Catheaven's Hobby Corner

Stuffed Bell Peppers

2012-01-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

When I was out grocery shopping last week there was a great sale on green bell peppers that I couldn't resist. I had not had stuffed bell peppers in so long and when I saw them I knew I had to pick some up.

People ask me for recipes for some of the dishes I make and I always feel bad because I don't have exact recipes. The way I cook I don't always follow recipes and I don't always measure. (In fact I hardly ever measure if I am making something out of the blue) I am a type of cook that kind of wings it as I go along. I know what my family likes therefore I add/omit many things. ( A dash here, a handful there, you get the picture)

I've decided if I want to try and blog some of my dishes that I should at least try and keep a log of the ingredients and their measurements. (note i said try)

Anyways here is an estimation of ingredients and cooking times.

Ingredients: (for this dish was)

6 green bell peppers
approx 1 lb of ground beef
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 box of rice a roni (prepared as instructed on box)
1 can diced tomatoes, drain the juice
1/4 of an onion, diced
6 small to medium mushrooms
1 - 1.5 cups of shredded cheese (your choice)
1/2 cup black beans
small amt of oil
salt- to taste
pepper - to taste
tomato/chicken bouillon - to taste

Meat Mixture (stuffing for bell peppers)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Saute the garlic,mushrooms, and onion in oil until the mushrooms are almost tender.

2. Add the ground beef to the above mixture. Add salt, pepper, and tomato/chicken bouillon to taste. Cook until there is no pink left in the meat.

3. In the meantime start the rice a roni (follow the instructions on the box)

4. Once meat is cook drain the oil and add the diced tomatoes and black beans.

5. Turn heat to medium-low and stir the ingredients in the pan. Basically since everything is cooked this step is to warm the newly added ingredients with the meat.

6. After a couple minutes add the rice mixture to the ground been mixture. Stir everything together well.

Preparing Bell Peppers:

1. Wash the bell peppers.

2. Cut the tops off the bell peppers.

3. Cut and scrape out the membrane and seeds inside. Discard

4. In a baking dish place the 6 bell peppers on their bottoms. Add a small amount of cheese to inside of each bell pepper. (Basically you want to just cover the bottom of the part of the bell pepper in cheese)

5.Stuff the bell peppers with the meat and rice mixture all the way to the top.

6. Top off with cheese

7. Place about 1.5-2 cups of water in the baking dish. ( or just enough water to cover the bottom of the bell peppers so they don't burn and to help them cook)

8. Place in 350 degree oven for about 35-40 mins or until the peppers are tender.
(please note this cooking time is approximate)

Here is a picture of the finished bell peppers:

Here is the picture of what the inside looks like:
(this bell pepper is on my daughter's dish)

This is my first time writing a recipe online to share with others (or have others read). I am no way an expert on doing this.

Recipes are great to follow but always feel free to make dishes your own. If there is something in my dish that you don't like take it out. Want to add something different, go ahead. I'm all about experimenting and making up things with what I have on hand.

I hope you enjoy.

New Hobby-Cooking

2012-01-10T00:35:00.000-08:00

Lately instead of crafting I have been cooking. I have always enjoyed to cook and make new dishes for my family but never had the time. I have had some free time open up and besides taking care of new son I am watching a lot of Food Network and scouring all different types of cook books.

I recently just started trying to cook Asian food. I have always had a little trepidation with trying to cook any type of Asian dishes as I just never thought I could. Recently I was craving pot stickers and I decided to look up some recipes on how to make it. Once I had my ingredients written off to the asian supermarket I went. I was a little terrified at the time commitment that it takes to make potstickers so I had tried to start early. Let's just say it did take awhile but it went a lot faster once I found this great gadget that formed the potsticker wrappers for me. Eventually I will learn to fold them correctly. The potstickers turned out wonderful and we ate them all up within a couple of days.

Half of the potstickers were filled with a mixture of cooked chicken, napa cabbage, bamboo shoots and garlic. I basically just used my food processor to chop it extremely fine. The other half were made with the same ingredients except they had a ground beef/pork mixture.

I personally enjoyed the ground beef/pork mixture.

I am planning on trying my hand at some more Chinese cooking later this week.

July 16th weekend sewing

2011-07-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've been itching to sew for the past week but due to time contraints and pregnancy issues just couldn't find the time. So when the weekend came I decided I was going to make it a sewing day. I have a list of projects I want to do and finally tackled some of them.

I had this really cute cupcake fabric in my stash that I wasn't quite sure what to make with it for my youngest daughter. I asked her if she'd like an article of clothing or would she like a purse. She chose a purse. She liked the size of my prior asian inspired purse so I chose the same pattern and off I went.

This is the 2nd time using this pattern and the instructions finally clicked for me. I was able to figure out how to do the lining. It did end up making the inside look much more finished inside. (Not like my first one). The pattern calls for a magnetic snap. I personally don't like snaps on my purses as things may fall out, so like my previous one I added a zipper. I still have to figure out in between which step I should be adding the zipper because I'm still having trouble getting to look right. I did think I was brilliant by sewing the zipper on the lining prior to understanding the directions. Big mistake. Since I didn't have the patience to actually use my seam ripper to rip out the zipper I just cut it off from the lining and left the strip of material on it. Messy I know, but I'd probably pull my hair out trying to fix it properly.

All in all it came out much better than my first one. Guess practice makes perfect.
Here's a picture of the finished Cupcake purse:

And here is a picture of daughter modeling it.

Next up was to try to make an infant light jacket. I used a knit jersey material. The pattern was simple. 3 pieces. I love it. This was my first time working with this type of material and I must say I was pleased with it. I did make a mistake though when cutting the fabric out as I had a decided to try and save some material. Oops cut against the grain. Oh well live and learn.

I took the same pattern from the little jacket and used cotton flannel material to make another jacket. Since I had enough material I also made some pants. These look like little pajamas. I can definitely tell that the cotton flannel lacks the drape from the pattern of the jacket. Oh well. I think it'll look when it gets on him.

So all three projects were made in one day. My sewing area was quite the mess but at least I got something I wanted done accomplished.

Camouflage Fleece Outfit

2011-07-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

Every boy needs to have at least some type of outfit which is made out of the camouflage pattern. Originally my idea was to make a jacket that would fit our soon to be new arrival within a couple of months of his birth alas I wasn't thinking when cutting the pattern out and the size used. So instead of having a jacket for a younger age he'll have one for when he's probably closer to 9 months or a year. Knowing me though I'll stick him in it when he's little just because I'll have to see how it looks on him.

Since I had extra fabric left over I decided to make a pair of pants also to go with the jacket. I used the same pattern from my other pants but just cut the fabric a tad bit bigger once I realized the jacket was going to big. So here is the end result:

Here is the back. The hood seems a little big but I just left it as it. Chances are he'll be wearing one of my handknit hats:

Here are the pants:

I'm really happy that I was able to make something like this. The pattern originally called for a button front but if you have kids it's quite well known that the child does not always stay still enough to get it buttoned, so I opted for a zipper. I was proud of myself that I remembered to buy a zipper that separates. (I didn't for when make my daughter's jacket)

Now I can't wait for the "little dude", as my husband calls him, to come.

On a sewing roll

2011-07-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lot of time reading the web and books all about sewing. I finally decided that I had better start sewing. Here's a list of projects I've finished this month.

The first project I worked one was a purse from a McCall pattern. The purse picture on the package looked simple enough. So I start. This pattern caused me so much aggravation. I had quite the potty mouth while working on it. Here's a list of what happened:
-Apparently I didn't read the instructions well enough so after I had the pattern and my material and interfacing out, I realized that there was a lining! So back to the pattern to cut out the lining and more interfacing.

