Brain Noodles

Bouncing....

2010-11-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

.... back on over to Wordpress. I'm having issues getting this blog to do things I want it to do.
So please update your bookmark to >>> Brain Noodles

Thanks!

Crochet Along Progress

2010-11-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

I had said every couple of weeks with the progress. Clearly, that hasn't happened. I'm a bad blogger.

To the corner with me.

Well, maybe after I finish this post. =)

Week 3

The clue for Week 3 was a little, although a simple stitch, a little challenging for me. Mostly, I was having a hard time maintaining my gauge.
Once I worked that out, I popped these out pretty quick.

Week 4

Oh how I did not enjoy these squares. I have learned that I detest having to change colors, particularly on almost every row.

The clue actually had the strip pattern repeat, but I preferred to mirror the pattern instead. Plus, my square was much too tall if I repeated the full pattern.

I really dragged my feet on these squares, not finishing them until the very last minute before the next clue was released. But, done they were.

Week 5

I had not done this type of crochet before. Working up two sides of the square at the same time definitely challenged me. My first square was frogged more times than I can count. But, once I figured out my count... it actually went rather quickly.

The first few rows of the next couple of squares were also frogged multiple times. I learned during this process that I really do not care much for this yarn. Sorry Bernat. But, it does not hold up well to the frogging and reworking. It started to tangle, fray and knot up on itself. If I have to frog a section more than a couple times, I pretty much had to discard that yarn and start fresh.

But that aside, I am still enjoying this experience. Except... week 5... 16 squares? yikes. I have 3 made. That's right 3. And now the week 7 clue is out, but I am jumping ahead....

Week 6

I like this square. One color. Back to simple stitches that I can do with my eyes closed.

But, still I have only completed 2 of these squares, with the third one mostly done. I blame this on Halloween. I got a little sidetracked with Halloween fun.

This is my little crochet corner. Also, my bible and bible study book are here.
This is beside my spot on the couch.
It's kind of messy. Maybe I should do something about that.
Maybe not.

So, I guess this means I should be crocheting and not blogging about crocheting if I ever want to catch up. I think I will start my week 7 square then come back to finish week 6 and 5.

Chalk that up to my short attention span. It's amazing I am still working on this crochet along.

It really is.

Don't laugh.

.

Halloween Cookies

2010-10-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

I offered to make cookies for a friends wedding next summer. You know, the pretty cookies that look almost too pretty to eat. Ya, those.

Except, I have never made them before. And, I don't like baking. So call it momentary insanity.

So I started researching all about the art of cookie decorating.

And, I can now say that I have made some very cool decorated-with-flood-icing-and-everything cookies. And, it was fun!

First, came the cookies.

I used a recipe from Bake at 350 which you can link to here. I used vanilla instead of almond extract and added 1 tsp of cinnamon to my flour. YUM!

The I piped on the outline using Decorator Frosting.

Then came the fun of flooding the cookies. I wasn't able to get some meringue powder to make the royal icing that most professionals use, so I started a search for an alternate flood icing. I am so glad I did. This icing is easy to make, floods great AND tastes good.

Can you see the one lone pumpkin with a face? I experimented with adding a face with the black flood icing. Meh. I let my taste testers start with that one.

Then I pulled out my black decorator frosting again and piped on some details!

The cat with eyes was also an experiment.

Not bad for my very first attempt, I think.

I am now looking forward to the next batch. So many ideas for Christmas cookies. Many of my friends and family will be getting cookies for Christmas.

mwahahaha

These Wine Stained Lips: Julie and Julia

2010-10-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

These Wine Stained Lips: Julie and Julia: "I am watching Julie and Julia. I love this movie. I love both the characters. Julia Child. So strong, yet warm and vulnerable. So Passi..."

Spooky Crafting Fun

2010-10-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

My girls and I will be making some of these fun decorations over the next couple weekends from these FREE ebooks from www.favecrafts.com .

Yes I said FREEEEEE!!!!!

2 Free downloadable Halloween Craft ebooks

Check them out. You won't be disappointed.

Week 2 - CAL

2010-10-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into the Mystery Crochet-Along and so far so good.

Week One:

The first two squares, in Natural, are alternating rows of single and double crochet. The dimensions came out just right, but the holes I ended up with at the turning chains really annoy me. I learned today about a technique that eliminates that turning chain space. So if there is enough yarn at the end, I may go ahead and redo these squares using this technique.

Week Two:

Granny Squares. Hmph.

