More Babycakes!!!

So, today I was reading my daily fix of The Pioneer Woman blog and she has a post all about babycake mini treats!!!

Image my surprise to learn that there is not just one babycake cupcake machine (which I have), BUT also a donut, a cake pop, and a moonpie babycake machine!!

I so want to try them all out, especially the cake pop machine! She has a giveaway for all 3 babycakes and I entered! I hope I win...then I think I will have to open a babycake business! LOL!

Sock Monkey Hat

A friend wanted a sock monkey hat for her grandson. We found a pattern online and I worked on it this week!

I used this pattern. I raided my stash of yarn and found a burgundy, gray and black Simply Soft yarn by Caron plus a white that I think is Vanna's choice. The only change I made was the size and I added one more increase row to make it a little bigger.





Turned out cute and I may try the pattern in different colors! Can't wait to see this Sock Monkey Hat on the little guy!

Mystery Quilt

We had so much fun with the last round robin border project, my quilt group decided to do it again!

This time our "leader" Linda (she is an expert quilter who helps us with handouts and we meet at her home), decided to do a Mystery Quilt pattern. We met last weekend and she gave us the instructions on what type of fabric to buy, how much, and how to cut it all out. Next month, we will get the instructions for how to start the first block. There will be six blocks all together, and our finished quilt will be 40"x40".

On the Yarn Hop this weekend, I found my fabric! There is a fun quilt shop in Yoder!
We were told to buy...
Fabric A--Lightest and Brightest
Fabric B--Deepest and Darkest
Fabric C--Plaid or Multi-Print
Fabric D--Bold Stripe


My quilt is going to be pretty! I can't wait to start sewing!!!

Bobble Hat

I have been cleaning up magazines and go thru patterns for my "bucket list" of projects. Boy, do I have a list!!! I am going on the Central Kansas Yarn Hop this weekend and I am sure to find plenty of yarn for my new projects!

I found this hat in one magazine and wanted to work on it. I had RED yarn and it is perfect to match my RED coat for winter!

If you would like the pattern, let me know...I could email it to you!

I used Red Simply Soft by Caron and J hook. I had a little trouble at the end with the brim or edge, but it turned out cute!

4th Times A Charm for a Baby Blanket

So girls, I believe I said in an e-mail that I wanted to crochet a baby blanket for my new nephew but I thought that might be a little too ambitious since I just learned to crochet. But I thought I would go for it anyway. I found a really simple pattern and bought some yarn and off I went.

I started off good and then something just didn't look right so I took it out and started over 3 times. The I decided I should probably look at my crochet book. OH! I was doing it right. Instead of doing a single crochet I was basically chaining on top of chains. Once I figured that out
I had the blanket done in a little over a week.

Here are a few things I learned:
1) How to change colors. I got lots of practice on this project
2)I still need to work on tension because even though the rows were even the stitches became looser in the middle and it was lope-sided until I washed it.
3) I think I need to crochet all winter because it sure keep me warm while working on it

I gave it to my new nephew Ethan yesterday. Ethan had the shivers while I was holding him so he got use it already.

Here are some pics.

And Ethan with his blankie...

I used Bernat Satin yarn in lapis (blue), banana, snow (white) and sandstone. Let me if you would like the pattern. The blankie turned out super cute and really soft. And as a bonus it matches some of Ethan's other things.

Recipe!

I have posted before how I am a little obsessed with The Pioneer Woman blog, books, TV show, etc

Today, I came across a recipe from her Tasty Kitchen page for HOMEMADE GOLDFISH CRACKERS!!!!!



I love goldfish crackers! I am so excited about the possibilities and all the shapes and flavors I could make!!

We should have a Goldfish Party with all the kids! :) Made me smile today and I can't wait to make some little cheesy pillows of goodness!!!

Jazmine's Baby Gift

I wanted to give Tonya something homemade for the baby so, back in July I crocheted a baby blanket, hat and booties! I made them early and entered them into the Lyon County Fair!



All three projects were made from Simply Soft yarn by Caron. The blanket is my new favorite pattern for baby gifts and came from Lion Brand Yarn's website. The Little V-Stitch Blanket...it is fast and easy! The booties are also a Lion Brand Yarn pattern, Easy Booties.
The hat is a free crochet pattern called Newborn Baby Hat. (I can't remember the website, sorry.) I added the little flower and a scallop edge.

