WEEK 27 AND LIFE

Happy 5th day of Christmas.  How are you spending your 12 days of Christmas?  If you don't celebrate.....how are you spending the last few days of 2018?  Do you make resolutions? (I don't)  Do you pick a word for the year? (I don't)  Do you consider January 1 a way to start fresh again? (I do)

Since this is the last post for 2018, I decided to write what I wanted to write.  Not just about crafting.  But, since this is mainly a crafting blog, let's start out with that.

Still working on the Advent Scarf 2018.  The progress keeper is where I was last Sunday.  I was a bit further along until I noticed I had gotten off row count somehow last night.  Out came 4 rows of knitting.  I have put 2 of them back in though.  I am on December 18th, so only have 5 more days of pattern and then the ending ribbing.  I am averaging 3 days of clues each day.  It should be done by next weekend.  (fingers crossed)

I have not touched any other knitting or crocheting this past week.  We have been so busy, I am lucky to have found time to work on the scarf.  However, working on this scarf and learning some of the Japanese stitches has inspired me to learn more.  Therefore, Amazon got a little business from me.

Going through this, I have visions of socks with lovely intricate patterns on them in the near future.  Not to mention, fingerless mitts, hats, shawls and possibly even a sweater!  Looking at the designs as a whole, it scares the stuffing out of me.  Yet, the creator of the Advent KAL told me to just look at it one stitch at a time.  It worked!  I have not thrown in the towel and am looking forward to learning more of this type of knitting stitches.

We hosted a party last night.  We have this party every year for MANY years and have so much fun with friends and family.  It starts around 2 in the afternoon and ends around 10 in the evening.  There is lots of food and fun.  There just might be a few adult beverages involved in it too. (Hence the reason the scarf got off count)  To get ready for this annual event, hubby and I go to great lengths to make sure our home is welcoming to all.  We spent the week doing normal cleaning, lots of food prep, recipe searching, decluttering and finishing up decorating Christmas.  Since it was a short week, we really had to scramble to get it all done.  Even our dogs got groomed for the event.  While they were at the groomers, we vacuumed all the furniture and then to make sure there was not copious amounts  of dog hair on it 2 days later, we did this:

I told hubby, it reminded me of Grandma's house.  She would cover her furniture so it would not wear out.  Anyway, it worked and no one walked out of here with dog hair on them, other than when my dogs crawled into their lap.

I have to show you something that is becoming an event for our Grand Daughter.

She and our music director at church love to have tie contests.  She won this one.  The last one was a toss up (tie).  She loves to challenge him periodically to the contest.  BTW.....She just got glasses a week ago. I think she looks pretty darn cute in them.

This year has been pretty tough.  There were all those 'firsts' to go through without my mom.  Christmas day was the hardest ever as that would have been her 91st birthday and then, the day after was the 1st anniversary of her leaving this earthly life.  I found my eyes leaking off and on during those days.  Especially when I was working on decluttering my craftroom.  I still have all of my mom's beading supplies as well as a needlework Christmas stocking she had started and never finished.  It is still on the stretching frame.  The memories are sweet and yet sad at the same time.  

I am so ready for a new year to begin.  In preparation of making lovely new memories, I have been getting some supplies ready for it.

My new journal for 2019.  I get them at Hobby Lobby.  It is a lined journal and while many people prefer dotted journals, I like having lines to write on.  There was also an order for these:

They are bleed proof markers.  Since I like to do a bit of artwork or use stencils for fun, I wanted markers that don't bleed through.  I also use colored pencils (which I have waaay to many of).

There should be one more delivery today from Amazon.  It is my stickers for bullet journals.  I. LOVE. STICKERS.!      

They look like so much fun.  

Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of my MIL's stroke.  It was a blessing she was visiting us when it happened.  We were able to get her to the hospital in 20 minutes of the stroke.  She has regained most of her abilities.  The only thing she can not do is walk.  She is wheel chair bound and that frustrates her quite a bit.  She celebrated her 91st birthday in May.  Unbelievable!