I am not a big fan of granny squares. They just look so, granny-ish. But, this is a sampler afghan, so I'll let it slide. ;-)
I whipped these up very quickly. It really doesn't get much easier than crocheting granny squares. I made these on Thursday. The next clue doesn't come out until Wednesday. Makes for a long week.
There is definitely some serious blocking required for these however! I am not very good at this. I may be looking for advise on successful blocking.
The color here is Soft Taupe.

I am really enjoying doing the CAL. I don't know why it took me so long to try one.

And, as an added bonus, it has motivated me to pick up some other WIP's (work-in-progress) as having to wait a week for the next clue leaves you with some crochet-jitters.

gotta-crochet-gotta-crochet-gotta-crochet....

the Project

2010-09-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

So I have offered to make decorated cookies for my friend Kristi's wedding next summer.

I have been surfing for some inspiration. I have seen crossword cookies that are adorable!

So many different wedding cake cookies...

They are all amazing. But then there are brides, grooms, hearts galore, wedding rings, bells and champagne glasses. I also thought simply making the brides and grooms initials, hers in the blue with black detailing and his in black with blue detailing.

These are not going to be the wedding favors, but simply served along with the fruits and cheeses and such later in the reception, instead of desserts.

I have 10 months to figure this all out, so I am open to ideas adn suggestions...

Anyone?

Anyone at all??

It's Just a Little Problem That I Have

2010-09-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

It came! It came! I'm so excited!

And, momentarily, my lovely readers, I will make it clear to you what I am talking about!

I have never done one before, but I thought it was time.

I am going to do a Mystery Crochet-Along. I have always thought it would be fun to do one, but when I worked outside the home full-time, there just wasn't time. Mostly because the job I had sucked all joy and energy from me, leaving nothing for my evenings at home. But, I digress.

So when I saw this, I felt that the time had come!

So I read all about it. I looked at all of Bernat's color choices in the recommended yarn. Then I ordered my yarn.

And after what seemed like an eternity....

... it came! Hurray!

I excitedly opened the box....

There it was, in all it's Bernat Softee Chunky glory!

I MUST touch the yarn!

It's a little problem that I have. My favorite part of going to a yarn store is not the anticipation of all the possibilities that the yarn holds, although that is great, but to feel the yarn. Yes, I walk the aisles touching every yarn. Like I said, it's a little problem that I have. Again, I digress.

So, I unpacked...

I ~~patiently and calmy begin to take in the beauty of the yarn~~ yanked out all the yarn and ripped open the plastic bags protecting it!

And, I touched the yarn. Mmmm... sooo soft.

Oh yarn, how I love thee!!

I can't wait to get started!

Stay tuned for progress reports!

Sugar Free / Low Carb Cheesecake

2010-09-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

From "500 More Low-Carb Recipes" by Dana Carpender.

This is a simple recipe that is totally appropriate for the phase of the Atkins diet that D is in. It is crustless, which is great for me too, as I don't really care for crust most of the time anyway.

Jennifer Krupps's Crustless Low-Carb Cheesecake

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
2 cups Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 large eggs, beaten
10 ounces sour cream

Beat cream cheese with your electric mixer until very smooth. Add the Slenda and vanilla and beat well, then beat int eh eggs and sour cream. Pour batter into a buttered 10" springform pan. Place pan in another pan of water about 1/2'; deep adn bake at 350 F for 45 to 60 minutes or until top begins to turn a light toast color. the cake will not be set. Remove from then oven and cool, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

yield: 10 servings

Per serving: 418 calories, 40g fat, 11g protein, 4g carbohydrate, 0g dietery fiber

Gimpin'

2010-08-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

before:

after:

and one for fun:

hip scarf!

2010-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I swatched. I swatched some more. I frogged. I swatched some more. I frogged some more. I swatched again. I let it sit for a couple weeks. I frogged some more.

Then, I finally went for it. I decided to knit. YIKES! I am not a big fan of knitting. I'm really not very good at it. And sooo slow. But, in the end it went rather well. Once I just made a decision to just do it.

I knit a hip scarf. Yes I did. With yarn I can honestly say was designed in hell. I tried so many different ways to crochet with it and evertime I grumbled, frogged and wanted to burn the yarn. But it does knit up rather well.

So here it is....

I cast on 3 stitches and knit increasing 1 each row until the last 4 rows, on which I increased 2 each row. Once it was the size I wanted, I cast off.

I then crocheted on the band and ties, by adding so Simply Soft black yarn to whatever this hell-spawn yarn is called. I chained 30 then single crocheted along the top, chaining another 30 at the other end. I turned then single crocheted all the way back across. I then added fringe to the end of the ties and the bottom point with both yarns, then along the sides with just the hell-spawn yarn. (I really should find out what it really is called.)

