Witch Doll

I don't think I have ever posted about this...  (Forgive me if I have. :P I haven't been able to find it on here.) If I did, it was a long time ago~ so maybe some of you have never seen it.  Anyway~~ This is a Witch Doll I made for an ami swap on the Friendship Square CAL, for Melissa (a long time ago). Her word was "Halloween".   I don't know why I was thinking about it this morning. (Maybe because it's almost Halloween again and there is Halloween stuff all over the stores lately?)   ;P    I could not find the pattern anywhere. Then I remembered it was "Lis-A-Witch". I typed that in at Ravelry. Nothing came up. I typed in Witch. Nothing... Then I thought "Oh... Maybe it was LIZ-A-Witch"...  Yup!! I was hoping I could make another one (someday~ I am getting so sidetracked from all my Christmas Stockings I'm supposed to be making. Sigh...).  Now I can. Yay! Liz-A-Witch Doll!

A Pullover, And a Shrug...

I finished this pullover this morning. :D  Isn't it cute?  It's for Knit-A-Square.  I also knitted a square. I need to take a picture of that..  The pattern for this pullover, and the square that I knitted, are both on this site. Under "knit instructions".   I'm not quite sure what size this is. But I know some little one will be able to wear it. <3   And it is made with wool. (Not sure exactly what kind, as it came with a Rat Race Scarf pattern kit I ordered and there wasn't a label.) So it will keep them extra warm (I hope).  <3 

And this is another Simple Shrug (<--- Ravelry Page) I finished. (A while ago.) I haven't posted it yet, though. Since I was sending it someone. They are scheduled to receive it today. So I will post this, after I know the person has gotten it. :P  Update: She got it, and she says it's perfect. Yay!! <3

Here it is, on me. (Oops, I see a couple ends sticking out that I hadn't weaved in yet..)  It is a Large, and I wear a Medium.  But I just had to try it on. This is the second one I have made from this pattern; in the December 2010 issue of Crochet World.  This is the first one I made.   

P.S. I see Ads!  Yay... :P  (I had to do something to my blog to make the ads show... Computer illiterate, I am... :P)

Back To School Time :)

I enrolled our youngest son into a new school this year. Long story. If you care to hear about it..  His old school (the oldest school in the county) built a new school~ way on the North end of town. (The old one is on this end.) I guess it makes sense, since there aren't any schools over there. But a lot of people have to go to different schools now.   At the end of last year, it was so confusing. The school newsletter said all students who currently attended would be going to the new school. (An earlier newsletter said they wouldn't.) Then, the last day of school, my son's first grade teacher said that they weren't accepting any variances. So. I just figured I would find out where he was supposed to go and enroll him there.  And I did. The day after I enrolled him, I got a letter in the mail saying the (old) school was a "Needs Improvement" school, and if we wanted to enroll our child in *&%$# Elementary School, they were not a Needs Improvement school.  :0   (That's the school he will be attending.) So I am feeling good about things now.  Then that same day, I got a phone call from the (old) school saying his new teacher is...      o.0   (sigh...)   Anyway, I took this picture the day I enrolled him. :P  We met one of the third grade teachers. Won't find out who his teacher is until tomorrow night at Open House. :)

We went for a little road trip (only a couple hours). There is a candy store about two hours from here. We went there once, for something to do. And there is a town park nearby so we went there, too. Now it has become a thing to do. Our youngest son thinks it is big fun.  :P  Although the park equipment was too hot to play on. :(   We did see some wild donkeys on the way home.  One came right up to our car. (Which makes me kind of nervous... That it might get hit by a car, you know..)     :/    It was really neat, though.  And I think (hope) people in town know about the donkeys, and look out for them. (This was right in "town", by the way.)  

My husband was nervous that it might jump up on the car. (I kind of was, too. My window was down.) :0  So we took off~ and this was the picture I got. Oh well.  There was another donkey under the tree in the background (on the left of the tree).

And, a knitting project I have been working on. I recently joined the Knit-A-Square group on Ravelry. I am almost done with this. I'm actually all done with the knitting. I just have to sew it up. I've been weaving in ends..  I haven't done any knitting in a while. I don't know why. I love it. 

