Pull Tab Crochet

Recycling is always good, making something useful and sometimes, even beautiful out of an object that would have been thrown away otherwise. . .It is wonderful when you can combine creativity with recicling.
Pull Tab Crochet is one of those unique combinations.
Yes, I'm talking about the pull tabs in soda cans and other cans. You can crochet with them and create a large variety of items, such as doilies, placemats, belts , dog collars and leashes, coasters, tote bags and even clothing!
If you have never heard of Pull Tab Crochet, let me give you a basic start.
I will give you one of the simplest of patterns and try to illustrate it step by step.
Once you get the idea, your creativity and the amount of pull tabs you can get your hands on are your only limitation!
This is my own pattern for a simple flower coaster
Materials: Scraps of crochet thread #10 crochet thread, at least 6 soda can pull tabs, crochet hook size 1.

Instructions:
With scrap size 10 cotton thread of your choice and hook No.1, Ch 6, slip st to form ring. Ch2, then inside ring make 23 hdc. Ch2. Turn.1 Hdc in same space as ch2, 2 hdc in each space all around until you reach the last 6 sts, make1 hd in each. Fasten off.












Take 1 of the pull tabs and with two threads held together, begin to sc on the side of the upper portion of the lower ring of the tab. Continuing straight up, edging the upper ring of the tab. Go all around until you meet the beginning level on the other side of the tab. Fasten off.

Repeat with all pull tabs.











You can test to see how your flower will look.














Now take the centre you had made and with the front facing, lay a crocheted pull tab on top, aligning with the upper edge, sc through the back loop of the pull tab and both loops of the centre round with two threads held togehter, 3 times (3 sc). Slip st on next 3 st, then attach the next crocheted pull tab as before, rep. across.You can leave it as is and fasten off or you can do a row of shells all around on the lower portion of the rings.
As you can see, you join them with the silver portion around the centre of the flower or facing outward or viceversa.
This flower could be used for anything, a coaster, a fridgie. . .You can do many variations of this simple pattern. Now, what I have given you could very well be the start of something. If you continue crocheting, you can make the front of a purse. How about a sturdy market bag or a tote to carry your crochet in? It is all up to your imagination!

Enjoy yourself!

"Once I thought to find on earth
Love, perfect and complete.
Now I know it carries wounds
In its hands and feet."
--Anna Hempstead Branch






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Rendezvous in Space

A Little Bit of my Weaving

I would like to share a bit of my weaving.




I became interested in card weaving years ago but didn't start on it till last year when I researched it more, obtained some patterns and built my own loom with three pieces of 2x4s a few screws and a few braces to wrap the fibers around. Got an artist's drawing pad (they have a heavy very resilient weight of paper), made my cards following instructions from a book and started. All I really had to buy was the thread, I used mostly ·3 crochet thread because it is thicker and the pattern shows more, and a shuttle to wrap the threads and togo in and out of my rows as I turned the cards which swing from their own threads in "clothesline-style" arrangement in the loom. I have thought about buying a heddle so that I could make scarfs, but honestly, I haven't had the time nor the money, so for now, it is narrow stuff.

Here are some of my efforts.












These could be used as handles for crocheted totes, they could become belts or even dog leashes!











Hope you like them.

_____________________


It's He Who Plods Along

It isn't those who start the race
That see the victor's flag.
It isn't those who surge ahead,
And then begin to lag.
It isn't he who brags the most
Of what he'll do or dare,
Nor even those who look the best,
When runners you compare.

No, friend, the winner in the race,
Is he who plods along;
That sets a pace and never flags,

No matter what goes wrong.

Though other men may surge ahead,
He knows naught of defeat.
But plodding steadily, he finds
That victory is sweet.

So, we are runners in life's race,
And each can surely win.
But if we fall, we must get up,
And start right in again.
It isn't he who starts so well
That wins the victor's cup,
But he who labors on and on,
And never will give up.


Warren Wilson, 1969.








It is no disgrace to stumble or fall, but to remain down.


If you feel a little down sometimes and would like a meaningful lift, not just empty words, visit this site, it has inspired many!

http://www.frontiernet.net/~rexfam/kingfam1_001.htm


Take care and let creativity keep rolling!

Running in the Rain. . .

My aunt sent me this true story and I thought it was so beautiful I wanted to share it.

The Rain

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have
been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.
It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout.
We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.
I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.
Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said.
"What?" Mom asked.

"Lets run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain,"

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.
We all stood silently.
No one came or left in the next few minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say.
Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said.
But this was a moment of affirmat ion in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles.
They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case.
They got soaked.
But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every p urpose under heaven.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.
Take the time to live!!!

God can help you though anything. A friend of mine whose little baby girl was born a very short time ago is going into remission of a cancer that could have killed him, he has clung to God all the way through. . .Don't have regrets remember to express your love to those who love you and your kindnessto those who dont. . Keep in touch with your friends, you never know when you'll need each other -- and don't forget to run in the rain!

