me test, Mimi. You can see Mimi's in the link.

And a close-up of the flower. I had wanted to make this for my niece, but it turned out too small. So I don't know what I will do with it now. Wait until someone I know has a baby girl, I guess. ;P Have a Nice Day everyone....

Nuttin' Honey...

Not much to post about today. The kids have a four day weekend. I didn't actually get to sleep in much today, though. My husband came in the bedroom and WOKE ME UP! He said 'here's your coffee'. I said, 'There's no school today. They have a four day weekend.' I should have told him that last night, eh? Then, the stupid garage door would not shut. It is SOOOOOO annoying. He tried closing it at least six times. I did get back to sleep for a little while, but woke up at 7:30. (Does anyone really care?) :P We (I should say *I*...) had conferences last night with both/all of their teachers. The oldest has seven. :o Thankfully I didn't have to meet with all seven. (For example, the gym teacher, and the study hall teacher... and one of his teachers wasn't going to be there.) And, by the time I got to #4, the sign up sheet was backed up for another hour (and was probably running late, too.) So I said, 'let's go'... It was his Spanish teacher. Not a high/top priority, is it? Our fifth graders' teacher said she wishes she could have fifty of him, and she would be doing all right. The high schoolers' teachers comments ranged from 'Can you clone him?' to 'Can I keep him?' :D Yes, I am beaming... Then we went out for a while just to go somewhere. To Borders and WalMart. Can you believe they didn't want to buy hardly anything?! Funny, when you actually have money, they can't decide and end up going away with hardly anything... (The ten year old did get a Star Wars Lego kit, and some mechanical pencils.) Hmmm I guess I do the same thing. I can't decide on the one thing I want the most, and usually walk away not getting anything. :P Saves us money that way, though.... lol

Anyway. I am still working on yo-yos, and yo-yo keychain critters. I posted the pattern at Crochetville, under 'Original Patterns'. I also posted it at my pattern blog, too. There isn't a picture of the mouse one. I did make one, finally; but haven't taken a picture. I'll probably take another picture before I send them all out, and re-post that one... (instead of the picture I have up there...it's kinda blurry, anyway.) Well that's about all my boring news for today. Hope you all have a nice weekend coming up. Take Care and thanks for stoppin' by. ;)

I Am Making a Comfortghan

All by myself. Well, I am putting it together. I am having a friend help me make squares. She made the purple granny ones, and the striped granny ones. Now I only have three more to go.

I started this one, it is the Ribbons and Roses square. I've made this one before. I want to lighten it up a little, so it's not so dark. I was also thinking about making the Irish Rose square. Do you think that's too many flowers? I wanted to do Maggie's Square, in some lighter shades. But my friend already made the two stripedy ones.... I don't know!! Waaaaa! And then I have to put it together. I am going to screw it up, I just know it..... :( Well I will finish my squares first, and then worry about the rest. I do need to get some more of the light lavender for the one I am working on... and light sage... sigh. I might just start the Irish Rose one for now until I can get some more yarn.
I'm waiting for a package today, so I don't want to leave until the mail comes.... :P

And, here is something else I have been working on. I had an epiphany on Sunday to make some little critter faces out of the yo-yos, what do you think? From the left: A cat, a pig, and a teddy bear. I also was thinking I could do a mouse, and maybe a rabbit. If I can figure out it's ears... I need to get some more eyes, too. My list keeps growing... Well have a nice Tuesday everyone.

Fall Colors

This is the tree in our backyard. (Taken from my bedroom window.) It looked like it was almost glowing yesterday, the way the light was hitting it. It was so pretty. I know the camera didn't quite capture it, but I took a picture anyway. Last year this tree didn't turn colors at all. The leaves stayed green until they fell off. This year it's so pretty. Today it isn't so pretty, though; it's covered with snow!! :o And all wilty. :( I don't like it snowing in October. It still is. It looks like almost two inches on the ground now. It's supposed to be back up in the 70's though, later this week. I hope. That will do wonders for my sinuses.

