Blogmas Day #8 - December 8th

Here' s your little bit of Christmas for today...........I love these and have looked for a pattern and finally found one...........aren't they just too cute?  Here's the link

I have wanted to make these for years...........looks like now I'll get my chance!
Today I spent a good amount of time creating this.......

I should have taken a 'before' picture because it was a tangled mess!  I was happily crocheting my C2C blanket when all of a sudden out came this 'blob' of tangles.  This was worse than any tangles I have ever seen and it took 2-3 hours to get it into the shape you see above and there was a portion I had to cut out and probably what started the whole mess.....a tight knot of yarn in the middle.  Oh well, I had nothing better to do today! NOT or should I say KNOT! LOL!
I forgot to show you some yarn I got at Walmart.......I was curious about this Lion Brand yarn called Scarfie............

 so I bought a skein to make a scarf ...............I will be winding this one into a ball for sure.  It is very loosely skeined and I am taking no chances.  But today I worked on presents I am still making but getting close to finishing.  I am getting in supplies for my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day cast ons!  It almost like when YOP starts.....so many choices but definitely new projects will be started!  I can't wait!

A Christmas present came for me today.................SNOW!!!  This picture does not do it justice as it is beautiful!  There will be no significant accumulation and it's no blizzard that's for sure but I will take what I can get! 

Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #7 - December 7th

This little bit of Christmas for today is different.  This is an inside look at what sold at a craft fair last year and the prices.  I know many of you make and sell during the holiday season so this might be of interest.  When I saw how much she made I think I might be interested too! LOL!  Here's the link

 Today I finally got the Advent gifts finished, wrapped and mailed!  TaDa!  Now on to the rest of Christmas!  I was so glad I got to the post office as they are predicting snow starting tonight and into tomorrow or freezing rain......either of which keeps me at home for sure!

I made Jenny's pizza last night and it was delicious....gosh that girl can cook!  So many times you try some recipe and it ends up to be a disappointment but not hers so far.  I forgot to take a picture when it came out of the oven.  This is what is left that I am heating up for tonight.  I forgot to put the pepperoni on until the last minute so it got a little crispy but it tasted great and that's the turkey pepperoni!

I  made more dough tonight because I have lots of toppings left over.  Some will go in some scrambled eggs but I may be eating pizza all week it's so good!

After getting the package mailed I came home and did some garage cleaning.  I swept, and washed Nitty's bed and dried it and filled my water bottles and watered my greens outside.  That was about it and the day was done.  I did sit down and crochet on my C2C blanket a bit.....it's so relaxing and it is growing!

 How was your day today?  Did you do anything Christmassy?  I have to get decorations up and work on some other Christmas gifts and there's cooking for me and baking for others!  It never ends but it's so fun at this time of year.
Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #6 - December 6th

How are you today?  What's the weather like where you are?  It's rained here on and off all day.  I'm so glad I went shopping yesterday which was beautiful.  Before I forget here's your little bit of Christmas for today............Connie, I could not help but think of you and how cool this would look in your log cabin!  The link to the instructions are here

Actually you could use what ever material you want but I just happen to have an old black and red buffalo plaid sheet that I saved from when my sons were at home...hmmmm........but not now....I should make a list for next year that I can work on starting in early 2019! LOL!
I spent the entire day finishing, packaging and labeling my daughter's Advent gifts.  So glad we only did the 12 Days of Christmas and not 24!  Whew!  It was fun and enjoyable but it seems I am always behind the 8 ball no matter how well I plan. 
I wish I could show you them but you'll have to tune in this Sunday for YOP to see them all....but here's a Thursday thrifty tip.................I get packing paper in many of my deliveries and it looks like this............in fact it looks like a long snake all twisted up....so.........I smooth it out and iron it....yes, I iron used tissue paper too...........

 

and it ends up like this...not perfect but usable and I use it for wrapping paper.......I have not bought wrapping paper for years...probably at least 15 or 20?  I still have some leftover paper from when my kids were young!  You can stamp it with designs or use as is with some twine and  other little decorations.  I also discovered that there are perforations on the paper about every 20 inches or so.  I separate the sheets and then I have a pile of them for wrapping.  I also save bubble wrap to reuse.  Can you tell I was raised by parents that went through the depression?  But I am grateful to have been raised that way and after the last recession there are many that are embracing that way of life.  I think they will be better off for it too and so will the planet!  My Mother used to say "waste not, want not".

