Sometimes...

 

 

 

 

 

 Sometimes soft yellow and gray do grow on you, especially when you've spent so much time with them. 

 

Sometimes home baking doesn't need to be beautiful or extravagant when little people just need a really chocolatey pick me up.  And who am I to argue over a bit of chocolate?

 

Sometimes we are a little tempted and we just give in and get our paws wet. 

 

Then we just wipe the chocolate off our faces, dry our paws, and pick out a new, inspiring color and head into tomorrow. 

 

xo

 

 



Sweet Baby Gray

 

 

Ok...  Gray.  Gray yarn.  Mixed feelings about gray yarn. 

 

I have to say that when I was purchasing a different yarn a while back I saw this gray yarn and I was intrigued by it, mainly due to it's name:  Whisker. 

 

"Whisker" may for some bring grandfatherly images to mind.  It did for me too at first.  But then it said sweet, velvet bunny noses and soft kitty cat whiskers.  Isn't it funny how the very name of a yarn can change the way you see it?

 

However, I did not buy 'Whisker'.  But then I needed to start a baby blanket for a little girl and when I asked what colors baby's room will be I was told gray and yellow. 

 

Whisker it is then!

 

Now to make this lump of gray take on that soft, adorable, (and now feminine) feel of sweet bunny noses and butterfly light whiskers.

 

I'll let you know.

 

In the mean time I have to say just how much I have LOVED this crazy weather we've been having.  I don't know if we've ever had so much rain or cooler temps than this for this time of year.  But I'm glad. 

 

It makes it so much nicer to wander outside to visit the flowers.

 

I adore Queen Anne's Lace.  I think because it's something my grandmother showed me to love long, long ago. 

 

Happy Day to you!

xoxo

 



Ginger Girl

 

 

 

Miss Ginger, soaking up the warm afternoon sunshine. 

 

She is quite a little lady. 

 

She is very accommodating, allowing me to photograph her.  She stretches and purrs and gives me cute kitty glances.  She then dismisses me promptly and returns to her slumber. 

 

Kitties just get it right, don't they?

 

xoxo

 

p.s.  She handles this whole 'spring forward' thing much better than I, too...

 

 

 

 

 



Chocolate Chip Cake

 

 Way back when, at a time that I worked 'outside' the home...  I knew a really, truly lovely lady who baked a lot.  And she would bring homemade goodies to our office often.  I don't know where she got her recipes, but they were unusual (to me anyway) and they were delicious!  They were simple recipes, many from boxed mixes, but with a twist. 

 

I love to collect recipes not only because I love to eat good food, but because I like to think of the person or place the recipe came from.  So as I was rummaging through my recipe box I came across this old Chocolate Chip Cake recipe that Jacquie had given to me years ago.  Again, I don't know the original source, but I can at least credit Ms. Jacquie with it for now. 

 

Chocolate Chip Cake:

 

1 box yellow cake mix

3 eggs

1 box chocolate or vanilla instant pudding

8 oz. sour cream

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup water

 

Mix all together x 4 minutes. 

Fold in 8 oz. chocolate chips.

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. 

 

Of course, you want to grease and flour your pans.  I used a Bundt pan just because it feels special somehow.   And it looks pretty on a plate. 

 

There is no direction in her recipe to put icing on the cake, but I always have some chocolate icing on hand to please the little people.  Never too much chocolate...

 

So Young Man was in a class for 10 hours the other day and I used that as my excuse.  Yep, we were celebrating a big day with a warm, homemade cake when he got home.  I'll find any reason to celebrate! 

 

Try one for yourself.  It may be a new favorite of yours, too!

 

And this is what I woke up to today.  Apparently breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all.  Just look at Axle's face!  (He's the tuxedo one...)  Ha!  He kills me. 

 

So your lesson for today is:  Breakfast is important and eat cake.

 

Well, not cake for breakfast, but you know what I mean.

 

(Although, it has been done here....  with coffee....) 