I think that about sums up everything I wanted to 'talk' about today.  May God bless all of you in 2019!

Until next time.................Happy Crafting!!!!

HALFWAY POINT WEEK 26

 

Hello everyone.  Hope you all are doing well and are finding some 'me' time in the busyness of this time of year.  Luckily for me, there has been quite a bit of 'me' time.  Hubby and I promised ourselves we would not over do this year and we haven't.  Decorating, baking, and shopping have all been spaced out nicely over the last 4 weeks.  We are ready for Christmas and 2019.  

Since I had quite a bit of 'me' time this week, I concentrated on my Advent Scarf KAL.

The progress keeper on the right side is where I was last week.  I am still quite a bit behind others.  My pattern is on day December 11.  Only 12 days behind LOL.  That is OK, as I am in no hurry to finish this.  The pattern is printed out so I have it readily available to work on at my leisure.  

This is how I was working on it the other night.

A nice glass of wine to end the day.  I had to black out the pattern as it is going to be a 'paid for' pattern after Christmas.  The date on the top of this page is the 6th.  So, you can see I have been very faithful to this project.

The Advent Star KAL saw a little bit of work on it.

There were several rows done and I also closed up the center of it.  It has not seen the light of day since last week Sunday though.  It will get finished and stuffed.  Just not this week.

There is a FO!

Another 'To the Point' shawl.  This is my most loved pattern as you probably can tell.  It makes me happy to be able to finish a project in just a day or 2. This shawl and dishcloths are my easy peasy quickie patterns to do when I have a looooong knit going on.

Today marks the half way point of this year's YOP (for those of us that start in July), I wanted to take a look at my "list" to see how I am doing.


YOP 8

Do not buy any more yarn.  ( there are 10 skeins of sock yarn on the way that was ordered a week ago) Blew this one.  I have purchased quite a bit more yarn.  OOPS!

Finish up what is on my needles/hooks.  (2 shawls,1 sweater, 1 scarf, and 1 pair of socks) Finished 2, frogged 1 and 2 are still languishing

Make a sweater for our cooler weather here. (a sweater is all we need here for winter) Hasn't happened.  Have not found the perfect pattern for it

Continue making shawls/lapghans for the prayer shawl ministry Completed 3 and have 1 on the needles.

Make socks 1 pair done and 1 pair on the needles

Sew project bags  19 made and another 8 cut out

Work on other crafts (plastic canvas, egg carving, ornament kits, etc)  Hoping to get to my egg carving after the new year

Make a Christmas ornament for each of the Grands Completed!  Even got them mailed and they have been received.

And other items as they strike my fancy.  2 scarves completed and 1 in progress, a shawl for me completed, 2 dishcloths completed and 1 produce bag done.  Star pillow in progress.

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas (If you celebrate it).  Stay safe and warm!

Until next time...................Happy Crafting!!

WEEK 25 UPDATE

Another week as passed us by.  Did you make the most of it?  Are you stressing out about making sure everything is perfect for the next few weeks?  Do you have company coming in that you need to entertain?  Are there items on your to do list that seem to keep moving from day to day because 24 hours is not enough time to complete them all?  Are these questions adding more stress to your life?  Then stop!!!!! Grab your favorite beverage and a little snack, sit back, take a deep breath and take some 'me' time.  How about we look at someone else's week?  I promise not to add to you stress if you continue reading.

It was a lovely week for me and mine.  There was quite a bit of crafting done this week.

First up.....................................

Project bags.  Nineteen of them to be exact.  I started working on them on Sunday afternoon and completed the final one on Tuesday at lunch time.  The sewing of them takes no time at all.  The most time consuming part is ironing all the seams so when the lining goes in it lays nicely.