-Realized that I didn't cut out all the pattern pieces. Back to the pattern.

-I never realized just how many pieces it take to make a purse.

-Irritated over the instructions on the construction of the purse. So what does my wonderful crafty self do? I wing it and sew it together the way I want to using the pattern as a guideline.

- There are many thick areas on this purse. I'm surprised I didn't break my machine.

Overall I learned a lot from this purse and it's my first and I have pleasantly pleased with it. It's not perfect but it appears to be functional which is what count right? Here it is in in it's finished state:

The next project that I just finished today was making my daughter a pair of shorts. I used a video tutorial by The Crafty Gemini to guide me. Instead of an actual pattern I used a pair of short which she wears. I was going to make it with T-shirt material but there wasn't enough so I just used regular cotton fabric I have in my stash. I'm 50% happy with the results. For some reason there seems to be bulk in the front crotch area. I'll have to read how to fix this.
Picture of the shorts:

And here she is wearing them:

A new baby should be making his way into the world in about a month. The best thing about babies when being a crafter is that because they are small one can make so many cute things and a lot of material isn't use.

I found this pattern on line to make baby pants. It's from Made By Rae blog. Super super easy and fun. My first pair I did take a bit longer and the second pair I had done in less 30 minutes. Totally in love with this pattern and plan on making a lot more pants.
First pair-crayon pants

2nd Picture-pirate pants.

So overall I'm pretty darn proud of myself. I'm having a blast with sewing and I'm learning a whole lot.

Baby Gifts for Ashley

2011-06-28T20:08:00.000-07:00

On this pregnancy message board I belong to I was paired with what is called a due date buddy. This is usually two ladies who have similar due dates. This was my first time doing this so I was a bit tentative at participating. I am so glad I did. I was paired up with a wonderful lady by the name of Ashley. She is expecting a little girl on the same date as I.

As a crafter, primarily a knitter, I was overjoyed to find out she was having a little girl. Since I'm having a boy there would be no cute little pink and purple girlie items. So as soon as she found out the planning began.

The first gift I made her was this adorable pink hearts blanket. I have had this pattern for a couple of years and have always to make it. Well now was the perfect time! It was a fun knit and I was pleased with the results.

Next up was to make some hats for her. She was showing me some picture of hats from etsy so I had an idea of what she liked. I made her a minnie hat since my first one turned out so cute for my niece. (The picture shown is the one I made my niece. I apparently forgot to take a picture of the newest one)

Up next was a cute little crochet hat with ears:

And last but not least this is the daisy hat from Itty bitty hats. I couldn't find green yarn to make the stem so I just made the daisy and the stem all the same color.

I also made some knit burp cloths which I forgot to take pictures of.

The one item I made that was not yarn related was a cloth covered diaper wipe case. Ashley loves purple (so do I no wonder we get along so well) so I used a mixture of purple fabric and ribbon for her case. I was a bit disappointed with how the case turned out but Ashley loved it. It was my first one I did.

The other non yarn item was the tag baby block which I had made. I was inspired by the tag baby blanket but I wanted to make something different so I found instructions on how to make a tag baby block. It was a lot of fun to make. I added bells inside to help make it a little more entertaining for baby. They are totally child proofed inside so there are no worries that they will come out.

So overall I had so much fun making all these items for my due date buddy, Ashley.

The pillowcase dress that turned into a skirt

2011-06-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

I came across some tutorials on how to make a pillowcase dress so my interest was peaked. I spent quite a bit of time watching and learning how to make them. So last night I decided to dig through my linen closet to see what I could find.

After taking inventory there were only a handful of cases that would work due to the patterns. (I was tempted to use my husband's star wars pillowcases for the heck of it). My youngest daughter decided to pick an old Powder Puff girl pillowcase.

So here starts my adventure. Since it was a pillowcase obviously the pattern will be horizontal rather than vertical. (this realization did not come to me until I put the case up against her). Hmmm sideways powder puff girls wouldn't work.

Bright idea #2! Let's open up the pillowcase and then the designs would run vertical! After an hour the pillow case was finally open all the way. Stupid me didn't realize that now the characters on the back side would be upside down. Time to take a break after that.

Pillowcase dress is now out of the question. After spending all that time I decided to make a skirt. I used my Bobbin's nest pattern as a guideline.

Here are the problems I ran into with the skirt:
- I apparently am no good with using a rotary cutter yet. I ended up cutting the skirt about 1 inch too short on the width.
- I wanted to add a ruffle to the bottom. My strip came out way too short
- When making the casing for the elastic I forgot to sew up the side hem before doing this

The plus side:
-I finally figured out why my first skirt seemed so tight. I was able to make the skirt have more ease and not be as constricting
- I improvised my own bottom edging.

All in all I spent way too much time tweaking this, but it helped me learn a couple new techniques.

So after spending the entire afternoon working on the skirt here is the finished result:

Here is the happy new owner happily wearing it:

I will attempt a pillowcase dress sometime in the near future.

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New Skirt

2011-06-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

So it appears that I'm back on the "I want to learn to sew" kick. I think part of this new craze is because I'm expecting a new baby in August and would love to make some handmade clothes for him. One problem I'm running into is that "cute" boy patterns are hard to find. Luckily I have 2 girls so I can indulge in making pretty girly items for them.

My local sewing/yarn shop, Bobbin's Nest, had a free demo day to make a girl twirly skirt. I figured this would be great to attend to see if I could actually attempt sewing again. The demo was quick yet informational. I was excited the skirt seemed so easy to make. No real pattern just taking measurements of the garment wearer and go from there.

I had a lot of the materials to make it at home so I let my daughter pick out her choice of fabric. Here is the end result:

I can see some of my mistakes and the next one I hope to make will be a bit better. She loves it though and it isn't falling apart on her. So I'll take this as a win in the sewing column.

Brithday Crochet Penguin

2009-09-07T18:10:00.001-07:00

tricias penguin 8-2009 (1)
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

It's been quite awhile since I sat down and did any crocheting. For my sister in law's birthday I made her this cute little penguin since she likes penguins.

It was easy enough to make. Yarn used was just standard acrylic yarn. This should of taken only a few hours to make but I got sidetracked so it took me a couple of days.

I think he went to a happy home!

One of my first "REAL" scrapbook layouts

2009-06-30T10:39:00.001-07:00

This is a 2 page layout of one of my doggies. I was pretty excited to finish this one as this is one of my first "real" layouts which I've completed.

The paper and embellishments are from CTMH. It's one of their Workshops on the go packages. Due to some picture cutting errors I wasn't able to follow the exact layout in the instructions, but I like how it turned out.

This layout has started me back on my scrapbooking bug. I"m planning on organizing all my photos and start figuring out ways to get into full on scrapbooking groove.

Close up of 1 page

Close up of 2nd page

Oh my another sweater!

2009-06-30T10:32:00.001-07:00

juliannes sweater 6-12-09
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Here's is my 3rd February lady sweater which I made. This was for a graduation present for my friend. I had this finished way before her party but I was lazy on the buttons and sewed them on about an hour before her party.

Still love this pattern.

This story always brings a tear to my eye

2009-05-19T14:23:00.001-07:00

I know this is my crafting blog and I should try and stick with the theme but sometimes there is a story that just holds so much meaning that it must be shared. This is a story which has circulated around the web for quite some time now. Every time I read it I always get a tear in my eye. It's probably one of the most heart touching stories that really expresses how a small bit of kindness can change a person's life.

