PATTERN: The BEST Crocheted Dish Scrubber (and a giveaway!)

I don't post many patterns anymore, but a couple of people asked me to share this after I posted a photo on my Friday Night Photos. This is such a super simple dish scrubber that pretty much anyone with any crochet skills can make. BUT I LOVE THESE.

They are better than any store-bought dish scrubber you can find! The tulle is a gentle abrasive while the kitchen cotton holds in the dish soap. I only use one each day, then throw it in the washer. They last forever! They are SO amazing that Jerry has even requested I make more because he refuses to use any other scrubber ;)

Materials:

1 role of tulle (see photos - you may have to remove the cardboard center) - Cut in half so that you have two strips that are 3" wide
1 skein of kitchen cotton, like Sugar 'n Cream
Size N crochet hook (going up or down a size is no big deal)
scissors
needle for weaving in ends

Abbreviations:

sc - single crochet
dc - double crochet

When increasing, you'll just crochet two stitches in the same space.

When decreasing (in double crochet) work the first double crochet until only two loops are on the hook. Yarn over, then insert hook into next stitch. Yarn over, pull through stitch; yarn over, pull through two loops (there will be three loops on hook). Yarn over, then pull yarn through all three loops. One decrease complete.

Here is a printer-friendly version! The photos are all at the end, so you can skip printing those if you want. 

I've also left this post with the photos at the very end, so you can skip past them if you're familiar with crocheting.

Instructions:

First, prepare the tulle by cutting the roll into two strips:

Throughout the whole pattern, hold a strand of cotton with a 3"-wide strand of tulle.

Use the "crochet magic circle" to start. Here is a great tutorial on how to do it. You basically make a loop with your yarn and crochet around the loop--and then when you pull on the end, it squeezes all of the stitches together into a circle. Check out that tutorial because it explains it better than I ever could! (Although, I do attempt to show it with photos at the bottom of this post)

Round 1: Using the magic circle, sc 8 stitches. Pull the ends tight to form a circle, then slip stitch through the first sc.

Round 2: Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc). In same stitch, 1 dc. 2 dc in each stitch around (16 dc total, including original chain stitch). Slip stitch into chain stitch.

Round 3: Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc). In same stitch, 1 dc. 1 dc in next stitch. *2 dc in next stitch, 1 dc in next stitch. Repeat from * around, ending with 1 dc. 24 stitches total. Slip stitch into chain stitch. 

(Here, you can tie off and complete the scrubber if you'd like; however, I like to make them with double thickness.)

Round 4: Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc). *Using next two stitches, decrease one (see instructions above). 1 dc in next stitch. When you have one stitch left, 1 dc. Then slip stitch into chain stitch. (You should have 16 stitches total.)

Round 5: Chain 2 (counts as 1 dc). *Using next two stitches, decrease one. Repeat around. Slip stitch into chain stitch. (You should have 8 stitches total.)

Round 6: Chain 2 (counts as 1 sc). Sc in next stitch and in each stitch around. Slip stitch into chain stitch at end of round. Cut yarn with a tail of about 8 inches or so and pull through chain stitch.

Thread tail into needle, and then weave in and out through the 8 sc. With the ends from the original magic circle coming up through the hole, pull all ends tight, which will close the hole. Tie the two ends in a knot a few times.

Then thread all ends into a yarn needle and weave them into the center.

None of this has to be perfect--it's a dish scrubber, not a sweater! ;) I you miss a stitch or your count is off, it just gives it character.

Here is the photo tutorial (pictorial):

I'd be happy to give a couple of these away if someone wants them! Just enter your info in the Google form below (it'll be for my eyes only) and I'll do a random drawing on February 10th at 9:00 AM ET. I will email you if you win :)

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Six-Year Adoptaversary!

I had to do the math several times (especially considering I thought I was turning 40 this year, hahaha), but I realized that today marks six years since we adopted Joey! I cannot believe he's been with us that long.

It feels like only yesterday that Jerry and I went to the animal shelter to check out the dogs. Our boys were at the age where I felt like a dog would be great for them. I was also lonely sometimes at night when Jerry was working the night shift, and I thought a dog would help. At the time, though, I was actually scared of dogs! I'd been bitten on three separate occasions while out for runs. I wanted to get over that fear, though.

After looking at the shelter dogs online, I was pretty sure that I wanted a miniature whippet who was at the local shelter. We walked through the aisles of dogs in cages (it was so sad!) and I passed up Joey's cage. Jerry told me to wait a second, and then told the woman working there that we'd like to see that dog, too. All-in-all, we chose to check out four dogs in a private room. 

