Artshow in Newton County

Hello All,

                   Recently I vended at a fall festival  in Newton County at the Newton County Theme School. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope to do another one like it soon. I met lots of wondeful people and had plenty of buyers, as well as many people wanting custom orders (which I offer.) The festval was lots of fun, and there were lots of other vendors there that had amazing things. One lady was selling all of her baked goods for a dollar, and practically sold out. I bought some things from her and am pleased to say that the goods were absolutely amazing. Near the end of the art show, I learned that the lady whom was selling the baked goods was the mother to two young girls that were planning on buying some of my stuff. Both girls were really nice and I am glad to have met them, and have been able to taste their mother's amazing brownies. Anways, I ended up sharing a booth with a family friend at the festival and I have pictures of her table and mine at the festival. We did pretty good, and I even bought a pair of earrings from the girl that I was sharing the booth with. I also got my own shirt made for my shirt, and am planning to make more. Love. Peace. Krochet.

      
                                                                                                                               

Headwarmers for the Homeless and Flower Pattern

Every once in a while, I set aside my time to do some good for the community. Since my talent (Besides being a genius, artist, baker, and athlete) is crocheting, I usually do a project that requires me to donate something handmade. I've done scarves for the special olympics, chemo caps for cancer patients(that i have yet to deliver), armwarmers and legwarmers for homeless women, and I am now doing more things for the homeless women. I have decided to create Headwarmers for them, I do this with a church group called the Prayer Shawl Ministry. My headwarmers have not only done good for women without homes, but they have also done good for me and my business. They are very popular amongst the women, and I am still receiving orders. I made up my own pattern for these Headwarmers, but I have provided a different pattern that I liked much better. But, I did provide the pattern for the flower that I used to embellish my headwarmers.

http://daperfectmix.blogspot.com/2010/10/easy-head-warmer-pattern.html


Below are My Creations for the homeless:]

Flower Pattern:

Materials: Hook in any size, and any kind of yarn, scissors, large-eyed plastic needle.

Row 1: Ch. 40 and single cr. in each st. across. 40 single cr.

Row 2: Ch. 3 and complete 5 dbl. cr. in first st. from hook. *complete 5 dbl. cr. in next st.  repeat from * until end. Emd and leave long tail to weave in. 200 dbl. cr.

Flower assembly: Roll flower together in a spiral shape and using needle and yarn, sew together, starting at center. knot and cut. Sew flower to Headwarmer and wear your gorgeous creation,

Apple Tarte Recipe (Pomme Tarte)

For those of us that love the taste of the traditional apple pie, but find it too troublesome to go through the tedious task of making a graham cracker crust, or just want to get in touch with their French side, I have created a recipe that is perfect for you. Apple Tartes were invented in France, and the word for apple tarte in French is la Pomme Tarte.

You Will Need:
10-inch tarte pan
Skillet
Mixing bowl
Ingredients:
Crust: 10 tblspoons butter, 2 cups flour
Filling: 3 decent sized apples, 4 tblspoons butter,2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar.
Instructions:
  Crust:Preheat oven to 350 degreees farhenheit. Place 7 tblspoons of butter and 1 1/2 cups flour in mixing bowl and use a round bladed knife to stir butter and flour together until it resembles bread crumbs. Spread crust evenly inside tarte pan. Place Crust in oven to bake for 10-15 minutes.
Filling: Peel and cut apples into quarters before beggining. Place butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a skillet over medium heat. Let cook until mixture turns syrupy and smells like caramel. Place quartered apples in pan with mixture and stir occasionally. When apples turn a golden-brown remove them from the stove and set aside to cool for about five minutes.
Using a large spoon, scoop caramelized apples into partially baked crust.
Top Layer of Pie: You should still have 3 tblspoons of butter left over from the crust. Use this to mix with the remaining flour from crust using a rounf bladed knife until mixture looks like large breadcrumbs. Flatten dough out on a flat surface dusted with flour and cut into large uneven pieces. Place these pieces over top of filling. Place Tarte in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until top layer of pie is a golden-brown and not doughy anymore.

                                                                           My French Creation!

Beanie Crochet Pattern

These hats are simple and fun to make. The pattern is short, and you can embellish them any way you want. I prefer to use flowers as embellishments, but I've also seen people use buttons, crochet animals and shapes, and much, much more. Here's my pattern for the Crochet Beanie:

Crochet Beanie Pattern:

Gauge: Unimportant

Materials: Plastic large-eyed needle, 5mm crochet hook, Caron yarn in any color, scissors.

Rnd 1: Ch 4 and connect to form ring. Ch. 3 and complete 9 dbl cr. in ring. sl. st. to ch. 3

Rnd 2: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 that was made.  Complete two dbl. cr. in each st. around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 20 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 3: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in next st. * Complete  2 dbl. cr.  in next st. and one dbl. cr. in next dbl. cr. st.* Repeat from * until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 30 dbl. cr.

