Works in Progress...

I am joining another Make~over party this month on the 25th. Hooray! Just enough "fire" under my butt to actually get motivated to accomplish something around my home! Anywho..... this month I am going to be making over my front patio area. I've been working on a table cloth and pillows for the table and chairs I have under my gazebo....here is a sneak peek of the "before"Here is the after of the table & chairs. I used a potterybarn duvet cover for the fabric :-)Here are some things that I recently picked up for my front porch make-over. All of this is from yard sales... the cement bird bath $15 bucks, the two rose bushes in pots $3 bucks each. The large mosiac bird house $2 bucks (I know what a steal!) The angel sitting on the edge of the pot was $5 bucks.
...stay tuned for more of the "after" pictures coming up on March the 25th. It is very pretty once its all set out. The funny thing is, I never sit out there and enjoy it because I've always got something I'm working on. I've also been making over an Easter Tree. I'll give a tutorial on how I did this...hopefully before Easter. I am hoping to make it more "toddler friendly" as those darn spiral branches and the long strings on the ornaments were to much for my 23 month old grandson to hang the ornaments from. The carnival soiree is fastly approaching.... I've got some things put together as little vinettes. I guess thats what I'm suppossed to do? Who knows.... and I don't think anyone cares!Lastly, of course....a crocheted project is ALWAYS sitting around somewhere as a work in progress. I wish I could stress to everyone just how easy it is to crochet and to start to learn today. There are excellent instructional videos on Youtube.com... just type in "how to crochet" in the search box. Sometimes when I come across a stitch I've never heard of before I google it...and up pops thousands of sites that show how to do that stitch. Now...go grab some yarn and a hook and please give it a try, you'll thank me I promise

Pink & pearl garland

Here is a little something I whipped up recently. You know those strings of beaded garland that are about 18' long that you can pick up super cheap at Christmas time? Well, I crocheted around each bead on this long strand of beaded garland. Kinda cute huh? Its a great project to work on while watching t.v..... something you can just mindlessly work on and before you know it-- its finished! I'm going to add this (and several more) to my Christmas tree next year. Here is the easy-peasy instructions just incase someone out there wants to give it a try~

First of all, your needing to attach your crochet thread to the end of the garland with a slip stitch or knot, whichever you prefer. Once the crochet thread is attached you simply chain 4 stitches then make a sc in between the next two pearls. Thats it....just continue with the ch 4 and doing a sc in between each pearl. At the end chain 12 or more then come back down the other side doing the same ch 4/1 sc in between each pearl. Easy-peasy~ Once your garland is completed.... you could go back up and down each side again adding 5 dc in each ch 4 space and a slip stitch in each sc space. This makes a wider garland, but I was wanting a smaller/simpler garland for my own tree~

Lemon Meringue pie & cupcakes~

I pulled off all the lemons off of my lemon tree and squeezed & froze all the juice so I could have "lemons" all year long. I placed 1/2 cup of lemon juice in each ziploc snack bag, folded the bags to get out as much air as possible then sealed them shut. I freeze them flat so I can stack them easily in the freezer. Here is my first pie of the year, okokok first TWO pies of the year, one for me and one for my daughter and her family..... YuMmY!Deluxe Lemon Meringue Pie
1 1/2 c Sugar
1/3 c cornstarch
1 1/2c water, cold
1/2 c lemon juice
5 large eggs -- separated (you'll use the yokes for the pie)
2 tb butter / or margarine
Optional: 1 tsp Lemon rind -- grated- up to 3 tsp
9" pastry shell -- baked
Meringue:
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c sugar -- plus 2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 egg whites (left over from the pie)

Combine the sugar & cornstarch in a large heavy saucepan; mix well. Gradually add the water and lemon juice into the mixture and have the pot on a medium heat stirring until mixture is smooth. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored; gradually stir into lemon mixture. Add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Cook 1 minute, stirring continuously. Remove from heat; stir in lemon rind. I let the lemon filling cool in the fridge for a few house then I pour it into the pastry shell. This way the lemon filling doesn't "sweat" and make a watery mess.... Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at high speed of an electric mixer just until foamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes). Beat in vanilla, and spread meringue over filling, touching the edge of the pastry to get a nice seal. Bake at 325~ for 25 to 30 mins. or until meringue is golden brown. Cool to room temp.

