My First Towel Topper Ever.. :P

:

Well I started and finished this today. I started out with Mimi's tutorial. But decided I *had* to try making one like the two I bought.  I didn't get it exactly like it, but pretty close. The towel is also way too long. Oh well. It's my first time. :P  I think it's cute.

So much for the 5 day weekend being fun... Our 8 year old has a fever of 103. I hope it doesn't get any higher. :/  He says his throat hurts, too. Our 13 year old had something less than a week ago. 24 hours and it was gone.  He's still eating a little. He'll get up and try to play for a while then come and lay back down. I finally gave him some Tylenol. They say a fever is trying to fight an infection so you shouldn't give them Tylenol. But 103 is getting kind of high...  Going to Google some more..  Have a Nice Weekend Everyone.  :)

Paula, You're A Genius :)

I got my towel out this morning that I bought a while ago to make Mimi's towel topper with. (I wanted to do it last night but I was just too tired..)  I just grabbed the only steel hook that was on my night stand~ which happened to be a size 5.  I poked it through, then thought "Why not pull the whole hook through, to make the hole even a little bigger?" So I pulled it through, and kind of pushed and pulled, and wiggled it where the hook is the widest. It worked.  

See? :D  But after I did a couple holes, when I went back to see where they were, they must have closed up. Sooo... I thought I should put some kind of marker in each hole. (The little yarn pieces... lol) 

I don't know how many little yarn pieces I have there. Kind of a pain. But, if I keep them in a special place I will have them for next time. :D  And I won't have to cut a bunch of pieces again...  Now to finally try Mimi's towel topper!! Yay! Thank you Paula, and Thank you, Mimi for the pattern, too.   (Who needs special tools, eh? That's what I love about being crafty...) 

Thrift Store Finds

I went to the Thrift Store today. By myself (yay!!~~ Me time~~)  I'm always looking for cool coffee cups, cuz we seem to lose half of ours (I need to make a "Rule~ None of my nice coffee cups can go to work w/ the hubby"~ grr...). Or they get broken. I saw some pretty cool ones a few weeks ago, but I never got them. Now they are gone. (Of course.) I saw these today, and got them. Only a buck each. There's four. A whole "set". They don't match my white plates. But, I am okay with it. (I want a new set of plates anyway...Half of those were also broken.)

And two roosters for my kitchen. :D  I saw the white-ish one first. Picked it up, put it down. Walked around more. Saw the black tailed one... Picked it up...  Put it down. Ended up getting both of them. :P

And, I did the same thing with this cat. The cat towards the back is one I got a few weeks ago (same Thrift store).  I guess I'm collecting cats now.  ? I just thought they were cute. I was actually in line to pay, and I went back to get this cat. :P  I'm so incdecisive. :/  It would have been gone if I had gone back even tomorrow...

I didn't get these at the Thrift store. But I thought they were so cute. (And, I want to make one... :D)  I NEED an Edgerydoo!! I bought a towel a couple months ago to make Mimi's towel topper. Tried to poke holes in it myself. Did not work. :(    I got these at the "Local Yarn Store."

Ugly Blanket Progress & Blueberries.. :P

Well just so you all know I am still here... :P This is my progess so far. After I finished Gary, I don't want to work on anything much lately... (On a side note, I wish I never posted a picture of him & Spongebob on FB~ Now everyone is asking me to make them one. Ugh!!...)  The only thing I want to work on is my Ugly Blanket.

I was just curious, how big this thing is. So I put it on our bed. (The Ugly Blanket, on my Ugly Comforter :P) It hangs down even farther than our comforter!! :0  I don't know if I will have it go vertical or horizontal. I guess I'll have to see how long it is on a twin bed. I still don't know who it will be for. It doesn't "go" in any part of my house, that's for sure. Except maybe in one of the kids' rooms. 

And here is the "Blueberries" I was talking about..  Blueberry Stuffed French Toast. I made this for breakfast Sunday morning. It was soooo yummy. But, it made me so sick, all day. (I am violently lactose intolerant. And there's two 8 oz. pckgs of cream cheese in this.. Plus, a dozen eggs. My stomach doesn't handle eggs very well, either.) It was yummy, though.  I accidentally got blackberries for the filling. (There is also a Blueberry Sauce you make~ for the syrup. Which, you can obviously see in the picture... :P) It still turned out good. My sister made this for us, when I went to Michigan a couple years ago. I got the recipe from her.  :D    I gave each of the hamsters a blackberry today, from the bottom of the pan. They all loved them.   I cleaned out three hamster cages today. (Uuuuugh!! Don't ask me why, when they are supposed to be the kids' pets?... Okay, I'll tell you, because they STINK!)  And, the two I cleaned out (the third I just "helped" the 8 yr old~ cuz I am making him start taking care of his hamsters by himself~ But, the cages is/are a little big/heavy for him to carry and lift up to the dumpster.) Anyway, the two I cleaned out weren't just glass aquariums, they are "Super Critter" cages, with all kinds of tubes and wheels and compartments and SUCH a pain to put back together (they were both given to us). The fourth hamster cage is an aquarium, and our 13 yr old just cleaned it out this week.  I tried luring the hamsters out with the blackberries. But it didn't work with Wickett (he is the most skittish of them all).  I did a lot today, I can't believe I'm not in bed right now. Especially when the kids went to bed a half an hour early (what's up with that?) You probably don't want to hear a boring, detailed account of my busy day, though.. :P    Well, til next time~~ Happy Monday.  Lol

I Got Mail!!!

