My Very First Shawl Is Done!

Actually, it is the second shawl I started, but it is the first one finished.... And, technically, it might be called a "stole"? Anyway~ It's done. I started this thing in April of '07~ yikes... Shows you how bad I am at finishing things. Which is why I am being so hard on myself to get things done before I start any new ones.

Sorry 'bout the bikes in the background.... The best place to get pictures for light is outside. And there's no way I'm standing in the front yard with all the neighbors "What is she doing?" lol :P Anyway~~ It is this pattern , one that Mimi did, too! (Now we have "matching" shawls, Mimi! :P) Except mine is not in thread, but Jamie baby pompadour yarn since I had a lot. I still think it will be okay.....

Here's a picture of it so you can *kind* of see it better... The edging and all.... I blocked it last night, but I can see it is going to go back to the way it was anyway even after blocking.... Oh well.

I have another shawl I want to finish (this one was started even before the spiderweb one...) I just need to dig it out and finish it. :) That's three things I can cross of my WIP pile list now. YAY!!!

Some More FO's

Yay.... This is a baby set for my (not yet born) nephew, Corbin. I have been working on this off and on and it is FINALLY, completely, absolutely, finished. The baby shower(s) were this weekend. But, seeing as how they are over 2,000 miles away, I guess I didn't go. :( So I had to post one of the things I am going to send. The other sweater set, here. And a few odds and ends things, I have a couple cute T-Shirts I want to get and I will see if there is anything still on their gift registry list. Plus, we are going in on a camcorder with my other sister and my Mom. And that is two things on my list I am totally done with (both sweater sets) and can cross off. :)

I cheated and made these. Holly's Pink Bunny Slippers. They have been done for a while, I just now took a picture of them. I will send them to PR this fall, hopefully with a few more pairs. If it cools off here I might get back into slipper making mode. I shouldn't, though; seeing as how I need to finish up all my WIPs I already have going..... I should get them all out and pick which one I want to finish. I'm sure there is enough to choose from.... (Insert rolling eyes winking smiley here....) Anyway. That's all for now. Hope everyone had a good weekend...

Yummy Food Post... :P

I was looking at someones' blog (Crafty Christina) via Crochetville the other day after seeing her post about a hat she made... Well I found a recipe for a yummy Tomato Mozzarella Sandwich on her blog. OH MY GOODNESS, it is yummy!! I had to improvise, because I didn't have Kaiser Rolls, or mozzarella.... Soooo.... I used an English muffin and cheddar cheese. :P It was still yummy!! I also sprinkled red pepper seasoning and some parmesan and garlic salt with (even more) parmesan... My oldest son said 'What are you making?' So now he is making one, too. Thanks Christina, for the recipe!! We love it, too. :D Update: Now the 11 year old wants one, too. (He is a 'non meat eating, but gourmet food loving aka impossibly picky eater'....) :P Yummy....

This is something else my son made. He makes a lot of cookies. The other day (actually it was just yesterday), he said 'I want to make some of those puffy cookies like you buy in the store'. I said, 'You mean like the kind Grandma Ortman makes?' well, not exactly... so I googled 'meringue cookies' and found a few.... My husband didn't like them. I thought they were okay. (Kinda salty... I don't know if it was the recipe, or if he added too much by using the wrong teaspoon measurements....) Anyway the kids like them so they are almost gone- if not gone already....

I finished the I-cord for both booties, they are completely done. I did a guage swatch for the hat- it was too big, so I have to try and find some (or buy some) size 5 knitting needles. I have one. But I have no idea where the other one is.... (sigh....) Story of my life. It is probably buried in a bag or in one of my big rubbermaid tubs.... Well that's all for now. Have a Great Day everyone. :)

Another Backpack Finished

This one was for the KAL... It is the Preschooler's Backpack. I was switching back and forth between the two (CAL and KAL)~~ finish one, start another.... So all together I did two projects for each -AL... :P I think I am done now. There's only 9 more days left in August, and I just got the Gwendolyn doll pattern, soooo...... I should work on that, so I can pass it on as soon as I can. :) So much for finishing up my WIPs.... Although I am working on them in between...

