You Want to See This!!

Okay..so really...I think you'll LOVE this small Etsy shop! One of my best friend's mom just opened an etsy shop where she sells the most adorable primitve items that she MADE BY HAND! If you love that style, then you'll love these! I helped her get set up and one of the items she listed even has vintage lace which was handmade by her aunt..Seriously! How cool is that?? So what are you waiting for! Go Check it out please! She's super sweet and extremely crafty! So head on over to:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewprimitivebyjanet

Crocheted Blanket with Variegated Yarn

Okay, so this post will be short and sweet :) So this is a pattern I LOVE to make for my friends who are having babies. Initially when I made this blanket, I didn't realize how big it was. BUT, I am so glad it is. It takes a little longer to make than a baby size blanket, but what is nice is that it's a blanket that can grow with them. This particular blanket in the picture is one I made for my parents to match the quilt I made them a couple years ago. I love to use the 100% cotton yarn Sugar n' Cream. It has a heavier weight to it, which I love. I discovered that Walmart has larger skeins of this type of yarn whereas your typical craft stores usually have smaller ones. Another thing which is great is that it has the same stitch all the way through, so it kinda becomes 'mindless' so that you can watch TV without really being able to mess it up too much. You don't have to be super focused. Yay :) Hope you enjoy the pattern!

Just follow this link to the original pattern.

Phillies Knitted Purse

Okay, SO I really wanted to have a small purse that I could wear to the Phillies games where I could just throw in my wallet, keys and cell phone and not have to hold it on my shoulder. I found this pattern online and adjusted it to this Phillies "P" pattern which I came up with. Rather than following the Motif Chart and repeating, I just followed this. Each square is equivalent to one stitch. You  still must knit on the RIGHT side and purl the WRONG side though. I also didn't want my things to stick out so I found a coordinating fabric and created a lining. I just sewed the lining right in before closing the sides of the purse. Just use a thread similar to the yarn so it will be somewhat hidden. Then of course my girls wanted one. I actually have made four. I will update with the other two purses later. Also, this was my first time using two colors SO I went on YouTube and found this video. I actually looked at a few but this was a good one too. Hope you like this! I love my purse, and so do my girls. And as you see, my middle daughter Elizabeth is very girly and she picked out her pink and purple yarn and lining. It turned out nice though :)

Entering the World of Bloggers

Well, I decided to enter the world of bloggers for real this time...Hopefully I don't get sidetracked, as I tend to do with my busy schedule. Since I'm a mom of three little princesses, with a part-time job outside the home (teaching 2-year-olds) and a husband, as well as an online student...I would say, YEP I'm pretty busy. I DO however find time in all the craziness to pursue new culinary, crafty, or gardening endeavors. So, I decided to share them with the world! Aren't ya'll lucky!?

Over the last 11 years of marital bliss (ha ha), I have developed  a knack for the culinary arts. My next door neighbor, who is a chef, says I'm what the formally educated food experts call a "foodie". I am a self taught, or should I say Web/Food Network taught chef. (Also, I learned much from my mother who LOVES baking from scratch...she's a pretty good cook herself.) I love to bake and cook and am a canned food snob. Yes I still use canned goods if I must, with my crazy busy life, but I try my hardest to avoid recipes that are not mostly homemade. Stick with me on this journey and I will share many of my own creations as well as my tried and true recipes from food favorites like Paula Deen and Giada or my family favorites.

Additionally, I love to sew, crochet and knit. Pretty much anything crafty (although I'm not a big fan of counted cross-stitch...don't have the patience). I'm a beginner in many respects for these areas but I can follow a pattern, and if I get stuck...I go to my good old trusty teacher...Mr. YouTube...who always gets me out of a jam. This artistic quality, I must attribute to my Dad and my Grandma Ethyl who are two of the most artistic creative people I know, so it must be in my genes. :)

So...will you join me on my continued pursuits in becoming Miss Suzie Homemaker, the gal who can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan...(although I don't bring home a LOT of the bacon..ha ha)...but I can do pretty much anything I put my mind to. [That must be the Croswait stubbornness in me..] Let's get started!