Thursday, April 28, 2022

Crochet - How To Begin

 Do you crochet? I have in the past and my mom and grandma both were quite good at it. I have not learned many patterns, but I can make a chain and I have done blankets and a few other small projects. I am learning more as I get older and find that I am more interested in it. 

 Crochet is from a French word meaning "little hook". How accurate is that because I have seen projects that required quite a small hook for the work. In crochet, each stitch is completed before the next stitch is started and that is why it is different from knitting. Crocheting is making something from interlocking yarn and is usually done with hooks. 

Learning to crochet these days can be much different than what I did as a child. These days we have the internet and sites such as crochet.comthe Spruce Craft, and You Tube to teach us if we don't have someone in the family that can show us. In the days I was learning, you needed someone to spend the time to show you what to do. It was a great bonding activity and something that I feel many kids these days miss out on. One of my favorites on You Tube is for beginners here. It offers quite a few tips of getting started in the art of crochet. 

Art? Yes, I believe crochet is a form of artwork as it is a craft that takes skill, patience, and a true love for it to be really great work. There are some masterpieces of crocheted items throughout the world. Look online for patterns and you will see some of those types of items. Beginning to crochet and being an artist are two completely different skill levels. 

What tools do you need to start? There are really only two things that you need to start to crochet. You will need yarn and a hook. Now crochet hooks come in many sizes and you may be confused as to what size you need. I prefer that a beginner use a G or H hook and I would recommend that you begin with a metal hook in order to make the stitches a little easier in the beginning. Yarn is another area where you will find so many different types, colors, weights, etc. Don't buy the best yarn on the market or any specialty yarn at first because all you need is an acrylic yarn that is easy to work with. I would also recommend that you have a simple pair of scissors that you are able to use to cut the yarn when you are at a stopping point and you need to knot it. As you learn to do more, you will find that you want to add a few accessories including a case if you begin to get more hooks to keep them organized, but that is later.  The simplicity of what you need to start is what I feel makes crocheting an activity that anyone can begin to learn. 

What should I learn first? One of the first things that I feel a beginner needs to know is how to make a slip stitch or slip knot as that is generally how you will begin all projects. It simply is to twist and loop the yarn onto the hook , then wrap the yarn under the hook and then pull it through the loop to tighten the stitch. It really is a simple process. The next thing to do is to make a chain and it is simply done by repeating the step above over and over until you have the length of chain that you prefer to work with. 

What's next? The next steps will be to learn to single crochet and double crochet. These are the steps to begin to have more of a project than simply a chain. These are stitches that will allow you to make multiple items and are the easiest for beginners. If you can single crochet, it is possible to make blankets and afghans without too much trouble. 

There are many other things to learn after you master these few things. Many sites online offer many tutorials on each of these and you can find multiple supplies out there. Here is a link to crochet hooks. It is an affiliate link and I would appreciate any help in earning money to keep this blog going that I get. Thank You!



Monday, April 25, 2022

Happy Homemaker Monday - April 25, 2022

  

Good Morning and how is everyone in blog land today. Things are good here at the farm, except for the weather. I will share more about that later in the post. After you read this, hop over to visit Sandra, who graciously allows us to share these posts. The Happy Homemaker Series is one of my favorites to read and write. 


:::: The Weather ::::

Rainy and cooler than the weekend. We had beautiful spring weather for the weekend, but today is not so nice. We have had periods of hard rain followed by lighter showers. The temperatures are to be in the 50's and 60's today. It seems as though the rain will end at some point later today, but I will believe that when it happens. It seems that we have had many showers and lots of wind lately. It is to be cooler this week as well with lows back in the upper 30's for several nights. I truly need spring to get here and stay. 

 

:::: How I am feeling this morning ::::

I woke with a headache and it is all because of the weather. I believe with my medicine, I may have stopped it from becoming a migraine. The rain is horrible for my migraines, but it has helped with the nasal congestion and stuff I felt with allergies from the warmer weather and pollen. I truly wish I lived someplace besides here, but I love my house in the woods. Compromising life here for life in the city would not be good for my mental health.

 

:::: On the breakfast plate ::::

I have not taken time to eat breakfast yet. I have had two cups of coffee though. I am thankful for the time I was able to have coffee on the patio yesterday. I even watched the church service online yesterday so I could enjoy my time outside and did sneeze so much in church. I will be there next week.  


:::: On my reading pile :::: 

I have not been reading much so I still have the book that I was reading several weeks ago sitting by the couch. I just can't motivate myself to read at the moment. My time needs to be spent doing multiple other things at the moment. I feel that I read so much when I had surgery that reading just is not something I currently want to do. 

 

:::: On my TV ::::

I am currently enjoying watching The Masked Singer and Swat each week. There are a few other shows that I often watch, but mostly these two are my favorites. I enjoy New Amsterdam, but I believe that I seen something about it was not going to be renewed, which makes me sad because it is a good show. Good quality shows are almost impossible to find these days. It truly makes me sad!