 

xoxo 

 

 



Random Stripes and Squares?

 

 

 

 

 

The Random Stripe Blanket continues! 

 

Single, half double, double...

 

Scallops, shells, and bobbles...

 

Spike stitch, basket weave, and now SQUARES! 

 

Squares in a row = a stripe!

 

I've really been wanting to try these puffy flower squares from Mille Makes

and they do NOT disappoint!  (Thanks for a great pattern)! 

 

As usual, as soon as you lay anything down around the Hearth Room, it quickly gets spoken for.  Fritz has been looking for a new bed, but unfortunately for him, he can't have this one.  Yet.

 

xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Sunflower Dressing

 

Axle says, "Good morning, Lovely Friends!"

 

Young Man was interested in learning how to use the Hipstamatic App on the cell phone and we snapped a few pics of his kitty.  I really liked this one.  And after visiting the Wordless Wednesday post over at  Ted & Agnes last night, I was reminded of this sweet picture and thought I'd share.  Again, Axle proves to be another fan of the Ripple!

 

 

But this is really about Sunflowers.....  Or well, it's about a shawl that ended up draped among the sunflowers, lol.  I spotted this pattern on Lion Brand a couple of years ago.  It's called the Elspeth Shawl and I just loved the stripes of the varying stitches.  So when I came across this tweed yarn called Dill Heather, I knew I had a match.  I mean, you know I love fall and you know I get very excited as fall is approaching.  As soon as I feel that crispness in the early morning air I'm sold!  Now, I know I've got a ways to go yet.  The heat's not ALL done, but it's close...

 

So along with all my Rippling activity and Secret Edging, this happened to come together very quickly!  You should try one for yourself or a gift.  If you're not a fan of the fall colors like I am, this would look great in any color or combination.  I'm thinking of doing one in a different yarn color like Claret Heather or the Marine...Or the North Pole Heather for winter.  

 

I am waiting for a couple of buttons to arrive here at the Hearth Room, then this Elspeth will be complete.  In my attempt to take a  picture of this shawl, I had to get outside.  You know the Hearth Room isn't the greatest place for light.  So as I wandered around looking for the right place to drape the Elspeth, this Sunflower waved me over, saying, "Pick me, pick me!"  I think they did a great job modeling together.

 

The Ripple is growing, the Secret Edging is growing, (and dare I say), I have also been inspired by the lovely Jules over at Little Woolie  to make a Random Stripey Blanket.  I'll share that nifty bit later!  But right now I will tell you that I think it's name should be Candy Land.  Jules is doing a crochet along, so go check it out!

 

Hope you are having a lovely week!

 

 

 

 

 



Crochet Valance In the Making

Hello friends!  I'm so glad you stopped by today. 

Do you remember I showed you a little peek of my new red and white crochet squares in the making?  Do you remember that I had forgotten exactly what my original plan was?

Well, that is why it's sooo nice to have a little Crochet Inspirational Journal! So when that flood of hooky ideas hits I can doodle and draw and jot down notes so I don't totally forget everything!  Thankfully, I did make a few notes about this crocheted valance I wanted to attempt for Young Man's room.  A while back I decided to try to make something for his room, buy if you remember, I was trying to make something that would be....  acceptable for a Guy's Room.... Even though it was of the hooky persuasion. 

And aren't cats funny?  As soon as they catch on that you need to open a book for something, for any reason, it becomes an invitation for them to be a part of it.  So I had only a few seconds to view my sketch before Axle arrived and plunked his plump self down onto my journal.  This phenomenon continues into our classroom on pretty much a daily basis here at the Hearth Room, too.  We actually refer to Ginger as our Home Edu-Cat.  She is also learning to read along with the children.  Axle on the other hand, I don't think is quite as ambitious.  He simply wants to be noticed.

Carrying on:  Here is a sample of my 3 three Nordic Star Squares put together to form the base of my valance.  This link takes you to Ravelry which is full of wonderful patterns and ideas. 