Today's society and lifestyle it is very hard to forget to be kind to others. I admit that I even forget. I try my best though because I really believe in karma. Bad things done to another will always come back to bite you. It may not happen right away but eventually it will happen. A good deed done to another and the reward is reaped right at that moment in your heart and soul. Just remember treat others as you would like to be treated.

Okay enough with my battering here's the story. Enjoy!

Inspirational Story

A GLASS OF MILK - PAID IN FULL

Author Unknown

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”
Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

My red sweater

2009-05-14T10:37:00.001-07:00

0506090906afeb lady sweater
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I finished this sweater almost 2 wks ago but didn't get a chance to blog about it. I used the same pattern that I made my daughter's in for mine. The pattern is just so easy yet the end result is so striking that I knew I had to have one for myself.

I picked up this yarn from Yarn Paper Scissors (which sadly is soon to be closing their doors) on sale. The yarn is Cascade Sierra which is a cotton/wool blend. I LOVED working with this yarn. It was very soft to work with and I didn't have any problems with any splitting while working with it. I think because of the amount of cotton in the yarn this didn't make for a good yarn to block with.

The sweater is extremely comfortable to wear and it's not too hot nor heavy. I think the lace pattern also helps this. There are two things which I am not overly pleased about. I wanted long sleeves (as in all the way down to my wrist). I thought that I had made the sleeves long enough but I didn't account for when my arm bends that the length goes up. So now I'm debating to rip out the garter stitch rib and making the sleeves longer. I think since I did each sleeve in two separate sittings that I was just antsy to get it finished. Each sleeve had 23 repeats of the lace pattern.

The other issue is the collar. I found instructions on ravelry on how to incorporate a collar so I may just try it out and see how it turns out.

Overall I'm still really happy about this sweater and i"m pretty darned proud of it.

Scrapbook Dilemma

2009-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

As those with children probably know the camera is constantly going off capturing those one of a kind moments. Personally I have thousands of these pictures since I have two daughters.

I've been debating for many years how I should do scrapbooks? Should I do one for each child and have another one to scrapbook family things?

I'd love to hear suggestions and comments about how I should scrapbook these memories.

Mother's Day Gift

2009-05-10T23:00:00.001-07:00

Elaines altered gift 5-10-09 (2)
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I wanted to try to make something crafty and cute for my mother in law for Mother's Day. It took me a couple of days to figure out what to make. I decided on making her an altered tin. My sister in law had got me a bunch of different tins for a present a year or so ago so all I needed to do was decorate it.

I first started with origami paper. I lined the entire outside body with blue floral origami paper. I then used this adorable Japanese girl in a kimono stamp and stamped her 10 times. I colored half of them red and the other half. I used little rhinestones to put in the middle of her stash in red and clear.

The front of the altered tin has a little Japanese boy and girl sitting. I stamped them and colored them. They are attached with a foam 3d dot.

The top and bottom of the tin are outlined with an adorable red ribbon. The handle has the same red ribbon as the outline of the box along with light blue ribbon.

There was a small dilemma of how I was going to decorate the top of the tin. I didn't want to try and cut out the origami paper to make it fit on the top so I ended up taking the same color origami paper and using CTMH stamp set Baroque and stamped out "MOM". To also add a little bit more to the top I took the same red rhinestones and attached them to the sides of the top.

To make it personalized and signify that this was a mother's day gift I took pictures of her (adult) children and attached them to the inside lid. I then took some chipboard designs that I had that were appropriate for the occasion and attached those.

Overall I was very with the result and so was my mother in law. I loved creating this tin and for me it shows that i can be creative when the mood strikes.

Review of some of my favorite yarn stores

2009-05-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that I use this blog to mainly post my finished projects. I know that people love to look at pretty pictures but people also like to come to blogs to read about other things related to their blog's focus. So I've decided to try and incorporate other things in this blog.

I live in an area where there is a nice vast selection of yarn shops. Sadly, though due to the economy, there have been a few closures of lys (local yarn stores). Thankfully there are still plenty to choose from.

Cottage Yarns- South San Francisco, ca

This little yarn store is within walking distance from my house. This store is yarn heaven. The owner, Kathryn, has such a mass amount of yarn in her shop that one can spend so much time in here. Since there is so much yarn, it does feel a bit overwhelming when you first walk in. Once you get a feel to how the store is set up it's all over. Cottage Yarns carries a vast amount of name brands that are extremely popular. Some yarn brands are Casacade, Lamb's Pride, Malabrigo, and the list goes on.
Besides having such a wonderful selection, Kathryn is very helpful. I can't tell you how many times I've gone in and needed yarn suggestions for a product and she gladly helped me. This is probably one of the only yarn stores where I feel extremely comfortable.

Prices are competitive for other local yarn stores. Some prices may be a bit higher here but the service makes up for a whatever difference. I'll gladly pay more for yarn if the customer service is there.

I love this store and have no gripes about it. Highly recommend!

The other local yarn store I'll be reviewing today is one I just discovered about a month or so ago.

Purlescence Yarns -Sunnyvale, CA

This yarn store is a bit away from me About a 30 min drive away. The first time I went here I was extremely impressed by the customer service. The staff was friendly and very helpful with my questions. The 2nd time I came I was pretty much ignored, which kind of gave me an unfriendly feeling to the place. Maybe because it wasn't a weekend? This unnerved me a bit just because of how well I was taken care of the first time. This won't stop me from coming here. (at least not yet)

The yarn selection is wonderful. I believe this is the only local store which carries Blue Moon Fibers yarn. I've heard mixed reviews on this yarn and wanted to see it for myself. They also carry some other really nice yarns which I haven't seen anywhere locally.

The other aspect I love about this store is the selection of circular needles and dpns. I've never seen so a store stock so many addi turbo needles! It was like walking into addi heaven. The prices were wonderful also! Probably the least expensive I've seen anywhere for addi needles.

Overall I do enjoy this store. Yarn selection and price will make any knitting/crocheter eager to spend their moo-lah here.

There are other yarn stores I've been to locally but I'll just do two for now. Would love to hear other's reviews of these stores.

The "April" Lady Cardigan

2009-04-23T11:16:00.001-07:00

0419091232 ariana sweater
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

So apparently this pattern, February Lady Sweater, is the hottest craze going around. I don't know why it took me so long to finally jump on the bandwagon.

This sweater was an extremely simple knit. It's a top down raglan sweater so no seaming required. (Gotta love that) Being that it was so simple it also got a tad boring. The garter yoke bored me to tears. Thankfully the bottom part is a lace pattern so that kept me a bit more on my toes.

I was worried about the sizing since I was having Ariana try it on while I was making it. Thankfully and luckily it fit perfect.

It's a very generous sized pattern and it does stretch a bit. I didn't use an all natural fiber since I am trying to use up as much stash as I can. It's a cotton/acrylic blend. It is a tad heavy but Ariana says it's perfect.

With such great success of this cardigan I already started one for myself!

Just a little something for Easter

2009-04-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

0331092155bunny heads
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I decided that for a treat for Alysia's class that I'd whip up something for Easter for her "friends". Being the big procrastinator that I am I waited too long to really make something cute for them. So I opted to crochet little bunny heads for the class. (Although they kinda look like dog heads).
Alysia saw me making them and loved them. She asked who was I making them for, so I told her. A few minutes later she gave me a list of names of all her friends. ( all the kids in her class). She also let me know just how many friends she had. Alysia tells me, "I have 16 friends and here are all their names."
I gave them to the teacher this morning so hopefully teacher will pass them out today or tomorrow.

A Nice Friday Surprise

2009-03-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

The other day I entered a contest to name some yarn on Susinok's blog. She sells her handdyed yarn on etsy. This was the first time I entered a contest to try and name yarn. I thought the colors were so pretty!