Rnd 4: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches. *Complete 2 dbl cr. in next st. and a dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 40 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 5: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 complete a dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches. *Complete 2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 50 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 6: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as Ch. 3. do a dbl. cr. in next 4 stitches. * Complete 2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl. cr. in next 4 stitches. Repeat from *around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 7-14: Ch, 3 and dbl. cr. in each st. around. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 Dbl. Cr.

Round 15- 17: Ch. 2 and single cr. in each st. around until end. sl. st. to ch. 2. cut yarn and leave a long tail to weave in later.

Slouchy Hat Crochet Pattern

When fall and winter time comes round, I pull out my favorite kinds of hat: the slouchy rasta hat. They are extremely comfortable and warm to wear, and they are very stylish. I absolutely love them, and they go with any and everything. These hats are always big sellers for me in the winter and fall time, so I decided to post the pattern because they are so popular.

                           Slouchy Hat Pattern:

Gauge: unimportant

Materials:1 skein Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in any color, size K10.5/6.5mm, wide-eyed needle, scissors

Round 1: make a ch. of 4. ch. 3 and complete 9 dbl cr. in ring. sl. st. to ch. 3 10 dbl. cr.

Round 2: Ch. 3 and dbl cr. in same st.  ch. 3 is in. complete 2 dbl. cr. in each dbl. cr. around. sl. st. in ch. 3. 20 dbl. cr.

Round 3: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3. complete 1 dbl. cr. in next dbl. cr. *2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl cr. in next st.* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 30 dbl. cr.

Round 4: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3. complete dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches.  * complete 2 dbl cr. in next st. and dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches. * from * repeat until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 40 dbl cr.

Round 5: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches. * 2 dbl. cr. in next st, and dbl cr. in next 3 stitches. * repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 50 dbl. cr.

Round 6: ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 dbl cr. in next 4 stitches. *2 dbl cr. in next st  and dbl cr. in next 4 st.* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 dbl. cr.

Continue to increase like this for three more rows or until you decide that the back of the hat is long enough and slouchy enough as you desire.

Round 11: dbl, cr. in each st. around. sl. st.  to ch. 3. 100 dbl. cr. 

Round 12-15: Ch. 2 and single cr. in the next 9 stitches. sk. next st. *single cr. in next 10 stitches and sk. next st. 

Round 16-18: single cr. in each st. around. sl. st. to ch 2. 60 single cr. cut yarn and leave a long tail to weave in ends later. 

I also made a slouchy hat with Caron Yarn.

Hat With Earflaps Crochet Pattern and Post

I absolutely love these hats. They are so fun to wear and really warm (I should know, I wore one on a hot summer day because I was having a hair catastrophe and couldn't find any other hat to wear). When searching for a pattern to this hat, I had a hard time finding a decent pattern that I was able to do. I finally decided to make my own pattern. After watching two hours of Ugly Betty and lots of thinking, I finally came up with an idea that had to work. Here's the pattern, and I hope that its easy and quick for all. Peace. Love. Krochet.

Hat W/ Earflaps

Gauge: Unimportant

Materials: Crochet of any size ( I used H/8-5mm), Caron One pound yarn in any color (you don’t need the whole pound I just used the leftovers I had), sewing needle, scissors, cardboard.

Hat Body: Ch. 4 and sl. st. to first ch. Made to form magic ring. Ch. 3 (This counts as first dbl cr from this round to all other rounds) and dbl. cr. Eleven times inside ring. Sl. st. to ch. 3.

Round 2: ch. 3 and dbl cr. In same stitch as ch. 3. *do 2 dbl cr inside same st* from * repeat until you have 24 dbl cr including ch 3. sl. st. to ch 3. 24 dbl cr.

Round 3: ch 3 and dbl cr. In same st. as ch 3. dbl cr. In next st. *2 dbl cr in next st and 1 dbl cr. In next st.* from * repeat until you have 36 dbl cr including ch 3. sl. st. to ch. 3. 36 dbl cr.

Round 4: ch 3 and dbl cr. In same st. as ch 3. dbl cr. In next two stitches. * 2 dbl cr. In next st. and dbl cr. In next two stitches* From * repeat until you have 48 dbl cr. Including ch 3. sl st to ch 3. 48 dbl cr.

Round 5: ch 3 and dbl cr in same st as ch 3. dbl cr in next three stitches. *2 dbl cr in next st. and dbl cr. In next three stitches.* from * repeat until you have 60 dbl. cr. Sl. st. to ch 3. 60 dbl cr.

Round 6-14: dbl. cr. In each st. around. 60 dbl. cr.

Round 15-17: Single Cr. In each st. around. 60 sc. Make sure that you have 60 stitches, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Cut yarn and leave long tail to weave in end w/ sewing needle.

Earflaps: Divide hat into four sections using markers. The first section will be wherever you want the front of the hat to be. Make that 20 stitches long. Place markers on the first and twentieth st. the other two sections will be where the earflaps are to be made. Separate those into sections that are 15 stitches long each. This leaves a small section at the back that is 10 stitches long.

