Tag: Chocolate Dog Studio

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The Neverending list of to dos

Here is my to do list for the week.

I am working on my to do list and all the WIPs that I have accumulated over the year. I am getting quite a bit completed but nothing new or earth shattering. Thisneverending list of to dos just has to get slimmed down by a bunch of work. Here is the list so far.

Yarny things:

  • Crochet shawl

The Neverending list of to dos I love the colors in the scarf/shawl. It will be big enough to be a shawl  and yet small enough to wear with a coat. It matches my winter coat and most of my clothes so when I take off the coat I can still wear it.

  • blue and white Stripe

The Neverending list of to dos 

I have added four white rows and will probably take it tomorrow to work on while I wait for classes to be finished.

  • multicolor granny stripe

I haven’t touched this one yet. I love the colors and it is only a matter of time.

The Neverending list of to dos

Sewn things:

  • Various cup cozies – I have made 2 batman cup cozies
  • coffee press cozies
  • hot pads or pot holders
  • 2-3 aprons
  • a quilt that needs the machine quilting I have worked on the quilt and just lack the long sides and bias binding in order to finish this up.

The Neverending list of to dos

 

  • I have been cutting and sewing some satin that has been sitting in the studio since 2013. I am glad that I am finally sewing on it. I am still in the process of drafting a workable pattern so I have some prototypes. I am probably going to take them with me tomorrow and see how they work on real life kids. Since I am lacking little kids in my house any more.

As far as being organized.

  1. I have made a menu for the week
  2. I am planning to make some jelly this weekend
  3. I have checked my appointments to make sure that I am missing nothing.

I read this great blog post by Michael Hyatt and I am breaking my tasks down to smaller pieces. This will help me be more organized. I am also going to set a time and date for myself to go and sit at the sewing machine to sew. I am also going to decide which project to work while I wait for kids at various activities. Cooking dinner and the clean up that goes with it add all kinds of stress to my day. I am making a menu and then setting an alarm to remind me to start dinner at a certain time every day. I tend to work up until the last minute and then dinner is unhealthy (no vegetables or salad), sandwiches, or fast food. All of which are bad for the budget, and add stress.

Things I am going to work on to whittle my neverending list of to dos down to a manageable size.

  1. Finish the quilt (there is probably only 2-3 more hours of work.)
  2. Sew 3 coffee press cozies
  3. Sew 20 coffee cup sleeves
  4. sew 3 bibs (already cut just need to be sewn)
  5. sew up 5 flannel blankets (already cut just need to be sewn)
  6. sew 10 more paper pieced quilt squares
  7. Finish the crochet consignment pieces
  8. Finish the crochet scarf shawl ( I think I am only lacking 6 more rows and then a picot border)

Here is what I said last week. http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2015/01/06/tuesdays-project-progress-week-one/

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Pink is finished!! #3 in the Use Your Stash – 2015

I finished Pink (the crochet afghan) this weekend. I am so pleased with it. It looks so cuddly and warm. I found some lovely yarn at the shop. It was soft and washable. It is variegated with a long color change in the yarn. It was really similar to a Lion Brand wool yarn that I love to use. It is primarily pink and red and the colors called to me.

I started it in the Linen stitch but it turned out horribly stiff and thick. It looked lovely. Pink is finishedI was also having some problems seeing where to put the stitches. I may need new glasses. I have named this blanket Pink but you can see the other beautiful colors in the yarn. I love working with variegated yarn. You never have to change or sew in many ends. It makes a nice change from Granny Squares that change color every row.Pink is finished Pink is finished Pink is finished Pink is finished

I love the bobble border. It adds a little whimsy to the whole blanket. I added a nice gray border on either edge of the bobbles. It adds some definition to the edges. Pink is a bit larger afghan than I normally crochet. It is 51 x 62 inches long. The stripes run lengthwise. I think it will make a great Valentine’s Day gift to someone special. It is available in the ChocolateDogStudio shop!