Most of them were lined with medium weight muslin.  I use snaps for closure as I find zippers can catch on the yarn and cause issues.  Don't even talk to me about Velcro and yarn!  Anyway........The ladies at the Prayer Shawl Christmas party were so excited to get them.  I have a few left over that will be going to the Prayer Shawl meeting this week.  There were a few ladies unable to make the party because of illness.  I want to make sure they get a bag also.

Once the bags were completed, the Advent scarf got my attention for 2 days.

The red line is where I was last week.  I got quite a bit done on it but am still very far behind.  I am on the pattern chart for December 3 and since today is the 16th......well you get the idea.  I am printing out the instructions as they are posted so when the KAL is completed, I will still be able to work on this.  It is a lovely pattern and I do enjoy working on it.  It does require my full attention though so it is best done during sporting events on the TV LOL.

Here is the progress on my other KAL.

The first middle of the star is completed and I started the second one last night.  The needles on the left are 5 inches and the ones on the right are 7 inches.  That should help with the perspective of the size of this.  Hubby was looking at it today and asked the most incorrect question................."what do you do with it?"  I had a very naughty reply at the ready but stopped myself and just told him it was decorative and would be going to the bed in the teen's room.  

The socks are still in time out.  My focus is really on the KAL's at this time.

I do have an FO!

Not the best photo as it is dark here so early and my inside light is never as good as natural light.  But the point is......................the 'To the Point' shawl is completed and ready to go to the Prayer Shawl closet at church.  I am happy to see the color changes seemed to happen at perfect points of this shawl.  This is by far, my favorite shawl pattern to make for Prayer Shawls.  It sits on your shoulders without needing to hold on to it.  This time, I added one row of half double crochet and then one row of single crochet on the bottom of it.  Because of the fillet crochet, it feels a little wimpy at the bottom.  The two added rows were just perfect to make it feel a bit heftier.

Friday night our local Grand had her band concert.  Those kids have some talent!  Their music director must have the patience of Job.  I know those kids and they can be a handful at times.  After the concert, hubby and I came home and had a little refreshment.

Eggnog!  I know there are many out there that can not stand the stuff.  Hubby and I love it!  We have not had any for 2 years though.  I found some 'low fat' eggnog at the store and decided to try it.  Pretty darn tasty if you ask me.  And before you ask...............yes, we add spiced rum to ours.  But the main thing is the glass it is in.  We only have 2 of these glasses and the only time they are used is for eggnog.  I just love the little reindeer dancing around the glass.

I just peeked at my calendar for next week.  Not too bad!  Other than normal everyday stuff  there are only 2 extra appointments next week and one is the Grand Daughter's last Advent program at the school she is attending.  The other appointment is to get the paint on my car protected.  That is done every 6 months and in this climate is a necessity.  Our sun is so brutal, there are many vehicles around with the paint blistered and/or faded and gone.  My car is 6 years old and the paint has not faded or oxidized at all because of this treatment we do every 6 months.  

I am off to make the menus for the week and then a grocery list of needs for that time period.  I might even make it to a grocery store today to pick those 'needs' up.  Other than that, we have some food gifts to package up and give out today.  There is also a large bag of yarn at my DIL's house to be donated to the Prayer Shawl group.  Guess I should go and get that from her.  I see some serious knitting time happening today too.  The 'errands' just might be placed on hold until tomorrow so I can spend a nice relaxing day at home with the hubby and NFL!

Until next time..................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!

12 MORE DAYS!

Normally I update on Wednesday.  Not this week.  There has been too much going on so the next best thing is to do it early Thursday morning.  Here I am with coffee in hand ready to go.  

Last time I updated there was a lot of material waiting to be made into project bags.  Ta-Da

Nineteen project bags completed.  I worked on these bad boys all day Sunday, all day Monday and finished them up on Tuesday morning.  The sewing takes no time at all. It is the ironing the seams, as I go, that takes the most time.  

This time I used some rope type 'ribbon' for the handle.

It was pretty easy to work with.  The handle has been sewn over about 4 times to make sure it does not come loose, no matter how heavy that bag gets.