    Begin sc. Along the section that you divided for your first earflap. After first row of single cr. Turn and ch 2. single cr. In next ten sc. And sk. A st. continue sc. This will be the decrease for each row. You can continue the decrease for however many rows you want. To end, cut yarn and leave a tail long enough to weave in ends at the end of project.  Repeat with next earflap space provided.

Edging: SC on the edge of the whole hat, including earflaps, cut yarn and leave long tail to weave in ends.

Braided tassel: using two strands of yarn and your largest needle, sl. st. to center st. of earflap. Make a ch. However long you desire it to be and cut, leaving tail, do not weave in this tail.

I have a link for how to make a Pom Pom below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a03BTR3_3qg




Here's the Pictures of my Finished Hats:

Truffle-Filled Brownies

As I flipped through my Pampered Chef cook book, lots of recipes popped out at me. French Macaroons, mini S'mores, Chocolate Tortes, and much, much more. My brother and dad had left to go to the Gold Cup in Miami, Florida, and they were coming back today. We decided that I should bake them a little treat for when they got home. I chose a simple brownie recipe with truffles in the middle. My mom and I weren't planning on spending alot of money, so we chose to use some dark chocolates she had left over from her Dove Chocolatier things. We then went to Kroger to pick up the rest of the items I needed. We only needed four ingredients, so we probably spent six dollars give or take. I mixed all of the ingredients together, praying it would all come out right. I never really have had much of a good history with chocolate, even though I love to eat it. My brownies and Giant Chocolate Chip cookies never really come out right, and Iwould soon learn that these cupcakes would not be much different. After I mixed the mixture with my blender, I could already tell that the batter was a bit runnier than I was used to. Ignoring this, I slid the cupcakes into the oven and crossed my fingers while they baked. When I first checked on them, I noticed that they were baking stranger than usual. When I finally took them out and tried them, I absolutely couldn't stand them. They had an interesting and thick taste that I wasn't very associated with. When my mom tried them, she loved them. she said that they were extremely rich, and was the one, in the end, who finished them. I figured that because my mom liked them, my dad and brother would like them. when my brother tried them, he practically screamed "These are H O R R I B L E!!!"  which was heartbreaking for me. My dad went about it nicer, and told me that they were good. in the end, I decided that I was better off not experimenting with chocolate. below are the pics of my Chocolate Catastrophe:)

The Brimmed Hat

For this weeks project, I chose to crochet. With the week being so hectic, I didn't have enough time to bake anything, so crocheting was the best way to go. This year has been all about doing things I've never done before. In the earlier years, when I first learned to crochet, I would read the crochet blogs where woman (and the occasional guy) would blog about the fabulous projects they had just finished. I would look at the photos and wish I could crochet something as wonderful as what they were crocheting, I was especially fond of the chic billed hats that they would feature. The thing that scared me off was that they would state how it was extremely hard for them to perfect their bill, and how hard it was to find a pattern for it. Finally deciding to do some hard work and search hard for a good pattern, I began searching. When I felt that there was no hope, I went back to an old friend on YouTube: tjw1963. She had a wonderful video on YouTube about how to crochet a hat with a brim. The pattern was simple and worked out well for me. The hat came out succesfully in the end, and I was thankful for the success and being lead to that link. The link to the video is below. Hope all of you Crochet artists enjoy it:]

http://crochetbabysweater.com/crochet-baby-hat/the-art-of-crochet-by-teresa-crochet-hat-with-brim/458/

The Pack-A-Pita Adventure!

Officially, this is my first post on Blog Spot, So i'd better make the best of it. When I get bored, I usually do one of three things: Eat, Sleep, or Crochet. I am almost always hungry now( My parents say its because of puberty) So what better way to kill the hunger than to cook up some tasty snacks! For my first cooking adventure, I decided to try a simple recipe for a pita bread sandwich and make cupcakes for desert. It was harder than it looked. It started out messy and ended even messier. My mom said that I had to allow my brother to help in this project, so I allowed him the task  of seasoning everything and putting some of the filling inside. He did a MUCH better job of it than I, therefore leaving me in humiliation while I watched him make part of the filling less messier than I. I even had to beg him to help me open a can of uncooperative tuna. Of course, my time came to outshine him when he had trouble chopping the scallions into fine pieces. Our next step was to boil the eggs while chopping up the romaine lettuces and my brother cooked the corn. It was simple enough, until I had to switch bowls three times because I hadn't drained the corn properly. It was a very interesting project for me and my brother. When we were finally done with our pita sandwiches, we moved on to the cupcakes. We mixed those up easily, my brother having to help me crack a couple of eggs, and then they were ready for the oven. we let those bake while we enjoyed our sandwiches. To be honest, the flavor didn't pop at me like I was expecting it to, but it was very good and filling, and I can imagine it was also very healthy since we used lots of different vegetables. The cupcakes were of course ah-mazing. They were soft and warm and tasted amazing with the cream cheese frosting and sugar chrystal sprinkles. I enjoyed the baking and the cooking today, and I plan to do some more of it this week and next week. Peace. Crochet. Love.

~K.S.