The blanket and booties both took White Ribbons at the Fair! Here they are on display at the Fair in August.



I was able to give them to Jazmine yesterday in the hospital and I can't wait to see her in them!

Baby Bibs

Here are a couple of bibs I made up for some Bunco Babies:

I saw a bib similar on someone else's crochet blog but she had gotten the pattern from a magazine.  Since I didn't have that magazine I searched trusty ole Ravelry and found this pattern for potholders.
I stopped earlier than the pattern called for so the bib wouldn't be too big for the baby's chest.  Then I added a simple chain for the ties. 

The handsome boys posing with Aren are the recipients of these bibs:

Aren is the oldest, then Micah (in the middle) about 2 weeks later, then Mason 10 days after that. 

Projects?

I know there are being projects worked on - anyone have pics to share?  I have a project to share but I can't post on here until I give it away - don't want to risk the recipient getting a sneak peek!  (I should be able to post pics after Thursday.)
I'm also working on something else, but, again, I can't show it yet. 
Whatcha doooin'? 

Quilting Group

Remember I posted a short time back about a quilting group that I am in????
http://howcraftyarewe.blogspot.com/2011/01/quilting-project.html


Well, we have been working on each others blocks and adding a border each month.

Here is an update of my quilting so far....

This is my first project after my own block. The original block had was the little 9 patch in the center. I turned it added the light brown triangles and blue/white border on the edge.

This was my block after the second trade. The original block is the brown and white in the middle. The next border put on was the grayish and pink. Then it was my turn and I added the pink stripped border. Not my favorite block, just because I wanted to do so much more, but ran out of time and material!

I am so happy with how this one turned out! My third border and block. I added the white and green triangle looking border on the very edge. I learned a lot on this one, took my time, measured correctly and think it looks good!

It has been so much fun and my next meeting is tomorrow, where we will trade for the fourth time!

I LOVE PUZZLES!

I have loved puzzles since I was little. Mom and Dad plus my grandparents always had plenty of puzzles for me to do. I remember a "Where's the Beef?" hamburger puzzle. I remember a "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM" puzzle that was all scoops and super hard! I had a really pretty whale, ocean scene that I framed and put on my bedroom wall in high school. I often wonder where all our childhood puzzles have gone to??

For Christmas this past year, I asked for a puzzle and got one! Since then, I have been on the look out for good 1000 piece puzzles at the bookstore, thrift shops or Graves drugstore. Our new coffee table makes the perfect puzzle board and fits most all of them...so far.

My niece, Lily, loves them too! She is really good at putting them together and we often play with puzzles when at mom and dad's. It's a family thing!

Here are a few I have completed over the past few months.....













Do you like puzzles too???

Cloth Wipes!

I wanted to make some new wipes up for this babe.  I've got some that I made when Alex was born but we still use those on both the boys when they go, so it will be nice to have two sets handy.  Plus, I already had the material, so its not like I actually had to spend money on this project!  (Well, I guess I spent the money sometime last year, but since it was so long ago, it doesn't seem like I spent anything...ya know?)

I've been procrastinating on doing the whole project - mainly because my sewing machine is cheap and the thread gets all boogery quite often.  No fun.  (One of the main reasons I bought a ring sling instead of making my own - I just couldn't handle the stress of constantly re-threading while working on such a big project!)  So, little by little, I've been getting the wipes done.  One night I cut out some of the flannel material.  Tonight, I matched some of those squares up w/ the terry cloth.  I pinned and cut about 10-12 wipes, and got about 6 sewn.  I've still got quite a bit to finish up but I like that I'm able to at least hold some of the finished product. 

All of my project tools and materials.  Big terry cloth laid out on the table, w/ the flannel on the left, measuring/cutting tools, then the cut/pinned wipes waiting to be sewn, with the completed wipes bottom right.

I sewed 3 wrong sides together then flipped it inside out and sewed the 4th side.  They aren't perfect and they aren't too pretty but they'll get the job done!

I'm currently looking up info on putting our wipes in a wipe warmer.  I want to keep these warm for his little tooshie but don't want to burn the wipes, or grow bacteria in them.  From what I've read, it seems pretty simple.

Chopping Blocks

My Grandpa passed away in May of 2010. Grandpa worked for for the railroad most of his career. Grandpa built the house that he raised four kids in. Even though it wasn't my everyday home, I grew up there too.