Lastly, some low calorie cupcakes that I made for my daughter to pass out to a few people who will come to visit her in the hospital when my grandaughter Chloe is born~

Here is a close up of one of the cupcakes~

Daisy Loom blanket~

I finished up the little daisy loom baby blanket for one of my daughters girlfriends who is expecting a baby girl.... this one is for little Emily~ Her momma wanted everything to be brown & pink--- so I hope she loves this :-)I really like using this pattern, its one that I can work on mindlessly as I watch t.v. :-P The little daisy loom flowers are fun to make but not so fun to attach to the blanket lol

Show & Tell~

For this show and tell I'm sharing what I entered in our local fair...I had a fun time hunting for the 8 things I made to see if I won any ribbons. Happily I can report I did win some ribbons!! Out of the 8 things I entered, I won 6 ribbons! Two first place: this set of 3 crocheted Christmas ornaments:This set of 6 3d soldered Christmas ornaments not only won a first prize ribbon but also BEST IN SHOW!!Here is a better picture of them: two second place: a crocheted teddy bear...
A fabric covered box (dumb division, but I always get a ribbon in it lol)

and two third place ribbons: a pair of crocheted baby booties...
and an appliqued quilt(Mine is the Yo Gabba-Gabba baby blanket-- the one with the blue faced character on it~)
Two didn't win a thing. This crocheted baby blanket
and this mixed media necklace....big pout. I surely thought the bably blanket would win, but noooooooooooo not this year!! Still going to try next year though!!

You can find more people sharing Show & Tell's @ Kelli's.

W.I.P.'s

Here are a few "Works in progress"
A brown & pink baby blanket for one of my daughter's friends who is having a baby in a few months. I am using one of my favorite patterns that consists of mindless crocheting (I've got the pattern memorized) then attaching the flowers made with my vintage daisy loom....and a pirate photo album....This album is made from one of those photo pocket books that you just insert photos into the cut outs for an instant album. Well.... I used some sand paper and sanded the pages printed design to get it roughed up to paint. I have never in my life used gesso...so why start now? lol I first painted each page with a thick, even coat of black paint and let that dry. Then I used a stiff old brush and painted on some brown (and let that dry)--- then using the same old brush I painted on some red that I added a touch of black to.(and let that dry) I then stenciled some pirate themed images onto each page, and dry brushed around each photo area with the same color (and let all that dry) Once that was all done I put a coat of sealer on each page and that really made all the colors pop. After letting the sealer coat dry, I sanded the edges of each page to make it look old. I purchased a brown faux suede-like blazer at a thrift store to use the fabric on the cover of the photo album. This is as far as I've gotten. I am wanting to create either a beaded or embroidered cover for the front of the photo album....in a pirate them of course! I added a piece of torn muslin to the front & back cover to help keep the book bound. After sanding all those pages it loosened up the glued binding somewhat. The muslin just adds to the old world look :-)

Cuppie-cake

I saw these on Janets blog and had to make some myself.I think they are totally cutie-pa-tooties! The hardest part? The cool whip blob under the duck! I spent all day long trying & trying but everything looked awful. I finally ended up using a sunflower crochet pattern from a book that when whipped up on a smaller scale looked kinda cute :-) I am going to make a lot of these for my daughter (who is expecting her second child) dArLiNg!!! if I do say so myself *grinning* I will add either a pink or blue ribbon with a tiny bell on it when I find out if she is having a boy or girl :-)

Whew~

Finally finished with eVeRyThInG :-) Here is the last two things I've been feverishly completing before the Friday deadline:

3 Crocheted Christmas ornaments~A mixed media piece of jewelry~ This is a fun piece, I'm happy with how it finally turned out :-) It has the watch chain from my father in-laws father, the oblong (faux brass) charm with the word "hope" is from one of those .25cent machines from when I was a child... and the cross/rosary is one from my collection. And the rusty bling piece was something I yanked off an art piece I no longer liked :-P This piece is called: "The key to life...is hope & faith"These two along with the crocheted baby blanket~and the Yo-Gabba-Gabba baby quilt~Bring my total entries to 8....and whew, I'm glad I didn't sign up for more lol

FINALLY.....

finished with this baby blanket that I'm going to enter in our local fair. I've worked day & late into the night straight for several days now in order to get it finished. I like the way it turned out!-- but I'm soooooooooo glad it is finished!!!