P.S. Do you see any ads on this blog? I tried singing up for AdSense, and I see blank areas (where an ad might be?)....   But, I don't think I did it right.  :/

Santa Pillow

I got a Mary Maxim catalog in the mail recently. I was looking through it to see if there were any cute holiday patterns. I found a cute Santa Pillow. The kit was something like $15.99.  I *almost* ordered it, cuz the pillow is so cute. But, we don't have any money right now. :P  So yesterday I went on Ravelry to see if anyone maybe had a free version of it, or something else that might be cute enough... Well, I found out that this is a FREE PATTERN!! I love free patterns!! (If after signing in, it doesn't take you directly to the Santa Pillow, just go to search and type Santa Pillow in~ That's what I had to do.) So, I immediately started one. I saved us $15.99 plus shipping. $20 extra bucks we didn't have anyway. :P  

So, anyway~~   Does this look right to you? Sigh...   Maybe I need to buy a pillow form, so I can see where I need to stop crocheting.  And re-do the beard part. It looks way too long. I think Santa needs a beard trimmer for Christmas. lol..

An FO~ But Not The One I Mentioned...

See what happens when you have a bazillion projects going at a time? Sometimes you finish a lot of them all around the same time. Then it looks like you are a mad crocheting woman. Hee hee.  This is my third Pressed Flowers Afghan! I wonder when I started my first one. Anyway, this is for Nia. A 13 or 14 year old girl on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  I send things to her Grandma, who is raising her and her little cousin.  I made her cousin an afghan a year or two ago: Granny Star Afghan for Dre.  (What do you know? There's another Pressed Flowers Afghan in that post... How weird is that? :P) 

One side, folded up. I used some variegated yarns in this one. And black, and white. I broke my own "rules" for the first two of these I made. (No black or white, no variegateds...)  :P  I know, I'm strange.  :P

And the other side, folded up.  I still have not heard anything from the other girl I made one of these for.  Delivery Confirmation said it was delivered. But...  I don't trust it.  :/    ~~~Anyway~~~   I hope she likes it. Her Grandma does write to me and says thank you once in a while. (They also send me jewelry they made for me.)  So...  <3  That isn't why I do this, but it's nice to know what you do is appreciated.  :)

Here is an afghan I started for the Grandma. <3  It's just like mine. Except, different colors in different orders...   I love my afghan.

And, I got my sons' afghan out, to start working on it again last night. Since I finished Nia's. (I was using the off white for hers...)  It's just a rectangle granny.  But... I like it. I hope he will, too.  I made one like this (different colors) for their Grandpa. 

Still Crocheting...

Friendship Squares, mostly...   This is the "Frame A Flower" square. I found it on crochet pattern central, under 6 inch squares.  I just kept going with it to make bigger sized ones. (One of these I made for my own afghan.)

This is the Criss Cross square, from "200 Crochet Blocks" by Jan Eaton.

This is actually a dishcloth pattern. But I thought for sure it was in the 200 Crochet Blocks book. I looked later, and it is.  I wanted to do alternating rows of the blue & burgundy. I knew I wouldn't have enough. I should have just done the square blue and the rest burgundy... Oh well.

This is "Daisy Chain" also from the 200 Crochet Blocks book.  I really like this one. I keep making it in different color combinations. :)  This is the only one I haven't sent out yet. I just made this one yesterday.  I wasn't feeling well at all yesterday. I felt like I was coming down with a flu or cold. Kinda feel better today. Maybe it was a one day thing. I hope. Don't need the kids getting sick, right when school is going to start. (Ugh..)

I crocheted another little Q-tip Holder. I made one of these for our kids' bathroom before. I don't know why, I just got in the mood to make another one. I'm sending this to someone on Pine Ridge. I sent her some towels before (lavender, and light green.) So hopefully this will match her bathroom. I don't know. If not, she can stick it in the cupboard. :P

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend. I did finish something else, too (something kind of big!). But I don't want to ruin the surprise. So I will wait until after the person gets it, to post it here...  :D  

Polka Dot Christmas Stocking

After my blog post this morning, I went and got the remaining motifs and stocking out & finished it. :D  After finishing all my friendship squares I wanted to finish something else.  I still have at least four more of these to go. (Not the same pattern, but four more stockings..) 

I'm still weaving in a hundred loose ends. I tried crocheting over them when I could, but sometimes there were too many.  It's Priscilla Hewitt's Polka Dot Christmas Stocking pattern.

It's Still Christmas... In August! :P

I got another HIJ RAOK!! I couldn't believe it. It was from sopo & lil-hippie (Mom & daughter) <3.  I kept pulling things out of the puffy and thinking "Huh?"...  Two squares, two cards with "Tina" on them. I figured out it was from two different people~ It's a Two For One!! :D   This square and FBB cell phone cozy (and beautiful card) is from sopo. I love it all! The square is my absolute favorite color right now.