The first dog to come in was a foxhound. He was SO sweet. He didn't jump or bark. He just loved on us and rolled over to let us pet his belly. I was instantly in love and would have adopted him right then and there. But Jerry was really interested in the random black dog that I'd passed up.

He came into the room after the foxhound, and Jerry was the one to fall in love with him. He was sweet--he didn't bark, which was great, and he wasn't hyper. He just seemed happy to be there. Before any other dogs came in, Jerry said he really wanted him.

Jerry NEVER insists on anything (he leaves everything up to me), so I really took notice of that. I liked that he had such a strong opinion! All we knew was that Joey was a lab/chow mix... I knew about labs from my research on breeds, but knew nothing about chow chows. Anyway, I agreed and told Jerry that if he really wanted that dog, it was cool with me.

And that's how we got Joey :)  (His name was "Louie" at the time).

The first thing we did was give him a bath. He smelled terrible! And he looked like a brand new dog when we were done.

The kids were THRILLED. Eli always said that he wanted a black dog, and I think Joey could sense right away that Eli was a total animal lover. Joey has slept in Eli's bed ever since!

At first, Joey had anxiety (as a lot of shelter dogs do). He'd been at the shelter for three months. We quickly discovered that he liked to chew things when we weren't home. As much as I didn't want to, we got a dog crate to put him in when we weren't home (thankfully, that wasn't often, because I am a stay-at-home mom).

I will never forget when he chewed up the corner of our sectional couch! I spent a few hours hand-stitching it back together ;)

One time, we drove all the way to my sister's house in Rockford, Illinois. She ADORES dogs, and insisted we bring Joey. One night, we went out to dinner and I told Jeanie that we would need to put Joey in a crate because I didn't want him to chew up her house. She kept saying that he'd be fine, we wouldn't be gone long, he'd have her dogs to play with, etc. She was insistent that we do not crate him, despite my warnings that he would chew something.

We went out to dinner, and I was on edge the entire time. When we got to her house, we walked into her living room and it looked like a bomb had gone off in there--Joey had chewed up her dogs' bed! We all laughed about it, and I got to say, "I told you so!" (Jeanie was totally cool about it.)

Thankfully, Joey got more comfortable with us and he trusted that we were coming home when we left. He stopped chewing things. I was so happy when we got rid of his crate. He just needed time to adjust.

Joey is a "people dog"... he likes to be with his people, no matter what. We don't have a fenced-in yard, but Joey doesn't like to be outside without his people. So we can let him outside to go to the bathroom, but he comes right back inside.

When we take him for walks, we can let him off leash in parks and he stays within a close range of us. When I tell him to come, he comes to me and lets me leash him. 

He loves to play in the water! But only if it's shallow water. He won't swim in water that's deeper than his chest. His very favorite "game" in the world is standing at the shore of the lake, waiting for you to throw rocks into the water. He jumps toward the rocks, like he's going to get it, but then he turns right back to you, waiting for another. It's SO ANNOYING--hahaha, he will literally do it all day long.

Joey is truly a GREAT dog. He's super well-behaved. My parents and my sister have said that if we should ever have to re-home him, they would take him in a heartbeat. (No, that won't be happening.)

Joey even gets along with the cats as if he IS one. Poor dog lets the cats take charge ;)  He's really bonded with Chick for some reason--the two of them play together and even nap together. But I think Phoebe is his favorite. At night, he always sleeps with Eli, who is his special buddy--his favorite person. Phoebe sleeps with them, too. Eli adores Joey more than anything in the world.

While I am definitely a cat person, I am 100% sure that I couldn't ask for a better dog. Joey is so well-behaved and loving and just has a great personality. Jerry and I have both agreed that he's the only dog we'll ever own (we're both "cat people")... mainly because there is probably not a dog in existence that is as good as Joey!

I don't know what Joey's backstory is (where he came from, other than his stay at the shelter). But he definitely has a great life now. He walks five miles a day with me, gets spoiled by his grandparents with table scraps, takes up 2/3 of Eli's bed when he sleeps, and has four cats to play with ;)

It's been a very short six years since we adopted him! But I am SO glad that Jerry chose that day to be a little insistent and really speak his mind. I'm sure the foxhound was fantastic, and even the whippet we never saw, but Joey is the perfect dog for us.

As much as I hate sounding like a walking advertisement for "adopt don't shop", I mean it--PLEASE consider getting your pets from a shelter instead of a breeder or an ad on Craigslist or a sign on the side of the road. Shelter pets need homes so badly and they are often overlooked because people "don't know what their background is".

