Granny Square Christmas Candy Boot and Popcorn Balls

I saw a cute Christmas Bootie on Pinterest. I don't know why, but I like it..  So I had to make one.. :) I brought all my yarn to carpool to pick Eon up and go two squares done. (I finished that square after I took this picture.)  

Here it is with a can in it..  The can is an 18.5 ounce soup can. The pattern says to use a 12 ounce can. But that was too small..  I am using an H hook for my squares, and they are coming out to what she says hers are.  So I don't know..

I don't remember where I saw an idea to make popcorn balls (probably Facebook), but... I said "Oh yeah, popcorn balls..."  Then I googled an easy recipe.  I used this one. I was going to use this one, but... (I think she is so cute... Vanilla abstract..:P I love it.) I used the other one.  I bought regular old popcorn and popped it in a pan (like the second video). That's how we always made it when I was a kid. And I made it, too. (Not always, but I always asked if I could!)   That girl has another video to make donuts out of biscuits, she is going to be the next Rachel Ray.  :)

But, Eon did pretty much all the rest.  :D  We used the whole bag of marshmallows, and didn't use the dried cranberries.

I'm not going to win any awards for picture taking or end up on Pinterest... Lol.  But I think Eon had "fun" making them, and they like them.  I'll have to get some more marshmallows. ;)  

Guess who else liked them?....   ;P   Well, Jetta loves popcorn anyway. Ever since she was a puppy..  

Duke doesn't like popcorn. But... he begs anyway.  Well guess what? He loves popcorn with marshmallows on it..  He is so funny.  I gave them both a bunch of it, and after I did the dishes and put everything away, he was sitting by the counter where the popcorn balls were, and whining! I didn't know what he was whining about, so I turned around and saw where he was and laughed.    He cracks me up.     The other day I got them a new bag of dog food. Well there was still a little left in the old bag so I put that in their food bowl (it was almost full).  Duke stood there staring at the bag of new food!!   (Before that when we first brought it home, Steve said he was sitting there looking at the dog on the bag of food and he could swear he was smiling.)  I showed him the bowl had food in it. He stood there. Staring at the bag...  So, I opened it and put a scoop of the new food on top.  He ate it all up (ONLY the new food on top. though..)  He's hilarious...Poor Jetta. Had to eat the "old" food in the bottom of the bowl...   :P   I swear it's like having two furry (stinky) little kids.  :P

Baby Bunting Set and Eli's New Glasses

I finished the hat/whole set today..   I just love this set and I wish I could have had this pattern when all our guys were little. :)  Although, the hat is more of a bonnet..  And therefore more girly? I don't know. I definitely want to do more of these, though. In darker colors maybe.  But I do love this one.  I hope the Mom and baby who get it love it, too. I wanted to get a little sleeper, too; to send with it.   I don't know if I mentioned before this pattern is from the Big Book Of Crochet. I haven't been able to find it on Ravelry or online so I don't know if it's anywhere else. It was written by Sandra Abbate.

And, we took Eli to the eye doctor. Because apparently he hasn't been able to see for the past three years?  I said "Why are you just now telling me????..."  "I didn't want to bother you."  ??  Okay..  You kind of need to see, Eli...  ?  Now he can. Doesn't he look handsome? And smart?  :)  Does it look blurry to you? It's a phone picture so..

More Baby Things, Birthday Mail and An Update On Dad

This was the Baby Scrapghan  (do you like my word?) I started. Well, now it is finished. It kind of looks crooked...  But, it is very warm and will keep a baby warm on Pine Ridge. I didn't send it this month (I sent the blue/variegated one), there was only one more needed. So I will send it next month..  This is how I did it (copying and pasting from my Ravelry notes):

I just chained until it was about 6 inches + one chain. Then did hdc in 2nd chain and each chain across. Ch 1, turn.

Row 2- until 6 inches tall: Hdc in each hdc. Ch 1, turn. I did two rows of each color for stripes. Then finished off.

Join new color in side next to last hdc. Ch 1, did 3 hdcs in each color “block”. Then 3 hdc again in corners. Hdc across extra loops on bottom. Repeat around.

Rounds 2- throughout: Ch 1, hdc in each hdc with 3 hdc in middle hdc of corner 3 hdc groups. Join with sl st in top of first hdc. Repeat until afghan measures 40 x 40 or as big as you want.