Here's the Advent gifts....all 12 of them.  Tomorrow I will find a suitable box (yes, I save those too for just such an occasion) and pack it up, label it and go to the post office in the next town to mail.  Just in time too because we have winter storm warnings for tomorrow night and Saturday....snow and freezing rain.  I will have gotten it all mailed just in the nick of time!  Then it's on to the Christmas gifts for the rest of the family.

I'm off to get my jammies on and throw my pizza together...I can't wait to sit down and relax!  What have you been up to today?

Happy Trails!!!

Blogmas Day #5 - December 5th

Happy Blogmas Day #5....here's your little bit of Christmas for today............

These are pine cone frames which I had never seen before and they used them as Christmas ornaments.  I thought they were very unique and I love crafts made from readily available items that are FREE!  Guess by who?  Why Martha, of course!  Here's the link to the project page.

I had to take a picture of Miss Peeps this morning....see the heart shape on her chest?  She's my little love kitty!

I went all over today....the vet for the girls meds, Dollar Tree for stickers and bags...........

then on to Walmart and then to my pharmacy for a refill...............came home, unloaded and put everything away and now I need to make pizza dough.....it will sit overnight so I can have it tomorrow night...........Another one of Jenny's recipes made in a cast iron pan......I can't wait to try it.  She says it's a crispy crust and that I will love it.....I'm holding her to it!  She also mentioned turkey pepperoni which has way less fat.  Who knew?  Sure enough....there it was right next to the regular pepperoni!  

My menu this week is some leftover recipes that didn't get made and weren't needed last week.
Here's a few of the items on my menu:

Pizza - Jenny Jones
no-knead bread - Jenny Jones
gingersnaps - Susan Branch
Ziti Casserole - Jenny Jones
Tuna something? 
egg salad - my recipe
English muffins - All Recipes
soda crackers - Genius Kitchen
Kick'n Pimento Cheese Spread - All Recipes
waffles and enough to freeze
roast chicken with dressing/stuffing, carrots and roasted potatoes

I'm sure I won't need to cook all this for this week...this will probably last for 2 weeks or more but with Winter on the horizon I like to keep more on hand in case I can't get to the store.  Tonight I will put the finishing touches on the last Advent gift, tomorrow will be wrapping and packing it all up and then Friday morning it will go in the mail.  I'm hoping to decorate on Saturday and then hit the rest of the Christmas presents which need to be mailed by the 15th but I'd like to get them mailed by the 12th but that's probably not going to happen! LOL!  How are all your Christmas tasks coming along?  I hope you are enjoying the season so far!
Happy Trails!!! 

Blogmas Day #4 - December 4th

Here's your little bit of Christmas for today.............isn't this cool?  There's a tutorial that goes with it here

 

 Today started out early and good but it wasn't long before things went South (farther South than where I am located).....not bad but one of my knitted gifts isn't going to appear under someone's Christmas tree.  I have a solution though so all is good.  I did make progress on 2 other gifts though and to sooth my wounded knitting ego I decided to start another project...an easy one I've done before so I can once again feel 'crafty'.  Yes, a Corner-to-Corner blanket!  Yay!  So fun and relaxing and crocheted so you can back out of any mistake....that is if you make one.  I apologize for the lighting.....it gets dark so early now!  This is a pink blanket as I had a bunch of pink yarn around for some reason?  It is sportweight so I am using a G hook instead of  an H which I would use if it were worsted weight yarn.  It's pretty and soft and I feel better after failing miserably on my other project.

I did work on 2 other gifts and they are coming along great except for all the interruptions...it was garbage day and the propane guy came and Nitty has to go out the garage door at different times than Annie who goes out the front door and I am up and down, up and down all day!  But it keeps me from being a couch potato.  

I have been knitting dishcloths or washcloths whatever you want to use them for.  I can knit those with no problem.  I guess I need to stick to easy projects....very easy!

I also ordered the FREE Baker Seed Co. catalog and they have it online too.  Since I can't wait for it to arrive I dragged out one from 2009.  I have the gardening bug bad!

You may be asking why I have a seed catalog from 2009.  Well, I have several of them because when they first started out they had incredible artwork on the cover.....now they have photos so I 'm glad I saved those others.  I love them and I need to find a way to use them as they're so pretty.

