Crochet Me Crazy

Yesterday, was a busy day. I cooked chicken and dumplings and we decorated the christmas tree and wrapped presents. I woke up feeling a little icky so I was having a hard time. We had a big mess all over the house and we had to get it all cleaned up.

Alison is so sweet. How many 16 year olds do you know that buy Christmas presents for all of her family and friends with their own money! And she buys good presents too! She was wrapping her presents. She's always so thoughtful.



She saw this Mickey Mouse hat for her "new" nephew and wanted him to have it early so he got to open it yesterday. He LOVES Mickey Mouse!



It was so fun and easy to shop for Brennan this Christmas! I think Alison ended up buying him 4 presents and I bought him 4 things and I crocheted him a Mickey Mouse Ears hat...speaking of which, I need to take a picture of that! It's fun having little ones around for Christmas! Mine are not so little anymore!

Today I got a big order from a friend for Christmas presents. Mostly of stuff I had already crocheted but I had to make another Cluster Stitch Cowl (just like the brown one I already posted). I'm also busy trying to get stuff made for Christmas presents.

I've got a scarf for my son's wife and the cowl I made today to get pictures of but I did get this Christmas gifts finished tonight and managed to get a picture before I head to bed. I'm going to try to get another one of these sets made this week for Alison's dance teacher. And I also have to get another scarf finished by Friday that is a Christmas gift.



I will put something in the mug...either some coffee or I'm thinking of making these Cream Cheese Mints...I vaguely remember having something like this as a kid and thinking they were wonderful. Anyway, worth a try since it can't get much easier!



Cream Cheese Mints

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
exactly 1/2 teaspoon peppermint or spearmint extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth,
add the extract and some of the powdered sugar and
mix until combined well. Then add the remaining sugar
and mix until well combined.

Shape into 1/2" balls and place them on a parchment
lined cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork and then
chill until ready to serve. Store in the refrigerator
in an airtight container for up to two weeks or
freeze for up to two months.

Recently, in November, a photographer friend of mine generously took our pictures. She took some amazing photos for us. I love this picture of Alison with her horse she posted for us today....depicts Alison and her horses bond beautifully.

These work up really quick. I had an order for a girly looking hat for a 2 1/2 year old so I made three for her to choose from! Maybe I can sell the others. That's the last of the orders I had to do. I need some more orders! I guess I'll start working on Christmas gifts and scarves for Alison in the meantime.

I'm enjoying my little job but I'm dreading having to get out of the house today. A cold front came in and it's bitterly cold out there to me! Freezing weather. I'm going to have to go start my car and thaw it out before I leave. Hope there's no ice on the roads.

I'm making scarves to sell but Alison is taking first choice on them. She almost took this set but she is wanting infinity style scarves so I'm going to make her a brown infinity scarf instead. She wore the scarf to youth last night and got compliments. This is a really soft, fuzzy yarn. I used the last I had of this yarn so I won't be making another one of these. I realize I definately am probably not charging enough for my stuff because we went shopping yesterday afternoon a little bit. The infinity scarves in Bealle's were $36! Cheaper versions are still running $20 which is what I've been charging and mine are handmade. I was selling this whole set for $30!



This one is the last set I had to complete for a special order.



Alison is keeping this scarf. Super simple to make. I made my beginning chain long enough to wrap and then HDC in the back loops back and forth using a Super Big P Hook. Then joined it together. The yarn is a bulky Bernat Frenzy. Love this yarn!



Last but not least...another pineapple infinity scarf...

If you use iron skillets, then you will really appreciate these. This is one thing that I personally use all the time.

I use double strands of crochet cotton to make these.



I filled out the paperwork and met the lady I'll be providing for today. This job will come naturally to me. The lady is really sweet. The only thing I'm worried about with this job is how much it will tug at my heart strings. My mother died of Alheimer's 4 years ago and I watched over her the last two years of her life. I'm afraid it will be very reminiscent for me.

Dance rehearsals are really heating up. We are having classes most every day and long hours. Alison is the Prima-Ballerina this year and has the lead part. She will really get to shine this year!

I've been pretty busy. We spent the past 4 days after Thanksgiving working at the stables doing trail rides. Been a long time since we've worked so it was fun spending time with the horses.

Princess is in the Christmas spirit...




I am way behind on taking pictures of crocheted stuff....I boxed these fingerless gloves up before I realized I hadn't taken a picture of them so I opened the box back up and took these pictures real quick.



I know one looks bigger but it's just because the second pair is made with a real fluffy soft yarn but I used the same pattern for both.

Here they are on my hand...




I have finished 3 hat and fingerless glove sets, two infinity scarves for Alison, and I'm finishing up a hat and scarf set tonight that I need to get pictures of some time this week.

I will have a little less time to crochet because I'm probably going to start a job on Wednesday! I'm going to be a provider for an elderly lady with dementia. As long as I can find my social security card in storage somewhere!! If that goes as planned then I can start on Wednesday. I'm meeting with Home Healthcare lady tomorrow and going to the lady's house for orientation. It's perfect for me because it's only 16 hours a week and it's all the morning and only on weekdays. It won't interfere with me running Alison to all of her activities and I'll have a little extra spending money. Also, I really love elderly people so I might even enjoy it.

Ran across this cute ear warmer free pattern today and it went on my "TO DO" list:

This just went on my to-do list today. Free Pattern/Tutorial - Knot Knitted Headband