So this morning while checking email I saw a message from her stating that I was a runner up and would receive a hank of her beautiful hand dyed yarn!! My names weren't chosen, but that's alright. I'm very happy to be a runner up and can't wait to receive my yarn. It'll be my first time trying any fellow etsyian yarn!

Whoa another pair of socks

2009-03-12T09:44:00.001-07:00

trav's socks-edited
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

ARE DONE!! These socks were done in just over 2 days. Of course it really helped that these were done in worsted weight yarn rather than fingering weight. Yarn used was Paton's Classic Wool. (Yes going to have to handwash them or else they'll felt and be super tiny)

I also totally overestimated the amount of yarn I'd need. I bought 3 skeins and I only used about 1.5, so I'll have to figure out what to do with the left over yarn. I'm thinking I might make him some fingerless gloves because his hands have been getting cold lately.

The pattern was super simple and actually fun to do. I wasn't bored with endless rows of stockinette stitch. The great thing is that they actually fit Trav and he likes them. He said that they are very warm.

I'm on a sock roll and having a lot of fun. I'm currently finishing up another pair that has been suffering from second sock syndrome for almost a year.

Finally finishing some old projects-SOCKS

2009-03-10T09:55:00.001-07:00

monkey sock 2
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Besides the tank top I finally finished this pair of socks. I started these socks during the Olympics. So it almost took me a year to get them done. I don't know why I put these down!!

The yarn is heaven!! It's so soft and surprisingly warm. It's artyarns ultramerino 4. It's definitely worth the price. These socks took under 2 skeins of yarn.

The pattern is very easy. I admit I was a bit intimidated when I saw that it was lace. Lace in a sock?? C'mon sometimes I have trouble with lace just as a rectangle! And on top of that doing lace with double pointed needles. I worried for nothing because the instructions were wonderfully written and the chart was easy to read.

I wore these the other day and they felt sooo good. I now fully understand why everyone who makes/wears handmade socks love them so much. I can't wait to get more done for me.

Finally finishing some old projects

2009-03-10T09:40:00.001-07:00

0308091452
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I finally have gotten sick and tired of having so many WIP (works in progress) laying around the house that I finally decided to start tackling them again.

This is my first tank top I did. It's done in an acrylic/cotton blend. This got put to the side because of the endless amount of stockinette stitch. It just got so boring. I was a tad disappointed with it because I messed up on sleeve edging. I didn't want to pick up stitches and knit so I decided to single crochet an edging around. BLAH!!

I will most likely wear it as it fits pretty good. The pattern was easy but the construction seemed a bit different from other shirts I've done. I'm not sure if I'll make another one, but who knows?

Baby Blanket Finished

2009-03-05T09:54:00.001-08:00

So I've learned that knitting blankets take me at least 5 times as long as crocheting them. This blanket took me just about 2 months to finish. Of course I wasn't working on it everyday so I probably could of finished in about a month. I did enjoy knitting this blanket as the pattern was simple yet it made a fun design. This blanket is part of my stash reduction plan for this year. So far I've used up 37 skeins of yarn!
Here it is!

So next on my list is to finally finish my monkey socks which I started during the Olympics. I developed some serious 2nd sock syndrome. I'm actually already on the foot part so hopefully it'll go pretty quickly.

I'm trying to finish up a few WIP's (work in progress) so that I can finally pick out and start a lace project. I'd like to enter another lace shawl in the fair this year so I'll have to get started soon. Plus I'm dying to start something nice and lacey.

Happy New Year

2009-01-15T09:49:00.001-08:00

fish scarf rev
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Okay so i'm half a month late in bringing in the new year on my blog. It's been awhile since I've written.

I took a small break from my knitting/crocheting because I worked like crazy for a month to prepare for some craft fairs I did in December. So I basically just got sick of working on things so quickly in so little time.

I'm finally back into the swing of things and have made a couple new projects.

This project is inspired from Morehouse Farms fish scarf pattern. Alysia did not like the colors they offered in the kit and the pattern isn't available for purchase yet. I wasn't going to be spending $30 for a yarn color she didn't like. SOOO what did I do?? I designed my own fish to put together to make a scarf. I finished last night and gave it to her this morning. She loved it!!

Another project I just finished was a shawl for Ariana. The past month has been pretty chilly over here. I started wearing my shawl at night and it kept me nice and toasty. I offered to make one for Ariana and this is what she picked!

This year I am going to work really working through my stash of yarn that I have. Here's to hoping for a great crafting year!

2nd Shop at etsy

2008-10-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Due to a recent critique I received on my main shop I decided to try my hand at opening a 2nd shop over at etsy.

CatheavenCrafts will be my knit and crochet store. While CatheavenCreations will feature my papercrafts and misc crafts. I will test this out for a bit and see how it works out. If after a few months I don't notice a significant change to my main shop then I'll combine my shop again.

It will take a bit before I get the 2nd shop up and running due to the fact of deadlines that I have.
Please feel free to stop by both stores and take a peek.

Combining my love for crochet and paper

2008-10-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

So the other week I asked some friends what they might like to see if they were to receive a box full of handmade samples. Thank you to all who answered. After many days of brainstorming trying to figure out how I can easily make something that would incorporate my etsy shop and what I sell I came up with this idea.

I took my love for crochet and combined with my papercrafting and came up with this new take on the matchbook note sets that people make now. To advertise I used my business card as the cover page. In the future I will be making some new sizes and styles which will be up over at my etsy shop sometime in the near future. I'm a little iffy putting them up on etsy only because I checked over there and I haven't seen (or can find) this idea up there. I shall see though. I think these would be great to carry around in your purse or bags. They'd also make great and useful gifts in party bags. Drop me an email if you ever need some.

I'm pretty excited about them. They actually aren't as quick as i had hoped they be but they're quicker than knitting a dishcloth. I'm very happy with them! leave me a comment about what you think of them!

Something a little new

2008-09-17T09:42:00.001-07:00

Okay I know that my blog is mainly dedicated to my knitting and crocheting. But I've been introduced to beading by my friend and I'm SOO addicted. Over the weekend my friend and I made these really pretty earrings. I still need a lot of practice but hey they are wearable and I love them. I'll have to get a pix of them up here soon.

Yesterday I received these cute little flip flop charms. So i sat there trying to decide what to use them for. Ideas were a bracelet, stitch markers, zipper pull or pendant. Well I don't quite have all the materials yet to make a lot of these items so I settled on making some earrings. I was very happy with the end result. I think these are SOOO cute!! They are for sale over at my etsy shop.

Woo Hoo new hat

2008-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

I posted about this hat over at my etsy shop blog, CatheavenCrafts but I know that others read this blog mainly. I got the knitting and creating bug last night so I decided to try and sit down and design a simple baby hat. Here is what was the end result:

I'm pretty excited and can't wait to try and design some more. I'm hoping to add a little crochet mix into these knitted hats. These will be great for the cold weather which is coming up. I should have more hats in my etsy shop shortly.

Taking the Etsy Plunge

2008-09-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

So i've decided to take the Etsy plunge. I'm always making items so I figured why not try again in this world of selling my crafts. I did try about 3 years ago but I was very new to my craft and to the world of selling. I've become a lot more advanced and felt that it might be the right time to try again. SOOO I've opened up a shop. It's called CatheavenCrafts It's very tough starting out because etsy is full of wonderfully extremely talented people. I'm in awe at some of the items I see. I've already received some favorable feedback to my shop and I've also received some less than favorable feedback. I've only been on etsy for 2 weeks now. I honestly almost thought of just chalking the whole thing up. But alas I posted a thread on Ravelry and the wonderful people there said to just keep at it.
I also have a blog dedicated to my etsy store and items. You can find it at CatheavenCrafts here on blogger. I will dedicate that blog strictly to the shop. This blog will still remain my "baby" and I will continue to update it.
So stop by and come browse around my shop. Even if it's a little bare.

