There is a great sale going on right now at Chocolate Dog Studio and Chocolate’s Baby shop, 25% off the Sale items!
All of my cup cozies are on sale for Autumn!
There are also bibs on sale in ChocolatesBabyShop!
Talk to you later,
Karen
If you are going to create gifts for your family for Christmas it is time to start creating! Fridays for the next several weeks will include a DIY Gift Countdown. This weeks DIY gift countdown if for the guys in your life. My guys are all college age or above and I have no babies in my life, though I will include them. Here are some of my favorite ideas that use supplies I already have on hand. I will also have to buy some supplies as I am trying to personalize their gifts as much as possible.
A paracord belt!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32YAvNdYvAM
A personalized coffee cup for my guys!
I am counting on the fact that one of my guys is too busy to read his Mom’s blog but I will be crocheting this for him for Christmas.
So there are a few of the guys things I will be making this year, but I am also looking at these ideas as well.
I have made these in the past and will probably whip up a few new ones for the gang this year. I am also thinking about making a couple of these for some of the family., in more masculine colors, but not reversible.
I am also going to make some of these quick fingerless gloves and add hats, without the hearts and in a more masculine color.
Also a couple pairs of these.
I had better get started as time is running out and there are others in my family that I want to crochet for.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Everyday is a new day! Â It has been a long week so far and it is only Sunday! Last week we took 2 kids to college and dropped them off. We then drove the quiet 5 hour drive home. It was quiet and it IS quiet now. We also took the leaf out of the table and it now sits four quite comfortably or five if you really like each other! Â We raise kids to be independent and then we are sad when they finally are! So this week, I am concentrating on the one chick left in the nest. I am thinking of things like Christmas gifts, the Etsy shop, things I am thankful for and what I want to do with this blog!
Like these eggs, I am waiting on the right time for my ideas to hatch. There are so many things that I would love to do but I just don’t have the time. I am getting to take a painting class this year with my daughter. I will show you my work as I go. It has been ages since I have really painted and I am completely self taught.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Here is my to do list. I’m back from vacation and we are in our Autumn back to school schedule. So, to be organized here is my to do list for the week. This is the shop to do list, not my personal to do list. I have also been running through my pinterest business pins and working on my blog.
This blanket.
and this one
and this one.
So life is busy and I need to get to work!
Talk to you later,
Karen
It is one of THOSE weeks, when everything converges and happens at the same time! So it is incredibly overwhelming but I think I can squeeze some crochet in between all the other activities. I love busy but this is a bit much!
Here are some lovely peaceful photos from our days at the beach. 
It rained just a bit every single day! It was wonderful to sit around and play a board game with everyone involved. There were the 7 of us and my Mom. Our oldest son and his wife joined us and it was wonderful to have everyone under one roof eating meals together.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Vacation was incredible. I didn’t crochet any at all over the last week. In fact, it wasn’t until yesterday that I even picked up a hook. I did work on this a couple of times over the week.
I woke early the first morning at the beach and got in a little stitching time while everyone else was still asleep. It was incredible to watch and just to experience. I managed to finish one end of the table runner, not both. So while I didn’t finish it as much as I had planned, I did get a bit more done.
Talk to you later,
Karen
We took a little vacation last week and spent quite a few hours on the road. It was a little impromptu trip planned at the beginning of the summer. It has been several years since we have taken a vacation as we moved two years in succession during the summer vacation times. I did not take any yarn with me on this road trip. I did take some embroidery that I REALLY want to finish but never seem to have time to finish.
One of our stops was in Vicksburg, MS. We have been there before but we wanted to see it again and show Grandma as well. It was a quick trip to the Vicksburg Civil War Battlefield site.
It really reinforces the difficulties in battle to actually see the land where the battle was fought. This house was spared in the battle and is restored now. It looks quite lonely. 
I found these beautiful shawls inside. The knitted one is a heart warmer as it wraps and ties around in the back. The crochet shawl is a simple shell stitch.
There is a pattern on Ravelry that is a little like this one. There are several that are really cool. I am a little inspired… I might KNIT a shawl!
Here is a link to another pattern. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/EricaBH/ennid-laceweight-shawl
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/larkrise-to-candleford-minnies-shawl
This style shawl is called a Sontag. I had always heard it called a heart warmer shawl.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Today is crazy! There is simply too much to do and not enough time. Â I did find time to weed the flower bed just a bit. Â We found these!
You can see that they are quite well hidden. They are Guinea hen eggs and just slightly smaller than chicken eggs. The mom will come back to the nest and continue to sit on them. The birds are not ours but do roam the neighborhood eating bugs in all of our yards and gardens. They are extremely useful birds and are almost tame.
Talk to you later,
Karen
Do you have a family identity? It used to be a popular thing to talk about. It is a pretty basic concept. What does your family stand for? What does it mean to be a _____________ (put your last name in the blank)? When our kids were small it was pretty simple:
Stewart’s take care of each other.
and
Stewart’s tell the truth.
(I had to work pretty hard on that one.)
Stewart’s wash their hands and use their manners.
(another one we had to work hard on.)
Then it became more difficult as time went on and the kids got older.
It became things like:
Stewart’s do hard things, they don’t give up!
Stewart’s do not leave projects to the last minute before they are due!
Those are also incredibly hard to teach and I am still working on learning them myself. Though, I think the last one was more of a self preservation teaching than a family identity or motto.
I have been thinking about this family identity thing because our home school group has suggested that we come up with a home school mission statement for this year. Public schools, private schools, colleges and universities do this all the time with slogans and mottos. I have been thinking about it. We are close to the end of our homeschooling years and I don’t think that choosing “I can’t wait to be finished” is a good choice for our home school mission statement. I really don’t want our sweet youngest child to think back that Mom couldn’t wait to be done with teaching her. That is NOT a good end to a season of life. I know that there is something more challenging and uplifting that I could use if I think long enough.
I think family identities, mission statements and mottos are good things. They serve as guidelines. They can help you keep on track and remind you of why you do what you do and who you are. I’m still thinking about ours for the year, if I figure it out I will get back to you.
Talk to you later,
Karen
I spent the better part of 3 weeks designing the flower blocks and creating this crochet blanket from them. The blocks are a little intensive and require a tiny bit of advanced crochet skills. I have been waiting to show the blanket to you. It is gorgeous! The flower squares are great for using up small bits of yarn. So it is perfect for using up your stash yarns.
I had some extra flower squares so I created this pillow cover as well. It matches and the black color is really super dark navy.
The back of the pillow with the lovely bright buttons that keep it closed.
Here it is inside on our black couch. The colors still look bright and beautiful inside. I really enjoyed creating this granny square and I hope to have the directions available soon.  The blanket and pillow will both be available for purchase in the Studio. The blanket is 40 x 50″.
Talk to you later,
Karen
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