Andy and Maddie spent Father’s Day playing on the Wii, while I was able to sneak off to finish picking up a few items for dinner tonight. I cooked a citrus-glazed pork tenderloin, parmesan risotto and green beans for the dad in the house. Maddie helped out by setting the table and then cleaning off the table after dinner. Laura is gallivanting around Montana at the moment and has not called yet for her daily check-in. She is enjoying her two weeks of one-on-one time with her grandma.

I finished picking up the last few items for my tawashi swap at Ravelry today and found a never-before-seen (by me) magazine. Have you seen Living Crafts ? It was full of many craft options that are budget-conscious and rather eco-friendly.

I’m starting to work on a new handbag tonight while the Wii play continues (it’s their day - non-stop Zelda and tennis would drive me mad). I’m making Jennifer Fletcher’s Meadow Handbag . I’m looking forward to seeing more patterns, both crochet and sewing-related on her site Fable Handmade Goods in the future. I tried to use something from my stash, but all of my good yarn is set aside for projects-in-progress, so I picked up the new Vanna’s Choice Baby in Berrylicious while at Michaels today. I wanted to go with a green because it seems to be my new favorite color, but went with the pink after finding a perfect set of wooden buttons in the clearance aisle. I think I have the handles already, but if not, I’ll head to Hobby Lobby tomorrow before driving to Houston for the week.

The dishes are done, the kitchen semi-clean before the pecan pie gets taken out of the fridge, the family is beating their virtual opponents at tennis, and I am going to sneak off to take a bath (hot temps in Houston mean lots of swimming to be done!) while all is quiet.

Tags: Crochet, Family, ravelry

I ran to the grocery store this afternoon to pick up the two necessary items that we cannot live without (or wait until payday tomorrow before buying) - milk and Diet Coke. The milk is so that the girls will not freak in the morning, hyperventilating over a bowl of dry Honey Bunches of Oats when they discover their dad drank the last of the milk the night before (every other day - he must STOP.IT!). The Diet Coke is supposed to stop the late night milk chugging, but does not. Anyway, back to my point! Immediately when I walked in, I was blinded by my favorite sign of late spring - strawberries under $2 a pint/carton/whatever-they-come-in. Strawberries are my biggest fruit weakness. I could eat the entire container in a day, but force myself to share (unlike Andy with the MILK!). I picked up Cool Whip Free (an attempt to be good with that creamy goodness) and a box of Angel Food Cake mix. I’ve always wanted to make angel food cake on my own so this was the first step towards attempting it. Look at our lovely shortcake goodness!

I used dark brown sugar on the strawberries instead of granulated sugar. I’m trying to switch over to the “dark” side. It’s supposed to be healthier and you definitely do not have to use as much to sweeten things.

I’ve also spent this Sunday afternoon starting on a Brownie hat for myself. I’m using Cascade Luna in a lovely green. I’ve been in love with greens this spring. My newest purse is green. My crochet bag is green (and brown and white). The last three shirts I bought were green. I would have bought a green Ravelry shirt but I was trying to control my green urges. Here’s my progress so far -

I should truly be finished by now because the total crochet time for me on this hat is about an hour. Instead, I wandered into the kitchen to make angel food cake, then hot dogs for the girls, then cut up the strawberries, washed a load of dishes, talked to Andy’s mom and my dad on the phone, engage in the neverending battle to keep my Google Reader feeds under 200, and now it’s hours later. Which reminds me! I will sit down to watch The Hours once the girls go to bed since it’s due back at the library tomorrow and I can finish my hat then.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I’m doing to try to finish the Little Acorn bag for both Laura and Maddie as a end of school present. They have both worked hard this year and have done so well in school that I am so proud of them.

Have a wonderful week!

Tags: brownie, Crochet, strawberries

As seen on Robyn’s blog.  My day was not nearly crafty enough, but it is pretty much a typical end-of-school year day in this household.