I went with this particular square (after much consideration and searching for the right pattern) as I felt that this star shape could be viewed as something along the lines of a target.  Ok.  There you go...  Is that too much of a stretch?  Lol.  I mean, it has to be Guy-ish!  Since Young Man is into Boy Scouts and archery and shooting target practice, it seemed to be the best thing I found called a Granny Square that I could simply misconstrue as Guy-ish. 

Looking at this picture now it seems fairly flower-ish.  Hmmm.  It would make a nifty apron for myself!  I will keep that idea open as I progress. 

I'm using Knit Picks Cotlin DK for this project as it is a blend of cotton and linen and is durable and washes well.  Although, it does let a lot of light in from behind, so more hanging and testing and deliberating lies ahead.

I slip stitched these squares together and started bordering them along the top and bottom with Granny Stripe.  I did a simple single crochet border along the sides.  I need to continue in this pattern to get it just a bit larger and see how it 'feels' hanging over the window.  Then I will know if I have an apron in the making or not!

Do you know what this is?  Or what it should be?

She does!

This is Ginger. She has apparently forgotten the discussion we had and the promises we made about our catnip. 

We will be chatting again real soon when she is done with her happy, catnip- induced rolling episode. 

In the mean time, I will go play with my valance/apron and plant some more catnip seeds and we'll see what comes of both.

Have a happy weekend!

Planning & "Planting"

Hello!  I've been studying and taking notes on some fabulous gardening ideas I really want to try this year.  I know, I know...  I said we would not be having a big garden here at the Hearthroom this year, but I can't stand to not have a garden.  See these sweet little peppers?  I bought them at the store this weekend, but I really want to pick my own this summer. 

Now we did put in a first year garden here last summer and it was a tremendous amount of work!  And need I say there were little people who deserved most of my time?  So a big, huge, over-the-top kind of garden is not happening this year, but yes indeed, some gardening is happening.  Well, at least the plans are happening.

This book is proving to be very motivating!  I just love new gardening ideas, especially when it incorporates "Edible" in my very-much-needed "Landscaping" plans.  Ooooo...  I just started into this book and I can't wait to spend more time drooling over her pages!  I truly do want to be able to grow as much as possible that will feed this family and possibly others, but it will have to happen in stages...  Over time.  Patience is a virtue, I hear....

However, this week, as I am excitedly carrying this book and my gardening journal from room to room, I have to admit that a virus has hit the Hearthroom.  Yep, I've been quite busy mothering sick little people and one Big Guy.  It's been awful, really, but everyone is now on the mend.  So I've had some time to sit and hold my babies and read and plan, but no real time to go outdoors into the sunshine.  So today I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to "plant" some instant color while I sat on the very neglected patio. 

Ahh, just a little color and a little whimsical fun for Momma.

Actually, as children slept I made an attempt to do a little yarn inventory to see where I am with finishing, ahem, and starting, some projects.  And the sun was bright and it was so warm out I just needed to head outside.  As my tulip bulbs are done, (I did actually plant them), and the hyacinths are through, I had these nice clean pots sitting about and one thing just led to another.

That's just how I think.  And I get such great joy from something so silly and whimsical. 

These are mostly the colors for the Ripple I've been working on. 

With a few other colors of different projects I'm secretly working on, hee hee...  You can probably already guess they involve granny-ish things.

So with all the gorgeous, face-warming sunshine from earlier today, I truly enjoyed being just silly for a bit and taking in the quiet.  It looks quite different out there now, as it's very dark and blowing like crazy!  Looks and sounds like a good storm heading this way.



A boy and his cat...

  Somehow, even though it's been a hard week here in the Hearthroom, we've been able to enjoy some of the unusually calm moments, too.

Hope you have too! 

xo



Ripple Catch Up, etc.

