We woke this morning to a world covered in white.  Since both Miss Artistic’s art class and Princess Nature’s flute lesson were canceled due to the inclement weather it was a lovely lazy morning.

After my period of becoming one with my couch and the TV remote, the bulk of my day was spent cooking and crocheting.  I made two large meatloaves (for later in the week) and a batch of chicken and dumplings.  The later was my first attempt at this dish and it was well received by all, even Mr Grumpy who rarely has a compliment to offer.  And, best of all (in my opinion) there is enough left of the chicken dish to be served another night (so long as I make another batch of dumplings and boil up more egg noodles).

Tomorrow will find me whipping up a batch of mashed potatoes (to go with the meatloaves of course) and a pot of vegetarian chili (with TVP in place of ground beef) and probably doing more crocheting in front of the fire.

There is so much that needs to be cleaned, tidied, or organized around the house.  There is so much work I could be doing in terms of working here on the blog or even the book project that I’ve been playing with for the past couple of years.  But, lately, both seem to be insurmountable tasks.

I can only hope that as my depression wanes and my health improves my energy and inspiration will return. In the meantime, I am off to do more crocheting (and the never ending task of weaving in those cursed ends).

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:cooking, crochet, family, life

Today Princess nature and I are having a mommy/daughter day. It is her favorite part of the weekend and honestly our weeks are generally so busy (and often filled with drama and chaos) that even though it means my house remains clutter filled and not as clean as I would like it is a gift I try to give her as often as possible.

Today started with some TV viewing, while I shared sips of my hot sweet creamy coffee. Now that she’s eaten lunch we are moving on to some microscope slide viewing of specimens from our kitchen (including green mold we grew specifically for this purpose), baking brownies from a box, a game of scrabble, and perhaps some time playing Wii. And then, she has requested to help make dinner (roast beef).

Miss Artistic is welcome to join any and all of these activities, but generally does not. But, later, we are going to be sitting down as a family to watch the animated movie 9 with some snacks to nibble on. This last activity she has already indicated she WILL be joining us for.

In other news, I have figured out a crochet motif that I think will work well for a shawl design I’m planning to sell on Etsy. Now, I just have to make a test version in the cheaper yarn I purchased at Walmart and approximate how many hours it takes to make one so I can figure out a sale price. Tonight will find me making at least one more motif, weaving in countless ends, and joining two together so that I can see if what works in my head works in real life.

In the meantime, it’s time for me to get back to the kitchen and our various experiments.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:crochet, family, kids, life

Mama Kelly made Angelgirl a lovely crocheted hat and scarf for Christmas last year. Angelgirl loves the hat and wore it almost constantly all winter. I think Mama Kelly has started Angelgirl on a fashion trend.

Angelgirl liked it so much she wanted to have a few in different colors and in a lighter version for warmer weather too. So last spring I offered to make her a lighter weight hat with a more open pattern but similar style. Not having a pattern I experimented a bit. I found some thin (2 ply) pale pink yarn in my extra yarn bin to use. I estimate it took about 4 oz of yarn. I used a G hook. It only took a couple hours from start to finish.

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Crochet Pattern for Hat

Hook size G
Yarn: 2 ply, about 4 ounces
Size – It fits Angelgirl, she is 12, petite, wears size 8 to 10 clothes

Pattern can easily be adapted for smaller or larger size.
When I first made it, it was about 2 sizes to small (only had 6 rows of dc and then started the shell rows).
Circumference – lessen or increase the number of double crochet rows (1-9), if increasing do two dc every 12 or so stictches evenly all around increasing in a multiple of 3 to keep circle flat.
Length – reduce or increase the number Shell\SC & Chain rows

