If I CouLD Set MY SoUL FrEE

Dieting....ugh

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 03:15:00 +0000

It's really hard for me to get started dieting

but...

when I am in the zone

I do really well...but getting to that starting point is the hard part.

I've actually been enjoying coming up with some recipes this time.

It's so hard to make family friendly recipes and figure out all of the ingredients and calories and then divide it all into portions.

I'm really trying to get food made up ahead of time though

so I don't have to figure out all the details and I can grab and go.

I originally made these Jalapeno Poppers in a Cup for me

but Earl loves them.

I've made 2 batches for him already.

They have 234 calories so,

although they are quite tasty,

I still can't eat them very often.

So far my favorite Muffin Tin Food

are these Mexican Taco Cups

These are full of flavor and filling at 355 calories they make a nice lunch or dinner.

Add a salad and I have a nice and filling meal.

So my tip to myself is to make ahead food

and make food that is tasty and filling without a lot of calories.

Breakfast Muffin Tin Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 14:54:00 +0000

So I'm actually enjoying making these

Muffin Tin foods.

I'm terrible at making breakfast

but these eggs are so easy and really good too.

I also froze some and then heated them in the microwave

for a couple minutes and they still tasted so good!

Muffin Tin Ham and Eggs

So for the Muffin Tin Ham and Eggs I lined my muffin tin with paper and then used

2 Slices of Deli sliced Black Forest Ham

1 large egg

salt and pepper

I baked these at 350 until done.

100 Calories each!!

Spinach and Mushroom Egg Cup

The Spinach Mushroom Egg Cups I made by

cooking a bag of spinach,

a small container of sliced fresh mushrooms,

garlic, in a skillet with a little bit of oil.

I let these cool and then chopped them up.

I mixed in 8 eggs and scrambled along with

1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Then I lined the muffin tin with paper

Black Forest Ham or not

and added some of the mixture

baked at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

These can be frozen also and have 100 calories each.

Yummy!!

My "Muffin Tin Diet"

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 17:53:00 +0000

I lost 10 lbs last September/October

BUT

then we had a 3 house guests for 2 months,

a new baby in the house

and the holidays were here.

So now I'm going to look at the positive side of all of this.

I am very happy to announce that I have kept off the 10 lbs off

and am finally ready to restart my new lifestyle.

Our house guests are gone

and we have a beautiful new granddaughter, Amira

I have several issues with my eating.

1. I don't usually eat until I'm starving and then I just grab whatever is convenient.

2. I don't drink nearly enough water during the day.

3. I like to eat at bedtime.

4. I'm used to cooking with white rice, pasta and white potatoes.

5. I hate writing down and figuring out what I'm eating. It takes a lot of time and prep to get recipes and figure out how much I can eat.

6. Once I eat a sweet I can't get enough.

7. I tend to save the fresh and healthy food for the kids.

This is where the "Muffin Tin Diet" started for me.

Not everything will be in a muffin tin but the serving size and convenience of the tins

make cooking and measuring easier for me.

It also makes for nice individual servings that I can easily freeze and heat up later.

So far I've got a few breakfast, dinner and dessert items in the freezer.

It feels nice to have foods ready to heat and eat that are healthy.

So my first recipe is simple and the kids like these too.

These are my Strawberry/Lemonade Frozen Yogurt Cups.

I dumped

1 container of Greek Low Fat Yogurt into my blender

6 cups of frozen strawberries

1 packet of instant lemonade mix

blended it up,

poured the mixture into paper lined muffin tins,

froze the yogurt

and then put the frozen yogurt cupcakes in a bowl with a sealed lid into the freezer.

I let them thaw a little and then I have a

nice, creamy, delicious snack

that are only 43 calories per cupcake.

I used the paper liners for easier cleanup and the yogurt comes right out of them as they start to thaw.

I'll be back tomorrow with another quick and easy recipe in a muffin tin.

P.S.......

