Here are my famous Raggedies. I sold these a while back on ebay. They are 36 inch. Aren't they cute?!

Well, the guy who bought them emailed me today. He asked if I still made them and would be willing to do an order for him. I of course told him that i would love to make him another set.. He must have laughed, cause when he emailed me back, I was shocked!!! Not only does he want another pair, but he wants to order 16 pairs. One set for each of his neices and sisters. That is a HUGE order. I accepted. He needs them for next Christmas . HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!! He said he would let me know the colors he needs after the holidays. It is gonna be fun. I even have 10 bodies already made just waiting for stuffing, so it won't take me long at all to whip them up.

I went and did a bit of shopping today. WOW!!! it was horribly packed and I can't believe how many people are rude and angry this time of year. I did not manage to get everything I wanted to get, so that means another day of shopping tomorrow when the older girls come home from their dads house. At least it will be completely kid free shopping.. YEAH!!!

I am almost finished with shopping. Just a few minor things to pick up. I have no clue whta to get a few people, so they may just end up with a gift certificate. Course I hate giving those out. Unless you are a kid, it generally goes to stuff you need versus stuff you want. Which in my opinion is what Christmas gift giving is about. A special feel good gift, not toilet paper and groceries.. LOL

It is time to get some kids bathed and settled down for the night. An early to bed night would be acceptible to me.. LOL I have alot of wrapping to do. The hiding spots are running a bit low at the moment. I did think I might take them to the office, but that just meant extra work for me hauling them multiple times. So... they are being hid in several spots thru the house. I think the kids have spotted a few of them and just haven't paid much attention tot what they are.. Leave them in the open and it never gets questioned.

Have a great night all.. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

Can you believe it??? Still no snow.. We have rain... actually, lots of drippy type rain. Not even a good downpour.. LOL I can't remember the last time we didn't have snow for Christmas. I know.. still a few days left, but come on...

Ah well... I have been drafting a couple patterns for crocheted scarves. I was so inspired when I went to a site that had food scarves.. LOL bacon and eggs, cupcakes, salad, bomb pops, etc.. How cool is that..

My wonderful Aunt Cindy drafted me up a cupcake pattern so I can make my daughter a scarf. She fell in love with one she found on ebay, but I just can't afford $355.00 for a scarf.. LOL Yes.. the dang thing went that high. I couldn't believe it.

It is off to the office today. Took a couple days off cause this cold is kicking my butt, but since it isn't getting any better, I may as well get something done..

Enjoy the day!

http://209.131.116.51/MysteryFabric/Live/CaughtOnTape/Downloads/2.mp4
Now this is tooo dang funny for words. Click this link and watch this woman make a complete fool of herself..
Makes my worst day seem not quite so bad.. LOL

Oh... I forgot to mention.. I need some help from all the Harry Potter knitters/crocheters/ crafters out there... I am trying to get a list of all the HP yarn matches. Meaning.. I need each brand of yarn with the color name and number that best fits each Hogwarts house.
I am wanting any yarn.. Acrylic, wool, a combo blend.. etc... All sizes of yarns.. sock to chunky... All brands so that we have a good resource for all yarns, not just one kind. Yarn is expensive and for everyday projects, it would be nice to have an assortment of brands from cheap to expensive to accomodate everyones financial ability.. Most of us cannot afford $22.00 for a skein of sock yarn.. LOL
Anyeay, if you have a favorite yarn to use, please let me know which color, brand and size it is...

We had a great day yesterday.. I made a pretty simple supper and some great snacks and we played Uno with the kids. Such a fun game to play.. LOL

Paul took Brittni out driving for some nighttime practice.. Better him than me.. LOL I just do not teach well.. I am to jumpy. Of course they stopped at Wal-Mart for a deck of Uno cards. So... we ate snacks and played cards.

