Crocheted Candy Canes

They're so cute! I don't even know where or why I started thinking about a crocheted candy cane. But yesterday I was doing a Google Search to try and find any patterns online. I think I went through the whole internet. There are some, but not many. And none like these. :( I did find a pattern (the most similar) in the 2007 CPAD Calendar. The Dec. 21st pattern. I made it last night. (Just have to sew it up and all...) I still want the ones in that link though. They're so cute. Well now that you all are interested in candy canes, I guess I should post some links huh? ;) This one I have bookmarked, it's the one I liked the most. Kreinek candy cane. Another candy cane and wreath. Buttercup miniatures (scroll down...) Maggie's Crochet has one. I don't know why I am all of a sudden obsessed with candy canes. Maybe I was having a craving... (Although I don't even really like candy canes.) I did see some 'Peppermint Chocolate Bark' (white chocolate) at the Starbucks in Safeway the other day; that looked soooo yummy. Of course I didn't have any money to buy it, so maybe it is making me want it even more. You know how that goes... And, a couple hours before the candy cane I was obsessed with snowmen. See what I mean about 'I think I haveCrochetObessiveCompulsiveDisorder'...... :( Well I hope everyone is having a nice week. I'll post a picture of my candy cane when I get it finished...

When In Doubt, Google!

Here is one of the comfortghans my squares were put in to. My square in this one is the top left hand corner, the plum heart.
And here is the other side; this time the bottom left is mine...
And my granny squares (four of them) are in this one. The lavender and blue little ones in the middle on the left, the blue one towards the bottom in the middle, and the lavender one in the middle on the right; next to the white and blue granny square. These afghans are going to the families of the Amish shooting victims. :( I wanted to do *something*; what can you do for someone you've never met; let alone an Amish person? A comfortghan! That's about the only thing I can think of, other than sending a sympathy card. (Which I've also done...) I went to the American Kennel Club site (so, technically, I didn't *Google*, guess that was a lie....) and went down the line to find the breed of my friends' dog. She told me it about three times but the only thing I could remember was Brussel. It is a Brussels Griffon. In case you are interested. I really have been missing our dog; and regretting that I gave her away. :(( I want to go to the persons' house we gave her to and say 'I changed my mind, I want her back...' But I kind of can't. We aren't allowed to have pets here, for one thing. I do miss her though. Well I hope you are all having a nice week. :) Thanks for coming by!

A friend came over today to crochet and have coffee. She brought her little girl to play, too. She brought her new puppy- I cannot remember the name of the breed, it's a rare breed and very expensive. Brussel something.... They only get to about five or six pounds. She laid in my lap the whole time. I put her on our sons'lap, and she got up and came over to mine. :p She did that twice. Then I just left her there. She is so sweet. Well we ended up talking and didn't get any crocheting done at all. But it was still nice. I made some cookies to go with our coffee. (These aren't them- I made these yesterday; 'Pumpkin Spiced and Iced' cookies.) They are all gone. (I took them somewhere last night, though; we didn't eat them all.)
These are the ones I made today. Just peanut butter cookies. I took a dozen to my sons' teacher, and we are eating the rest.
Not much news in the crochet world. Speaking of which, I got an issue of that ('Crochet World') in the mail. I thought I cancelled it, but they keep sending it to me..... There is a baby blanket, a scarf, a set of three Barbie outfits, a pajama bag doll, a schoolgirl and holiday dress for dolls, a penguin doll to crochet... how many dolls can one issue have? There was a capelet pattern and a child's weater pattern. A wrap and a hat... Overall not very impressive (maybe why I cancelled it...) Anyway. The comfortghan squares I sent in have been put into a comfortghan. I'll post about that next time...

Some Things I Have Been Working On

...and trying to get finished up... This is the sweater I posted about already that is for my great niece. Here it is with the hat. I may or may not make a pair of Mary Janes to go with this. (Probably not, as I am so backed up in my crocheting... and I've already sent an afghan and toys that I've crocheted, too.)
And the sweater for my nephew (due this month). Both hats are from FCEC Fall 2006 issue. If you are planning on making them, be forewarned: I made them with the yarn indicated (the girls'), and a hook size bigger, and it still was not the right size. In order to get a six month size, I had to make the 24 month size. Same thing for the boys. (Fortunately I was going for a newborn size then...)
Here are two comfortghan squares I made for Lisa from Crochetville for her Grandmothers Comfortghan. You can read about it here. And I got the pattern here. I've made this square before. You can read about that here, if you want. ;p
And this is a comfortghan square for Jessie, you can read all about it here. This is Bobby's Square, which I've also made before. Sheesh! I hope all these links work, cuz I don't feel like going back and fixing them all now. ;p Oh, and I almost forgot, I did six other comfortghan squares, too. For the Amish school shooting tragedy. A bunch of us at Crochetville got together to make squares, and Mary is putting all the comfortghans together. You can read about that, here. And since I forgot to post the picture, you can look at my squares here. :)

Some More FO's...