 

  

My goodness it's been WAY too long since my last post!  I have been planning and jotting down and hooking along furiously lately!  Then I happened to be forced into a bit of a hooky break while we had a very fun family and friend long-weekend-visit.  We did have a great time, with lots of foolishness and food and fun.  It also happened to be St. Patty's Day weekend, so there was lots of green involved.

Much progress has been made on my Ripple!  I really can't believe it.  We have had our ups and downs, that Ripple and I...  But it is coming along in a very colorful, stripey kind of way.  I did manage to run out of 2 very important colors and I just found out that one of them is no longer available.  Poo!  Well, I'll work that out later.  This Ripple is worked in stripes of the same color pattern.  There are 16 colors and so far I have three repeats and am working on the fourth. 

What a stringy mess my Ripple is!  I have been VERY VERY bad about fixing as I go!

Do you see that fluffy green thing across the window there in the background?  Yep...  A St. Patty's Day leftover.  My dear Elite Running Friend just happened to leave it here.  The joke during the whole weekend was that we were finding green feathers EVERYWHERE!  We had a wonderful time visiting downtown Roanoke again during their St. Patty's Day festival and I do believe my friend was responsible for leaving a great trail of green feathers.  Although, there were a number of folks sporting the very same green boa, so I can't lean on her toooo much.

So I mentioned before how I had been totally smitten with all things square and Granny-ish...  So here is one such square that I really fell in love with.  And....  it's such a breeze to do and is really enjoyable.  I could hook'em up all night! 

This is a free pattern by Debbie Stoller at Stitch Nation.  It's called Weekend in Stockholm.  I did change the center flower by making it out of a double treble.  It just made it puffier - more like a dogwood leaf I think.  Hmmm...  Maybe I need a Dogwood Throw.  Another idea for the yarn journal!  Well,  I can't WAIT to make a throw in lots of my FAV colors with this one!  But for now, since I was on such a square roll, I grabbed these Colors On Hand and decided to make a small throw for Hubby's chair.  He's been asking for way too long about a throw for this chair because one very naughty kitty likes to take over the chair when Hubby isn't present.  So, Hubby, here is your answer!

And this is what Naughtiness looks like...

Poor Ginger just wants to mind her own business and take a nap on top of the kitty tower.  But, NOOOOO....  Axle has to be the bully and take over the top.

He looks rather pleased with himself, actually.

I mentioned that Sweet P. and I had been spending some time playing with paper, glue, and glitter.  Well one very fun item in particular I really don't want to show because I think it might be a gifty to someone real soon.  Don't want to spoil any surprise factor, so maybe I can show it later, but....

 

I can show you this!

  

This is a bit of what we've done.  I made these coffee themed cards for a swap on Splitcoast Stampers.  I used stamps by Unity Stamp Co. and inks and papers mostly from SU. 

I do love to have handmade cards on hand and my stash has been somewhat depleted since I've not been making much lately.  The swaps are so much fun because you get to see all the others' creative ideas!  And although I often say, gee, why don't I just sit down and make myself 8 cards?!  Well, because I always spend all my time with yarn, of course!  So doing swaps makes me produce these cards because I have a deadline.  Only then do I get them done!

We have been thrust full-swing into spring here in the valley.  Actually, some days I think we've been tossed right into the middle of summer with these 80 degree days already!  I do hope for a mild spring, but I'm getting a little worried about how hot it may be this summer.  Seems like the heat just can't wait to get started here!  Our yard is completely out of control, too, of course.  We MUST get some weeds under control and start beautification!  Wish me luck.  I'll have to take some before and afters to document the process.  Ok, come on motivation! 

Now, you know we move at a snail's pace around here these days, so it will take time, but it is absolutely necessary we get started.  So with Sweet P. climbing in mulch piles or tucked under my arm we will tackle one space at a time.  We will collect rocks and worms and Young Man will scare me with every spider he finds, but with a little determination and idea books from the library I AM READY! 

Hope to share some 'after' shots soon!  I do have to do something about my current obsession with Pocket Frogs, though....