Mini Ripple Stitch Tutorial from Bethintx1

My Yarn Addiction

Pink Blanket Mini Ripple Stitch

I first learned to crochet when I was around 12 years old.  The only stitch I knew how to do for the past 13 years was the single crochet stitch.  My mother taught me to crochet.  I had a lot of problems with adding and dropping stitches.  I never knew what I was doing wrong and she couldn't tell me.

I was up late one night and wanted to see if someone had a good tutorial on doing something different and fancy looking like granny squares.  I came across a few good tutorials but then found an excellent teacher under the name of Bethintx1 on YouTube.  I didn't end up working on those granny squares because I was already working on a baby blanket around that time.  I had subscribed to Bethintx1's channel so I wouldn't forget who I found that did the great tutorial.  Because I was subscribed, I had seen a lot of neat stuff she had been putting up.  She put up a video on how to do the mini ripple stitch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feh3fDNg8ZY).

I had enough with not being able to do anything other than just a basic single crochet.  I ended up taking a skein of half-used up red heart yarn and learned to do the mini ripple stitch.  I made a table runner as the first thing using this stitch.  It was green in color and I thought it would be a good idea to give it to my parental in laws as a Saint Nick gift.

I was so relieved when I found out I could learn such a cool pattern when I came across the mini ripple stitch.  It brought back my passion for yarn crafts again!  The pink blanket you see above is the second thing I made with the mini ripple stitch.  I wanted to have my own blanket so I made it for myself.  Most things I make I tend to give away but I just liked this one so much.  The picture you will see below is another blanket I made with this stitch.  I made that blanket for our good friends Rebecca and Audrey.  Blankets take forever to make, especially when they are sized for adults!  I had a lot of fun making these as the stitch was fast and changed directions every now and then.

Mini Ripple Stitch Blanket

Still Figuring it Out

I have thought about it and decided to do 2 blogs on here.  I will make this page "Kallista's Creations" for all the craft things and then my other blog called "Tasty Temptations" for recipes.  Please visit my other blog at.http://callistobugfood.blogspot.com/.  Sorry if this confuses any of you.  I just thought it would be easier for everyone to pick out what kind of stuff they want to see rather than having to page down through everything.

Here's to the New Year of 2012

How about a new year's resolution?  My aunt Cyndie originally told me months ago I should let you all see what I've been cooking.  I tried making a blog earlier but had troubles.  Since talking to my friend Hollyanne, she gave me an extra nudge to creating a blog.  We both enjoy talking back and forth on the crafts we are making.  I plan on showing crafts and recipes to you.

A little bit about me to begin with...
I have been constantly learning about food and how to do things with it.  The first time I've ever "cooked" something was I toasted bread when I was four.  Mom made me use moldy bread in case I burned it.  My grandma also had me help her make cookies every now and then.  I used to upset my mother because  I used to get into the spice cabinet and mix a bunch of her spices just to see what I could make.  Needless to say, I wasted so much!  I wasn't always a good cook.  I used to take smarties candies to try and make kool-aid by adding water.  It was disgusting.  I had so many problems with baking chocolate chip cookies and cooking noodles.  I worked on those things over and over and now I have to say I am the master of the two!  Because of my family's honesty in things I've made them food wise, I have become a better cook.  I have thought about going to culinary school but I am reluctant due to many people ending up not enjoying cooking anymore.  I've had experience with food service and have not enjoyed it.  Maybe I could enjoy being a chef if I did a seasonal menu to add some variety and inspire creativity.  I still enjoy cooking at home and creating my own recipes.

As for the arts and crafts, I have loved those from the first time I have done them.  I enjoy just about everything.  My strengths include drawing, painting, crochet and so on and so forth.  I once planned to be an art teacher but have decided that is not the direction I want to go.  I don't like politics and schools have a lot to do with politics.  My mother showed me a lot of basic things with arts and crafts.  We would do stuff like paint flower pots as a family or paint pictures on canvas.  My mother is left handed and she showed me how to do a single crochet stitch when I was around 12 years old.  I'm right handed.  I got so upset and almost gave up on doing single crochet.  It was so hard for me to figure out how to flip what I was seeing from my mom.  Crocheting is one of the easiest things to do.  I plan on learning to knit and shuttle tatting in the future.  Those look like a lot of fun.  I know it's strange that most people stick to either just knitting or just crocheting.  Each side tends to be kind of scared to try the other.

I have seen some wonderful video tutorials on youtube to do all sorts of yarn crafts.  It wasn't until a few months ago that I learned how to be a better crocheter.  I considered myself as a beginner before.  Yes, a beginner for like 13 years!  Now I'm making my own pattern.  I can't wait to show what big project I'm doing right now!  I recently got my dream crochet hooks.  They are the Susan Bates Bamboo Handle ones.  My hands don't cramp at all now.  This set will last me a lifetime as I could use it when I get arthritis.  I decided my big project is to make a way to organize some of my crochet tools.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy my projects and random rants to come!