Are you familiar with dried beef? You can buy it at the grocery store in a jar. Those jars double as glasses. LOL Anyway, I smear cream chees in them and roll them up. Best snack in the world.. LOL Out of 2 big jars, I only got 2. The kids and Paul scarfed them down in no time flat.. LOL

Anyway, we had a great night. As I was browsing the net after the kids went to bed, I found this really neat site to generate your own fairy name.. LOL Her eis me...


Your fairy is called Bramble Goblinfilter
She is a bringer of riches and wealth.
She lives in leafy dells and bluebell glades.
She is only seen on midsummer's eve.
She wears bluebell-blue dresses.
She has gentle green wings like a butterfly.

http://www.emmadavies.net/fairy/

Go and see who you really are.. LOL

Well, today has been busy.. LOL And I didn't do a thing. Headache from hell...

I am up now. Excedrin migraine is a wonderful pill.. LOL

I have been asked to host a Harry Potter Death by... challenge. You may ask... what the heck is that??? Let me explain...

Basically this is what happens once you sign up.. (a yahoo group is formed so that all participants are together)

1. An item is chosen.. scarf, tote bag, hat, socks, etc...
2. if you decide to participate, you will be given a victim. This is the person you are making the item for.
3. The object is to be the first to complete and send your item to your victim before someone sends an item to you. If you receive an item, you will need to stop working on your item and mail it to the person who outed you. You will send the unfinishe item plus your victims information. They will complete it for you and send it on.
4. Your victim will not be your assasin.
5. The last person standing without being outed wins. A prize will be given. Usually this item is donated. Sometimes it is a large item, sometimes it is a smaller item. Just depends on what gets donated.
6. Alot of times, the host will pick a supplier that everyone will buy from. The supplier will generally donate the prize since they are getting the whole order.
It can be from yarn to patterns to needles or hooks..
7. A start date and time will be picked. The pattern will be uploaded at that specific time so all is fair.


So that is how it works.. Not sure if I really want to host it.. LOL Last one I hosted went very well, but it is alot of work. I am not sure if I am up to that right now. We did felted booga bags in the victims house choice. I chose Hufflepuff and got a fantastic felted bag. I gave it as a gift in the end.. Wishing now I had saved a picture of it.. LOL I was outed before I could finish mine.. LOL No pictures of that either. It was fun while it lasted though.. LOL

Anyway, I will let you all know if I do host it.. Maybe after the holidays..

Harry Potter Scarf Pattern
-----------------------------
worsted weight red heart yarn colors used are:
Ranch red #0332 and gold #0321

Size 10 1/2 US needles or whatever size you like.
Gauge is not an issue with this scarf. You just go with the
size you like.

Cast on 25 loosely
row 1- knit across row
row 2- knit across row
row 3- *Knit 1, YO twice* repeating across row
row 4- *Knit 1, Drop both YO* repeating across row

I made mine so I had 5 sets then switched to the second color for 5 sets until I had it the length I wanted it.

I did 5 blocks of red and 4 blocks of gold. You are welcome to do a few more, but I do not like my scarves real long. And I added long fringe to make up some length.

Remember to cast off loosely.

For the fringe, I cut 5 strands of yarn for each tassel. Each strand was about 16 inches long.

That is all there is to it. Not a havey scarf, but really cute.. It is functional, just not for 20 below winters.. LOL

Now to find colors for each of the other houses in Harry Potter. I figure I might just as well have a matching set of scarves since this works up so fast and it is actually quite fun.

Here is the Harry Potter colored scarf I just finished. Sorry the pictures aren't that great.. LOL

It is a basic simple scarf pattern and if I can get the pattern instructions cleared to post from the owner, I will post it.

Here is the hemp necklace I made this summer. It is my favorite one. Took forever to figure out the pattern for it, but not bad for a first try..

This set of candles I made early this year. I sold the set and it got great reviews for the scent. I scented it with double dutch chocolate. YUMMY!!



