Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Crochet Ribbed Hat Pattern

I'm always searching for cute homemade ideas for my husband and son. It seems like for males, they are few and far between. While searching for a hat to make my husband and coming up empty handed, I finally gave up and decided to make my own version of a knitted hat that he used to love. I hate knitting, so I decided to figure out how to make this hat only look knitted but actually be crocheted.

Here's my handsome hubby posing for some mug shots.



This hat was easy to make and only took a few hours.
The following pattern is written for an adult male.

Items needed:
Worsted Weight yarn (I used Patrons Wool )
Blunt Needle For Weaving Ends
J Needle

We're starting out on the ribbing with the band
CH 7
1-Sc in second ch and in each ch across-6
From now on crochet only in in the back loop of each stitch.
2-Ch 1, sc in each stitch across-6
3- Repeat row 2 across until piece measures desired size (this took me about 74 rows.)
4-Sc to first row without twisting to create band.

We are now above the band of the hat
ch 1 from where we left off on previous band and instead of turning, continue crocheting around band.
Crochet 68 around evenly.

Hope you love it!



-Amanda

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Cookies

If I can make something that is super delicious and still healthy, I will! Then I don't feel so guilty for eating so much. ;)
These cookies are so easy to make and soooo yummy! They don't contain sweet potatoes, its actually yams. A lot if people confuse the two so thats why I think they were named sweet potato cookies. You will need:

1 cup white sugar (I did 2/3 cup stevia and 1/3 cup sugar.)
1 egg
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup mashed yams (the one that is orange when you scratch the skin, often mistaken for sweet potatoes)
1 cup chocolate chips

Peel and cube the yams and put into a pot of boiling water. Boil until fork tender, mash and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar/stevia, egg, applesauce, and vanilla. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir into the creamed mixture. Add the yams and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon dough onto greased baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

-Melissa

Tuesday Tip: DIY Food Saver

We have discovered a new way to keep our produce fresh in the fridge!

Put your freshly chopped veggies into a Ziploc, and zip it most of the way. If you are storing leafy greens, fold up a paper towel and stick it in too- to absorb any extra moisture.

Use a straw to suck out all of the air in the Ziploc then quickly zip the rest shut. Bam. :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The New Harlot!

Hi!

My name is Melissa. I'm a mommy of three beautiful girls and wife to a wonderful husband, Casey.

I love the arts. I am a musician and crafter. I enjoy scrapbooking, cooking, sewing, crocheting, and doing arts and crafts with my girls. I love taking on new and challenging things and teaching myself as much as possible. It's such a great thing to take something and mold it into your own creation!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my posts!

-Melissa

Sunday, January 15, 2012

We're Back & Better Than Ever!

Hey everyone! Happy New Year!

We have a ton to share with you as we start off the new year, but first, we have someone you need to meet.

Melissa is one of our favorites! She's a beautiful and creative domestic artist, and we're so happy to welcome her on board as a Homemade Harlot. She'll do her intro soon, so make sure you subscribe by email to get our posts delivered straight to you.

As we get back into the swing of things, we'd super appreciate it if you could share our blog with your friends! :)

Happy homemaking, harlots! 

-Melanie

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Homemade Holidays Hiatus

Hi everyone! Sorry we've been slacking on new posts, we've just been so so busy!!

We're doing homemade holidays around here, with gifts all made by hand. Melanie's doing lots of baking and Amanda's making felt toys for her nieces and nephews.

We'll be back soon! Merry happy Chrismahannukwanzica! ;)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Try This Drink I Just Made!

I'm fighting the Mom Cold this week... the one that never fully goes away because I never get to be fully rested. Because of that, I'm swapping my coffee for tea and juice, and whenever I have tea, the kids want tea.

So, I turned on the kettle, let it come to a boil, pulled out a pack of decaf chocolate hazelnut tea and let it steep for 4 minutes. I poured about 1/2 cup of vanilla rice milk into the kids cups, then poured the tea into the milk. Both cups were too full for the kids, so I poured the extras into the mug and enjoyed it too! Hope you like it, the kids and I sure did!

-Melanie