Neice's "Dam - It" A Free Crochet Tutorial

My Grandmother, on my Mom's side was Necie Hunter.  (pronounced Nee-Cee)  

I learned a lot of crochet, 

                                      from her, 

                                                    and because of her.

This Technique is directly from her arsenal of tricks.  She never swore that I heard, so the first time she said Dam-It  to me I nearly died.  She used this to Hold things "inside", like a Dam holds water.

Hence, I call it Necie's Dam-It.

Ready?  Here we Go!

Starting with the surface you want to build off of.
In this case , A chain of 32, 2 dc in the 3rd ch from the hook, DC in the next, and each until the last Chain. Place 3 DC in the first half of the DC loop, then rotate the chain to work the other side. Place 3 DC in the other side loop of the same chain. Pull the tail tight, to remove the hole. Finish the DC's down the chain, working over the tail and BOTH unworked loops of the chain.  At the last, place 3 DC in the last st. Join as I showed you in this post, and finish off.

Insert hook into any stitch, right at the top, under the two top loops. It is easiest to show this technique with DC, but it does work with any traditional crochet stitch.

Bring the hook back to the front, also right under the two top loops. On a dc, the 3rd loop sort of separates the area nicely for practicing this trick.

I have doubled my yarn here, and have pulled the fold of it through, under the post, now catch the double strand with the hook, pull it through, as a slst. It works well with a single strand too, but for this application, I want the extra bulk.

This tutorial is turning into multiple tricks, You are getting a bonus here!  As you can see, doing this, there are no ENDS to weave in later!

Insert hook into the same space it came up from on the slst, and bring it up on the other side of the post. See how the EYE of the stitch slides down the post to allow room, the top loops tend to roll down the other direction. Do not panic over this, it is all good!

catch your yarn, and pull it through, Yarn over, and pull through both loops to form a SC of sorts. It has the traditional top loops, but it does not look like a SC.

The EYE of the stitch is turned sideways, under the loops.

continue around your work, entering from the space you exited in the previous stitch. No increases, just building your DAM on the face of the DC's

When you reach the end of the round, you will insert your hook back under the post if that first st, with your hook on the OUTSIDE.  Catch your yarn, and pull through, yarn over and complete the sc

Now Move your working yarn to the inside of your work

Remove hook from working loop, insert it from the inside, under the first loop.  draw working loop through to inside.  ( If you are continuing with the same color, skip this, and move on with your pattern as written.)

Draw yarn through to end the round.

Cut tail, mid loop

Tug tails, to be sure that slip knot has tightened.

Here is a view of the side of the dam, with it's peculiar stitch pattern. It is dense, solid, and yet still very workable

This is a view with the beginning of a round of stitches, just to show you. These are not the stitches we will be using, just what I threw on it for a picture.

This is the bottom.  I do not mind the look, but when I bring you more of the pattern, We will cover this with another layer.



When I told a few friends that I was going to share this technique with you, Tamara from Moogly offered a few links to patterns that you could use to practice if you like. You would just replace the BLO with this. follow the rest of the pattern as written
These are all great patterns, but they will lend themselves well to this trick.

 Birds Nest Bowl Set

Girls Night Out Wine Carrier

Stainless Water Bottle Sling

















Thank-You
Until next time
Grammy

Connecting behind the scenes. A free Crochet Tutorial

Hello. 

Today, I am sharing my trick, or technique to have a smooth join at the end of a round.  So many people have them out there, I may be duplicating some concept, I may not. I learned this from my Grandmother, way back when.  Never dismiss the concept that what you show a child is forgotten. It stays with them, for a lifetime.

Here we have a round of Double Crochet, that needs to be joined in order to continue our project.  I have removed the hook from the working loop

Here, The hook has been inserted into the second loop of the starting ch 2, from the front side of the work.

We reach over with the hook to grab the working loop

Simply pull the working loop through to the front side. From here, you can continue to follow your pattern, chaining as usual, or, if ending your work, continue with the next step.

