Fingerless Mitts

I have been on a fingerless mitts kick lately. These are pictures of only 3 of the pairs that I've made. I have been using this pattern:

Size 6 DPN's
CO 40 st. Divide them 12,12,16 on your needles.
K2,P2 for 40 rows
BO 6 st- finish row
CO 6 st- finish row
K2,P2 for a total of 60 rows(women's), 63 rows (men's)
BO

Super, dee-duper easy. And they take about 50g of WW wool. First two pics are Patons Merino Wool and the last pic is mercerized cotton.

Thank you Dooger and Tony for being my hand models!

Log Cabin Blanket for Dad- WIP

Obviously these are progress pictures.

This is from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book. However, I'm using stash yarn. I am only using wool for this blanket. So far I have Patons Merino wool and some Handspun Llama in there. Oh wait, also a yarn called Melody. That's the lighter green in the second picture. I wanted to show you my progress....but I had just cast on another row..grr..

Weather Resistant Clothespin Bag

How can a clothespin bag this cute be weather resistant?


Because it's made out of highly durable nylon Mason Line! Here's what Wikipedia had to say about nylon:
Characteristics
Variation of luster: nylon has the ability to be very lustrous, semilustrous or dull.
Durability: its high tenacity fibers are used for seatbelts, tire cords, ballistic cloth and other uses.
High elongation
Excellent abrasion resistance
Highly resilient (nylon fabrics are heat-set)
Paved the way for easy-care garments
High resistance to:
insects, fungi and animals
molds, mildew, rot
many chemicals
Used in carpets and nylon stockings
Melts instead of burning
Used in many military applications

(I italicized my favorite part!)

Here's the pattern: **This hasn't been tested, let me know of any problems!!**

Materials: Multipurpose Mason Line-twisted nylon. Uses about 10feet of line.
(pattern uses white and high visibility yellow)
G hook, stitch marker

ch31 with white
R1- sc in 2nd ch and each to last ch, 3sc in last ch, sc in rem loops of original ch to last ch, 2 sc in last ch. (62) do not join
R2- 2sc in 1st sc (mark 1st sc as new row), sc in 28, 2sc in next 3 sc, sc in 28, 2sc in 2, do not join.(68sc)
**Continue to move stitch marker up with each row**
R3-5- sc in each sc, cut white at end of row 5, join yellow
R6-22- sc in each, cut yellow at end of row 22, join white
R23-27- sc in each, cut white at end of row 27, join yellow
R28- sc in each
R29- sc in 10sc, sl st in 20sc, sc in 38sc
R30- sc in 10sc, ch1, turn
R31- sc in 48sc, ch1, turn,
R32-36- Repeat row 31. At end of row 36, ch19 and join with first sc of row.
R37- ch1, sc in join and next 4sc, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 29, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in last 5sc and each ch across, sl st to 1st sc.
R38- ch1, sc in join and next 3sc, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 27, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 23, join
R39- ch1, sc in join, sc dec twice, sc in 1, sc dec twice, sc in 21, sc dec twice, sc in 1, sc dec twice, sc in 20, join
R40- ch1, sc in join, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 21, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 20, join
R41- ch1, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 19, sc dec, sc in 1, sc dec, sc in 19, join
R42- ch1, sc dec 3 times, sc in 14, sc dec 4 times, sc in 14, sc dec, join
R43- sk join, sc dec 3 times, sc in 6, sc dec 6 times, sc in 6, sc dec 3 times (incl sk 1st sc)
R44- sl st in each st, cut and finish.

You can put an edging around the opening if you want...but you don't have to, this doesn't stretch like cotton.

Here's a shot of the hanger I used. It's an 18" doll hanger. You can find them here if nowhere else. Otherwise, just be creative and mutate a normal hanger to fit!


Here is what the Mason Line looks like.


If I re-do this I will use straight white. While the yellow has a neat look to it, the dye used to make it yellow make the nylon very sticky-ish. It is hard to work with and makes your hands and arms tired. The white is silky soft and crochets up quite nicely. :)

Sunday Dinner Shepherd's Pie

Oh. Mercy. This was incredible. And yet again, we are just a bunch of pigs and ate it all before I could get a picture!!

Sunday Dinner Shepherds Pie
by Elizabeth Mareno

3-4 B/S chicken breasts, cubed
2 Tbl olive oil
salt and pepper
1 can cond cream of mushroom soup
1 can green beans, drained
1 can kernelled corn, drained ** Don't use creamed, it gets too runny
3 C dry stuffing (traditional stuffing-if you use instant, follow pkg directions for making)
1 pkg Garlic Herb instant mashed potatoes**like the four cheese, it comes in boxes of two
8 oz shredded cheddar
milk**for the potatoes
butter**for the potatoes & stuffing
Casserole Dish like the Oval Baker

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook chicken thoroughly in olive oil over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Make your stuffing while your chicken is cooking. When chicken is cooked through, add can of soup and drained veggies. Cook until well mixed. Place in casserole dish.

To make stuffing: Put 3 C of dry stuffing into a bowl. Heat up 3/4 C water and 1Tbl butter on stove and pour over stuffing. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Layer your pie like so: Chicken mixture, cheese, stuffing, potatoes

Bake for 25 minutes.

YUM! Like eating Sunday Dinner without all of the mess! You might want to serve some cranberry sauce and a salad with this one!! Enjoy!

South Western Baked Goulash

No pictures again.

