Knitting & Karaoke

Sorry Blog Readers

2010-12-01T12:31:00.000-06:00

Wow am I horrible or what?? Can you believe it's been well over a month since I last blogged?? Not that there's any excuse to forget about my fans (as if I have a huge following! HAHAHA), but I have been a VERY busy bee!

I've been a knitting fool doing some custom orders and knitting up Christmas presents and decorations. After December 10th, I'm hoping to have some free time to knit for ME until after the first of the year :)

With all this Christmas shopping going on and running around like a chicken with my head cut off, I've been wishing I had a comfier couch to come home to. Right now, I have a comfy chair and that's it. My couch is so uncomfortable! So, of course, we've been looking at couch's and dreaming that we could afford them right now! LOL Well, we found a couch we are IN LOVE with. But then when you get a couch that changes the feel of the room, you start thinking about changing all the other pieces you have. So, I was looking around online and found these GORGEOUS coffee tables. We have a decent coffee table right now, but I'm not like in love with it. I'm thinking it will be nice to get some end tables, coffee tables, etc. that are REALLY what we want as opposed to getting something just b/c it's cheap and looks good for now. You know, like some QUALITY pieces that you'll only have to buy once b/c they'll last a lifetime? So, I was looking around THIS site and found a bunch of stuff that I'm totally loving and it will be a nice change to my living room and match the couch I want :) This site is great and they even offer FREE shipping and have a ton of stuff on sale right now.

Take a look around the site and tell me what YOU love on the site and how you would decorate around that signature piece :) I'm thinking something with loads of knitting storage in it would be nice :) HEHE

Mikayla's Drawer Dollhouse

2010-10-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

I got inspiration from nice girl notes blog again. I can't help it! The girl is a genius when it comes to craft projects :) Anyway, she had this ADORABLE dollhouse that she made out of 2 side table drawers. I HAD to make one for Mikayla! And that's exactly what I did :) Here's how they turned out!!!!

If you wanna learn how to make some yourself, check out nice girl notes blog post HERE!

Knitting Wish List

2010-09-29T07:40:00.000-05:00

When most people look at kid's clothing and home decor, they might think about how cute something is or how much they'd love to get that particular item for their couch. When I look at clothing and home decor, I think of how easy it would be for me to knit that! LOL I get inspired by every day items a lot, but it seems to me that a lot of those everyday items are KNITTED items. Knitting is becoming increasingly popular again! It's always been around, but I think a lot of people assumed it was just for old people in a nursing home. NOT TRUE!!! LOL At Target, just the other day, I was walking through the home goods and saw several knitted throws and pillows. I never buy them though b/c I know I could knit that item to look almost identical.

Here is a really cute hooded jacket from Gymboree that I love, just don't love the price so much! At almost $40, I could make 2 of these or more depending on the yarn.

What I see when I look at this jacket is that it's wrong side out, maybe reverse stockinette (purl side out) or in garter stitch, striped, which means different colors of skeins, it will have 8 yarn overs to make buttonholes, it has ribbing along the cuff and edging, double knitted belt, etc. You get the point! haha So, of course when I see this, I immediately go to my favorite pattern site, Ravelry and what do I do? I search for a similar pattern that I can use as a reference!!!

I have many knitting books with double breasted sweaters or jackets for kids. Just make it with similar colors of yarn, change colors throughout to make the stripes, and make it wrong side out instead of right side out. I am planning on trying it with the patterns I have as reference. I will keep you all updated when I find something :) What will you knit based on a designer look???

6 years already?

2010-09-24T18:30:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official. My daughter is another year older. As of September 17, 2010 at 4:44AM, she turned 6! I can hardly believe it. Time really does go by WAY TOO FAST. It breaks my heart b/c I thought we'd have another little bundle of joy by now! On a positive note, she got tons of fun stuff for her birthday, including an awesome, girly, all wood kitchen set by KidKraft. We bought tons of Melissa & Doug wooden food to go along with it as well. It was AMAZING and she was VERY surprised ;)

For her big day, I got her a special outfit to wear to school. I made her a tshirt with an iron on princess crown, bought her a little "Birthday Princess" ribbon to pin on her tshirt, a princess crown from Claire's and bought a poofy pink skirt from Old Navy for $5 on the clearance rack.

How cute is she?

Overall, she had a great birthday and we were very happy to spoil her like the princess she is!!!

I indulged myself a bit this week, too. I'm always on the lookout for more knitting and sewing books (not that I need them). Well, I found this book club online that fits me PERFECTLY and they only make you buy 2 more books in a year's time instead of way more than that like some companies. So, the club is called Crafter's Choice. For joining, you get to choose 4 books for $1 a piece, you get a free gift, and your shipping is free. So the total ends up being $4.39 with tax! Unfortunately, one of the books I chose was a new one and won't ship until October 1st, but I'll get all my others next week. So what the heck did you choose, Michelle? I was hoping you'd ask!!! haha

I chose:
Modern Top-Down Knitting by Kristina McGowan
The Knitter's Year by Debbie Bliss
Sweet Nursery Chic: Sew 50 Adorable Projects in 10 Charming Themes by Susan Cousineau
Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt

How excited am I??? WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

I'll review them and tell you all about them when I get a chance to look them over.

On a completely different note, one of the blogs I found recently is called nice girl notes: polite with bite. She has some great entries, so PLEASE check it out!

She's doing a little thing today on her blog called "What's in Your Bag?". So, I decided, why not? So here's the contents of my purse. It's really not that exciting though :)

My Merona bag from Target:

The contents:

Colorful Wallet (this is embarrassing but I think it's by Miley Cyrus HAHA)
Disney Princess pen
Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets
Crayola Crayons (in an old school tin I found at Cracker Barrel)
Orange Tic Tacs
Snoopy First Aid Kit (filled with pepto, band aids, Benadryl, etc)
Always Infinity Pad
Keys
Burt's Bees Wax Chapstick w/ Clove Oil
Curious George fingernail clippers
Halls Cough Drop
Tums
Equate Rewetting Drops for my contacts
Round Moroccan Mirror from World Market
Black iPod with hot pink headphones
Brown sunglasses
Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Lip Gloss
Victoria's Secret Heavenly Perfume

There you go! If you are interested in showing the contents of your purse, go to nice girl notes yourself and enter :)

just poppy jewelry rocks

2010-09-10T00:28:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been on a jewelry kick. I am always looking at it when I'm at different stores, but I never buy any. I love the unique, chunky, funky, and over-sized the best. I'm talking fun and costume jewelry, not the expensive stuff. A lot of times they are charging a lot more than I'm willing to spend on something that I just "sorta" like, but like the idea of.

Well, my friend, Jessica, has her own jewelry line called just poppy. It is AMAZING! She has some beautiful and unique designs and has really low prices. She's always running specials and fun contests to cut the price even more. So, I'm going to shamelessly promote her :)

Check out some of these cool designs!

And these are just a FEW of her hundreds of designs! She has bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and rings galore!! She also does custom orders. So, check out just poppy now and place your order. You can also go to her Etsy page to order items.

