Crochet Me Crazy

I started this hat yesterday and finished it today...



This project has been on my "To-Do" list for some time now! I finally sat down and made this awesome scarf. I just couldn't resist!



Here is a pair of boot cuffs I made. Boot cuffs are a quick little project. I like to get some small projects going while I'm working on something larger like the horse scarf! I need my instant gratification!



This last project I have to show is part of an order for crochet slippers that I received. I have made two of the 3 pairs of slippers that I am supposed to make. The other pair, I still have to weave in ends....trying to get motivated to start on the 3rd pair!

Finished these little owl hats for my great nieces...



I made the rest of these items to sell so I'll go ahead and put the prices here in case someone stumbles upon my blog that might be shopping! :)

Baby Boy Set -- selling set for $15


Premie Baby Girl Booties - $10


Lavender Baby Hat & Booties Set - $15



Purple baby girl hat and bootie set. I love the colors on the fur trim on the hat! - $15



Pink baby girl set - $15



Boot Style Slippers with fur trim - $15

I went on a slipper making spree a few years back. I had a huge box of these made up with the intention of selling them. I'm posting these pictures here on my blog for someone to see the pictures because I was having trouble emailing them. I'm selling these for $10 a pair.


I have a size 9 foot and these all fit me...


























Size 7









Size 8

Okay, so I have made lots and lots of slippers in my lifetime but I have never kept a pair for myself. I made these with myself in mind. I get cold "feetsies" sometimes but I wanted a pair that was washable and dryable so I made these using Patons Voo-Doo yarn. I wanted a dark color so they don't get all stained. So here they are! And just in time too...it's supposed to get really cold Saturday night. I just hope I don't slip down the stairs...they are really slippery on our wood floors...I'll have to keep that in mind.


So it took my daughter less than 2 days of practicing to teach herself this. Now, she wants to learn the second part....If I know her, she'll do it. I hope the video works...

Still just trying to work through the shock of our new reality. I woke up this morning praying and asking God what is going on here? I know I must keep my faith. Jeff getting this job had so renewed my faith that God was taking care of us...so now that it's been taken away, does that mean he's not? NO WAY! I know it's not true so I'm just trying to sort it all out and hoping God will show us what to do. It's a strange feeling to for us to be so happy but so sad at the same time...I love our life but I feel like crying.

This was the verse on my blog today:
You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone
by.
Job 11:16

I had started preparing the following blog post about my Prairie Star afghan yesterday, before I got the bad news....so this was actually going to be yesterday's post..........................................................

I had a little bit of trouble with joining my first 6 stars last night and I actually cheated a little bit! You can't tell that I didn't do it *right* though so I went ahead. Then, I looked at the pattern and realized it says it is for "Advanced Experience" crocheter. I told my husband that I'm about to find out whether I am an advanced experience crocheter! The pattern really doesn't go into a lot of explanation on how to join. It just helps you through the first two and then says do the rest of them the same way except watch your placement. Well, I got through that and then decided to do a little search just to make sure I'm doing it right before I ventured further. I found this nice little YouTube that gives you an overview of the joining process:
Prairie Star Afghan joining overview - YouTube
This video is a general clarification but she also has some step by step videos if you need more help. I was able to confirm the process by watching this one.

However, I don't really think the Simply Soft yarn that I am using is a great yarn to use for this project. It's a very limp yarn and I think this would look better in a sturdier yarn. I'm in too deep to pull out now though plus I'm enjoying making this so I will carry on and perhaps I will make this again. I'd like to do one with the varigated yarn included like the pattern calls for.


~SLIPPERS~

Here are the two pairs of slippers, modeled by my lovely daughter, that I had finished before the Prairie Star inspiration overtook me.

It was a beautiful day here today but even the sun didn't warm us up enough for me. Alison had her friend, Phoebe, spend the night last night and they stayed up too late and slept too late today. Then, they were doing their school work together and it took them all day to finish. The finished with only enough time to ride the 4-wheeler for a little while, feed the horses and cows, and now Jeff has taken them into town to go to the store. They are vowing to go to sleep early tonight so they won't be tired at the stables tomorrow....we'll see how that goes!

I'm starting to plan my Thanksgiving dinner. It's been so long since I've made Thanksgiving dinner that I forgot what I used to make other than Turkey and Dressing. It'll just be lonely old us out here but at least we'll have a Thanksgiving this year.

Presenting the next pair of slippers I have finished. I love the colors in these.
They are really soft, too.