 

:::: On the menu this week ::::

Here is an area that I struggle with as a homemaker. I like to plan meals but my husband doesn't like for them to be planned. He wants to eat what he is hungry for at the time he is ready to eat. Luckily, tonight we are having a garlic herb marinated pork roast as I will not be here for a bit this evening so it can go in the crockpot. Plus, with the cooler weather, why not?

 

:::: From the camera ::::

 I have not taken any photos this week, so I am going to share some random recent photos. 

New bunnies that we were able to get. They are super sweet. One is named Coffee and one is Cocoa, I believe. My grand doll named them and so they are fun names. I think that they are good names though, what do you think?
Here is the latest photo of Mercedes. She is a Great Dane and we like her quite a bit. I wish we had a smaller dog for inside, but she is the breed that the husband has always wanted. Of course, she is more my dog because he doesn't do anything with her. I truly did not want her at all, but she is a part of the family now. She is great with the grands and that is very important. 
This is the ramp that my husband's friend built while I was at my daughters' house following surgery. I am thankful for it as I have used it quite often and still do. My foot is healing well, although I have had some issues. I am still struggling with going down stairs, so it does help to have it. We will stain it and finish the bottom of it this spring or summer. 

:::: Looking around the house ::::

It is not too bad as I cleaned it on Saturday evening. I will do laundry today and run the vacuum and that will probably be all I get done today. I have to work on my Pink Zebra business. I am always looking to share some samples with someone so if you like home fragrances and have not used Pink Zebra, please let me know and I will send you a sample. 

::::  To do List ::::

1. Make the roast and figure out veggies.
2.Laundry and vacuum
3. Work my Pink Zebra business
4. Trip to the bank later
5. Possibly pick up my grand daughter










 

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Scrapbooking Thoughts

 Making a scrapbook seems like an easy task until you start to do it and then it can be much more overwhelming than you expected it to be. Do not do a lot of research on the subject or you will find that the internet can be full of very detailed pages and supplies, when you don't need all of that to get started. Remember that this is your creation and you are telling a story, so making it yours is important. The pages do not need to look exactly perfect or exactly like someone else's page.   Let's take a look at what I feel are the steps that you need to take to prep for getting the scrapbook together. 

2. Decide the theme of the book. Now, I am not saying that it must be all of the same types of photos, but it is important to know if you are doing one that is based on vacations, school, or just life in general. The types of paper and photos that you will use in it needs to go along with what you intend it to be. There is no point in purchasing paper or die cuts of school related items if it is not going to include school related photos. 

3. Begin to collect the photos that you intend to use in the book. Many of us have photos on our phones that need to be printed to be put into the book. Print them and place into an envelope, folder or tote that you intend to hold supplies in. I like to use a tote, but I like to have the photos in an envelope. Beginning in this way, does not give you an excuse to have to stop and get pictures, because for many of us that would simply be the end of the scrapbook. How many projects do you start to find that are never finished? For me, it is several. 

4. Once you have the book and the photos, you are ready to begin. The next step is to purchase some supplies. I would say paper, photo corners or tape in order to place the photos in place, and maybe a few die cuts and possibly a scrapbook pen are reasonable supplies for a beginner. Stickers can be an asset to a page as well. Again, many companies are out there that range in prices that can be reasonable or can be rather expensive. Again, if you are a beginner, you don't need the best. Go to local hobby store such as Hobby Lobby and see what is available. Amazon offers some nice selections as well.

5. Once you have supplies, you are ready to layout your first page. If you are unsure of what to do, You Tube offers some great videos on getting started. I personally found this video to be quite helpful. The pages do not have to be done in any certain way as you are the creator of the pages. You are the creator of the book. Make it as personalized as you would like. It is you telling a story through that page. 

These are basics of scrapbooking are what is necessary to get started. A book, a story in your words or thoughts and some photos and decorations for the page. Now, I am going to share some Google images with you just to showcase some of the many ways people scrapbook. 


These two photos are of pages that look quite difficult to a beginner, but are mainly just die cuts that have been bought to be used for this page. Many scrapbook companies offer decor die cuts like this to add to the page. 



This page has more details to it and has much more going on with the page. However, with a little skill and confidence, it won't be long until you are doing the same kind of pages. I think any scrapbooker would say the same thing and would certainly tell any beginner that it is as much fun as you make it and that any page you make is going to possibly have mistakes on it, but no one will know unless it is a misspelled word, because it is your idea, your story, your page!












Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Crafts, Books, and Other Hobbies

 So many of my readers these days are crafters and I think that I am going to begin a weekly series on these types of products. I will be sharing some links with you on these posts. I am looking to make a little money from here until I can get my own site set up and use it for my marketing. Camping is becoming a huge hobby as well and so I will be adding it to the list as well. Something for everyone is what I am hoping to do. I will remain dedicated to the farm as well. It is what first encouraged me to write this in the beginning. 