I entered a giveaway on Paula's blog, a while back; and I couldn't believe I actually won. Well today my prize came in the mail. And Paula sent a bunch of little goodies with it. A card with pictures of where she lives, and her house, too. How cool! I love it. :D   And, she sent a postcard of Niagara Falls- but my 8 year old was looking at it, while I took this picture. I have never been to Niagara Falls, It looks amazing. The closest I got to Niagara Falls was Wilkes-Barre PA. (For my brother's wedding. And he doesn't even live there anymore..)  I love the potholder/hot pad! It's so cushy and soft. I don't want to ruin it by using it. Paula sent a little dryer sheet in with it so it would smell nice. (It wasn't too overpowering for me, but I just got done with dinner so I had food smells in my nose... lol)  Thank you Paula!!! :D  You are so sweet. 

Gary the Snail

I finally finished him. I really got burned out on this. I usually love crocheting toys. I don't know.  But, I forced myself to finish.  I gave Spongebob to the 13 year old, and Gary is for the 8 year old.

Side view. My son said I did the swirls exactly like Gary's. (Yay!!~ Cuz I didn't even know how they went. I guess I just got lucky.) 

The eyes. (Which, do not stand up like this. They're floppy. :(   I kinda smushed them to make them stand like this so I could take the pictures.   They both really liked them. So everyone's happy. :)  (And, I have one more project off my "To-do" list.)

Ugly Blanket CAL

I joined another CAL. I know, like I *need* another project...  (sigh..)  (I might as well give up on that, eh?)  This is the 3SUB. I don't know where the pattern is, or what it all stands for. 3 Strands and I think the UB stands for Ugly Blanket. :P  I am using a huge crochet hook. I don't even know what size it is. It's one of those double ended hooks. I've had it forever.  I don't really have any "plans". I'm just changing one color each row. And  COLOR!!   The only thing is, I think I made it a leeeeetle bit too wide!...  :P

It's almost as wide as our couch. I hope this thing doesn't take forever to finish. I'm thinking it won't, with such a big hook & 3 strands of yarn..  It's a nice, braindead project to work on. No pattern repeats or counting. It's fun. :)  I haven't decided yet who it will be for.

One Hundred Cookies & Two Dishcloths

I made one hundred chocolate chip cookies this week. Three different batches-same recipe, though; three different days.. froze them all..  They're for the "Fall Festival" Bake Sale, at our 8 year olds school tonight.  I volunteered to bake them.  Finally, today I had some leftover to put in the cookie jar. You should have seen the kids "Can't you make extra for us?"  (I did let them eat at least two each, each time.. You'd think the world was coming to an end lol..)   

And, some dishcloths I have recently finished as well. Another scrap Ballband dishcloth. I don't know why, I just got in the mood to knit one. I definitely did something wrong though. I think I was purling for a certain row when I should have been knitting. But it still looks all right.

And, I crocheted another Tunisian Short Row dishcloth. For me!! :D  I love this dishcloth. It's already in the dirty clothes, I used it the same day I finished it. It's so soft and thick. I think it is going to be my favorite crocheted dishcloth.  And, one of my favorites to crochet, too. If not the favorite...  Here's the first one I did.  Hmmm... I wonder whatever happened to those star ice cube trays, since we moved?...  I'm going to look for them. :P

Right now I am working on a Leaf Tealight-erhttp://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=120305. In between other things.  I hope everyone is having a good week. It's almost TGIF, yay!! 

Autumn Leaves Hotpads

And Fridge Magnets.  The leaves are actually a Fridge Magnet pattern that Gran sent me in an RAOK last summer. :D  I had been wanting to make an Autumn Leaf Hotpad forever. I finally got around to it. I used the Mielke's Farm Double-thick Diagonally Crocheted Potholder pattern. And Red Heart Super Saver, "Fall". And gold, and "Carrot".  I got some kitchen towels at Walmart to go with these, they will be for gifts. I want to make myself a set, too. :D    I don't know if you could use these leaves, maybe. Here is a Solstice Oak Leaf that is available as a Free Ravelry Download. I love that one. Some Felted Leaf Coasters, from the Lion Brand site.. Oak and Elm Leaf Appliques. A Maple Leaf. A Canadian Maple Leaf.  Autumn Leaves.

