mmmmmm....cookies

In the spirit of the season, we've been baking.   I'm trying to get one batch of a different kind of cookie done every other day or so right up until Christmas.   We'll just have to wait and see if that pans out in reality ;)

For our first batch, we went with the uber-traditional, ultra Christmas-y, fun loving little gingerbread cookies.

We combined our ingredients for homemade gingerbread cookies.

Find the recipe we used here.

The kids cut out various Christmas type shapes.

Then we baked.

The kids spent ALOT of time intricately decorating each cookie

with the royal icing we had made.

The finished result was pretty...pretty delicious at least.

The kids had a BLAST and we even have a couple hanging on our tree.

The rest are in our bellies. 

:D

Oh Christmas Tree....

I think I'm a bit of a procrastinator.   What's worse is I think I've married someone who is also a bit of a procrastinator.  Well, we're procrastinators when it comes to holiday decorations at least.  I can look out my window at this very moment and if I squint through the night sky and the drifting snow towards the barn light I will see 3 very handsome pumpkins sitting in a little frozen huddle around the light post.  Alongside them there are cornstalks, hay bales, and a few "cobwebs" with one very large, scary, plastic spider.   That's right...I have yet to fully take down the Halloween decorations.   Oh, I've taken down some, but many still remain.  
I also have a few hand drawn turkeys sitting on my mantle above the fireplace and some small ornamental gourds in a nice harvest bowl on my counter.  
It seems as though all of my neighbors and friends had their Halloween decorations taken down not 2 days after the festivities of the holiday.  I swear they all stayed up late to put their Christmas decorations up right after Thanksgiving dinner.

Us?  Well we just finished putting up our tree yesterday.

This is the American Gothic Pigs decoration that our good friend got us as a gift.

I think he was trying to make a funny :)

Up close and personal with the pigs.

Just a random decoration to dress things up around this blog.

Well at least that's one job done.  I still have a ton of work to do.  I'm still making doll clothes for Oldest although I've gotten several of those finished. 

I'm also working on some crochet and sewn baby toys for Youngest and some crochet stuff for Middle.  I have hats to make for each family member.  A couple sweaters to make (those don't have to be finished by Christmas though, thank goodness)

and I have to bake cookies for gingerbread houses and gingerbread people and make fudge for our church bazaar.  I'm feeling the time crunch.  I think I'll be enlisting help. :P

Funny Stuff...

Those who know me would tell you that I love to laugh.   I search out anything funny, witty, comical, etc.  Frequently when I'm online I'm searching for things that are humorous.  And occasionally I like to share some of what I find on here.   So, if you're in the mood for a good laugh, please feel free to sit back, relax and enjoy the following exhibits of "humor".  

Redneck Balcony.   Please notice the crutch sitting next to him.

Bad leg be damned, nothing was stopping him from getting onto that roof.

Maybe their relationship is closer than we originally thought. lol.

Insert Monica Lewinsky joke here.

I don't even know what to say about this one...

Classic.

Points for cuteness.

This one's just plain silly.

The look on his face...pricesless.

Santa's Little Elf

I am once again playing the role of Santa's Elf this year by making many of the gifts I'll be giving this year.   First on the list, my daughter.  On her list she asked for some clothes for her baby dolls.  SO....Santa's little helper here has been busy busy busy crocheting away some little super chic baby doll outfits.  Check out the first of several...

This is, as I've mentioned, the first of several doll outfits I'm making for Oldest.

Thank you to Baby Alive for modeling this year's newest line ;) ...

The outfit is a shirt and skirt combo.

I found the shirt pattern here and modified the size for a correct fit.

The little ruffle skirt is my own design.

Once again, being the flake that I can be sometimes, I didn't write down the pattern as I made this.  I'll try to work on that as I go along here.

BUT...I'm pretty sure I have it pretty well all in my wee little brain so I'll give you the pattern as I remember it.  For those of you that may try this pattern please be sure to give feedback, suggestions, or let me know of any problem areas you find.

Legal Beagle stuff: This and all other patterns of my own design on this site are copyrighted.  Meaning please don't sell the pattern itself.  If you have a blog or website you may post the pattern for free but please give credit where credit is due and link back to this site.  You may, of course, sell items made from this pattern.