So..........soup and bread for supper, and then I am going to curl up in bed with my 'old' seed catalog and make my dream seed list and my grocery list and menu.  Yep!  You guessed it...I'm going to Wally World tomorrow and maybe stop at the Dollar Store too!  Yippee!  My big outing!  I hope you are all done with your Christmas shopping so you can enjoy the rest of the upcoming days or maybe shopping is what gets you in the spirit of the season?  What ever it is I hope you feel Christmassy all over!

Happy Trails!!!  

Blogmas Day #3 -December 3rd

I saw this on Pinterest and it brought tears to my eyes.......it's your little bit of Christmas for today....

I got a Christmas gift today............look............my baby greens are sprouting!!!!  So excited!!!  Thank you Roots and Refuge farm for this great idea!  It took about 2 weeks from the time I planted but I am hoping more come up because this is just in the corner.  I am going to order seeds too because I have no idea how old those seeds were plus I plan on replanting to have an ongoing supply of greens throughout the winter.  I will be ordering from Baker Heirloom Seed Company and they have FREE SHIPPING for any amount from 1 packet to 100 or more.  I might also order their catalog....they have a free one but they also have a $10 one that has articles and goes over new varieties etc.  I love going over seed catalogs in the wintertime.............

The only decorating I've done so far is this...............lol!  But I have been so busy helping Santa.....

I was able to finish up 2 gifts today and I am 1/2 done with another.  I also did laundry, took a bath, changed my sheets, cleaned litter boxes, ran uptown for canned dog food and now I have some ironing to do if I'm not too tired.  How was your Monday?  Satisfying I hope.
Happy Trails!!!

YOP Week #23

 And Blogmas Day #2 - Here's your little bit of Christmas for December 2nd...........

There are some finishes this week: 

 But some are parts of sets for Christmas so I am calling them WIPs:

Connie, thank you so much for this pattern!  It was a breeze compared to the one I tried before....I have some yellow yarn like this also so there will be a set of 2...one yellow and one green

I'm just about done with finger less mitt #1 but not sure I like how it's turning out.  The Thumb hole does not look too good.  I'll finish and see if I can repair it without it looking too bad else I will have to choose another gift for that person. 

I made homemade Chai Tea Mix as my daughter likes it and I think I'll also make some instant Spiced Tea Mix.  I used to make that for years and it's a great one.  I used to give it to co-workers and they loved it for making at work.  I want some here also.  It's perfect for those chilly afternoons with a cookie or some cheese and crackers.  Here's the Chai Tea Mix.............

 These jars will have fabric covers and these cute labels and the recipe tied on with some jute..........

My mug rug is taking the longest.............I would have been better off  'winging it" as the directions were very confusing so I just made it like I would my quilts...so the top is done and the backing and batting are cut.  I still need the binding cut and quilt the layers together but that shouldn't take too long? 

 So, Advent gifts so far: (* completed)
    * 1. Little house on the Prairie pin
    * 2. Godiva Chocolate caramels
    * 3. Christmas dish cloth
    * 4. bath bomb
    * 5. scent beads
    * 6. car scent
    * 7. LHOTP notebook
     8. Christmas Chai
     9. Mug Rug

  10. Scrubbies
  11. Lavender sachets
  12. Lemon Curd not sure I will buy or make depends on the time I have or lemon soap
These have to be finished, wrapped and mailed to get there before the 12th of December so it is the #1 priority right now!
 This is what things look like after a day of crafting!  There goes my de-cluttering!  But it is fun to make and give to people who appreciate handmade and my daughter truly does.

When I was too tired to do anything else I laid in bed, watched t.v. and worked on my Cozy Memories Blanket...about 2 squares done and 1 in the wrong direction! LOL!

 Finishes so far for 2018-2019:

1.  4th of July xs pillow
2.  Hitchhiker shawl
3.  Felici Hibiscus self-striping socks
4.  Felted wool loafer slippers with leather soles for me
5.  washcloth (extra large) and back scrubber for Christmas or birthday for SIL
6.   Iowa Hawkeye hats for Sam and Grayson
7.  Techniques learned so far this year: a) knit cast on, b) reading a knitting chart, c) lace work, d) inserting and using a lifeline e) charting a graphghan
8.   dishcloth(s)...I need to count them
9. Cubs hat for Uriah
10. 12 days of Christmas.....8 out of 12 now


I hope you had a great week and are enjoying the holidays...tomorrow is the start of Hanukkah so Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate.  Don't forget to tune in to all those Vlogmas podcasts!  What a fun time of year for all of us "makers"!
 Please stop by and see all the other fantastic projects that other  YOP'ers are working on.
Happy Trails!!!