Today is the day for packing and moving my sewing stuff to my new studio. Well, not really a studio. I have taken over DH's shop office and it is not going to be overrun with all my crafting supplies. Good way to get more room in the house and maybe I will actually be able to organize it and be able to find stuff.. LOL I come from a long line of pack rats, and I have certainly earned that title. I have more stuff than any one person should be allowed to have.. So this move will be good. A nice place to work. Best part is that I can keep an eye on Paul.. LOL Keep him in line.. Just kidding.. Not sure how I will like being there all day, but since he needs help in the office most days, I will be able to do that and sew or knit when I am not on the phone or doing billing.

Did I mention that the lighting will be awesome for sewing. I will be able to really get some good combinations in lighting like that. I will take pictures once I get set up.. Gotta go for now. Time to start packing..

hi all... I am glad to say that I am not upset anymore.. LOL Back to my normal jolly self. a bit disappointed, but not to bad. With the help of a fwe great mama's, I will be able to get some new dresses made up in no time.

Here are a couple pictures of the skinny scarves I have just knitted and crocheted. The 2 light blue ones are presents for a mama and her daughter. Cute!!! The dark one inbetween the light blue ones is a dark blue with yellow flecks in it. Very nice and stretchy. I still have to weave the ends in..

The green one and the orange ones on the end are the 2 crocheted ones. They double as belts, scarves, or whatever.. LOL Patterns out of some scarf book my DD just bought at Wal-Mart.. You can see a bit more detail in the up close picture. Still not great, but you get the idea...

We went to Courtneys choir concert last night.. All I can say is WOW!!! They were incredible for a group of 8th grade singers. While they all did great, I feel compelled to include a note about Sydney.. Courtneys friend who has the most incredible voice I think I have ever heard. You would have thought you were listening to Whitney Houston or Beyonce (sp??) or any of the other pop singers. She was just to much for words.. Standing ovation....

The band was really good too.. I was so impressed.. Courtney charmed everyone after the show. She and her other friend decided to pretend to sing with the microphone back stage while we were all out at the social stuffing our faces with all kinds of goodies.. LOL Out of no where we hear a Christmas song being sung out of nowhere.. We all go and look and there ...thinking they are on "Wanna be a rock star" are the 2 girls jamming out.. LOL It was just to HILARIOUS!!!

I have started a new Harry Potter scarf.. It isn't a traditional movie one, but same colors with a different stitch. Thanks for the instructions Michelle...

I will get pictures posted tomorrow of my progress. It isn't turning out exactly how I had hoped, but it is definately cute..

Alright.. It is time to vent/cry/whine...

Have you ever had to remind yourself just how much you love your children??

Well, I am reminding myself of that very thing right now. And let me tell you a little story about a 4 almost 5 year old who is in severe trouble with her mother right now.

We had a meeting at the school today. It went well. She is doing great. Not as good as we had hoped, but still doing much better than she was. We came home and made chocolate chip cookies and macaroni & cheese.. When we finished eating lunch, I decided to start some dishes.. So I turned on Noggin and went about my business.. About 10 minutes later, Katie came into the kitchen with the most beautiful piece of fabric. I really didn't think much of it. I just figured it was some scraps from the dresses I was making for a friends little girl.. No biggie right?? WRONG!!!!!

I went into the livingroom to collect the lunch dishes and to my HORROR.. what do you think I found??? You got it!!! She had gotten my scissors and the 4 dresses off of the table.. Mind you that they were not in easy reach either.. I just can't believe that I didn't hear her.. Course, if you knew the sneaky little turd, you would understand why I didn't hear a thing. Clever as they come and naughty to boot.. But.. By looking at her delicate dainty face, you wouldn't ever guess what a little shit she is.. LOL Gotta love her though...

