Finalized Projects

My "Forever Diamonds" throw

Chunky Granny Scarf, inspired by "The Royal Sisters" blog

Finishing Projects

Finally, I'm finishing up some projects. I only have a photo of one, so here it is:

147 of 420-ish. I so thought I was half way! Oh well.

I also finished a big red and brown blanket made just for me! More photos to follow!

LBK Creations on Facebook!

So, I've had an Etsy shop for a while, but I haven't seen any business. I don't have much to show on it right now, but I thought I should start showcasing some of the things that I make. Even if they aren't selling.

I am now also on Facebook! Come on over and check me out! And tell your friends! I'm thinking I'll do a giveaway when I reach 50 "likes" so make sure you're in the first 50!

Anyway, I've spent much too much time on Facebook, Etsy, and Blogger. I need to get ready for work!

Have a good day everyone!

This is on my Etsy shop right now! Anyone need a market bag??

Surprise Mail

Yesterday, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail:

A bookmark I won from Apples & Pears in a giveaway she had a while back. I had totally forgotten about it, and was quite curious about what was coming to me from overseas! I'm very excited to have received it! Believe me, this bookmark will be put to good use! Love it!

So, having gotten this, I will be paying it forward. More to come in another post!

Future Projects

I thought I'd share some future crochet projects with you. I have so many ideas. So so so many. Here are a couple.

I've done sketches of them to get them figured out in my mind. Just need to get started! (Once my other projects are finished, of course!)

I love this pattern. I found inspiration here. I think that I would change the colours, but follow the same idea. I hope that the woman who originally posted the photo has a pattern for it - I get the granny squares, but not the borders throughout.

And then there's this:

Yup. The hubby has requested a Vancouver Canucks blanket. It took me quite a while to think it out, but I think I've got it figured. I'll make a filet blanket for him, in the awful blue/white/green colour scheme. Maybe that'll be his Christmas present! I'm going to wait to start this one until the fall when it gets cooler again. It's much too hard to work on a project of that size when it's hot! Not to mention that I have to find the right colours for it! Time to do some online shopping, I think!

Have a great long weekend everyone!

17 Day Diet - How Did Day 1 Go?

The answer is: AWESOME.

Was I hungry? Definitely. When you go from eating whatever you want to eating lean protein and vegetables, it's bound to happen. But, it wasn't anything that I couldn't handle.

So, yes, I think this is something I can keep up with. Though, I'm going to need to do some research on meals. John is going to get really sick of salads, and last night's dinner was pretty crappy. Talapia and steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Not very exciting. But I can make turkey chilli without the beans, and chicken soup. Good enough for me!

And, I'm down 2 pounds already. Can't say anything better than that.

And, today I finished a cute crochet project. A string market bag - so cute. You can find the pattern here.

Kara's Crocheted Hanging Towel (pattern)

My very first written pattern! So excited! It's nothing fancy, but it's a start. All it's missing is a button!

Pattern for "Kara's Crocheted Hanging Towel"

Chain 11.

Row 1: Sc in second chain from hook and in each ch after (10 sc).

Row 2: Ch 1, sc in next 10 sc (10 sc)

Row 3: Ch 1, sc in next 4 sc, chain 2 & sk next 2 sc, sc in next 4 st (button hole made)

Row 4: Ch 1, sc in next 4 sc, 2 sc in ch 2 sp, sc in next 4 sc (10 sc)

Row 5-30: Ch 1, sc in next 10 sc.

Row 31: Ch 3 (counts as first dc), dc in first sc, dc in next sc, 2 dc in next sc, 1 dc in next sc, 2 dc in next 2 dc, 1 dc in next sc, 2 dc in next sc, 1 dc in next sc, 2 dc in last sc (16 dc)

Row 32: Ch 1, sc in next 16 dc.

Row 33-34: Ch 1, sc in next 16 dc.

Row 35: Ch 3, dc in same sc, 2 dc in each sc across (32 dc)

Row 36: Ch 1, sc in next 32 dc.

Row 37-38: Ch 1, sc in next 32 sc.

Row 40-55: Repeat rows 36-39.

Rows 56-58: Repeat rows 36-38 once more.

You can add length by adding repeating rows 36-39 and ending with rows 36-38.

I used Bernat Handicrafter Cotton and a size 6.00mm hook.