I am also adding this to the Use Your Stash Challenge – 2015! This is #3 for me to have finished this week. It is a huge project and I spent a bunch of time on it. I am really pleased with the finished product. I just knew that yarn would make a beautiful blanket.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Using My Fabric Stash item #2

I finally did it! I did some sewing. I actually sewed clothing. I never sew clothing but here it is. My Mother in Law had some incredible fabric stash. She sewed all of her life and after she became a Grandma she sewed incredible dresses for the girls. I am sure that this fabric was intended to become a beautiful hand smocked dress. The girls grew up too quickly and the stash was never used. . I know she was disappointed when the girls grew too big for the hand made treasures. I have quite of few of them saved back. I just couldn’t get rid of the beautiful hand made dress. The hours of work that she put into each dress is just overwhelming to think about. She poured out her love into these Sunday dresses for the girls.

Here is what I made. The instructions were weird and I would totally put it together another way. I think my middle school home ec teacher would give me a C on this project. It isn’t perfect but fits the bill.

fabric stash

I think it came out quite nice. There are things I would change about it but I am still pleased with results. It is a little too big which is so much easier to fix. Here are its humble beginnings.

fabric stash

Isn’t the fabric beautiful. I just love the blue and green floral design. It is a very lightweight cotton fabric. I love the fact that the fabric stash is getting so much smaller.

This is #2 out of 200 in the Use Your Stash Challenge- 2015. I am excited, things are getting finished and plans are being made for future items. I am a great procrastinator and I needed this little push to make me finish some things up. 200 items feels like a goal I will never meet. I keep reminding myself of all of the supplies I have stashed away in my studio under the eaves. I know I can come up with a bunch of small items. I just hope that they will be worth the time. If you are wondering what I am doing with trying to make 200 items out of my stash you can find the first blog post here.

It has been a busy week with our homeschool co-op, church and other obligations. Our youngest son is writing a blog and I am helping him with the little bit that I know. He is filming You-tube videos about building with legos. They are funny and quirky just like he is. They are g rated videos for kids and quirky enough for adults to enjoy. If you would like to watch his first couple of videos you can see them here: lego-of.me Send him a comment or two and let him know that you have stopped by. It is so encouraging to know that someone somewhere is reading what you write.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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4 Blocks a Week – Week 3!

Here are this weeks 4 crochet granny squares for the 4 blocks a week crochet sampler blanket. I am enjoying picking out each block and trying something new.

Block 9

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

Block 10

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3 Block 114 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

 

Block 12

4 Blocks a Week crochet sampler blanket - Week 3

I can’t wait to start putting them all together. I think that I will need to join them all at the end as they are all different sizes.

They look quite beautiful all together and so very intricate and lacy. The book I am using is 100 Colorful Granny Squares to Crochet. 

I have included  some affiliate links and I will receive a small percentage from any purchase that you make.

The weather this week promises to be frosty, a bit misty and possibly some snow. I am ready for to be snowed in for a couple of days. There is so much that I want to do. I am deeply into the Use Your Stash Challenge and I would dearly love a chance to sit and create. I have been working on it steadily and have finished a couple of projects already. One has been in the works since before Thanksgiving.

Our daughter is back a college and we are back into the routine of daily life. I am working on de-cluttering and cleaning. I have loads of laundry waiting to be completed and I already feel very productive this morning. Our son was up yesterday to take some photos of more of my Mom’s vintage stuff. I will be adding them to the shop after I write up descriptions and get them priced.

The dogs have been quiet today. They really do not want to get put out as it is a bit misty and cold. Daisy is getting pretty big and has passed up the leader of the pack, which is causing a struggle for power between the two. I am confident that they will work it out sooner or later. We really need to work on her training as I do not need the huge dog jumping up on people.

Here are the links if  you want to see week one and week two of the 4 blocks a week crochet sampler blanket.

See you later,

Karen

 

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Some New Crochet Square Circles

My newest yarn order was delivered in the midst of crocheting hats for Christmas orders. It sat unopened for a week. Which I know is the wrong thing to do, as I should have checked to see it it was all there. Then I  opened it and let it sit on the crocheting couch for a week. It didn’t even make it to a basket! I was wondering what it would be needing to be crocheted into. Then last week, I knew. It was the day or two before Christmas and a quiet moment of tv watching turned into this compulsive crochet-a-thon. I created these little beautiful crocheted square circles.

crochet square circle

You can tell that this photo is from before Christmas as there is a Christmas ball cap thing in the middle of the pretty crochet square circles. They remind me of this blanket that I crocheted a year or two ago. crochet square circleThen they morphed into the squared circles. Little small square circles that look like little jewels. These squares are about 4 inches square. I have about 100 of them crocheted now. I have only been crocheting them and it has been a compulsion as not one of them is like another. I have started the blocking process and it is coming along great. Except that I do not have 400 pins to block them with so this is going to take awhile.

