Karlie's baby doll blanket

I shared a little bit of this project but I don't think it got it's due here. My niece Karlie told me that she wanted me to make a blanket for her baby dolls for Christmas. I shared a little of my progress during the ice storm in December. It came together just in time for Christmas, and besides the skirt I made her, was my only truly handmade Christmas gift last year. I hand dyed tiny bits of yarn and it worked out just right. This whole blanket only took two balls of sock yarn and lots of patience.
The pattern is free and the link is on my Ravelry project page.




 I just had to get her a new doll to go with the blanket. I got her the Alejandra doll from the My Generation Doll collection at Target. They are like a budget friendly American Girl Doll and are all really cute. I love that they come in different ethnicity's and there are tons of cute accessories and clothes that I can give her for future gifts.  I also made the little pillow from scraps of fabric that I have used for her in the past. 

Hello There and Happy Holidays!

I've been absent for a while. We have been busy, doing all the regular pre-holiday stuff. We had a major ice storm a couple of weeks ago! These first two pictures were taken only three days apart. That's how it goes in North Texas. Sunny and seventies one day, ice storm and major gridlock the next day, which lasted for a week.

I live too close to work to not go in. I walked, and Frank was a sweetheart and walked me there and back. When I was home there was lots of snuggling under the down comforter.

And lots of crocheting. Karlie, my four year old niece asked for a new blanket for her baby dolls and of course I obliged. She knows her Aya will make whatever her heart desires!

I hope you are enjoying your own holiday prep and that you get to spend precious time with those you love. My work stresses me out to the max this time of year, and I always over commit and feel stretched too thin. I didn't bake cookies for the Christmas ever, but did make a delicious batch of peppermint bark. I also plan to make Almond brittle. I snuck in a few Christmas crafts and handmade gifts because it just doesn't feel right with out them. Don't stress out too much, and if you do take deep breaths, think of all that you have to be grateful for and eat some chocolate!
xoxo
Ashley

On The Table

I had two days off in a row this week, which is a nice treat. I feel like I accomplished a lot yesterday, but still have so much to do.

I have quite a few projects going on at once. I'm still knitting the triangle scarf, and I'm working on a felt garland, which I have been wanting to make for several years. I'm also working on a shopping list for Christmas baking.  Between Pinterest, blogs, magazines and our traditional recipes I'm overwhelmed with options.
 

I made Karlie this Christmas dress with kint fabric from Girl Charlee. I'm putting a little early Christmas package in the mail to her today with some ornaments for her tree and this outfit.

I do plan on doing a little bit of decorating, but it will be last minute like usual. I got an amaryllis bulb and some paper whites at work that I need to plant up. I don't know if they will bloom in time for Christmas but I'm okay with that.

We had a cold fromnt come through on Sunday and it hasn't quite warmed up yet. Between a pain in my hip and the cold I haven't been for a jog since Friday. I'm afraid the cold will drive me inside for the next few months, which I hate. I'm a Texan and a wimp apparently!

Frank put Lucy in her sweater yesterday morning and she got really excited about it. She is always cold in the winter and it is the only time of year that she cuddles willingly.
 

I have been shopping for craft supplies for Christmas gifts and I have so many ideas for things to make for our house. I am so indecisive though and never know where to start. I think I need to start collecting small pieces of quilters cotton that I love for pillows and such. I'm not sure how that works when you don't have a pattern or plan in place. I have always shopped for fabric with a pattern in mind. I suppose I should just get a quarter yard of each to start a quilting stash?

I hope your Holiday planning and shopping is not too stressful and that you enjoy the season.

Cooler Days Mean

Cuddly Pets


I'm knitting again
 

Soups, stews and roasts in the kitchen. We made Chili the other night and I have a whole list of cold weather recipes that I want to make. The usuals like Tortilla soup, Crockpot chicken, Caldo, Navy bean soup, Charro beans and so on. I also have a seemingly endless supply of cooking inspiration going on over at Pinterest. Yum!

