Daisy Crochet Pattern

This crochet flower is out of the book “100 Flowers to Knit or Crochet” by Lesley Stanfield. At first glance, it looked as if there were so many flowers to make, but then I took a look at the patterns. My pattern reading is not up to par, so it is quite difficult for me to understand what is going on in most of the flower patterns! And forget even attempting to decipher the knit ones (although they are really beautiful)! The “Lazy Daisy” flower is my first attempt at one of these 100 or so flowers. I also made a fern leaf to go along with it (which will come next week) to help accentuate the flower. I intend to sew it onto a purple hat for wintertime. Enjoy! I hope this pattern and the images on the book cover pique your interest and you go out to purchase it to make more great flowers (and even vegetables) for your projects!

Yarn “A”: Yellow

Yarn “B”: White

Method

Center Using A, make 6ch, join with ss into a ring.

1^st round (RS) 1ch, 11sc in ring, using B ss in 1ch. 12 sts.

Petals Continue with B.

2^nd round [11ch, ss in next sc] 12 times, ending ss in ss of first round.

Fasten off invisibly.

Seems easy, right? Let me know how yours turns out, I’d love to see your daisy results! 

Abbreviations according to the author:

ch=chain

ss=slip stitch

sts=stitches

sc=single crochet

Berry Trifle Dessert

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mamas out there! 

For Mother’s Day here, my mom asked me to make this yummy looking berry trifle. (Let me just tell you, as a little aside, that she loves trifles like this, and it took us so long to find a trifle dish a few years ago! It was slim pickings, and now you can pretty much find them everywhere!) But anyway, she found this delicious recipe (see my changes below, after the recipe**), and it is delicious! No baking necessary, just preparation of already prepared foods. And it is GREAT for summer parties or just a hot day to treat yourself, enjoy!

(photo & recipe courtesy of: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/creamy-layered-fruit-sensation-90571.aspx)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. orange juice

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 pkg. (10 oz.) prepared angel food cake, cut into 2-inch cubes

2 pkg. (1 oz. each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding**

2-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Sugar Free Whipped Topping, divided

2 pkg. (12 oz. each) frozen unsweetened mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries), thawed, well drained**

Steps:

MIX juice and extract. Drizzle over cake cubes in large bowl; toss to coat.
BEAT pudding mixes and milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP.
RESERVE a few berries for garnish. Place half the cake cubes in 2-qt. glass bowl; top with layers of half each of the remaining berries and pudding mixture. Repeat layers. Refrigerate 2 hours. Top with remaining COOL WHIP and reserved berries just before serving.

**Since I forgot to get the vanilla pudding, we had a package of white chocolate sugar free pudding mix, so I used that and about 1.5 cups of milk (it gets a little thicker) to add to the cool whip and it was just as good. Also, Weis is currently remodeling and I had trouble finding frozen berries (Mom said later on that they are by the cool whip! Who knew?!), so I just used fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. I was extremely shocked that the grocery store had already prepared angel food cake for sale, as that was convenient! Luckily this recipe is easily customizable, so pretty much following the bare-bones will lead you in the right direction.