Sweet Confections

Okay!

I'm BACK!!! :))))

Mr. Awesome Son~In~Law

knows how important my blog is to me,

therefore he trotted himself

across the street last evening

after I sent an SOS his way.

As I mentioned already,

I have various things to show and tell about

and instead of starting at the beginning

I am starting with my most recent project.

{Then I will back track ~ just have to do things willy~nilly, as usual!}

Really it's just that I am dying

{well....at least hyperventilating ~ I AM prone to exaggeration}

to show you these 

Cupcakes!

So here goes....

A CUPCAKE PARADE

This is the first one I made.

It is a gift for my sister who just turned 40 this week.

She was in the middle of a move so we are celebrating next week.

Bridget is the crowned Cupcake Queen of our family,

running a home based baking business that specializes in cupcakes.

She will flip over this one!

I gave her this part of her gift on Tuesday, her actual birthday.

It's a Cupcake Cozy

{click on the live link to go to the pattern}

I found on Ravelry.

I decided to stretch it around a vase as I had already made her several cabled cozies

for her coffee cup, which I will show in one of my next posts :)))

She LOVED it!

But back to the little confections,

because as we all know,

just one cupcake is never enough!

After making one for Bridget

I decided they would make lovely Valentine gifts 

for my Monday night Knit Night Girls.

{Shhhh.......don't tell them. I hope none of them are peeking!}

Mmmmm.....chocolate!

There's a heart shaped glass bead nestled in the center 

of the rose on this one.

Here's one with a pretty blue wrapper and a pearl on top.

They are meant to be pincushions and the wonderful thing about them is

a darning needle will fit in them as well as regular pins and needles.

The pattern can be found 

here

on Ravelry.

Inserted in the base of each one is a plastic Dole fruit cup.

I used mostly Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn.

Just Yummy!

For more in depth notes on how I made them you can go to my

Ravelry projects page at

Front Porch Knits

They have pretty little bottoms, don't they?!

I am still working on whipping up more of these delightful cuppies....

just 4 isn't enough....

Gabby will need one...

I will need one....

:)))

So ....

you know what I am doing on these

  Cold Winter Days

Knitting up a Storm!

{This picture was taken in the parlor of

 the Victorian Mansion in Galena, Illinois

where Scott & I spent our anniversary.}

What are YOU doing on these cold Winter days?

XO

    XO,

Danette

p.s. It's good to be back!

Upcoming Attractions

Hello My Dear Friends!

I really must apologize for being away from you all for so long.

Time seems to have marched right past me since the onset of the Christmas holidays.

Scott and I took a lovely little trip just after my last post

to celebrate our 30th Anniversary.

Ahhh.......we truly had the best time together :)))

The Illinois Winter weather has been absolutely brutal,

reeking havoc on my bones.

The Enbrel injections are helping me

so much more than any other RA medicine ever has.
{I saw Mrs. Good Doctor yesterday and she is most pleased :)
Of course she did order 5 tubes of blood to be sucked out of me
just to be sure all is well.}
 This severe cold is giving the miracle medicine a real fight!

So....

I stay in, hunkered down in my house

with my furry babies,

my granddaughter coming and going,

my audio books

and my yarnworks.

I have so many things to show you

but just as I decided it is time for me to

make a comeback here,

I can't get a single picture to load.

DARN IT ANYWAY!

If it doesn't correct itself soon

I will snatch

Mr. Awesome Son~In~Law

from across the street

to take a look at things.

The Upcoming Attractions include:

*many baby items

*several cabled pieces

*a stack of darling hearts destined for a Valentine garland

{for my even more darling granddaughter}

and

*some oh~so~sweet cupcakes

So please don't give up on me!

I will be back in full force

ASAP

In the meantime I will weave my way in and out

of all your lovely blogs to see what I have been missing.

One thing's for certain...

I have missed all of you!

*And Welcome  to my newest follower

Vickie
{you can find her at Tea Cups and Toadstools by clicking on her name}

:)))

XO

  XO,

Danette

Christmas Tea & Knitting

As always, it's a mad dash to the finish!

My days seem to be filled with constant
knitting,

crocheting,

&

endless

Cups of Tea.

The house is finally decorated

and the tree is trimmed.

I have put the finishing touches on one project,

have another half done

and one more to start.