6:30 am – I wake up to Johnny Cash on my ihome. Hit snooze a few (3) times.

7:00 am – Hop out of bed, head to the girls’ rooms to wake them up before heading back to my room to get ready.

7:10 am – Peek in on the girls. Both are surprisingly moving around, probably because it’s their picnic day at school.  Most days they do not like to move.

7:30 am – Head to the kitchen. The girls and I make their picnic lunches. Laura gets to work on their peanut butter and banana sandwiches while I gather up snacks and drinks, snacking on a banana while I’m loading up the lunch bags.

7:40 am – I barely remember to grab the summer birthday cupcakes for Maddie’s class as we walk out the door for the trip to school

7:50 am – Drop the girls off, then run back to the house to pick up the car payment to drop off at the bank before returning for Maddie’s picnic.

8:20 am – Get back to the school to find the parking lot overflowing. I forgot that it was awards day for 1^st and 3^rd grades. Check in and head to Maddie’s class just as they were preparing to go outside for recess.

9:00 am – While talking to Maddie’s teacher, get a surprise hug from Laura. Her class had an early morning recess so the girls were able to play together for a few minutes for the first time this school year.

10:00 am – Lunch and cupcake time. Must remember to not buy cupcakes from Kroger. 17 kindergartners covered in pink, yellow, or blue icing.  Drop off a cupcake as a surprise for Laura while her classroom is empty.

11:00 am – Maddie and I head home for the day.

11:10 am – Sit down to check email when Andy calls. He’s bored at work. They switched to a 4/10 schedule this week and he’s worn out. Find out that I have 453 unread feeds on Google Reader. Start browsing through the feeds while Andy laments his workday, filling in the important supportive comments.

11:30 am – I really should eat. Start researching locally grown food sources on a whim while debating on what to eat for lunch.

12:30 pm – Finally quit looking at local farms and co-ops and eat a sandwich. Wish that Cheetos were never invented as I eat want to eat more of them than the teeny serving I allowed myself.

1:00 pm – Water Maddie’s lima bean plant (only vegetable she loves), load the dishwasher with the dirty lunch dishes, then celebrate getting below 375 feeds by starting a meme post before cuddling Maddie on couch for a bit.

3:00 pm – Woke up from unexpected nap with Maddie to text from Andy about not forgetting to wash his khaki pants. Still forgot. Love the power of “dry cleaning” sheets.

3:15 pm – Laura is home from school, the pants are in the dryer and the quiet afternoon continues as girls play Mouse Trap and I get much needed crochet time on my vest.

5:00 pm – Maddie’s classmate stops by. Find myself doing a little Girl Scout administrative work before finishing a few rows on my bathing suit vest while watching the kids play croquet in the front yard.

6:30 pm – Croquet mallets turn into light sabers. Politely say it’s time to go in for dinner before my Luke Skywalker takes out poor unsuspecting Darth Vader.

7:30 pm – Stir fry is complete and delicious! Let girls choose from birthday cupcakes or brownies from last night’s Brownie Girl Scout meeting for dessert.

8:00 pm – Do more Girl Scout administrative work. I’m trying to help a few troops re-organize after bridging activities have divided troops into different age levels. If this wasn’t a volunteer position, I wouldn’t spend Friday night working on it.

8:20 pm – Play pool on Yahoo Messenger with my cousin, while eating a cupcake. Vow to devote next hour to Wii Fit in order to finally figure out the Advanced Step kick move that has me stumped (and work off cupcake).

9:20 pm – After a round of Angelina Ballerina DVD watching, the girls are snuggled into bed for the night. Me time!

10:00 pm – I think I finally figured out the kick on the Advanced Step game on Wii Fit. Super Hula Hoop makes abs hurt, especially after two previous rounds of regular Hula Hoop. Cannot breathe.

11:32 pm – Google Reader feed count down under 250. It’s time to go to bed, cuddle the husband, and watch Doctor Who episodes until I fall asleep.

