Crochet Pattern - Women's Slouchy Hat

My favorite hat pattern can be found on Moogly's blog right here.

I love making hats. They whip up really fast and it's that instant satisfaction that you can put it on even before you've weaved in ends.

Moogly's pattern is super easy with back post stitches to create texture.

I've been crocheting for so long now though that I'm stuck in my ways. I don't like carrying yarn so I always clip the ends and weave them in. I also like to use an invisible stitch in the seam. So I made my own small adjustments to match my crochet style but this pattern is Moogly's.

Enjoy!

To - Do List

Don't I always have a to-do list?

I feel like I do.

Yesterday I made a list of my WIPs (works in progress) for crochet - 4 blankets. Ok, 5 if you count the one for me. And lots of ends to weave. Boo.

I swear, I just need one day (a full 10 hours) to get everything done. But then I'd just come up with other stuff to make and ignore what I already have. SO.

I need just one day. 

Maybe in the next few weeks Bimmer Man can take the Monkey to drop-in daycare and I can get everything accomplished. Maybe.

In the meantime I've been googling "Fisher Price Little People A-Z Zoo replacement animals" to find replacements for 5 missing animals. Oops. Who knows where they went...

By the way - I did replace dinosaur balls last summer from Fisher Price. And then the missing balls turned up. Go figure.

Simple Crochet Dish Cloth Pattern

Simple. Easy.

And they work.

When I first made dish cloths I didn't want to use them in fear that they would be food particle magnets. 

Yep, I was that person that was afraid to use my own handmade goods. 

Now these are the only ones I use. They don't scratch non-stick pans. They're soft. And no holes which means my fingers don't touch nasty food when I'm washing dishes. Yuck. I cringe and shake to think of gross food beneath my nails. Ew. 

So make one. Or ten. And be glad you have these! So much better than store bought!

Pattern:

Chain 29.

Half double crochet in 3rd chain from hook. One half double in each chain across. Chain 2. Turn.

Half double crochet in second stitch and each across. Chain 2. Turn. Repeat until you have 18 rows. Fasten off and weave in ends.

If you want, make an edging, I don't because I hate edging half double stitches. 

15 Homeowner Necessities in Minnesota

1. Ice chipper
2. Steel core aluminum shovel
3. A very large pickle fork (the actual tool, not the pickle fork from the kitchen drawer)
4. Really good water proof boots
5. A sense of humor
6. Another ice chipper
7. At least one more shovel
8. Sled
9. No, make that a toboggan
10. Fantastic water proof mittens (I recommend my Kombi mittens, which you can find at Hoigaard's or a great pair of fleece lined choppers).
11. A dog that eats his own poop so you don't have to poop scoop
12. Boot scraper in the shape of a Dachshund
13. Neighborhood cat to keep away mice
14. Boot tray (with river rocks)
15. A Menard's knit hat to advertise that you "shop local"

Throwback Thursday

OMG. These pictures. They put me on the floor laughing because I do not remember these being taken at all. I found a super old memory card and I had no idea there were even photos on it that I didn't upload to my computer at the time (and at this point, who even knows where that computer is... maybe a dumpster in Indiana???). In any case, they're both from 2006. 

Seed Starting

Spring is here.

In my mind!

With 40+ inches of snow on the ground and a morning low of -15 degrees on this second day of March, I'm getting really tired of this horrible Minnesota winter.

Alaska is warmer than Minnesota.

So this morning I got out my seed starting tray (made with coconut fibers and recyclable plastic), along with my organic seed starting mix (insert every crunchy granola term you want) and my tomato seeds.

This year I decided to do two heirloom tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes. I've got yellow bell small tomatoes for one of the heirlooms and huge beefsteak (their name is Mortgage Lifter!) heirloom tomatoes. Small ones for Bimmer Man and The Monkey - the big ones are for me (ooohhh... BLT sandwiches!! YUM!!). The San Marzanos' I plan on dicing, freezing and also roasting and freezing for next winter.

I also started Thyme. This year I'm going to do a shitload of herbs so I can dry them.

This past Fall I dried about 20 plants worth of basil and I've used half of it - I got around 2 large Ikea magnetic storage containers worth. But the thing is, I had to learn a lesson with basil. Rusty pees on everything in the backyard so he's killed two anemones, three hostas, at least two lilies and a few other flowers too. I had to pull out pee-basil plants and compost them. Not cool, Rusty, not cool. This year all the herbs will be going back into pots instead of the flower beds so he doesn't pee on our food.

I need to find some sort of pee-resistant flowers or bushes in the back by the garage. Or I need to stand out there every time he pees and shoo him away.

I love him. I really do. I just don't love his pee.

I've got one more seed starting tray which I'll fill with more herbs on April 1. I don't have enough room on my dining room table for more seeds. Hopefully there won't be snow on the ground then so I can move the trays to our back porch and put them on the table out there during the day and bring them in at night.

Mer. I just want to be outside again!