Here is a new (to me) potholder pattern that I have worked up recently. It is crocheted all in one piece, so there is no need to add a back. It is very quick to work up, and thick enough not to burn yourself on hot pans or dishes. I made the "Americana" one after July 4. I'm still reading a whole lot, especially now that I have an i-phone, I can upload e-books from the library for free and read any time I have some free time. "Real" books currently checked out: Secret of the White Rose, Devil Colony, The Queen's Governess, Crown of Dust, The Daughter of Siena, The Lion of Cairo, Fatal Error, The Beginners, The Bone Yard, & The Illusion of Murder. In the car on audio I currently have "A Discovery of Witches" and "Smokin' Seventeen". I have requested several more from the library that I am still waiting on to upload to my i-phone e-reader.

This weekend

The above are potholders finished this weekend. Still didn't finish the other magic square (ran out of that color of yarn) or the Hot/Cold Potholder (uh, oh, the loss of interest). The floral potholder is the Rose Ripple pattern by my friend, Claudia Lowman.

These were completed in between going to an all day family birthday party yesterday, and all of our normal errands that we usually run on Saturday.

July happenings

The photo above is of some of the books I have either been reading or listening to on Audio in the car lately. They are Shoot to Thrill by P. J. Tracey and The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. I also just got done listening to the third book of the Eragon "Inheritance" Young Adult series.

The photo above is of all the potholders I got yesterday in the latest swap for July.

And saving the very best photo for last, here is my newest Grandson, E. He was born last week, and was healthy. Now my oldest Grandson, X, finally has a baby brother! DD and DH both have birthdays coming soon. I am still crocheting some on potholders, but have slowed way down. I have already sent the one for August and just need to send out two more for September and October, respectively. I think when this swap is finished in October, I will take a break from swapping for a while.

Old Fashioned Potholder

Love. This. Pattern! This pattern is called "Old Fashioned Potholder" by Cathy Irish, and can be found on Ravelry. I am in a couple of potholder swaps and wanted to find an easy pattern that was quick to make. This is the winner! I can make about 1 a day just crocheting in between the other things I do all day long. The pattern is simple, but the colors make the potholders fun to make! I used Elann Sonata, with Paton's Grace and Takhi Stacy Charles Cotton Classic thrown in sometimes, also. One potholder is made entirely with Red Heart Creme de la Creme yarn, because it is a rougher yarn than the Elann, Grace, and Takhi. Love the colors of the Creme de la Creme, but the potholder isn't quite the quality that I was looking for.

Swappin

The top two potholders are a couple that I sent to my friend Claudia in Houston as part of our 3 potholder swap. The top pattern is Potholders by Bea Aarebrot and the second one is the Gehaekelte Topflappen by Creadoo. I also sent a fish potholder from a pattern I made up a couple of years ago. Below are two more she sent my way as a "thank you" for helping her a little bit with getting started on her blog. The pattern is one she created and the pattern can be found on her blog, Delights-Gems.

More Potholder Goodness!

Look what my friend Claudia from Houston sent me yesterday! Woo hoo! Am I scoring lately, or what?!!! This lady is absolutely very talented and creative!! The "Green Eggs and Ham" and the "Tropical Sunset" are both her own creations. I personally think one day soon we will be seeing her patterns in books and magazines!

Sock Monkeys

As one of my friends mentioned, these remind her of the car commercial featuring a sock monkey who gets a "Mom" tattoo sewn on while having fun out on the town. :) I found this cute version of the Origami Hot Pad over at Violet VanderVool's project page and decided I "had" to make a couple for the twins. (AND yes, I'm going to say it) I had more fun than a barrell full of Monkeys making them!

The top photo is of all the potholders I have received so far in our swap. I am supposed to get two more soon. The next two photos are of my Mother's day "gifts" from my two children and 3 grandchildren. I got taken to lunch at my favorite Italian restaurant in North Richland Hills, TX called "Nicki's". LOVE that place! DD had decided my "old" digital camera was a dinosaur and gifted me with the new one (photo in middle). I still haven't sat down and played with it (as you can see I used "old dinosaur" to take these photos, LOL)!! I am still "potholder" obsessed and glad I am in a swap so I can crochet as many as I want and won't have them flowing out of every drawer in my kitchen! LOL!

Scalloped Potholders

I re-discovered Priscilla Hewett's Scalloped Pot Holder pattern and made two more this week. I am on a serious pot holder making binge! Good thing, because I have joined another Swap in Ravelry called Dazzling Dozen Potholder Swap and we are put in groups and then one member a month gets either 5 or 11 potholders, depending on how many months you sign up for! I got picked for the first month, so I am eagerly anticipating the potholders I will get! I think this swap is more up my alley, as it isn't just one time a year. I have been having a bunch of fun cruising Ravelry and the internet for new potholder patterns to try.