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Amazing Wonders of Creation

I also want to share some work in progress.
Hand embroidered crochet. Cross stitch over crochet lattice.

Is Your Little Hut on Fire?

When Your Hut's On Fire. . ."

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him.
Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to fund his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up towards the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost.
He was stunned with disbelief, grief and anger.
He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?" Early the next day, he was awakened
by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him!"
How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.
"We saw your smoke signal,! they replied.
Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground, it may just
be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.




I've been doing beading crochet lately and enjoying it more than in the past. Choose a size of bead that will be "comfortable" for your thread size, or the bead will droop downward and sort of dance in the thread, a good size bead for crochet ·10 is Size 6, also size "E" beads.
I have been using some of those and they are easier to thread than the tiny Delicas.


A free recipe you might enjoy:


Vegan Oat Burgers

2 1/2 cups boiling vegetable broth (your recipe)
1 tsp. sweet paprika powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 bsp. chicken-style seasoning
1 cup pulverized sunflower seeds
3 cups quick oats
Salt to taste
1 stalk celery chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced

Take a little bit of the broth and process the celery and the parsley until smooth in a blender or food processor.
Pour the rest of the boiling broth over the quick oats and the seasonings. Add the blended parsley and celery, let is all soak until the oars are soft, mix well. Form burgers and brown on both sides in a barely oiled skillet.
Yield depends on size of burgers.

Take care!

















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Alone in The Crowd

Mom's Multicolored Capelet

This is the capelet I made for my mom. She loves the fact that it leaves her arms free to do many things and is less cumbersome than an open sweater hanging from her shoulders.

I chose different variegated yarns and black to give it punch. It goes with everything because of the variety of colors and also because of the black in it. I did not follow a pattern, just started with a chain that would go around the neck and started increasing. Sorry! I didn't write it down because it was my first one and I didn't know how it would turn out.
Unfortunately, it turned out real well and now I don't remember how I did it all! I share it just as a bit of eye candy. And to give you an idea of how you can make one.
If you choose variegated yarns, choose two or three that have matching colors and yet also have different colors in it. For example:
Yarn 1- aqua, red, hot pink and purple
Yarn 2- aqua, red, green, yellow and medium pink
Yarn 3- aqua, medium blue, yellow and green

When you combine the 3 they will "match" and yet you will have a lot more colors int he mix and the result will be all the more attractive, especially if you use a dark color to give it some punch, such as black, navy or hunter green. That is what I did with this capelet.

Hope these tips get your creative juices flowing!

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

By Rudyard Kipling

How to Study the Bible

A Tasty Recipe, Some Crochet, and a Whale of a Story!

I have been crocheting a lot, but it doesn't show much because during the summer, I like to work on cotton thread and I am not so quick with it like I am with the large crochet hooks. Still, I am hoping I will soon be able to post some things
to share with you all.
Meanwhile, I would like to share this.

A new recipe, this one is also very savory and easy to make.
Try it, you'll enjoy it!

Veggetarian Chopped Chunks
1 1/2 cups of oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup vital gluten (you can find that at a health food store)
1/2 cup ground raw potatoes
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika powder
3 Tbsps. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
5 slices whole wheat bread, toasted and pulverized in the blender, crusts and all
1/8 tsp. sage powder or marjoram
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
Salt to tast
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup garganzos or soy beans soaked overnight
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Soak garbanzos or soy beans overnight, drain water and put in the blenderwith chopped raw potatoes, celery, parsley and sunflower seeds, ground in the blender into a pulp using a little water.Scrape into a bowl, add all the rest of the ingredients, mix well until all the seasonings are well incorporated and forminga soft dough. With your hands, form cutlets or chunks. Prepare a cookie sheet or any other baking tray that you have. Bake at 300 degrees F turning several times until a fork that is inserted in them comes out completely dry. You can use the cutlets with a sauce as a side dish, like meaty dumplings in your beans, you can add them to your pasta dishes, add them to Pita bread sandwhiches, etc.

Always remember that although life is hard, God is good. Turn to Him for your needs and He will not forsake you.


I love lace, crocheted, knitted, macrame lace, needlelace, you name it!
I am currently working on some things but it takes so long to make them!
I keep looking at some beautiful patterns to keep me inspired. . .


I got an email from a dear friend of mine who lives in Australia. We used to work together when she lived here in the States and then she married someone from Down Under. . .but no hard feelings, he has been a very good husband. This is a very touching, real story, worth reading.

The Whale Story

If you read the front page story of the SF Chronicle,you would have read about a female humpback whalewho had become entangled in a spider web of crab trapsand lines.She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that causedher to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards ofline rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a linetugging in her mouth.A fisherman spotted her just east of the FarraloneIslands(outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help.Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she wasso bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her ...
a very dangerous proposition.One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyouscircles.
She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed gently around-she thanked them. Some said it was the most incrediblybeautiful experience of their lives.The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye wasfollowing him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
May you, and all those you love,be so blessed and fortunate ...to be surrounded by peoplewho will help you get untangledfrom the things that are binding you.And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.I wish you well, my friend.