Work In Progress

Here is a snapshot of the blanket I'm making to enter into the local fair this upcoming October. I love the look-- but I don't ever think I'm going to be making this one aGaIn! To much starting & stopping and "hiding tails" for me~ I probably would have had this completed by now if not for all that! I better at least get a third place ribbon on this one or I'm going to come unglued lolThese glass "blobs" I recently purchased (from several different thrift stores this past Saturday) are going to be put to good use...soon... I have been wanting to do a mosaic bird feeder for my backyard. I was thinking I was going to use old rose patterened plates and do a loosy-goosy random pattern-- but who am I kidding.... I prefer things to have symmetry so I am hopeful this will do the trick so I won't get bored and not finish it lol

The Fair~

The fair is right around the corner (in Ocotober) and I've got no entries as of today. Thats gotta change! For a $1 dollar entry fee per item I have the chance to win... I think its $12 bucks for first prize :-) and a blue ribbon *big smile* I want a handful of those to add to my blue ribbons from last year...yes, I'm hooked! I'm thinking of making a crocheted baby blanket (since last years baby blanket didn't even place) since seeing the works of ART some people managed to make last year, I am deteremined to at least get a third place ribbon!! Which is probably going to take me a few years of entries...but I'm going to do it. Anywho, I thought I'd share a photo of one of the patterns I'm going to work into a blanket. I think its super cute. I'm going to be buying the yarn this evening... happy-happy-joy-joy~
It is called Lacy Lattice and is super easy-peasy. You crochet different colored squares joining them as you work across in long rows. Loads of "hiding tails" but the plaid look of it is so darn cute. For some reason the photo didn't come out that cute....but it is darling! trust me~

This little piggy is sick...

but this little piggy is going off to live with a girlie named Lucille~I didn't have a crochet pig pattern, so I just made this up as I went along. It sits about 7 inches high~

Show & Tell Friday!

This week I'm sharing a fleece blanket with a crocheted edge that I recently made for my 9 month old grandson. (instructions to follow~) I purchased a yard and 1/8th of fleece fabric with skull & cross bones on it... (since he is my lil' pirate!) I cut the fleece so it made a perfect square, I then rounded each corner. There is enough fleece left over to make a pillow... I'll whip that up at a later date. I used sport weight yarn and the edge is done with a tight stitch so as his little precious fingers don't get tangled the crocheted edge :-) Instructions: Using masking tape mark off at 1/2 inch intervals- about a 10 inch piece (this will be used as a guide to poke holes into the fleece evenly) You can reuse the same piece of tape several times :-) I used an awl to poke through the fleece to create the holes.

Create your base row by making a sc followed by 2 chain stitches all the way around your fleece blanket joining with a slip stitch to the beginning stitch~
Second row: sc in each stitch around- join with a slip stitch to beginning stitch.

Third row: This row is worked using an "X stitch" The x stitch is made by crossing two double crochet stitches over each other. Sounds hard? but is so darn easy! (I've borrowed this photo below of someone demonstrating the stitch~) Sooooo you basically chain 3 (counts as your first dc) Then you yarn over and do a dc in the stitch to the right of your first dc. You are working backwards for this dc stitch. This creates your first "X" Then.... you skip past those two dc.... skip the next stitch and make a dc in the following stitch. Yarn over and do a dc in the stitch you skipped. Continue this pattern around the whole blanket and slip stitch at the end. Almost finished!

Fourth and final row.... Sc in back loop only all the way around your blanket to give the edge a nice "finished" look, join with a slip stitch and finish off...taaaaaaaa-daaaaaaa instant cute!This show & tell hosted by: Kelli

Partea time~

Mailed away the Partea time swap items to my swap partner Suzy. I bought some super cute stuff....kept that.... and mailed her all this. Bad to the bad I know! This swapping stuff is HaRd!!!! Maybe they should make it where you post pictures of stuff...and people offer to trade you some of their stuff that they post in pictures! lol
I did like this candy dish though... :-P so I bought myself a serving tray.

Two baby blankets~

Here are two baby blankets I have crocheted for my daughter... for her son. The far left is a yellow zig-zag pattern. That blanket was fun to make. The second one is a granny square blanket that I found the pattern on the back of the label on some white yarn. I am by no means a fabulous crocheter...but these were simple and they ended up looking beautiful~

Daisy Loom Baby Blanket~

(if you googled "daisy loom blanket and thats how you found me.... if you want any of my instructions on how to use the daisy loom, just e-mail and ask me. I'd be happy to share my vintage pattern book instructions with anyone who wants them)

Here in this photo is a darling little baby blanket that I crocheted for my daughter for her new baby. During her pregnancy I kept myself busy crocheting baby blankets. (This is one of four.) This is by far my favorite pattern. The pattern is from an old 1978 "Daisy Loom" book. I remember my mom having one of these little daisy looms way back when, she could never figure it out lol...I came across a set at a thrift store a few years back. Years later I came across a 23 page booklet on how to use it along with things to make.

I am now on my third crochet/daisy blanket. The most recent WIP is being worked in a beautiful sage green which I'm going to embellish with beige daisies... this is going to be called a "lap blanket" and is going to be given to my mother for mothers day! I want the same sage green with white flowers. But alas, a crafter never crafts for oneself lol~