Most of the bags are lined with a medium weight muslin.  There are a few that are lined with the same material as on the outside and a few that have a coordinating solid color cotton inside.  The snaps are the plastic snaps you find on baby clothes.  There is no interfacing used in these bags.  Having them soft and pliable is my goal so they can be folded easily when not in use and stored.  They are 100% washable and dryable too. 

I do not use zippers for closures.  The reason being is............I use this bag when I go places and the skein stays in there as I knit.  Zippers have a tendency to grab the yarn and then you are spending time getting the yarn off the zipper.  Same thing with velcro (only a much worse mess). You need to know, all the material used to make these bags were remnants or close out sale material.  Each bag costs under $5 to make.  I have seen them in yarn shops going for as much as $30!  The snaps are the only full priced item on the bag.  Even the handles were 'on sale' when I bought them.

I have 3 worsted weight skeins of yarn in this bag.  It still has room for more as well as for a notions box.  It measures 14.75" long, 10" tall and 5" wide on the bottom.  Making these is a lot of fun.  I just hope the Prayer Shawl ladies enjoy getting them today.

Yesterday, was a great day.  I went to WalMart to pick up a Christmas sweater.  I did not want an ugly one though.  I found a long sleeve t-shirt with a sweet saying on it that pleased me.  I also found another soft shirt to wear to the open houses we will be attending on Christmas eve.  After that little shopping trip, I got my nails done and then headed home to do some laundry and baking.

Here are the Scotch Treats I have been telling you about.  So easy to make.  Takes about 10 minutes to whip up a batch.  Here is the recipe:

butter a 13x9 pan
11 ounces butterscotch chips
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies (I used the store brand in the BIG bag)

Melt chips and peanut butter in a glass bowl in the microwave. (Do not use plastic as it will ruin the bowl, go ahead and ask me how I know) Mixture will be very hot so be careful.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together (by hand) the peanut butter mixture and rice krispies until well mixed.  Pour into the buttered pan and refrigerate to harden.  Cut into squares and enjoy.

I like mine a bit thicker than this makes so I put 2 batches into the same pan and that fills it to the top.  I melted my chips and PB on 50% power for 3.5 minutes.  You can also do it in a double boiler pan.  I, however, have never owned one, so use what is most comfortable for you.  The microwave is the quickest method though.  

I have no idea where this recipe came from.  I know it is old as the card it is on calls for 12 ounces of butterscotch chips.  They have not come in a 12 ounce bag in many years.  My mom made these, at Christmas time, for as long as I can remember.  That means this recipe had to be around for at least 50 years if not more.

See how easy that is?  I made 6 batches in just about an hour.  There is still more fudge that needs to be made but will save that for this weekend when my schedule is empty.

Today is the Prayer Shawl Christmas party.  Tomorrow is our local Grand Daughter's band concert.  Saturday is Mass.  Sunday is football for the hubby and when I will finish up my candy making for Christmas.  Then I will be getting all the goodies together to pass out to friends and family the next weekend.

Until next time...............happy crafting!

WEEK 24 OF THE EIGHTH YEAR

What a great week I have had.  There has been a lot of knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking and preparation for our 12 days of Christmas.  Our Christmas season starts on Christmas eve with Mass and goes until the feast of the three kings (Epiphany) on January 6th.  The season we are in right now is Advent which is the preparation time for the coming of the Christ Child.  

Want to see what happened in the crafting area of Advent?  Of course you do!

The start pillow front is almost completed.  Hopefully the back will get done this week.  Then the next 2 weeks are spent doing the points of the stars.  This KAL is being held in a German Ravelry group.  Trust me, my high school German stinks but the ladies in there are super kind and wonderful.  We all use a translation program to speak to each other.  I have learned a new increase technique that I love.  You do a YO when you want to increase a stitch.  Then on the next round you knit into the back of that YO stitch and TA-DA!  No hole!  So much easier than doing the M1L/M1R.  I can never remember which one slants which way and it makes my knitting progress slow waaaaaay down.  I still like knit front and back for increases but they really show up in the finished product.

