Creamy Ranch Pasta Recipe

I apologize for my absence, but I'm back now! Classes starting threw my schedule off. I feel pulled in a million directions... good thing God can handle it!

Anyways, recipe-

Creamy Ranch Pasta Recipe-

Ingredients:
1 8oz package Cream Cheese
1 1oz Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
1/3C Sugar
2C Small Shell Pasta Noodles
1C Frozen Peas
Bacon Bits
Italian Style Bread Crumbs
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Method:
Using a hand mixer, blend together the Cream Cheese and Ranch Seasoning Mix until smooth then add sugar, blend well. I added a few tablespoons of milk to make mine a touch softer. Cook your noodles in a medium pot of boiling water until they are your desired texture. Place frozen peas in your strainer and pour the pasta noodles and water over the peas (this is how I thaw mine). Rinse with cold water until cool. Stir your noodles into the cream cheese mixture. Grate Parmesan Cheese over the pasta and stir in. Grate a little extra for the top. Spread some Bacon Bits over the top and follow with your bread crumbs. Refrigerate or serve immediately. Serve cold. Approximately 10 servings.

What Inspires Me right Now

 1. Knitted Evening Clutch Bag 2. Teal/Gold Handspun yarn 3. Knitted Turquoise Dream Journal 
4. Letter Writing 5. Wee Birdy Embroidery 

Knit & Crochet Stitch Marker Tutorial

I've been wanting some knitting stitch markers for a long time. Since I go from knitting to crocheting frequently I figured why not make one with a clasp at one end and a ring at the other? These handy little markers can be clipped to crochet work or placed on a knitting needle very easily. 

All the items found below can be found at your local Hobby Lobby or craft store of choice. If you can't find them locally, there are many great online shops to order your materials from. Lucky for me, my mom used to be really in to making her own jewelry. Even luckier for me, she didn't do it for long, but she kept the giant tote packed full of her supplies. 

 What you'll need:

Eye pins- I used 2"

Jump rings- the size of this ring depends on the needle you plan to put it on

Beads- be creative, use what speaks to you!

Jewelry pliers- 2 pairs

Lobster clasps

I chose to make a set of 6.

After your supplies are gathered, decide how you want them to look and place the beads on the eye pins.

Carefully, but firmly bend your eye pin over by holding with one pair of pliers to the opposite end of the "eye" of your eye pin and twisting the wire with your other pliers.

Mine looked like this.

After this you take the tail end of your wire and wrap it around the base of the bottom bead. I apologize for not taking a photo of this- but I haven't mastered holding two small pairs of pliers and taking a photo at the same time!

Next you want to open your jump ring by carefully twisting it with your pliers. 

Loop the jump ring through the eye of your eye pin and twist it shut.

Repeat as many times as you want.

If you have any questions of comments please feel free to comment! I hope you enjoy making your very own stitch markers! I would love to see picture of your creations!

Inspiration Close to Home

Every now and again it helps to put down your yarn and take a walk to feel inspired again. 

The colors and textures around our farm are outstanding. From this old swing set on the left to the old windmill on the right.

How yummy is the color of this old water heater tank, and the gorgeous blue of this old Chevrolet truck?

 Have you taken a walk around where you live to seek out the hidden beauty? It can be very easy to just move around and past so much beauty that is literally right in front of our eyes. Slow down. Breathe. Take in your surroundings. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find!

Beanie for a Bambino

Someone texted me a picture challenging me to make a baby hat like the one in the picture. Challenge? Psh. Don't threaten me with a good time.

I used some Caron Simply Soft yarn and a 6mm crochet hook. Crocheted up a simple "butterfly" beanie. This little hat would be a great last-minute baby shower gift. Can't you see a beautiful photography session happening...?

The focal point is obviously these adorable little flowers. They aren't exactly like the ones in the picture I received, but I liked how these turned out.

For these flowers I:

Ch 15-17

DC in 2nd chain from hook then DC in each chain to the end, tie off.

Roll the chain and sew the tail in to hold the flower in shape. 

I sewed on a few glass pearl-like beads.

Simple. Adorable. Fast.

Want to buy one? Check out my Etsy Shop. 

Double Knitting

So I've wanted to learn to double-knit since, well, a few days ago. I was asked to make anything with a "triquetra" symbol on it so I thought a beanie would be nice for this particular person. The beanie would be even better if it were reversible. I thought there would be a pattern out there for this symbol, but I came up with zilch. Nothing. No fun color work pattern to turn into a beanie. 

Anyways I was listening into on the Marly Bird Podcast featuring Alasdair Post-Quinn who is the author of "Extreme Double Knitting" (which is available through Cooperative Press). Whew that was a lot of links! If you aren't familiar with "Yarn Thing" podcasts by Marly Bird, you should definitely check them out. I enjoy listening to things while I knit and this podcast is exactly what I needed. She does a live show every Tuesday at 11am central time. Also if you haven't seen Alasdair's work, get to his site ASAP and look at his amazing color work. You can also find him on Ravelry as fallingblox. 

I know my first swatch double knitting is definitely not comparable to Alasdair's work, but I do feel proud that I did it! To be honest, I'm pleasantly surprised by how easy it was do to! Now making my stitches consistent and turning this idea into a reversible beanie is a whole different story. If I pull this off, I will definitely share the pattern. 

Front

Back

It's lookin' like rain today!

The sky is dark and the wind is blowing. I am praying this isn't a cruel joke. Being a farmer's wife means that rain takes on a whole new meaning. No rain=bad harvest in the fall. This summer has been dry save for a few intermittent showers and today would be a fantastic day for it to rain.

Being a knitter means that I enjoy rain for the simple fact that it's soothing and the perfect weather for knitting, other than snow of course.

I crocheted this little hat last night for a cousin. I get the biggest joy out of receiving a picture and having someone ask me if I can make it. I have to make a few flower type embellishments to put on it. This "butterfly hat" was super fun to make. I just wish I had a baby to use for photographs!