Earl just called me and said he's having Chinese delivered to the house

for a surprise for me and the kids.

Thanks Babe for thinking about me and sabotaging my plans for the day.

Well let's look up calories for Chinese food ❤❤

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 15:01:00 +0000

Today is Jace's 12th birthday!

I can't believe he's so grownup now.

I got up early this morning to make Brownies for his treats for school.

No problem right? Quick and easy treat.....except for a little misreading on my part.

So here is my Brownie disaster for Jace's Birthday.

I started off with 3 boxes of Brownie mix, the oil, eggs, and water.

I got a little creative and added some vanilla and chocolate syrup.

So far so good....

EXCEPT

I added 1 1/4 cups of water per box of Brownie mix instead of 1/4 cup.

So I added 3 cups to much water. LOL! What's a girl to do?!?!

I went to the pantry and got 2 boxes of chocolate cake mix and another box of Brownie mix.

I added those and the eggs and a can of applesauce instead of the extra oil.

My mix was still runny so I had the brilliant idea of adding some hot cocoa packets for extra dry mix.

I open up 3 envelopes at a time,

pour the MARSHMALLOWS in.

No cocoa...the packets were just marshmallows.

Okay so I found 2 packets of hot cocoa added them and went on and threw in 3 more packets of marshmallows.

What the heck right?!?!

I even threw inn a chocolate donut to try to absorb some of the liquid.

Okay....I have them in the oven, baking...anxiously waiting.

They actually taste pretty good!

I think I will have enough brownie cupcakes for the whole school though!!!

My Recipe
4 boxes of Brownie mix
2 boxes of chocolate cake mix
15 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
3/4 cup milk
3 cups of water
some chocolate syrup
1 can applesauce
2 packages of hot cocoa mix
6 packages of hot cocoa marshmallows
a little vanilla
and a chocolate donut for good measure

Happy Birthday Jace!

I hope your friends like the Brownie Cupcakes!

Recycled Wall Hanging and Dream Catcher

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 04:01:00 +0000

I've made this wall hanging and a couple of dream catchers

lately out of the rims of the cardboard coffee cans that we use.

I love the mixture of roughness of the rust and the femininity of the crochet.

Earl thinks I'm a nut and surely I'm the only one that will like these little pieces of art.

Maybe so, but I still like them....

a lot!

I actually did sell one too....Ha! Ha! Earl.

What do you think?

Playing Catch Up On My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 05:31:00 +0000

I used to love blogging and since Facebook became so popular I pretty much quit blogging and became addicted to Facebook. I do enjoy Facebook, but I really miss blogging.

Lexie and Jake were blessed with another healthy baby boy, Wesley, a month ago.

Mallory is 5 months pregnant and doing wonderful.

Ezie and Jace are doing well.
The boys have been spending some time with a family friend and learning to ride ATV's.
Jace played baseball again this year. It was his first year in the Major's division so he didn't get to play as much as last year but he did really well playing with the older boys.
Jace had a music recital so I bought him a new suit at the thrift store for a couple of dollars and he was pretty impressed with himself.
He has as you can tell opted from getting a haircut for the last year.
He has to get his swag on you know.

I haven't lost any weight yet. My knee's hurt so bad from the arthritis and I'm looking forward to a knee replacement soon. I'm trying to exercise some but it's really hard to even walk. I'm determined to loose some weight though and build up some my muscles in my legs before surgery.

I'll do more catch up over the next few days.

Seriously.....

I will be a better blogger.

Anthony, Owen, Lexie and Jake in their pregnancy announcement photo.

Lexie at around 8 1/2 months pregnant with Wesley.

She's so beautiful and glowing.

Jake, Lexie. the 2 Big Brothers and Wesley

Such a handsome grandson I have!

I love you Wesley!

Mallory and Anthony's pregnancy announcement.

Jace in his suit going to his 4th grade music concert.

Jace getting ready to steal a base.

