Paris Cardigan Sweater

I decided it was time to try to knit a more advanced project. I have been going to a knitting group at the Greenberry House a cozy place in Meadows of Dan , Virginia where Leslie the shop owner, and seasoned knitters help us beginners with our knitting skills. I have come to understand how to read  knitting patterns. 

I found this free cute Paris Cardigan Sweater pattern from http://www.lionbrand.com/ website  This sweater is titled April in Paris Cardigan. I chose to change the colors, and leave off the pockets.This is done in the seed stitch.. See my progress in pictures.

This is one of the sleeves.

This is the back.

The front of the sweater.

This the collar which was worked with the fun fur yarn, 2 colors at the same time. It gives the collar a soft look, but also since it is doubled it gives it a weight which helps the collar lay right.

Putting it all together,  was a bit of a challenge. The back needs to be sewn  to the front first, then the sleeves. My tip is to pin  the sleeves to the back and front with safety pins, and adjust as needed before actually sewing together.This will keep the sweater looking more even, and professional..

Blueberry Apple Crumb Pe

Does this picture make your mouth water for a delicious  slice of berry pie. This blueberry apple crumb pie dessert has to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it to make it complete. I like making crumb toppings  for a change of pace. It's not as  fussy as a regular pie crust. To make this dessert quicker use frozen pie crust, and canned apple pie filling. For perfect pie crust recipe.

Ingredients: Crumb topping
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oat meal
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pie filling
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 can apple pie filling
Pie crust
5 cups flour
2 cups shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 cup water


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Instructions:
To make your perfect pie crust, or use your frozen one. Place  crust in glass pie pan. Add apple pie filling, and blueberries.To make crumb topping place butter, flour,oatmeal, and cinnamon in small bowl, with pastry dough blender, completely blend those 4 ingredients. Add the chopped pecans last and incorporate thoroughly. Spread on top of pie filling covering completely. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 for 15 more minutes.

Knitted Sweater Jacket Cute

This is my first try at making big girl clothes.I found this darling vintage pattern from the 40's. This knitted  short sweater  jacket appealed to me because it looked trendy, short with flowing sleeves, and flowing neck line. I also liked that it did not require buttons. It is knitted from the bottom up, the sleeves are knit into place, instead of having to attach them..The the sweater is folded in half and sewn at the sides.

supplies

5 balls 241 yards medium wt  100% acrylic yarn

size 15 circular 29 inch long needles

size 4 circular 29 inch needles

 large eye blunt needle

counting cylinder

stitch holder pin extra long

size medium measures 23 inches long on back side

Back: With size 15 needles cast on 184 sts.

First row: k1 * p2, k2; repeat from *, end p2, k1.

2nd row: p1, * k2, p2; repeat from *, end k2, p1. Repeat these 2 rows for 4 inches for frill, end with 2nd row.

Change to size 4 needles, continue for ribbing for 62 rows above the frill, end with 2nd row.

To make sleeves: Cast on 47 sts at beginning of next row for sleeve. Beginning with p2, work ribbing to end. Cast on 47 sts, and begin next row with k2. Work 278 sts in ribbing for 12 ins.(this is the sleeves)

Bind off 47 sts at beginning of each of next 2 rows.

Next row: Work 77 sts and slip on holder for half of the front, work 33 sts and slip on a strand of yarn for neck edge, finish row. Continue ribbing on last 77 sts; work 6 rows even. Dec. 1 st at neck edge every 2nd row 24 times, then every row 8 times, end at neck edge.

 Place 45 sts on holder. Beginning at neck edge work other side to correspond, end at neck. Do not break yarn. With same needle, and marking this side as wrong side of jacket, pick up and k 36 sts on shaped edge to neck, work the 20 sts of neck, pick up and k 36 sts on shaped edge on other side, work 45 sts from holder (192 sts)

Change to size 15 needles and continue ribbing for 4 ins. Bind off.

Frill on sleeves: With size 4 needles and working from right side pick up and k 96 sts on edge of sleeve. Change to size 15 needles, and work ribbing for 4 ins. Bind off.

Finishing: With wrong side of frill to turn back on right side of jacket, sew side and sleeve seams, Steam.

My beautiful daughter-in-law is modeling this sweater, I did add 2 string cords so it could be tied together.

Good side view of sleeves.

The side view photo did not turn out sharp, and as clear as I would have liked it, but you can get an idea of what the sweater looks like from the side it's cute, cute, cute.

Sloppy Joe's

Are you running out of quick meal ideas? How does Sloppy Joe's from scratch sound? It doesn't take that long to prepare. You  may already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. Try this one and tell me what you think.

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat
1 medium onion chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
shredded cheddar cheese for topping
slice of tomato for topping
slice of sweet onion for topping
hamburger buns

Fry  ground meat well, drain excess fat off. Add chopped onion, paprika,cumin, garlic salt, onion powder, 
ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar into the frying pan. Cook til sauce thickens about 10 minutes. Server immediately over warm hamburger buns. I like to add a slice of tomato, onion and cheese on mine.

Painting on Pottery Children Tea Sets

This video illustrates the steps I take for painting designs on the children size tea pots. I throw my pottery from hand on a wheel. I paint, my own designs. I hope you enjoy this let me know.