It only took a couple of hours to make, and is pretty simple.

Enjoy!

Here's what I get to look at today...

I hope you get a chance to enjoy some nice SPRING weather today. I think it's out of the question for me. And I really wanted to go for a run today! Out in the sunshine! Should have done it yesterday!

Crocheted Mitered Square Hanging Towel (pattern)

So, I found an awesome pattern online for a mitered square hanging towel for the kitchen. I found it on thetoddlerwhisperer blog - which is great! I instantly made one of my own:

This one goes great with a set that I made for a friend's wedding in July:

It's the hanging towel, 2 pot holders ( I will share the pattern another day!), and 4 knitted dishcloths.

I did have an issue with this pattern. It does work out really well, but I didn't like the way the handle attached to the body of the towel:

I just think it seems flimsy in a way. It's definitely secure and it's not going anywhere, but I just wasn't pleased and I couldn't figure out how to secure it more using the same pattern. So, I did it myself and this is what I got:

Yes, much different colours, but it is much different where the button is:

So, there it is. Basically, I just made the handle separately, and sewed it onto the top of the towel. The stitches are covered by the handle when it's hanging, and it's so much sturdier.

So, how did I do it? I made a mitered towel, which you can find the pattern anywhere. I changed colours at row 24, 41 and did one final row. You can do it any way you want! For the handle, it was 2 rows of 10 single crochets, the a button hole made by doing 4 single crochet, chain 2, miss next 2 single crochet, 4 single crochet. In total there were 30 rows on the handle.

And, I love the new one. It works so much better for me. And it's so easy! Only a couple of hours! 

It feels great to have finished products. I love these little ones. They just make so much sense to me. Blankets take forever, so now it's all about the small things!

I found these dishcloths the other day too. I have 5 of them still kicking around. It's so cute. I think I'll make a few more of these in the next little while. I just adore them. So easy to make, and so cute.

Ok guys, I should go. I have an interview scheduled for 2:30PM. It was originally scheduled for 1PM, but my keys were locked in the truck. I threw them into our console on Saturday when John was driving, and totally forgot about it. Then I went to leave and realized that I did not have keys. Awesome, eh? So, I called the guy who is interviewing me, and while he was good about it and just told me to come later, it still sucked. It's definitely not the best way to make a first impression! Oh well, it's only for a 2 week temp job anyways. If I don't get it, it's not the end of the world.

More soon!

Craft Day/Rest Day

Today, I basically had a rest day. Only a walk with mom this afternoon. Then I came home and started crafting. I made a mitered teatowel, and I'm not 100% sure about it, so I think tomorrow I'll try it my own way. Then I started knitting. It's a dishcloth world here right now!

But tomorrow, I've got to get back to normal. Clean the house, do laundry and work out hard!

Have a good night!

Unemployed - Day #2

Good day so far today! Right now I'm watching the Hawaii 5-0 episode from last night and vegging out. Today's pretty much just a veg day. This morning was pretty much a write off, I slept in too late and didn't get anything done. And then I had lunch with the Oil Wives, which was good, but the food was lame. I tried eating healthy and I did not enjoy myself. So, now I want to just eat and eat and eat because I wasn't satisfied. I guess I know now to stick with what I want when I'm out for lunch. I don't do it very often so I guess I can just enjoy myself. Then I went for a walk with my mom. Not too shabby.

But not I should get some housework done, and then start on dinner. Making Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and I've never done that before. I've been thinking about all the cool things I can try to make now that I'm not working. John's going to get fat...LOL. Now hopefully I can start losing more. The guys at work are loving that I'm not working so that they can get baking. Lots of it. I love to bake, but I really shouldn't be eating all of it!

Now to crochet. I finally got the ball of wool I needed to finish a baby blanket and I think I should be able to finish today or first thing tomorrow. Check the photo below!

Not the best photo, but you get the point.

And hello to my first follower (official, I know there are a few of you that read regularly!) - another wonderful woman named Kara! Another blog for me to follow!