Anyway.. Back to the HORROR... There in the middle of the floor sat a god awful pile of cut up fabric. A wild assortment of scraps that were ~15 minutes prior~ the most beautiful dresses fit for the hippest little girl. I put so much time and love into those dresses and they are not even close to being fixable.. Not to mention that is was about $60.00 worth of fabric and trim. I will be able to cut it all up into quilt squares, but that isn't the point.. I do not have the money or fabric stash or time to remake 4 dresses..

How the heck do you tell someone that they are not getting the dresses you have promised them because YOU didn't watch your kid close enough and your kid is to naughty to be left alone long enough for you to get the dishes done???

Did I mention that I really do love my children??? I honestly do... But..... some days I would love to send them off to Gramma and let her deal with them... And let me say.. I would have been DEAD MEAT!!! had I ever done something that stupid.. 4 (almost 5) or not.. The worst part is.. Katie had to tell me the minute I walked into the room that the cat did it... So.. it isn't that she didn't know it was wrong, SHE KNEW!! You could tell just by looking at her that she was in trouble before I said a word... And the fact that she even thoguth to blame the cat for it.. LOL Tells me not only do I have a cute little girl, I also have one that is tooo smart for her own good. Clever isn't she..

Did I mention that I really do love my children.. LOL....

Well, I am off to email the recipient of the dresses. Cross your fingers she doesn't strangle me thru the phone with my own cord...

Your Hair Should Be Pink

Hyper, insane, and a boatload of fun.You're a traveling party that everyone loves to follow.

What's" Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Okay, so here goes.. LOL My inner hair color is pink.. CAN YOU IMAGINE ME IN PINK!! Bleck.... Now, maybe burgandy I could live with, but definately not pink. Couldn't it have been green or maybe even purple.. Blue is good.. Orange would be awsome, but not pink.. :)

So I started another skinny scarf last night. Almost finished. I made it thin cause I didn't know how much yarn it would take. I will post pictures when it is done. I also have a sweater on the needles. Very cute, but turning out a bit bigger than i expected.. LOL But... that is what you get when you do not do a gauge swatch.. Who would have guessed right??? LOL

I am off to a meeting at the school for Katie (almost 5). We are hoping it goes well. She is making lots of progress, but being a bit slower in the learning processing, we have to constantly monitor her. I think she is doing fantastically. If we can just get past the "meany meaner" behavior to the pets, and the just plain naughty stuff, we will be good to go.. LOL

I am off.. Will let you know how it goes..

Not the greatest picture, but.. what can I say. I decided to make myself some stitch markers. First attempt..

For those of you who are not knitting fools, these slip over the knitting needle marking certain stitches of importance.

For those of you who are knitting fools (like myself) , pardon the lame definition above. LOL Just couldn't think of a better description.

I just got a great bunch of wool yesterday. Another fantastic ebay find. Wonderful lot of bright merino wool. I also got some chunky 3 ply wool that I will seperate into 1 ply and use for sock yarn. Will make a great pair of socks. Maybe 2 if I don't make them to long. I will have to knit them at the same time to make sure they are the same length.. LOL

Well, here they are. Finished and on. I love them. Not as soft as I had hoped they would be, but after washing them, maybe they will fluff up a bit. I was able to get the stripes pretty darn perfect. The heel is slightly off, but not to bad.

These were based on the Lion brand Magic Stripes basic sock pattern. I did a 56 stitch cast on. K1p1 ribbing for 10 rows. Will never do that again. Way to baggy in the ankle for me. Maybe a k3p2 will tighten it up some. Then I did straight knit for 10 rows. I used the pattern for the heel flap, gusset and toe shaping. The kitchner (sp?) stitch was way less complicated than I thought it would be. I actually didn't mind it at all. I like that they aren't pointy. Nice and rounded.

I just pulled out the 2nd sock of my ROY G BIV socks. I will get cracking on that tomorrow. If I can get that one to fit right, I will frog the first one and do it over. I really like the sock. They are way to cute and will be nice and toasty. This Wisconsin winter looks like it could be a really cold one. Soooo,, warm socks will be mighty nice.

