DIY chain linked crochet flowers

My sister saw a scarf made of linked crochet flowers and wanted to know if I could make one.  I figured out how to make the flowers - they are super easy.   So easy I think I will be showing her how to make them so she can have the satisfaction of making her own scarf  :)

To make these I used a bulky weight yarn, a size 'I' crochet hook and 1 1/4" diameter plastic rings (I think the rings were originally used to hang curtains).

To make 1 petal cluster (each flower has a total of 5 clusters):
slip stitch through the plastic ring and chain 5 stitches; *YO 3 times, insert hook into ring and YO again; YO and draw through 2 loops on hook 3 times* (2 loops remaining on hook) repeat from * to*  2 mores times.  YO and drawn through all 4 loops on hook.  Chain 5 and slip stitch through the plastic ring (counts as beginning slip stitch for next petal).


After 5 clusters on plastic ring chain stitch until 4" long (about 15 stitches).  Do not break yarn, start next flower by making a petal cluster as described above.

materials

slip stitch through the plastic ring and chain 5 stitches

*YO 3 times

insert hook into ring and YO again

YO and draw through 2 loops on hook 3 times*

repeat from * to*  2 mores times

YO and drawn through all 4 loops on hook

Chain 5 and slip stitch through the plastic ring 

finished flower

cables & corrugations socks cont.

finished (May 2, 2012)

Today I worked on my cables & corrugations socks.  I like how they are turning out, however the foot length is bit too long.  I should have started the gusset increases at 4" not 4 1/2".  Next time (if there is a next time, I like the pattern but there are just so many others I want to make) I'll start my increases sooner.

whole wheat sandwich bread for mixers

To make this bread  I adapted the "sandwich bread for mixers" recipe found at cbsop.com.  While I do like whole wheat bread that is not why I made the adjustment.  I substituted some of the white flour for whole wheat because I only had 2 cups of white flour left and I didn't feel like running to the store for more.  Even my husband, who does NOT like whole wheat bread, liked how this turned out.

the recipe (with my modifications), the original recipe can be found at cbsop.com:

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread for Stand Mixers

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 1/2 (only add the 1/2 if the dough is too sticky) cups hard red winter wheat flour (whole wheat)

1 tsp salt

2-1/4 tsp. (1 packet) active dry yeast

16 oz. very warm water

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3-1/2 Tbsp. honey

Method:

Place all dry ingredients, including yeast, into the bowl of your stand mixer.  In a separate container, add warm water, oil and honey. (tip – add the oil first and then use the same spoon to measure out the honey.  This prevents the honey from sticking to the spoon.) Stir liquids well to combine.

Place dough hook attachment on mixer and set on low speed for 15 seconds to combine all dry ingredients. Turn off mixer, add the liquid and set to low speed again, this time for about a minute and a half, or until all ingredients have combined.  The dough should cling to the hook but still be on the sticky side.  Turn off mixer and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Set Mixer to second speed and run for three minutes.  Remove the dough hook and turn dough onto a floured surface.  Knead 3 or 4 times to remove any air pockets..

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel.  Let dough proof in a warm, draft free area for 1 hour.  At the end of the hour, punch down dough, turn dough onto a floured surface and knead another few times.  Form dough into loaves and place into 2 loaf pans.

Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the loaves to rise for approximately 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Drizzle the top of loaves with olive oil and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes the turn the heat down to 350 and bake an additional 25 - 30 minutes or until crust is a light golden brown.  Remove from loaf pans and allow to cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting.  Its hard to do it but it really is best to wait the 30 minutes (not that I know from experience or anything...).

fingerless mitts

My stepmother asked me to make some fingerless mitts/gloves for her mother.  The pattern that I'm using is at NanoEffects blog .  I'm making it with Esprit (solid) cotton yarn by Elann.  The pattern is pretty simple and straightforward.  This seems to be a pretty good use for this yarn.  I bought the yarn originally to make socks with but found it to be too thick.

gift tags

watercolor wash

These are little gift tags I cut using my sizzix die-cutting machine and the sizzix crescent combo die.  I then gave each tag a light watercolor wash and stamped them with ink.

stamped with light colored inks

stamped with black inks

 ink borders drawn with a pen

pretzels

Made some pretzels tonight.  Well, more like pretzel rolls.  They tasted good but they weren't really very pretzely.  I did some online searching after these were finished - looks like most recipes call for either boiling or a baking soda wash after shaping and then baking.  Maybe that was what they needed.


