Our first "You've been Spotted"! Brownie Ala Mode and Key Lime Pie Crochet Patterns

I'm adding a new feature titled "You've been Spotted by Cafe Crochet . net". Here I will share with you my most recent finds including books, designers, cool blogs, etc... You name it! If you or your website have anything to do with yarn, knitting or crochet, you may just get spotted by us and be featured here! Of course I will alert the ones I spot and I'm hoping to have a button/badge made-up very soon that you can add to your page!
This is our very first "You've been Spotted" find... Can you believe that these are crocheted works of art and not delectable desserts? They definitely look good enough to eat! I just couldn't resist sharing this cute find with you! You can find these crochet patterns at Maria's Handmade Crochet on Etsy. She really does put her heart and soul into her work.


If you haven't heard of Etsy, you don't know what you're missing! That's where I stumbled upon these oh so cute crochet patterns! It's THE place to buy and sell ALL things handmade! I actually have two shops there... You can view my items at Monkey Baby Boutique and Bangles N Bags Boutique ...STOP BY!

The Lemongrass Scarf

Well I finally finished my very first full blown knitting project! As I mentioned before, I attended a free knitting class at the library about a week and 1/2 ago... They supplied yarn and needles! Very awesome! Anyways, before I left for my class I told my daughter that I would try to choose a green yarn if they had any and that I would attempt to make her something... (Her favorite color is green) Well, the only green they had was this Lemongrass Wool-Ease brand. Not normally my first choice when going green, but it's all they had... So I grabbed a ball and a pair of size 11 needles and jumped right into making my first scarf!
After about 3 days it was finished! And here it is!



My beautiful daughter Caitlin is modeling her new comfy cozy scarf! I do still need to add some fringe to the ends, but I wanted to go ahead and show it off! I have to admit that the color actually grew on me and that before I had even finished this scarf I bought 2 more skeins of this color! The Wool Ease® Thick n' Quick® has got to be the easiest yarn to work with when learning to knit! I love it! I actually bought 3 different colors of this brand!
I have also knit another scarf since I finished that one... Here was the beginning stage of it:


I will have to take some pictures of the finished project tomorrow during the day in natural lighting... This was taken with a flash and the colors look washed out... But this was knit on size 19 FAT needles! I LOVE working with fat needles now! I'll try to get those pics posted tomorrow... I love the outcome of this one!

Knitting 101

It's unbelievable how fast time flies. We should have been in the Bay Area by now. My husband was actually supposed to start working for Yahoo today in Sunnyvale, California, but due to a series of unfortunate events on their part, it hasn't happened yet, and we're still waiting to receive the official Offer. I had put everything on hold for the last 3 weeks in order to get ready for this move, but now we're not sure what's going on. We practically gave away a whole houseful of furniture and I've also been donating tons of stuff. Now all we have to do is wait and see what happens!
I did take a bit of a break on Saturday to get my mind off of all the "to do" lists that I've been making. The library was offering a free knitting class "Knitting 101" which I had registered for back in September. So... I finally got some much needed "therapy", and some much needed advice and tips that corrected some of the knitting techniques that I had taught myself. Seeing someone do it in person and having "hands on" training really helped! Now I can "cast on" and knit like a pro! I've actually started 2 scarves (one with the size 11 needles and lemon-grass green yarn that was provided during the class, and a second one with fiesta Homespun yarn and size 8 needles which I purchased when I started teaching myself) I am now working on these at night just before going to bed. Did you know that it has been proven that knitting and crocheting can reduce stress?! I now believe it!
Anyways, I guess I'm back for an indefinite time period, until we get more concrete info about the relocation process... So I will keep you posted!

California Dreaming...

Wow! How things can change overnight! One day I'm shopping at Hobby Lobby and planning my next project, and the next day my whole life takes a new turn! My husband just got accepted into a new job in California and they want him to start working on Nov. 1st! That's less than three weeks away! So, needless to say I have not been updating this blog because I have been a busy, busy bee! I didn't want anyone to think that I've abandoned this blog, so I thought I'd better let you all know what's going on. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be sorting through everything in my house (from my kids' toys and clothes they've outgrown, to all of my knick knacks that have been stashed away in closets). We'll be downsizing big time! We're going to be selling our 4 bedroom house and moving in with friends out there until we can find a place of our own. Everything will be in storage and I may not have internet access for a couple of weeks. I've already donated tons of things to NCCS, and I am also Freecycling alot! So, if you don't hear from me for awhile, never fear! I will definitely be back as soon as we get settled in somewhere (hopefully by Thanksgiving)! My California Dreaming is becoming a reality! No more bitterly cold winters! Until next time...

SweaterBabe.com's FREE Scarf Pattern Download!

Can you believe it? Fall is just about officially here and who couldn't use a new comfy cozy scarf for the chilly days ahead? I know I could! Here's a gorgeous one that you won't want to miss! And the pattern is FREE!

Every month, a different knitting or crochet pattern will be downloadable for free for 2 weeks at SweaterBabe.com.

Only those subscribed to their Knitting or Crochet Newsletters will be notified of each month's free pattern offer, so go subscribe to take advantage!

ONLY 3 more days to download the free pattern for this month!

The Star Stitch Crochet Scarf Pattern - Click here to Download it now

Warm Up America

I've decided to participate in the WarmUpAmerica project this holiday season. You can find out more about it by clicking on this image to visit their site:
This is such a good cause, and I find it so relaxing and enjoyable to make the "squares"... It's also a great way to use all of those odds and ends of yarn that I've been accumulating! If any of you decide to participate in this ongoing project, I'd love to hear from you! I think their only rule is that the sections measure 7" x 9"... Kinda funny how I call them squares... I guess they're more like rectangles!

Are you knitting daily?

I just joined Knitting Daily this afternoon. It's the new online knitting (and crochet) community, pattern library, and newsletter brought to you by Interweave Press, publishers of Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Spin-Off, and Interweave Crochet magazines, as well as a lot of really cool knitting books. Best of all you can sign up for free!

They have tons of FREE patterns for members to download... and I found this humorous and all too true little article titled "Why Knit a Bag?" Now I LOVE handbags... so that caught my eye. I have already crocheted a handbag, so maybe I'll try knitting one next! They've got at least a dozen free bag patterns! There's even a whimsical "credit card bag"! So what are you waiting for? Sign up for your free membership today!