A Free Little Pattern for You

If you're like me, you have a ga-zillion tiny balls of leftover sock yarn that you don't know what to do with and yet, you can't toss 'em out.  Well, here's a little pattern that you might enjoy making up as gifts that will make use of your remnants.  AND it will use up that button stash that you're also hiding!

I call them "Yarn Bracelets."

One little hint too: always unbutton them before putting on so that you don't stretch them out.

Materials Needed:
3/4" button
Approximately 20 yds fingering weight yarn
U.S. size 2 (2.75mm) needles

Gauge
approximately 8.5 sts = 1 inch in pattern

Sizes:
S (M, L) (7 1/2, 8, 8 1/2" wrist)

Cast on 64 (68, 72) sts; DO NOT JOIN, but work in rows.

Row 1: *K2, p2; rep from * across.
Row 2: Rep row 1.
Row 3: *P2, k2; rep from * across.
Row 4: Rep row 3.
Next Row (Button hole): K2, p2, bind off 4 sts; k1; *P2, k2; rep from * across to last 2 sts, p2.
Next Row: *K2, p2; rep from * to the 4 sts that were bound off; cast on 4 sts; work in pattern to end of row.
Next Row: *P2, k2; rep from * across.
Next Row: Rep last row.
Next Row: *K2, p2; rep from * across.

Bind off in pattern (knit the knits and purl the purls).

Sew on the button and you now have a little gift to give.  These would be great for stocking stuffers, Easter baskets or just a little something to bring a smile to someone's day.  Enjoy!

Cooking, Knitting, Crocheting and Sewing

One of my favorite blogs and cooking shows is the "Pioneer Woman."  Ree Drummond is one talented lady and lives such an exciting life.  If you haven't visited her blog or seen her cooking show, by all means do so!  Her family is absolutely adorable and they live on a ranch in Oklahoma in the middle of nowhere. 

My husband and I get up early on Saturday mornings to see her 7 a.m. show and this past Saturday she made her root vegetable stew.  What made me want to try it was the bottle of beer that the recipe calls for.  I don't drink beer, but I just knew the stew would be so savory with it.  My guys LOVED this recipe.  We hated to see the bottom of the pot appear after two meals!

We have a craft show coming up in April, so I'm rebuilding our inventory for it.  Socks are a must since we are called, "Tehachapi Sock Company!"

And since I've been so intriqued with crochet lately, I thought a few small totes would look cute in our booth, too.

And somewhere in there, my son always finds a project for me.  He loves to drive around our property in his little Ranger and said that he needed a new flag for his pole.  He found this fabric at Walmart for $1.00 so that will be today's project - getting it attached will be the trick!

And in my spare time, I've been making aprons.  They're quick, easy and make wonderful gifts.  I thought that a few of these in our craft booth would be a nice addition, too.

Owls, Owls and More Owls

All these adorable owls became this.......

Then this.............

And finally this!

The pattern is from the Etsy shop called, "The Hat and I" and I can't tell you how much fun I had making this tote.  If you love to crochet and need the perfect gift, then this pattern is it.

I'll share my special "hint" for the handles.  Go to your nearest thrift store and look through the purses and see if you can find one with handles that are in wonderful condition and can be re-used.  Sure saves a lot of money!

I also used about a half yard of fabric and lined this tote just to make it extra special.

More Pictures from Calico Ghost Town

This picture was taken at the top of Calico and gives you a little perspective of how high the town is in the hills.  That's the California desert in the distance.

Even President Lincoln attended!

The troops are gearing up for the battle.....

And so it began..............

 

 

In other news:  we had our first decent snow storm of the season here in the California mountains.  The news is reporting 11 inches in Tehachapi, but with the high winds that we receive at our elevation, the drifts quickly became 3 feet.

 

Civil War Days at Calico Ghost Town

Head towards Barstow, Ca. and get on the 15 like you're heading to Las Vegas and you come to the small town of Yermo.  Get off on Ghost Town Road and you'll find yourself back in the 1800's in a small silver mining town called Calico.

This weekend is their Civil War Days complete with troops from both sides in full uniform and totally playing the part.

Even the women were in period attire.

The day begins with a combined military parade along main street.

Campsites were placed throughout the town so that visitors could view what conditions would have been like for these men.

These two visitors (my son and husband!) marveled at the artillery. 

Just FYI - some upcoming events at Calico:  Easter & Egg Hunt March 31, Wild West Fest April 26 & 27 and Spring Festival May 11 & 12. 

Calico is a wonderful attraction for the whole family, but go in fall, winter or spring because the summers can be brutal in the California desert!

More pictures to come on the next post.