This one is for V. I may add coins to it later, as she loves the sound of the coins when she shimmies!

Now to make three matching ones for the Zahara Belly Dancers!

Sublime

2010-08-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

Sublime!

One of my many WIP's is a scarf made with Sublime yarn, which is an extra fine merino wool. I am in love with this wool. It so soft that it begs to be touched. Sublime. So aptly named.

I bought a few skeins of this several months ago with the intention that I would finally make myself a wonderfully delectable scarf. Question was, which pattern. I did have one in mind when I first made off to my LYS, but upon deciding on this yarn, I knew that I would need to find a different pattern. One that I knew I would wear. So the search began. I read and reread every pattern I had to no avail. I searched online on many a different crochet site including, of course, Ravelry.

Stacked Diamonds

It was there I found a pattern that although it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it inspired me to be creative. So I pulled out my stitch encyclopdia. I swatched up several stitches before settling on this one. Stacked diamonds is what my book calls it. It is pretty simple once you get the first couple repeats done.

Trouble is that now that I am into my second skein, I am not sure I would wear this. It has been fun to make, but is it me? Well the jury is still out on that one. We'll see what happens once it is completed and I can actually try it on.

WIP: stacked diamond scarf

I haven't decided if I will add trim to it or not. I don't want it to be too frou-frou. But I think the edges look unfinished. Again, we will see.

Still though, I have to say, I LOVE this yarn! I want to make everything with this yarn now. =)

What's Cooking in My Kitchen this Morning....

2010-07-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Muffins That Taste Like Donuts

From the Tasty Kitchen Blog

Amazingness - the Fruitloopgirl Challenge

2010-07-20T15:18:00.001-07:00

Completely and totally inspired by this lady: The Pioneer Woman
If you have never heard of her, or checked out her website, go... now... or maybe after you read my post. =) And especially: The Tasy Kitchen which is the Pioneer Woman's amazing cooking/food/recipe site. She is pretty amazing and has inspired me to tap into myself and find a little bit of my own amazingness. I know it's in there somewhere!

So after spending a little time perusing those sites I feel challenged. And here I go:

I have all these things that I love to do. But they all compete with my time and generally I push them aside. So each week, I will set aside time for at least two of following then post on either this blog or on Life, Or Something Like It, as appropriate.

Crocheting
Cooking something completely new
photography (I don't claim to be a photographer, but I love to play with my camera!)
writing
paper crafts
sewing (once I get my sewing machine repaired)

Ideally, I would love to do one each day, but I have to be realistic and not set myself up to fail. For those who know me well, I am open to ideas, and having you check up on me! Seriously, email me, Facebook me, comment here, or phone me and ask me what I am working on next.

I also challenge you all to make time to do the things you enjoy and then share your amazingness with us. Please leave me a comment and let me know if you are interested in taking up a challenge of your own. I will support you in any way I can!

~*~ poof ~*~

Have You Checked This Out yet?

2010-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

You Can Make This

swatching

2010-07-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to design my own hip scarf from this cool confetti yarn I bought. I have made several attempts, and am now finally swatching in order to decide which way I want to go. I only have two skeins. So I am photographing the swatches then frogging them.

SWATCH 1, double crochet - 2 strands:

Although I like the ease of crocheting with 2 strands, I'm not really happy that I cannot see the tecture of the yarn. I also don't really like the way it feels. It's too bulky and stiff.

Next up... knit - 1 strand

SWATCH 2, double crochet - 1 strand:

Well, knit - 1 strand did not go well. Now I remember why I do not like knitting.

So, I moved onto double crochet - 1 strand. Much better. You can see more of the actual yarn. I also started doing an increase at both the 1st stitch and last stitch of each row.

I have been finding it challenging to keep my tension consistent with this yarn.

I'm not sure what to try next....

.... stay tuned.

2007-02-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

Moved this blog on over to wordpress to give it a try. I may eventually move all my blogs, but for now, I am starting with just one. please let me know if you have any problems with viewing it or commenting on it there.

http://fruitloopgirl.wordpress.com/

pink n green girlie card

2007-02-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

Here is the envelope and front of the card.

the frontinside

stripey fun

2007-02-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

One of my current projects. I'm working on a vertically striped blanket for one of our local charities.

The challenge, when you are working with all donated yarn, is to find enough coordinating colors to complete a project. So, I dug through our boxes and pulled out this ball of variegated brown/blue yarn. I loved it right away and began diggin and matching up yarns to it the best I could.

Voila!! No pattern, just making it up as I go.

Here is a closer look at it. I am basically just doing simple clusters, except for the ecru, which was a lighter weight yarn, so I decided to use it to break up stripes just a bit. Add a little more dimension. So one row of double crochet.