Ezie and Jace on our friends ATV's

Planning my Menu's, Wedding Shopping and Whatever Else the Kids Have Planned For Me

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:30:00 +0000

I'm trying to plan a few things to make so I'll have healthy foods

ready to eat when I'm busy this week

or just to lazy to chop, dice and cook.

I'm thinking about making

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

from Pip & Ebby's blog tonight for dinner.

I think everyone will like that.

Pip & Ebby's photo

I'm also thinking about making

Grilled Chicken with Crunchy Asian Slaw

from Clinton Kelly's recipes on The Chew.

I'm pretty sure at least Earl and I will like it.

I'm also thinking about

The Garden Grazers

Spinach + Tomato Quesadilla with Pesto.

These look so yummy and

I can substitute ingredients to make my own little yummy creations!

The Garden Grazers Phot

I've also got to go shopping and get me a few things

to help me look decent for my son Jesse's wedding tomorrow.

Ezie needs some pants and shoes also so thrifting we will go and then

to Wal-mart for what I can't find at the thrift stores.

High School Football tonight??

Maybe....we have to see what kind of a mood Mal is in.

Day 1 and Day 2 of Eating Right

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:16:00 +0000

I did really well if I may say so myself!

Day 1 I stayed under 1500 calories

and even had a beer.

Day 2 I was under 1200 calories.

I ate lots of veggies, some fruits, lean meat and good grains.

I wrote everything down and added up the Carbs, Proteins, Fats and Calories that I ate to keep a good proportion of everything.

Actually I feel like I'm eating more than I usually do.

The only thing I hate about doing this is all the planning and journaling everything,

but,

I know it will be worth it in the end.

Tonight I'm making Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups for dinner.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and the actual recipe is from

Gal on a Mission....to make the BEST recipes loved by all

(I borrowed her photo also)

http://www.galonamission.com/spinach-lasagna-roll-ups/

I doubled the recipe and made 35 out of the lasagna noodles for the family

and then I had 2 portabella mushrooms.

that I put a serving of the cheese mixture in for me.

I added some garlic powder, pepper and oregano to the cheese mixture too

because we like things spiced up around here.

They were so yummy easy to make!

Okay, Here We Go! The Beginning of Losing the Other Half of Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:55:00 +0000

Today is my 54th Birthday!

I would never have imagined that at 54 or any other age

I would be fat...and definitely not 100lbs overweight.

I can remember at 95lbs. feeling so fat.

I'm only 4'9" so that was really my target weight.

Even at my due dates with my pregnancies I was only 119lbs.

After I had my 4th son I did get up to 110lbs

and then when I was 29 I blew up and weighed 136lbs.

For my 30th Birthday I worked hard and lost 40lbs in 6 months.

Yay for me!

I felt so good and was really fit.

A few years and pregnancies later up when the weight again.

As time went on more weight came and I became double my size.

A couple of months ago I was at 210lbs. and now I am at 205lbs.

so my goal is to loose 100lbs by my 55th birthday.

I am so embarrassed and humiliated by my weight gain and try not to leave the apartment.

My son is getting married on Saturday and I am going to look like a hippo.

I don't even want to go to the wedding and for people to see me,

but it is an important day for my son and honestly the day isn't about me.

I wish I had gotten motivated sooner,

but better late than never I guess.

So I decided that I will blog about my weight loss journey

and completely put myself out in the world for everyone to see....

mainly so I can't back out and secondly because if I don't have someone to answer to I won't follow through.

Me at 30 at 95lbs.

Me at 40 around 120lbs

I remember feeling so fat this day and so embarrassed to go to church for Lexie's First Communion.

Me right before I turned 50.

Me at 51 at Lexie's wedding.

I was right around 200lbs.

NOW SOME OF THESE PICTURES MIGHT BE DISTURBING!!

They are very disturbing to me

but I said I was going to be completely forthcoming.

So here are my before shots taken this morning and my measurements.

