Shell Purse with Flower

            I really need to get back to finishing my daughter’s sweater that I shared (WIP Sweater) a few weeks ago, but I find that sometimes when I’ve been working a while on a bigger project, I have the need to work on something else.  For a change of pace, I put the finishing touches on this purse I started a few months ago (yes, me getting bored with a project in the middle of it and picking up something else is a common thing around here haha). 

            The purse is in Red Heart yarn, color Burgundy, and the flower is in Red Heart, color Aran.  I used the same flower pattern that I used here: Daughter's Crochet Poncho.  For the flower, you will need to know these stitches:

            Single crochet

            Double crochet

            Half double crochet

            Half Treble crochet    

            Treble crochet

            Picot

This adorable purse pattern came from: Tangled Happy.  The purse portion is worked in a double crochet shell pattern, and the handle is in single crochet, so this is a great project if you are just beginning.

This purse, I’m planning to give to my niece, who is 5-years-old.  I think it is a great size for her!  It ended up being about 6.5” in height:

…and around 8” in width.

           

            I’m planning to make one for my daughter, but will try making it a little smaller.  This wouldn’t be huge for my 2-year-old, but I’d just prefer something a little more compact for her.  

            

           Hope this has inspired you to create something special for those little girls in your life.  I look forward to playing with color combinations with this pattern.  

Sipping Chocolate

            Have you ever indulged in this decadent drink?  I had heard of sipping chocolate, but never experienced it until recently.  I made a run to Trader Joe’s this week to replenish my stock of Cookie Butter, among other things, and saw this product:

            Chocolate was pretty much the only word I needed to suck me in, but sipping chocolate?  Oh, yes.  The name alone suggests something you get to spend time with and enjoy slowly.  My family is aware of my passion for hot chocolate.  I enjoy a cup of cocoa no matter what the weather—rain or shine, whether it is cold or hot out, it is one of my loves; therefore, it wasn’t a hard sell for me to pick up a container of this.

            After viewing some photos online, it seems sipping chocolate from scratch is probably a lot thicker than this mix turns out, although some photos did appear to look more like hot chocolate.  Maybe this is simply about preference.  No matter what is “standard” for sipping chocolate, this mix from Trader Joe’s is delicious. 

I used 1/3 cup whole milk, and the 3 Tablespoons of mix the directions call for to make Sipping Chocolate.  It also gives instructions for hot chocolate. Doesn't it look delicious?

           

            It has inspired me to make it from scratch in the near future.  Until then, I’ll be enjoying a cup of this every once in a while.  Today I am linking up with Time Warp Wife.  

Give it a look.  Blessings!

Fruit Punch Afghan

            I’m still working on my daughter’s sweater (you can view my progress here: WIP Crochet Sweater), so since I can’t share that with you today, I thought I would share something I’ve made in the past.

            A cousin of mine got married in 2012, and I made this afghan for him and his bride.  I think traditionally, a Bridal afghan is created in white, off-white/cream, etc., but I wanted this to be more personal for them.  Since I wanted it to be a surprise, I did a little recon a few months before their wedding and learned that his bride planned to use a different color dress for each of her attendants, and that they were bright, beautiful colors.  I just so happened to notice this variegated yarn soon after I began my search for yarn colors, which matches some of her bridesmaid’s dress almost perfectly!  It is Red Heart With Love, color: Fruit Punch, and I believe this required 8 full skeins of yarn, and most of a 9^th one.  I think it may have been discontinued though, because I could not find it on the Red Heart website. 

            Here is a close up of the stitches:

The pattern is very simple and flexible.  This is the one I used: The Afghan Squared

It is made holding two strands of yarn together, so even though it is a somewhat open design, it is thicker and very warm.  This pattern is usually completed in several different colors, or a minimum of 2-3 colors, which creates a wonderful affect.  It would be an excellent afghan for your yarn scraps.  However, I was going for colors that would be special to them, and I was pressed for time, so I stayed with one yarn color.  Another thing I love about this pattern—you can continue to crochet until you’ve achieved the size afghan you’d like.  The pattern begins in the center, and you continue to work the sets of 3 dc’s all the way around, increasing in each row.