Modge Podge

2010-09-06T20:29:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been browsing this AWESOME blog called The CSI Project. The CSI stands for "Create Something Inspiring". There are so many projects on there use Modge Podge. These people are so creative and I was extremely inspired by a lot of it and set out to create my own stuff this past Labor Day weekend. So, that's what I did.

Inspired by Kate over at oh write!, I decided to create some fruit art for my dining room. The wall was bare and needed some color. Kate created little wooden artwork using scrapbook paper. It turned out really cute. You can see her creation HERE. I wanted to do mine on a much larger scale to cover the wall. So I went and bought a 3 pack of canvases for $8 and instead of scrapbook paper, I used fabric I had leftover from other projects. They aren't perfect, they look homemade, but that's what I love about them!! I used Modge Podge to glue all the pieces on and here they are! Ta Da!

I also created an art wall for Mikayla in her room b/c my refrigerator door is becoming a bit crowded :) So I got a picture hanging kit for 99 cents that had a 6 foot wire and hooks to put it in the wall. I bought a pack of clothes pins for $1 and bought some spray paint ($2) in the color "ballet shoes", which is a pretty pastel pink. I spray painted the clothes pins, slid the wire through the metal hole in them and I my husband hung it up on the wall! Voila!

Mikayla also had a really cute tea set that she got for Christmas from my friend, Abi. It was one of those paint-it-yourself tea sets. Well, the only problem we had with it was that she didn't have any place to display it w/o it getting knocked over constantly. So, I got the idea to get her a tea tray or cart. I couldn't find a "play" one that I really liked. So, I went to Goodwill, just to find out that they weren't open yet. However, there was a TON of stuff just sitting by the front door, including a small TV that I snagged. It was all donated stuff, so I sifted through it and low and behold found a tray! Yay for me! And better yet, it was FREE. The only problem with the tray is it was covered in leather and velvet and was HIDEOUS. So, I got right down to it, ripped off all the leather and velvet (which came off surprisingly easy) and exposed the all wood tray. I then sprayed it with the same paint I used on the clothes pins and wiped off some of the paint to make it look "shabby chic". I then took a piece of fabric, sewed the edges and fitted it to the bottom of the tray and Modge Podged it in! It turned out great and holds her tea set perfectly. Check it out!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a "before" pic. Ugh! But you get the idea.

Labor Day Sales

2010-09-03T08:46:00.000-05:00

I am not usually a sucker for Labor Day sales. I've found that sometimes the prices are exactly the same as they were BEFORE Labor Day. But sometimes there are some great deals out there! So be careful shoppers when you do your shopping frenzy this weekend. Make sure you check the prices of items to see what they were BEFORE the sale if possible. Some places will put a red tag on their item and write down the price on it that it already was and then say that it was a higher price, just to pull you in! Don't be a sucker!! Compare prices. That's one good thing about having internet on your cell phone... you can get online while you are at the store and compare prices.

Moving on... haha

Mikayla's 6th birthday will be coming up very soon and we received a coupon for The Children's Place as a "happy birthday" gift. So I was looking on their site and, I have to say, their prices are really good! I remember when I used to turn my nose up at some of their stuff b/c they were soooo overpriced. They have cute stuff, I just couldn't see spending that much! Well, over the years, their prices have definitely went down and we've shopped there on many occasions. Here's a few outfits I mixed and matched myself that I might have to consider buying my little princess!

With that inspiration... HAPPY SHOPPING!! Have a great and safe Labor Day weekend!

Let me catch you up...

2010-08-28T14:11:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a hectic week. My beautiful baby girl had her 1st week of Kindergarten. It was emotional, grouchy, tiring, happy, exciting, etc., all wrapped up into one! It's still hard for me to believe she's already in school.

On the plus side, I have loads of free time to focus on my knitting, sewing, and singing. So, now for the projects I've been working on, as of late!!

I had a customer order for a bolero/cropped sweater. I searched for a good pattern and just couldn't find exactly what I needed, so I created my own for her, asked for measurements, and went from there. I chose to use a 70% bamboo, 30% silk yarn so that she had that shiny look she wanted. She also asked for lightweight and breathable materials. So this was the perfect yarn to use. I also made her a hanging towel and wash cloth. Here's how the bolero turned out:

Here's what she had to say about her bolero, towel, etc., which she received today:

"I received my order today and sooooo excited. The bolero fit perfectly, and the color is wonderful. The towel I ordered to specification is exactly what I wanted. It matches my kitchen. It is not only soft, but very absorbant. Thank you MLC for your attention to detail." - Lin Ruch

I'm so glad she's happy and I hope the orders just keep on coming in!

Now, if you remember THIS post I made in the past about wanting to make my own flats, I really wanted to do it but just wasn't sure how to get the bottoms on there or where to find bottoms, etc. Well, I DID IT!!!! I made my own ballet flats to wear around :) They are UBER comfy and soft. They are perfect and I couldn't be happier with the results. I made the slipper itself using a pattern from CoCo Knits called Pleated Ballet Flats. The pattern cost $6 and is well worth it! I'm going to make a ton of these little slippers just to wear around the house w/o any bottoms :)

Anyway, I ripped the bottoms off an old pair of HIGHLY uncomfortable flats I bought awhile back and used super glue to put them on the bottom of the knitted ones. They turned out great and I could not be happier! Here they are:

Aren't they adorable? I'm hoping to wear them tomorrow! I want the glue to set for at least 48 hours.

So, that's what's been going on with me! I hope all of you are having a great end of summer, all those kiddos got back to school safe and sound, and keep on being crafty!!!!

Cupcake Heaven

2010-07-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

My daughter, Mikayla, and I have been making cupcakes galore. I don't know why the sudden obsession with cupcakes, but it's been a blast trying new recipes. I've been using THIS website as inspiration. She has a GREAT blog with tons of yummy cupcake recipes. She doesn't JUST have cupcake recipes though, she also has tons of food recipes that look scrumptious! Her website is called Love and Olive Oil. You should definitely check it out!! Here's a pic of OUR cupcakes, which don't look nearly as good as the Love and Olive Oil ones :)

So, on our cupcake journey, I started thinking about how much I'd love to start teaching knitting again here in Texas. I really want to start making some cash for myself, besides just selling my knitting pattern. Then that got me thinking about all the wonderful cupcake recipes from Love and Olive Oil I could make for a knitting group or class. Which, of course, made me think, "how cool would it be if I decorated them like knitting stuff??"

Well, someone beat me to it! haha I found these ADORABLE cupcakes on THIS blog. There's even a how-to video!!!! OMG I'm in cupcake Heaven!!!!

It's official!!!

2010-07-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

I am now selling my first design on Ravelry and Etsy :) I'm BEYOND estatic! I created my own ruffled tank for girls. With it being summer, I thought it was the perfect project to put out there. Once it's a little cooler, you can always throw it over a cute tee or long-sleeve shirt. I'm very excited about this and I hope that all of you will check it out and buy my pattern!