Bust: 49"

Waist: 45"

Hips: 50"

Thighs: 27"

Calves: 17"

I can't believe I am posting these photos.

I hope and pray that next year at this time

I can take a photo's of half of me!

A Super Easy, Super $$ Saver Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 15:06:00 +0000

If any of you are like me

I LOVE Pinterest!

I find so many useful ideas and wonderful patterns on Pinterest

and so I wanted to share on of my favorites

for any of you who sew.

I go through a ton of thread.

I usually use white thread on everything and it can get expensive.

I buy my thread at Wal-mart and it's around $2.87 a spool.

Well thank you to Angie Padilla I am saving a ton of money by

buying the cones of thread for a price even cheaper than one spool of thread.

The cones are equivalent to about 6 or more spools of regular thread.

I fixed mine a little different than Angie did,

but using the same basic ideas.

Thank you Angie for the wonderful,

economical, easy idea that makes sewing so much more enjoyable!

Why is Communicating With Your Family So Hard?

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 15:52:00 +0000

I always thought growing up that my family was really close.

I loved that feeling.

After I got married and started growing up

I realized how much my family was only close on the surface.

I don't think that we ever really learned to communicate how we honestly felt about personal matters or anything controversial.

I always did and still do feel very intimidated by my mom and most of my siblings.

I feel like my opinion doesn't matter and that I am less than,

BUT

I have never told any of them how I feel,

I am 53 years old and have been letting this anger build up in me for years.

I have so much anger and I hate it.

So Why is it so hard to talk to them?

I was the same way with my ex-husband until I finally just blew up and had such a hatred for him that I couldn't stand the sight of him.

(We're better now since we've been divorced and are just friends)

That's not what my intention is with my family.

Now the lack of communication and the build of anger has been passed down to another generation.

Myself, Earl, my kids and their spouses,

in my opinion have a problem communicating.

In my opinion we get irritated with someone and we gossip about it and keep building up the anger until one of us explodes.

I hate this so much!!

I want to learn how to start fixing my communication problem

with my immediate and extended family.

I admit I am scared to death to do this and don't know how to even go about it.

I found the following insert today from the book

Live Inspired Now-A Field Guide to Happiness by Heather Paris

and I am going to follow up on reading the book so I can try to communicate my feelings better with my family so I can not be so angry and stressed out.

Wish me luck!

"Have you ever felt really angry, frustrated, or irritated and then you ended up lashing out at people because of it? There is a way to have those feelings without causing so much damage and it is really simple. Learn to explain your non-positive feelings instead of expressing them!

Explaining how you feel (in a calm tone) rather than expressing yourself (using elevated tones and body language) makes it more likely that other people will listen and actually hear what you say. How many times have you said something in anger and the other person heard it in a way that was much worse than you intended? Your voice tone and body language are far more influential than the actual words you are saying.

You might yell "I am so irritated by you, why don't you ever put the lid back on the toothpaste when you're done?" But what the other person hears is "I hate you, you never do anything right!" It sounds crazy now as you read it, but this is so common! I hear from couples all the time about this. They hear the intention in the voice tone rather than the actual words and it causes bigger problems.

If you choose to explain your non-positive feelings, in a more calm manner, you can get your point across with a better chance of avoiding miscommunications. Try talking about your feelings instead of yelling, screaming, or judging and see how your communication changes! Feel free to express joy, elation, curiosity, and other happy emotions but explain the rest!"

Jesse's 6th Birthday Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 01:41:00 +0000

My grandson Jesse turned 6 on Friday

and so we went to Chuckie Cheese yesterday to celebrate.

Here's the birthday boy!

and here's some of the guests

Ezie (he used to LOVE Barney) and my grandsons Mason and Trenton

My grandsons Jesse and Jordan and my Jace

Jace

and Jesse with his Rainbow fish pillow that I crocheted for him.

and another photo of the fish.

Happy Birthday Jesse!!!

My First Attempt at a "Snippet" Sampler

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 13:18:00 +0000

I'm trying to think of something to make for my

granddaughter Vivianna for her upcoming 17th birthday.

I can't think of anything and then I thought of a sampler.

I call this a "Snippet" Sampler.

It's little snips of lace, ribbon, papers, felt and fabric.

I added some buttons, a washer and some charms.

I put all my "snippets" on 1 1/2 inch muslin squares with felt on the inside.

I still need to sew it onto something.

I think it's nice.....

but I'm not sure if my granddaughter will like it????

Here's hoping!

My Balcony Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 30 May 2015 20:49:00 +0000

Living on the third floor of an apartment building

is nice for the view....

and that's about it!

We love fresh veggies, flowers and gardening

so living on the third floor isn't going to stop us.

Here's my garden after transplanting my sprouts.

On this privacy lattice I have Morning Glories

that are beginning to go crazy

looping and spreading.

I also have some spearmint and rosemary on the door.

On this side of the balcony I have 3 different kinds of tomato plants, marigolds,

sweet peppers, basil and rose moss.

Over here we have Jace's cabbage plant that the school gave him, chives, snow peas

and more of everything else.

Finally I have more tomato plants, sweet and hot peppers.

The tomato plants smell so good.

Just those little plants leaves have the most wonderful scent of summer and fresh tomatoes.

Pure Joy and Happiness!

Viv's Jr. Prom

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 18 May 2015 12:30:00 +0000

My second oldest granddaughter went to her Jr. Prom on Saturday.

I can't believe that she's that old already.

I remember when her mom and dad went to their Sr. Prom.

Anyway,

here are some pictures of my beautiful granddaughter.

and here's a picture of her with her sister and brother, Liv and Jesse.

and then Fatima, Vivianna, Jesse and little Jesse

I think Jesse and Fatima have 3 great kids!!

I'm Advertising!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 16 May 2015 23:57:00 +0000

Earl wanted me to get some kind of a sign for the van

to advertise my Etsy Shop so hopefully I can get some local shoppers.

So....

Here is my first window sticker!

There is some glare from the hazy day

but here is Earl applying my sticker.

I love it!

I hope I can get some sales from it and not embarrass Earl and the kids to much!

A Wedding is in Our Family's Future!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 16 May 2015 00:35:00 +0000

My son Jesse and daughter-in-law Fatima

are officially getting married in Sept.!!

Jesse and Fatima have been together for 19 years and have 3 kiddo's.

I went to watch her try on dresses,

with not much success,

but I was entertained by my 5 year old grandson Jesse.

Jesse is so darned cute!

He just kept giggling and giggling.

Jesse wants me to wear a rainbow wig, a rainbow dress

a red nose and paint my face white for the wedding.

That would be funny huh?!?!?

I also caught him peaking up a maniquins dress.

Hee! Hee!

I had fun with the grandkids and I can't wait to see which dress Fatima picks!!

Baseball with Jace and Matchbox Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Mon, 04 May 2015 14:43:00 +0000

I LOVE watching the kids play sports and it's now

Baseball season with Jace!

Jace is on a knew team this year and his coach is letting him try out different positions.

I am really happy with this and Jace is having a lot more fun than being stuck in outfield all season.

Our little friend Amber and my Mallory at the game.

Between ball practice and games

I've been making some matchboxes

The top matchbox I decorated like a little suitcase for one of my neighbors.

His sister-in-law is going to Germany this week

and he thought this would make a cute going away gift.

The other one is 1 of 3 that I made for Mother's Day Gifts.

So cute and fun to make!

I Love Ruffles for Little Girls!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 14:03:00 +0000

I've been working on some skirts and pillowcase style dresses for my grand daughters, for my shop and for my new blog for families in need, Sew....This is My Gift to You.

I really like ruffles and think little girls look so cute in them....

so I've been making lots of ruffles.

Here are photos of the things I've made this last week.

Same skirt just the hat is reversed

These are kinda my trial outfits for sizing and once I try them on the g.irls I will be making more

A Little Monkey for A Little Monkey!.....and Catch Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 20:13:00 +0000

Happy 4th Birthday Owen!!

My grandson Owen is so cute and expressive in his facial gestures.

Mallory picked out a crocheted monkey for me to make for his birthday.

I haven't posted for awhile so you won't know this,

I don't really believe in New Years Resolutions,

but I went on and made one this year.

I would make and have them done on time,

homemade gifts for each of my 14 grandkids birthdays this year.

I've got 4 down and 10 more to go for the year.

Here's what I made for Owen

A Monkey for A Little Monkey!

I bought the pattern on Etsy from Luvly-Gurumi's shop.

The pattern was easy to make and great instructions.

I also made Owen a little car case.

I updated this version with 2 roads.

I learned a few things from making the first one and so this one was a little easier to make.

and now here's Owen

Happy Birthday Owen!

....and Catch Up!

In January we had 3 grandkids with birthdays.

The second set of twins, Leigha and Liam turned 5.

I had fun with Liam's toy. Making it and playing with it in the process.

So first is Leigha's cupcakes. I crocheted her a set of 6 yummy cupcakes.

I just went with the flow and designed my own cupcakes.

I think they turned out pretty darn cute!

and a cupcake purse for Leigha's goodies.

and the Birthday girl.

and now for Liam's alligator.

My grandma had made my older kids some animals when they were little

and I found the pamphlet on Etsy. It is an Aunt Lydia's pamphlet.

The alligator is pretty much completely made of granny squares

....which I altered a little bit to my liking.

and here's Liam with his brother Austin playing with his alligator.

Hee! Hee!

Next we had Chad, Jr.s birthday.

Chad also turned 6 this year.

I made Chad a Minion and a little evil minion.

I bought the pattern from Aradiya Toys on Etsy.

The evil minion I used part of her pattern and my own thing for part of it.

and here's Chad, Jr.

Enjoy Chad!!

Finally, I can't leave out my Jace who also had a birthday in January.

Jace turned 9 and he is a Pokémon Trainer now.

So I crocheted him so Pokémon Balls by just playing around

and looking at pictures of the balls online.

and Jace opening a gift.

I hope all the grandkids enjoy their gifts from Nana

and Jace from his Mama.

The Crochet Bucket and the Other Things I Made for a Friends Easter Basket

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:07:00 +0000

I crocheted this cute Minnie purse and lined it with fabric .

It also has a button closure on the back.

I also crocheted these cute cupcakes for playtime fun.

Next I made this Travel Car Case.

I had never sewn on vinyl before and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Tissue Paper, Tissue Paper, Tissue Paper is a most on sewing on vinyl!

I machine quilted 2 pieces of flannel to the front and 2 onto the back so the mat is nice and thick to play cars on. (6 layers of fabric altogether)

I also added little garage door holders so the cars won't keep sliding out on their own.

I just used some little strips of fabric and Velcro.

Finally I added a piece of black ribbon for the road and a strap for closing the garage.

A machine quilted basketball bookmark for the reader.

I crocheted this Goosey Goose for the baby of the family.

Next I made this neat Card Holder for a boy that has several decks of cards.

I decided to use vinyl so he could see which decks are stored in each pocket.

The traffic sign fabric goes with his bedroom and again I machine quilted the fabric so it would be a little sturdier to hold the cards.

I just drew around a hanger for the shape and then added the length I wanted.

I just added some binding around the edges and I think it made a cute hanging holder.

and now for the entire Easter surprise for my friends kids.

I'm glad I got to help make the kids Easter fun!

The best part is that everything is machine washable,

even the bucket!

I ALmosT ForGot I HaD a BLoG!

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 22:28:00 +0000

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged.

I have gotten so used to just going on Facebook, but I really do miss blogging.

So here we go,

my first post in almost 10 months.

I wanted to share this rag basket that I just finished crocheting for a friend of mine.

I crocheted the basket using cotton crochet thread and sheets torn into strips.

The bucket actually stands up really well by itself but I put a bucket in it just for extra firmness.

I cut the top of a 5 gallon bucket.

It was really easy too!

Sometimes I amaze myself at the new things I can learn to do.

Afterwards I used sandpaper and sanded the rough edges.

I really like how the bucket turned out.

Crocheting the bucket is very hard on the wrists,

but well worth the pain.

Block 14 -- Box Fan Block

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:23:00 +0000

This block has a different version of my favorite stitch....

the basket weave stitch.

I found this pattern on Ravelry and it is a free download.

A big Thank You to Donna Kay Lacey for the patern!

My instructions probably aren't very clear and I apologize for that in advance.

I'm writing them out in my own way mainly for me to go back and make more squares for another afghan, but I will be more than happy to try to help you understand my way of writing if you are interested in making some of these squares.

Just leave a comment or email me.

I made the square as directed and then added my extra rows to make the size square I'm using.

So here we go.....

The Raverlry download link is here:

I started with white to add the extra: 2 SC, ch 2 in each corner and then 18 SC in the BL of the DC of the previous row.

Darker Blue: 2 SC, ch 2 in each corner and then 11 SC in the BL of the previous rows SC, ch 1 and then 11 more SC and then do the corner. So you should have a total of 13 SC, ch 1, 13 SC on each side for a total of 27 stitches.

Light Blue: 2 HDC, ch 2, 2 HDC in each corner and then 27 HDC in the BL of each SC of the previous row for a total of 31 stitches on each side.

Darker Blue: 2 SC, ch 2, 2 SC in each corner and 31 SC in each SC of the previous row for a total of 35 SC.

Block 13 - A Square in a Square in A Square

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 18:08:00 +0000

I've been busy finishing up other projects and orders....

so I haven't had time to work on my squares.

I'm happy to be working on then again!

They are kinda of a way that I can be creative with my crochet.

This next square is really easy.

My instructions probably aren't very clear and I apologize for that in advance.

Just leave a comment or email me.

I started with a 6 ch to make my circle.

Row 1: ch 3, 2 DC, ch 3, then do 3 DC, ch 3 to make a total of 4 sections.

Row 2: just like your regular granny square---3 DC, ch 3, 3 DC in each corner space and ch 1 in between.

Row 3: 5 SC in each corner space and 1 SC in each DC and ch 1 space around.

Row 4: In each corner space (the middle of the 5 SC) make 2 DC, 3 ch, 2 DC and then a DC in the BL of each of the SC of the previous row. So 11 DC in the BL and 2 in each corner.

Row 5: Same as Row 3. (19 SC)

Row 6: In each corner 1 DC, ch2, 1 DC and then on each side ch 1, 19 DC, ch1

Row 7: In each corner 3 SC, then on each side 23 SC

Row 8: In the middle SC of Row 7 make 2 SC, ch 2, 2 SC and then on each side ch 1, SC, ch 1, SC all the way across for a total of 12 SC and 13 ch on each side plus the corner spaces.

Row 9: In each corner make 1 SC, ch 2, 1 SC then on the sides make a SC in each BL of the previous rows SC and a SC in each ch space.for a total of 31 SC on each side.

Row 10: 35 SC in each SC of the previous row. Two SC in each corner and 2 ch plus 31 SC on each side for a total of 35.

Square 12 -- Fisherman's Ring Square

noreply@blogger.com (Sherry) — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 21:01:00 +0000

I saw this pattern years ago and LOVED it.

So for Square 12 I made the Fisherman's Ring.

This square looks hard but is really easy to make.

Here is the photo of the one on the site where I found the pattern

and here is my square

Here is the pattern which I followed for the whole square and then added on my own edging to make it fit the square size I need for my afghan.

Except,

I used Red heart yarn and an H hook.

Oh.....and I used a HDC on the cables instead of SC.

Fisherman's Ring Square Pattern

Materials List

Caron Wintuk worsted weight yarn
Crochet hook size G

Gauge: Rounds 1-2 = 2 1/2"

Finished size: 6"

Ch 5; join with a sl st to form ring

Round 1: Ch 3 to count as the first dc; work 15 more dc in the ring; join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3. (16 dc)

Round 2: Ch 1, sc in the same st as joining, ch 5, sk 2 dc, sc in the next dc, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, sc in the 2nd skipped dc, *ch 5, sk next unworked dc, sc in the next dc, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, sc (behind cable) in the last skipped dc* Repeat from * to * 5 times; ch 5, sc (in front of the first cable) in the first skipped dc of the round, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, join with a sl st to the first sc. (8 cables)

Round 3: Ch 1, sc in the same st as joining; (ch 5, skip the next 5 sc in cable, sc in the next sc at the base of the next cable) around; ch 5, join with a sl st to the first sc. (8 ch 5 spaces)

Round 4: Sl st into the first ch 5 sp, ch 3 to count as the first dc, work 4 more dc in the same ch 5 sp; (5 dc in the next ch 5 sp) around; join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch 3. (40 dc)

Round 5: Ch 1, sc in the same st as joining, ch 5, sk 2 dc, sc in the next dc, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, sc in the 2nd skipped dc, *ch 5, sk next unworked dc, sc in the next dc, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, sc (behind cable) in the last skipped dc* Repeat from * to * 17 times; ch 5, sc (in front of the first cable) in the first skipped dc of the round, turn, sc in each of the 5 chs, turn, join with a sl st to the first sc. (20 cables)

Round 6: Ch 1, sc in the same st as joining; (ch 5, skip the next 5 sc in cable, sc in the next sc at the base of the next cable) 19 times; ch 2, join with a dc to the first sc. (20 ch 5 spaces)

Round 7: Ch 4 to count as the first trc, work 3 more trc in the same sp (around the post of the last dc in round 6), *3 dc in the next ch 5 sp, (3 sc in the next ch 5 sp) 2 times, 3 dc in the next ch 5 sp, 7 trc in the next ch 5 sp* Repeat from * to * 2 times; 3 dc in the next ch 5 sp, (3 sc in the next ch 5 sp) 2 times, 3 dc in the next ch 5 sp, 3 trc in the first ch 5 sp; join with a sl st to the top of the beginning ch 4. (76 sts)

Round 8: Ch 1, 2 sc in the same st as joining, (sc in each of the next 18 sts, 3 sc in the next trc) 3 times, sc in each of the next 18 sts, sc in the samr st as the first sc; join with a sl st to the first sc. Fasten off. Weave in ends.

My instructions probably aren't very clear and I apologize for that in advance.

Just leave a comment or email me.

My addition to the border

Row 9: (light blue) 2 SC, ch 2, 2 SC in each corner and a SC in the BL of each stitch (24 SC)

Row 10: (white) 2 SC,, ch 2, 2 SC in each corner. 1 SC in the BL of first stitch, ch 4 and skip 4 stitches then 1 SC, ch 4 and skip 4 stitches then 4 SC in the next 4 stitches, ch 4 and skip 4 stitches then 1 SC, ch 4 and skip 4 stitches then 1 SC in the BL of last stitch and then do your corner space. (12 SC, 4 ch 4 spaces)

Row 11: (light blue) 1 SC, ch 3, 1 SC in each corner space. 1 SC in the first 3 SC of the previous row, 4 SC and ch 1 the next ch 4 space, 4 SC in the next ch 4 space 1 SC in the next 2 SC of the previous row, ch 1, 1 SC in the next two SC and then repeat backwards for the rest of the row. (28 SC, 3 ch)

Row 12: (darker blue) 2 SC, ch 2, 2 SC in each corner and a SC in each stitch across including the 2 chain stitches (35 SC)