County Fair Win

2008-08-20T15:39:00.001-07:00

scarf w ribbon
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

This year I entered two items into the County Fair. After last year I really wasn't expecting I'd win anything. I entered 2 items into the fair this year. My moondance stole and my lace scarf.

On Saturday night I attended the fair with my family and friends. I was anxious to run to the home arts dept and see how I did, but I wanted to wait until my friend got there. Luckily I didn't have to wait long and as soon as she got there we all headed over.

It took a bit to find where the knitted/crochet items were. All the entries were squished into these glass cabinets. Finally we spotted my entries. At first when i saw my items I thought well another year with no ribbons, BUT alas we spotted a red ribbon hanging underneath my lace scarf. I was so happy but disappointed at the same time. I had really hoped my moondance stole would of gotten something. The judges moved my moondance stole into the same category as my scarf so I am not sure if that had any effect on the outcome. Either way once I got over my disappointment I was happy to at least win something. Julianne was happy for me that I won. Thanks to Julianne I was able to get my entries entered this year as she dropped them off to me. Big hugs to her!!! (now i'll find out if she really reads my blog. haha)

This year the displays were just awful. Beautiful handknit and crocheted blankets were folded so small that you couldn't really get a good gauge on the pattern. Other entries were so jampacked into the displays they were missed. I still don't understand the judging that goes on at the fair. Some beautiful intricate items didn't win yet typical everyday patterns won. Maybe it's the stitch definition or the neatness of the stitches which the judges judge on??? Either way there were some beautiful entries this year.

I am proud of my scarf and I hope to work on my skills to someday either receive a best in show or at least a first place ribbon. Guess we'll see next year.

The cutest octopus you'll ever see

2008-08-05T11:08:00.001-07:00

0801080051
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Okay so maybe I'm biased about it being the cutest octopus. Alysia has been on a fish obsession lately so I decided to make her this cute little amigurumi octopus.

I love crocheting because I don't need to think and it's pretty fast. I had this little guy done in about 2 hours.

Alysia loves it and has now requested a bright pink one! sigh project list never ends!

My first cardigan

2008-08-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

0723081112
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

It sure has been a year of firsts for me. With my weight loss I finally decided to tackle a cardigan for myself.

The pattern was from Knitting pure and simple. I LOVE this brand of patterns. The instructions are extremely clear and precise and makes the knitting so much easier.

This cardigan was like marathon knitting. I had this sucker done in 5 days. I was knitting for over 8 hrs a day on this. I got so sick of stockinette stitch i wanted to scream. The yarn was so nice to work with. It was done in TLC Cara Mia. Sadly this yarn is discontinued. Guess when I saw the clearance tag I bought a ton of it way back when.

There are a few eye hurting mistakes but being that i was the knitter I notice it a lot more than the everyday person.

Over all a successful knit and I really enjoy wearing it!

First Lace Stole!!

2008-07-09T15:51:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo I FINALLY finished my first real lace project. I am so proud of this project. I learned so many new techniques. I learned how to do a provisional cast on, lace edging knitted on, blocking, and the big one reading and understanding charts.

I stayed up until 3:30am one night finishing it and also blocking it! I just HAD to have it done.

I would of had the stole done sooner but I was sidetracked by baby making projects so it was a 2 in half month endeavor. I really enjoyed the yarn which I used. It was Misti Alpaca lace weight yarn. For it being so thin it provides quite a bit of warmth.

Overall this was an easy pattern to work. The lace pattern was just on one side and just a purl row on the other side. I never did get around to memorizing the chart like i've read some people are able to do after so many repeats.

I finally used my Blocking blocks. I have to say that it was a great investment. It made my life so easy. Winning the extra set from Ravelry at Stitches West was a big help also as I used 2 extra blocks from the set.

I'm "hooked" on shawls/stoles and especially lace now. The satisfaction I got from finishing this item was wonderful.

Stash busting kitty bed

2008-06-18T14:54:00.001-07:00

snuggies and dottie in new bed
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

So I've been trying to use up my stash of a gazillion tons of acrylic yarn that I have. I was browsing Ravelry and saw this great pattern for a cat bed. SO heck with 3 cats what better way to use up some yarn.
The bed is made with Caron yarn and a bunch of misc fun fur I have. The kitties LOVE it. The problem is is that it isn't big enough to really hold all 3 cats at once. I may just have to bust out another one later on.

Pictured is Snuggles and Dottie lounging in it.

Baby Gifts

2008-06-18T14:46:00.001-07:00

So it's baby season here in my neck of the woods. I made this blanket for a friend who is due with a baby girl this month. I had so much fun making this blanket for her.

blanket for sherri
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Here is another part of the gift. It's a little kimono sweater. I TOTALLY love making these. they are so fun and so easy. I hope they will work good for the new mommy.

I also made a little blanket/bunny toy for the new baby. This turned out so soft. I loved it. I plan on making a few more of these for my sister and another friend of mine who just had a little boy.

Lace Knitting and Other Projects

2008-05-13T10:20:00.001-07:00

0505081607
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Well it's been awhile since I've been able to sit down and actually blog. I've been busy with a multitude of projects.
I am trying to work on reducing my stash size. The Stash group on Ravelry is a great motivator for me. I've been working on lots of baby items, which i can't share just yet.

The big project that I have undertaken is the Moon Dance stole written by Melanie Gibbons. This is my first venture into chart reading. Let's just say that chart reading and I didn't get along so well initially. I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out just how my increases and decreases were going to happen. I emailed the designer and asked on ravelry how this is done. Responses were few and finally I just couldn't wait any longer. The best advice came from a friend of just knit it as it reads. So off I went and the rest is history. This pattern is pretty easy but the results are coming out beautiful. With this pattern I also learned how to use the provisional cast one. So easy!

I am enjoying this stole immensely and can't wait to get it finished.

Ariana's cropped Jacket

2008-04-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo I finished Ariana's Cropped Jacket. I'm pretty darn proud of it! It turned out a lot better than I had expected it too. I did have to perform "surgery" on it as when i bound off the shoulders I had the seam on the right side. So i had to pick it apart and re-do it on the wrong side. Thankfully it worked out fine.

The yarn used was Plymouth Encore bulky weight. Color was a dark blue.

Thankfully I had some buttons in my stash so she picked out the ones she wanted. They are frog faces. They look like the Sanrio character Keroppi but in blue.

Overall not a bad project. I love it!

Mason Dixie After Dark Nightie

2008-04-02T22:00:00.001-07:00

0402082138
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

IS FINALLY DONE! It was a fun and easy project. The yarn has a wonderful soft feeling and lovely drape. Holding this project up I thought it might be too heavy but having it on it really isn't. The one thing i didn't like was while i was working with the yarn. The only way I can describe the feeling is like dumping a lot of powder on my hands. I can't say I'd work with the yarn again anytime soon.

Overall I'm proud of the project!

Baby Blanket

2008-03-26T01:51:00.001-07:00

blanket for jeana
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I originally started another blanket for a friend but the yarn just wasn't working for me. So Katherine over at Cottage yarns was showing me a blanket that she had done. I fell in love with it.
So I started this on a Friday night and had it done by Sunday night. It was quick and it was easy. The result is wonderful.
I really enjoyed this project. I also love the yarn that I used. I am already planning another one for my youngest daughter!!!

