New Scarf Pattern

So I am so far behind in ...(???!?!?! life in general?!) I am just starting to catch up with my emails and projects I started in June. To anyone waiting on me,  I am SO SORRY :o( Email me with a reminder.

This weekend was Thanksgiving weekend here,as well as my SIL birthday.  I made 2 pies, to lots of buns, an applesauce cake and a giant birthday cookie (Pizza pan sized) Some how  I had time to designe a quick gift for her on Saturday to give to her today. I give you another free pattern......

Bethany Scarf

 

Made for a Canadian October, I designed this for my SIL birthday. I completed this scarf in 4 hours.

Materials

1 ball 3.5 oz/100g Bernat Satin (worsted weight yarn)

J hook

Needle to sew in ends

Abbreviations

ch - chain

dc – double crochet

dcdec – double crochet decrease

st - stitch

Bethany Scarf Directions:

Make a ch of 42 leaving an 8 inch tail on each end. Cut yarn from skein and ravel into a ball to use later.

Row 1 :ch 4, dc in first chain (makes first loop) ch 4 turn work

Row 2 :dc in same chain as ch4, skip next stitch ch1, dc ch 1 dc in next st, ch4 turn work

Row 3:dc in same chain as ch4, skip next st, (dc in next st, ch1) dc ch 1 dc in last dc, ch4 turn work

Row 4-9 :repeat row 3, adding a dc at each end (as row 3) and dc ch1 in each stitch across (6x's)

Row 10-11: dc ch1 in every dc across

Row 12: repeat rows 4-9

Row 18-19:repeat row 10-11

Row 20: 3:dc in same chain as ch4, skip next st, (dc in next st, ch1) dc ch 1 dc in last dc, ch 45 turn work.

Attach set aside yarn to the opposite side of your row from your hook and chain 41 st with your J hook and end off.

(Where gray is your scarf and black is the added yarn )

Row 21: dc in 4^th chain from hook, skip next stitch ch1, dc ch 1 dc in next st, complete across, including across the added chain. dc ch 1 dc in last st, ch4 turn work.

Row 22:dc in same chain as ch4, skip next st, (dc in next st, ch1) dc ch 1 dc in last dc, ch4 turn work

Row 23-26:repeat row 3, adding a dc at each end (as row 3) and dc c1 in each stitch across (4x's)

Row 27: dcdec in next 2 dc, ch1. dc ch1 across until 3 dc remain. dcdec in next 2 st, dc in last st. end of and tie in strings.

Tassels

The tassels on mine is made of artisan mohair in the same color as the acrylic/wool blend to add some texture. The strings are looped in half, pulled though the open work of the scarf along the diagonal edge and then pulled through the folded top and pulled tight. Tassels are cut in varying lengths.

Little House on The Prairie Homeschool Activities

This is a great site I have been working on with some Ravelry friends.  We are going week by week through Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and are coming up with matching activities for each chapter.  Feel free to follow along and don't be afraid of starting in at the beginning of the projects in book one even if we are much further ahead. We have a matching email account, so that if you finish a project you can  submit pictures and comments frontiergazette@ymail.com   Come over and have a browse
Little House on The Prairie Homeschool Activities

Handicap/Geriatric Clothing Conversion

Grandma has been in the Hospital for some time now and is going to be moved to a Home. (She had an unfortunate fall which included a broken bone. ) She's not as mobile as much now. But I was a little disappointed when I saw  how her personal care was being handled.  Her hair wasn't being done everyday (She has long silver hair that she always braided and wrapped around her head). And her Hospital gown looked a few days old. She was quite anxious when she saw me and fidgeted with her gown and hair quite a bit.
When I worked in a Palliative care floor in a local Home, I saw it important to allow residents to still be well maintained in their clothing and hair and hygiene.  It made the resident, despite their condition, feel less conscious about  themselves and also made the family more comfortable when visiting. It definitely made for happier "endings". But regular clothing is difficult to change on a bed ridden or chair bound patient. Front buttoned gowns are very helpful and look very nice, but are still difficult to maneuver when trying to toilet a patient.  From a care persons vantage, open back dressing is much ore accommodating. There are a a lot of companies that sell dresses made this way, but a completely new wardrobe is not always an option for every patient. So in passing messages between my dad and his sister (who my Grandma was living with) we are hoping to change some of Grandma's  clothing to make it usable for  her. She always wore dresses, so that does give us a in closet selection to choose from.
My Aunt is a quilter, so I have written up a set of directions for sewing panels into the clothing , that I will now share with you!  It is a PDF download, the link will direct you to the PDF I have downloaded to  scribd.com. I am still exploring ways to make it a more direct link.....
Handicap/Geriatric Clothing Conversion 
P.S After a chat with the palliative care director, they are now combing Grandma's hair more regularly. :o)