Baby sweaters. :) This one is the 'Baby It's Cold Outside!' sweater, from Crochet Me. It worked up SOOO fast! I still can't believe how fast it was. I finished it mostly yesterday (and, I started yesterday at about 1 in the afternoon!) Between going to pick up kids at two different schools, and making dinner... Then this morning all I had left was the sewing up the seams, borders, and the buttons. I want to make this hat to go with it. If I can figure out how to size it for a six month old. I saw KnicKnacs', and it must have been what I needed to finally make one. I've had the pattern printed out and been wanting to forever. This one will go to my brother and his wife for their baby boy who's due in November. (I will probably make more stuff for him, too, so stay tuned for that...) :) It's supposed to be sized for a six months, but I just measured it and it is 1/2 inch smaller. So maybe it's technically a three month size... I've actually already started another one of these, in pink and white, for my (great) niece.

Here is the Cuddle Me Hooded Baby Sweater I've also finished. This one is going to Pine Ridge. I used a G hook I think instead of an I. The I seemed too loose for me. So I'm not sure what size this is, either. I'm guessing a 6-12 months, but I don't know. The size it's supposed to work up to is a 12 months, but mine measured 11 inches across the chest. I don't have the pattern right here in front of me, so I don't know.. Well if you're looking for baby sweaters, there's two links for ya, anyway. ;) Have a Nice Day everyone! Thanks for stopping by. :)

A Wedding Gift (In Progress) and a Magazine

My MIL was over this past weekend. We went to an apple orchard (stay tuned for pictures of apple pies!...) :p (Maybe...) She brought over two magazines for me! Both were this 'Piecework'. This one has the pattern for the purse on the cover inside. I was really excited when I read that the pattern was in it (it had something on the cover about 'Win this crocheted or tatted purse', so I wasn't sure...) But after I thought about it, I wasn't so excited... It looks kind of hard. Maybe someday I will try one, though. There were other kinds of things inside, quilting, embroidery... And the other issue had a knitted baby hat by Elizabeth Zimmerman or else her daughter, Meg Swanson... And a pair of World War I knitted socks pattern. Pretty neat. She got them both for only 10c at the library book sale. (My kind of price, too!) ;)


I finally got started on a wedding present for my brother and his wife; after finishing the baby afghan. (Thank you everyone for all your kind comments, I meant to put it in the comments section, but I have been so busy lately.) This is going to be a table runner. It is from the 'Big Book of Crochet', 'Tailor Made Table Runner'. I have absolutely no idea what to get them for a wedding present. They didn't tell anyone they were getting married so we had months to plan; they just up and did it this past summer. No registry lists or anything to go by. And, I don't have any money right now anyway, so I have to crochet something. :) Anyway... I really like this so far! It is so relaxing to crochet. And I love how it is turning out. I showed both of our younger boys, 'What do you see in this? Do you see anything?' I think one of them saw a spider. They should, after all the spiders we've had lately! LOL... It's a spider web diamond pattern. I've never done anything like this before; in thread or yarn. It is kind of like filet, isn't it? Well anyway I hope they will like it. It is kind of like 'What do you get the couple who has everything?' So; I hope... Well it is snowing like mad here today. Crazy. But the kids love it, they are outside playing in it now. Guess it was getting to be time to find all their snow stuff anyway...

Sweet As A Rose..