Tags: Crochet, dayinthelife, meme

Next weekend I am off for my annual trek to Houston for a Memorial Day full of soaking in the sun by the pool.  I have been in probably the most damaging types of crochet slumps.  I start projects and cannot get past the few rows before becoming overwhelmed by a sense of “blah” towards the project.  I’ve started tawashi, dishcloths, clothing, and afghans, and nothing is catching my fancy.  My house, as always, remained full of gorgeous (and non-gorgeous yarn that needs a new home) yarn choices, but nothing is appealing to me.

I am determined though, to go into next Saturday with a quick, simple, and appealing cover up for my bathing suit.  We spend most of our time outside during this weekend and, with the exception of time spent at the Astros game next Saturday, I will be in my bathing suit most of the time.  Here are a few links to a few free cover up crochet patterns that I’ve come across today, just in case you also have a sun-filled holiday weekend ahead of you.

• Water’s Edge Cover Up via Crochetme.  I’m looking more for a top cover up over a skirt, but I may need this for our week at the beach later in the summer.
• Beach Wrap via Coats and Clark. While beautiful, it’s made of thread.  I don’t think I could finish this by the weekend along with the myriad other responsibilities on my plate this week.
• Beach Coat, Suit & Hat - Pretty and a nice 70’s vintage option.  I want more of a pullover, I think, but this is very cute.
• Petal Stitch Sarong - Another cute wrap.  I like the stitch pattern in this one.
• Beach Cover Up/Pullover - A new one from Lion Brand, but it looks a little thick.  I need to find this yarn to play with in something else summer related.
• Women’s Summer Vest - I like this one and think I might do a gauge swatch.  I’m thinking of making it a little bit longer and see how it goes.
• Tunic with mussel pattern - I think I could finish this one quickly too, and would work well as a cover up for the summer.

I think the key for me finding a summer beach cover up for this weekend might be to take a tunic or pullover pattern that you like, adjust it to fit perhaps a little larger, and add length.

Tags: beach, coverup, Crochet, summer

I lost about two pounds only to find it running loose in my front yard.  I caught a photo before stuffing it carefully in an envelope and shipping it north to Nebraska.

For reference, watch Doctor Who Season Four, episode one, Partners in Crime, then remember to never, ever take those silly miracle diet pills.  You never know what that fat might turn into.

I also finished more tawashis, along with receiving another shipment of antibacterial acrylic and a book.  Laura is now determined to speak and read Japanese because she is so infatuated with the tawashi book.  I made another Linked Ring tawashi and a pear.

The girls are not in any mood for bed tonight in anticipation of heading to my grandparents for the weekend.  They still have two more days of school to get through, which kills them.

Tags: Crochet, doctorwho, tawashi

I apologize for keeping you up so late this week. It’s really not my fault. Really. You can blame Major League Baseball. It’s not fair to start the Astros season on the West Coast. They have forgotten that you no longer live in Las Vegas in that wonderful Pacific Standard Time. Even now, you should be in bed instead of starting your future nephew’s blanket, having made the right decision of putting the hairpin lace aside until tomorrow when you are more cognizant, but needing something to work on while listening to the game since for some reason MLB.com thinks that Astros games are shown in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and has blacked out the game on your subscription.

Oh, you have a Brownie troop meeting tomorrow night? And you’ve decided to do the GirlSports try-it so that the girls can run off all of their excess energy? Okay, perhaps you won’t be able to look at the hairpin lace again until Friday evening. It would be exciting to take your coaster-in-progress to the DFW Fiber Fest over the weekend to show off your newly learned skill, but I know you’ll really just be too busy drooling over all of the yarn in the vendor area and won’t even think about that dainty little coaster again until Sunday evening. It understands. It’s not the first project to be started and cast aside when something else strikes your fancy. It has heard talk of mutiny among the discarded projects in your closet. They would prefer to be rewound into beautiful yarn cakes with hopes of one day becoming a new project than to waste away unloved, especially now that you picked up that new sock knitting book.