2010 Potholder Swap!!

My five potholders arrived today from the 2010 Potholder swap I participated in on Ravelry! What a lot of fun! Two of my potholders came from overseas, Germany and the UK! They are all gorgeous and I love them!

The top photo is from Lucia Rook, who also participated in the swap, but isn't a member of Ravelry or Flickr. She e-mailed to show me all the lovely potholders she received and I am sharing her photo here. The one I made is the chicken.

Chickenbetty's Disc-Disc Potholder

I am still having problems loading my photos and even TAKING photos, but managed to take a picture of my newest potholder with my cell phone camera this morning! These pictures aren't good quality, but at least you can see what I have worked on. I found this pattern on Ravelry the other night. I ordered it from ChickenBetty, but it didn't get e-mailed to me till the next day, so I looked at photos and copied it as best I could. By the time the pattern came, I already had the flower side done, so I just followed the pattern for the second side. One person on Ravelry mentioned that she nearly burned herself using it as a potholder, so I inserted hot pad material from the fabric store in between the crocheted discs. It is a little thick, but at least no one should get burned using it. I have also crocheted a couple of other things, but I'm not quite done with them yet. Two are potholders also, and one is a washcloth. Hope to have my camera up and running soon so the photo quality will be better!

I fell off the wagon again!

First, let me say that it's my neighbor's fault I fell off the baby blanket bandwagon for a day!

After we got home from Thanksgiving lunch at the neighbor's, I got a little crochet time in. I just made another potholder/hotpad for fast and easy crochet gratification. This time the pattern was a plain old standby. My neighbor had several of these in her potholder drawer, and I thought to myself that I haven't made one of those in a few years! Here is one version I found of it, "Origami Hot Pad", another is here with step by step pictures, and it is easy breezy, mindless crochet that doesn't take months and months to finish! Besides, you can never have enough potholders!

I have to work today (UGH), while the rest of the US goes shopping on the busiest shopping day of the year. Personally, I would rather just be home crocheting potholders baby blankets!

Fall fun...

Fall is here and Halloween is coming up! I love this time of the year! I remember going to the fair in September... candied apples, caramel apples, cotton candy. Then going for blocks and blocks with my big Sister at Halloween, trick-or-treating when I was little. So in the spirit of Fall, I made the potholder above from a pattern out of "The Happy Hooker" by Debbie Stoller.

Prize winnings!

The prize I won from Bron's drawing arrived by mail today! Wa hoo! Boy, does she have me figured out or what? :) This was exactly what I was hoping to win!

I am very much into making potholders and dishcloths, so this will be used up soon! Thanks again, Bron!

Playtime Chicken...

Yes, I know I am supposed to be finishing UFO's, but this colorway needed to be made into a chicken! What's a girl to do with a chicken clucking at her (in her head)?



Meet Playtime Chicken. She is made from the colorway "Playtime", with her wattle, comb and feathers out of "hot green", both by Sugar n Cream, and her pattern is from The Ultimate Book of Potholders. So far, she is my favorite color to date.

Finished Objects

I found these dishcloths (free pattern here) that I had knitted up last winter, all they needed to be finished was to have the seam sewn up! So, I finished them. Then, I found this little pig potholder (pattern in this book) that I started in the Spring. I decided to finish him up, too, so he can join the rest of my growing animal potholder farm.

Chickens anyone?

Here is a fun little quickie potholder to make:

The two completed sides, sans the facial features.

Crocheted together.

Finished potholder.

I got the pattern from the "Ultimate Book of Potholders" put out by Annie's Attic of Big Sandy, Texas. I'm such a sheep! I first saw this on Bron's blog (where else!) and followed her link over to Julie's blog. I already had the pattern book (thanks to Bron!) and when I saw it, I had to have a blue chicken! Then, X saw it and claimed it for his own. Such a good child...... he always wants anything I make him! (My motto: Train 'em young!) My son and daughter also have always liked the things I make them, whether sewn, crocheted or knitted. I'm pretty lucky that way.

Potholders, Ripples and Children

Back when Bron got on her potholder kick, I had to follow her lead and make some too. My tastes are similar to hers, I guess that is why I enjoy reading her blog so much.

A little more added to the ripple I am making into a pillow cover......

And to go with today's video in the side bar: some photos of "sweet child(s) o' mine".

my DD - Auntie Grim

My DS - C (Bubba) bet you can't figure out WHERE that nickname came from!, and my DGS - X (Spidaman).