So, you can imagine that the house and garage were FULL. Over 50 years worth of our family life was lived in that house. One of the things I got from the house was a chopping block one of his hobbies was wood working.

So, as you can imagine he had LOTS of wood in the garage when we were cleaning things out. My husband, mom and I hauled 3 truck loads full of wood that could not be used to a burn pile. We donated some to the local high school for the shop teacher to use but we still had a nice pile.

I thought and thought about what we could do with some of the wood and said to Heath that we should make some cutting boards like the one grandpa made.

So we made a trip down to the house when no one was around and picked up some wood.

Heath bought a piece of walnut to add to the lighter colored oak that we had and we got the rest of our supplies.

We laid out the wood.

Then, started gluing.

It may look a little rough looking after we glued it but that's okay because what we didn't get wiped off the surface was sanded away.

Then we clamped.

We left the boards clamped for a week. They could have been cut sooner but we wanted to make sure they were nice and stuck besides we didn't have time during the week.

Then we cut.

Then we were ready to sand and oil.

After the first oiling.

I read that the boards need to be oiled once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for as long as they are used. We used mineral oil because it is the only oil that we will not go rancid. I bought 3 bottles from the pharmacy area of the store.

The finished product after being given to my mom and dad for Christmas.

In all we spent under $60 for all the supplies (except for the wood, which was free). We made three large cutting boards and a smaller cutting board.

I gave one to my parents and one to each of my brothers and sister-in-law. Now they have something that was inspired by grandpa but made by Heath and I. And while it may appear that Heath did all of the work, he did not. I just had camera duty and trust me, there was glue and saw dust and mineral on my camera from being on my hands.

Sorry this post was so delayed. I wanted to wait until after the gifts were given for Christmas and then we got into house hunting mode. And now I am typing this from my craigslist find of a desk in my new office in my new house (more on that to come).

So, what do you think? Do the new ones look like the original (at the top) that grandpa made?

MY BLOG!!!

Okay girls, here you go!!
Lost in the Woods--my blog, complete with pics of the new hair! I have a growing list of thoughts, funnies and other stuff to blog about. Enjoy! :) I will keep posting crafty things on this one too.

http://lostinthewoods-erin.blogspot.com/

Diaper Cover

I started the diaper cover on Sunday and finished it today.  It really did work up very quickly.  I'll have to use either safety pins or a Snappi to hold it closed.  (I'll put either a prefold or a fitted under this.)

Baby girl hat

As many of you have seen on my blog, I posted the completed project that I've been working on - a sleep sack and hat for "Arlo."  I also snuck in a little time to make a hat for a friend who had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago.  I mailed it on Friday so hopefully she gets it in the mail before she looks at this blog (if she'll even look here, being busy with a new baby and all!).

knockoff....

i found this blog yesterday and instantly fell in LOVE with it....... http://knockoffdecor.com/

it's basically A LOT of DIY tutorials to make stuff that resembles things from Pottery Barn, William-Sonoma, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrell, Pier 1, etc.......it's the BEST thing ever!!

I think I'm gonna make this http://knockoffdecor.com/moss-monogram/ over the weekend to hang on my front door for the Spring ......super easy, super cute and super cheep.....Pottery Barn sells them for $79 bucks......

Can you help me?

You've heard (read) about the sleep sack I'm making for this (still nameless) baby.  I've gotten to a point where I don't feel comfortable going further for fear that I might have to rip out more than I might already have to .....


So when I first read the pattern, I felt quite confused about what it meant by where to mark for the sleeves.  I finally felt comfortable enough to continue on, and marked at row 13 as stated.  I then saw that the "bodice" was crocheted from the waist up, not the neck down, so I thought maybe that was why I was confused.  But now that I'm working on the sleeves, it seems so wrong!  My sleeves look way too big.  But when I look at the photo posted with the pattern, it does look like it is 13 rows from the waist.  My bodice has 38 total rows as stated in the pattern.  So think you can take a look at my pics and the patterns pics and tell me where I'm going wrong??  Thanks!

(Also, when I work the math, it checks out - 38 rows in the bodice, minus the 13 rows that were not intended to have sleeves, = 25.  As I was crocheting the sleeves, I came up with 50 all the way across - 25 for the front bodice, 25 for back.  So if I'm doing everything like the pattern says, and the math works out, WHY do the sleeves look so big??)
Here is the pattern.
Here is my sleep sack so far:

 Also - I looked at the pattern again and saw that my sleeves, at their widest point, should measure 7.5 in. across, and mine measure 11in!!  So how can my math work out but the inches are so wrong?
WAHHH!!  I need help!!