Here are some yo-yo keychains I have finished. I actually made ten all together. But I took this picture before I did four more. :P I have them all ready to be shipped out for the CFAC store. And it looks like I will be making some more yoyos, too; as there isn't going to be enough like expected... That's okay, I was kinda missing the little buggers anyway. :P

Yo-Yos

Here are 100 yo-yos I shipped off to be made into a lapghan or an afghan, today. It's for the yo-yo drive at CFAC. It takes a lot of yo-yos just to make an afghan. But, on the other hand, if you have little bits of yarn they are good for using up scraps, too. I could have probably made a purse out of these. But I can make more where they came from. Besides, I already have enough on my plate as it is. :o)

Our ten year old asked me 'Can you make me one? I want one that is half black and half red.' I said 'What are you going to do with it?' 'I don't know.' I said 'How about a keychain?' So that's how this one came about....

And of course, his little brother wanted one, too. ;) He wanted one I already had made, so I crocheted a different color blue around the edge to attach the keychain ring. Or should I say rings? I don't know why they need two on there.... Anyway~~ I am making a few more of these to donate to the CFAC store to sell. It will raise money for the propane fund on Pine Ridge. They only take five minutes or so to make, so I should be able to get a lot done.

My New Sugar Bowl and Creamer

My husband bought them for me. :D They aren't anything *big*, he got the set at the Goodwill for a total of .98 cents plus tax. ;p I washed them up (the creamer looked like it hadn't even been washed, and the sugar bowl had wax in it like someone had put a candle in it?) But I cleaned them up and they look pretty nice. A lot nicer than a jelly jar. :P And I don't think I have ever had a real sugar bowl or creamer. Someday I will have a whole set of dishes and all the extras.... But this will work nicely for now. Just thought I'd share. ;) It's the little things, anyway, isn't it? (By the way, the "Non dairy" creamer in the background.... has milk added. ??? Obviously it is not "non-dairy"? (That is why I bought it, because I am lactose intolerant...) It doesn't really bother me, but it is false advertising, don't you think? Just saying. :) Well have a nice day everyone.

I Got My Slippers Today For The Slipper Swap

And I love them! Don't they just look perfect? They are so cozy. And Kathy sent two bags of 'Plantation Mint' tea by Bigelow, too. I have already made one cup with one of the bags. I don't know how she knew, but I love mint tea. (My favorite mint tea is by Celestial Seasonings, Candy Cane Lane.) It is a holiday tea, and only out at Christmas time. But, you can order it online. I just never have. :P

And see how perfectly they fit, too? :) I am going to be so cozy in my new slippers, drinking my mint tea. Thank you, Kathy!

An Apple Tea Cozy! And some foot cozies, too. :P

! Lisa of A Playful Yarn so kindly asked me to test her apple tea cozy for her. Of course, I said yes! I am a pattern testing junky, don't ya know? ;) Plus, I love, love, love this tea cozy!! And now that mine is done, I love it even more. It is perfect! I didn't think it would fit my pot, but it fits perfect, too. Now I have two apple things (well, three if you include my apple tea towels...) :P My kitchen is turning out to be more "apple" than "rooster". But, that's okay. There are more apple-y things out there than rooster, anyway.

Here is a close-up of the leaves, and stem. This one is a little blurry, sorry. Thanks so much again for letting me test this, Lisa! :D You can buy Lisa's Apple Tea Cozy pattern at her etsy store!

And, the 'foot cozies', aka slippers. Now that my swap partner has her box, I can post these. This is the first time I have made these. Ever. And, I love them. It is a mock cable pattern, so I didn't even have to use a cable needle.

A side view. I am going to make a pair of these for my mom. She has a doctors' appointment next Monday and I am worried. It isn't anything too big, but I worry about everything, anyway.

Boring Post...

But just so you know I'm still here.... I thought I'd show one thing I've been working on. Yo-yos. I have never made yo-yos before. They are addictive little buggers. I tried taking the picture on my stove, for best lighting. And it still didn't turn out... But... so far I have 27 yo-yos, I think. My kids keep asking me 'Why is it called a yo-yo? It doesn't look like a yo-yo.' :P I tried telling them that there are fabric yo-yos, too that are little circles; and I didn't know why they were called yo-yos, but they have been around for a long time. These yo-yos are for a yo-yo drive at Crafting for a Cause. They will be made into lapghans and maybe afghans.