Southwestern Baked Goulash
by Elizabeth Mareno

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 Tbl Cumin
salt and pepper
1 can tomatoes/green chilis (Rotel type product) ,drained
1 can southwest style corn, drained
8 oz uncooked elbow mac
8 oz or more of shredded cheddar
8x11 or 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown meat and onion and spices (salt and pepper to taste). Cook pasta while meat is cooking. When meat is cooked and onions are soft, add tomatoes/chili mix and corn to meat. Add about 1/3 of cheese to mixture. Drain noodles and add to mixture. Place in casserole dish, top with the remaining cheese and cook for about 25 minutes.

Cheeseburger Shepherd's Pie

Sorry to say that I have no pictures to share with you on this one. We pretty much inhaled it so fast I couldn't have taken a picture of anything but the crispy bits left on the pan....

Cheeseburger Shepherd's Pie
by Elizabeth Mareno
**If somebody else already put this recipe out there..I have no idea..I just made it up as I went along.**

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 large onion chopped
1 can cond cream of mushroom soup
1 can green beans (drained)
1 can kernelled corn (drained) **Don't use creamed-makes it too runny(DH knows! LOL)
8 oz shredded cheddar**put as much as you like, this is just a place to start
1 pkg four cheese instant tatoes **they usually come in a box with two packages
milk **for the potatoes
butter **for the potatoes
salt and pepper
8x11 or 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 375.

Brown meat and onion on a medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Make your potatoes while your meat is cooking. When meat is cooked through and onions are soft(which they will be as long as you add the onions to the meat right away) drain the meat if you want. If you don't care (like me) add the soup and let it heat up with the meat. It will get sort of melty. Once the soup and the meat are mixed well add your drained vegetables and mix. (if you really aren't diggin' the veggies and just want the meat, leave them out)

Layer your pie like this: Meat mixture, Cheese, Potatoes.

A 9x13 pan can spread it a little thin. But some 8x11 pans can seem too small. You'll have to use your judgement and make sure you have something in your oven to catch possible drips or Oh Lordy will your kitchen Stink! I usually use the "Oval Baker" from Pampered Chef. Not that I'm trying to advertise from them, but this pan works really well.

Cook for about 25 minutes.

Our family has decided this is a new 'staple' in our food rotation. It is just that good!

Stefani's Babette: Punk Rock Rainbow

The Punk Rock Rainbow is well under way. In fact it's almost done. I am only 2-12row, 1-10row and 2-8row squares away from being completed. Then it's just the piecing together which is the funnest part. (yes, I just said funnest. on purpose.)

This is a shot of my yarn. I haven't used anything more except black. I'm on my third skein of that. I find it hilarious that they haven't caved in on themselves and made a huge mess for me yet. Heck, I don't think I'm even going to have to crack open any second skeins of the colors. I know I'll be on skein #4 of the black before I'm done...but that's awesome! I scheduled myself for 11 skeins of yarn and I will only be at 10 when I'm done. Oh yeah baby, I'm just that good. ..........ttssss!

LOL (that was my wet finger steaming on my hot backside, in case you didn't get it.)


Here's a shot of the four rows when they were done. There are duplicates in the four row squares and the 2 row squares, but no repeats in the 6-8-10- or 12 row squares. There are alot more color combos than just what is pictured, but it would have been too hard to lay them all out to take a picture of them.


Here's my yarny mess. I leave long ends for sew & assembly. I just find it easier. Some people find it messier and harder...but that's why they are them and not me.

Both of these pics are shots of the completed 2-4-6, partial pile of 8's and one 10 row square.


Oh the fun of the color combinations! I can hardly wait to get this one together!!!

Beginning: Stefani's Babette- The Punk Rock Rainbow

I have started Stefani's Babette. She picked some super fun colors! After I got done with this little pile of 2 row squares I decided to call it "The Punk Rock Rainbow". It is definitely her personality.

DONE!- Teo's Babette Blanket- The Sci-Fi Vortex

The Babette is DONE! We have affectionately nicknamed it "The Sci-Fi Vortex"...due to its color scheme and the way it looks in my son's room. Who knew it would be a totally perfect fit?? (Besides him...)


His room is painted in the Buzz Lightyear color scheme from Home Depot, however, there are no Buzz decorations anywhere in his room. It's just a really cool color scheme. You can't see it, but on the other side of his room is a screaming yellow door, red trim on his closet and window and an orange entertainment cabinet.:) He has a great affinity for stuffed animals. The ones on the opposite side of his room are the ones that are too big to stuff on his bed with him. They are all facing the wall because he doesn't like their eyes looking at him at night.....


We went from this at bedtime:


To the only part of him poking out of the blankets this morning:

Day Two Pic: Teo's Babette Blanket

It's not literally day two for me anymore. The blanket is done. The blanket has just always been where my camera is not. ;)

This picture is still partial way through the sewing together. You can kind of see a separation between the blanket and a row that is waiting to be sewn on. I would do a row across then sew everything on in one fell swoop. For assembly I counted 40 "rows" across. All of my squares together on one row had to equal 40 rows: 1-10row square, 4-6row squares(24rows), 6-2row squares(12rows), 1-8row square (all those side by side equal 30 rows)...then you just configure more squares for the remaining 10 "rows" and sew them. As it started to come together I personally thought it looked great.

I promise to get a picture of the blanket tonight so that you can see it in his room. The blanket turned out huge and it matches his room great. He has midnight blue walls and neon green, yellow, red, and orange in his room. Amazingly this blanket looks absolutely perfect with it! :)

Day One: Teo's Babette Blanket

Remember my "challenge" afghan? The Babette of ugly colors for my son? Well, here is the result. It is actually coming together ok.

You start with a bazillion squares.....


Then you begin piecing them together....


Closeup of the colors. Very funky indeed.