Just click below and you can purchase the pattern :)

My first design!!!!

2010-07-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Okay so I'm VERY excited about this :) I have finally created my first knitting pattern!!! After my 5 year old daughter and I saw a really cute ruffled tank in the store, I decided that I would knit one myself, especially when I realized the tank cost $20 in the store!!! I wasn't about to buy her a ruffled tank for $20 knowing she'd outgrow it quickly. So, for $2.50 (that's how much the skein of yarn was), I made her an adorable replica! Yay! So here it is:

I have to type up the pattern and list it on Ravelry, but I am looking forward to selling it and sharing my joy with everyone else :) hehe

It's been awhile...

2010-07-01T14:58:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been gone for a month and a half and tried to stay away from the internet that entire time! haha I was in Indiana visiting family and am very happy to be home again. I love my family and friends, but I tell you what, a month and a half with them is WAYYYYYY too long! LOL

So, what have I been up to during my anti-internet vacay? Knitting, of course! I have been wanting to knit a top that I could actually wear for awhile now. I have attempted to create wearable tops before and haven't had much luck. There was always something strange about them that made them not quite fit right. Well, I finally have knitted a top that I am IN LOVE WITH!!!

After buying the book Boutique Knits: 20+ Must-Have Accessories by Laura Irwin, I fell in love with the Soft Kid Bubble project she had in there. I was determined to make it fit me and be ADORABLE. I chose the largest size version of the pattern to fit my size 16/18 body. I thought it might be a bit tight, so I upped my needle sizes by one and hoped it would turn out.

Well..... IT TURNED OUT PERFECT! Maybe even a bit bigger than anticipated! haha It is such a perfect pattern that I probably should've stuck with the original needle size and maybe even made a size smaller. It's meant to be a larger top anyway. However, it still turned out to be a very cute and comfortable top and I really love it! If you don't have this book, BUY IT. There are SEVERAL adorable things to knit in it, this was just the first thing I made out of it.

So, here it is... my bubble top :)

Another wonderful giveaway

2010-04-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

Check it out... another GREAT giveaway! Today is full of them :) So go read, follow, and enter :) hehe

A Day in the Life of a Dreamer: I Love My Wallet Giveaway

$100 Giveaway from Love That Max

2010-04-23T10:16:00.002-05:00

Blog: Love That Max
Post: Kid goodies giveaway: Win a $100 shopping spree at Educational Warehouse
Link: http://lovethatmax.blogspot.com/2010/04/kid-goodies-giveaway-win-100-shopping.html

Check it out! Giveaways are always fun and she has a GREAT blog!

I've been a bad girl

2010-04-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

I have been HORRIBLE about blogging lately. Ugh! *smacks hand* BAD BLOGGER! Anyway... moving on.

The other day I was perusing through my knitting and sewing books, thinking about what projects I wanna do when I realized that I've had two projects "on hold" and I haven't even picked them back up to look at them lately. I think I needed a small quick project to get my mind off of the 2 big projects which is my Tiptoe Cardigan and my blanket I am making out of my best friend, Abi's, yarn. They are both equally adorable projects and are pretty easy, but for some reason, I couldn't get up the motivation to finish them. So, there they sit. I am hoping to work on them this week and really bust them out. Why is it that I lose motivation mid-project sometimes? Especially when I always feel sooooo good looking at a FINISHED project. I dunno. It makes me wonder if I have a problem in general "finishing" things. Hmmm... something for the therapist couch I guess! haha

Maybe taking a break from knitting and sewing did me some good. Maybe when I pick up one of those projects this afternoon, I won't be able to put it down. We'll see!!! haha

Slowly becoming addicted

2010-04-12T17:45:00.000-05:00

I'm slowly becoming addicted to sewing! Yay! haha Even though I haven't done any projects for awhile, I'm gathering lots and lots of books. I can't help myself!! I see these amazing projects in the sewing books and just HAVE to buy it. It's a need really... not a want :)

So, after look online at Amazon, I came across two books that I couldn't resist b/c they had some adorable projects in them.

The first book is:

It has the cutest skirt on the front cover, which is what made me fall in love with the book to begin with. There's also a really adorable tie-back floor pillow cover. I love big comfy pillows to lounge on but haven't always found patterns or designs I actually like, so this is a good compromise! This book is full of funky, retro fabrics and designs and I have a feeling I'm going to be sewing a lot of the projects in it!

The second book I bought is:

I borrowed the Weekend Knitting: 50 Unique Projects and Ideas from the library one time and LOVED it, so when I saw this Weekend Sewing book, I had to look inside. I love all the sewing projects paired with fun recipes to try out! It's very creative and multi-functional, so to speak. There's patterns for children and adults and I'm already in love with this book :)

What are your favorite sewing books?? What should I buy next? I'm totally addicted.

Susan B. Anderson's Blog Giveaway

2010-04-09T10:47:00.003-05:00

If you are a knitter, you've heard of Susan B. Anderson. Well, I am following her on Facebook and I read her blog. Well, guess what she's doing today??? A BLOG GIVEAWAY! YAY! The giveaway is for a book called "How To Knit a Love Story" by Rachael Herron. If you want to enter this giveaway, please visit Susan's blog by clicking HERE.

Tuesday Tip

2010-04-06T22:25:00.002-05:00

"If you really struggle with putting zippers into cardigans, the best tip I can give you to make it easier is this:

Most dry cleaners who mend clothing will sew in your zipper for you. They will do it quickly, neatly, and professionally, and without ripping it back six times, crying, or saying abrupt things to your loved ones and pets." - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, AKA the Yarn Harlot

Pillowcase Dress

2010-03-30T10:16:00.003-05:00

So, I did it! I found some instructions online, read them, and made my first pillowcase dress for my daughter. WOOHOO! It was REALLY simple and I am IN LOVE with it. So, I wanted to share it with all of you. I'm definitely going to be heading to the thrift store in the future for more pillowcases!

I've been so lost...

2010-03-29T09:46:00.009-05:00

...without my computer! Ugh! I didn't have a computer for over a week so I haven't been able to blog, however, I have still been busy and crafting away! hehe My husband was on a business trip and his work laptop wasn't working correctly, so he took our home laptop instead. Next trip, he's not allowed to take it! haha

I have REALLY been enjoying sewing and made several things since last blogging. I designed my own kid's drop waist dress, which turned out GREAT and I am totally in love with the fabrics. I also made a fun ruffly skirt, and simple dress.

I also bought this fabric in hopes of making another cute dress for my daughter with it, using the pattern I had in my stash (Kwik Sew 3768). If you can't tell, my daughgter loves dresses and skirts. She ONLY wears dresses or skirts and PJ's. So, we rarely buy her pants or shorts. In the winter, she gets very upset when she has to wear pants. LOL

I saw in a sewing book somewhere that you can use a pillowcase and make a child's dress or top or a woman's top, depending on the size of the pillowcase. So, I decided to head to the thrift store and look at pillowcases that were cheap and attempt to make my daughter an easy dress for summer. I haven't tried it yet, but isn't this pillowcase fabric A-DOR-A-BLE?????