Remove hook again,
From the back of your work, insert the hook between the posts, directly under the working loop

Catch working loop and simply pull to back side. Yarn over, and draw tail through loop

Pull tail to tighten. End is now secured to the back side, to be weaved in with a needle, Or, crocheted over if you have additional steps in your project.

All edge loops are normal looking, easy to work into, or finished nicely.

I like simple answers to challenging issues. Not having bumps, knots and major work to hide a join is always a plus.







Join me again soon, when I will be showing you the next of several steps for this project.  It will work it's way into a "Crochet Along"  Tutorial Style.

Post number 2 is up, you will find it HERE

Until Next time

Grammy

Look what I made!

Hey Everybody, Look What I Made

Look Familiar?  If you follow the Moogly Blog, it does. Check out The original pattern Here 

But 

                    I changed it.  

I used different yarn, different hook, different stitches, 

So, 

Mine is not the same as hers!

If you believe that, I pity you. 

It is a copy of the concept, that is to die for great.    

I made these for the coffee stand that my daughter works in. We chose to use the School Colors. Our hope is to have the Students, Staff and Parents aware of them for Fall Sports Season.

This is an item I will be selling, finished. I will not be releasing the pattern for these, it would be in bad taste. I have had coffee that left a bad taste, I am not into it.

Do you want to place an order for your School Colors Coffee Carrier? Send me an Email, or Message me on Facebook.   I do offer Wholesale Pricing on orders of 10 or more

Have a great day

Until next time,

Grammy

Grammy"s fixin Chicken Tenders

Several Years ago, I watched America's Test Kitchen. They showed how to do Homemade Chicken Nuggets.

I was very excited, but as they went through the ingredients, it was a longer shopping list than I wanted for one meal.

Into my pantry, to see what I MIGHT HAVE that might work.

I concocted my own, following the same general steps, Modification and tailoring is always a practice in cooking.  Restaurants balk at substitutions, but in your own kitchen, you do what you do.

I started with the Brine

2 Cups Water
1 Tablespoons Salt (iodized is best)
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

Stir well, until salt dissolves
Soak Chicken Tenderloin, in zip lock bag for minimum of 2 hours. If doing nuggets, (30 min to an hour is plenty)  I am the type to put them in first thing in the morning, so I do not get sidetracked, and forget.

For the Coating, it was really Easy, I use 1/2 cup of each

Then Add 1 Teaspoon of these

Pretty Simple

Now for the Egg mix, where it get's dicey

Add 1 Tablespoon of milk to the eggs in the bowl. ( Removing the shells is optional)
I don't know can you manage this?

Drain the liquid, and dry the chicken pieces.

 Dip the chicken Tenders in the egg mixture, and allow the excess to drip back in the bowl

Coat with the dry mix

Return to the plate, place in fridge for at least 10 minutes. I have been known to let them rest, covered, in the fridge for a couple hours.

Keep your dry ingredients, as you will coat the strips one more time before frying them, but if you have pets, go ahead and cook the eggs to feed to them.  You dd not spice them, so there is nothing there that will hurt your animals, and why waste the food?

Now, that time has passed, and it is time to actually cook your food, Lets rock and roll.

You will need Vegetable Oil,   these are Uber Healthy don't you know!
A cooking Method,  I like this,

I am really able to control the temperature easier.  Now if you own a deep fryer, you have this, go eat

Just in case you need my glasses, that says 375*

Re~bread your tenders

And slide them into the hot oil.

Allow them to cook about 4 minutes. Turn them over to cook another couple minutes.

They will be beautifully golden brown

Allow to drain on paper towels, or on coffee filters if all else is unavailable

And Perfectly Cooked

Now, for Dipping Sauce,  I recommend

In equal parts. Store unused in a closed jar in the refrigerator.

The only way this will be any better, is if you add mashed potatoes, country gravy, corn on the cob and a big glass of fresh Lemonade.

Until next time

Grammy