New Book and Website

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Just wanted to tell you about a new book I have started reading. Casey bought it for me for Valentine's Day (don't let that fool you...the girls at Town Crier help him each holiday/birthday) and I finally started it this week.

The Pioneer Woman (Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, A Love Story) by Ree Drummond

It is fabulous and had me hooked the first 10 pages...I love the way she writes! It is going to be good and I am sucker for love stories!

She lives in OK with her hubby aka Marlboro Man and their 4 kiddos. She has a website... www.thepioneerwoman.com
I thought someone told me about her website, but I don't know who? She is on Facebook and today got a fab recipe post I can't wait to try!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

My first LOOM!

Several of my knitting friends are multi-talented...not only do they sew, knit, crochet but also spin and weave!! I have been fascinated with weaving the past year and Casey totally surprised me with a LOOM for Christmas...actually 2! A little one and a larger table top loom! My weaving friends gave me suggestions and helped me get started...I won't bore you with all the details....and TA DA....the first scarf on my LOOM!


I choose 3 colors and decided to make stripes!


It took some getting use to, but is so fun!
My dad is going to help with some minor adjustments and repairs. (Casey bought the loom from a local guy who makes them or refurbishes them...so it wasn't new, new.)

I am super excited to start weaving more crazy fibers and textures and make cool scarves! I can also do runners, place mats, small rugs, etc. BUT I LOVE SCARVES!!!

Baby Blanket

Now that Idol is over for the night....I can blog!!!

My friend Andra had her second girl on January 25th...Vivana Clara Baldwin! She is adorable and already a month old weighing 10lbs! I wanted to make something for her and started in December (I think) on this fun blanket pattern.

http://caron.com/projects/ss_paints/ssp_candy_cable_blanket.html

The pattern was in 2 pastel colors and I wanted to do something fun and bright! Andra originally planned the nursery in polka dot brights so, I thought this was perfect. She did change the nursery colors, but oh well...baby will never know! I used multi-colored sock yarn and Caron simply soft solids to make the stripes.

It was fun and crocheted along pretty fast, but the more rows added...the longer it took to complete one round! It was crazy! Only 36 rows and an easy pattern to follow, but it would take me an hour or more to do those last several rows!!!

I hope she likes it...I am going to give it to her tomorrow. :)

So I went to create a Blog today and it asks my Blog name???? OH NO, I am stuck already. I need to think of a clever title. Hmmm.......I will have to come back to that later.

Any other Blog site favorites out there??

Quilting Project

I have wanted to learn how to quilt for a long time. I am not really a "quilt" person in the traditional since. I have always wanted to make a T-shirt quilt, blue jean quilt or use scraps of fabric to make hodge podge quilts. Maybe even go back to my cross stitch days and make baby quilts!
Anyways, some of the ladies in my Tuesday Night Knitting group quilt also. There are 3 of us that wanted to learn so we got together in December and started a little quilting group. We decided to choose a pattern for one block. Each of us will work on our one block then pass it to the next person. They will add a border of some type and we will pass it again, and so on. When we are done, each of us will get our completed quilt back!
I am super excited and was a little nervous to start.
Last Sunday, we met and started on our blocks. I got a used sewing machine this summer (this is the first I have used it!), found a pattern, fabric and borrowed quilting supplies to get started.



Above is my work station and fabric!


Here is the pattern that I am editing with help to make it smaller. It is called Snowballs....I am using different colors and making a smaller block.



I found the swirly circle, red and black fat quarters at Joann's and realized I needed at least 2 more colors. So, I went to our local quilting store, Prairie Pieces, and picked out 2 more fat quarters..the check and yellow dot.


Today, I sat down and worked on my first part...the big squares with red triangles in the corners. Then I got adventurous and thought "why not just keep going"...so I did!!


I measured out the side strips and corner squares then pieced it all together!


I am so excited and happy that I finished my first block!!! Mind you, I have no idea if I did it all correctly and some of it measures off, but I think it is cute!!

Now that I have got use to my sewing machine. I am so excited to try out other projects. I have pants that need to be hemmed and curtains that I want to shorten and change with my new living room furniture....but that is another blog!