crochet square circle

Here are the beautiful edges of the square circles and you can see the beauty of them. Some have bright centers and some don’t. I love the randomness of each square. The yarn is a soft lightweight wool/nylon blend.  I haven’t decided whether to crochet a blanket or not.  100 squares at 4 inches is only a 40 inch blanket unless I put an edging around it and I am not sure if I want to do that.

crochet square circleAnyway, this is what I have been doing besides crocheting Tardis hats or Dr. Who inspired scarves. I am keeping really busy, when I’m not cleaning and organizing. I have to admit that the organizing bug has hit pretty seriously. I am determined to get things a little more orderly before I start my Use Your Stash Challenge on January 12! I haven’t even been thinking of the rules yet!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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4 Blocks a Week – Week 1

I am starting a new project this year. I am going to crochet 4 blocks a week from some Granny square books that I have here at home. I will need at least 200 blocks to create a useable sized blanket. I want this blanket to a sampler blanket. All the squares will be crocheted in a cream yarn and at the end of the program I will put them all together and have a nice sampler blanket.

Here is block number one!

3 Blocks A Week: The Crochet Sampler Blanket

Block number 2

2014-09-22 16.56.15

Block number 3

2014-09-22 15.46.56

I left off the picot edge on this block above as I want to join them all together with relatively flat edges.

Block number 4

2014-09-22 14.58.35

These are all taken from the same book 100 Colorful Granny Squares to Crochet and are crocheted out of Stylecraft DK yarn. The color is cream. Joining them all might take some fancy stitch work but I think it will all work out. I really want a blanket that shows off the stitches in each square. The texture should be simply gorgeous! This is also a step out in a different direction for me as it will require me to do two things. Stretch out my work over a long period of time and work in one color. As you can tell I prefer to work with a wide variety of colors and to stick to one color is sometimes just a bit boring. These squares are all un-blocked as you can tell by the curvy edges. I will block them and see if that improves. These blocks are from the book Beyond the Square. I found mine on Amazon.com.

I have included affiliate links to Amazon. I will receive a small percentage from each purchase.

This project might fit in the Use Your Stash challenge as I am using yarn that I already have on hand. The yarn stash seems endless right now. I think this is going to be a great project and I can’t wait to keep it going. Join in with your own Beyond the Square book.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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The Shop is on Sale!

sale right sizeEverything in the shop is 30% off. I really want to start the year off with a clean slate in the shop! WooHoo! So, my desire to start with a clean slate is your opportunity and when opportunity knocks you really should answer! All this to say…shop to your hearts content!

Everything, absolutely everything in the shop, including aprons, hats, scarves, infinity scarves, blankets, cozies, ornaments, and crystal, is all 30% off! It will never ALL be this low again. I may put bits and pieces of the shop on sale but not ALL of it.

I did some organizing and cleaning yesterday and I will do more today in preparation for the new year. I can’t wait to get started on the Use Your Stash Challenge. It starts pretty soon… so figure out the rules for your challenge. It can be a short and sweet WIPS challenge or a giant 300 items in 300 days Challenge. It can be make 20 items in 50 days or you can simply finish that One thing that is driving you nuts. I am gathering my items together and planning out how it is all going to happen! This is why I am having the huge sale. I do so want to add new things to the shop this Spring! We are not going to start on January 1st. I am giving myself some time off. I have my daughter home from college and I want to enjoy her visit. I have some cleaning to do in the studio. I also need to get youngest  daughter started with her schooling before I jump in with both feet to create anything new. The anticipation is growing and I can hardly wait to get started.

The Use Your Stash challenge is the 12 of January. You can read more about my rules for my Challenge last year here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/01/17/1-thing-for-100-days-challenge/  You can see most of the completed items here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/04/14/100-items-in-100-days/

Thanks,
Karen

 

 

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Looking Back at 2014 and Looking Forward to The New Year

I get a little introspective as the New Year approaches. I have just spent the last twelve months zooming through the days to this day.

Then there are the many photos of our yard and landscape. We had snow and ice, beautiful daffodils, tulips and irises all in succession.