Multiplying Bunnies

2008-03-12T09:37:00.001-07:00

12bunnies
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

I found this cute very easy pattern on line to make bunnies. Since Easter is right around the corner I asked Ariana if she'd like me to make bunnies for her friends. Well that resulted in one dozen bunnies!

The pattern was very quick. From start to finish took about 2 hours. The more I did the better the bunnies looked. It took me awhile to figure out how to fold the bunnies correctly.

Project was fun and I did enjoy making them. Not to mention I was using my stash yarn!

First real attempt at Lace

2008-03-03T16:50:00.001-08:00

shawl 3 3 size 6
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

This is going to be my first shawl made out of laceweight yarn. It is a KAL in the Beginning Lace group on Ravelry. The pattern is called Blue Jeans Lace Leaf Shawl
I have had to start over a few times because I was having a small problem with the stitch count. When I finally got going I realized that it seemed awfully small compared to others. I was using a size 4 needle. I frogged it and moved up to a size 6. I like it a lot better.
I'm having a lot of fun with this pattern and with lace. The yarn is Malabrigo lace. I can't wait to finish it!

First Shrug

2008-03-03T16:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I finally finished my shrug! Ugh this project goes right up there with my dad's afghan of taking forever. It was a very easy pattern but very boring. It is my first wearable that I've made for myself in all the years of crocheting and knitting. I am quite happy with it. Here is a picture of it with Ariana modeling it.

Here's the back of it. I lightened the photo up to see the back easier. Ariana didn't fix the collar when she put it on

And here is the side

Overall I love this shrug. I wore it on Saturday and kept my arms nice and warm.

Stitches West

2008-02-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

This was my first Stitches event that I have been able to attend. I almost didn't make it as I was down with the flu and an awful cold at the beginning of the week. Saturday arrived and even though I was still slightly stuffed up and a tad light headed I made my way down. My friend, Julianne, came along with me for her first Stitches experience.

I had an idea of what I was looking for and who I wanted to see. First on my list was the Ravelry booth. Ravelry is the new online knitting/crocheting forum out there in cyber space. It is the best thing to happen to this craft. As soon as we walked in the door I was running around trying to find the booth. Once found I was oohing and aahing over all their items they were selling. I was so excited to see they still had tote bags for sale. I picked up one for myself and one for my friend, Louise. There was some mad text msg-ing going on. I also picked up BOB pins and another Ravelry pin. They ran out of their "Hello my name is" pins. But it's alright I was happy enough with my purchases and glad to help Ravelry out.

In one word Stitches West was overwhelming! Julianne and I were like "OMG this place is so big". I did tons of yarn browsing. My interests this time to a convention was lace and socks. I fell in love with the vendor, JOJOLAND I found a new yarn that i have just fallen in love with and I can't wait to try some of her other yarns. Also the patterns are exquisite. I picked up 3 of her patterns. I can't wait to try it out. I also got to check out another raveler's yarn. Creatively dyed yarn I didn't pick up any yarn at the show but I am definitely going to order a couple skeins from her. Her colors were absolutely stunning! I also checked out WEBS. The whole area was so busy that it was hard to walk in but I was able to do some browsing. I picked up a lace weight alpaca/wool blend yarn there. I am now just debating on which shawl to make first with it!

And to top off this wonderful Stitches experience I found out tonight that I won a prize in the Ravelry passport game. GO ME! I won the knitters block from Article Pract! WOO HOO! I couldn't believe it! Thank you to Ravelry, Article Pract, the other vendors, and Julianne (for helping me do my passport).

Overall it was a wonderful experience. I was pooped at days end but all I can say is I can't wait for next year!

First fingering weight socks

2008-02-12T16:55:00.001-08:00

alysiasock
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Here is my first attempt at using fingering weight yarn for socks. Boy oh boy did it feel like i was knitting with toothpicks! i did get used to it and it really wasn't that bad.

The 2nd sock was just a nightmare. First i knit the cuff part too long but I didn't realize it until i had done the heel and started the gusset. I was so mad. I started madly frogging then told myself to just put it to the side for a bit. I didn't frog the entire sock so that helped saved time. For some reason i also had trouble keeping my stitch count right. Bottom line i couldn't wait to finish.

These socks came out a little pointer at the toe than I like. But I think that's because I was doing the kitcheneer stitch wrong. Oh well they are a hit with Alysia. She loves them.

The yarn is Regia sock yarn. I won't buy this color again because I wanted more stripes. Then of course the colors of the stripes didn't match...

oh well live and learn.

A Dog tale

2008-01-31T14:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I took a break from my knitting to just veg in front of the computer playing World Of Warcraft (aka WoW). Hours and hours of mindless questing does a knitter/crocheter good sometimes.

So instead of sharing a project with you today I decided to share a story with you. I am sure that any knitter/crocheter who owns animals has been through what I've been through. So let's start off with me showing you my adorable doggie. This is my youngest dog, Sadie, in the house.

Isn't she just adorable? There's not a naughty bone in her little body.... HA!!! Yes I am sure you can hear the laughter radiating from my house right now. Miss. Sadiekins (as i call her) loves, LOVES my yarns and needles. She's victimized a few skeins of perfectly brand new skeins of yarn already. I've salvaged some of them and others are still sitting in their lovely mess.

On Tuesday night I left my project on my table to check on dinner. I come walking down our hall and what do my eyes see? My skein of yarn halfway down the hall with my project attached!I was yelling and waving my arms, looking like a typical nut. Thankfully my project didn't unravel as it was on dpns. A few minutes later I sit down to start working on it again when I realize I can't the 4th needle. With a sinking a feeling I realized that Sadie must of taken off with it too. To my dismay she did.

Here is what I found on the floor.

This is one of the things that can make a knitter just cry. Luckily the set had 5 in it so I was able to finish my project. I've come to the conclusion that:

Cute dog + yarn/needles (knitting) = could be diaster.

Yeti Gloves

2008-01-29T23:41:00.001-08:00

I finished my 2nd pair of fingerless mitts tonight at my local SNB group (ACKD) tonight. Woo hoo! I used Joann's angel hair yarn. I must say that i will NEVER use this yarn again. Granted my mitts are extremely warm but I can't stand the "hairy" look my mitts have! I swear when I finished the first one the other night i was like "OMG I HAVE A YETI ON MY HANDS!" (Okay don't ask me why I thought of a yeti but I just did.) So I promptly took my scissors and trimmed off as much of the excess "hair" that I could. Of course I was ever so careful that I didn't "accidently" cut any of my stitches. But honestly it doesn't look much better. *SIGH* So these will be home mitts that i will wear when no one else is around. Take a look below and see if you can see what I'm seeing

Now that I am comfortable with dpns I plan to try and another pattern and another yarn. I'd like to try one with cables and a nice soft yet warm yarn. Leave a comment if you have any suggestions!

Busy busy busy

2008-01-29T00:49:00.000-08:00

I've been on a knitting roll lately. I finally decided that it was high time that i learn how to knit on dpns. I've tried them before and it just led to disaster. So why would I subject myself to that torture again? I wasn't going to let a simple 3 or 4 needles defeat me. Plus I wanted to be able to say that I CAN knit with them. So off I went. I successfully knit my first pair of fingerless gloves on dpns. I realized that after I did the first one that I had knit it "inside out" Sigh....so I spent an hour trying to figure out how to correct this. I finally figured it out and was able to do the 2nd one correctly. I must admit that dpns aren't as scary as I thought they'd be. They were actually fun to use. I don't mind using them at all. Here's a pix of one of the completed gloves.

So after the success of my first pair I have already cast on and completed one for a new pair.