When you adopt from a shelter, you are saving TWO pets. You are taking home and loving and caring for one, and you are also opening a spot for another pet to stay at the shelter until someone picks them. 

We didn't know Joey's background, but we learned quickly that it doesn't matter (at least in his case). He had some anxiety issues in the beginning, but who wouldn't after being abandoned at a shelter?

Also, black dogs are the least likely to find homes... how sad is that?! They are considered to be less photographic. I beg to differ! ;)

If you are considering getting a pet (dog or cat!) PLEASE check out your local animal shelter. You may have to look for a few months until you find the right pet for you and/or your family, but it's totally worth it. I believe that shelter pets know that they were "chosen" and they love you even more for choosing them :)

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Transformation Tuesday #12

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with PMDD on my last blog post! I don't know that it's what I have been experiencing, but I related with a lot of what I read in the comments. I'm going to keep track very diligently for the next few months so I can talk to my OB/GYN about it if I notice a pattern. I appreciate the thoughts and advice for than you know.

Anyway, it's Transformational Tuesday! I have a few fun transformations to share this week. Thanks for sending them in! PLEASE keep them coming (see bottom of post to submit a transformation).

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"Well, either it’s a midlife crisis or a pandemic crisis but I decided to dye my hair purple! I used Overtone so it’s not a permanent dye and will wash out over time (fine for me). I figure if I’m going to do it, this is the perfect time."

- Amy

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I have several small transformations, but here is the first one: the living room bookshelf. I've been working from home since March, and little things that were minor annoyances before started getting on my nerves when I was faced with them all day, every day. That discomfort prompted me to tackle a few minor projects around the house.

One pretty big annoyance was the bookshelf in our living room. It had been painted aqua for a former house, but I wasn't really happy with it painted that color in the current living room. Add to that the bottom half was rendered unusable because of our rescue dog Susie.

Susie was found on the streets with heart worms. Susie has come a long way since coming to us, but she still suffers from separation anxiety. Although she's been with us for 4 years, she will still occasionally get something to chew on if she is left home alone. Susie discovered a love of books - eating them, that is! So, for a few months the shelf was empty on the bottom with the books piled in tubs in the guest room. My son helped me add doors to the bottom to protect the books. After that I painted the shelf and stained the new doors. 

I love the new look! I think it matches the rest of the room much better and brightens it up. Not to mention I can now use the whole bookshelf without worrying about Susie deciding to pick up something to chew on. Yes, that is Susie in the before picture. :)

- Deb

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I bought this glider off of Craigslist 12 years ago after I had my first baby. I rocked all four of my kids in it, but with my youngest now 5 years old, I thought it might be time to get rid of it. But I just couldn't do it! We moved it TWICE, each time putting it in the basement, but I couldn't let it go.

A few weeks ago I decided I wanted a chair in my bedroom and started looking for something when I remembered this chair stored downstairs. I looked in to buying new cushions, but some of them were more expensive then the chair! After watching a few Youtube videos and talking to my mom, who convinced me I could re-do them, I reupholstered the old cushions. Don't look too close, my sewing skills are HORRIBLE! And, when I took the fabric off the cushions I realized the old fabric was super padded so I had to buy extra cushions to fill out the new fabric, but I like the way it turned out and it makes a great reading chair.

- Missy, Missouri

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Well, I'm super impressed! Amy, the purple hair looks great on you--how fun! And you're it's a great time to try it out. Deb, I LOVE the bookshelf makeover! But I can't be the only one thinking it... I really want to see pictures of little Susie before and after you adopted her :)  Missy, I am in love with the fabric you chose for the glider. And you did a great job--it's hard to get prints like that to line up well and you made it look professional. It's awesome that you still get to hold on to your beloved chair <3 

Thank you so much for sharing, ladies! To submit a transformation for a future post, just email me a before photo and after photo, along with a description of your transformation, to: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Don't forget to include your name, location, and a little snippet about yourself :)

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Feeling Depressed (Possible PMDD?)

Little Duck has been sleeping next to me in the mornings occasionally... I think he knows how much I need that!

I don't know what my deal has been for the past few days, but I have just NOT been in a good mood at all. I felt extremely depressed for a couple of days, and today has been very hot and cold. Last month, when I talked to my psychiatrist about these swings, I thought out loud whether it might have something to do with my menstrual cycles. 

I've never had major PMS symptoms--when I was in high school and college, my friends and roommates would complain about PMS. But I never felt any different! Over the last several years, however, I've noticed some symptoms here and there. 