Well, that is all for now, take care!

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Amazing Wonders of Creation

A Delicious Vegan Recipe and A Free Crochet Pattern

Hearts in a String
I love to make up stitches to make new patterns look new.This time I created a chain of puff stitch hearts which, if made long enough, will look like a puff cableforming hearts. it would look wonderful on a purse, tote bag or a top for that matter.I used a worsted weight acrylic yarn and a size h hook, but it could be easily made using worsted weight cotton as well.I am going to try to include a picture of a swatch of the pattern plus a graphed version of the pattern, in the graph the "Xs" are the puff sts and the white spaces are the dc sts. The graph is just to give you an idea of how a string of these hearts would look.


Here is the pattern:
Special st: Puff Stitch: Yarn over, insert hook in next st and draw up a loop, (yo, insert hook in same stitch and draw up a loop again) do this twice; thread over and draw through all 7 loops on hook - puff st made.
With worsted weight yarn and crochet hook size H (I used Red Heart Cherry Red)

Note: Ch 3 counts as 1s dc throughout.
Ch 20.
Row 1: Dc in 4th ch from hook, 1 dc in each ch across. (18 dc made). Ch 3, turn.
Row 2: 1 dc in each of next 7 dc, 1 puff st in each of next 2 sc, 1 dc in each of last 8 dc. Ch 3, turn.
Row 3: 1 dc in each of first 6 dc, 1 puff st in next dc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, 1 puff st in next dc, 1 dc in each of last 7. Ch 3, turn.
Row 4: 1 dc in each of first 5 dc, puff st in next dc, 1 dc in each of next 4 dc, 1 puff st in next dc, 1 dc in each of last 6 dc, ch 3, turn.
Row 5: 1 dc in each of next 4 sts, 1 puff st, 1 dc in each of next 6 dc, 1 puff st, 1 dc in each of last 5 dc. Ch 3, turn.
Row 6: 1 dc in each of next 3 dc, 1 puff st, 1 dc in each of next 8 dc, 1 puff st, 1 dc in each of last 4 dc. Ch 3, turn.
Row 7: Rep row 6 one more time. Ch 3, turn.
Row 8: 1 dc in each of next 3 dc, 1 puff st, 2 dc, 1 puff st, 2 dc, 1 puff st, 2 dc, 1 puff st, 1 dc in each of last 4 dc. Ch 3, turn.
Row 9: 1 dc in each of next 4 dc, 1 puff st in each of next 3 stitches, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, 1 puff st in each of next 3 sts, 1 dc in each of last 5 dc. Ch 3, Turn.
Rows 10 to 19: Rep rows 1 to 9 to produce a "chain" of hearts. If you only want to make a block, then stop with row 9.
Let me know if you used this pattern and what you made with it. Please don not post in your webite or blog without my permission.

Pattern checked and clarified, March 2011.






Eggplant Patties
Even if you don't like eggplants, these are so tasty, you'll love them!
1 medium eggplant, peeled, seeded and cubed1 Tsp. sweet paprika powder1/c up onion, chopped1/2 tsp. garlic powder1 Roma tomato, chopped4 strips of Anaheim or any sweet green pepper174 tsp. Italian Seasoning1 cup breadcrumbs (you could make your own by toasting and then pulverizing whole grains pread slices in your belnder or food processor, measure them in pulverized form not in bread cubes)2 tsp. wheat germ3 tsp. flour
Put in a blender the eggplant cubes, the onion, pepper and tomato with a little water and process till smooth. Pour into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.Form into patties. In a skillet, cook them till golden brown on each side. Serve with sauce or gravy or use for sandwiches or as a substitute for burgers or cumble them into pasta sauce. You can change the shape and make them into meat balls. You canalso use them in wappers and tortillas.Amount the recipe yields depends on size of patties.
Variation:Substitute the strips of green pepper for 1/4 cup diced celeryadd 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely minced- Add these to the tomato and eggplant when you blend till smooth, proceed as before.
This recipe comes from our kitchen and was first posted online at a vegan/vegetarian group I used to have.
If yoiu're a vegan, you can get many other scrumptious recipes that are good for your body and you for tastebuds at my blog Delicioso, Another Name for Delicious (English language).
Years ago we had a neighbor who wasn't a vegan nor a vegetarian, but she wanted to save on groceriesand she took up eating like this after she learned in our kitchen how to prepare some of these recipes,and was able to save money for a nice long vacation in Europe (and she ate ever day. . .)


"Love is power." RH

Other sites I like:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vietteruby1/

http://www.bibleuniverse.com/

http://www.frontiernet.net/~rexfam/kingfam1_001.htm


Amazing Wonders of Creation