Tonight i was on a roll. My youngest enjoys "Play" cooking. So i decided to crochet her a cupcake. I used a pattern off the internet. Next time I make it I will add more rounds to make the base higher. I may look into trying to "wing" one myself. Alas it was a hit.

And here is Alysia cooking it.

It's been a busy fiber night.

Completed Wallaby

2008-01-24T10:03:00.001-08:00

wallaby
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

So here it is! My very first wallaby! I was so excited to finally get it done. I had this all knit up in 4 days. Would have been 3 days if I didn't run out of yarn. This was my first sweater that i worked completely in the round. I REALLY really like working in the round with all st st. Easy peasy!

I did try to get Alysia not to want the hood just so that I could finish it up but she wanted the hood. I am glad that I did do it though. I really didn't have too many problems with the pattern. I've read that a lot of people had trouble with the pouch. I read through some tips and had no problem at all. My only problem really was the underarms. It was hard for to visualize how it was going to work. Finally I just buckled down and said to heck with it and did it.

The yarn was a lot of fun to work with. It's very warm also. Judging by the expression on Alysia's face I say this wallaby was a hit!

Wonderful Wallaby

2008-01-19T23:06:00.000-08:00

So I've finally jumped on the "wallaby" bandwagon. I decided to make one for my youngest. I am using Plymouth encore colorspun. Fun yarn to work with. I started on Thursday and would of been finished tonight if I hadn't run out of yarn! OH I've never had this happen before and boy does it stink. And to boot a lot of yarn stores aren't open tomorrow so I may just have to wait until Monday to pick just 1 more skein of this yarn. Sigh!

I've been having a lot of fun with this pattern. It did take some getting used to because of how "wordy" it, but by dissecting it into pieces, along with some internet help, I was able to get through it. I'll be posting a picture as soon as it's done.

My papercrafting has taken a back seat for the past couple of weeks. I hope to start working on a few projects this week.

Well off to work on some socks since I can't finish the Wallaby.

First Pair of socks COMPLETED

2008-01-17T10:05:00.001-08:00

sock
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Woo Hoo I actually finished my first pair of socks and I didn't go crazy. I actually finished last Saturday but haven't a had a chance post them here on my blog.

For the second sock I actually was able to keep it on the needle to do the heel, gusset and instep. I don't think I did it correctly though but it worked. Still need to work on learning things but I am very proud!

Literally I was jumping and down when I finished it! Now i am on a sock addiction! They are just so fun! Not overly complicated and hey I finished a pair in less than a week!!

My FIRST SOCK!!!

2008-01-10T23:05:00.001-08:00

I have wanted to try socks for I don't know how long now. But I always avoided them because I can't seem to master DPN's. So the other day my friend Louise was talking about the magic loop way. (She's using this technique to do her daughter's sleeve on her sweater). She was raving about how easy it was. So of course this got me quite curious. After a few troubled starts I was finally able to figure it out. THANKS LOUISE for all the help!!!

So jokingly Louise says "Oh you'll have a sock done by next week". Well I finished one sooner than that. I started last night and wah lah it's done. I did run into quite a bit of problems in understanding the whole heel and gusset area. So i ended up putting the stitches onto dpns and working these areas this way. Then I put them back on my circular and finished them using magic loop.

Okay so I'm overly excited on finishing ONE sock. Now the test will be can I make the 2nd sock to look like the first one???

Here are some pix of the sock. It's done in Plymouth Yarn Encore orange. The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple Beginner pattern. This pattern was recommended to me from Cottage Yarns. Great recommendation. Thank you!!!

Ariana holding the sock

Ariana wearing the sock!!! Yes it fits!!!

WOO HOO! Stay tuned to see how the 2nd one turns out!

Christmas Tag Swap

2008-01-02T22:47:00.001-08:00

Here are my Christmas tags which were made for a swap I was in. I made 15 of each design. Funny story with the snowman tag was that I was working on these late at night. I'm just glad I didn't have anyone call the police on me as i was setting 30 eyelets at past 2am in the morning. I still use the old fashioned way so i was hammering away. Stamp was from a CTMH xmas stamp set. Cutting out 15 stamped snow man was no picnic!

I loved this gingerbread tag. I found a really cool BoBunny 12x12 scrapbook paper with all these gingerbread men/women on it. So I cut them all out and attached them. I just love the color of them. So cute!!!

Cards

2008-01-02T22:41:00.001-08:00

These are the most recent cards for the December
swap I did for my sis in law's CTMH swap.
"thank you" was the theme.

These gift card holders were inspired by Hollister's design. Took me awhile to get it how I liked it. I really like the overall results.

Altered Post it notes

2008-01-02T22:34:00.001-08:00

I wanted to give some type of little papercraft item to my Mother-in-law and sisters in laws for Christmas. So I came up with this. Altered post it notepads. It took me awhile to figure out exactly how I wanted to keep it closed. But I ended up not making slit to attach. I just made the top longer than the paper by a tad. That way if they so choose to use it again with a new post it pad they can.
Stamps used: Baroque Stamps CTMH

Altered Tin

2008-01-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

When it rains it pours huh? Yep back again with another project. As mentioned I love the idea of altering items. So here is my first "band-aid" tin. This was also made for my friend Louise. She is also a knitter like me so I knew this would be a great project. It's a small little tin for her to keep track of her different needles. FUN FUN FUN!!!!

Here is what the inside tabs looked like.

Altered Notebooks

2008-01-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

So my newest interest is altering items. I had seen numerous altered notebooks, tins, etc. I wanted to try and see what I could create. And wah laa...

This was my first notebook I did. It was made for my good friend Louise for an Xmas present. It took me quite awhile to get it done but I was very happy with the results. Let me see if I can list some of the items used. I'm not very good at keeping track of these things.

Cat stamps are from Hanko Designs
"Louise" was stamped from CTMH Homestead Alphabet
Ink is CTMH star spangled blue
Liquid Glass was put over all the letters but the "O". I put a window circle from CTMH over it.

I was so thrilled over this that I made a 2nd one for another friend.

I had a difficult time in finding a way to get her name to fit on the notebook. I finally ended up cutting letters out from a Sizzix alphabet. She loves dogs so this was her theme. Stamps are from CTMH Uptown Girls. All other items are from places I can't remember where I got it from.
I plan to do more of these this year. Will probably be trying different type of altering of notebooks journals through out the year.

Xmas dishcloths

2008-01-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

Dishcloths are always fun to give as presents. I especially love the ones with designs in them.
The first one is a gingerbread woman. The second is a frog. They were made with Peaches n cream /Sugar and cream. Both on size 7 needles. Patterns came from Knit-Wits Heaven

Papa's Christmas Lapghan

2008-01-02T21:57:00.001-08:00

This was my first knit afghan. WOW I must say this was quite the undertaking. I also just learned how to make cables not too long ago. I must admit that I had to stop and couldn't make it a full size ghan. it ended up being a lapghan. It just took too long and I was running short on time.
I love my knitting but I think it might be awhile before I attempt to knit a full size ghan.

Here's a pix of the ghan in progress. I made a HUGE mistake in it. Can you see it? Of course by the time I noticed it I had done too much and there was just NO way I was going to be frogging. So the mistake stayed. It bugged me, but my dad didn't notice.

Lotsa Projects No Time to post

2007-12-30T01:52:00.000-08:00

Hiyas. It's been SO Long since I've posted. I was busy working on all my holiday presents. The biggest and most time consuming present was a knit afghan I was making for my dad. I got so tired and frustrated with it it turned out to be a lapghan. It was a cable pattern done in Caron Simply Soft. It was a lot of fun but very slow in progress. I love my knitting but afghans are so much faster done in crochet.

