Opposites Attract

Who says red and green are only for Christmas? Or scarves only for winter? Not this knitter!

Opposites Attract

{crochet scarf}

By Lexi Cushing

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, by Cascade Yarns. One ball of Sage {color A}; one ball of Red {color B}. Any worsted weight will do.

Hook size: J

Gauge: 12 hdc and 12 rows in 4 inches.

Notes: Don't worry if the gauge is a little off. It's just a scarf. Also, if wool is usually too warm or too itchy for you, try something smoother, like Sweater, by Spud and Chloe.

                   

Scarf:

Using color A, ch 139

Row 1: Sk first 2 sts, dc in next ch, *ch 1, sk next st, dc in next ch, rep from *. Ch 2, turn.

Row 2: Hdc in each st across. Ch 2, turn.

Row 3: Dc in first st, *ch 1, sk next st, dc in next hdc, rep from *. Ch 2, turn.

Rows 4-5: Rep row 2.

Row 6: Sc in next 30 sts, ch 12, sk 12 sts, sc in remaining sts across. Ch 2, turn.

Rows 7-8: Rep row 2.

Row 9: Rep row 3.

Row 10: Rep row 2.

Row 11: Rep row 3.

Fasten off.  Weave in ends.

Flower Button:

Using color B

Petal sequence: sc 1, hdc 2, dc 1,tr 1, dc 1, hdc 2, sc 1

Ch 4, link ends to form a loop.

Round 1: work in 7 sc. Join, ch 1.

Round 2: Hdc 2 in each sc. Join, ch 1.

Round 3: (sc in first st, ch 3, sk one st) all the way around. Join.

Round 4: One petal sequence in each ch 3 loop.

Round 5: (Sl in back of sc of round 3, ch 4) all the way around.

Round 6: One petal sequence in each ch 4 loop.

Round 7: (Sl in back of sc of round 5, ch 5) all the way around.

Round 8: One petal sequence in each ch 5 loop, but this time double the number of dcs in each petal. Join, tie off.

Weave in ends.

Fringe:

Cut 42 6” pieces of yarn, tie on ends of scarf in groups of three.

Abbreviations:

Ch= chain

Sc= single crochet

Dc= double crochet

Tr= triple crochet

Hdc= half double crochet

Sl= slip

Sk= skip

Rep= repeat

St[s]= stitch[es]

[Please note that this pattern belongs to me. You are free to share it, but not to use it for personal gain. Check out my Creative Commons License for more information. Also, please comment if you find any errors {or if you like it!} and I will fix it as soon as possible. Thank You!]

Opposites Attract: (crochet scarf) by Lexi Cushing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Joe Cool Hat

This a gift I designed for my younger brother Joey. But it's a surprise for Christmas, so he couldn't see it. I had to recruit my other little bro, Tyler, to model it for me.

Introducing Mr. Cool: Tyler Cushing

Joe Cool

By Lexi Cushing

Materials

Rowan Pure Wool DK:

(Main Color) 1 ball Earth, (Contrasting Color) 1 ball Quarry

Tapestry needle

Needles

#6 dpns

Size

one size fits most

Gauge

22 sts and 28 rows over 4" (height of gauge is not especially important in the pattern, width matters more)

Notes

This color chart is a repeat of 10 stitches. If you think you might need to adjust the size either add or take away 10 sts in the cast on and continue with the pattern. Just remember that if you do your numbers will be slightly different than mine.

Also note that this pattern assumes knowledge of color work.

Color Chart

Body of Hat

Cast on 100 in MC

Rows 1-7: K2 P2

Switch to CC

Row 8: Purl

Row 9: Knit

Row 10: Purl

Row 11: Knit

Row 12: Purl

Next row: Using both MC and CC work in 10 repeats of color chart

Continue until you have made four 9-row repeats.

Next row: Working in color pattern *knit 8, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Continue working in the color chart for 1 inch, or desired length, keeping in mind that you now have 10 less sts (or 1 less st per repeat). Think about it as eliminating st #10 [in brackets on chart].

Top of Hat

Next row: working in color pattern as closely as possible *Knit 7, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 6, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 5, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 4, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 3, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 2, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *knit 1, k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

Next row: *k2tog, rep from * 9 times.

You should now have 10 sts. Cut MC and CC at about 6". Using tapestry needle thread yarn through all 10 sts and pull the needle out. Gather loops tightly and secure with a knot.

Weave in all ends.

[Please note that this pattern belongs to me. You are free to share it, but not to use it for personal gain. Check out my Creative Commons License for more information. Also, please comment if you find any errors {or if you like it!} and I will fix it as soon as possible. Thank You!]

Joe Cool by Lexi Cushing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Sausage Rolls

 Perfect for High Tea!

Ingredients
Fully cooked sausage links
Your favorite biscuit dough
Spicy brown mustard
1 egg
Dried or fresh chives, minced

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Break dough into as many sections as you have sausages. On a floured surface roll out each chunk of dough to about two inches longer than your sausage, and several inches wider. Slather with mustard and sprinkle on some of the chives. Roll a sausage in each piece of dough and place on a cookie sheet or baking stone. Scrabble the egg with a fork and gently brush onto the tops of each sausage roll. Sprinkle with chives.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Slice and serve warm.

Yummy chocolate "shake"

I like to have this sweet treat for breakfast sometimes to get in plenty of fruit 

while having a chocolate fix at the same time.

Ingredients
1 banana
1 kiwi
1 slice of pineapple or orange
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup almond milk
ice cubes

Blend ingredients. Add ice cubes to thicken as needed. Yum! Enjoy!
Makes about 2 cups

Ruffled Pillows From a Shirt

Men's large shirt + pillow forms = ruffly pillows!

To make these find an men's shirt (preferable size large). If your pillows are small then you should be able to get two pillow cases out of the shirt. Trace your pillow (with seam allowance!) twice on the back, cut out, then twice on the front while the shirt is buttoned together, cut that out too. 

The pieces without buttons are the front side of the pillows.

Cut the sleeves open and take the seams and cuffs off. Cut thin strips down the length of the sleeves.

Baste and gather, then sew onto the front !

Pin the front and back of a pillow together (ruffles and buttons facing inward!) and sew all the way around the pillow! Using the button side for the back allows you to take the pillow case on and off to be washed or swapped out! It even has a "cell phone pocket"!

Sugar-free Cream Cheese Frosting

Delicious frosting without the sugar! Tastes just as nice!

Ingredients

Two 8 oz packages of cream cheese
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk or heavy cream
a little corn starch to correct the consistency if necessary

Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Whip. Add honey, maple syrup, vanilla, and milk, and mix together. Adjust consistency as needed by adding more milk or cornstarch.

Makes enough frosting for an 8 inch 2-3 layer cake.

Ruffled Cake

Cute pink ruffled cake I made for a baby shower. Well, the first one was a test version. The second (the cake with the chocolate chip checker pattern on top) was actually for the baby shower.

It was a really fun cake to make. Soft dark chocolate with homemade raspberry jam filling and Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting, which, by the way. is the best frosting EVER.

 That is...until you've "test tasted" it a few too many times and end up having too much...
Then no frosting tastes very good...

Here is the finished cake! It was SO yummy! To be honest I added the milk and dark chocolate chip checkers because I ran out of frosting...oops. But I was very proud of my improv. It added a lot of personality.

(Sorry for the lack of photo editing. I hit a little snag...)

To learn how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream or frosting ruffles see this link: http://sweetapolita.com/2011/06/ruffles-roses-a-madish-tea-party/
She's got the best tutorial and most straight-forward recipe I've seen so far.