My other main knitting project this week was:

The Advent Scarf KAL.  I am super far behind.  Almost 200 rows behind.  But I really don't care.  I am enjoying the knit on this and have learned many new stitches.  Japanese stitches are very intricate.  There is a lot of movement in the finished material and I am loving the look and feel of this.

The main reason I am behind in my scarf is this:

That is a pile of 44 cut out pieces of material.  They are destined to become project bags with liners.  Once completed, there will be 22 project bags.  These bags are to be given out to the ladies in my prayer shawl group.  We have our 'Christmas' party this week Thursday.  My hope is to have them all completed by then so the ladies can pick out the one that speaks to them.

I spent all Thursday afternoon and all day Friday cutting them out.  Yesterday, I ironed all of them to make sure they were nice and smooth.  Today, I will begin the sewing of them.  I have no idea how many I can complete in a day............yet.  Once they are sewn, I will have hubby help me apply all the snaps to them to finish them up.

The only other thing I worked on this week is a prayer shawl.

It is another "To the Point" pattern shawl.  I love this pattern so much.  It is such a quick crochet too.  The yarn is Paint by Katia.  It has 20% wool in it, so will need to mark that on the shawl for the new owner of it.  

In other areas this week.  I spent 11.5 hours doing some baking for the upcoming season.  There are 18 gallons of Chex Party Mix in my house, along with 4 9x9 pans of fudge.  This week will see the Scotch Treats being made as well as some more fudge too.  All these goodies get passed out to friends and family for Christmas gifts.  It has been a tradition for my family for many generations to do this.  I remember my Grandmother doing this as well as my mother. I can remember way back there would be Christmas Stolen (a German sweet bread), fruit cake (homemade with lots of brandy poured on it weekly for a month), fudge, divinity, pralines, springele cookies (Swedish anise flavored picture cookies), pfeffernuese cookies (Peppernut German cookies),  Party mix, Peanut butter fudge, Haystacks, Scotch treats..............and the list goes on and on.

What are you doing to prepare for the 'BIG' day?  Are you making or buying gifts for your loved ones?  Do you have any traditions that have been passed down for generations?  I really want to know.

Until next time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!

Kitchen happenings

Boy howdy, there is so much to tell you today.  This lady and her hubby have been super busy and yet is seems like nothing is getting done.  My house is still not completely decorated for Christmas, the laundry continues to pile up and knitting time is being contained to just a couple of hours in the evening when I am too tired to do anything but sit and watch a Hallmark movie.

Let's take a look, OK?

My hubby loves the melba toast that is in Gardettos.  We have been looking for a package of just the seasoned toast with no luck.  I found a recipe for it on Google.  We bought some rye cocktail bread and I made it for him.  It was fun and so easy to do.  Much cheaper too than trying to buy it off Amazon!

Those cocktail bread slices as so tiny.  This is a slice on my spatula.  We tasted it and I did OK with the seasonings.  We will cut them in half and add them to the Chex Party Mix I am making.  That batch will be for us.  If we like it we will make more next year and incorporate into all the batches.

Last night I decided we needed a fantastic home cooked meal.  I cook every night, yet sometimes I decide to go all out for the two of us.

Fresh butternut squash.  I learned to poke holes in it and microwave it for 5 minutes.  Let it cool a bit and them peel it, and cut it into bit size pieces.  Then I steam it for about 20 minutes or until it is soft.  I then add butter, ginger, garlic salt and onion powder to it and do a light mash on it,  leaving some small chunks.  I mash it just enough to mix all the spices in it.

Asparagus has been on sale again.  We love it cooked this way.  Clean it, spray it lightly with olive or avocado oil, sprinkle a little garlic salt on it and then Parmesan cheese.  Roast it for about 15 - 20 minutes at 350.  Love it!  So tasty and good for you to.

This is what our plates looked like.