I also made my sister a new scarf. Figured it'd be a nice gift since she now lives in Massachusetts. I also worked on a plethra of dishcloths. I made 4 for hubby's co-workers, 1 for my sister in law and 2 for my sister.

Along with my knitting I made some greeting cards for my mom. They were done with a Close to My Heart card kit which I had purchased awhile ago. I also made 2 altered notebooks for 2 friends. Those were SO much fun. Also for one of my friends I made an altered tin to keep track of all her knitting needles. I had a lot of fun making all the altered papercraft gifts. I also made 3 altered post its for my sister in laws and my mother inlaw. Simple but they turned out pretty neat!

Now that the holiday season is over I am less stressed. I have a few knitting projects that I want to make and a ton of papercrafting I want to do. For 2008 I am hoping to really start scrapbooking again. So we shall see!

Hopefully before the New Year I will get pix up of all my projects. Excited to share them all!

First attempt at cables

2007-10-24T10:48:00.001-07:00

cablesand lace
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Woo hoo my first attempt at cables and I must say I really enjoyed doing it. Of course this was an easy one. This is the cables & lace cloth from the Creative knitting magazine. It's done in Sugar n cream yarn.

It did take me a little time getting used to manipulating the cable needle. I still am not sure which cable needle I like best. One day i want to learn how to cable without a cable needle.

My cast on edge seems to be a bit loose but overall i REALLY liked this cloth and may do more of them!

Piggie is done

2007-10-24T10:45:00.001-07:00

pig
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Well actually the pig was done about a month ago but i'm just getting around now to blogging it. This was my first knitted animal. As you can see from the picture i messed up on attaching the nose. I don't like embroidering so i omitted the mouth and I used plastic eyes.

This was made for my youngest daughter who absolutely love her

Been Awhile

2007-10-11T23:32:00.000-07:00

Wow I didn't realize that I haven't blogged in a long time!

For a bit I was in kinda of a knitting slump. But I finally picked up my needles and started again. I did finish a pig for Alysia. The pattern for the pig came from Knitted Toys by Fiona McTague. I'll share pix of the pig later on. I also made the mistake of letting Alysia browse through the book so now my "to-do" list has grown quite a bit.

I am currently working on 3 projects and they aren't dishcloths! I'm working on 2 designs from White Lies Design. One is the easy lace jacket and the Child's Secret Garden Cardigan. I am also working on a tank top from Cabin Fever. These are my first projects for myself and that are more complicated than dishcloths.

round dishcloth 6-24-+07

2007-06-25T00:37:00.001-07:00

round dishcloth 6-24-+07
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Here is a pix of my first round dishcloth. It was done in peaches n cream yarn. Can't remember the name of the color. This was such an easy pattern and I had a lot of fun doing it. This on was done on size 8 needles. I think the next one I do will be done in my usual size 7's.

Close to my heart (CTMH) Cards

2007-06-20T19:31:00.001-07:00

So for those that know me they know that I've always "collected" scrapbook items. I have thousands of pictures in which are just waiting to get put into albums and pretty pages done. I've done a few pages a few years ago and then I started a new hobby, crocheting and knitting. Scrapbooking was put to the side.

Just recently my sister in law and mother in law started making cards using products from a company called Close to my Heart. At first I didn't attend any of the workshops, but then my sister in law became a consultant so I decided what the heck I'll attend. I totally love the products and the ideas.The workshops are fun and I come home with some pretty neat projects that I know i wouldn't of attempted. The Close to my Heart link can be found here : Traci's website
Below are some of the cards that I have made.

This is a cute accordian type album. I loved this one.

here is the inside. It has a total of 4 pgs.

Here are assorted cards that I have done at the 2 workshops I attended.

Flower Dishcloth

2007-06-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here is another new dishcloth. This one is a flower. It was a lot of fun to knit up. The yarn used was Debbie Bliss cotton. My friend loves this yarn so I took her advice and decided to try it. She was right it's extremely soft. Pattern is from knitsbyrachel.

Another Jacket for Alysia

2007-06-20T19:21:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged. Here is my newest project that I finished back in May. It is another jacket for my youngest daughter. This was based on the sweater which is below, but I made some adjustments along the way to account for the different yarn.

This was made with Muench Big Baby yarn. I can't remember the color name at the moment. But I fell in love this yarn. It's a bulky weight yarn so it worked up really quick.

2007-05-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of knitting lately. My new thing is dishcloths. Here are some of the cloths that I knit up for my Mom for mother's day.

First Knit Sweater Complete

2007-04-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my first knit sweater. This was actually very fun to do. i was afraid that it wouldn't fit but it actually fit quite nice. This is the Rumplestiskin sweater jacket from The Knitter's Stash. It was knit with Muench Tessin yarn purchased from Nine Rubies.

Here is my youngest, Alysia, modeling her new sweater. As you can see she was very happy. I was told that she wouldn't take it off at her daycare.

Easter cloths

2007-04-12T01:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the Easter cloths I made for presents.
I made them out Debbie Bliss cotton.

Bunny Cloth Tulip Cloth
Butterfly Cloth

Dishcloths

2007-04-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of the dishcloths I did for the KAL cloth group I am in.

bunny dishcloth

mini basketweave

These were a lot of fun to do. I have a few more that I've finished that I'll post shortly.

Knitting away

2007-04-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

well lately i've been knitting constantly. I finished 2 KAL. (will post pix later) Also finished up 3 cloths for Easter.
I am still working on Alysia's sweater. just have the sleeves to do. Hopefully i can finish that up sometime this week. I have a few more projects I am going to start soon. Already have the yarn all picked out. Can't wait to start them.

Yarn Shopping

2007-03-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Friday I went to my LYS looking for some Crystal Palace knitting needles. Sadly they didn't have the size I needed. I did end up picking up a new brand of needles. They are Bryson rosewood needles. Oh they are so lovely to work with. The lady at the yarn shop gave a great review on them so that was a plus.

I also picked up some new yummy yarn. I've been looking at this yarn for awhile but never got around to buying it. It is Plymouth Heaven. 100% nylon. Oh it's yummy. I am working on a ghan for myself with it. Maybe later once my knitting skills have improved I will make a robe or sweater out of it.

My next project is going to be an ABC afghan for my youngest. We went to the yarn store over the weekend to pick the yarn up. She chose Lion Brand pound of love in the turqoise color. Good choice =)

I organized some of my patterns and needles/hooks. Some of my circulars and dpn I had bought a couple of years ago seem to have gone missing.....

Blankie for friend's doggie

2007-03-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

blanket for gina's dog 3-21-07 (3)
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

Here is my newest finished project. This is for my husband's co-worker new doggie. The pattern came from 200 shell stitches. The pattern is called cascading waves. I used an I hook for it. Round 1 of the border was sc. 2nd round was double crochet and the third was hdc shell in one stich then slipping the next around.
This was fun to do!!

Ripple baby ghan

2007-03-14T01:13:00.001-07:00

crochet blankie -cloth 3-05-07 (2)
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

This was a gift for a friend who had a baby boy at the beginning of the year. As always I was late in finishing the gift. This was my first ripple pattern and I loved it. I had so much fun making it. It was made with Simply Soft yarn

Blue bun bun

2007-03-14T01:11:00.001-07:00

blue blue bun bun 03-2007
Originally uploaded by Catheaven.

This is "Blue Bun Bun" as my youngest daughter calls it. This bun bun was made by her request as she has a pink bun bun and wanted a friend to go with it. He was made with RH and bernat baby lash yarn with an H hook. It came out a lot larger than I had anticipated but she loves it.