Baby Gift

I've been busy all winter crocheting and mainly baby sitting. This is a new favorite to make for a baby shower gift. I was inspired by a pin  ( http://pinterest.com/pin/247838785715672866/).

No pattern here...just used a seed stitch for the blanket in Bernette Baby Soft yarns.
Made the owl by trial and error. Love how it came out. I also made a matching little owl hat using your standard ear flat pattern.

This and That

Ohiopyle, PA

It's been an exceptionally beautiful fall here in Pennsylvania. The fall foliage was spectacular here at home and in the nearby mountains.

I just completed this hat and scarf for my granddaughter Liz. She loves sparkle. I found this sparkled red cotton yarn this summer at a yard sale rolled up into a big ball. Liz loves her sparkles so here she is modeling the new hat and scarf. I've been making lots of hats lately and most of the patterns are very similar. I found this tutorial on exactly how to increase for the size you want on Pinterest. No more guessing. It has worked perfectly.

http://pinterest.com/pin/247838785715228888/

I've recently started my own little service project making hats for the babies and kids at West Virginia University Children's Hospital in Morgantown, WV,  where my daughter works as a pediatric dietitian.

I hope to keep them supplied with enough hats for the winter and then some. It's a great way to maybe brighten a child's day in dreary hospital setting. Here are some of my baby and preemie hats.

You can find patterns for these and many others on my hat board on Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/grandmagaildvo/hats/

My new favorite hat pattern is one that involves cables. It's free and sized from preemie to adult. Works up in about an hour for an adult hat. This one is made with one skein of Lion Brand Amazing yarn. ( It is amazing and so much fun to work with! )  You can find it on my Hat board at the above link or at 

http://www.rheatheylia.com/index.php?page=patterns&id=10

And here it is made with baby yarn for my granddaughter in the child size.

Crochet Bolero

Just finished this sparkly silver bolero for my Granddaughter Liz. She loves anything sparkly and when I saw a sweater at the thrift store I could not wait to unravel it and make something for her. I used a pattern from the Paton's yarn web site. I did change the trim because the one in the pattern required sewing it on and I'd rather just attach an edging with crochet.

http://www.patonsyarns.com/pattern.php?PID=4119

Hooded Baby Sweater

Hooded Sweater for Baby 

Just completed this little hooded sweater for my grandson Rush. Super easy to make  and sized just right. I used some recycled tweed yarn from a sweater I bought at a thrift store for 75 cents and buttons from my mom's old button box. I thought it was a great project and I like not investing a lot of money on baby clothes as they grow so fast! You can find tutorial at http://www.craftstylish.com/item/12993/dare-to-make-it-crochet-along-week-5/page/all.

Rush loving his new sweater from Gram

Busy Summer

It's been a pretty busy summer and I have to admit I've laid down my hook for the most part for the past few months. I did manage to complete one afghan inspired from a pattern in the June 2012 issue of

Crochet World Magazine called Fruit Salad designed by Debra Arch.  You can buy back copies of the issue at www.crochet-world.com.

It's a simple ripple pattern that was easy to follow and it didn't require a lot of concentration. I'd say a beginner plus could handle it with ease.

I didn't follow the color pattern exactly as I had similar color yarns in my stash and just made my own color change choices. I think it turned out very close to the original. It will give my neutral green/brown living room a "pop" of color! 

I have a few baby projects in the works as a few new ones will be born this fall and I'm anxious to try a few new patterns I've found on various web sites this summer. As the days shorten I'll be indoors more in the evening so I'm sure I'll need to keep my hands busy and will be sharing more of my work.

Aunt Annie's Beets

My DH Mark has been gardening for several years now. We started out with a few tomato plants, a cucumber hill, and a row of green beans.  Over the years the garden has grown in size and variety. This year we've already enjoyed a variety of greens and lettuce (my daughter calls his gifts the endless bags of lettuce ), spinach, and Swiss chard.  I washed chopped and froze about 8 quart bags of spinach this past week for the freezer.