My husbands' finger is healing up pretty good. He took the stitches out himself (MEN!!). I thought it would look a lot worse. But it looks pretty good, considering. He didn't want to go back to sit there (with an appointment!!) and wait two hours just to have them take the stitches out. Ugh. I can't blame him. (We all sat there with him, the last time... thank goodness there was a tv and AFV was on :P or the kids would have been complaining to no end...) He has already got the papers okaying him going back to normal work, sooo.... Now he can hurt himself all over again. (I hope not!!)

CAL Backpack is Finished

I don't hardly believe it myself. When I first started this backpack, I thought I would never finish this thing!! But, here it is~ Done. :) It is the Bernat Camo Backpack. I have never crocheted (or knitted) a backpack before. I used 'Aspen Print' by Red Heart. I had two skeins, and had to go get one more to finish the second strap and the drawstring. I debated whether to go get grommets/eyelets to put into the holes for the drawstring. I ended up not doing it as money is super tight right now. I think it still looks fine without them.

And, since I didn't have my five year old to model it for me, here is the straps... (I technically have him right here, but he didn't want to model it....) ;)

I have been knitting I-cord to finish up a set for my nephew who is due the first of October. Then I have to make a hat to finish the set (I finally found the pattern, looooooong story short, that I wanted to use... of course, while looking for something else...) :)

Well that's all for now folks. I hope you are all having a nice weekend. :)

Another Pencil Pouch... And Stitches~ I'm not talking needlework... :(

(*First off I want to say if stitches gross you out, don't look at the second picture in this post.... :)*) This is another pencil pouch I finished for the August Challenge KAL (the last one was for the CAL) It is from the Lion Brand site. (You'll probably have to sign in...) I like how this looks, but man it was a lot of ends to weave in! The pattern said to resist the temptation to work over the ends well I did for the most part except the very first stitch, and it did look warped compared to the other side which was completely straight. Anyway there it is. Now I am trying to finish up a backpack (crocheted). I said I was going to knit one more thing, but I don't know... I guess I committed to it. Maybe I can do something small. I am next in line to do the Gwendolyn doll, though. It should be in the mail right now. Arrrrgh!! Too many pressures to finish too many things all at once.

Okay, if you came this far, then I guess stitches don't gross you out. (Just thought I would give you fair warning...) My husband smashed his finger at work the other day. :( He called me from the doctor. I thought he was just calling me on his way home, he was so calm like nothing was wrong.... Then he said 'Guess where I am?' 'In the driveway? I don't know...' 'At the doctors' 'What happened?' Fortunately nothing worse than this:

He was fortunate it wasn't a lot worse. No broken bones or ligaments/tendons. It is pretty swollen and bruised though. He had five stitches. :( It looks like a "J" doesn't it? My friend said he should have gotten a "T" hee hee.... (First initial of my name...) He is on antibiotics since it was filled with dirt and stuff in the cut. (I won't go into details about that...) I'm glad he didn't hurt himself worse than this. I worry about him hurting himself bad every day. It's on his right hand, so that's good; I guess. (He's left handed...) Well that's all for now folks. Hope you're all having a good day. TTYS! :)

Stuff....

Good Morning everyone. Well I am trying to talk myself into a good day here.... :/ I woke up with a headache. Not good. Need to find the Tylenol... Anyway. Here are some muffins I made a while ago. They didn't even last 24 hours. You'd think there wasn't any other food in the house. lol I used to make muffins ALL the time. At least once a week. Mostly mini muffins, for the kids to take in their lunches (made with mini-chocolate chips). After a while they started complaining. I guess you do get sick of them after having them all the time. My favorite ones to make (and the ones I made here): Banana Chocolate Chip (I add raisins, too) muffins. I make other kinds, too. I have about thirty bananas in my freezer, though. (Did you know you can freeze bananas til you are ready to bake with them? A 'tightwad' tip I read somewhere...) Well, that's why I have so many bananas in my freezer folks. A whole shelf, just bananas. Yikes. :P

And here we have one last toy I finished up for KristieMN's toy drive. This is the 'Geometric Baby' from the 'Big Book of Crochet' I got from a secret pal in one of the very first secret pal swaps I did. The body was super easy. The arms and legs are kind of a pain. But I forced myself to finish it. And I think it is pretty cute. It looks happy, anyway. Maybe it will make some little kid a little bit happier while they are in the hospital. :(