On another note, my daughter has 2 loose teeth, her 1st loose teeth, in fact! So, I made her a little tooth pillow with a pocket in it. Her teeth are so loose they are barely hanging on, but she doesn't wanna chew on them, wiggle them, or anything. haha Oh well, at least I have her tooth pillow ready for when she looses them! Here is what it looks like. I used the KnitPicks pattern, Tooth Fairy Pillow, as inspiration but didn't follow their pattern exactly. Their pattern looks WAY cuter and nicer, but I had no desire to use the magic loop method. I've done it before and just didn't feel like learning it all over again to make the pillow, although I'm sure it would've turned out like the picture! haha Oh well. I'm okay with what I've done!

I'm still working on several knitting projects but I've definitely gotten lazy! I have 2 cardigans I've worked on and both just need sleeves. haha I also have my throw that I work on here and there. I will keep you all posted and put up pictures of anything I get finished. Have a great week!

Tiptoe Cardigan

2010-03-16T11:41:00.007-05:00

Since I am such a knitting addict, I can't just have one knitting project going on at a time. So, in addition to the throw I've been working on with the yarn my best friend, Abi, made for me, I am also working on Spud & Chloe's Tiptoe Cardigan.

So far, I'm really enjoying knitting it. The pattern is extremely easy to read and is actually kinda fun to knit. It makes knitting go a lot faster when you have fun little things to knit. When you just knit straight in stockinette stitch, in one color, for 15 inches, it's not fun. This pattern changes it up with different colors and patterns. It's fabulous!

I am using KnitPicks yarn so the colors aren't exactly the same as in the picture on the pattern, but I'm still totally loving it! The KnitPicks yarn is very luxurious and soft and the colors are great. I would love to have been able to afford the Spud & Chloe yarn, but money is tight these days, so I went with what was on sale.

Anyway, b/c I'm not a tiny person and I wanted my sweater to actually fit over my boobs and belly, I decided to adjust the pattern to fit me a bit easier. It will probably use a bit more yarn but I don't mind. I'd rather it fit than get stuck sitting in my knitting chest until I find a friend to send it to that is smaller than me! haha

Here's a picture of my Tiptoe Cardigan so far:

This is the very back of the cardigan. I will post more pics as I am knitting along :) Have a great week!

On a coffee high...

2010-03-12T14:03:00.011-06:00

...so I've been knitting and sewing like crazy!!!

I thought it would be fun to just do some little simple projects to keep practicing sewing. So, I did this little sleeping mask using Amy Butler's Sew It Kit.

Here's the sleeping mask I made:

I also decided it would be good to make a knitting bag to make my knitting projects more portable. I have been using an old diaper bag and really need something I made specifically for knitting. So, using the Folklore Bag pattern from One-Yard Wonders. I came up with this:

I only have the patterns from that book b/c the book itself seems to have disappeared already!! UGH! So I just had to wing it using the pattern pieces. Oh well. I think it turned out pretty darn good considering I had no clue what I was doing. haha

I knitted a new purse for myself and put a beautiful fabric lining in it, but I haven't knitted up the strap yet so I'm not going to post picture of that. Just keep your eyes open for it :) hehe

A knitting project that I've been looking forward to for months is my throw blanket for my couch. As you know from previous posts, I had my best friend, Abi, dye me the most beautiful yarn to use for this project. So here is a picture of the throw so far. I only have a tiny bit done, but it's going to be AMAZING. The picture makes the blanket look tiny but I can assure you it's not going to be tiny :) It's actually wider and will be quite a bit longer when it's done.

Aren't the colors just GORGEOUS? I was going to make huge wide stripes but decided it would be more fun to do different size stripes and make it however I want :) I am really loving it.

If you are a knitter, you HAVE to order yarn from Abi's Etsy store! Here are some pics of yarn she often has listed w/ pics of how it looks knitted up.

Abi also takes custom orders (that's what my yarn was) and is very reasonably priced and uses only socially friendly yarns that are easy to knit with and very luxurious. Visit Abi's Etsy store today and stock up on some amazing yarns!!!

It's too late to 'pologize HAHA

2010-03-10T11:09:00.005-06:00

But I am sorry because I've been awful about blogging!! Bad me!

Anyway. I have been trying to sew here and there to get more practice and I'm very proud of myself. I made the CUTEST skirt and dress for my daughter. I've also made a sleeping mask (just for fun), a coaster (I got bored and didn't feel like sewing all 4), and a liner in a knitted bag I created. I think I'm getting the hang of this sewing thing! HAHA So here are a few pics.

The skirt is from a book my best friend, Abi, got me for my birthday. The book is called Sewing Clothes Kids Love by Nancy J. S. Langdon and Sabine Pollehn. It has these funky, fun patterns in it and I ADORE it. I can't wait to try some more of the patterns.

The dress I made was from McCall's. It was pattern M5684 and was extremely simple and I will definitely make some more dresses using the pattern.

I decided I like sewing so much that I treated myself to a couple books as well. After flipping through, what seemed like, every single book in Borders, and saying "Awww that's cute!" over and over again, I finally decided on Little Stitches for Little Ones by Amy Butler and One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. I can't wait to make some stuff out of the books!

What is your favorite sewing books??? I definitely wanna add some more good ones to my collection!

Have a great week everyone :)

Knit Nation

2010-03-05T16:39:00.004-06:00

I bought a knitting magazine today, Interweave Knits, and saw this HUGE ad for Knit Nation in London at the Imperial College. I really wish I could go!!! Ravelry will be there as well and I'm soooo jealous. haha We have friends that live in England and I so wish we had the funds to go visit them in July. However, I'd feel really bad for having an ulterior motive for going... Knit Nation. LOL I would imagine that my friends and my husband would all be bored and staring at me like I'm mad when I started walking around to all the vendors, freaking out and screaming every time I came across something I wanted! haha

On another note, I finished my Blouson pattern from Berocco Linen Picnic. It turned out pretty darn good, BUT I made it too small. UGHHHHHH! I was REALLY hoping to be able to actually WEAR this one. Oh well. It will make a GREAT gift for my best friend, Abi. I think she'll love it, hopefully it fits her, as she is quite a bit smaller than me. I used KnitPicks Swish Worsted for the pattern and I love the colors.

I'm now working on, what I hope will be, a GORGEOUS throw blanket for my couch and/or chair with bright, beautiful, moroccan inspired yarn made by my best friend, Abi. She hand-dyed it and it's GORGEOUS. It's also knitting up beautifully so far and is quite soft and cozy! If you'd like to order some of her yarn or put in a custom order, please visit her Etsy store by clicking on the ad on the right side of my blog or by going HERE. I promise you will NOT be disappointed!!!

I also want to thank everyone who sent me birthday wishes. I had a VERY relaxing 30th birthday. What more could I ask for? I got to sit on my butt, watch TV, knit, and be waited on :)

Purls of Wisdom...

