OOPS!!

Sorry I forgot to post on Friday, but nothing exciting is going on....really!! I've been busy crocheting and trying to catch up on projects. Luckily my To-Do list has been getting smaller....but soon I will be adding Christmas Gifts to the list!! Oh boy!! Can you believe how fast it is coming???

Today is my little sister's birthday, so if you are reading this Linda, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you enjoy the present I sent!

The new doggie is getting along just fine in our house. He has made sleeping an artform!! But he does still manage to follow me everywhere I go! He now has a bed in our room, the living room, and the computer room! LOL!! Lucky dog! One of these days I need to figure out how to download videos from my camera! I want to tape him "helping" me make the bed each morning. It's HILARIOUS!

OK, so I guess you would like to see some type of picture with this post, huh?? Here is one from yesterday. We went up to the local ski resort and rode the lift up the mountain. They call it Color Sunday because it is the best time to see all the leaves that changed color. Unfortunately they only change to gold here in the mountains....I do miss all the other colors I got back in western PA. Oh well! Have a great day everyone!

Some of my Favorites from Etsy!

Fell free to buy any of these items and send them to me!! LMAO!!

Martha Contest!

Have you all heard about the Martha Stewart Blog contest???

I have been a HUGE fan of Miss Martha for a VERY long time now! I remember seeing her on the Oprah show when she first started out!! I have learned so much from her over the years, with the most recent being that I overcook my cabbage for stuffed cabbage!! LOL!!

It's wonderful now that my little girl is in school....I get to watch Martha almost everyday now!! Whoo hooo!!

I also have a ton of her recipes with a few of them being used regularly!

Since I live in an area with some of the BEST peaches in the world, you can bet that her Cup O' Cobbler recipie is used a few times a year!! I don't make it in individual cups though....I usually just throw it all in a 9x11 pan!

Another one that gets used a few times a year is her Cranberry Glazed Turkey recipe! Again, I've had to make some changes to suit my family....such being that no one in my house likes cranberries but me!!! But I still follow the recipe by basting the turkey in wine and butter!! YUMMMMY!!!

OK, now I'm hungry! LOL!!

Girls Cupcake Scarf - September Free Crochet Pattern

Here it is! My free crochet pattern for September! I was inspired by a scarf I saw in a magazine and threw this together for all of you! Again, please respect my copyright at the bottom and feel free to download the PDF version HERE.

Happy Crocheting!

Girls Cupcake Scarf
By Jennifer J. Cirka/Jaybird Designs
Every little girl loves cupcakes!!

Materials
*Any worsted weight yarn (I used mostly “I Love This Yarn”, 100% acrylic)
*Small amount of brown for cupcake “cake”
*Small amount of pink and purple for “icing”
*Small amount of red for “cherry”
*Approximately 200 yards of main scarf color (I used baby blue)
*G-6 / 4 mm crochet hook
*Yarn needle

Skill level: easy

yarn size 4

Finished Size
One size fits most

Gauge
Not important

“Cake” Pattern – make 2

With brown, ch 16

Row 1: (RS) hdc in third ch from hook, hdc in next 3 chs, sc in remaining chs. Ch1, turn. (4hdc, 10sc)

Row 2: working in BLO, sc in each st across. Ch1, turn. (14sc)

Row 3-15: repeat row 2.

Row 16: working in BLO, sc in first 10 sts. Hdc in last 4 sts. Finish off and weave in ends. (10sc, 4hdc)

“Icing” Pattern – make 2

Row 1: With icing color and RS facing, attach yarn with a sc to the widest edge – right corner. Evenly space 17 more sc along edge. Ch3, turn. (18sc)

Row 2: sc in each sc across, ch3, turn. (18sc)

Row 3: sc in each sc across and turning ch. Ch3, turn. (20sc)

Row 4: sk first 2sc, sc in next st and each st across until 2 sts remain. Ch2, sl st in turning ch. (16sc)

Row 5: sk ch sp. Sc in first sc and each sc across. Ch3, turn. (16sc)

Row 6: sk first 2 sts, sc in next sc and each st across. Ch3, turn. (14sc)

Row 7-9: repeat row 6. (8sc)

Row 10: sk first 2 sts, hdc in next 4 sts, ch2. sl st in turning ch. Finish off and weave in ends.

“Cherry” Pattern – make 2

Round 1: With red, 6sc in magic ring, do not join. (6sc)

Round 2: 2sc in each sc around. (12sc)

Round 3: ch1, 2hdc in each sc around. Finish off and weave in ends. (24hdc)


Scarf Pattern – feel free to use your favorite scarf pattern or mine

With MC, ch 30
Row 1: 2dc in 3rd ch from hook. *sk 2 sts, (sc, 2dc) in next st. Repeat from * across. Sc in last ch. Ch2, turn.