Cooler days also mean that I can go for a jog at noon and not die of a heat stroke. I did that yesterday, well just before noon, and it felt great. It was in the high sixties and overcast just perfect for jogging, in my opinion. Today I was hoping to go to a local park with hilly hiking trails, but it is cold out there!

Enjoy your weekend.
xoxo
Ashley

My first handknit

I finished my first real hand knit item.
I'm not counting my washcloth or two that were made for practice.
I really feel like I have the hang of it and am so pleased. 
 I'm trying not to be overly confident and take on a bigger project than I can handle.  That's difficult because I see so many patterns that I would like to make.  I browsed through 5 or 6 knitting magazines at the bookstore this evening and resisted the urge to bring any of them home.
I'm slightly obsessive, I think that has been established here.

Totally off subject, but look how green my eyes look next to this teal scarf.


I had seen scarves like this around, and there are quite a few patterns.  Pattern and details are here on my ravelry page.  I think the pattern I chose is pretty vague and I'm all the more impressed that I pulled this off!



Even as a beginning knitter I think it is faster than crochet.  I actually had this finished last week, but couldn't find a yarn needle to weave in the ends. I could have been done much faster but just worked on it here and there. There are also tons more patterns available for knitting and it uses less yarn that crochet. I am not saying that I won't crochet anymore, I will. 

Yay me for conquering my fear of knitting and sticking to my resolution to learn. 
I will be knitting for years to come, I'm sure of it.

Learning to Knit

I'm doing it, I'm really doing it!
My mom's best friend Kathy had taught me the basics of knitting a couple of years ago.
I made a washcloth or two and practiced on big needles and yarn but just never felt comfortable with it.
One of my New Years resolutions was to finally learn to knit.  I think I've made great strides in just four days of practice.  That's really what it's all about is practice.

I decided to follow a simple pattern for my first project. 


I have seen these scarves around and always thought they were cute.

I was inspired by Angry Chicken's recent post about knitting small projects that are not overwhelming.  She also talks about how she always felt like a knitter who didn't knit.  I can relate to that.  I have felt for a while that I should be able to knit and was quite frustrated that it wasn't coming naturally to me.  Of course I just wanted to pick up needles and make something complicated.  Washclothes weren't doing it for me.

Well, I'm starting smallish but this project is interesting enough to keep my attention.
I'll be honest, all I really want to do is sit on the couch and knit all....day....long.
I can't do that, there are too many other things to get done. 
Bun I'm so excited that I'm knitting!
Don't get me wrong, I'm still not completely comfortable.  Knit is easier than purl at this point and I'm totally winging it at some spots, but I'm doing it and I'm thrilled.

* One thing that has helped me as a crocheter, is switching from English to Continental knitting.  Do you other Crocheters find Continental style easier?  I was taught English, with the thread in my right hand but it never felt right.  Continental is the way to go for me.

I have the instructions (which are vague) and a knitting book at the ready.


I'm off the couch now and doing my chores.

Gretchen and Eric's Blanket

I've given you a couple of sneak peaks of this project, but I didn't want to give much away to the recipients.  This was the only Christmas gift that I started early, I actually started it in July and then put it aside because it was too hot on my lap as it grew. 







This is the Granny Stripe Crochet pattern, more details on my Ravelry page.  I've used this pattern before and love it, it's easy, fast and the results are lovely.  The yarn is a new favorite, Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller Washable Ewe (available at Joann stores).  It dyes up beautifully and all of this yarn is hand dyed with Kool Aid.  Some are overdyes of gray, purple and yellow yarn, but most are on white.  This was my first time really trying out overdying with Kool Aid and it really expanded my color palette. Purples are quite limited with Kool Aid, but overdying really helped to solve that problem!  Gretchen had told me that her favorite colors to decorate with were Yellow, Purple and Orange, so I created this palette based on her preference.  I love the results, and it was actually really hard to gift this gorgeous blanket. 



