Etsy Shop

Hey Guys!  I recently made an etsy.com account and plan on selling some things I am making.  It is called Emily's Hook Creations, please take a look!

Crochet Frog Beanie

Hello All!  I started a new project last night for my nephew's 2nd birthday present... a frog beanie!

He loves "ogs" (as he calls them) and dressed up as one for Halloween this past year.  I found the pattern on a blog I follow on blogger.  However, this beanie is only for up to 18-month olds.  Well, no big deal, I can fix this!

Here are my modifications:

• I took the "shaping the beanie" out to 84 stitches (instead of stopping at 78)
• I also did not follow the earflaps, I crochet them a way I came up with when I made when I crochet a Dino-RAWR earflap beanie 
• My braids aren't quite as long as the ones from Janet's blog
• When making the eyes, I crochet through both loops to make the color look more uniform 

ENJOY guys!

Crochet Wine Bottle Cover

One of my best friends moved into the area (YAY) so, of course I am putting together a house warming gift for her.  There are many things that I have seen about what you should give: Bread so you'll never go hungry. Candles so you'll always have light through the darkest times. Honey so you'll always enjoy the sweetness of life. Olive Oil so you will be blessed with health and well-being. Salt so there will always be flavor and spice in your life. Wine so you will always have joy and never go thirsty.

Well instead of following this closely, I have decided to make my own version: Wine so you can have a good time (on girls day when we drink wine and watch movies), a wine bottle cover (so nobody knows we are boozing), a basket (to keep the wine--among other things-- in... duh), a wine bottle opener (well we need to open it don't we), and love (since I am crocheting the wine bottle cover and basket for her).

So, let the pattern search begin!  The baskets were easy to find (I actually found the pattern a while ago and have been itching to make one of them).  But, I was looking and looking and looking and could not find a free crochet pattern for a wine bottle that I liked so, I decided to make one of my own!

Materials:
worsted weight yarn (medium 4), I used 'Loops & Threads Impeccable' in True Grey
5.0mm(H) crochet hook
stitch markers
white ribbon
scissors

Abbreviations:
magic ring: here is a tutorial for right handed crocheters
sc: single crochet
st: stitch
sts: stitches
sl st: slip stitch
ch: chain
MC: main color
CC: contrasting color

Directions:
Note: this pattern in made in continuous rounds so, use a stitch marker to mark your first stitch (to make my bottom nice and flat, I prefer to sc through both loops in rounds 1-7)

Round 1: 6 sc in magic ring (6sts)
Round 2: 2 sc in all 6 sts (12 sts)
Round 3: [sc in next st, 2 sc in next st] around (18 sts)
Round 4: [sc in next 2 sts, 2sc in next st] around (24 sts)
Round 5: [sc in next 3 sts, 2sc in next st] around (30 sts)
Round 6: [sc in next 4 sts, 2sc in next st] around (36 sts)
Round 7: [sc in next 5 sts, 2sc in next st] around (42 sts)
Round 8: sl st in the first st, (in back loops) sc around (ending in the sl st) (43 sts)
Round 9-46 (my wine bottle took about 37 rows to make it to it's lower neck but yours might be different so, yours could vary in length): sc around (42 sts)
Round 47: [sc in next 3 sts, ch 3] around (42 sts)
Round 48-55: sc around 42 sts)
Round 56: sl st around (42 sts)
F/O and weave in ends.

I then decided that I would make a small heart ornament for the ribbon.  I found the pattern relatively easy but, I did modify the pattern--I only completed round 1!  After the slip stitch, I chained 11 and slip stitch into the first chain, F/O and weave in the ends!  Super cute and super easy!


Please note: Patterns are for personal and charity use only.  If you enjoy the pattern, please link to it, but do not copy the pattern to your own website or blog.

Avocado Chicken Salad

New Years resolutions... We all make them but, the real question is, are we going to keep them? I am determined to keep mine this year! So, diet... Here I come. I would like to lose enough weight to feel comfortable at my college roommates wedding in March... Do we think it will happen? I hope so!

Well, a weakness of mine is the chicken salad in my work's cafe so, I decided to make my own-- mayonnaise free-- version. It turned out better than I thought but, I do love avocado so it wasn't hard to please me.

Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
3 cans (12.5 oz) Swanson canned chunk chicken in water
2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup diced celery
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Peel and mash avocados in a large bowl.
2. Drain the cans of chicken and shred them. Add to the mashed avocados and give it a good mix.
3. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix.

I can honestly say... This turned out tastier than I expected. ENJOY!

Avocado Dressing

Hi everyone!  Happy New Year!  I took some time off from the blogging world and spent that time with my loved ones but, it is nice to be back!

So, my boyfriend and I made new year resolutions: eat healthier, lose weight and stay healthy!  This means, yummy, buttery, fattening things are cut out of our diet.  :(

Well, last night we made it our meal.  Taco salad!  Yum!  If you all remember, I posted about homemade taco seasoning a short while ago.  I used it with ground turkey (no more ground beef unless it is a special occasion) and it turned out great!  Along with this I wanted to make a healthier "Mexican" inspired salad dressing.  What goes good on a taco salad?  Well, sour cream and avocado are what come to mind for me...

This was intriguing to me so, I came up with a nice Avocado Dressing for the taco salad.

Avocado Dressing
2 large avocados
1 cup greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp hot sauce (or more, to taste)
2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth (it will be a thicker texture, similar to sour cream).

Once finished making the dressing.  Make your salad on your plate:

Romaine lettuce, taco meat, tortilla chips, black beans, salsa, etc.

Place 2 large scoops of the avocado dressing (or however much you want) onto your plate of salad.  Toss, and ENJOY!