Like my new sugar bowl? (Insert rolling eyes smiley here.) We had a sugar bowl. (Kind of.) It was a big glass rectangular container w/ a lid. Well. I broke it. Yes, me. I was trying to get the last clump of sugar stuck to the bowl out, to put in my husbands' coffee one night. And the spoon hit the side of the 'bowl' just right, and it broke.... sigh. So later on I went and got some more sugar (hubby can't have his coffee without sugar), and then the next morning I found our 'new sugar bowl' on the counter. A Welch's jelly jar. Grape. :P So, I have been on the look out for something better. (This could be dangerous.... once I start looking for a sugar bowl, there will probably be a creamer that has to go with it.... and a cookie jar... and who knows what else....) I will have to wait for a while anyway.

And, since I am in the Tea Cozy Swap again this year, I thought I would post my tea pot. I don't know why. Just for something to do, I guess. The tea pot I had last year for the tea cozy swap (I bought it during the swap, too) has since broke. But, this one is still around. (Probably because I never make this much tea, so I never use it...) I do have another little one that is about a one cupper that I use all the time. It's not my favorite, but it does the job. I saw some cute little tea pots in the Dollar Store the other day. I may have to go see if I can find any I like. Well have a nice Monday everyone!

Squares

I know, exciting title, no? Well don't expect too much excitement around here, with the way I've been taking pictures and all.... :( It's not for lack of trying. I took a picture of this pink hearts square about five times. This is the best one out of them all. But, the color is washed out, and it is still too dark... Hey, it matches my blog. ;P This square is from 200 Crochet Blocks. It is supposed to be a childs' afghan square, but I was thinking, it would totally work for a Breast Cancer Awareness square, too! I didn't even know, until I went to the store last night, and there was pink breast cancer awareness items, and 'October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month' signs everywhere; that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Well, I made this square in September. I may or may not make one more of these. And I may or may not put an edging around them. So they are both 8 1/2" wide. To be the same size as these:

I am knitting these squares from some of the yarn that Lisa sent me. (Thanks again, Lisa!) This yarn is so soft. And I love the way it knits up into a stripe effect. It reminds me of cotton candy. The square pattern I am using: Cables and Lace Afghan: Square #7 by Kay MacLaury.

Here is a closer-up view of the color.

And this one I even went outside for the best lighting but still!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!! I don't know what I am doing wrong. Unless my new camera is really a piece of junk. It might be. My last camera was about the oldest piece of junk digital camera on earth, but it still took better pictures than this one! (When it worked, that is...) Well this square is the Canadian Spring Square. (At least you can see what it looks like there.) I've made this one before. Here. And here. These (I made two and #3 is almost done... with five more to go, probably...) are going into a comfortghan for someone I know, who is going through a really rough time right now. I've never actually made a comfortghan in *real life*. :P I've made and sent out squares for one, but never actually put one together, and given one to someone, myself. I am getting at least two more people I know (in real life) to make squares for me, so I figure I have to make at least eight myself.... Well have a nice Thursday y'all. It's almost the weekend! (Why am I not excited.... hmm.... maybe I'll save that for another blog post... but let's just say, the weekends are more hectic than the weekdays for me, lately...) ;)

Some More FO's (And some that were already done, but more pictures of...)

But first, look at the flowers my husband brought me. :) The picture is dark (sigh.....) They are red roses and an orchid color flower that looks similar to a mum (?).

Here is a picture of some stone fruits I have tested for Cupcake. A large blush peach, and a nectarine. The nectarine is actually 'Dark Orchid' by Red Heart, if any of you have that, you can see how off my camera is... :/ I might as well face it, I can't take pictures. :( I thought I could, with my old camera. But now, they are either blurry or washed out, or both. Or too dark. But this is the best picture I have taken of the stone fruit (I took three or four).

Washed out. I used to have Paint Shop Pro, too. I could edit my color on my pictures. But now I don't have anything.

Here are the glasses cases and lipstick/mirror/tissues case I tested for Cupcake, too. (The picture of the case on the green book a few posts back is more true to color of the one on the right.)

Here is the tissue case. I bought a 'special' tissue pack last night at Hobby Lobby to send to my Grandma, inside the case. (What do you give to your Grandma who has everything she could want? Something she can really use....) :) It is only a tad bit bigger than the Kleenex case, but the kleenex one fits (with a wee bit of stretching, as you can see). I'll have to send both. And look for some smaller kleenex packs. :P Thanks again for letting me test, Cupcake.

I haven't decided what to do with the case on the right. I told my husband he could have it, but it has been sitting here ever since... So I might send it to my Dad.