Just to remind you of that beautiful hairpin lace, here is a photo. It does not want to be forgotten.

I will go ahead and show off your knitting book impulse purchase at Hobby Lobby too. You were shopping for sewing materials and just couldn’t keep yourself out of the yarn. You addict, you.

Look at that new crochet hook too! Let me know how it works some time soon.

Go to bed!

p.s. The Astros are about to lose their third game in a row. Aren’t you glad you wasted three good nights of sleep? I know, you’re excited about the new team, Michael Bourn’s start so far this year, Berkman’s three doubles in the series, and Backe having a decent start. You can always sleep in on Saturday.

p.p.s.  Ack!  They’ve tied the game in the top of the 9th.  Curses!

Tags: Astros, Baseball, Crochet, hairpin lace

The girls and I were in the library this afternoon for our weekly visit when I heard sirens in the distance.  Having grown up in Houston near the refineries, a siren to me means that there was an unexpected release of a chemical from one of the plants.  A siren in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area signifies severe weather and sometimes, if the weather is just right, a tornado.  I knew that we were under a tornado watch thanks to hearing the latest weather on the radio before entering the library, so I calmly returned to browsing our library’s amazing DVD collection.  A few minutes later, all of the library employees were gathered around the TV set watching the radar.  I was doing my best to stay calm to finish our library trip without stampeding for the door with freaked out little girls, but no, everyone had to start talking about tornadoes, which made the girls start talking about tornadoes.  After I reminded them that we would be just fine and would head home in five minutes, they returned to hanging out in the children’s section.

We all finished picking up our weekly goodies, checked out, and made it home almost a minute before the rain hit.  It was nasty.  The weather in Houston can be nasty, but this was nasty.  Then, after about five minutes, the rain ended.  Andy arrived home from work about 30 minutes later and said he had sunny skies the entire drive.  Boob.  So not fair.

I am so awesome!  The dishwasher was clogged yesterday and after a quick Google search, I found out how to fix it.  I didn’t attempt anything until today because I couldn’t find our allen wrenches, but after a few cranks, I completely cleared the clog.  Ha!  Andy came home and laughed at my celebrations, saying that I could do all of the handyman fixes now.  He thinks he’s funny.  I am not handy.  This was a wonderful fluke.

Maddie has lost both of her front teeth in the past week.  There goes her speech therapy for the rest of the school year.  Her therapist is going to have to be creative for the next two months.

I finished a quick shrug for Laura’s Molly doll last night.  I’m going to write up a quick pattern and post it on here and Ravelry.  Here are a few photos, along with photos of Maddie’s empty spaces.

Tags: AG doll, Crochet, Family, spring, thunderstorms

It is cold here in north Texas. Yes, I may be wimpy when the temperature is currently 36 and will remain above freezing tonight, but I’m still chilled to the bone. I was raised on the Gulf Coast and my fingernails only turn purple a few times a year. Brrrrrr! I know this is His way of preparing me for our trip to Montana next week, but still - I.am.not.warm.and.cozy and I want to be.

I took a few photos of the girls for our annual Christmas card layout, but I’m not happy with the lighting. We’re heading south to my dad’s for the weekend and hope to get a few outside around his awesome pool while we’re there. Until then, here are my gorgeous girlie pies decked out for the holiday season.

I’m off to attempt an update of my Wordpress files, so hopefully I’ll return to a board that looks the way it’s supposed to. If not, I might just cry.

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Tags: Crochet

Mindless projects are my favorite to work on while in the midst of a TV show marathon. I started to work on a Samantha Scarf while watching Season 2 of Rome and quickly finished 8 of the 17 (or less - details on that to come) flower motifs, which means that I could finish the crocheting tonight. I think this will be a Christmas present, I just can’t decide which female family member will receive it. I guess I just gave away the fact that I have done about 3% of my Christmas shopping for the year. Much to my mother’s chagrin, I am perfectly able to complete my shopping in one day, including ordering online and in-person shopping, while still managing to pick up gifts that fit the recipient. What can I say? I’m talented. Pshaw!