10 minute Jello Pies

So I ran into this sweet little old lady at the dollar store today in the "grocery isle" and she stopped me with a grin on her face and gave me an unsolicited recipe for 10 min fruit pies. They sell graham cracker crusts at our local $ store and jello which she had in her hand. So here's what she told me....

10 min Jello Fruit Pie
1 cup water
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 pkg Jello, favorite flavor
"matching" fruit if desired, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 small graham pie crust ( or GF crust, see directions below)

Prepare fruit and set aside
Boil in a saucepan the water and cornstarch, careful not to burn
as soon as it thickens into a cream, add the jello and then gently turn in the fruit
Pour into the pie crust and set until firm in fridge

Done!!

So of course I had to figure out how to make this gluten free!!
I ran over to recipe zaar for a Graham crust recipe and then improvised with this....

GF Crumb Crust

1 bag of GF arrowroot animal crackers, crushed in the food processor

Combine
1 1/2 cups of crumbs
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 tsp pure vanilla
Salt
5 tblsp melted butter

mix well and press into 2 small pie plates or one large
Bake at 350 F for 5 - 7 min until golden brown Cool before filling

It comes out with a shortbread kind of taste to it. I also intend to freeze my extra crust for later.

I have made a lemon an a raspberry that were fruitless But I would like to try a Raspberry with berries, and a raspberry with fresh kiwi or an orange with frozen mango. And DS wants a cherry done too.

I'm seeing potlucks in the near future!

Proud Moment

Today we took a crazy thought and biked with it! As a youth I biked...ALOT. Usually it was to keep my mom happy as I followed my brother out crazy distances (we are talking towns away from home) to keep her from worrying about him being by himself. But quite frankly, since having children I am out of shape. But I miss my biking days and today was such a nice sunny yet cool day, I talked DH into biking out to Hibou Park where there is a pleasant beach on Georgian Bay. I had our youngest son on a front load carrier, DH had middle son in a bike trailer with all our beach stuff and Dearest Daughter BIKED THE ENTIRE WAY THERE AND BACK!!!
She is just 7 and has never been madam energy, and I worried about her ability to keep up. It is 8.2 km ONE WAY. Some of the way is on 2 lane highway roads and some of it railway line bike trails. But she was awesome!
We had a wonderful time at the beach, sat out on the rocks in the water and learned ASL alphabet and had fun burying the children in the sand. The trip back was pleasant with a cool breeze that blew a our backs. And we ended the afternoon with Popsicles. It will be a day to remember!

Anti Sucky Thumb Thingy

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Two years ago I was crocheting thumbless mittens so my youngest son could have his “natural soother” available when we were out for walks on cold days. (He wouldn't keep his mitten on because he wanted his thumb). But now he's almost 4 and still sucking his thumb...Hard. So I want to curb him of this habit a little bit and have come up with a crochet pattern for this problem!

Make several, so you can change them when they get soiled, or to replace when you can't find it because the wearer has decided to "keep it safe" in his treasure box, dropped it behind the couch, pitched it into the corner of the room or hidden it up his shirt. (Just some of the ingenious ways DS2 has tried to dispose of his thumb cover today!)