Sunday - Goals Day! (Week #5)

So, I'm not really sure how this week's goal went - the goal of just losing weight. I totally forgot to weigh in. I know, silly me. But it was the first Sunday in a long time that John didn't have to go to work, so I enjoyed it. It's nice to wake up beside someone and start your day, you know? So, no weigh in. So, tomorrow I will weigh. Though, it won't be good. I did nothing today but work on crochet projects, bake, watch football and eat! I called it though - knowing nothing about the last season of football, I said at the beginning that the Green Bay Packers were going to win, and they did! Not that I had anything to do with it - I really only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and half-time show. I enjoyed BEP & Slash & Usher. Fun! Even if the sound was a bit off. Apparently Christina Agulera sang some of the wrong words to the US national anthem, but since I don't know the words, I can't be sure. I made my very first crochet doily today! I'll post a photo below. I actually really enjoyed my day today. Most weekends kind of suck, but John and I got to hang out all day. We sure didn't do much, but I still enjoyed it.

Hope you had a good weekend! I'm so looking forward to this week - Trish is back and it's my last week! Whoo hoo!

Check out my doily below!

Not your average old-lady doily!

Books of 2011 - #2 && More Crochet Photos!

Trouble Becomes Her by Laura Van Wormer


A really good book...up until the end. It had suspense, and awesome story line, and of course some romance. But then it just ended. Maybe I missed something in the end, but I don't know. It seemed to just end. I really liked it anyways. It had all the things I love about books. And, it was really easy to understand. No complications in the story, just facts, black and white. I'd recommend it to be read! I borrowed it - along with a giant bag-ful - from my friend Trish. It's only the third book I've gotten through, and I have lots more to go!


And now for some crochet photos. I made a few more squares on the weekend to go with the blue & yellow one. Check em out!

For this one I used pick & yellow and it looks like the coolest orange colour!

And this one is awesome pink & blue. Love it! I ran out of pink finishing this one, and thought, no biggie, I'll just go and buy some more. I forgot that our WalMart doesn't like to stock anything that a person actually needs! So, I bought purple to see how it works! If it doesn't work, I might go and buy green. But, I have a few more blue & yellow squares to do, so I won't worry about the other colour for a while. I have 4 of 12 squares already done. Shouldn't be too bad!

Have a good day all! I need to get my act together and get into the shower or I'm going to be late for work!

Lazy Saturday & Crochet

So, up early this morning to have breakfast with my dad. I can't believe how much snow we had when I walked out this morning. It's like -30 and still snowing?! Not fair. It really should be one or the other. Not both. So, we went out for breakfast, and then he helped me change a backup light in my truck. If it wasn't -30 I would have done it myself but it was nice that I didn't have to do it. All I did was buy the light. Then my dad had to show off his latest project. He's doing some fabrication on a pressure truck and wanted me to see it. He's amazing at it for a guy who was trained as a bodyman and spent 20 years logging. It's pretty cool. And he's so proud of it. I think he enjoyed explaining everything to me.

Then, I came home, cleaned up and made this:

It's a 14 inch square that I made using a strand of blue and one of yellow. I think I should only have to make 9 of them, maybe 12. I'm still tossing the idea around of maybe making a couple of squares with different colours, but we'll see. A friend of mine left a bunch of wool here - I was going to teach her how to crochet and we just never got around to it - so I'm going to make one for her as a surprise!

Now maybe a nice hot bath, and then maybe I'll head back into town to check out the High On Ice stuff, and maybe go to the walking track. It's either the track or my treadmill. I think maybe the track.

Have a good saturday everyone!

Crochet Projects

So, as you all know, I'm very much obsessed with crocheting, and just starting to love knitting as well. When John and I were digging through all of our old Christmas decorations, we found a little stocking that someone had crocheted for him. I wanted to see if I could replicate it, and I did!

They're not quite the same, but it's close. I see what I need to change, which is very simple. I used a way bigger hook and wool so the one I made is much larger, but the idea is the same. I love the wool I used, the fall colours are so cute! I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it's super cute. Love love love it. And it was super easy, so I'll be making a whole bunch of them for Christmas this year (yes, I'm already thinking about Christmas presents!).

I'm also working on a really cure baby blanket. I'm pretty much half way done. Should be finished by next weekend. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm done! It's different from a typical baby blanket in that I didn't use baby colours. I used nice, bright, modern colours. I love it, but it might be a bit much. John thinks it's tacky, but I'll let you be the judge of that!

Have a good Monday everyone! If you're back to school or work, enjoy your day! I'm glad I don't have to go back until tomorrow!