Chain 4, slip stitch together to form a circle.
Row 1 – Chain 3 (counts as first double crochet), dc 9 in circle (total 10)
Row 2 – Chain 3 and dc in first stitch, 2 dc each of the remaining 9 stiches (total 20)
Row 3 – Chain 3 and dc in first stitch, *dc crochet in next and two dc in next*, repeat from * for a total of 30 dc
Row 4 – Same as Row 3, for a total of 45 dc
Row 5 – Chain 3 and dc in first stitch, *dc in next 8 and two dc in 9th, repeat from * for a total of 50 dc
Row 6 – Chain 3 and doc in first stich, *dc in next 9 and two dc in 10th, repeat from * for a total 55
Row 7 – Chain 3 and doc in first stich, *dc in next 10 and two dc in 11th, repeat from * for a total of 60
Row 8 – Chain 3 and doc in first stich, *dc in next 4 and two dc in 5th, repeat from * for a total of 72
Row 9 – Chain 3 and doc in first stich, *dc in next 11 and two dc in 12th, repeat from * for a total of 78
Row 10 – SC and Chain Space Row: chain 1, single crochet in first 3 dc, chain 3 and skip 3 dc, *single crochet in next 3 dc, chain 3, repeat from * all way around, end with slip stitch to first sc
Row 11 – Shell Row: slip stitch to second (middle) sc, chain 1 and sc, *five dc in chain space (shell), sc in middle sc, repeat from * all way around, end with slip stitch to first sc
Row 12 – SC and Chain Space: slip stich to 2nd dc, sc in middle three dc, chain 3, *sc in dc 2,3,4 of next shell, chain 3, repeat from * all way around, end with a slip stitch to first sc
Repeat Row 11 and 12 four more times, or more for desired length to fit the child; end with a repeat of row 12 (SC and Chain Space row)
Last three rows:
3 sc in each of the sc and 3 sc in chain space, all way around.
Optional – For one or two more rows sc crochet in each stitch all way around. This creates a nice edge that can be worn flat or turned up. I prefer having a total of three rows of sc to finish the hat, it just gives it a more finished look to me.

Note: I’ve never done a pattern before so I hope these directions are clear.

Bright blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:crochet, gifts, pattern

Here are some details and more photos of the Mrs Weasley Sweater I made as a Yule gift for my very dear friend Mama Kelly (photos of her opening the gift HERE), and had

The pattern I used is called “Coat of Many Colors”, and the entire sweater is done in crochet – I purchased it from Crochet Cabin (cost $7). The sleeves are awesome and I prefer them to the pattern in the book Charmed Knits.

 (FYI: Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter, the body of the sweater is knitted but the arms are crocheted (so for non-knitters you could just attach the sleeves to another crochet sweater pattern) – I wasn’t fond on this pattern though for the sleeves. The book has tons of awesome patterns though, and even though I don’t knit I hope to be able to convert some of the patterns to crocheting (there is a how to book: From Needles to Hook: Complete Guide to Converting Knit Patterns to Crochet).

Body of the sweater yarn used: Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice Yarn-Dusty Rose. For the sleeves, I used 2 brands of soft yarns (Caron Simply Soft Yarns and Red Heart Soft Yarns)in order to get the variety of colors (13 colors in all for sleeves) that I wanted so they would be close to the original in the movie and the one’s called for in the pattern. The body of the sweater I wanted to be sturdier so I chose Vanna’s Choice yarn because I’ve become very fond of this brand of yarn – it holds it’s shape but is still comfortable and soft to wear. The sleeves I wanted to be very, very soft and not itchy at all, so that it could be worn without having to have long sleeves worn under.

Mama Kelly wearing the Mrs. Weasley Sweater of Many Colors:

The whole sleeve:

Top of the sleeve and shoulder:

The buttons (total of three used on the sweater):

The buttons I chose came from ebay, they are beautiful, handpainted glass. They catch the light and are a rainbow of color that sparkle and change depending on how the light hits them. The “ruffled” pattern on the buttons, I felt, was a wonderful reflection on the many rows of color in the billowing sleeves.

Close up of just button:

I have visions in my head of other items I’d like to make with a similar magical flare, but I’m not ready to tackle anything this big yet for awhile. Some day I wouldn’t mind having a Mrs. Weasley sweater of my own – though I would probably change the color of the yarn used for the body of the sweater (probably a shade of purple since that is my favorite color). Perhaps by the time the next Harry Potter movie is released I will get one done for myself, and then Mama Kelly and I can wear our Mrs. Weasley sweaters when we go see the movie together.