Anti Sucky Thumb Thingy

Materials
Crochet hook : F/5- 3.75mm
Large scrap of your stashed cotton yarn ( I used a neutral color so it is less noticeable if he wears it out)

Start
Chain 3, sc 7 st into first ch and pull chain tight (8 st total)

Ch 1, and sc in the round until the thumb piece is the desired length, just above the fist knuckle.
(My example is 2 inches long, approximately 10 rounds)

Next row: ch1 and sc 4 st turn work
Repeat last row until you have a strap long enough to reach around the palm of the hand.
(My example is 7 inches long, stretched. Approximately 17 rows)

(* REMEMBER: cotton stretches, so stretch out the strap tight as you measure, or the strap will become too loose as it is worn and be in the way and useless)

Finishing
Sew the strap to the open side of the thumb piece and tie in ends tightly. For an older child to wear in the daytime, you could pre string on some shank button google eyes and add into two stitches(to the nail side of the thumb piece) and tuffs of hair to make it into a fun finger puppet reminder to keep their thumb out of their mouth.

Ephesians 2: 1-19

(click title for link to scripture)

As a Christian who grew up in a Christian family, I sometimes wonder about how tiny my Christian journey seems compared to others. I don't have an elaborate conversion story. I am a sinner, and have not always lived the perfect christian life, but I have since been forgiven and I seem to have fewer haunts and regrets because I chose to walk relatively close to my christian upbringing. But sometimes bad things happen, even entire days, weeks or months worth! The choices we make or the loved ones around us can bring us down, make us feel sad or angry or left licking our wounds. Thinking back on my own troubled times with depression, I find that God is showing me now that the point of hopelessness I got to is the same point a non believer is in who is dead in Christ. The difference being that I have a Light and know where to look for Him. But we often take Gods grace for granted, knowing it is there for us when we really get into a bind but living by our own accord in the mean time. Or the opposite, thinking our problems aren't big enough to warrant Gods attention.

Today in church the pastor was reminding us that we are all born hopelessly dead. To be physically dead is to have your body permanently separated from your soul. Your body, has no response to stimuli. Although it can be peaceful, I guarantee you it is never pretty. All that is left is an empty shell that sinks in limply shortly after the last breath as your muscles hold your shape no more, you are soon incontinent and a obscure color and an whiff rapidly sets in. You quickly take on a shape that does not resemble your former body as decay sets in.

Like wise in our spiritual death our soul is permanently separated from God. We are but a shell of what God intended us to be when He created us. We can be the nicest, cleanest, honest, philanthropist on earth... but we are still separated from God unless we accept Gods grace of forgiveness. Because despite our good characters, we all learn to hide things and we all fall into moments of selfishness and hidden sins known only too ourselves and God. It is easy to ignore the sin in our own lives when we are busy showing the world how good we can be. By not accepting Gods grace we are taking credit for all the successes of our lives,ignoring the fact that God is the one who created that very life in the first place.

But this is no better than a funeral homes expertise to cover up death, by embalming and makeup. Although they make you appear the same as when your body was alive, you are still not alive, and they can not at this point bring you back to life.

Pastor Mark Lowrie told us this story:
His son loved to collect "things" he loved to be out side and often came home with a collection of something carried in his pockets. One such day he collected caterpillars. He had no jar so he put them in his pocket to carry home. But he forgot all about them until he sat down to his supper. With a look of surprise in his eyes he stood up quickly, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a handful of squished, dead caterpillars. (A horrible sight at anytime but most unnerving at the supper table I'm sure!) Nothing his son could do, or say, or feel could make any of those caterpillars ever come back to life. Some where mangled beyond recognition, while others simply just did not move.

But what if God had reached into his sons pocket, and pulled out a handful of butterflies instead? How exciting the very transformation of a butterfly is to begin with! But to bring life AND change to something that was dead, what an amazing gift!And God offers this to all of us, a life that is changed and glorifying.

It's scary to think about death, and just as scary to dig up all our old sins and wrongs that we've hidden. But in death, which is going to happen to us all one day, is judgment. Unless you have laid all your heart and soul in this life at the feet of Jesus.....those sins, in death, are also going to be dredged up and punished.

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (!)
Romans 6:23

Won't you let God pay for those things now, in this life, instead?



CEJTM 2009