And, this is also for a child.... :) A pencil pouch I finished for the August CAL at Crafting for a Cause. I used the School Binder Pencil Pouch pattern. Then, I used these letters and sewed them on. Kids love personalized things. I'll put a few school supplies in this (and maybe buy a binder, too; to put it in...) I might also do a backpack for the CAL, but meanwhile, I also signed up for the KAL. I'm making this pencil pouch. (It's a lionbrand site so you might have to sign in). I'm on the second side. I have been knitting at night while watching Nancy Grace. I need to stop watching those shows..... :( I hope they will find that little girl alive, but it doesn't look hopeful.... :((

Some crochet stuff....

Woops. I forgot to change the photo size here... oh well I'll just go with it. This is a flower tawashi that I have recently finished. It is Mimi's pattern, and can be found at her Ravelry Pattern Store. I love this little scrubby. It is too pretty to use to scrub greasy grimy dishes with, though!! Maybe I will have to give it away as a gift... (Then I won't see it being used for this... ;P) The roosters are actually salt and pepper shakers I got at Ross for $1.48. I wanted them anyway since my kitchen is roosters and apples. Then it was a big bonus that they are so cheap!! I won't be using them as salt and pepper shakers, though. With three boys in the house they are bound to get broken. So they will be decorations. :)

And, here we have all but one of the toys for KristieMN's toy drive this year. Three of yarncat's turtles, KristieMN's sea monster I tested a while back. One of my love bugs. One 'Geometric Baby' which is not yet finished. (But almost.) And three Happy Meal toys from our trip to Michigan. I get a Happy Meal since it is about half the calories (or less) than say a cheeseburger meal or a Big Mac.... I try not to eat at McDonald's at all, but if we are on the road like that it is kinda hard. And even harder to eat a salad while you are driving, so.... Happy Meal it is. Anyway. Speaking of food.... I have been craving bread BIG time lately. What's up with that? I haven't been eating bread for a long time. LONG time. (Long story, too, why I haven't been eating bread.... basically, because it makes my stomach hurt [wheat, I think]) So I don't know why all of a sudden I am craving it so bad. Maybe cuz I was eating it while we were in Michigan. But, I don't just want the junky sliced bread you can buy in the store. I want crusty French bread with butter. YUM. Or cheesy flatbread. Yum yum..... :P

In other news.... My husband's job was shut down today. :0 (I had to edit this and say: The job my husband works on-- it's not *his* job. It was bugging me... lol) Sooooo.... I (we) don't know what is going to happen with that. Yikes. On the one hand, I am kind of hoping he will get transferred somewhere. I HATE it here. It has been 7 months and I still hate it. I don't think I am going to all of a sudden start liking it. Anyway. I doubt I will be that lucky. He will probably just go to a different company (again) and a different job.... I thought now was as good a time as ever to suggest that he get a transfer somewhere though. Like Michigan. Or Tennessee.... (Closer to my family...) I know Michigan is THE worst place to be right now for the economy. (I would also most definitely have to go back to work again, too.) But. :( We will see. Just trying not to think about it too much though. If he gets another job here we will be stuck here even longer. I don't know.... live where you hate it, and be financially okay. Or live where you WANT to live, and struggle. It is a no good situation either way...

My husband took our five year old to see WallE. (Hopefully that's what they'll see...) A couple weeks ago the two older kids went with their Uncle (and Aunt) to see the Dark Knight (batman). We *thought* the five year old had chicken pox. (Turns out after a couple weeks and phone call to the doctor explaining every single detail.... it is probably 'Swimmer's Itch'. No thanks to the doctor[not even the doctor, I talked with a nurse] for figuring THAT out, we figured it out on our own....) Anyway so he *couldn't* go to see the movie (I heard later it was WAY violent, anyway so maybe it worked out better that way.) But my husband said when we get back he would take him (JUST him) to see a movie all by himself. :P Well have a good day everyone. TTYS :)



Hmmmm..... the picture is down here. Sorry bout that! lol!