Sue asked me to post a picture of the Doodlepants I made. So here they are. I made these ones as a test run. First ever, so I used Red Heart acrylic yarn. Cheaper in case I really messed up. The only thing I didn't like about them is that the crotch is so squared. I think I will add a gusset next time. Katie loves these.

I changed a few things.. First, I did a fold over waist and encased elastic. No drawstrings.. My DD isn't allowed drawstrings. She has a liking for putting things around her neck.. LOL So, after many trial and errors, we stick to elastic. Then for the cuff, I did a seed stitch. It turned out really nice. I added a pocket and a cute little heart just for fun.. Anyway,,, Since you asked, here they are.. These normally would be made into wool longies using at least 75%wool yarn.. Wool absorbs moisture and neutralizes odor when properly lanolized, so if you are a cloth diaper family, these are a great alternative to rubber pants.. Very nice and breathable.

************************************

Thanksgiving was great!!!

We went to Mom's for the day. Everyone was there and we had a great time. Turkey, ham, and the works.. I think I gained about 20 pounds. I had a tummy ache even after I got up this morning.. LOL

The kids played outside most of the day. It was really beautiful. Not warm, but definately decent..

We went down to Grandpa's after we ate at Mom's. All the Aunts and Cousins were there. It was nice to have them all there since I don't usually get to see most of them except at holiday time.

Then I went home. Did my finishing touches on my Black Friday trip. Figured I would get it all planned out.. My sister was going to meet me at Best Buy hoping we would get a couple of those $189.00 computers.. Well, she called at 8:30pm and told me that there were already 30 or so people there with tents and sleeping bags.. Yes.. You did read that right.. Can you imagine.. LOL I was peeved to say the least.. So then my Aunt, who was also going to meet up with me after I got the computers, called to say that there were over 50 people there when she drove by at 10 pm. WEEEELLLL... there was no point in me leaving the house at midnight.. LOL No chanc eof getting a computer since the store only had 10.

So I ended up sleeping til 4am. Got up this morning and hit Macys, Shopko, Target, Kohls, and Wal-Mart. Didn't get but 2 things I was after and I could have gotten them anytime.. LOL Jipped out of sleep for nothing.. But... I did enjoy it for the most part.. I got to see the sun come up and it was pretty darn beautiful this morning.. No fog, so it was clear as a bell...

So, now that I have written a book, I am off to bed. 3 hours of sleep just didn't cut it one single bit. LOL

Here is the requested picture of one of our tow trucks.. This was taken in the Butterfest parade this summer.. Notice the little bulldog hanging by the mirror.. Yes, Paul is driving and me stuck with the kids watching the parade and taking pictures..

Well, here is a picture of my ROY G BIV socks. These are my first multi color socks and I love them. But.. I will have to frog this one back for the beginning of the foot just after the heel.. I didn't carry my yarn loose enough, and it is very tight around the arch of my foot. Otherwise it is wonderful.. I cannot wait to get it done so I can start the second sock.. Thankfully I did not cut the ends real short, so I may be able to salvage the bits of stripeing.

******************************************************************

And here is the first sock of the newest pair. They are very comfy, but a bit baggy on the top of the foot.. Will have to make notes on the pattern to decrease there and add increases back in at about the 2nd dark stripe after the heel. I just started the cast on for the second sock as you can see. I am a bit further along than what you see in the picture, but it was a slow knitting day today.. LOL

***********************************************************************

And would you please check out the lazy bums.. I can't believe it.. LOL

Here we have JJ the cat, Mia (My Yah), and Junior taking a well deserved break.

All nice and cozy on the couch..

BUMS!!!

Well, here is my latest creation. Isn't it adorable. This was crocheted with cotton thread. Took alot of effort since I am not used to crocheting with thread. Much prefer yarn. Something to hang on to.. LOL

The headband is crocheted around a strip of elastic so it will not fall off and fits wonderfully snug.