Baby Afghan. :) I posted about when I had first started this here. Well it's finally finished woo hoo! I am SO glad. I don't know if I will make another one of these for a loooong time. Too many ends to weave in. She had the baby two days ago. So, I didn't get it done before,but right after is okay, too. It is from a Leisure Arts booklet, 'Sweet as a Rose Baby Afghans'. I was trying to decide if I should make a sweater, too.... (Not...) I would maybe but, there is one more person (on that side of the family), and one on my side of the family. I don't want to bite off more than I can chew (or crochet...) Hee Hee. Besides there are other gifts besides this I am giving them. Well thanks for stopping by. I thought you might want to read about something else, after my last post. ;p

YIKES! :0

I think I found a black widow spider in my laundry room this morning! It looks just like the one on this site: Black Widow Spiders- Desert USA. Scroll down to where it says 'Breeding', there is a clearer picture of it. It looks and sounds just like the one there. It has a black, round shiny body, long spindly legs, and two red dots on the bottom. :0 This is the second one like it we've found in the last couple of weeks, too. We also found a Funnel Web Spider a few weeks ago. It looked most like this one. My husband looked that one up online. They are poisonous in Australia, but apparently not here. Black Widows are, though! My skin is going to be crawling all day now. I did see two Northern Flickers, too, though, today. They were on our neighbors' shed. I think one was a male and one was a female. They were pretty. I want to get my sheperds' hook and some bird seed so I can put my bird feeders back up. (Somewhere where the squirrels can't get to them.) ;)

Well it's been a while since my last post. I haven't been doing much, just the same old, same old.. I've been trying to hurry up and finish a baby afghan I've been working on for my husbands and my niece. She's having her first baby any day now. She's due in two days. I still don't have the afghan done. :( I was on the last motif of this afghan, and ran out of yarn. Waaaaa! I hate that! So, I am going to try to get up to the store tonight and get another skein. I don't even have the wrapper or anything, so I will have to get a close match. :( This is the second full skein I finished. I don't get it.... Well I will just be glad when this baby is done! I'll be sure to take a picture when it's finished. Meanwhile, I am also working on a baby sweater. Dot's Cuddle Me Hooded Baby Sweater. You can find it at Crochet Pattern Central. I'm on the second sleeve. I don't know who I should give this to. I originally started it for our niece, but then thought maybe I should give it to Pine Ridge. Then I thought, no I should give it to the niece, she's 'family', they'll almost be expecting it... Then I thought, 'If I give her an afghan and a sweater, then I'll have to give his sister one, too. (His sister is pregnant, too....) UGH! And his sister has done a lot to help us out financially this past year. So she really deserves a whole layette. Oi~ the joys of crocheting.... Well I bought a new crochet magazine. I have been eyeing the Interweave Crochet issue that's out, but the only thing I really like in it is a ripple scarf. And a pineapple shrug. But, Caron has a very similar pattern, free online, that I like better. And, the magazine is almost $8 if I remember correctly. Today I saw Family Circle Easy Crochet (this is not the magazines website, but...) I looked through it (with three kids next to me, not an easy task...) But it did have a lot of baby stuff in it. So that must be why I bought it. So many babies due not enough ideas.... And only $6. ;) Well that's all that I've been up to. Hope everyone is having a nice week. :)

My Tea Cozies

This is Cupcake's Scalloped Tea Cozy. Tami said she liked bright colors. I really like the way this one turned out, too.
Then this one is one I made up. It's supposed to be 'Poison Ivy'. I don't know if I'll make another one of these or not. I might, just to sell on my etsy store. Which, by the way I opened up an Etsy Store! So far I only have one scarf pattern on there. But I have a few ideas in my head, like this tea cozy pattern and a couple more...
And here is a bracelet I tried out. I *think* this is my first experience with crocheting with beads. I can see this becoming a new obsession, easily! I made this one for my mom. She said she liked it. I think she would tell me if she didn't like it. Well anyway, I like it and I plan to make some more in different colors, too. I want to buy some different colored beads soon. You can find the pattern... where else, but at Crochetville, of course. :p I strung fourteen beads on size 10 thread and used a size 6 steel hook. Then I cut two pieces of the thread about four inches long, tied a big knot in one end then strung about ten beads on (five for each end of the tassle.) Then tied a knot in the other end, strung it through the end of the bracelet with five beads on each side. (I made two of those.) Then for the toggle, I just sewed them on with thread and a needle like a button. Thanks for stopping by; I hope you all have a nice week!

My Tea Cozy Came In The Mail Yesterday!