2010-03-03T12:53:00.003-06:00

In the words of knitter and knitting book author, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, AKA the Yarn Harlot:

"Truly, knitting has three enemies: shrinking, moths, and that force of destruction that only knitters know as a peril... Velcro.

Happy 30th birthday to me and thank you to all my readers for being here to support men :)

Can't wait to sew

2010-03-02T16:49:00.002-06:00

I can't wait to start sewing some more wonderful things! I am hoping I can really get the hang of it ;)

My 30th birthday is tomorrow, March 3, and my best friend, Abi, sent me a REALLY cool book as a birthday present. It's called Sewing Clothes Kids Love by Nancy Langdon and Sabine Pollehn. It has the cutest little outfits to sew! It also came with the patterns INSIDE which is awesome b/c I don't have to go buy any patterns to cut things out with!

Anyway, I know I haven't blogged in awhile but I wanted to at least share this with you and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! haha

On a side note, today is Dr. Suess's birthday!

Yet another hobby to add to my list of addictions

2010-02-22T11:41:00.013-06:00

Well, it's official, I am now a sewing lady! HAHA Well, not technically, seeing as how I don't know how to sew much of anything. I have very basic sewing skills. I have been wanting a sewing machine for quite some time though. So, since my birthday is fast approaching, my husband bought me a sewing machine. I am now the proud owner of a Singer. Just a beginner machine, but it will do!

Since I had to play with my new toy right away, I drug hubby to the craft store so I could pick out some fabric and a book to show me what I needed to do. After a long time staring at different books, I finally decided on Sew Simple: Thoughtful Gifts & Easy Accessories from Gooseberry Patch. It is full, of what seems like, very easy sewing projects, including the project I decided to work on, Knitting Needle Roll. I figured it was the perfect project since I am a knitter and all my knitting needles, up until this point, have just been sitting in a bag. I really didn't fully understand what the heck I was doing, so I interpreted the best I could and finished my FIRST sewing project! It might be wrong, but it works and isn't falling apart :) hehe So, here it is :)

Not too bad, eh? Now if I could figure out the PROPER way to do this stuff in the future, I'd be doing better. I think my next step is getting a "Sewing for Dummies" book. haha There's lots of little projects I'd love to work on, including some cute stuff for my daughter to wear.

I think my next project will mix together my knitting skills and a bit of sewing. I found this cute pattern called Bell. It was a free download from the Berroco KnitBits #294.

Isn't it cute?? I love it! I can't wait to make one, but for now, I want to finish the knitting project I'm working on. I'm making a similiar top as the one above, Bell, but it's ALL knitted. It's called Blouson. It is a pattern out of the Linen Picnic #285 booklet. You can buy the booklet HERE for $6.95.

I'm using KnitPicks Swish Worsted yarn for the project. The yarn is fabulous and looks amazing and is very sturdy all knitted up! I LOVE it. I ordered similar colors to what the pattern calls for but not exactly the same. I really hope it turns out fabulous and better than the last project I tried out of the Berroco Linen Picnic booklet, Moska. It turned out awful and was way too big an stretchy. Although, I have to say, I'm considering trying that pattern again at some point as well and using a better quality yarn (like KnitPicks).

Speaking of good quality yarn, my best friend, Abi, dyed me the most fabulous yarn!! I'm beyond excited about this. As you know, we have all of our furniture now. We want to add decor and stuff now that makes it appear to be a "world traveler" and eclectic mix with bright colors. Well, to add to that theme, I want to knit a blanket to throw over the couch or chair to use when I'm sitting on the couch blogging, knitting, or watching TV. Well, I was having trouble finding the yarn I wanted in the stores or online. I needed bright, vibrant colors and this Marrakesh sock yarn below was my inspiration. You can buy this yarn HERE.

I wanted those exquisite colors but decided after consulting with Abi and getting her expert opinion, that instead of having it be self-striping like sock yarn, that I wanted all the colors to be different skeins. That way I can make big blocks of colors. So, Abi got to work and created the most luxurious and beautiful yarn for me to do my project with. HERE IT IS!!!!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL??? She made her own little mixture of colors and made them so vibrant! They will be PERFECT for the blanket I want to knit. I'm so grateful for her doing this for me. She is fabulous at what she does and you can order your own hand dyed yarns from her HERE at her Etsy store (or by clicking on her ad on my sidebar). I've bought several skeins of her sock yarn as well, and it's GREAT. It knits up beautifully and so soft. She uses socially friendly, sturdy yarn and great dye that doesn't bleed or fade! So visit Abi's shop today and consider buying some of her yarn or asking for a custom order. She loves a challenge!!

This is the blanket and pattern I'm going to use with the yarn from Abi. It's called Thoreau and is also from the Berroco Linen Picnic #285 booklet.

So, that's what I have been up to lately. I can't wait to share all my future projects with you!

I love giveaways, especially ones for the bambinos!

2010-02-18T17:18:00.002-06:00

So here's a great giveaway.

I was reading a fellow TMP gals blog and noticed she was doing a giveaway! So I thought I'd tell of you about it :) You should definitely go check it out. The products look amazing and I can't wait to have another baby to use them on!

Here's the link to the blog and giveaway.

CLICK HERE

I don't wanna tell you anymore about it b/c I want to MAKE SURE you go to HER blog :) hehe I'm sneaky, I know.

Tooth Fairy Time

2010-02-17T00:23:00.003-06:00

O-M-G! I'm in total shock! My baby girl, Mikayla, is only 5 years old and already has her first loose tooth!! When she told David and I, over dinner one night, and showed it to us, I started crying. It's sooooo early for that kinda stuff! I thought I still had a couple years. I was excited too b/c she is excited.

So, in lieu of my baby girls first loose tooth, I am knitting this adorable tooth fairy pillow for her bed. That way, when she loses that tooth, she'll have a pillow to put it in for the tooth fairy!!

The pattern is called Tooth Fairy Pillow by Christy Causey and can be found HERE on Ravelry and HERE on KnitPicks. It's 100% FREE which makes it even better! haha

It's calling for the Magic Loop Method of knitting though, and I've only tried that once. I don't really feel like trying it again, to be honest, so I'll probably just use DPN's (double pointed needles). Either way, I'm sure it will turn out fabulous and here's hoping I get it done before she loses the tooth!!!

Happy Red Heart Day!!!

2010-02-14T16:07:00.004-06:00

Since it's Valentine's Day... I thought it would be cool if I posted some links to some Valentine's themed FREE knitting patterns :) Enjoy!!!

Valentine Heart Ring by Jennifer Tallapaneni
Valentine Mug Cozy by Kristen TenDyke
Baby Valentine's Heart Cardigan by Tricia Brownstein
Little Hearts by Teresa Fox
Love Rocks! by Vickie Howell
Heart Tape Measure by Susan B. Anderson

Have a happy day everyone!

Matilda Jane is cute but...