            I did a simple border around the afghan to finish.  The photos truly do not do justice to the beauty of the afghan.  I had a hard time getting a photo that looked okay for some reason, but you can get an idea here:

            The Fruit Punch yarn is one you just have to see in person.  I hope you enjoyed a view of this afghan and it has inspired you to go create something special as well.  That is one of the things that I find so beautiful about crocheting, or making anything by hand—it’s the ability to create something that is sentimental to the recipient in a number of ways.  When my cousin’s bride opened the afghan, she said it gave her chills because her grandmother had made something for her with similar colors when she was a little girl.  It was a wonderful reward for all the many hours of work that I put forth. 

            If you would like to see more of the crochet ideas I like, view my Crochet board on Pinterest.  Blessings to each of you!

Waffles with Cinnamon-Honey Butter

Apparently, March 4^th was National Pancake Day.  Didn’t realize that when we woke up that morning and felt like waffles, but I figured it was close enough and a funny coincidence.  I brought out the waffle maker, my homemade baking mix, and let little man help.  He was excited to help me mix and pour ingredients into the batter.  I really should let him help more often.  I feel like there are some homeschool applications there that I can take advantage of—definitely some math opportunities, and connecting how to follow a recipe with the importance of following directions.

It’s funny to me that my little man LOVES waffles when we’re at home, but really wants pancakes when we’re having breakfast food in a restaurant.  You can read more about his disappointment about Waffle House not having pancakes in my post, The Battle of Eating Out with Kids.

Making waffles this week was also another great excuse to use up some Cinnamon-Honey Butter I had left over.  We received some syrup from Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks as a gift recently and it seemed like a great combination.  I was right!  Look at the deliciousness:

Did you participate in Pancake Day?

WIP Crochet Sweater

            I taught myself to crochet in 2000 and I have completed many, many projects since that time but I have never attempted a piece of clothing—not once.  For some reason, I have felt a little intimidated by the thought of making clothes.  Truthfully, I often enjoy projects that require minimal thought and row counting, or having to follow a pattern closely.  Finding time to crochet is a struggle some times, so I usually lean towards something I can easily pick up and complete a few rows on without having to spend precious time remembering where I left off.

            However, now that I have a daughter I have this urge to make her handmade clothes and I hate that didn’t force myself to find time to do this sooner, when she was smaller but I’m not going to focus on that.  Although we’re in the month of March now, it seems winter is still in full swing since we received another ice storm, with snow on top of it this week.  The princess is firmly in a size 2T top and can wear some 3T’s, but since winter is hopefully on its way out, I’ve decided to make this sweater a size 3T, hoping she doesn’t grow out of it by next winter before she has the chance to wear it a little.  Either way it’s a good way for me to practice.  Think I just need to get better about planning my projects.  For me, the best way to ensure that I finish some winter clothes for my children is not to start in the winter.  So maybe I’ll remember to start this summer.

            I searched through many patterns to find one that met my criteria that I mentioned above, and chose the Eloise Sweater from Moogly Blog.  Right now, I am working on the “skirt” portion, and I’m almost finished.  Probably today or tomorrow, I’ll begin on the yoke.  The original Eloise Sweater pictured is in gray with lovely rainbow stripes but I didn’t have all of that yarn on hand, or at least not colors I thought would work well together.  I wanted to use what I had, and wanted something a little more girly so I am working this in a fun pink and simple cream.  Right now, I’m trying to decide whether I’ll do the yoke in pink or cream.  I had originally thought pink, but I’m considering using the cream instead.  Here is my progress so far:

            Look forward to sharing the completed sweater with you!  What are some of your favorite sweater or clothing patterns?
            Tuesday's I link up with Time Warp Wife for Titus 2sday's.  

            Today I have linked to my Infinity Scarf Complete post.  Check it out and contact me to order your own today!  Blessings!