Pretzel recipe
(modified from a recipe I found in "Cooking in Colour: 700 recipes for every occasion" edited by Norma MacMillan and Wendy James)


1/2 teaspoon sugar
7/8 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons dried yeast
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoon coarse salt

  Dissolve sugar in water and sprinkle yeast on top.  Leave in warm place until frothy (about 5 minutes).
  Sift flour and salt into a bowl and stir in poppy seeds, yeast mixture, oil and one egg.  Mix to soft dough.  Leave to rise until doubled in size.
  Knead until smooth on a lightly floured surface.  Break into 8 equal pieces.  Roll each until about 10" long and shape into a loose knot (i.e. pretzel shape).  Arrange pretzels on a greased baking tray.  Leave to prove until doubled in size.
  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Beat remaining egg and brush over pretzels.  Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake for about 10 minutes till crisp and golden.  Cool on wire rack.

spinning alpaca/bfl/romney

Another spinning day - today I spun some alpaca/bfl/romney that I purchased from Beyond the Fleece.  It seems to spinning up nicely.  The purple dye is staining my hands as I spin but it washes off pretty easily.  I'll have to remember to set the dye after I finish spinning & plying.

unraveled cardigan

 A few months ago I found this hand-knit cardigan sweater in a thrift store.  The sweater was unwearable as it was - there was a big hole in the sleeve.  Even so I feel bad about unraveling someone else's handiwork.  Of course that didn't stop me.  Not sure what the fiber content of the yarn - it burned like it was animal fiber.  I'm guessing it is mostly wool with some mohair.

the hole

the original cardigan

seams deconstructed & in pieces

part way through the unraveling -  from sweater straight onto a niddy noddy

235 grams of "new" yarn

cables & corrugations socks

Another sock knitting Sunday, today I worked on a pair of Cables & Corrugations - from the pattern by Cat Bordhi in her book 'New Pathways of Sock Kniters'.  I started these on the 17th, I was hoping I'd be to the heel turns by the end of today but that doesn't look like its going to happen.

popovers

popovers right out of the oven

A couple of days ago I purchased a cast iron popover pan from a local antique mall.  I then scoured and reseasoned it.  Today I made some popovers.  Hmmm....turns out that popovers are those bread things that are usually filled with stuff like tuna salad.  If I had known that I wouldn't have made them - I really don't care for those.  I was thinking that they were more of a roll-like kind of thing.  However, right out of the oven and still hot they actually tasted pretty good and even better with some stuff in them.  The ones I made were dairy free, the recipe is below.

filled with egg salad

The recipe I used (adapted from this one at allrecipes.com to make it dairy-free)

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup Blue Diamond unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven and cast iron popover pan to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  

In a medium bowl beat eggs slightly, Beat in flour, milk and salt until just smooth; being careful not to overbeat.

Spray preheated popover pan with cooking spray and fill cups 1/2 full.

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 10 minutes more. Immediately remove from cups and serve piping hot.

sleep pants

the original pair

 My favorite sleep pants finally got to the point where I couldn't wear them any more.  I have to admit that they were beyond the point that most people would have still worn them....but they were perfect.  Over the years I've purchased others and even tried making a couple but they just were never as comfy as my favorite pair.  Tonight I bit the bullet and deconstructed them so I could make a new pair using the perfect pair as a pattern.

deconstructed and pinned to the new fabric

My new pair fits just like the old ones.  I may even make another pair in nice fabric.  For these I just used some sun damaged fabric I bought at the Creation Station (a local, now defunct, thrift type store).

my new favorite sleep pants :)

watercolor butterflies

For some reason lately I seem to be obsessed with butterflies.  Today they emerged as watercolors.

supplies:  scrap paper, 2h pencil, watercolor paper (I used 6"x6" 140 lb paper), watercolor brush (I used a round 12), several watercolor paints - I used cobalt violet, permanent rose, cadmium yellow, bright violet and cobalt green

to make: 

 Fold a piece of scrap paper in half and draw half of a butterfly along the fold line, cut out butterfly.  Using the cut out butterfly as a template lightly trace around it onto watercolor paper.

"Paint" the butterfly with clear water, paper should be shiny but not super wet.  

Drip brush into paints and lightly touch the wet butterfly with the paint coated brush, let paint spread and add more colors to fill in the butterfly.

kirigami flowers

Today I made a few kirigami flowers using the diagrams in the little book 'Kirigami 3' by Joyce Hwang.  Felt like I was a kid again, cutting out snowflakes.
 I couldn't find my book when I made my cut paper collages in March, not sure if I like what I came up with better or these.

Scrabble Tile Pendant

  I made these pendants following the tutorial at makeandtakes.com.  I basically followed her instructions except instead of  Diamond Glaze I used Triple Thick gloss glaze by DecoArt.  With the Triple Thick I found that coating the paper with Mod Podge was unnecessary.  The tiles I used Mod Podge look a little cloudy compared to those without.  The paper is glued to the back of the tile so as to not cover the letter but the letter is then obscured by the bail.

little coriolis socks

 Made a little pair of socks for my little nephew who will be turning 1 in a few weeks.  Hopefully they'll fit - they look like they should.  They are the little coriolis socks in Cat Bordhi's book 'New pathways for Sock Knitters book one'.

lacy rib socks

Finished my lacy rib socks today.  The fit is a little loose but I think this yarn might shrink up a bit in the wash.   Generally I think its better to err on the slightly loose side.

Also did a little spinning today with my new toy - a turkish spindle I bought when I was last at The Spinning Loft.   The spinning seems a little slower with this style but I am able to make a thinner yarn.
The fiber is from the Spinning Loft as well - it is Romney in banana cream pie