2010-02-14T01:54:00.007-06:00

... I found something that is MORE affordable!! Don't get me wrong, Matilda Jane clothing is GORGEOUS. I just can't spend $50 on a freakin' tee! So, instead... I shop Naartjie!!! It's so adorable and has some of the same cute styles. I bought this for Mikayla today and got it ALL for $50 instead of spending $50 on ONE piece at Matilda Jane.

You can buy Naartjie stuff in their stores or online HERE. If you have extra money to spare, you can buy Matilda Jane clothing HERE.

This is kinda off topic, but nor really. I REALLY, REALLY want a sewing machine and learn how to REALLY sew b/c I could probably MAKE stuff like this for my daughter for cheaper and have instant gratification. I really should consider this. I wish I was as talented as my best friend, Abi, b/c that woman can knit, sew, paint, etc. I just need to get a sewing machine and sit down and just do it!

Along the same lines, I was at the bookstore recently looking at knitting books. Next to the knitting books were some really cool sewing books. They had some cool sewing patterns and ideas for stuff I'd LOVE to wear and make! Hopefully I can fulfill my "learning to sew" urge soon. Until then, I have several knitting projects lined up that I have to get done so I can show them off to all of you :)

Okay it's now 2AM and I'm officially exhausted. Off to bed for me!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Tiny Dancer

2010-02-12T13:09:00.005-06:00

I have a total obsession with ballet flats and dress flats in general. I have been wearing them a lot more lately. Because I'm not the skinniest girl, it's hard for me to wear heels b/c my feet start hurting SOOO bad no matter what I do. The flats give me an excuse to dress up and still be comfortable. I also wear flats with jeans :) Anyway, I found this FABULOUS knitting pattern for ballet flats and I really wanted to knit some for myself. The pattern is from Julie Weisenberger for Coco Knits. The pattern is called Pleated Ballet Flats and can be found HERE for $6.00 or you can download it for the same price on Ravelry under Julie's Ravelry site HERE. Below is the picture of the ballet flats directly from Julie's pattern. Aren't they adorable???

Then I started thinking about it and realized that they would be all yarn and so I'd only be able to wear them around the house. Well, I don't want to just wear them around the house!! I want to wear them with my outfits out in public!!! So, after thinking on it for awhile, I realized that I have some old ballet flats that I will never wear b/c they were dreadfully uncomfortable and hurt my heel, toes, and everything else. What if I was able to use parts of THOSE flats for my new KNITTED flats??

I think I'm going to try and rip the bottom of the shoe off the old flats and then after I knit up my new flats, I'll find a way to attach the bottom to the new flat. Now how do I do this, you may ask? Well... I HAVE NO CLUE!!!

I was looking around online and found THIS blog talking about Vickie Howell's Knitty Gritty Knit Boots. In this case, they were drilling holes in a pair of heels to make boots out of them. This is a FANTASTIC idea! One problem... I'd still be wearing the same uncomfortable flats with a faux cover on them! So, that won't work. Ugh.

So, I don't know how I'm going to do this, but I think it will involve a hot glue gun :)

Shout out to TMP!!!!

2010-02-11T17:36:00.003-06:00

I have found THE BEST message board for mommies on the web!!! It's called The Mommy Playbook. I have had my share of message board drama in the past. I've dealt with hateful, rude, awful women on different message boards and this one is NOT ONE OF THEM. My last message board I was on for like 3 years, the women accused me of lying about my miscarriages and pretending to be pregnant and losing it to gain attention from the group b/c another woman had given birth at 22 weeks and lost her baby. It was a HEARTBREAKING experience and all I wanted from them was support! They even had the nerve to email my husband and ask him if I was lying about everything I'd been through. He told them to leave me alone or he'd get a restraining order and report them to the police.

Sooooo, needless to say, I was VERY hesitant to join another mommy board.

I have had THE BEST experience with all the ladies at TMP. They have been so unbelievably supportive and kind to me. They put up with my complaints, patio thief stories, all my TTC (trying to conceive) problems, etc.

I want anyone who is a mommy looking for a place to fit in, find good friends, and find actual support, to join TMP. It is amazing!

Thank you ladies for being so great!!!

Go HERE to join TMP :)

Here Comes the Bride

2010-02-11T13:48:00.002-06:00

Okay so I'm already married, but my best guy friend, Matt, is not. He is engaged and has asked me to sing for his wedding to the adorable Megan. For their wedding song, they chose "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Krevizuk. It's a beautiful song!!! The words are amazing and perfect for a wedding. If you haven't heard it, DOWNLOAD IT!

Anyway, I recorded a quick version of the song for them to hear so they could decide if they really did want me to sing for their wedding or not. haha The only reason I say that is b/c the last 2 weddings I sang in, they ended up divorcing!!! LOL

Soooo... I'm sharing the recording with all of you. It's not my best but you get the idea! Enjoy :)

My Frappuccino Obsession has been fulfilled...

2010-02-11T02:21:00.005-06:00

From blogs past, you should know by now that I have an obsession with Frappuccino's. Their yummy deliciousness has a very strong hold over me! haha

Anyway, I said in THIS post that I wanted to get a reusable, hard, plastic smoothie cup to make my own homemade frappuccino's since drinking it with a plastic straw out of a glass just wasn't the same. If you look at the picture in that post, you will see a cool cup with a domed lid.

That cup is all well and good but I found one I LOVE more :) It's from the same company, Copco, but it's see through and has a flat top :) It's fantastic!!! I'm even considering taking it into Starbuck's when I am somewhere that I can't make my own frappuccino. Do you think there's a policy against that?

I found mine at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for $7.99. I'm sure you can find them cheaper elsewhere, but paying $7.99 for a cup I can use forever, is worth it to me. Just one more step in the right direction of going green!!!

I've been busy UPDATE

2010-02-09T13:19:00.005-06:00

Wow have I been busy. We got our tax checks so we FINALLY bought furniture for our very empty apartment and even bought some decor. I'm so excited about it and my apartment looks FABULOUS! :) I plan on doing TONS of knitting and creating some knitted artwork, pillows, and throws for the apartment :) Here are some pics of how things look so far!!

I want a new phone... 2/7/10 UPDATE

2010-02-03T23:01:00.005-06:00

Well, we have Sprint and have never had an issue with them EVER. They have been very good to us! So, that being said, I HATE my phone. haha

I have the Samsung Reclaim in blue:

I hate it b/c half the time the websites won't load, my texts freeze up the phone, and I can't do half the stuff I did with the phone I used to have which was the Instinct:

I loved that the Instinct was a touch screen. I didn't think I'd miss having a touch screen but I do! In fact, I got the Reclaim, not only b/c it was a free upgrade, but b/c it WASN'T a touch screen. Now I could shoot myself for not waiting til tax time to upgrade my phone so I could've had a Palm Pre which is what I REALLY want:

*2/7/10 UPDATE* I GOT A NEW PHONE!!!! I got the Palm Pre :) HEHE I'm in LOVE.

