End of June Beginning of July

Wow! This month has flown by! It probably doesn't help that we have had something to do every day (some days 2 or more things). We made a Red Velvet Cake for my middle daughter for her 13th birthday! She had seen the recipe in a book by Joanne Fluke called, "Red Velvet Cupcake Murder." She asked if I would make it for her. I agreed. There were some changes. Back in December I insisted that we needed to buy a package of dried buttermilk from an Amish Store. My husband said what would we need that for...I said you never know. So far I have used it twice! I made Irish Soda Bread (yum) from a recipe my mom had. It was so very good. My girls want me to make it again. Then we used it in this cake. The cake actually calls for real buttermilk, but I don't use it enough to warrant buying a half gallon, so we tried with the dried buttermilk (4 tbsp to 1 cup water) and it worked perfectly! I will be stocking up on the dried buttermilk. I may even share with my friend who shares recipes and sometimes ingredients with me.

I was watching the news one night and the anchors were talking about this wonderful program that teaches art to kids (mostly teens) and makes different areas look better and puts up different pictures that are important to the area. The group is called ArtWorks and their work is gorgeous. I really want to take my kids down and look at some of these, especially since one of my girls is wanting to do this to her room (on a much smaller scale).

At night, when I am trying to work on something, I will watch "Big Bang Theory" with my girls. We have laughed at some of the things that Sheldon does or responses from his friends. One night we laughed so hard over Leonard saying, "Sheldon has escaped and he is terrorizing the village." That just caught us off guard and we laughed.

We spend a lot of time at the library. We borrow books, the kids participate in activities or volunteer (I am taxi driver and keeper of the schedule). We love our libraries. Recently, I saw this meme on libraries:  The libraries by us are always busy. They are wonderful places and the people who work there are so great. I highly recommend heading into your local library and checking the place out. Don't forget to pick up a monthly calendar.

Afghans:
Madala Sampler Throw
Floral Motif Afghan
I Love Color Afghan
No Place Like Home Throw
Watermelon Twist Throw
Andante Crochet Throw
Crochet Heart Afghan

Baby:
Classic Baby Shower Gift Hat and Booties. You could buy a cute sweater to go with it or make one and have it in reserve, remember babies heads are big.
Baby Hug Boots
Teether Knit Lovey
Red Fox Hat
Infant Mittens
Many Mitred Baby Blanket
Owlet Lovey

Bags/Baskets:
Lucky Coin Pouches
Color Block Crochet Basket
Helping Hands Garden Bag
Grab N Go Bag
Watermelon Crochet Coin Purse
Striped Bag
Market Bag with Flower
Crochet Linen Grocery Tote
Stitch 11 Crochet Purse
Cozy Cloche Hat

Doilies:
Solar Brillance I saved this as it is very pretty, but I am thinking about how it could be made into a lapghan. I think I can do that.

Flowers:
Crochet Orchid
Carnation
Calla Lily

Hats:
Pokeman Hat
Arctic Sunset Cable Hat
Hoo's So Cute Hat for toddlers
Baby Jester Hat
Beard Hat - fun hat for women, men or children. But a side note, cannot be worn into a bank, a credit union or lending institution. Federal laws state that faces cannot be covered.
Circus Scrap Hat
Scrap Buster Hat

Kitchen:
Spring Cleaning Scrubbies

Links:
Dolls and Accessories Links - If you have girls, you will like this link.
Simple Toys Links
Links for toys says for summer, but could be anytime.
Links for Amigurumi
150 Free Christmas Crochet Patterns

Mittens/Gloves:
Seed Stitch Mittens
4 Needle Mittens
Classic Norwegian Mittens

Scarfs/Cowls:
Dragonfly Bandana Cowl
Paint Box Scarf
District 12 Cowl/Wrap - This is supposed to be like something Katniss wore when she was in District 12.
Cables and Holes Infinity Scarf
Stained Glass Scarf
Zodiac Scarf with Bobbles
Kittens in a Row Scarf

Shawl:
Day to Date Shawl - Multi Purpose Shawl.

Squares:
Lemony Lime Square
Pair of Hearts

Toys:
Crochet Cat Diagram
Puppy
Knit Elephant
Sock Monkey
Crabby Cat
Blue Bunny - you can use any color.
Magic Loop Teddy
Valentine Amigurumi Heart

Tutorials:
Raspberry Stitch

Daisy Cottage Designs - There is a productivity sheet, free patterns, crochet project planner.

Have a good July! Parades, fire works (we can watch two different shows this weekend), parties with friends. What are you plans?