I started a baby bunting, too (for Pine Ridge also, but for a different Ravelry Pine Ridge group- I am in three I think? For PR..)  I have wanted to do this baby bunting forever. And I did start one, once. But I don't know when/or what happened,...  I can't find it anywhere. After doing this one, I bet I got to the back/shoulder neck shaping and said "Huh?"...  Because it can be confusing. Especially for someone like me, who confuses herself over nothing anyway!! Lol...  If you just do what they say, it does work (at least in the case of this pattern, it does..)

I sat there for ten minutes trying to find the end inside the skein. No luck. So, I reached inside and pulled its guts out. Lol...  the end was in there! :P

I took a picture of it for future reference...  So I know which sides the decreases etc are on...  

Ta-Da!!!! I just love it...  I wish I had this book when my guys were babies! I would have made them one for sure (in boy colors), for the Arctic Tundra weather in Michigan...  I have since this finished both the mittens, and the hat is done but I still need to do the trim/tie on it..     I think it is so sweet. I hope the person/Mom that gets it will think so, too..   I used Caron Jumbo in "Baby Rainbow", and for the trim I used Big  Twist in "Light Teal" (it looks mint green to me, does it to you too?). The pattern uses a light variegated with white trim. But every group I am in for Pine Ridge says to not use white or use sparingly because washing machines are few and far between on the reservation and white gets so dirty fast..  Now that I've done one, I want to make a bunch more.   This one is supposed to be 3-6 months size.  

And look at all the birthday goodies I got in the mail yesterday!!!! All from the same person, RunningKnitter on Ravelry. We are in the same "Love of Letters" group and have been pen pals for a long time.  I LOVE everything, so much!! I know she put a lot of thought into this package. Because that yarn is my absolute favorite color. That dishcloth is my absolute favorite dishcloth to knit and use. And, I can use that little green and white checked journal for my "Three Things" journal.  I love the stationery, she even got specialized personalized notecards for me from Vistaprint!! I almost cried from it all.  I have been having the worst time lately, worrying so much about my Dad, still struggling with not liking Oregon (at all)/the rain here, and your package totally made my whole week/month/year. Thank you RunningKnitter! 

I don't know if I posted this, it's the baby shower gifts for Jolene all wrapped up. She got the box yesterday, and sent me a thank you note on Facebook. That was so nice of her. She told me her Mom said I was a master crocheter. (She is the one who helped me learn.) I said to tell her Mom thank you, and "I had a lot of help from a master crocheter!"  That was so nice to get a thank you. I half the time don't even know if they got the package, except by checking the tracking number...  

I almost forgot... The update on my Dad..  He was moved out of the hospital and is in a physical rehab facility (the same one he was in the last couple of times).  I talked to him yesterday for a long time. He is in great spirits. He was joking around with the nurses in the hospital when they were trying to help him get out of bed, he said "My leg I don't have is getting in the way."  And when I talked to him yesterday he said "I haven't given up yet." He wasn't depressed about it, either...   He's a tough cookie!! :)

Update On My Dad

...and a baby sweater set.
My Dad had to have his leg amputated. Sigh...  He is still with us. (I haven't heard anything today, or called up there today).  The last few days have been terrible for me, I can't even imagine what he is going through (and my step-mom)...   He is still in the ICU, as far as I know. He sounded kind of loopy the first time I talked to him. Yesterday he sounded angry, and depressed. Which; I would be, too.  They spent the first four hours in surgery trying to do a bypass... His arteries in his legs have been shot due to 50+ years of alcoholism and smoking.  I wasn't for sure but he has been drinking and smoking since he was a teenager. He turns 70 next April..  Back in 2009, he had a major surgery (that I went to Michigan for) to repair an aortic aneurysm, and... I can't even remember now. There were three major things. One of the three were the arteries in his right leg (the one he just had amputated). But, since he had been in surgery for so long already (I think it was 9 hours), and his signs were getting worse, they decided to do the major artery and leave the rest for later.  Well they never did go back in...   And this past weekend everything went downhill fast. He was outside weed whacking, and started having pain in his hip (weird). It started traveling down his leg and the pain was bad. They went to the ER that night. Stayed in the waiting room all night long. By then his foot was purple and he couldn't even feel it.  Finally got him in to surgery at 11:30 am.   Like I already said the first four hours were trying to do some kind of a bypass on that major artery they tried to repair in '09. But they weren't able to...  And he lost his leg.    :(   I feel so awful for him.  Even though it is his "own doing"..  (No one can tell him that, though..)  I am on pins and needles hoping to not hear any bad news. Expecting the worst, but hoping for the best..

I finished Jolene's baby sweater set. I am happy with how it all turned out. And now that I have finally done the Shells & Vines Sweater, I will do more for PR for the OB Unit.. I like it.