Here it is, on one of my tea pots. :) It is the Rosy Cozy. It is so funny, because this is the exact pattern I had started for her! But when I found out she liked 'bright colors', and 'whimsical', I changed what I was making for her. (Pictures of what I made later in a different post...) I just love this tea cozy! Thank you, Tammy! It is keeping my English Breakfast Tea (which Tammy also sent me, below...) warm. :)
Look at all the different teas she sent, too! Earl Grey, Lady Grey, English Breakfast, and Irish Breakfast. And a 'Tea for Two' kit: two tea balls, a honey stirrer, a little dish to set your tea balls on, and a book on how to make the perfect cup of tea, with some recipes and instructions on the perfect tea party inside. I love it! Also, some coffee singles, too.
And two dishcloths she made. These are too pretty to wash dishes with. I think I will use these to put under my tea pot. (Maybe that's what she intended them for..)
And look at the adorable cupcake!! I love this!! Inside were two Creme Savers candies. 'Cinnamon Bun', and 'Apple Pie Alamode'. I tried the cinnamon bun and gave the applie pie to the nine year old. I'd never tried these flavors yet, next time I go shopping I will have to see if they have these flavors. :)
Tammy sent three skeins of variegated yarn, too! How did she know I like variegated yarns lately? Hmmm... she must have been doing her research. ;) Thank you again, Tammy. I just love everything and can't wait to try out all the teas and to use the yarns you sent me, too! :)

Just Finishing Up a Few Things...

Here is one of them. A polar bear I just finished testing for Crochet_Queen_03 at Crochetville. His name is *supposed* to be Caldwell. But, when our three year old saw him he immediately claimed him and renamed him 'Bo'. Here is Bo and Blossom having a tea party. They are already close friends. Hey I have to occupy my time somehow. I missed having tea parties and stuff when I was a kid. Speaking of tea parties, that is another thing I have finished up over the four day weekend. My tea cozy swap partner Tammy's tea cozy! I will wait til she recieves hers in the mail to post a picture of them. (I made two.) I kinda liked what I came up with; I hope she will too. Now, to finish the baby afghan for my hubbys' niece.... Oi... Well it is half done, and I have faith in myself to finish it, but will it be in time? (The due date is October 1st...) :-0 Well I hope you all had a nice long weekend. I didn't really have a *break* from anything except driving the kiddos to school and getting up early, but it was nice! :)

Aaaahh.... Frankenmuth... (Don't read if you're hungry!) :p

Most of you are probably thinking, 'Frankenwhat?'... LOL Frankenmuth is a little town in Michigan that is a German town; "Michigans' Little Bavaria". The whole town is German restaurants~ Zehnders-my favorite, fried chicken dinners to die for! Bavarian Inn; shops, inns... german clock stores... Rau's Country Store was another one of my favorites. We'd go in and get a bunch of candy and the hugest and most delicious pickles you have ever seen or tasted! Oh! I almost forgot, my favorite store there for yarn lovers! Rapunzels! What brought this on, you might say? Well today I went to a little German bakery here called Wimbergers Old World Bakery and Delicatessen... And I got to thinking about Frankenmuths... Wimbergers has a lot more than just baked goods, though. Coffees, teas, jams, cookies, candies, German magazines, smoked sausages and other meats, cheeses... We got some pretzels (big pretzels; nice and salty!) and sauerkraut and smoked sausage for dinner tonight. I got a couple of little goodies for my tea cozy swap partner, too. Well I hope you weren't hungry. If you weren't, you probably are now! ;)

A Little Red Fox

We have been seeing this little red fox come by our house every day since school started. (Except today; I haven't seen him/her). Yesterday I went outside to shake the bathroom rug out and there it was, across the street. It had a big ole bird or something in it's mouth, that was almost as big as it was! It stopped for a minute because a squirrel was running by. Then it went up to the neighbors yard and dropped it's breakfast to maybe get the squirrel. It was sitting there for a long time and I thought, duh! I should get my camera! I know this isn't the best picture of it; I tried to get a better one, but my camera was being a pain. (The batteries were going dead.) I knelt down and whistled and made noises, and it came across the street and down the sidewalk. It was within two feet of me! It was SOOO cute! I think if my three year old wasn't standing there it would have come right up to me. (I don't know if I would want it too anyway, being a wild animal I wouldn't trust it...) I tried to get a picture of it then, but that's when my camera was not working. Here is one of it running back across the street.
Here it is across the street. It is just a little bigger than a cat. And skinny. The other night we saw two of them running down the street; they were playing. I don't know where they come from, because we live almost right in town.

Here is an afghan I made years ago for our oldest son. It was in the closet downstairs (I was looking for something else and found it...) I am working on another one right now, too. But it will be edged in black this time, and for Pine Ridge. I thought this must be a good pattern to hold up all these years, so I started another one...