Bright Blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:Christmas, crochet, gifts, harry potter

Mama Kelly’s Mrs. Weasly Sweater – I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed making this sweater for my dear friend Mama Kelly and she looks awesome in it – it is so HER! I was even more thrilled that I managed to actually get it done in time to give it to her for Yule and that I manged to get the sizing just about right (since my crochet projects prior to this have been much easier type patterns like blankets, ponchos, scarves, etc.).

I managed to find a box big enough to use to wrap the sweater in (a big American Girl box that we had), inside I also covered it with lots of tissue paper, and added on top of the tissue paper a printed out photo from the movie of Mrs. Weasley in the sweater that I added the message: Happy Yule from Mrs. Weasley!

It was so hard keeping the secret too. But I knew if I posted even a hint about making something special that Mama Kelly would some how guess, but I wanted her to be totally surprised so I managed to keep it a secret. All the ladies I work with got to see it in progress and when it was done and they are all anxiously awaiting to see the photos too. They were all keeping their fingers crossed for me that I would win the bid on the buttons (the auction on ebay was not an easy one to win and I almost lost them!) – everyone agreed they were the “perfect” buttons (though I did get a few other buttons on auction just as a backup in case I lost the bid).

As Mama Kelly mentioned in her post yesterday, there is a pattern for a sweater like this in Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter, the body of the sweater is knitted and the arms are crocheted (so for non-knitters you could just attach the sleeves to another crochet sweater pattern). Great patterns in the book – but I didn’t like the Mrs. Weasley sweater sleeves.

The pattern I used is “Coat of Many Colors”, and is for the entire sweater done in crochet – I purchased it from Crochet Cabin (cost $7).

Here’s a photo of just a sleeve:

I started making the sweater Dec 16, finished Dec. 24 – except for the last rows of trim along the front where the buttons would go since I had to wait for the buttons to arrive to know how to place them and where to put the buttonholes. I won the button ebay auction a couple of days before Christmas, and they arrived Dec. 29 so I managed to get the whole thing completed by Dec. 30. The body of sweater took 9 balls of Vanna’s choice yarn (dusty rose), and for the arms I used 13 different colors (two different brands of soft yarns to get the color variety I wanted – Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart Soft Yarn).

I have a ton of ideas for other things I’d like to make with a similar “magical” flare but not sure when I’ll be up to tackling a huge project again – probably not for awhile. I would some day like a Mrs. Weasley sweater of my own – though I would probably use a more purple color yarn for the body of the sweater (since purple is my favorite color). It would be awesome to have one done by the time the next Harry Potter movie is released – then Mama Kelly and I could both be wearing one and go see the movie together.

Wish I had taken a picture of her stirring the big pot of yummy soup on the stove while she was wearing the sweater – she really did look like she belonged in a magical home like The Burrow.

I will post more close up photos later this week. (Update: More photos HERE.)

Bright Blessings, Lady Rose

Written by Lady RoseTags:Christmas, crochet, gifts, harry potter

Just had to share – A Harry Potter Christmas and Belated Yuletide Festivities
We had a lovely, and all too short visit with Lady Rose and AngelGirl. We exchanged our Yule gifts and overall all three girls seemed to really like what they received. Lady Rose seemed to like her gifts, even though I wished to no end that they could’ve been more. GamerDude was given 2 cookbooks in Lady Rose’s subtle (*cough*) way of telling him he should learn to cook a few meals. And I was spoiled!!!

A few weeks ago Lady Rose had stopped by when I was at work and in the process of her brief stay my hubby, GamerDude mentioned that I had always wanted a sweater like the one worn by Mrs. Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Imagine my shock when I opened my last gift to find inside a replica of that very same sweater. Not only was I moved to misty eyes by her thoughtfulness, time, effort, sweat, etc. that went into the crafting of this beautiful gift that will be a part of my wardrobe, as weather allows, for the rest of my life but can you believe that she made it in under 2 weeks! She amazes me to no end.

I am feeling like the luckiest Harry Potter fan-girl in the world right now.

Update – Lady Rose’s post with details and photos added of Mrs. Weasley Sweater.

Blessings to you all, Mama Kelly

Related Reading – if you are interested in knitted Harry Potter Crafts this book is great
Charmed Knits: Projects for Fans of Harry Potter for the pattern, making some changes to convert it from knit to crochet.

Written by Mama KellyTags:Christmas, crochet, gifts, harry potter