A Yo-Yo Ghan I am Crocheting

Here is what I have done so far on my Yo-yo ghan. I decided to try one out myself. I kinda got confused on the border. But, I confuse myself easily. I figured it out. I was going to just keep adding the yo-yos together, til the afghan was big enough. But, after seeing one Jana did at the Crafting for a Cause yahoo group, I thought.. "What a good idea".  It would be warmer that way.  So, this is what I have so far. I have about 90 more yo-yos to put together. I would just like more color selection. With all my new scrap yarns, I have lots to choose from.  :D  I just have to crochet more.  :)

Eon is home sick again today. :(  The first thing he said when I woke him up this morning, was "I feel sick". :(  Poor kid gets sick a lot. I wonder how many "sick days" they are allowed at school.   :/  He's just been laying on the couch all day. Doesn't want anything to eat.  He did eat a muffin and half a glass of milk, this morning. That's only cuz he LOVES muffins. :)   

Afghan With No Name

I finally finished this afghan this morning. Yay!... I've been working on it off and on all summer. My husband's Aunt from Canada had sent me a picture of one she had done. I asked her where she got the pattern. She said she just made it up, and sent me a diagram/instructions on how she did it. 

Here it is on my son's twin bed. :)  I originally had started this for an "elder" (elderly person on the Reservation) that I send things to on Pine Ridge. But after I finished it, I realized it would be too small; and would be better for a child or a young teenager..

A close up of the squares...  The scrap squares are supposed to be "flowers". The light green are the "buds", and the darker green are the "leaves". :)  I held the squares wrong sides together, and sc'd them together in the back loops. So it created a "ridge".  I don't know how, but a lot of the squares were different sizes. ??  :(  I had to double up in some sc's, then sc some together...  It kind of puckers a lot in some areas.  I hope the person who gets it won't mind too much. It really bummed me out but I didn't want to re-do the whole thing. Next time I will have to make sure I pay attention.

And, the edging. I just did one row of off-white then one of the main square colors, a row of off-white, another main color..  Then I did a backwards sc all around. 

More Card Making Stuff..

This is a card I finished the other day. When I get sick of crocheting (I haven't knitted in a while..), but still want to do "something"..  I like making cards. I have to be in the mood to do it, though. This is from "Paper Crafts", the Sept/Oct 2010 issue. I didn't have all the tools/materials they called for so I improvised. It looks pretty similar. It's supposed to say "Autumn Blessings". But I like "Autumn Greetings" better. I also was supposed to stitch around the edge of the tan cardstock. I didn't feel like it. I've never done that so I didn't want to start now.. :P   I already wrote on and mailed this card. To my Aunt in Michigan. She got to go Up North (and probably saw some really awesome Fall Colors!! I'm so jealous!!) for a whole month.

I also was just messing around. I got the idea to take all the little strips of paper from cutting the edges even on other cards, and weave them. I evened it all up and glued it on a card. That's where my creativity stopped. "Now what do I do?" :P It's still sitting there... Sigh. Maybe I will get an idea soon. 

I finished up my Ami for the Ami Swap. I don't know if I said that..  It turned out so good. I've never made this kind of Ami before. So I was a little nervous.  Now I am crocheting Gary the Snail for the 8 year old (he just turned 8, yay!!).  Now I can't say "the 7 year old" anymore. Or "he's only 7", to his brothers..  My baby is 8. :(      Anyway, he doesn't know I am crocheting it for him. Thank goodness he doesn't read my blog. LOL  I'm in a weird mood...  I'm also ** this close to being done with my "Afghan with No Name". And I still haven't figured out a name for it. Oh well. 

I saw a REALLY COOL idea on a blog, actually I think it's Tammy's blog, via Crochetville!!! I have been wanting a yarn winder for so long. I LOVE the yarn cakes. I can't explain it. But, I don't want to spend (waste) money on a yarn winder. My husband thinks I have enough "tools" and yarn and books and magazines... (And, I agree)  So, when I saw this: How to roll a center pull yarn ball; I was so excited! You can make your own yarn balls, FREE! (I love free..)  I still haven't tried it. One day when I'm in the mood to, I will..  But I thought I'd share it with anyone who actually reads my blog, too. I thought it was so cool. 

Well, I guess I'll go work on my afghan for a while. No school today for the kids really has me thrown off ;and I keep thinking it's Saturday. Then I get kinda mad cuz I'm sick of my husband working Saturdays. But then I remember it's Friday... Lol..  (I told you I'm in a weird mood..)  He might still have to work tomorrow. :(   I hope not. We were going to drive up Mount Charleston to see if there is any fall colors, if he doesn't have to work. It would be nice. He's been working every Saturday, forever... (I think he is more sick of it than I am~ he's the one who actually has to work.)  Well I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. If you have any Fall Colors in your area, can you go see some for me? :P (Thank you!...)