My psychiatrist told me to start keeping track of my moods and periods to see if there is a correlation, because to diagnose PMDD, my OB/GYN needs at least three months worth of info. Regardless, the treatment is usually an antidepressant (hello, old friend) and I would hate to start taking one and change up my med schedule. On the other hand, I've occasionally been going through terrible periods of depression for just a few days at a time. Even though it doesn't last long, it's REALLY bad when it happens.

Nothing drastic has happened with me recently, so there is no reason for me to feel as bad as I have been. My stupid American Eagle coat hasn't arrived yet, which is stressing me out (stupid, yes, but I'm irrationally upset). It was scheduled for delivery on Jan. 22nd, then updated to say it would arrive on the 23rd instead. That was the last update from USPS. It's been nine days without an update, so I'm assuming it was lost in the mail. You know how badly I wanted that coat!

Meanwhile, I found another coat on Poshmark that I really wanted (not for walking, but more for just going out and about in the winter. I bought mine (shown below) for super cheap at a garage sale, but it's a size medium. Here it is when I was at my goal weight (not exactly a good picture, but you get the idea):

Since I can't fit into it anymore, I looked it up on Poshmark. Found it, bought it. Then a day later, was told the order was canceled because the seller said it was damaged by paint. Ugh! I ordered another ($20 more expensive) from a different seller, but this is my last shot. I haven't heard back yet, but I am really hoping that it will work out.

Regardless, I've just lost any faith at all in Poshmark! Order #1: Arrived smelling like mildew. Order #2: Still "lost in the mail". Order #3: Seller never responded, eventually the order was refunded. Order #4: Received running jacket as described, worked out well. Order #5: Canceled, item was damaged. Order #6: Hoping that it will be shipped!

I'm most disappointed by the American Eagle coat! I wrote about it on my blog several times, so you know it means a lot to me. I just hope that it isn't truly "lost" in the mail. Where the heck does all of the lost mail wind up, anyway?! That would be a fun place to work.

So, I still have no winter coat--just the one that I've been using to get by.

Today, my mood still wasn't great. I took Joey out for his walk and we only got about a block away before he pulled on the leash and nearly made me fall on my butt (it's super snowy/icy right now). I turned right around, dropped him off at home, and then walked by myself. I felt guilty, so I only walked 2.25 miles with out him, planning to go again later.

I didn't head out again until after Jerry left for work--around 5:20 pm. Noah and Eli actually came with me! I wish I could say it was out of the goodness of their hearts, but it's because I'd given them a mandatory chore of walking Joey one mile a day--no matter what. It was more for their sake than Joey's. With COVID making everything so unstructured anymore, they haven't gotten any exercise with sports and they've gotten lazy (to put it nicely).

In order to receive their allowances, they have to walk Joey one mile a day (together, separately, it doesn't matter). I don't want them to think I'm prescribing walking as a punishment, so the chore is to "walk Joey" and not "go for a walk". 

Noah is too cool to really walk "with" me, but he tagged along with Eli and me while we walked Joey this evening. I had already walked 2.25 this morning, so I needed to walk 2.75 to hit my 5-mile goal. The boys actually agreed to come with me for the evening walk! I told them that when we hit half a mile, they could turn around and go home, but I had to keep going.

Eli, who actually seemed to be enjoying the walk with me! ;)

At around 1.7 miles, Noah turned to head home. Eli stopped at the party store ("convenience store" as most people call it, I think... "party store" is a midwest thing) and I kept going. A little while later, Eli caught up with Joey and me, so I was happy that he continued to walk with me. (Eli's super sweet like that--I'm sure he didn't want to, but he's a people-pleaser for sure).

It got dark fast. By the time I walked back onto my street, the street lamps were on. The roads were SUPER slippery from ice and packed snow, so my speed was ridiculously slow. When we change the clocks again due to Daylight Savings, I will definitely take advantage of staying out a little later and walking in the evenings. Right now, though, it's best that I stick to mornings.

I'm actually ready to add a little running into my routine, but I'll write about that sometime this week. I miss running--I never thought I'd say that!--and I feel ready. Even if it's a mile a week, it's better than nothing. :) 

This is kind of random, but if you have PMDD and don't mind sharing about it, what have you experienced? How have you treated it? I don't know if that's what's going on with me, but if it is, I'm curious about what happens next!

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HERITAGE RECIPE: Onion Shortcake

Wait!! Before the words "onion shortcake" turn you off, open your mind just a little--because this recipe is delicious! It's the perfect side dish for just about anything. I could eat this as a meal all by itself, actually. It tastes like cornbread with a creamy onion topping.