Strange Knits

2010-02-03T10:59:00.008-06:00

I was looking through Ravelry late last night trying to find some patterns to print (with my BRAND NEW printer/scanner/copier), when I came across some funny, unusual, weird, sometimes gross, and strange knitting patterns. I thought I'd share a few with you that I came across :)

Digestive System

Womb

Penis Pimp

Gas Mask

For more strange things,besides just strange knits, you should also visit Regretsy. It's a play off of the Etsy site, but filled with things maybe people shouldn't have tried to sell on Etsy! haha

Love me some Old Navy

2010-02-02T15:35:00.014-06:00

Sooo, I got some new clothes from Old Navy and I am IN LOVE with them :) I got basic pieces that I can mix and match with anything. I really am loving all the bright colors that Old Navy is coming out with and basic pieces. Here's what I ordered:

Skating, PJ Clad, Ballerina, Princess, Cowgirl?????

2010-02-02T00:06:00.003-06:00

Look at my little angel! She got new PJ's, a new tutu (handmade by yours truly), new skates, and new cowboy boots (well they are from Christmas from Grandma) and decided she MUST wear them all at once.

Cardi Love

2010-02-01T23:53:00.003-06:00

Okay, I might be a bit late in the game here because I'm sure others have discovered this stuff before me, but I am in LOVE with the Spud & Chloe knitting stuff!! O-M-G it's soooo cute!

I bought this pattern, called the Tiptoe Cardigan, and the yarn for it:

I should get my yarn sometime this week and I can't WAIT to start knitting this cardi!!!! I love the bright colors and the pinwheel flowers on the side with the fabric swatches. It is so versatile and can be worn with jeans and tee or with a sundress. I'll definitely keep you all updated as I'm knitting it.

If you are interested in any of the Spud & Chloe stuff, visit their website HERE.

Oh Beautiful Green Mermaid (Siren)...

2010-02-01T23:03:00.008-06:00

Okay so as many of you know, I am obsessed and addicted to Starbuck's Mocha Frappuccino's. I recently also fell in love with the Caramel version of this wonderful potion. Well, my husband and I went to Costco the other night and found this fabulous book called "The Best of Top Secret Recipes" by Todd Wilbur. He has all these copycat recipes made to taste exactly like the restaurants. Now, mind you, I've tried some copycat recipes in the past and there's usually something that still isn't right about them. This was NOT the case with Todd's version of the Caramel Frappuccino, which I'm happily sipping on now. It is AWESOME! It tastes exactly like Starbuck's version! Of course, I did buy the bag of Starbuck's Ground Espresso Coffee to use in my coffee maker. I wanted it to be as authentic as possible :) I'm in Heaven now! I guess this is the perfect way to get the Frappuccino budget under control! Anyway, I decided to go ahead and post this for all my readers tonight so you can join me in my comfy zone :)

3/4 cup double-strength coffee or espresso, cold
1 cup low-fat milk
3T sugar
2 cups ice (might need more if you like it icier)

Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required (if you use ground espresso blend coffee, you don't have to use twice the amount recommended b/c it will already call for 2T per cup). That should be 2 Tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee. Chill before using.

To make drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into 2 16-oz glasses, and serve with a straw.

For caramel version, add 3T of caramel topping to the original recipe and then top each glass with whipped cream and drizzle with more caramel.

For mocha version, add 3T of Hershey's chocolate syrup to the original recipe and prepare as directed and top with whipped cream.

*ON A SIDE NOTE*

I think I'm going to buy one of these cups made by Copco! Drinking a frappuccino out of a glass, just doesn't have the same glamorous effect!

I saw ones that were sort of like this except the entire cup (except the rubber sleeve) was clear so you could see through it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Must get one!

What's this? Another freebie???

2010-01-31T22:53:00.003-06:00

I found this FABULOUS blog for knitters. It has so many cool things on it, including this contest to win a free Knit Kit Jewelry kit! You can actually KNIT jewelry!! How cool is that? I had no clue people were doing this with anything other than yarn!!!! I definitely wanna get a chance to try this kit out, so I'm entering this contest on the blog I'm talking about. The blog is called Knit Purl Gurl. Check it out and enter the contest to win your free Knit Kit Jewelry kit today! You can visit Knit Purl Gurl's blog HERE. You can visit the entry for the Knit Kit Jewelry HERE. You can visit Knit Kit Jewelry's site HERE.

GREAT blog and FUN giveaway...

2010-01-31T20:17:00.002-06:00

Who doesn't like freebies??? If I said I don't, I'd be lying!

So I want all of you to check out a really fun and unique blog, follow her, and check out her FABULOUS giveaway! Don't just sign up for the giveaway though, read her blog! It's witty and cute and has some fabulous recipes, general life stories, books, fashion, and more! So, check it out NOW! haha

The Staats Family Blog

Eclectic World Traveler

2010-01-18T12:07:00.002-06:00

We are finally going to get some furniture for our living room and decorate it the way we want. Today we are heading to Pier 1, World Market, and some other places to take pictures of the pieces we love and want. We are doing this b/c IKEA is in Austin, we live in San Antonio, and I can't really take all the pieces to IKEA this weekend to match things. haha

We decided on an eclectic world traveler theme for the room. We want a mish mash of items with pops of bright colors. As soon as I get pictures, I will post them :)

On a side note... we are not world travelers. Maybe all this decorating will inspire us to finally go overseas!

Hallelujah!

2010-01-16T01:03:00.003-06:00

I had to post this song for all of you :) I say that as if I have a billion readers and followers. haha Anyway, enjoy, what I call, my singing! haha
Enjoy!

Love and Marriage... Ugh.

2010-01-06T11:38:00.002-06:00

Okay I am REALLY frustrated with my husband. Yes, I will be the first to admit that I am not the best at communicating sometimes with my husband for the simple fact that I yell at him or talk kinda mean to him sometimes. BUT, he is really bad at communicating as well. He says I'm just getting defensive, when really I have a right to b/c of the way he is saying something. For example, "Thanks for leaving the trash in the laundry room. Red soda spilled and it stinks and now we have ants" is not a proper way to tell me, even though it's his responsibility to take out the trash, that b/c the trash was in the laundry room (which he walked in and out of several times this weekend), he forgot it was there and never took it out so now there are ants in there. So of course I got defensive! AS I SHOULD! Would it really have been that big of a deal if he had just taken the trash out, cleaned up the soda, and put down an ant trap? It would have been something very sweet of him to do and I would've been thankful and more apt to say "thanks for taking the trash out honey! Sorry about the ants." Instead, here I am reeling and getting defensive b/c I feel as though he's trying to say it's my fault. Of course, him thanking me for leaving the trash in there, doesn't really make me warm and fuzzy! haha

Very disappointing...

