Study Blanket Squares - 19 out of 192

I want the study blanket to be a pretty good sized blanket. Not quite as big as a twin blanket but not as small as a throw blanket either. I did some digging on the internets and decided 73 x 51 inches was a good goal to shoot for. I measured my finished granny square swatch and it's 4 1/4 inch squared, ;) of course :). Doing a bit of math I realized I was going to have a blanket 12 squares wide by 16 squares tall or vice versa ;) to get close to my number of 73 x 51 inches and still allow a bit of edge work to be done. I can appreciate that crocheted blankets are forgiving in that should I work up my 12 x 16 granny squares blanket and find I want it wider or longer I can just add another row of squares :). I could be wrong, but I can't see sewing a quilt being that forgiving. Just saying ;)

Naturally I'm now aware that I will be making a total of 192 of these warming granny squares. O.O It's going to be great :). I don't know how long it will take as I may be asked to work up something for the shop as I work this up, (this reminds me I have a keychain to make!). But I will be faithful to share the my granny square progress! Last night I purchased 5 more Saffron skeins having done the math there as well to see how many would be needed. The color was on sale for $1.99 a skein which helped me clean out their lot of it ;). Oh yes, I'm in it for the long haul now. :) 

Here are the pics of 19 completed squares - as you can see I am joining the squares as I go. :) 

Boot Candy Boot Cuffs for the Sister!

Pinterest is more of a "choose your own adventure" in my opinion... and I love it :). I love finding new crochet ideas there honestly my crochet board is my favorite! :)

At any rate my sisters are also on "board" (ahahaha - pun intended ;)). My older sister came across a pair of boot cuffs she thought was pretty cute (and they are! :) ;)) on pinterest and requested I make a cream colored pair for her. So... insert some of grandma's yarn stash, a few emails, pictures of yarn and phone calls later I started a pair for her! :)

I managed to find two skeins of the same dye lot that were of a cream color. I held two strands of worsted weight as I worked these beauties up! I know my tension varies when I knit (depending how crazy the day has been :)) so I casted on both cuffs to circular size 10 needles and worked them flat to keep the size consistent. I wasn't sure how working with both ends of the skein would work out, thinking maybe I'd have a bit of tangling going on once I had to turn for a new row but figured out a system. I'm happy to report there was minimal tangling! :) 4 days later I have pictures to share! :) :) These work up quickly and I love the versatility! :)

UPDATE: 3.23.13 - Pics from the sister wearing the pair! :)

UPDATE: 2.16.13 - New pics in natural lighting :)

Showing Right Side and Wrong Side - both are trendy! ;)

...and a close up!

Working up the set! :)

TIME Magazine Doesn't Disappoint!

I came home today to an envelope from TIME Magazine! :) How fun! :) I opened the envelope and to my surprise there were 3 copies of the  February 18, 2013 in Vol. 181 No. 6 edition that features R2D2! :) 

TIME Magazine must truly be all business as there wasn't a letter, just the magazine's :). Receiving these copies though is appreciated as I might have missed out on getting a copy! :) 

Here he is! :D In the business section!

R2D2 Came Home!

And in one piece! :) I'm sure C3PO would be pleased! ;)

Shortly after I discovered R2 was home, I snapped this pic to commemorate his trip to TIME Magazine and then started making dinner. About the time I was letting my husband know dinner was ready I noticed I had an email from Neil Harris (the Photo Editor that contacted me for R2)! The email contained the pdf of the story they were doing on Etsy with R2 on the front page! He's looking quite good as you can imagine :). The description of the items that were shared did not mention the shops or designers but really, that's okay :). I had hoped for a lot but assumed nothing. For all I knew R2D2 could have not shown up at TIME Magazine's doorstep at all and gotten lost in the FedEx abyss... which reminds me...

I sent R2 FedEx priority overnight Monday after getting home from work, the very day I'd been contacted to send him out. I knew R2 needed to arrive by Wednesday, at the latest Thursday and I wanted the peace of mind that he was there. Tuesday came and FedEx tracking confirmed he'd been dropped off at 10:19AM. Nice, nice. :)

Wednesday night rolls around and I get an email from Neil asking if FedEx confirmed delivery... lol - I was thinking "huh?!?" Maybe the story ends here... he did mention that it might be in their mail room yet, but it does make one wonder just how big can a companies mail room be? But this is me, Dawn, small town thinking and we're taking big apple business world, I don't pretend to know the inner workings... lol. I let him know FedEx confirmed delivery and to keep me posted. When Neil came back saying they found R2, the obvious response was HUZZAH! :) Neil had saved the day. ^-^

That's the story so far as I know it now :). The article will be released February 18, 2013 in Vol. 181 No. 6 and I'll let you know if anything should change for me once it does.

