These cold days–there’s a whole lot of sewing going on.
It seems to be a natural consequence of snow falling outside
Hats, slippers, socks…
It’s all part of feathering the nest…
to keep baby birds snug and warm all winter long.
Toasty Winter
Inevitable
I have found…
that when it looks like this…
and this…
and this…
on the outside…
…it becomes quite necessary…
to find this…
and this…
and this…
on the inside.
Warm tummies, warm hearts.
It can’t possibly be helped.
Happy Birthday President Lincoln!
Crocheted Snowflake Hotpad
Last year, I started a project of making a potholder each month for my daughters. Perhaps potholders aren’t all fashionable and stylish, but since you need to have them, I tried to use patterns that were at least pretty. This is the one for January called Winter Snowflakes. It went together very quickly and was essentially two big “granny squares” sewed together. I did line the inside with several thicknesses of cotton terry cloth for insulation purposes, just to be safe.
Snowflake Hotpad
Materials:
G Hook
Color A – White
Color B – Fiesta Navy
Instructions:
With color A, ch 6; join to form a ring.
Rnd 1(right side): Ch 3 (counts as a dc on this and following rnds), 15 dc in ring; join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3 – 16 dc.
Rnd 2: Ch 5 (counts as a dc and a ch-2 sp), dc in same ch; sk next dc; *in next dc work (dc, ch 2, dc); sk next dc; rep from * 6 times more; join in 3rd ch of beg ch-5 – 8 ch- sps.
Rnd 3: Sl st in next ch-2 sp, ch 3, in same sp work (dc, ch 3, 2 dc); in rem ch-2 sp work (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc); join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3 – 8 ch-3 sps.
Rnd 4: Sl st in next dc and in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, in same sp work (2 dc, ch 3, 3 dc); in each rem ch-3 sp work (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc); join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3.
Rnd 5: Sl st in next 2 dc and in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, in same sp work(3 dc, ch 2, 4 dc); in each rem ch-3 sp work (4 dc, ch 2, 4 dc); join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3 – 8 ch-2 sps. Finish off Color A.
Rnd 6: Join Color B in any ch-2 sp; ch 3, in same sp, work (dc, ch 3, 2 dc) – beginning corner made; working in sps between dc, dc in next 5 sps, hdc in next sp, sc in next sp, sl st in next ch-2 sp; sc in next sp, hdc in next sp, dc in next 5 sps; * in next ch-2 sp work (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc) – 2nd corner made; dc in next 5 sps, hdc in next sp, sc in next sp, sl st in next ch-2 sp; sc in next sp, hdc in next sp, dc in next 5 sps; repeat from * twice more for 3rd and 4th corners; join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3.
Rnd 7: Ch 3, dc in next dc, in next corner ch-3 sp work corner; * dc in next 6 dc, sc in next 7 sts, dc in next 6 dc, in next corner ch-3 sp work corner; rep from * twice more; dc in next 6 dc, sc in next 7 sts, dc in next 4 dc; join in 3rd ch of beg ch-3. Fasten off and weave in ends.
Now make a second one.
Outside border: I then placed them, wrong sides together, and single crocheted through both thicknesses with blue, sc along edge and doing 3 sc in each corner and adding a ch 10 loop in one corner in between the 2nd and 3rd sc of that corner.
Winter Schminter…
With all the busy-ness and excitement of this holiday season, with all the gift-giving and new babies and stuff to make—I never got around to sending any Christmas cards. Now, I know that there aren’t actually that many dinosaurs left these days that like to send them…but I do. So I missed it because my days were filled with so much to do all ready. We even had pictures to send this time (whine, whine). Oh, how’d that baby picture get in there?
Then, while at Michael’s a few days ago, I accidentally took a walk down the dollar aisle–a very dangerous place indeed. For me, the dollar aisle always turns into the twenty-dollar aisle, so I was wary. Then, I spotted some really cute cards. They were a set of 10, Mary Engelbreit notes–with blank insides…on the dollar aisle. They weren’t Christmas or New Year’s cards. In fact, they didn’t mention any holiday at all.
These great little doo-dads are making it possible to connect with all the people that I normally grab up at Christmastime–only now, in the lull of the holidays–at a time that isn’t quite so busy. So maybe instead of that scrawled message inside, I can actually write a real note…or letter even. Depends on my mood.
I think I’ll call them Winter Cards.
Wahoo!
I feel a new tradition coming on…
New Year’s Goal #8– I will write a real letter to Dane–not just email–every week because sometimes you just need to find something in the mailbox.
Candy Bar Hot Chocolate
If it’s snowing where you’re at, like it’s snowing where I’m at, you’ll appreciate this…
I’m pretty sure that all this time you thought you knew what a mug of hot chocolate was supposed to taste like. But I’ll tell you something–if you’ve been pouring a small packet of dry powder into a cup and adding really hot water, perhaps…you don’t. In fact, from this day forth, you are liable to look on such a practice as complete hot chocolate blasphemy.
In the book The Polar Express, they described what the children drank on the train, as, “…hot cocoa as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars.”
Now we’re talking…
Candy Bar Hot Chocolate
Instructions
6 ounces Symphony chocolate, chopped
2 cups milk
Place the milk and chopped chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir gently to keep chocolate from staying at the bottom of the pan and getting too hot. If you like foam, stir with a whisk just until mixture gets steamy hot. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat. Add a dollop of whip cream to the bottom of a mug. Pour in hot chocolate.
Now, go sit down and put your feet up. You’re really going to love this.
Candy Bar Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Symphony chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- Place the milk and chopped chocolate in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir gently to keep chocolate from staying at the bottom of the pan and getting too hot.
- If you like foam, stir with a whisk just until mixture gets steamy hot.
- Do not let it boil.
- Remove from heat.
- Add a dollop of whip cream to the bottom of a mug.
- Pour in hot chocolate.
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