Phew!!!

I am trying hard to stay a step ahead of St. Nick.

Next Tuesday Scott & I will celebrate our

 30th  Wedding Anniversary.

:)))

We are leaving early Monday morning for a get away to a

Victorian Bed & Breakfast.

We will not be home until Thursday afternoon.

I am SO EXCITED!!!

My last little project will travel along with me.

It will take us about 3 hours to get where we are going.

Between the trip there and back I should come home

with all my

Christmas Knitting

finally done.

In the meantime,

may you all make it to your own finish line

{as I know we are all making the same mad dash!},

may you all stay warm and cozy

and most of all

stay full of good cheer

as you enjoy this magical season.

Be Blessed,

Danette



A New Little Monkey

Towards the end of May

we will have a new little monkey

in the family.

My sweet daughter Chelsea

is expecting her second baby.

She went shopping yesterday for this adorable outfit.

As it turns out we are going to have a

Grandson!!!

:)))

We are

SO VERY EXCITED!

Big Sister Gabby

{who, as you can see, is Grammy's biggest kitchen helper}

can hardly wait for her

Baby Brother

to enter the world.

She will be 7 just a few weeks before he is born.

They grow up fast, don't they?!

Ahhh...Grandchildren....what a BLESSING.

Crochet Craziness

Hello Friends!

I hope you are all feeling

fat

&

sassy

{from the recent day of feasting}

and full of

Holiday Cheer.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving here.

In the midst of it all I have entered into some kind of

Crochet Craziness!

Just last week I told a friend

"I have decided to give myself a break this Christmas.

I am not making many gifts this year."

Well....

somehow just after that I went nuts again!

I have crocheted 11

{that's right ~ I said eleven}

scarves in 9 days time.

My hook is already digging into another one

and there are at least 3 more I purchased new yarn for.

Many of them are infinity scarves.
They are done in
different yarns,
different weights,
different colors...
Fa~la~la~la~la~la~la~la~la!!!

Two of them, so far, are straight scarves.

Most are for Christmas gifts,

but this one,

plus a couple of the infinity scarves,

are for sale on my

Etsy Shop

I sure hope there are a lot of lovely ladies

on my Christmas list

who are in need of a new scarf!

Because I seem to have a few on hand :)))

Happy Day to You All!

XO

   XO

Danette

Hmmm...Crochet or Piecrust?

Although I have an apron tied around my middle,

a cookbook opened on the table,

 ingredients all over the countertop,

and should by now be mixing pie dough

for tomorrow's festivities...

I keep reaching for my crochet hook

instead of my rolling pin!

Ah well...

surely there's time for both :)))

These lovely snowflakes and twinkly stars

just needed to be made.

The pattern for the snowflakes can be found in

Issue Eleven

of

Simply Crochet

The free gift on the front of this issue

is a packet containing the dk weight  yarn  with

a thread of sparkly silver running through it

&

a plastic crochet hook.

The pattern is inside the book.

You can find the star pattern

compliments of

 Leonie Morgan

at

WoolnHook

I have not stiffened and blocked them yet;

just lightly steamed for the picture.

There are visions in my head of a flurry full

of the little beauty's

dancing over the French doors

between my dining room

and front room

on a lovely garland chain.

Hmmm......

I know I should be preparing for Thanksgiving

{as my whole family always gathers at my house}

but I really must take the time to show you one more thing.

This was yesterday's project.

It is destined to be a Christmas gift.

Guess you can tell

 I'd so much rather play with yarn

than mess with all that food stuff!

You can find the pattern for this scarf

 and it's sweet little flower

by paying a visit to

Michelle

at

The Royal Sisters

where "granny goodness" always abounds.

Well...

I really must force myself to make a mess in the kitchen.

Before I leave you all though

I want to tell every one of you how very much

all of your kind words on the loss of my

Little Jose'

have meant to me.

You have all helped to heal my breaking heart

and reminded me  to remember the goodness

of the love I shared with a special little dog.

Thank You All

from the

Very Bottom of My Heart.

I will cherish your kindness and remember it forever.

May you all have the Happiest of Thanksgivings!

With Love,

Danette

P.S.