 This week after spending his therapy time in the garden,  Mark came in and said there are a few beets picked in the fridge downstairs. So I go down to the garage and I was not surprised to find two grocery bags full of beets. I had planned to take care of them on Saturday, but the 100+ temperatures and the lure of a swimming pool left those poor beets sitting for an extra day. So today I promised myself that after church I would force myself to get them canned.

I use my husband's Aunt Annie Hudock's beet recipe. She was a sweet lady who had a huge garden knew her canning and she explained to me many years ago how to make her pickled beets. My husband and his sister just love them, so I try to make them every year. It's not hard to do, but it is a messy process. So if you'd like to try it, be prepared to have an apron or like me an old T-shirt. I'd suggest gloves too. I don't like the feel of using a knife with them, but I do end up with pink fingers for a few days :-) Today I worked while listening Classic Country. It was a perfect background for my work.

   Aunt Annie's Pickled Beets

Make sure all of your jars are in good condition with no chips or cracks. Wash the jars...I used 14 pint's for the two bags of beets. (These were your standard plastic grocery bags.) I usually run them through the dish washer.  Leave them closed in the dishwasher and they will stay warm until you are ready to use them.

 Rinse off any outside soil. It would be nice if Mark would do this when they are first picked, but he usually just brings them home mud and all. You can do this outside with a garden hose. Then wash with a soft vegetable brush. When you bring them in you'll need a sharp knife to remove the greens from the top. If the beets are young, these greens are great to add to salad. Cut the tops and bottom tips off of the beats. And set aside. Meanwhile, have a large pot of water set to boil.  With a slotted spoon, drop the beets into the water for a few minutes to blanch them and remove to a colander. This will help in removing the peels.  The beets will be very hot so rinse in cold water and make sure they are cool before handling them.

Once the beets are cool enough to handle peel and slice into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. I also make them cut into cubes. They are great this way for a salad topping. You can also leave them whole if they are small and round. Somehow we never seem to get them picked soon enough to do that. Mark also plants a variety that are shaped like thick carrots. These are really nice for making the slices. When finished peeling we add the peels to our compost pile. My daughter Kelly, a Registered Dietitian,  tells me that these deep red  vegetables are full of all kinds of nutrients, so I 'm hoping the peels will be a nice boost to the compost.

While you are preparing the beets you need to be making the brine. In a large pot add 1 quart of white vinegar, 1 quart of water, and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of canning salt to each pint jar and pack with beets. Using a ladle pour hot brine over the beets. Insert a knife along the edge of the beets to remove any air bubbles. Place lids and screw tops on jars. 

I've learned two ways to complete the canning process. One is the hot water bath method and the other is with a  pressure canner. I have had success with both methods. When using the pressure canner make sure to follow all of the manufacturers' instructions and recommendations for pressure settings and times.  Today I used the hot water bath method, which is how Aunt Annie told me to do it,  placing the jars in a canning pot surrounded by water. Make sure the jars are not touching. Bring water to boil, cover and continue to boil for 30 minutes.  Remove from canner and place on a clean kitchen towel on the counter to cool completely. You will hear the jars "pop" as they seal. Label with date and store in a cool dry pantry. You're done! 

A lot of you will wonder what I do with all of those beets. They are great in salad. You can take a jar and add it to some hard boiled eggs and in a few hours have pickled eggs. I make a Polish dish my mom used to make shredding them and adding horseradish and sugar. Family members really enjoy this at Easter with their ham or on a ham sandwich. I'm patiently waiting for a recipe from a Latvian relative who makes a wonderful potato salad with diced beets.  I also found out today that my dog Foster likes them A few dropped on the floor and on a whim I threw them into the dog bowl. They disappeared in an instant! 

Scrap Yarn Baby Blanket

Just completed this little blanket for baby or toddler using left over ends of skeins from quite a few projects.  If I have over a yard of leftovers I definitely keep it for projects like this. I used a classic closed granny square bordered in off white using baby and sport weight yarns (#3 weights).

It joins my stash of blankets waiting for some special baby to be born :-).

I'm very pleased with the look. I was inspired by this blanket on Pinterest ..http://pinterest.com/pin/247838785713829285/.