A New Hat and Other News

I completed a new crocheted hat using hand-spun yarn.  The top and the very bottom edge are make with three ply yarn.  One ply is a raspberry pink mohair, one ply is a light pink Merino and silk, and the third ply is a beige Merino with a little bling and misc. colors added randomly.  The bottom of the hat scallops are made with more raspberry mohair.  In the center of the hat is a lovely raspberry pink velvet bow and more of the velvet woven through the stitches.  The wool is brushed to loosen some of the fiber fluff making it a little more fluffy.  It is amazing how you can put 3 totally different plies of wool together and they fit.  Also you can make a garment with more than one type of yarn. I hope you like this look as much as I do.

I painted the hen house sign and put up the painted horse shoe for Ruby.  It is so true that it is a hen house since there is only one hen.  I ordered more, so I will have company for her soon.  

I used my pink and floral tools to put on the new chicken coop bling!

You can tell that it is fall and we are trying to prepare for the winter at our home.  I ordered a chicken coop and it will be 4-5 weeks before it is delivered.  My son stacked the firewood on our side of the back fence which contains our neighbor's chicken eating dogs.  Hopefully it will help.  For supper we ate apple pancakes.  I think I am the only one in my family that that likes apple pancakes, but I sneak them in for a meal every now and then.  I finally finished crocheting the edging on a cowgirl pillowcase for a special 7 year old girl.  I hope you a great weekend!     Blessings!  Dawnie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Dawnie

New Chicken???

I happened to have a hanging candle holder with hanging clear plastic crystals.  I think it is more of a red neck chandelier.  LOL  It wasn't used and I planned on throwing it away until I got that ah ha moment.  I thought Ruby would enjoy the chandelier in her hen house, so my son decided to put it in the hen house for me.  Once he got into the hen house, it just seemed appropriate to leave him in it and enjoy the moment.    

Enjoy your weekend!  Dawn 

Chicken

My flock of 4 chickens has dwindled to one chicken, with thanks to the neighbor dog that tunneled under her fence. It was a rough site for us to witness.  Thankfully one of the flock hid and saved herself.  She is friendly and allows me to pet her.  She usually produces one egg per day.  When she is out to free range, she likes to sit at the back door and occasionally peck the window.

Blessings!  Dawn

Chocolate and Other Obsessions

Have you ever had the craving for chocolate.  Not the candy bar chocolate, but deeper and richer chocolate.  On the internet I have viewed pictures of a chocolate individual cakes that contained a molten chocolate center.  I viewed a few recipes, but most of them call for chocolate squares, which I seldom have in my cabinets.  I used a recipe from Kraft and modified it a little bit by using chocolate chips.  I thought I would share:

Place 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave along with 1 cup of Nestles Tole House Morsels.  Melt them in the microwave using short bursts being careful not to burn the batter.  Once melted,  add one cup of powdered sugar and stir well.  If you wish to add a teaspoon of cinnamon, this is the time to do so; however, it is optional.  Stir in 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks.  After mixing well, add the last ingredient which is 1/3 cup of flour.  I placed the dough evenly into 9 cupcake lined muffin/cupcake pans.  Bake at 425 degrees for approximately 10-12 min.  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.  They are so rich, you will need the ice cream or whipped cream.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed ours.

I did a little shopping on Etsy this week.  I purchased 2 ounces of Teeswater wool locks.  I purchased them raw, or for non-spinners, it means the wool locks have not been washed.  Each ounce of wool came tied with a pretty bow.  Can you imagine purchasing anything else dirty where the seller would tie it up with bows, wrap it in tissue paper, and tie another glittery seasonal bow around it?  I also received a free sample of died locks and a photo/business card.  The purchase was from Feederbrook Farm or www.feederbrook.com, located in Freeland Maryland. If you could not tell, I was very impressed with the packaging, fast delivery, and service.

Another purchase I made was from Lynn Baumann and family with www.etsy.com/shop/RockinBTradingCo.  I wanted a sign that said Hen House.  I live in the outskirts of the city and we can have up to 12 chickens, but they can only be hens.  No Roosters, so the chicken house would be all hens.  The only signs in the Etsy store said Chicken Coop.  I sent a note to the owner and she happened to have what I wanted in her shop, but not on the Etsy site.  Of course, I got what I wanted after all.  I received excellent customer service, fast delivery, and I think you will agree that the sign is cute.

I received a box of horseshoes from my friend Sean.  I plan to decorate them similar to the one I have over my front door.  Of course it is attached in the up position so my luck doesn't run out.  You can't tell by the photo, but the horseshoe has roses on it and it is pink.  I have a tin doilie on the front door.  It is also pink.  The doilie is designed to be a wreath holder.  You also get a few bugs on the horseshoe since it is outside and close to the porch light.  Blessings!  Dawn

Brown Eggs!

I know that you are not excited about the eggs like I am, but we have home laid brown eggs here at Custer Cottage!

Blessings!  Dawn

Chicken Update

This morning we retrieved another egg.  It is so exciting to have the eggs!  The chickens have enjoyed free range in the back yard most of the day.  It was a little chilly today, but a very lovely sunny day.  It is so much better than 100 degree days.  I hope you can enjoy my flock of four through my pictures.  (Speckled Hen, Honey Bee, Lily White, and Ruby Rainbow)
Thank you for sharing with me.  Dawn

Chick, Chick, Chickens and a Whole Lot More

Greetings from the center of the USA.  I live in Wichita, but according to the election mail I live in Witchita. 

Last evening we received 4 chickens and a hen house.  I am so excited to show you the new chickens, but my pictures are not too good.  Joy, one of our dogs, is checking out the chickens.  Meet Speckled Hen, Honey Bee, Lily White, and Ruby Rainbow.  This was a Craigslist find.  Thank you Craigslist!

I love the look of yarn when the skein is dyed to change colors on a project.  I especially like the look of one color fading or darkening as you make one project.  I found a company that dyes yarn to change colors.  It changes colors gradually and it is Merino wool in dk weight!  The company is called Twisted fiber arts.  http://www.twistedfiberart.com/  I would have loved to make this about 6-8 inches longer, but I made it so full that I would need a few hundred yards to finish.  Twisted does make individual skeins of yarn to match the colorways.  I could purchase the bottom gray color and knit 6-8 inches with that color, unfortunately they were out when I checked last.

I have wanted to make natural/cheap dishwasher soap/detergent for my dishwasher. I found a blog that gave a recipe.  It only has 3 ingredients. These ingredients can be found in the soap isle of most Walmart and Dillons stores here in Wichita.  It may be hard to find in other parts of the country and in smaller towns.  You only use 2 tablespoons of soap and place one tablespoon of soap in the pre-wash cup and one tablespoon of soap in the main-wash cup.  In my occupation, I have sent maintenance on appliance service calls for many years, and  I find these cups gum up and do not work, so I do not use them with my dishwasher.  I would suggest that you place the soap in the center of the inside of the dishwasher door just before closing it and starting the cycle.  The author of the blog recommends a squirt of Dawn soap to be placed into the main-wash cup, in addition to the powder.  I don't recommend this unless you want your dishwasher to overflow and make a mess on your kitchen floor.  The blog to get all of the information at is A Blossoming Life. http://www.ablossominglife.com/2011/10/homemade-dishwasher-detergent.html  In case you can not find the washing soda, you may want to check this blog.  for converting baking soda into washing soda, Nature's Nurture.  http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/

Blessings to all of you!  I hope your weekend is going well!  Dawn