Quick Winter Headband

It was a rather cold autumn night in Albuquerque when I decided to make this headband. Took a while to find my crochet hooks. The knit bug had bit me about a year ago. Funny how hobbies are sometimes. When I found my hooks I was saddened when I realized I no longer had my beloved German hook. I gave it to my sister months ago. She’s the crochet expert. And I knew she deserved it more than I did. So I reached into my handy dandy crochet master set and began this project. And I sure am glad I came across it. Thank you, Cynthia Miller. A truly beautiful and swift pattern. I used the headband today, completely forgetting how nippy and unwelcome the chilling air was. I was too busy enjoying the November sun with my ears wrapped nice and warm.

Spring Beret Part One

Most people look forward to finishing a project. I, on the other hand, love starting one. I’m not sure if it’s the cutely packaged yarn or the prospect of learning something new, but I love this stage the most!

Sincerely,
Minnie

Crochet Petit Four #2

My son was born in the UK, so whenever I see petit fours, I automatically think of TEA TIME!  This was supposed to be green and white, but I accidentally started on the white and decided to use pink for the bottom.  It matches my tea set perfectly…

Click here if you’d like to give it a go.  It’s written in Dutch but if you scroll down, there’s a link to an English version.

-Minnie

Cabled Wristlets

This project was so easy!  And I’m very satisfied with the results.  I do not own cable needles, but I used this YouTube video to make my cables.  If you go to the Lion Brand pattern page someone left a comment on how to make these so that you could add thumb holes.  I hope you’ll give this pattern a try.  I completed it in 2 days because I could see results after finishing row 6.  Happy knitting!

-Minnie

Knit Cabled Wristlets by Lion Brand

5 mm straight knitting needles & worsted weight yarn

STITCH EXPLANATION:3/3 LC (3 over 3 left cross) Slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k3, then k3 from cable needle.

WRISTLET (make 2)
Cast on 38 sts.
Rows 1, 3 and 5 (Wrong Side): (K1, p1) 7 times, k2, p6, k2, (p1, k1) 7 times.
Row 2 (Right Side): (P1, k1) 7 times, p2, k6, p2, (k1, p1) 7 times.
Row 4: (P1, k1) 7 times, p2, 3/3 LC, p2, (k1, p1) 7 times.
Row 6: (P1, k1) 7 times, p2, k6, p2, (k1, p1) 7 times.
Repeat Rows 1-6 until piece measures 7 in. [17.75 cm] or desired length. Bind off in pattern.

FINISHING
Sew seam. Lay one Wristlet flat with cable centered on back. Tack top edge together at point just left of cable to make thumb opening for right Wristlet. Lay other Wristlet flat and tack top edge together at point just right of cable to make thumb opening for left Wristlet. Weave in ends.

Crochet Petit Four #1

Pattern by Grietjekarwietje

After having some success (of which I’ll soon post) with knitting, I decided not to jinx my lucky streak and opted for another crocheted project.

I’ve had a Ravelry account for about three years now, but I never really used it.  In fact, I think I logged on twice and then forgot my password and my email account has since closed.  After opening another account, something strange happened.  Instead of searching the patterns like I usually do, I threw caution to the wind and clicked on the GROUPS tag.

What is a Ravelry group, you might ask?  Now, that my friends is a needle artist’s dream.  It is a bunch of like-minded crochet and knitting (among other crafts) enthusiasts converging in one online spot.  Some are experts.  Some are beginners.  Some are….drum roll please…pattern designers!  Some groups meet up in person, and maybe one day when I gather up the courage I will jump into a local group.  But for now, I shall enjoy the convenience of sitting in the comfort of my home and pajamas, and keep it to a cyber relationship.

After joining a few crochet-a-longs, including a Korean drama based group with over 200 members (who knew that many people watched You’re Beautiful with yarn and hook in hand?) I finally took a stab at posting some of my work.  This one comes from the Petit Four CAL (Crochet A Long) which I absolutely love.  The pattern designer is from the Netherlands I believe and she’s posting a free petit four crochet pattern every week.  Here is her blog.  Amazing!  If you’re thinking about joining Ravelry and need an excuse to, her group alone should be reason enough.  And if it’s not to your liking, I’m sure you’ll find something that’ll interest you…

-Minnie Adventures

Knitting…or Not

I often wonder whether I will ever become an avid knitter.  When I was in Germany, my friend Chelly introduced me to knitting.  Now, mind you, I’m from the tropics and things like wool and cashmere just don’t exist there.  But in Northern Europe, even my husband donned a merino sweater.  I mean, it’s just that cold!  And I couldn’t help but adore the fair aisle prints, the chunky scarves, and wooly wrist warmers.