I like the way it is turning out.

Not bad, for a smattering of donated yarns, no pattern and a novice crocheter!!

Homespun

2007-02-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

I ripped apart a knitting project I started over a year ago, that I was not really happy with and therefore sure I would never finish. I had been eyeing up the pretty Homespun yarn I had been using and decided that it would make a very nice hat. So I pull out my patterns and select a pattern that is actually for homespun yarn, pull out my K.... and wholy toledo. Homespun is so pretty, so soft, but I was having a very difficult time crocheting with it. Does anyone have any pointers on working with Homespun in crochet? I have previously made a baby blanket from it and remember now that I had to rip and restart many many times until I was happy with it, or just accepted it. (I don't remember now which) Is it just me?

Valentine Cards

2007-02-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

I try, on special occasions, to make my own cards. It doesn't always happen, because I don't have a place where I can set up a craft area and leave it. So I have to haul everything up to the kitchen, set it all up... be creative... and then clean it all up before the next meal. Usually, I am also cooking dinner, baking, or doing laundry etc.. (or all of the above). Then add in little fingers that are very tempted to touch everything and wander off with my stuff.... well... lets just say it has been a very long time since I pulled out my card making stuff! So today is Valentine's Day. A couple days ago, while V was sleeping, **cough, playing in her bed, cough**, I pulled it all out and set it up. Of course I was also making dinner. I was playing around with a new technique that Charity taught me. And then started to put together a card for the love of my life. I got it 1/2 done, when it was time to clean up before D got home from work and it was time to eat dinner. yesterday, I pulled it all out again, while V was sleeping **cough**, and finished my card. Not being happy with it... I started a whole new card. Which I also finished. I am not totally happy with either, but it is now the day for which they are required, and I have much else to do, so I have to chose one. Anyways.... here they are.... (I have a tendency towards simple designs. partly by preference, and partly from lack of resources and ability. lol)

With this second card, I also made something on which to write a poem. Not really feeling creative in the poem writing area. But I like the colors better... More... Valentine's appropriate.

I still don't know....

Crock Pot Roast

2007-02-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

I have always loved cooking roast beef in the crock pot. It can make a cheap cut a melt-in-your-mouth meal. I recently tried a recipe for a slow cooker coffee roast beef. I had heard of using coffee on your roasts. But I never imagined it would be that good. Well I was wrong. It was great. I played around with the recipe and have come up with my own never fail version. The gravy was rich and flavorful. Everyone I have served it to has asked me how I got my gravy to be so tasty!! Forgive me if the amounts aren't exact, as I have never written it down before and I rarely measure my ingredients unless baking.

** use a generous size, cheap cut roast, like inside round, or sirloin

** spray your large slow cooker with non-stick spray

**pour 1/2 can of Campbell's French Onion Soup into slow cooker

**place roast in slow cooker

**sprinkle generously with garlic powder, or add 3-4 crushed garlic cloves

**pour rest of soup over roast

**pour 1 cup of strong brewed coffee over roast

**sprinkle with pepper and 2 tsp marjoram

**cook on low for 6-7 hours

**remove roast and stir in 1/4 cup flour blended with 1/2 cup water and cook on high for 30 mins

**enjoy!!!

**makes 6-8 servings (depending on your roast size.)

2007-02-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

I found this GREAT resource today that I wanted to share. It is basically an encyclopedia of crochet stitches. WAY cool!! Check it out!!
Get to know them: The Different Types & Techniques of Crochet Compiled by Dee Stanziano Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006

I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Lion Brand has loom knitting patterns and kits.
Lion Brand Loom Knitting/Knitting Board Patterns and Kits

2007-01-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this bath set that Lion Brand has come up with. What an awesome gift this would make. I feel a trip to Michaels for some new yarn in the near future!!!

click here for the free patterns

afghan ahoy

2007-01-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

My current project, or should I say one of my many current projects. I have 10 squares made of a gazillion that are required to complete the afghan.

Edit 02/26/07 - I found this pattern online....

Sunrise Sunset

purple and blue blankie

2007-01-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

A baby blanket I made for our church knitting and crocheting group. We accept donated yarn, then create blankets, hats, mittens, baby items, etc for local charities.

baby white

2007-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Here is a set I made quite awhile back. The booties are a pattern found online somewhere and I will eventually post the link when I find it. The hat is a pattern I made up myself to match the booties.

because i dont have enough blogs.....

2007-01-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

.... here is yet another!!!

I have been wanting to do a crafting blog for awhile, but until I got my digital camera.... what would be the point?!?!?

So... here I go....