Back to the scarf. The pattern is from Get Hooked, edited by Kim Werker, and the pattern is by me. The colors I used in the book are much more teen-friendly than fits my personality (Tiffany - it is not for you! Take it off your neck right now!), so I opted for a different combination in this scarf.

Details:

Pattern: Samantha Scarf by Tiffany Roots (me!), from Get Hooked, edited by Kim Werker

Yarn: 1 skein Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky in Black, 1 skein Bernat Softee Chunky in Natural

Hook: “M/13″, 9.00 mm crochet hook

The pattern initially calls for two skeins of Lion Brand Wool Ease, or a comparable worsted weight yarn along with a “J” hook. I like the texture combination of the Wool Ease Chunky, an acrylic/wool blend with the Softee Chunky, an interestingly twisted acrylic. Would I have chosen these two yarns if they had not been sitting on my yarn stash shelf? Most likely not. I wanted to use the color combination and if I had a little extra cash plus were making this for myself, I would have headed straight for my LYS. Instead, I raided my stash and I am so glad that I did. I can see the benefits of a stash moratorium, but I think I would be more attracted to a “stash pantry”. What is a stash pantry?

I do my best keep my kitchen pantry stocked with essentials, just in case one week we need to shave the grocery budget, or I am just not in the mood to go to the store. I keep plenty of spice combinations, tomatoes, stocks/broths, pastas, beans, baking essentials, and a wide variety of frozen vegetables and dairy products. I may use some of these in my food menu for the week, but if I choose to go a different route with dinner, I don’t feel bad about keeping some items in my pantry. A stash pantry would serve a similar purpose.

An ideal stash pantry would keep essentials on hand, including cottons, acrylics, wools, and sock yarns (new obsession), in a variety of sizes and colors without being overwhelming both to space and money constraints. When your yarn budget is low and you cannot fight the craving to start a new project, look in your stash pantry. Before you head out to buy more yarn, check your stash pantry to see if you have something useful available to use instead. Maybe your cotton stash is running low and you know that your local craft store is having a sale on Sugar N’Cream. Take advantage and stock up on a few colors. Utilizing your stash pantry the same way you would your kitchen pantry might lead to a better understanding of just what is lurking inside your stash. It might save you from running out to buy yarn for a last minute baby blanket only to discover when you return home that the same colors and yarn were stuffed at the bottom of a bin, long since forgotten.

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Tags: Crochet, scarf

Every time my works in progress includes too many longer projects, I just stop crocheting or live gets in the way of my crocheting, but this time my excuse is that I had too many distractions during optimal daytime photo snapping time.

Here are a few of my current projects:

� My Cousin’s Favorite Crochet Hat, a free pattern from Dreamweaver Yarns.� Very quick, very warm hat.� The brim will come in handy on our Christmas trip to Montana when my ears will be chilly.� I used about 3/4 skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease Chunky in Black and an “M” crochet hook.

Next, I’m making a jewelry bowl for someone to be named later’s Christmas present, using a skein of recycled silk sari yarn.� I’m using a solid square pattern and then removing the corner increases to make the bowl shape.

Finally, here’s my progress so far on my Monkey socks.� It’s a wonderfully easy pattern, I just can’t find the time to work on it as much as I want to.� It’s going to be my Montana project.

� Good night!� My fingers are freezing.� That’s what I get for opening the windows to cool off the house during our Daisy/Brownie Girl Scout meeting.� I’m off to watch the rest of the Cowboys/Packers game.� Toodles!

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Now playing: Pat Green - Don’t Break My Heart Again
via FoxyTunes

Tags: Crochet, hats, Knitting, Socks