Pork chops were the protein part of the meal.  It was so yummy and really didn't take all that long to make.

Yesterday, hubby and I went shopping for gifts for the angels we pulled off our Advent trees at church.  Wow.................people are everywhere this time of year!  We went to 2 Walmarts, and Hobby Lobby.  Hubby had been to Sam's club earlier that morning.  He was trying to get all my ingredients for my Party mix I make each year.

Speaking of Party Mix..............

Guess what is in the oven while I update my blog!!!!!  I am doing 4 steamer pans this morning.  I will do 4 more steamer pans tonight.  That makes about 16 gallons of Party Mix.  We give it away to  our friends and family as part of their Christmas presents.

There will also be Fudge and Scotch Treats (like rice krispie treats but made with peanut butter and butterscotch chips).  That will be the extent of my holiday baking this year.

As for knitting...............I have been working on my Advent scarf each night and am only 100 rows behind LOL.  I started my Advent Star Pillow.  Take a look.

Working with 5 DPN's is a real challenge.  There has been some great learning on this knit.  I found out a new way to increase stitches without the normal knit in F&B or by lifting bars.  I am doing a yarn over and then I knit into the back loop the next row. Look!!!!!!!!  No holes.  Those German ladies are fantastic!  Do you like those needles?  Those are my Christmas present from Hubby.  Signature Needles had a sale!  I had been wanting their sock DPN's so I ordered 2 sets of the US1.5 (2.5mm)  I love them.  I know............I am not waiting until December 25th to use them.  Nope, I am using them during Advent in anticipation of finishing this pillow by Christmas!

That is all for now.

Until next time..............happy crafting!

Week 23

Hello everyone.  Welcome back to my little blog.  Having just finished a month long daily blog posting, it felt good to take a day off before updating my Year of Projects post.  There are some that are doing Holi-dailies this month.  I am not.  Last month took it out of me.  It was enjoyable but not something I would want to do all the time.

Let's take a look at what I did in crafting this week.

This is the KAL Advent Scarf 2018.  I am very much enjoying this knit.  It is slow going for me as, I am teaching myself to read charts.  I have a couple of mistakes in the scarf, but I am not going to tear out 10 rows to fix 2 stitches.  Nope, this is a scarf for me so I am happy with it the way it is.  I am quite a bit behind on the scarf.  I have been printing out the pattern each day so I have it available as I get to the next day's rows.  This way I can proceed at my own pace and not feel pressured to do "X" amount of rows each day.

I have been working on my Snoqualmie socks too.

This is the leg of the sock.  The pattern in this is so easy to do and makes the sock seem to go quickly.

I still have over 2 inches that needs to be done on the foot before I start the toe.  The other sock is one inch shorter on the foot than this one.  They just might be done before Christmas LOL.

Those are the only 2 things I have going on.  I am planning on casting on the Star Pillow tonight yet.  It is another KAL that is going on.  The group is in a German speaking group but the computer asks me if I want it to translate it to English.  That makes it so nice and easy.  I am able to keep abreast of any problems these super duper knitters run into.

Yesterday we spent from 7 until 1:30 at our church presenting a Day of Prayer for about 20 people.  We got home and just had enough time to eat some lunch, freshen up and head off to Mass.  We had our Grand Daughter with us as her parents were heading to a hockey game that night.  

After Mass, we took the Grand and one of her friends to a birthday party at a local restaurant and then they went to an escape room.  Here is a photo of the group of kids we spent the evening with.

It was a fun evening for the kids.

After all the fun we brought the Grand back for her sleepover that did not happen.  Her parents got out of the hockey game and made it back to town before we were even thinking of going to bed.  They came over and picked up their daughter, but not before she did a bit of this.

Enrique so loves it when she comes over.  She will sit and pet him for long periods of time.  Spoiled little dog!

That is all for today.  We are watching the Green Bay/Cardinal game and I am loving it.  It is snowing there and snow football games are my favorite!

Until next time.............happy crafting!