I would like to say

Welcome

to a couple of new followers~

Lisa

from

Needles and Wool

and

Serafina

from

Mamanluisa

I truly love making new friends :)))



Forever In Our Hearts

Jose'

February 4, 2002

to

November 10, 2013.

It is with a grieving heart that I let you all know

our

Sweet Little Jose'

passed away

 in the wee hours of

Sunday, November 10th.

He would have been 12 in February.

As I mentioned in earlier posts,

he hit a rough spot of repeated seizures

 and then he got pneumonia.

We did all we could for 2 weeks

but he was so fragile.

Thankfully,

he died here at home with his family

where he was much loved.

We had him cremated

{the first time we have ever done that}

and he has his home on the mantel now.

The funeral home was wonderful.

They gave me a paw print and a couple of hair clippings.

My Dad showed up with the Chihuahua ornament.

My sister came with a lovely card

and a gorgeous bouquet of roses.

Which are now being dried.

We received cards from the Vet's office

and family members.

It is a loss we all feel deeply,

especially me.

He was truly

My Baby.
So tiny, always so dependent on me.

I will miss him on Christmas Eve.

We always give the dogs their stockings when everyone has gone home.

It is amazing that they remember from year to year what a

Christmas stocking is.

Jose' was always the most excited of all.

This picture was taken last Christmas.

I will also miss him when Springtime

arrives again.

He loved the porch swing as much as his Mommy does!



He also loved it when he could find one of my knitting baskets

to snuggle up in.

I still find myself looking around the house for him.

Sophie and Phoebe

have also looked for their missing companion.

They are sad to lose him too.

For being such a Little Fella,

his presence was very large.

Rest in Peace,

we love you.

You are

Forever In Our Hearts. 

Sweet Baby Shoes

Just a quicky post to show you the sweet baby shoes

I just finished crocheting.

They are to go along with the

sweater set I made

for Baby Catherine.

Her grandma is purchasing the sweater and hat from me,

but I wanted to throw in a little gift from me as well.

The pattern can be found in

Essential Crochet

by

Erika Knight.

It was very easy

and I really like the finished product.

I will make these again.

I added a tiny button to the center of the flower.

Plus I eliminated the ribbon

at the back of the shoe

the directions call for.

All in all ~

I think they are quite sweet indeed.

What are you working on in your corner of the world?

Embroidered Mittens

Good Morning Everyone!

In my little corner of the world

it is raining

&

raining

&

raining.

So....

I am knitting

&

knitting

&

knitting.

First I knitted,

then felted,

then embroidered

these mittens.

They are a Christmas gift,

but I won't say who for

just in case she is peeking :)

While it continues to rain,

I put my feet up,

the dogs snuggle in,

and I keep working on Christmas gifts.

Today's project?

A second

Red Mitten.

Happy Day to You All!

From Roses to Wristers

The last couple weeks have been challenging.

Last weekend I had a touch of a virus.

Feeling bad that I was feeling bad,

Scott brought roses home.

Ahhh...

nothing compares to a

Wonderful Husband :)))

They were gorgeous on the dining room table.

They are now drying nicely.

I can never part with roses

and love them just as much

when they are dried.

 

While feeling icky,

I knitted up these

Mock Cable Wristers.

They took just one skein of

King George

made by

Bristol Yarn Gallery.

It's a divinely soft fiber of

Baby Alpaca, Merino Wool & Cashmere.

Yum ~ Yum!

I found the pattern in

60 Quick Knits.

They're heading for my Christmas gift stash.

 

 And on the doggie front:

I am keeping Jose's glucose level up with

regular feedings.

It is keeping the seizures at bay, Thank God.

However, he is still very sick.

It was discovered during a chest x~ray

and blood work on Friday

that he has

bacterial pneumonia.

Apparently, when he vomited early last week

he aspirated :(((

His Mommy is still giving him

lots

&

lots

 of

TLC.

He is on an antibiotic and diarrhea medication.

We are running a vaporizer to help with his breathing.

The vet says he is not out of the woods yet

but is pleased there is a tiny bit of improvement.

He is very weak and I have to help him stand at his water dish.

Then I tuck him back into his little bed,

which is in whatever room I am in.
{That is unless he is wanting Mommy to hold him and wrap him in her sweater}.

Thankfully being home is my full time job.

We have a long way to go.

We appreciate all of your prayers and positive healing thoughts.