My Latest Treasury

Crazy for Crochet

I learned to crochet at the end of last summer and now have made so many potholders and washclothes for my family I've been told to stop :)

On Tuesday, I finished my first "big" crochet project - this purple shrug (I had only started it last October):Of course, I was able to wear it on Tuesday because it was still in the 60s, but by Wednesday, it felt like 90 outside. I guess it will go into winter storage, but I'll have something cool to wear when autumn comes!

I was reading Kim's post at Snug Harbor on learning to crochet, and through her found a fabulous crochet blog: Aesthetic Nest. Anneliese is doing a new Learn to Crochet series and I found this awesome tutorial on her site for a baby cloche: Granted, that was attempt number 4 above, but I finally got it! Numbers 1 and 2 had mistakes and looked like they were made for cone heads... my gauge on number 3 was totally messed up and almost fits my head... But it's all a learning process :)

The bane of my existence...

for the last couple of weeks has been my new sewing table. I had lusted after this table for quite some time and finally broke down and bought it.

Now, I consider myself an expert in modular furniture construction. In my office alone, there are eight pieces from Ikea. My power rack in the garage took me a total of 45 minutes to put together although there were all kinds of reviews about it being too hard and not having good directions.

This table on the other hand was horrible. It arrived with 2 packages of one type of screw and none of another. The little wooden dowels - there were 2 fewer in the box than tha directions called. The screws that were supposed to be used with the hinges had heads smaller than the holes on the hinges. The screws for the handles were not long enough to go through the wood and into the handles. Needless to say, after six trips to the hardware store, it is finally done. Yes, I did try calling customer service, but it was of no use.

If this had been my first piece of furniture that I had to put together, I would have never ever tried these other pieces in my house. I'm so glad it is done and will begin working on some sewing projects this week!*************************************************************************
On a more exciting note, I was plaing with my wire weaving all week long!

On Thursday, I made this bow pendant/necklace for my sister-in-law's birthday. She loves bows and pink, so I figured rose quartz and a sterling bow would be perfect. I finished it off with a toggle clasp adorned with rose quartz chips.

On Friday, I was playing with my brand new lampwork beads and made an asymmetrical pendant set.
I've been so productive this week I want to jump and scream at the top of my lungs! I hope you've had an excellent week, too!

Creamy Goodness and My Finished Pendant...

I eat Dannon's All Natural Plain Non-Fat Yogurt every day. I'd been looking at the foil top where it advertised "Creamy Sweet Potato Soup" and decided to try.

Boy was it wonderfully creamy! I'm going to have to try adding this yogurt to my favorite butternut squash soup recipe as it has almost the same flavor and could use some creaminess.

The recipe was really simple and my husband thought it was great:

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large sweet onion, sliced
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 qt. chicken broth
1-3/4 cup Dannon® Plain Yogurt
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Directions
1.In a soup pot heat oil. Add onions and cumin and sauté 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup 20-25 minutes.
2.Puree soup with 1-1/2 cups Dannon® Plain Yogurt and parsley or cilantro. Serve each portion of soup with a dollop of remaining yogurt and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.
Yields
12 Servings (8 oz. per serving)
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And here are a few views of the pendant I started and finished last week. This was a fun one and I plan on more woven wire pendants in the future!

Shopping!!

I was in need of new shoes. Shoes to work in the garden, mow the yard, and otherwise get covered in dirt. Normally I have a rotation... new shoes to walking shoes to work shoes, but somehow I've messed up my routine.

We have a relatively new store in my little town - Burke's Outlet. (Trust me, everyone gets excited when anything comes to town, even large chain stores... It beats the 1+ hour drive to anywhere else.) Boy did I get a deal in the shoe department. These Reebok's were marked $29.99 with the right color sticker to be 90% Off... On top of that, at the register, I was asked if I wanted to join their frequent shopper program (free to sign up) which includes 15% off every Friday!I can't believe it, but my new "work around the house" ended up being $1.27! I haven't had a deal that good in a long time. I'll be visitng this store again on future Fridays!