Many of you are Cricut users and I have friends and family that use this amazing machine as well and I hope to share many hints and tips for these crafters. I do not have one, but it is on my wish list. 


Yarn lovers are here as well. I know that I see many projects on here that my readers are working on. I learned to crochet very basic stitches and I rarely ever do these projects, but I would like to learn more so I am hoping to share some more information on these types of projects too. 



Here is one of my favorite hobbies: scrapbooking and journaling. It is the most creative process at times. How many of us still scrapbook or journal? I find journaling makes me a lot more at peace while I write how I feel and what I have done. 




This goes along with farming so I may include some beekeeping as well. I don't know much but I have a friend from here that knows quite a bit and I might be asking her to write a guest post. 



Books will always be a topic here as I enjoy reading and do it quite often. I am involved in an online book club and I am thinking about starting a local one just to reconnect with new friends. I hope that once I begin to add these weekly posts that you will enjoy reading the posts and we can connect with some new friends that are interested in the same things that we are. 



Monday, April 18, 2022

Easter Bunny Pictures - As Promised

Here are the Easter photos that I spoke of in my Happy Homemaker Post. I finally got them to download here so that I can share. Look at how cute the girls are!

These were taken at church yesterday! Live bunnies and kids make adorable photos!!



 

Happy Homemaker Monday - On the Farm - April 18, 2022

Hello Homemakers and Readers!

How is everyone today? Good, I hope. Life here on the farm is busy as usual and quite cold for this time of the year. I will get into more of that later. First of all, Welcome to my Happy Homemaker post. If you are not aware of what exactly this is, I suggest you head over to visit Sandra at Diary of a stay at home mom. She has created this amazing little Monday fun corner and allows us to share some small tidbits of our week with all of our amazing readers. 


 :::: The Weather ::::

Weather: we are to have 4 seasons of the year where I am living and it seems that each year we skip one or more of those. This year it seems as we are skipping Spring. The day after Easter and we awake to a cold and very wet snowy morning. Yes, SNOW! The temperature was like 33 degrees F and we had snow. Not the weather we expect in mid April! I am ready for sunshine and warm! We actually have our wood stove going for heat today as it is to be cool all day with scattered showers and light winds. 

The weather is making life a little less fun for this farm lady. We have had baby bunnies and I believe that we lost them due to the cold last night. Come on, Mother Nature- get with our schedule! 

:::: How I am feeling this morning ::::

Other than cold, I am okay. I have struggled with migraines this weekend and still have remnants of one today. Seems that the weather is the biggest trigger and I must say that with the crazy rainfall we have had and the temperatures changing faster than you can sneeze, it makes for some really bad days. Does anyone else struggle with migraines that are weather related?


:::: On the breakfast plate ::::


 Breakfast was a donut that my husband brought me home a few days ago. I simply heated it in the microwave for a few seconds and ate it. Yes, I know not ideal breakfast, but I decided not to waste it so eat it. What are your favorite donuts? I love the custard filled ones with chocolate on top. 


:::: On my reading pile :::: 

I have not really been reading. I think I done so much while I was recovering from surgery that I truly just need a break. I have been doing a daily Bible study though with The Bible Recap This will be my second year using that as my reading plan for reading completely through the Bible in a year. 


:::: On my TV ::::

I do not watch a lot of television these days, but I do have three favorite shows right now. I am enjoying The Masked Singer, Street Outlaws, and SWAT.  I will be watching what I have recorded of some of those later today.


:::: On the menu this week ::::

I have not planned a menu this week but I do have dinner planned today. We are having Roasted Tomato and Herb Chicken Breast with Parmesan pasta and Brussel Sprouts.  Lunch will be soup for me and tomorrow night will probably be steak tips with cauliflower rice. 


:::: From the camera ::::

Well, I wanted to share the cute photos of my grand dolls with Easter Bunnies taken at church yesterday but it keeps saying that the server is rejecting my photos. Not sure what is up with that so I will try to post later. 

:::: Looking around the house ::::

 As I look around the house, I realize just how much I accomplished yesterday even though I had a massive migraine. The only real housework I have for today is laundry. It's good because I have a team training to do tomorrow for my Pink Zebra business and I want to finalize all of that information today. 


::::  To do List ::::

 For the week, I have several things to do. I will try to make a list for each day.

Monday:  Laundry, meeting plans, dinner, make bed

Tuesday : Team meeting, grocery store, dinner, vacuum, post office run

Wednesday: Plan game night, place PZ order, Order Delivery, dinner

Thursday: Clean at father in laws, prepare last minute game night details, dinner, clean kitchen and bathroom

Friday: Clean house and pack for show for the weekend

Saturday: Vendor show 

Sunday: Church and rest


Thanks for stopping by. Until we meet again.




 





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