As always, thanks for reading and thank you for your support on my creative journey wherever it may take me. :)

Sunburst Flower Granny Square Swatch Test

Last night I stayed up way past my bed time just to get this baby worked up but I'd say it was worth it :). Though funny enough, I'm sure I had a hard time sleeping after working the square up because I was pretty excited about the outcome lol :) This design is called Sunburst Flower Granny Square by Kasa Amend. I found it on ravelry as I was browsing through all the granny square motifs they have :). I had gone back to my post about the study colors and while this granny square pattern wasn't either of the two I though I might use it was fairly similar to flowers in the snow... sunburst flower is a bit puffier but that's why I like it ;)

Wanted to share some pics and the links to the patterns for others before I got into laundry and more crocheting  ;) I hope you're having a great week! Best, Dawn

Chicken and Broccoli Cheesy Casserole - Low Carb Recipe

Last Sunday night I was home... hungry & tired... I want to eat ASAP but nothing in the fridge looks like a good idea. I remember a recipe I saw earlier this week for chicken salsa casserole and then realized I didn't have enough salsa.. :( but I had mozerella! :) And I had ricotta cheese... and sour cream... so with a lil imaginiation and hope of what some ingredients I had on hand would do here's what I managed to put together...

Ingredients Needed - less the bacon grease & pan ;)

Chicken & Broccoli Cheesy Casserole

Pin it for later here.

Ingredients:

3 cups cubed chicken
16 oz (1lb) bag of frozen broccoli
1 med onion diced (about 1 cup)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cube chicken bouillon (or 1 tsp bouillon powder)
1/2 cup water (optional, I added this to help disperse the chicken flavoring but the water from the veggies as they cook also would suffice if the dish seems too watery to you)
1 Tbspn olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
1/4 c sour cream
1 cup ricotta
Bacon Grease

Grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole pan - I used left over bacon grease for added flavor, pan spray would be okay too (just maybe not as tasty ;))

Add broccoli, onion, chicken bouillon, water, olive oil and pepper to a medium frying pan. Cook covered for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In a medium bowl mix the chicken chunks, garlic powder, sour cream and ricotta cheese together. Mix till blended.

mmm - steamy broccoli!

After 10 minutes of cooking the veggies, pour the broccoli mix into the bowl with the chicken. Stir until blended. This was my favorite part - I could smell the garlic! :) Mmmmmm....

Add 1/4 c of the shredded mozzarella cheese to the mix. Stir.

Transfer your mix to the greased pan and spread evenly.

Add the remaining mozzarella cheese to the top and pop that baby in the oven!

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes. Once the top layer of cheese is browned a bit it should be done. If you like your broccoli on the softer side bake until the florets are to your liking.

Serve warm and enjoy!

8/13/13 UPDATE:

 Many have come to this recipe from pinterest - I'm elated so many are pinning for later! ;) 

Please feel free to leave a comment with different variations of the recipe for others to try! 

One pinner said she added more veggies and her family loved it!

Thanks for stopping by! :) ♥ Dawn

*****

Looking for more Low Carb casserole recipes? 

Since posting this recipe I've started a foodie blog! 

Find more low carb CASSEROLE RECIPES HERE.

***** 

Cathedral Motif - Granny Square Crochet - Free Pattern

I recently pinned the lovely Cathedral Motif Granny Square to my Crochet Pinboard and akaCinders a fellow crafter mentioned the post was in Russian... and well, she doesn't read Russian. With the idea in mind to help other American or English reading crafters ;) put this pattern to work for them, I looked at the sites chart and translated it into English crochet directions.

Please let me know if you have any questions as you work this up, I have done my best to explain the steps as you go. In time I may add step by step pictures but in an effort to get this ball rolling for others who want it here you go :).

Cathedral Motif - Granny Square

Trivet layout :) 

Worked with H Hook holding 2 threads through out

Worked with H hook holding one thred through out.

Special Stitch:

Bobble Stitch: YOH (yarn over hook), insert insert hook into
next stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH, pull through 2 loops,
*YOH, insert hook into next stitch, YOH and pull through loop, YOH,
pull through 2 loops, repeat once from*, YOH, pull through all 4 loops on hook.

What I used:

- Worsted Weight Cotton -

Brown/Tan motifs were made holding one thread - H hook was used I suggest using a smaller hook when       using only one worsted weight thread
Green/White motifs were made holding two threads together - H hook was used

- Size H Hook 8.5MM

Starting with Brown or Green (or whatever color you want :))

Row 1:  Chain 7, slst in 1st chain (making a ring)

Row 2:  *Chain 3, dc 3, ch 3, sc 1*(all into the center) repeat 3 more times around, SlSt 3 in the first Chain 3 of the row.

Row 3:  *Chain 3, Bobble Stitch (BS), chain 3, scin top of ch 3 from prior row, chain 2, sc in top of next chain 3* repeat 3 more times around. FO

Change yarn color to light tan or White (or whatever color you like :))

Row 4:  Chain 1 in any of the chain 2 sections from prior row, Dc 1 into center *Chain 4, Slst in top of BS, chain 4, Dc 1 into center, chain 2, Dc 1 into center* repeat 2 more times, chain 4 Slst in top of BS, chain 4, Dc 1 into center, chain 2, slst in top of 1st chain.

Row 5: *Sc 2 in chain 4 of previous row, skip one, Sc 2 in next chain 4,  Dc 4 in chain 2 Chain 3, Dc 4 in same chain 2 * repeat 4 times, slst in 1st sc of row, Fasten Off.

My single thread squares measure 3 inches square and the double threaded squares are 3 1/4 inch square.

Make 4 (or however many you like :)), stitch squares together in whatever pattern you like and add your own embellishing edge! :)

Enjoy! :) ♥ Dawn