SKIRT:

Using a size H hook and baby weight yarn:

Row. 1: Ch. 40 then joined with a slip st. into the first ch. to form a ring.

Row 2: Ch. 1 then single crochet in each ch. around.

Join with a slip stitch into the first sc. 

Row 3: Ch. 3 turn. DC in each sc around. Join with a slip stitch into first DC.

Row 4-6:  Ch. 3 turn. DC in each DC around.  Join with a slip stitch into first DC.

Row 7: Ch. 3 turn. DC in same stitch. *DC in the next DC, 2 DC in next DC, DC in next stitch* repeat from * around. Join with slip stitch in first DC.  It doesn't matter at this point if your increases match up exactly.  Just add 1 DC if you find yourself at the end of the round and it doesn't match up exactly.

Row 8: Ch. 3 turn. DC in same stitch.  *DC in next 2 DC sts, 2DC in next st, DC in next 2 DC sts* Repeat from * around. Join with slip stitch in first DC. Finish off.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We're gearing up for Thanksgiving in my little corner of the planet.   I just finished baking the last of the pies.  We're having Dutch Apple pie, Traditional Apple Pie, Sweet Potatoe Pie, and 2 pumpkin pies.   Needless to say it took all day to bake them.  We also went to Grandpa's this morning to assist in the ugly deed of dispatching a nice plump Tom turkey.  

The menu plan for tomorrow includes turkey (of course), stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with the little marshmellows (yummy), cranberry jelly, cornbread, sweet rolls, green bean casserole, a vegetable platter, homemade bread which I finished baking yesterday, mustard greens, the pies, coffee, Apple Cider (spiced for the adults, non spiced for the kiddies).

Thanksgiving is a pretty much a giant feeding frenzy at our house which culminates in the women sitting for several hours at the dining room table talking, playing gin rummy and drinking coffee or cider while the men plop in front of the television to watch football and discuss politics before almost half of them drop off to sleep.  The children will likely be playing some board game like clue or junior monopoly and the younger set will be in their rooms playing with their various toys. If you looked into our window on Thanksgiving you'd swear you were looking at a Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover.  Ultra Traditional.  

Unfortunately for me this ultra traditional feast of sorts leaves an ultra large mess.  So this year, I'm thankful for my wonderful family and friends, especially my husband, my best friend, her husband and my Aunt who have all offered to help me clean up.   They are the bees knees (I'm rocking the retro throw back catchphrases).

I sincerely hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  

Doggie Doughnut

I've made toys for each of my kids but I can't forget my furry friends either.

SO....I made this frosted doughnut amigurumi toy for Cookie, my mini doxie.

You can get the pattern on the lionbrand website here.

You could even add a squeaker when you stuff it to add extra puppy fun.

She seems more interested in the treat I was holding to get her to look at the camera than in the doughnut itself.

Kitty Amigurumi

I've finished the toys for the boys and have moved on to a cute little toy for Oldest.  

An amigurumi (ah-mee-goo-roo-mee) kitty cat.

In pink (Oldest's favorite color) pajamas no less.

I was inspired by the pink jammies kitty on Armina's Ani-mals blog.

Although I didn't use her pattern (I made my own up based on general knowledge of amigurumi and crochet techniques) the two look very similar.

The main differences are the ears, I've included a tail, and the arms and legs of mine are a bit larger. 

Still if you like the kitty you can make one very close to it by following the pattern on Armina's blog.  Or...if you really like my kitty you can also ask for my pattern.

I don't have it written down but I would be more than happy to share it if there seems to be a demand for it.

The nice thing about amigurumi is that it's EASY and quick.  I made this kitty in just a couple of hours.

In amigurumi almost everything is made in the round with single crochet.

Each section is made seperately (usually) then pieced together.

This is the start of the kitty's head.

I embroidered eyes, a nose, and whiskers to make her face.

Then I crocheted her hood and sewed it to her itty bitty head.

Then came the ears.

Which were attached to the her head.

The arms, legs, and tail came last. 

The end result was one satisfied little customer.