Owls and Comfort Food

 

 

No, this isn't "owl" pot pie, but chicken pot pie.  I just knew that this title would get your attention!  With the restaurants totally crazy on Valentine's Day, I always opt to have a nice quiet dinner at home.  And pot pie is always a hit at our house.  Of course, with my husband now being pre-diabetic, he had to pass on the biscuits but he still enjoyed the meal.

 



 

 

Sometimes I make a bottom and top crust or even just the single top crust, but last night I decided that buttermilk biscuits would be tasty over the mixture.  And the good news- there's leftovers for this evening!

 



Now, about those owls.  There is a totally fabulous shop on Etsy called "The Hat and I." Her crochet designs are so much fun and even tho my crochet skills are somewhat limited, I just had to order her pattern for the owl tote.

What a darling design and it's so great for using up your leftovers.  The tote requires 8 owls to be made and here's the first one.  Pretty fun, huh?  If you get a chance, take a peek in her store.  It's sure to bring a smile to your day.

Our Little Giveaway...........

 

Congratulations to cguard on Ravelry!  If you'd be so kind to email me at tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com with your mailing address, I'll get these "Wooden Needle Sanders" right off to you.

 

And thanks to everyone who left such nice comments about our new little accessory for your knitting bag.

They're Here! Let's Have a Giveaway!

We're finally ready to announce our new product!  Wooden Needle Sanders!  How often have you gotten a "snag" on one of your wood needles where the yarn hangs up and you're forced to set that needle aside and use another one?  Well, no more.  Our heart shaped pieces of fine grit sandpaper are the perfect size to sand out that little imperfection so that your needle is once again ready to use.

We will be selling this product retail through Etsy and also wholesale to yarn shops everywhere.  If you're a business and would like to carry our "sanders", please email me at tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com and I'll give you further details. 

We currently have a limited supply because full production isn't quite up and running yet, but we have several available in our Etsy shop right now!  I'm terribly excited about this new venture and I hope that all of you will help us to get the word out about this new product.

Thanks so, so much!  And since this is such an exciting day for us, let's have a little giveaway for a package of our new knitting tool.  Just leave a comment on this post and let me know what you think of our "Wooden Needle Sanders."  On Tuesday, February 12th I'll randomly draw one lucky name and we'll see who the winner will be.  See you on Tuesday!

A Whimsical New Pattern

 

 

Sometimes it's just plain silly fun to knit "things" that are totally out of the ordinary - "things" so goofy that you end up having a great time - and "things" that bring a smile to all who see them.  This just might be "that" project!

 

Sometimes I just get sidetracked when inspiration hits and have to stop doing what I'm doing and run with the idea.  This is what I've been working on for the last several days and just now listed this new little pattern in our Etsy shop.  All 4 designs are included and they really are tons of fun to make with your leftovers of worsted weight yarn.

 

Just think how fun your Christmas treats will look with the help of our "Canning Jar Hats."

 

 

 

 





Meet Helen........

 

 

Our new hat mannequin just arrived.  I've decided that I really don't like her one bit because her makeup looks better than mine!!  What's really funny tho, is that she comes with pierced ears.  Now that's really funny!

 

I promised that we'd have a little giveaway today and since there were only 3 comments, I thought that it would be fun if each of you received a copy.  Debbie and Carolyn, I have your email addresses and will get the pattern right off to you.  And Gale, I don't seem to have yours so could you please email me and then I can send you a copy also?  (tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com)

 

I'm working up some whimsical little patterns and hope to finish the last one today.  Plus I'm back to sewing and am totally loving that.  Yesterday I made an apron to brush up my skills a bit.  Of course, the living room is a disaster because there's no room in my office/studio to set up all the sewing stuff.  But, who cares, right? 

 

 



A Pattern Giveaway

This morning I went to the post office to mail some sock yarn from our Etsy shop. I was told by the postal clerk that rates just went up 30%! Yep, that's right, a whopping 30%! As a small business owner I know that isn't how you run a business. When times are tough, if you want more business you lower your prices. That's exactly what we've done in our Etsy shop. We're now charging $2.00 less for our socks. Later today I'll look into other shipping options with private carriers. So, with that, I decided that we should do more online business and have a pattern giveaway. This will cheer us all up, don't you think? Just leave a comment with contact info on this post and on Monday, Feb. 4th, I'll randomly draw one name to win a downloadable copy of our new hat pattern (shown above) which we call, "The Square Hat." This hat is worked in worsted weight yarn of your choice with 2 colors and it's part crochet and part knitting. I look forward to all your comments and hope that in some small way we can bring a little fun to your day with our giveaways. See you all on Monday.