2009-12-29T02:50:00.004-06:00

I'm very disappointed. I was sooo excited about the pattern I was working on (Moska in the Berroco Linen Picnic #285 book). I did everything correctly, measured it all correctly, used the correct yarn, etc. The picture makes it appear to be a long top that goes in under the bust. WRONG. It's WIDE and SHORT. Ugh! Nothing is more frustrating than knitting something for yourself that you are SO proud of, just to have the pattern turn out nothing like the picture! The picture says it's show in a size small and the woman looks to be a size 5 or 6. Well, I usually wear a size large in shirts b/c I am a size 16. So I figured a large would be a perfect fit. I could have made a SMALL like the chick in the picture and it would have been a perfect fit. A size large is enormous on me and I have a D cup and wear a size 16. So I'm not tiny. Ugh. So anyway, my shirt is done and I'm disappointed. I'm washing it and will dry it just to see if that makes a difference. But as of now, I'm not happy.

**UPDATE** I'M STILL NOT HAPPY WITH THIS SHIRT*

Brown Cows Make Chocolate Milk

2009-12-23T23:45:00.002-06:00

As much Nesquik as we go through in my house, we were spending a fortune! So I decided to try and come up with my own recipe for chocolate milk that was sweet enough and chocolately enough for MY taste. So, if you spend a fortune on chocolate milk like we do, try to make this instead b/c I guarantee it will last a lot longer and save you money!

For one 12 oz. glass of chocolate milk - put 1 oz. water in a measuring cup, bowl, etc., stir in 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Stir until well blended. Heat in microwave for 30 secs. Stir in a really cold glass of milk right away or put in the refrigerator to cool off and then stir into milk.

VERY sweet and yummy :)

Christmas... already?!?!

2009-12-23T01:11:00.008-06:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. It really doesn't seem possible. This year has just FLOWN by. Anyway, enough with the cliche phrases said by everyone this time of year.

I've been knitting like crazy and I'm really excited about the projects I've done and the ones I have coming up.

I knitted a couple gifts for my best friends kids:

Aren't they cool?? I am very proud of them.

Right now, I'm working on knitting something for MYSELF. My FIRST thing that I will actually wear that I'm knitting. I'm very excited about this. I got this really cool pattern booklet called "Linen Picnic" with some FABULOUS designs in it. I would wear every single thing in the book and might just have to knit them all. Here are some pictures of the fabulous designs in the book that I WILL be knitting (right now I'm knitting the first one:

I will post pics as soon as I knit each one :) If you wanna buy this pattern book you can go HERE.

Chicken and Dumplings... Scrumdiddleyumptious!

2009-12-18T02:40:00.005-06:00

Okay so awhile back I was looking for a good chicken and dumplings recipe that I could just throw in the crockpot. I found one online and added a bit of my own touch to it. IT WAS PERFECT! It tasted absolutely fabulous. So I want to share it with you... my readers. Okay the thought just occurred to me that I may not have any readers, but nonetheless... here it is:

4 boneless skinless chicken pieces (breast or thigh), cut in small chunks
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup carrot, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 packet dry country (white) gravy mix
2 cups water
2 (10 oz) packages refrigerated biscuits

Combine all ingredients, except biscuits, in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. 30 minutes before serving, tear biscuit dough into 1-inch pieces. Add to your slow cooker; stirring gently. Cover and cook on HIGH for an additional 30 minutes or until biscuits are fluffed up and cooked through.

I made it this way and it was FAB-U-LOUS and I found I couldn't stop eating it. It even heated up well as leftovers the next day!! David wants me to use the noodle type dumplings next time though. So... I have everything and I'm making it tomorrow. Very good!

I will serve it with mashed potatoes and drool!

Start selling knitted toys!!!

2009-12-08T12:28:00.007-06:00

Well, I finished knitting an elephant for a friend and I think it turned out pretty darn good! I posted the pics of it on Facebook and now a bunch of my friends want me to start selling them, but since that's not allowed, unless I created my own pattern, I'm going to have to think about it. Not sure if I have time for creating and designing right now :) I guess that's a good sign that I'm a good knitter though, huh?

Here's all the toys I've knitted so far over the last 6 months, as far as toys go:

Knitting in my Dreams

2009-12-06T20:23:00.008-06:00

I've been thinking soooo much about all the knitting projects that I want to do, I've been dreaming about them! haha I have so many things lined up. Here's just a few of the things I'll be knitting very soon :)

I'm knitting this for a friend. She wants it for her son for Christmas. I'm going to be using 2 shades of blue and white though for the pattern. So far it looks good. I just need to finish the head and then make 3 more legs and put it together. I got the pattern on Ravelry for free HERE.

I'm almost done with this one too. I just need to knit another arm, add the felt collar, and put on a face! My best friend, Abi, her daughter, Lily, LOVES The Nightmare Before Christmas. So I thought this would make a perfect Christmas present. You can get this pattern for free HERE.

Unicorns are knit-riffic!

2009-12-03T13:54:00.004-06:00

So, I decided that we are poor and I wanted to knit my daughter, Mikayla, some Christmas gifts. After her changing her mind about 50 times, she finally picked out a book full of cute patterns for me to knit. The book is called Dream Toys by Claire Garland. It has the cutest knitted toys in it! I decided to start with a unicorn. Well, I'm all done and it's SOOOO cute. I'm very happy with it and am unveiling it to my blog friends first! Enjoy :)

Annoy you with my voice...

2009-12-03T13:50:00.006-06:00

Just wanted to share me singing with you... of course. If you hate it, pretend you love it :)

For those that LOVE to sing... join SingSnap.com. It totally rocks! It's free for you to join but if you want even more songs, become a gold member. It's only $7/month. The best thing about the site is you can record your singing!

*UPDATE* SINGSNAP RAISED THEIR PRICE TO $12 A MONTH... UGH*

Knitted Car... REALLY?

2009-12-03T13:38:00.006-06:00

I sometimes get frustrated with my knitting projects or I get impatient and just want them to be over with. It makes me feel so good to know that I finished a project. That's why sometimes I stay away from really big projects. When I say really big, I mean like a sweater. Well, really big to this lady is REALLY BIG. Just take a look at this knitted Ferrari. Yes, I said FERRARI! O-M-G! Talk about commitment!

Art graduate, Lauren Porter, knitted a Ferrari sportscar for her honours degree at Bath Spa University. The classic red bodywork consists of 250 squares of garter stitch made by Lauren and 20 family members and friends. The windows are V-shaped stocking stitch, while the details are crochet and the badge is embroidered. It's all supported by a steel frame which Lauren, 22, of Greatham, Hants, welded herself.

Fairy Blog Mother

2009-12-03T01:37:00.000-06:00

So... I started a blog. Yep. I have jumped on the bandwagon! I suppose I should explain why I started a blog, huh? Well, I'm a karaoke and knitting addict. I'm always driving everyone nuts, showing off pictures of my knitted creations, and posting my SingSnap recordings to all of Facebook. So why not just have my own blog dedicated to my creative nature?? It makes sense to me.

So... here we are. We meet at last my lovely blog! Let's hope I don't get sick of you, chop you up in little pieces, and sink you deep in the ocean like my other ventures (i.e. scrapbooking, crocheting, exercising).