I'm writing out the recipe exactly as it is written (submitted by Alverta Robillard) in my heritage cookbook. I cannot fathom using margarine in anything I cook--I use butter--but "butter or margarine" was written in the original, so I am including it here. I also cooked it exactly as written, with one exception that happened by mistake. See notes/photos below the recipe.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Ingredients:

1 sweet Spanish onion
1/4 c. butter or margarine
1-1/2 c. corn muffin mix*
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. milk
1 c. grated sharp cheese, divided
1 c. cream-style corn
2 drops of Tabasco sauce
1 c. sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dill weed

Directions:

Peel onion; slice and sauté slowly in butter. Combine muffin mix, egg, milk, corn and Tabasco sauce. Turn into buttered 8-inch square pan. Add sour cream, salt, dill weed and 1/2 cup of the cheese to sautéed onions. Spread over batter. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in preheated 425 F oven for 30-35 minutes or until set. Cut in squares and serve warm.

My own notes:

I didn't know what a Spanish onion was (I was picturing the red onions for some reason!) but it's basically just a sweet onion. 

I used butter. Margarine reminds me so much of the 80's! Haha.

For the corn muffin mix, I used one box of Jiffy's.

I used cheddar cheese, although it doesn't specify which type of cheese to use.

I accidentally used a full can of cream-style corn, even though the recipe called for one cup. I had no issue with it at all, so if you don't want to measure out the corn, go ahead and add the full can.

I used dried dill weed. I made the assumption that it wasn't referring to fresh dill.

I was tempted to use an extra onion, because I REALLY like onions and I wanted to make sure it was very, well, oniony. But the one onion was perfect. I cut it in half before slicing so that the slices were shaped like C's instead of O's.

I baked it for 33 minutes, but would probably stick with 30 if I did it again. I was afraid I burned it when I saw the cheese, but it still tasted delicious--not burnt at all!

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Words of Wisdom

I am going to take a much-needed mental health day from blogging, so I'm just going to share these words of wisdom from a chalkboard on the side of a road. Love it!  I hope everyone is having a great weekend. xo 

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Friday Night Photos #7

Yay, it's Friday! That doesn't mean a whole lot, other than the fact that the kids don't have to go to school tomorrow. However, I get to post my Friday Night Photos--random pictures that I took throughout the week that I never fit into my blog for whatever reason.

My birthday was on Monday and Jerry gifted me this shirt. I love it!! It's super comfy, too.

I've been doing really well this week getting back into intermittent fasting, and I like to have one good-sized meal followed by a dessert or something that I really look forward to. Banana bread or zucchini bread are favorites. I baked some banana bread and I usually eat it plain, but sometimes I spread some Peanut Butter & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter on it. It's delicious!

Eli walked Joey over to my parents' house today, so I took the opportunity to go for a walk by myself. Sometimes it's nice to walk without the dog! I took a different route, one that goes along a busy road (not the one below) and I really don't want to walk Joey on that road. It was peaceful on this road (shown below). I used to run this route often and I miss it.

While I was walking, I saw this package on the ground--dried slices of watermelon! I LOVE watermelon and I have never seen these before. I want to find them--they sound delicious. 

The ones in that package are chewy (according to the package--I didn't look to see if there were any in there, of course!), but my brother has a freeze dryer and I asked him if he could freeze dry watermelon in it. He said he'll pick one up next time he's at the store--I'm excited to see how it turns out! (He made freeze dried ice cream (aka "astronaut ice cream") for me one time--out of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia!--and it was SO heavenly.)

Speaking of ice cream, I had "just one of those days" earlier this week and I let my cravings get the better of me. S'mores ice cream for the win! Although, if you read yesterday's post, you'll see that it wasn't a great idea.

I'm making some progress on my Snow White costume. I finished the dress part (this is a horrible photo taken in my garage). I obviously need to iron it, but I'm still working on the rest. I finished the white collar today and I have to attach the snaps (both to the collar and to the bodice of the dress). After that, I just have to make the cape! (Here is the story of why I'm making this)

Luke stayed the night at my parents' house, and my mom discovered that he locked her out of all the cupboards with rubber bands! Hahaha

I crocheted some more dish scrubbers. The ones that I made a while ago should probably be replaced soon. I LOVE these things! They are the best for washing dishes. I hold a strand of tulle with cotton yarn to crochet them--the tulle is a gentle abrasive and the cotton holds dish soap well. They only take about 30 minutes to make (double layered), and they're pretty mindless.

Ever since I started doing better with my eating (intermittent fasting) I've been feeling good. I have been going to bed at 10:00 the last few nights and waking up naturally at 5:00. I think my body finds seven hours of sleep to be ideal. Hoping for a great weekend. And maybe I'll get the dress totally finished!

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