Row 2: 2dc in first sc. *sk 2 dc, (sc, 2dc) in nest sc. Repeat from * across, ending with sc in turning chain. Ch2, turn.

Repeat row 2 until desired length is achieved.

Final row: ch1, sc in each dc and sc across. Finish off and weave in ends.


Assembly

Attach cherry to top of icing and attach completed cupcakes to the bottom of the scarf or wherever desired.


Copyright
Copyright 2008 by Jennifer J. Cirka (aka Jaybird Designs) all rights reserved. This pattern is for personal use or for gifts only! Sales of this finished product are discouraged. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author. Please feel free to link back to this pattern.

Hot off my Hook!

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. I was too busy finishing up my latest crochet project!

I was busy making a sweater for Heather's best friend, and neighbor, Kathryn. She will be 6 years old next week! Boy, do they grow fast!! I figured with the weather starting to get cooler in the mornings, she could use a good sweater! In my stash of patterns I found this great hoodie sweater pattern by Anji.Beane, formerly Pink Willow Designs.

Of course I had to make my own changes to the pattern! I made the stripes wider....basically out of laziness since I didn't want to weave in all those yarn ends!!! And I left it simple without adding all the fun squirrel/fall details. I used "I Love This Yarn" which is a 100% acrylic that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I like it's softness better than Red Heart, and it was pretty cheap too!

I was hoping to have Heather model it for you, but she is out with Kathryn and her mom shopping for party supplies!! So you'll have to just imagine how cute it will look on her!

Oh, and BTW, I am now working on my free crochet pattern for September....I hope to have it listed on Monday! Have a great weekend!

It's Official!! The Cirka Family is GROWING!!

OK, NO......I am NOT pregnant! But we are adopting......well, sort-of! Sorry to mislead you, LOL!

This Saturday we will be welcoming our newest addition to our family! His name is Cash and he is a 2 year old Red AKC Greyhound and such a sweetheart! Actually, his official name is Windrock Ring of Fire, but his nickname is Cash. (For Johnny Cash that sings the song "Ring of Fire", but I like to think it is for the amazing amount of cash we are spending on him!! I NEVER thought we would pay this much for a dog!) He will be competing in his last show this weekend and then we will get to take him home as he will be officially RETIRED! We are planning on going to the show to see him, so I'll be sure to take pictures!!

Cash came for a visit yesterday and didn't want to leave, LOL!! He is so well behaved! No jumping or barking, his is housebroken and listens better than Heather!! He is even GREAT with Heather and listens to most of her commands! Here are some pictures of his visit. He seems to really like Ron!

Now, I just need to get used to the sheer SIZE of him!! He is HUGE! Totally NOT what I expected when we started dog shopping! There seems to be many misconceptions on the Greyhound breed. Everyone seems to think they are hyper and require a lot of attention. Actually they are NOT! I once read a description that called the Greyhound "The worlds fastest couch potato!" He is basically a huge cat! And speaking of cats....boy did my Nola give me a dirty look when he left yesterday! LOL!! The old lady will definately need some time to get accustomed to Cash. But the breeder thinks that he will do GREAT with her.

So, this new addition should help ME get accustomed to being alone most of the day. He loves to travel in the car, so you can bet he will be making many trips with me around town! Plus, he should help with any "baby fever" I may get now that my only child is in school all day!

Thanks for letting me share my big announcement! Anyone else have a Greyhound? Now I need to go make a vet appointment for him and go price shopping for kennels and dog supplies today!

Come and Celebrate with us!

Have you heard about the Grand Re-opening Celebration over at MyPinkZebraBoutique.com?? There are lots of great contests, prizes, and discounts!! Hope to see you over there!

Obama in Grand Junction!!

OK, I am NOT about to go all political on you, but I had to share this bit of information. It seems that presidential candidate Barack Obama will be speaking in my little town of Grand Junction today! Pretty cool, huh??

Now, I will NOT mention if I support this candidate or not. But I will NOT be going to listen to him...just too many people for me, LOL!! I'm such a homebody! And truthfully, if it were not for my husband, I probably would still care less about politics. But HE likes to listen to talk radio a lot and discuss politics, so I am bound to learn a little bit!

What I find really cool is the location he choose to speak at! Cross Orchards is a historic farm here in Grand Junction. Heather and I usually visit at least once a year. It's a really cool place. I think her class will even be going on a field trip there next month.

I believe he is coming here because we are in the middle of oil drilling fields! Plus, I think they consider Colorado to be a swing state. I may listen to his speech while I clean the house today...but we'll see. Now, I wonder if McCain will visit us too??