We’ve since left Germany and come to settle in the high deserts of North America.  Now that the leaves are turning shades of mustard, pumpkin and deep burgundy, my mind has wandered to knitting and crocheting.  I’ve definitely mastered the art of crochet.  It’s not that difficult.  I don’t know every stitch in the book, but I know most of them enough to create wrist warmers, cowls, hats, amigurumi, socks, etc. free form.  It’s simple enough that if a pattern doesn’t fit your liking, you can modify it easily.  BUT knitting, on the other hand is completely foreign to me.  It’s as foreign to me as the Icelandic language–the more I try to understand it, the less I get it.

So here I am trying my hand at knitting once again.  It’s so frustrating!  I tried knitting a pair of wrist warmers for my son–which you think would be a piece of cake–but they came out different sizes.  I’m sure it’s my tension that’s throwing my gauge off, but here I am trying to knit myself a pair of arm warmers.  I’m sure it’ll come out asymmetric as well, but still I knit on, hoping that one day the pieces of the knitting puzzle will fall in place for me.

My second attempt at making knitted wrist warmers. If this pair turns out nice enough, I might have enough confidence to attempt my next pair on double pointed needles.

Crochet Along November Leaves

So I joined a crochet along in Ravelry and this was our November project–Fall Leaves.

It’s quick, easy and perfect for using up project remnants.

This project features the picot stitch which creates the neat little points of the leaf as shown.

Chicken Broccoli Croissant Wreath

Chicken, broccoli and cheese wrapped in a flaky croissant pastry.

This was one of the first recipes I learned when my husband and I got married.  I’m sure many newlyweds can relate.  When you’re far from home and the budget is tight–finding simple, affordable recipes are a necessity!  This one continues to be a family favorite not just because it’s pretty, but because it tastes absolutely yummy!

I’ve modified this recipe so many times…  I’m sure you will, too.  Use whatever you have in your fridge.  This can be either savory or sweet.  The choice is yours!  Here’s my recipe to get you started:

2 rolls of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed

8 oz bag of shredded cheese

1/4 cup of mayonaise

1 tsp Hidden Valley Ranch dip/seasoning powder

1 garlic clove, minced

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

1.  Mix the Ranch powder and garlic into the mayonnaise.

2.  Put the chicken, cheese and broccoli in a medium bowl.  Add the mayonnaise and stir to coat the ingredients.

3.  Pop the crescents open and unroll onto a clean surface.  I use a clean kitchen counter or a cookie sheet.  You may open one can at a time to use less space.  Separate each triangle and arrange onto the baking stone or pizza tray as shown below.

For this method (my son calls it the Sun Bread method) you will point all the triangles out…

All the points of the crescent triangles are pointing out.

Or you can use this method.  This is the wreath style.

For this style, I pointed one can of crescent rolls (8 triangles) facing out toward the rim of the baking stone, and used the other can of crescent rolls (8 triangles) facing in toward the middle of the baking stone.

Now, take your filling and place it in a circular shape onto your uncooked pastry.

Now take all the triangle points and fold them over the filling.  A lot of my friends tuck the points under the dough, but I just take the points and scoot them to the side after I’ve folded them over.  This keeps the circle in the middle nice and pretty.

Can you see how I tilted the points to the side instead of tucking them under the dough? Trust me, it’ll look gorgeous either way!

Now it’s ready for the oven!  Bake at 325 F for 30 to 35 minutes.  I usually pull mine out at 32 minutes and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Slice just like you would a pizza. And be prepared to make this over and over again, as I’m sure your friends and family will ask for it quite often…

If you don’t have leftover chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken, pick up a bag of Tyson Grilled & Ready chicken breast strips or a similar product in your refrigerated aisle of your local supermarket.  Or use whatever strikes your fancy!  How about barbecue sauce instead of ranch and bacon instead of broccoli?  Try putting breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs and cheese.  No mayo needed!  Or put leftover slices of steak, sauteed onions and mozzarella cheese for a Philly style croissant wreath!  Try it with tomato slices, mushrooms, spinach and provolone for a veggie extravaganza!  The possibilities are endless…

There’s also a lovely cherry coffee cake recipe that my kids love which uses cream cheese, cherry filling and powdered sugar!  I’ll be posting this recipe the next time I make it so I can take pictures.  It’ll also have detailed instructions on how to make it using the wreath method.  Most people tell me it tastes like butter bread.

Hope you try it soon!  Good luck on your cooking!

Minnie Adventures