I'm working on a pair for myself right now. I sure needed them last night! It was really cold here!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quote of the Day:

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

-Thomas Edison

Well, it seems to take less than a ball of this chunky yarn to make a pair of this style slippers.

I had made the soles of another style of slipper and I ran out of this yarn so I undid the whole thing and made these instead. I still have a little bit left so I guess it'll go into my scrap blanket.

My computer has been having major issues with running very slow and taking forever to start-up. I did a little searching on the internet and ended up running this free program called Advance System Care on it. It is still running now and has been literally running ALL DAY to scan my computer. It checks for Malware, does a registry scan, cleans junk files, defragments and does a whole bunch of other stuff. I seriously hope this helps...apparently my computer is very fragmented. That is the part that is taking forever. I thought I was using a defragmenter already but apparently the program I've been using, or attempting to use, was aborting the process before it was finished and I have no idea why. Anyway, hopefully this helps!

Except for the part of waking up before the sun comes up and then not being able to go back to sleep because of this time change, which I hate. My body is still trying to adjust to it. I get up and put my water on to boil while I go throw some clothes on and bring my computer downstairs. By then, my water is boiling so I pour it into my french press (which I LOVE, by the way!) I leave my coffee to steep while I walk to the chicken coop to let the chickens out and throw their scratch. I actually enjoy doing this. The chickens are always happy to see me because they know I'm going to throw that yummy stuff on the ground for them. I come back in and my coffee is ready. I sit down to drink my coffee while I read my emails and check my blog, etc. By now, I'm either going down to the barn to feed the horses or I might start to see another person in my house start to rouse to go feed the horses. This morning, Alison got up to do it because she's planning on riding today. I know other people are starting to wake up too because usually the owner's dogs coming running down to our house to say "Hello". Now, sometimes I cook breakfast and sometimes I don't...today, I believe is a "don't" day. I think I will be sticking around here today. Alison doesn't have dance and I would be taking her to see her horse, Princess, but I think Jeff is going to the stables today anyway to do a job for Mr. Stable so I'll let him take her. It's cold outside today and I feel like staying in. I'll just do some domestic things around here today and work on the slippers I have on my hook. I finished a pair of slippers last night...
Here they are:

I made these out of a yarn called "Voo Doo" by Patons that I got at a Dollar Store years ago. I absolutely hate this yarn. It is extremely hard to work with and there is very little you can use it for but it works well for slippers. I am disappointed that after making these slippers that I still have several balls left in this color and I also have some more in brown. I will force myself to make another pair of slippers with the brown. I really want to use all this stuff up so I can quit looking at it taking up space.

I have been crocheting for at least 5 years now almost daily and have made hundreds of slippers but I found myself astonished at the brilliance of the people that come up with these patterns! It's a simple easy to follow pattern but I didn't really understand how it was going to come together to make what was supposed to be a slipper. I just continued doing what the pattern stated and lo, and behold -- it is a slipper!! Wow, no sewing or seams on this one. This is crocheted all in once piece. Amazing pattern design! Apparently this slipper has been around for awhile. I just had never found it until now. This is why I love to crochet so much. I'm still learning.

I got the pattern from this Annie Potter book:



They look kinda goofy when they aren't on your foot.

Once you get them on, they look totally different.



I made this bootie style pair from the same book. It uses the same technique. It looks especially goofy when its not on your foot but when you put it on, it's quite cute I think!



I almost didn't make these because they are all made with single crochet which I hate but they work up very quickly. I'm glad I decided to try it after all.

The kids were invited to youth service tonight with a girl from Alison's dance. We took them over there to go to that. They both had a good time at that and came home all hyper! They are invited to go with the same youth group to the corn maze in Hondo Friday night. I told them they couldn't go because some of my sister's are coming to town. They had such a good time tonight...they are begging to go to that on Friday now. Jeff says we should go ahead and let them go...we'll see.

We worked on the getting the new fence and gates up this weekend.
The new fence looks so nice! Too bad I won't get to enjoy it for long!






Hexagon Boot Slippers by Priscilla Hewitt

Well, at least slippers are quick projects that I can sit down and work on here and there in between packing and working on the house.

We spent a little bit of time with my oldest sister and her boyfriend who were in town this weekend. We didn't get to visit with them as much as we normally do when they come because of all we have going on right now. It's always nice to see them when they come. She bought slippers from me for her and her daughter. Snapped a picture of those before they took them:




Other slippers completed: