R.I.P. Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple dies at 85yo.

She was a knitter!!!
If you want to read a little about her amazing life, click HERE.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to my beautiful MOM! Thanks for doing double duty. :)

From Mochimochi Land

Preview of some Handmade Xmas Gifts

I am sure most of you guys can guess what I was making but I'm still not telling. :) I will post all about these pretties as soon as I'm finished with all of them. :)

I hope you guys survived Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. It's time for all the Christmas Craziness now. :) Stay warm and safe!

Surprise Xmas Gifts

Here are some last minute Xmas gifts that I just got. :P

Glee made this for me!!! Isn't it adorable! :) It was hidden in her husband's book bag because he hadn't unpacked yet. He still isn't unpacked. :P It looks so difficult but she says the yarn does all the work and it's really easy. :) It is wonderful!! Thanks!

Glee and RC's wedding favors. Her mom made these out of paper and ribbon!! Can you believe it? Incredible!!! :)

My Xmas card from her. It is so beautiful; so Thailand. :)

A couple of late gifts from my friend, Rachel. Aren't they wonderful!! Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales and  Hans Christian Anderson Complete Fairy Tales for my library so I can reference the stories while watching "Once Upon a Time". hehe Thanks Bunny!!

I need to get beading and sending out my own late gifts. :P

Hope you guys are having a great year so far!

Xmas from Thailand

The Thailand princess sent me some wonderful Xmas gifts via Philippeans and her husband. :)

She knitted this scarf for me...isn't it cute?

This carved wood magnet is beautiful.

Another magnet. :) We won't talk about what the elephants are doing to each other. :p

Key Chains! :)

This blue elephant is beautiful.

Bag 1. It is so pretty!!

hehe Luggage Tag...I think she should've given it to her husband...hehe He's the one who's flown there to be with her and he loves Thailand. :)

Bag 2 in my favorite color, blue. :) It is really elegant.

Pretty letter holder? Well, I am going to use it for my mail. :) It has 3 pockets and beautiful embroidery.

Eep!! This is my fav! A beautiful carving from Thailand. It is so nice! :)

Thank you so much Mrs. Smith!!! :)

Seeing Red...Holiday Red! :)

I finished the Red Sparkily Scarf! I hope that special someone likes it. :)

Rolled up Scarf

Close up of the ... stitch :)

I have decided not to say the name of the stitch so not to offend anyone who is really sensitive. The link to the pattern is in a previous post.

Scarf being modeled

Xmas Eeyore, who has been sitting in that seat since last Xmas, is my very cute model for the scarf. :)

Profile View

Get my good side! :)

Left over yarn

This pattern was a one skein scarf! I had so much left over, that I decided to crochet some flowers to go on the ends of the scarf, just to dress it up a bit. The yarn is Lion Brand Yarn, Vanna's Glamour, Ruby Red color.

Crochet flowers

I made flower 1 of this tutorial instead of the other flower I had done a few months back. But I changed the start of the pattern by using this magic ring so that the centers don't have to be filled in with a button.

Flower on the end of the scarf

I am going to pin it on the end of the scarf so it can be taken off for washing or I can make other flowers in other colors so that they can be changed to match the outfit. By making these flowers, pins, she can also wear them as a brooch. :)

Ribbon Flower

I had made a 5 petal flower with this red wire ribbon from the Xmas section of Michaels (seen in previous post) but then I saw these poinsettia ornaments and thought they were look nice in the center. This time I made a 6 petal flower because the poinsettias were so big.

I don't know if I want to make them into brooches or hair clips or both. :) I will definitely need to use them on at least one package in lieu of a bow. :)

I might make a few crochet flowers to embellish tags for the gifts. :) I want to make my own tags this year. Usually, I just write a card and use that as give tags. If I do, I will definitely post the finished products. :)

Hope you guys are having a productive holiday season! :) 

Presents in Progress

Here are some of the presents that I have in progress at the moment.

These are sort of old pictures because I have made some progress on both scarves. ::)

Waves Scarf

I saw this sock yarn and the colors screamed my friend's name so I bought it. The yarn is Patons, Stretch Socks yarn, Pumpkin Spice Jacquard color, perfect for this time of year. :) Then I started searching the web to look for a pattern. Then I came across this Sock Yarn Waves Scarf pattern. It was also a rainbow of colors so I thought it would work. I was unsure so I sent this pic to my friend, Rachel, in Alabama and my friend's, the person I am going to give it to, sister, Chendal. Rachel agree with me that it was kinda awkward but Chendal gave it a big thumbs up. It is not my color but it is my friend's color style so I am going to finish the scarf. I am half way done now. It is an awkward pattern so I have been very loose with my crochet stitches to make it easier on myself. The original pattern had a tighter weave. I used the crochet needle size from the pattern but not the one that the yarn manufacturers suggested. I will post another picture of the finished scarf. I hope she likes it.

Faggot Stitch Scarf

This Easy Beginner Knitted Scarf is made with a very old traditional lace stitch called Faggot stitch. That is what the name of the stitch. I did not make it up so don't blame me for the name. It is a very easy stitch and goes pretty fast. This one also needs a looser tension because you will have to knit two together. But it is pretty. I am 2/3 done with it. When I am finished, I will post new pictures. It is for a very special woman in my life who has been there for me every single day. :) 

I really like the purl cast on method I used for this scarf because it is tight and neat.

Vanna's Glamour  Lion Brand Yarn

This yarn has tinsel woven throughout and so it sparkles! But the sparkles are very hard to take pictures of. It is not a soft yarn especially with the stitch I used but I think it will be beautiful to dress up a jacket or a little black dress. :)

Wire Ribbon Flower

 Here is the video tutorial on how to make this flower. I got the ribbon on sale out of the Christmas ribbons. I tell you this because the ribbon has not lonely wire at the edges but red foil This changes things because the foil might "foil" your flower. The key is to stitch through the foil so that it folds right. On my next flower I might try to just cut off the foil and see how it changes things. 

For the center I made 3 pearl beaded balls but it did not cover the center mess entirely so I hot glued more pearls to the center around the 3 beaded balls. I don't know what to do with my pretty flower. I might make it into a hair clip and clip it onto my Xmas packages in lieu of a bow. I also like to tie ornaments under my bows. This flower would look cute as an ornament too. :)

Wreath Earring 

I saw these Autumn Heather Earrings on a facebook post from the website and thought it would be cute as Christmas wreath earrings. Since there was no tutorial for this one, I just looked at the picture and tried to figure it out. Since I do not have the exact same size beads they used, my wreath is a little tight. I think it is cute. I need to make the match and add the ear wires. I might make another pair but with pearls.

I hope your holiday crafting is going well. :)

Wet Rainy Weather = ...

...staying warm under fuzzy blankets

...eating hot soup

...drinking more tea and hot coco

...reading a good book in bed

...getting ready for the holiday season

and

...making scarfs

I do like the holiday season. Starting with my birthday in September. :) Then we hit Halloween. I actually packed away all of the decorations the day after. :) That is really good for my family who still has stuff from last year's Valentines day and Christmas out. Next is Thanksgiving. I don't know what I am going to do since my family is working. :( I love Thanksgiving because of all the yummy foods. :) We used to go to a friend's house. My favorites are potato salad and cream cheese won tons. I would like to make candied carrots and maybe make some fried sweet potato balls. :) Then there is big Christmas. I have a lot of my gifts already but I have no idea what to give to the other 1/2 of my list. And lastly, New Years.

Because of the 1/2 I have no idea what to give which consists of mainly all the guys, I have decided to see if I can make or buy scarfs. Here is the first scarf that I am starting. Sadly, I need to put it down because it is becoming more and more mine. hehe I don't think I can give it away. I was googling free quick and easy knitting scarf patterns and stubbled upon this pattern called, Seafoam Lace and Eyelets Scarf. Their scarf was made with this beautiful seafoam green colored yarn called, Panda Silk DK, and that's not all, the yarn is made with Bamboo! Yep that quenched it. hehe So, I started it. I have not knitted in years so I had to read some tutorials on knitting and for the first few rows I held the yarn in the wrong hand which made it much harder to knit. It also made the stitches more tight, which I like but I think I will stick with what I have started.

Beginning of the Scarf

 This picture shows the stitch better but the picture below shows the color of the yarn better.

I used Patons's Brilliant synthetic yard in Crystal Cream color. It has sparkily threads in it and is a light champagne color. I really like it. And it is very soft. :) I think I will keep it for myself when I am finished with it to compliment all my black dresses. :) Now I just need to find some cute, comfortable, heels to match. hehe

I am going to switch to my large needles and thicker but still soft yarn to make some scarfs faster. November is moving so fast! :P I still need to do more beading. :P

Good luck with all the gift shopping!