Crochet Christmas Stockings

I am making Christmas stockings and thought I'd share the pattern using H hook Toe Color 1 Rnd 1: Using magic circle Ch 1, work 5 hdc magic circle, sl st to join (6) Rnd 2: Ch 1, Work hdc in same hdc, 2 hdc in each hdc, sl st (12) Rnd 3: Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc [hdc in the next hdc, 2 hdc in the next hdc] sl st (17) Rnd 4: Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc [hdc in the next 2 hdc, 2 hdc in the next hdc] sl st tie off with tail and weave in.(23) Rnd 5: Change to color 2 with a sl st, Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc [hdc in the next 3 hdc, 2 hdc in the next hdc] sl st (28) Rnds 6-15: Ch 1, work hde in the same hdc, hdc in each hdc around, sl st for a total of 10 rounds(28) Rnd 16: Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc [hdc in the next 4 hdc, 2 hdc in the next hdc] hdc 2, sl st (33) sl st, drop to pick up later Heel Rnd 17: Change to Color 1 with a sl st, Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc, hdc in the next 17 hdc, turn(18) Rnd 19: hdc2tog dc, hdc in the next 14 hdc, hdc2tog dc, turn (16) Rnd 20: hdc2tog dc, hdc in the next 12 hdc, hdc2tog dc, turn (14) Rnd 21: hdc2tog dc, hdc in the next 10, hdc2tog dc, turn (12) Rnd 22: hdc2tog dc, hdc in the next hdc 8, hdc2tog dc, turn (10) Rnd 23: hdc2tog dc twice, hdc in the next 2, hdc2tog dc twice, sl st tie off with tail and weave in. (6) Rnd 24: Pick up Color 2, sl st into the previous Round 17, Ch 1, hdc in the same hdc around sl st (33) Rnds 25-42: Ch 1, Work hdc in same hdc, hdc in each hdc around, sl st for a total of 17 times, then tie off with tail and weave in.(33) Rnds 43-48: Change to Color 1, sl st Ch 1, Work hdc in the same hdc, hdc in each hdc around, sl st for a total of 3 times, tie off leaving long tail to build a holder. (33) Holder Ch 15 Tie in to stocking and weave in

Craft Fair

Today my sister in law had her company winter festival and I participated in the craft fair. This was my most successful year to date. My sister in law is a great sales woman. This is wonderful because I am not outspoken and she jumps right in. It seems that you can not predict what will sell or be the biggest trend. You have to go on a leap of faith. Hoping what you make will sell. I created most of my items from materials I had collected from previous projects or from friends and family. The cost was minimal and The atmosphere was pleasant. A most enjoyable experience. I was able to hand out business information cards to my etsy shop. HHandicraftHaven. I created the etsy shop some time ago but never added any items for sale. One of the neighbor booths made signs from repurposed wood. I was thinking maybe I will have her make a sign with my shop logo on it. This would be neat for any fairs in the future.

The Great Escape

So on Friday morning we wake up and find this. The big goats got out and ate all the hay. There really was only one bale left. On Thursday night Casa Grande had a big storm. It was so bad that my husband moved his work van to the neighbors. Our neighbors live closer to the main road. It is safer to have the van on higher ground if it rains. The van weighs so much and it does not have four wheel drive. He doesn't want to take the risk of it sinking in the desert mud. He stayed awhile and then he and my son drove home in our old truck. It seems the storm blew the gate of the big goat pen right off the hinges. The closing strap was still attached. Luckily the neighbors gave us some nice green bell peppers last night. My husband opened a box in the pen and the goats walked right back in. No chasing on our part. Thank goodness.

My youngest son and husband put the gate to rights and we finished taking care of the animals. Nothing else was broken or blown away. Very unusual.

Dog Food

We have 4 dogs now. They have a hard time with dog food. We find a brand they like and it goes well for awhile. They eat it up like nobodies business. Then after awhile it starts to bother one or all of them. So we switch it up. This brand is from the feed store. Very inexpensive. I hope they like it for awhile.

Thin Bagels

I love these. I found them at Walmart. They make good sandwiches. I brought them home and did not buy cream cheese because I had just bought some. Went into the refrigerator and no cream cheese. I asked my youngest and he said he just finished it. OMG. Really. So I made sandwiches with them instead. If he hadn't eaten all the cream cheese I never would have tried making a sandwich with them . Very tasty.

Sharp Blades

So I wrote a week ago about receiving a ninja. They have very sharp blades. I cut my right index finger very badly near the first bend. A band aid was not working. While wearing a band aid I had a hard time doing just about everything. My work mate suggested liquid band aid. I found some New Skin at Safeway. It works great. I can shuffle through papers with the best of them. I don't know why I didn't think of this myself my mother has used this before. It smells rather intoxicating when you first put it on. It does sting. But after that you are sealed in tight.

Cell Phones

Tired of the service I had. Every time I need something I get pushed around. We were stuck in a contract with our previous cell phone company. My youngest is very hard on phones and we had no more insurance claims on his line. He broke his phone and it was not working. I called our local cell phone company and they said I'm sorry mam the only thing we can do for you is help you select a new phone that you can buy. So if I buy a new phone will I then be able to insure it. No mam that line has used its limit for this time period. How silly is that. On Friday my youngest took my phone to go get water. He comes back in with a very sad look on his face. He hands me my cell phone and said it dropped and broke. Are you kidding. I told him to be careful. The screen was shattered and sharp. Every time I did anything I cut my fingers. Nope not gonna happen. So I have ins claims available, but I would need to pay $100 and then wait. So unhappy. So we went to T Mobile. They buy out contracts. We get two new phones and no contract. We both now have 4 G our reception is great. My bill is almost a half or what the other company was. I even get cell coverage in the lead room I work in. This was a very rash decision. The man that helped us was a trainee. He took a long time to do everything. I was 5 min late for work, I am never late.