My doily from my doily swap partner came in the mail today! I love it! This photo does not show how it is raised in places, just like the PK doilies. I don't know if it is a PK doily; she said she'd made some of these before, from a book she had. Anyway, it is beautiful. I love it, thank you Theresa! I am now in a tea cozy swap. My tea cozy is almost done; and I have been shopping for other goodies, too. I don't know much about what my tea cozy swap partner likes, since she doesn't have a wish list or even an Amazon wish list. She has a blog, but it doesn't give me very many clues... So hopefully I'll be able to get her something she likes. :)

'Flying Geese' Quilt squares

I found these in the big Rubbermaid tote you see them on top of. (It was in storage.) I'm almost positive I was making this quilt for my cousins' baby (who is now fifteen...) (ahem...) I counted 83 of them so far. I don't think there's any more in there. But there is a bunch of little squares and bigger ones cut out to do more with. I found the book I was using to make this quilt from, too; 'Quilts, Quilts, Quilts', by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes. It says for a crib sized (which is what I was making with these, but it wouldn't have to be a crib quilt necessarily... You need 240 units :0 for a crib quilt. 540 for a twin sized.... Sheesh no wonder I never finished it. I would like to, but I of course need to get my sewing machine tuned up first... Oh well. Just thought I'd share my find. ;)

A Link for the Afghan Motif..

I forgot to put in a link for a similar 6"motif for the afghan I posted about last time. (The anniversary afghan..) I think it is the same exact motif, Wagon Wheel Square. I *think* there were 64 motifs all together. Then the border. Which was basically like a granny 'square' type border. Simple.

A WIP Baby Afghan, and an Oldie But a Goodie...

This baby afghan I am working on for my niece. (My husbands' sisters daughter). Her and her husband are due to have their first child in October. She's the same age as one of my younger sisters. Kind of weird. But she's always liked kids. They're doing the baby's room in Pooh Bear and the walls are painted yellow. So I thought this afghan would work well in there. I have only made two more of these afghans. One for a friend of mine. She actually bought the pattern book for me, and paid for the yarn so I could make her daughter one. (With pink roses.) Actually both the other two were in pink. This is the first one I've done in yellow. I like it, though.
And this is the 'Oldie but Goodie'. I made this afghan for my husband for our second wedding anniversary. It is still holding up very well. No rips or seams coming apart yet. I must have done something right. We just had our fourteenth anniversary, so this afghan is twelve years old... Only one I made like this. For my hubby only. :p

If Your Husband Gave You Ten Dollars...

and said, 'Go to get a coffee somewhere....' Would you get a coffee? Or yarn? :) Hee Hee... I got yarn. Some other day I might have gotten a coffee. But last night I wasn't feeling good still so I went to see if I could find any yarn I liked. This skein is waiting to be made into one of Cupcakes' Koalas. :) I'm waiting for her to post her pattern on Etsy. I am still making toys, you see. Last night I finished another bear. I haven't taken a picture of her because...well, I'm kind of embarrassed. She looks like a body builder or something. I must have overdone it with the stuffing or something. This is the first bear I have done with Crochet_Queens' revised bear pattern. Maybe I should stick with the un-revised pattern... I do like the feet though. I want to make Blossom a Koala friend. I am still not feeling good. Yesterday I was feeling better. I went out and got some yarn. But today I feel worse than I did on Thursday. Must be a thing with only me. Feel yucky one day... the next day I feel pretty good, the third day I feel even worse than I did the first day.... So I am using today as an excuse to crochet and drink tea. Sounds fun (if you're not sick, maybe...)

Doily for a Doily Swap

Let's see if Blogger tries to eat my post today. I posted three times (the same post) yesterday and it ate it. So, I gave up... Anyway. This is the doily I sent to my doily swap partner. I just found out today that she got it. And, she likes it! (That's what I was really worried about.) She said she doesn't think she has the book I got it from. (Whew!) I was worried about that, too... 'What if she already has this book and has made fourteen of this doily?'... So I'm happy that she is happy. This is the first time I ever made this doily. Actually I think it's the first time I've made any doily from that leaflet. (It's 'Elegant Crocheted Doilies', by Leisure Arts.) I'm not feeling so great today. Don't know if I'm worn down or if I have a little bug or what... I feel like I could go to sleep right now and it's only a quarter after 6. Well I hope everyone is having a nice week so far.