And this is from lil-hippie.  A matching square & (adorable!!) owl.  And, a hemp keychain (I love the way it smells). I put it on my keys already. And the cutest little doggy card. :P  Thank you so much, sopo and lil-hippie. 

I put the owl on my bookshelf next to the angel pin that Mary sent me, too.  <3

And,  I finally got some more black yarn. (Do you want to hear the story of how I *didn't* get black yarn?... Probably not...)  Well, we went yesterday: did some school shopping for the kids, and I got to go to JoAnns!!  I just got black yarn, and some white baby boucle for some Christmas Stockings I am going to crochet. (That was enough!~ Yarn is getting way ridiculous. I saw some skeins for $10~ And if I remember they were only Red Heart.?) Anyway. So...  I was able to finish edging and putting together all my friendshipghan squares I have gotten so far!

And, I got some crocheting in yesterday, too. Some more squares to send out.  Jetta was helping me. :P  I laughed when she climbed in next to me & put her paw on my yarn, like she was helping me. "Here, use this yarn..". :P She kept doing it, too. I told Eon, go get my phone (please)?..   (I don't know why her ears are plastered to her head... Maybe she was afraid of my phone. lol..)   Um, she really smells by the way. Good thing this picture isn't a scratch n' sniff.  I need to give her another bath.  Maybe I can con Eli into doing it. He likes to do it, for some reason..  And Jetta is easy to give baths to. (Well she used to be. She was too afraid to move so she just sat there.) Now might not be so easy. We'll see... 

Here are all my motifs for my Polka Dot Christmas Stocking. This one is going to be for me. How selfish of me, eh? To make mine first?..  But no one else knows what kind they want/doesn't care. So. I picked one out I liked, and thought, "Maybe if I make one, then they can all decide..."  I have almost all of it done. I got to the heel part and got SO confused.  I think I might have it figured out.  I'll have to finish this when I'm not tired.  After this I will start my husband's and then my brothers'. (I'm making the same ones for both of them.) The  from the Lion Brand Yarn site: Holiday Cheer Stocking..    My husband said he wanted just a plain red one with a white top.  So, I went on Ravelry and looked at Christmas Stockings & found one I liked..  :)

I got a new magazine the other day. (I'm a magazine junkie~ A crochet magazine junkie, at least..)  This has an adorable snowman and some Christmas Ornaments (crocheted). I kept picking it up & looking at it. And finally decided to buy it..

Last night Eon said "Tomorrow can you wake me up like two minutes after you get up?"  lol!...  I said "How about two minutes after I've had my coffee?"  (It's been a lot more than that...)   I am going to let him sleep. It's summer time! Kid needs to get all the sleep he can. School will be starting soon & he'll have to get up early then...  

Cracker Jack Cookies

Don't look very good, do they? (Hang on... It gets better. ;P)  When we went to Colorado last December & visited our friends, my girlfriend had made some Cracker Jack Cookies. I had never heard of them.  I asked for the recipe. This is the second time I have made them. I was getting so frustrated, because this is what they came out looking like. But the cookie dough tastes awesome. I couldn't see how they kept coming out so terrible.  So, I went online and googled the recipe. After reading some of the reviews, I figured out you are supposed to use ALL the ingredients.  I thought you just used any of the ingredients that you had on hand. (I am so dizzy sometimes...)  Well after having my husband bring me home some chocolate chips, I still ended up having to go to the store for other ingredients, which I didn't have (shredded coconut & oatmeal).  I didn't even want to use coconut, since I hate it. But in one of the reviews I read, it said the coconut is really what holds these cookies together. And, you can't even taste it.    Oh, and I used some almonds, leftover from when I made the strawberry mice.

But look how much better they came out! I only added one cup of coconut & one cup of oatmeal (and a pinch of salt~which wasn't on my recipe), since I had already used probably half the cookie dough.  I'm so happy, cuz these are awesome cookies!!  And I have enough stuff to make more, later.   Except chocolate chips.... :P  

This recipe is exact-atacly like the one I used: Cracker Jack Cookies II Recipe  Funny, I thought it was a newer recipe. Turns out it is a really, really old recipe!! Obviously, it has stood the test of time.  :)  I'm going to print this recipe out, since it's a little more clear than the one my friend wrote out for me.  :)