Boy, Grand Junction is really getting bigger than it was when I moved here almost 12 years ago!

JBD Discount Coupon!!

I haven't had the time to list anything new on my website lately, but I did want to offer all my wonderful blog readers a discount coupon!! From now until Monday, (Sept 15th) use coupon code

Pattern30

And get 30% off ANY Jaybird Designs original crochet patterns!!

I'll be taking some time off from listing new items for a while to start working on my holiday gifts. But if you are interested in a custom order...for yourself or for a gift...please feel free to contact me! I'm always willing to work on custom orders!

So hurry and take advantage of my coupon! Happy Crocheting!

Remember 9/11/01

My Crochet To-Do List

I have this little dry erase board right here next to my computer. On it I list all my To-Do items....mostly the pertain to crochet, but not always. I thought I'd share with you what is on it right now, LOL!!

*Test Crochet pattern-I am currently testing another designers pattern. This is the one project that needs to be completed first. BUT, I ran into a problem with the pattern and am waiting to hear back from the designer on where to go from here.

*Pink Brimmed Hat-This is what I am working on right now. It is a bartered item for some digital work I am having done for Jaybird Designs. I should have it completed tonight.

*Baby Blanket-I have a friend due any day now with baby #6!!! The 4th boy. I would really like to make her a small blanket to use.

*Birthday present for Kathryn-my neighbor and Heather's best friend will be 6 on the 29th. I'd like to make her a sweater.

*Birthday present for Linda-my sister will be 31 on the 29th (what is it with the 29th of Sept???I know about 5 people with birthdays that day!!!) I plan on making her a pair of Bazaar Socks in shades of green.

*Breast Cancer item-Ilike to design something new to commemorate October as National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

*Free pattern for September- ANY suggestions on what you would all like to have???

OK, enough!! I think I need a bigger dry erase board!! LOL!! Happy crocheting everyone!

Just call me Susie Homemaker!

Boy, was I busy this weekend! I purchased a box full of local sweet corn, a half-bushel of green beans, and a ton of broccoli at my local farmers market. Then I took it all home then chopped and prepared it for freezing. Borrowed my neighbors vacuum sealer too!! (It didn't work well on the corn and broccoli, but worked great on the beans!) My other neighbor than gave us some fresh cucumbers from his garden and I made a vinegar/cucumber salad! Oh, and he gave us more green beans too, LOL! And then today I decided to use up some peaches that I had in the fridge and I made Vanilla/Peach Sryup!! I think we will be having pancakes for dinner tonight so that we can try it out! YUM!!

Other than that, today I cleaned and did laundry! All the while I have two different crochet projects on my hook and prepared a design submission to send in this week! WHEW!! And it's only MONDAY!!

I'm a Princess!!

Huh??? WHAT!!! Two posts in one day!! Unbelievable! LOL!!

OK, so I couldn't resist this! What Disney Princess are you??



You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

How cool!!

I just got my new Caron Connections Newsletter in my email. You can view it here. Scroll down to the bottom....see anything familiar????

Isn't baby Taryn the CUTEST!! I really need to make more stuff for her to model, LOL!! And to think, she will be one year old next month!!!

Oh, and I have now tried both of the new Naturally Caron yarns....Country and Spa. I LOVE THEM BOTH and highly recommend them! Now if only I could find a local store that carries them!!!

THANK YOU!!

First, thanks for all the well wishes that I get well soon. I am feeling better....but that may just be because I've got some good medicine in me, LOL!! I should be almost normal by morning.....I HOPE!!

And I also want to thank all of you who have downloaded my newest free crochet pattern (Retro Rings Tam). In the past 8 days, it has been downloaded over 100 times!!!! That's not counting the number of you who just copy/paste from my blog! WOW!! I'm guessing you all like this one, huh?

OK, I need to go and get ready for Heather's parent night at school. I can't wait to find out what is going on!! She never brings anything home or remembers what she did that day! Ahhhhhh...5 year olds! But it's so HARD for ME!! I'm so used to being involved in her life 24/7, that this "not knowing what she is doing" is KILLING ME!!!

Now that didn't take long!

Wow! It's official now! The school year has DEFINATELY started!!! Wanna guess how I know??? Because I now have my first head cold of the season!! YUP!! Runny nose, scratchy throat, body aches.....got'em all! I think I've even gone through 1/2 a box of kleenex since I woke up! EWwwwwwwwww!

Sorry I haven't been around much lately...been busy setting up the new Pink Zebra website. We are making some big changes, so stick around to see them!

Ok, I think I will go and make me a nice cup of hot tea with honey....hope I feel better soon!