Baby Jolene

I contacted my cousin to get her address on Facebook..  I found out they are naming their baby Jolene. I love that name. I said "Your Mom must be crocheting all kinds of things for her new grand daughter!", and then I found out that she doesn't crochet much any more. :0  Because of her hands..   So... Long story short; I wasn't going to "over-do" the crocheting, because I didn't want to "steal her thunder"....   But..  Since I found out she doesn't crochet any more, I decided to do a whole layette set. Especially since I have almost a whole skein of Pound of Love leftover from the blanket. :D  I am crocheting the Shells and Vines Sweater. I have wanted to do that one forever, for the OB Unit. But never have..   So I will do it for this gift..

And I finished their card and it's already to go..   I think it came out nice.

I found out this morning that my Dad is in the hospital again. He is in surgery right now as I type...   His leg was bothering him. It started in his hip, then went down his leg.  It was causing him a lot of pain.  He has had arteries that were not working properly/blocked/dead?  But during his last surgery (2009), they had so many other issues to deal with they didn't want to continue the surgery any longer and risk anything.  Well everything went to hell finally last night.  The thing that makes my blood boil is, they went in at 11 at night and didn't get in to surgery until 11;30 this morning?  They said if they can't fix the blockage/arteries, they are going to have to amputate his leg. :(   I am not a praying person but if you are, can you please send up some good thoughts for my Dad?  I guess 47 years of alcoholism and smoking is/are finally catching up with him. Even though he has been sober for two years..  :/

A Couple Things..

...that I finished, that is. The C2C baby blanket is done.  I don't know why but I just thought these two colors would go good together.  

Duke trying to fall asleep... Lol  Such a rough life. :)

And I finished a hat for myself.  My husband took me to Jo-Ann's so I could get the yarn to do it.  <3 and="" anything="" bought="" color="" doesn="" exact="" in="" like="" look="" magazine.="" magazine="" me..="" nbsp="" t="" td="" the="" they="" to="" used="" yarn="">

And, the pattern does not make sense. Round 2 is mainly the problem, but I noticed other rounds that there is no way possible the stitch count could be what they say. It's annoying.  But I did what I thought I should do and it turned out.  A beginner crochet would be lost, though.  I haven't worn this out yet.  But it is very warm. And so comfy.  I also don't know if I will ever buy Bernat Roving again.  If you pull on it, it comes apart. Fortunately I didn't have that happen while I was crocheting it.  But it did happen while trying to sew the pom-poms on...

ETA: This is the issue the pattern is in. I contacted the website to tell them about the problem...  don't know how much good if any that will do.

Baby Blankets

This one is finished, for my cousin Ashley and her husband Dave's new baby which is due next month. (It's a girl. In case you couldn't tell by the pink.) ;P  I have crocheted this pattern a couple times before. But for boy babies. (It's a "boy" pattern, in the book..)  But I like it. So I did it in pink.  

So you can see the edging...

Folded...   I was going to make them a card, too. I want to make one like the card I made for Tia.  I still have to send her a message on Facebook, and get their address. I got a baby shower invitation, but the address on the invite was the girl who was hosting her baby shower. So that's no help to me...    Incidentally (or coincidentally?), Ashley's mom (my Aunt) also taught me how to do embossing on cards. (She was the one who taught me/helped me learn how to crochet.)  Now I am making her daughter/grand-daughter a blanket and a card. :P

A baby afghan in progress for the OB Unit. I had a couple of skeins of the Tropical Fruits yarn left, and Soft Navy. I just thought those colors would go good together.   Well, I ran out of both of them. Sigh...  I can only find the Tropical Fruits yarn at a pharmacy in our old town. But I did get another skein of Soft Navy. And I was going to get some more today when I took Eon to school (no sense wasting gas driving there just for yarn)...  But guess who is home "sick" again today (third absence since school started. UGH....)    And, I actually found another partial skein of the Tropical Fruit yarn while looking for another yarn. :P  So I was able to finish that row, and keep working on it...

I am past the middle..   I think it's cool how it ended up on the very last row of the variegated for the corner.  

Here's another scrap baby afghan I started..  I didn't use a pattern. I was just sitting there with the bag of scrap baby yarns, and started doing it.  I just chained long enough until it was six inches; then did hdc's...   That green variegated I got at the Dollar Store when we lived in Nevada. :P  I only have a small amount left, then that's it..

And progress on the scrap baby log cabin, too...  I was "trying to do two sides darder two side lighter. But...  It isn't looking like that so far. It just looks like one side is darker. Sigh..   When you do a scrap blanket but don't have enough scraps, even....