I made another outfit like this about 2 years ago and almost have the pattern matching. Amazing how that verigated stuff creates unique patterns. If I had the patience, I would make a sweater for mysel fout of it, but not only would I go broke with the cost of the thread, but I would probably be 70 years old before finishing it.. LOL..

Here is a picture of the cute pumpkins Brittni (my 16 yr old DD) made last year in fabrics and fashions class.. Aren't they cute...

I finished up on these "punkins" and "quash" (My 4 yr old DD has adapted these names for them). They were quite fun to make.. I thought they were mighty easy once I got the stitches down pat. All were free patterns from the web.

Well, that is enough sharing for this morning. I have got to grab a cappuccino before my brain explodes with all the phone calls. As I was doing this blog, 9 phone calls and every single one was either a telemarketer, a refinance your home, get new windows, participate in a survey, or get dish network today.. LOL Drives me absolutely nuts. I think I am going to get an answering service to screen my calls.. Would mom and my sisters love that.. Actually, my husband would love it even more.. Gotta go make that call...

Okay, this is sooo funny that I had to share it with you all.

Well, lets see.. Today has been a great day.. I took the girls shopping for snowpants and jackets today. We have snow on the ground and figured I had better get them new stuff before school on Monday.. Brittni couldn't find anything she liked and just wants to keep her stuff from last year. Saves me tons of money, but she did ask to get her schnoze (sp??) pierced.. LOL She is 16 and working on her license too.. Courtney got some garments that didn't fit, so I will have to take those back. Macky (McKenzie) got a new coat, snowpants and boots. She picked a brown coat with fuzzy around the hood. Really cute.. No snowpants at the first store, so we went on to the next. Found a great pair of snowpants there in brown. Really neat too. They have a gripper on the inner bottom. They under part will not slip up. Does that make sense. It grips the boots and therefore will not ride up so the snow stays out of her boots. We also found Katie a pair of cute snowboots that totally match her snowpants from last year. They were to big so she never got to wear them. They actually fit this year. Wait... Brittni did find a pack of socks she liked. Penguins on them.. LOL Can't believe I forgot about those.. Big production on how cute they were.. LOL

I bought some really cute sock yarn today. I only have access to Lion brand striping sock yarn, so ... I bought 3 skeins of it.. Cute. Should make some neat socks.. Will post pictures when I get my camera charged.. Well.. I am off to finish up a hat I am knitting on a round loom.. You will be impressed..

Well, my soaker pants didn't work out witht he chunky yarn. The legs were just to small, sooo yep... I frogged it.. Now to find a new project for that yarn.. LOL
Been very busy here at home. Took the kids out Trick or Treating last night. Man,,, they really made a haul of candy. Course, we went to a couple houses where they literally gave them handfuls of candy. Guess they didn't want left overs.. LOL
I am off to find a sock pattern. I really want to try out making a pair of ankle socks for myself. I love hand knit socks. Make your feet feel soooo good.
Bum is getting better too. Still sore, but at least I can sit now..

Website Counter

Well, here goes.. My week started out decent and productive.. However, yesterday I thought it would be fun to fall down the stairs. Yep.. figured out it wasn't and would rather never do that again. I think I broke my backside.. LOL Pride too. Thankfully nobody actually saw me to it..

But, I have started a pair of knit pants for my 4yr old dd. She is sooo proud and keeps trying to wear them while they are on my needles.. She is a charmer for sure. I will post a picture soon. It is supposed to be a soaker longie made out of wool. Since it is a test run for a pattern I am creating, I figured I would use acrylic so it wasn't to expensive if it doesn't turn out.

Here is a picture of it in progress.

I did get my place setting finished. I am going to put it on a tray to take to my neighbor with Xmas breakfast. I think it turned out pretty nice. I finished it on Wednesday.