I suppose one of my New Years resolutions should be to finally crochet a blanket for us. I have some of this yarn left over and might just start on something for us. I really need a scale so that I can weigh my yarn and know how much each stripe takes and I'm not running out of a hard to match color mid stripe. 

Fall Like

It has been a while since I played around with wool.
The "cold" front that is coming is making me want to pull this project back out and putting me in the mood to make soup. 







I took my second cooking class at Central Market last night.  It was Baking With Cheese, taught by Nick Malgieri.  I already had his cookbook Bake and really enjoyed the class.  He made, and we tasted: Cheese Souffle Toasts, Ricotta and Red Pepper Tart (which I want to make), Cream Cheese Scones, Lemony Ricotta Pie, Apple Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (similar to the apple cake I made by adapting my carrot cake recipe), and Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Parfaits.  Nick had great stories to tell, and the class was a lot of fun.  I missed taking a class in September but do hope to take one per month.

I am thinking Tortilla soup for dinner tonight.  I also have some recipe testing to do for a party that we are planning.  Achiote Pulled Pork from my Rosa's cookbook, Peanut and Arbol Chile Salsa from Saveur and Tres Leches Cupcakes are on the list.  I'll let you know how they turn out.

Baby Annie's Pillow and Blanket

I was invited to a friends' baby shower this past weekend. I knew about the shower and what this adorable invite looked like in advance because my good friend Robin was hosting the party. I decided that I wanted to make a pillow and blanket for the baby similar to the ones I made last year for Leo. I used this invitation for inspiration on both the colors and the pillow design. I have removed some info from the invite for privacy reasons, but you can still see how cute it is! The invite is by Studio G Designs on esty and she is a local girl. She also did Robin and Chases' wedding invites and is super talented.

I had a lot of fun picking our fabrics for the pennant on the pillow. I designed the pillow and my awesome mom did the sewing for me. She used a satin stitch to make the letters on the fabrics after I applied wonder under to them. After she stitched the letters I cut out the triangles based on my design, each one is slightly different to give the illusion of depth. Then we ironed all the triangles on and mom appliqued them down. Finally we used vintage ric rac for the string on the pennant and sewed the cute edging into the pillow. Thanks mom! Oh, and I forgot, we backed the top with a lightweight batting and mom freehand quilted around the triangles and those adorable clouds. I love it and Sloan did too!

I used the Granny Stripes pattern by Lucy of Attic 24 for this blanket. You can see more info about the yarn and a link to the pattern here. The granny stitch in general goes really quick and is perfect for a baby shower gift. I love the stripes and the only part I didn't like was weaving in all the ends. I think it turned out super cute and this yarn is soooo soft.

I showed up early to help decorate and was able to arrange some flowers. I love arranging flowers and these are so pretty.

Finally Finished!

I'm back!

I have been quite busy since I've been gone.

I have been crocheting a lot and finally finished this afghan that I started in 2009. I had finished all of the squares last week and was determined to finally finish it and give it to its intended recipient. I made this one for Sarah Schermerhorn, who is the mother of two of my oldest friends. She made us a lovely quilt and I wanted to do something for her. I think she really likes it and I'm pleased with the outcome too.

I am also starting on the third hat of three that are late Christmas gifts for my Brother and his family. I really, really like this pattern (its free!) and may have to make one of these for myself too. I will post pics of all the finished hats once they are in the hands of my family members.

I'll share more of what I have been up to soon.

I love this scarf!

This gorgeous scarf was my Christmas gift from my mom's best friend Kathy who is always knitting. I want to make her something too, but have no idea what. This is the second beautiful thing that she has knitted for me. It is made with Malabrigo yarn and is so soft and luxurious, I feel so lucky that it is mine!