Then the beautiful summer flowers in the front flower bed, from gladiolus to Russian sage to Purple coneflowers and daisies.The many pictures of yarn and projects in process including the craft fair.

There are many photos of family and trips to museums and lovely memories to share but I will not bore you with all of these photos. I have been graced with a very full year. We moved one person twice and three people once, if that makes any sense. We moved our daughter home from college at the beginning of the summer. Our son and his wife moved into their new apartment. We moved two of our kids back to college and finally we moved my mom to her new apartment. So those were huge moves and took time and attention. I just cleared out the last box of sewing materials from my Mom, yesterday. I am working on cleaning up in the studio after all of the busy time this Christmas season.

Things I am looking forward to this year include the Use Your Stash Challenge, doing a craft fair or two, some time spent fluffing the inside of the house. Here is my list for the future.

  • Prepping for a craft fair this June
  • Creating some new products for both shops
  • De-cluttering my house and studio
  • Finishing up about ten works in progress
  • Finishing up the tree skirt. I want to add some trim to the edging and possibly a decoration or two.
  • Clean out Christmas decorations that we haven’t used in years
  • Do some dog training. We have four in the back yard right now as we are watching my brother’s dog.
  • Make a menu and grocery list every week
  • Our oldest daughter is scheduled to graduate from college this next school year. So while it she officially doesn’t graduate until 2016. I know the year will be full of getting her prepared.

This is fairly busy list. I know that we will be driving  our daughter back to college, and also bringing her home. She has a wedding this summer to go to and we might take a vacation. I would like to work in the yard and get some things cleared up. All of this in addition to living life and home schooling our youngest. The days and years just seem to get shorter and time seems to be a more precious commodity.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

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Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

It is the end of year Clearance sale in the shop. It is my time to clean some things up and you get a huge savings. I do not price the blankets much lower than this, ever! So stock up on cup cozies as awesome teacher gifts. Buy some blankets for the wedding season coming up and they also make great housewarming gifts! Be sure to buy it when you see it as the items in this clearance sale will go fast!

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

There are cup cozies marked down.

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Christmas ornaments are marked down.Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Infinity scarves are marked down.

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Ponchos are marked down.Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Crocheted blankets are even marked down 25%.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocolateDogStudio Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop! Incredibly Huge, Clearance Sale in the Shop!

Pretty much everything is 25% off in this clearance sale!

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. Here is the link to my shop! www.etsy.com/shop/chocolatedogstudio

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Washing Some Burlap

I have been procrastinating by washing some burlap bags. I have been trying to get the house cleaned up in preparation for the college kids that come to our house for Thanksgiving. It is a busy time but I love having them visit. We have spent 6 weeks or so cleaning out my Mom’s old house so she could move into a smaller place. I have tons of new (old) things that need to find a new home. So, I am unpacking and starting to think about putting them away in a more permanent home. Today, I am doing that by washing the burlap sacks that I picked up out of her garage. I am wanting to use them in some craft projects but they are dirty and smell like burlap!

Burlap bags for washingMy Mom and Dad used these on the farm to pick up pecans and haul things around. They are really useful but really dirty. They also got these from the feed store, ages ago and they have been lying around in the garage for years.An old burlap coffee bagOne is a coffee sack with cool writing on it. I am getting ready wash them with bleach and then dry them, several times. I hope the bleach doesn’t take out the writing. My washer regularly washes dog beds so I am pretty sure that it can handle these with no problems.

Burlap tote sacks or burlap bags in the washer

So this is the first wash. We will see how it goes.
It is pretty linty. The lint trap was completely full and I stopped the cycle so I could wash it again. Dryer lint from burlap bags

It is pretty gross. Thankfully, I am going to use the lint to make some fire starters for the fire pit but the burlap really needs another wash cycle, or two.

washing burlap bags

it is starting to look better than it did and it IS softer. We will see what a total of three washing and drying will do for them. I am going to stop the dryer cycle half way through and clean out the lint trap. I am also going to shake them out outside and get rid of the little pills of lint before it goes in the dryer.

Ok there was even more dryer lint the second time  but I think that third time is the charm! The burlap bags are much softer and smell less than they did with the first wash. I will show you how it comes out next time and also the cute projects I am wanting to try.

Talk to you later,

Karen