Grandma G's Crocheted Hot Pads

Hubby's Grandma G was a wonderful woman. She lived on a farm and could live on practically nothing. She was an inspiration to me!

She was the one who taught this 'city girl' how to crochet and the first thing she taught me to make was hot pads. I have never seen this pattern anywhere else. It is a thick hot pad that uses a single crochet stitch. The other patterns that I've seen are a single thickness, but then doubled in some way to make the pad thick enough. This hot pad is thick from the third row. Once you are done, you are done. No extra stitching.

The pattern was simple to make once I got the hang of it. I've never written the pattern down, but I'm going to give it a try in this post.

Always used 100% cotton for these. I didn't follow Grandma's advice once and the hot pad melted. Take my advice--always use 100% cotton! I like to use the Sugar 'n' Cream yarn. It holds up well and comes in 1 pound cones, but you can also buy smaller amounts in 2 ounce balls. It takes one ball to make about two hot pads.

The stitch itself is what is important, not how big the hot pad is. I chain 26 stitches to start. I use a J sized hook.

Row 1: Starting 1 chain from the hook and crocheting through the back loop ONLY, single crochet in each stitch to the end of the row. Chain 1, turn.

Row 2: Starting in the ORIGINAL ROW single crochet in the other loop to the end of the row. Chain 1, turn

Row 3: *Starting with the closest row, put the hook through the loop nearest the center of the 3 rows, then out through the loop on the bottom. You will have 3 loops on the hook. Treat the two loops nearest the hook as a single loop. Do a single crochet.* Repeat between * to the end of the row. Chain 1, turn.

Bone Tumors and Other Updates

Vet2Be has two osteochondromas on his leg. Those are benign bone tumors. One of them broke off and so he has been in lots of pain lately. The doctor will be removing them both next week. But in the meantime, he is supposed to take it easy so he doesn't have swelling in the soft tissue around the broken bone. This injury rode right on the heels of us finding out that he was being 'poisoned' while he slept in the basement because of the melting electrical wires! This kid has had a tough 10 months.

That means that I am doing most of the work on the farm. (Hubby and Son1 are away on a business trip, so everything has been up to me.) With all the work I haven't had time to update my blog!

We cleaned one stall today to get ready for the first  kidding due date: 8 March. Some of the neighbor children that are good friends of ours came by to help. It took two hours to shovel out the stall since it has been such a wet, sloggy month.

There are still two more stalls to clean, but I feel much better having one done. If Clover decides to kid a little early, we have a clean place for her. She looks as if she is going to pop! But she is still eating, and she hasn't bagged up yet, so I think we're okay for a few days.

There is still heavy work to be done, though! One of the other stalls is much worse than the one we cleaned, and the third isn't nearly as bad. We have about 5 hours of work left. Not too bad, but Vet2Be feels terrible that he can't help. I'm very grateful for neighborhood kids who like to be here and help and for good friends who have volunteered to come help clean the other stalls Monday night.

Other Updates:
Mandy the bummer lamb is doing great! She has outgrown the small and medium sized diapers I made for her. Last week I made six more large diapers. I have enough fabric to make a few more in a larger size and then she will be outside full time! She is 4 1/2 weeks old at this point and is in the process of being weaned to lamb starter feed from our local feed supply store as well as some alfalfa/grass mix hay.

Crib for Mandy Since Mandy outgrew her Rubbermaid tote, Carpenter cut off the legs of an old baby crib and used brackets to attach the sides to the ends. It makes a perfect pen for Mandy to sleep in at night or to be in when we don't want her in the yard or the house.

Hot Pads I've been crocheting a few hot pads for friends. I've never seen the pattern for these anywhere on the internet, so hopefully I will have time to post the pattern and some photos of how to do the stitch that Hubby's grandma showed to me.

Vet2Be's Eagle Court of Honor went very well last month! I just haven't had time to post pictures yet. But it was a wonderful evening and we are all very happy that he was able to earn the BSA Eagle Rank.

Valentine Hearts

I found the pattern for these on a website called Skip to My Lou. I have a friend who used to crochet alot and loves to decorate her house for the holidays. She is a wonderful woman who loves to do things for others when she can, is upbeat and happy, sees the good in each situation, and always asks how your family and children are doing. I wanted to do something for her to show her I love her and appreciate all she does for her neighbors.

 

A simple, easy to make crochet heart garland.

You can find the directions and better photos here:
Crochet Heart Garland
If you like crafting and crafting with kids, you will really like Skip to My Lou. Lots of fun ideas and great tutorials on crafting.

This project was so fast and fun that I may make a garland for our home, as well.