A baby shower gift

I shared a peek at this baby gift a couple of weeks ago. I was so excited about the blanket that I just couldn't help it. These gifts were made for my mom's best friend's daughter who is expecting her first baby in August. I chose this granny ripple pattern which was a breeze and is now going to be my go-to baby gift. I finished the blanket in two weeks but could have finished faster. The yarn is Crayon from Knit Picks and is soooooo soft and comes in lovely colors. The only think that I didn't like about the yarn is that it is hard to see your stitches with the texture. The pattern I chose was perfect for this yarn though as in a granny stitch you don't really have to see your stitches!

After making the blanket I decided that it needed a pillow to go with it. I drew out a pattern for a standard pillow size. I cut out the sun from hand dyed quilting cotton, ironed on interfacing to the back, clipped and turned under the edges about 1/4" all around. I then ironed the sun to the backing fabric and top stitched it with the sewing machine all around the edges. I used a light box and a wash away marker on the fabric to trace the clouds and lettering and then hand embroidered those. I sewed it up with the little green ball trim and I think it is so cute! I'm really happy with the results and I think it will be a well loved gift by both baby and parents.

The pillow on my bed after I finished

The gift recipient and host of the shower showing off the blanket and pillow.

In the baby room

New project....shhhh

Here is a sneak peek of something I am working on. I can't say too much about it right now because it is a surprise for someone special. If you figure it out or already know who it is for please don't tell. I am in love with this yarn! It is Crayon from Knit Picks and is super soft and squishy and soooo light weight. The Granny Ripple pattern is perfect for this yarn. I found that with the twistiness of the yarn I couldn't see my stitches, so I chose this granny stitch and it is saving me so much time and agony.

Progress

I'm making some progress on the Circles Blanket and am now up to eight squares. I just love this pattern! Each square is about 11" wide and I think I am going to do five rows of four squares. This is a belated Christmas present for my friend Sarah Schermerhorn. I hope she likes it as much as I do. I better hurry up and finish before next Christmas rolls around.

In the going through stuff process at my parents' house I found these crocheted baby blankets made by my Granny. There are four or five in this stack and those are just the ones we kept, she made a blanket for every baby she knew. Now you can see why I remind myself of Granny every time I crochet, especially when making a baby blanket!

I finished my cardigan!

And I love it! It was really hard to imagine how this was going to fit when I was working on it. Then all of the sudden last night it all came together. I love the fit, the drape, the yarn, everything! This is my first real piece of clothing to crochet and I am super happy with how it came out. I thought it would be a bit longer, not sure if my gauge was off, but I still think it is flattering. The yarn is an organic cotton, wool blend and is super soft, and I have a feeling it will only get softer with time. The pattern can be found here. I like how this cardigan is made, you crochet it flat in one piece and then seam the arms and sides together. I'm thinking that it could be made in any yarn and maybe even in other stitch patterns as long as you follow the dimensions. I will have to measure this one and put it to the test. For now though it is back to work on jewelry. I have an order of enameling supplies coming soon that I am really, really excited about. More on that soon....

Mom's Shawl

I finally got a picture of mom wearing her shawl. I made it with Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and the All Shawl pattern. I love both! I could have made the entire long version with one skein, but was afraid I would run out of yarn so I left out a couple of rows. I have heard some people complain about working with Noro, but it is one of my favorite yarns. The color changes are really beautiful. The yarn is a silk wool blend, but to me looks and feels like linen. It is not the softest stuff, but the colors make up for that to me.

Ring a Day Project

I have decided to participate in the Etsy Metal Ring a Day project. I missed yesterday's ring and may try to make up for it, but the idea is to make a ring a day for the month of January. I felt like crocheting today and this is what I came up with. Ironically I like the metalwork that took me much less time better than the crochet part! A reminder that I like simplicity? Stay tuned to see what else I come up with this month. You can see more participants' rings here.

Karlie's hat

I made my niece Karlie a hat for Christmas. I had some sizing issues, but it turned out super cute. My brother said he wants on in his size too! Here are all the details about the hat.