craft swappy swappy

My friend invited me to a craft swap last night and it was fun! I was worried; it had the potential to be either really lame or really awesome. Luckily, the crafts were great and I scored an awesome new clutch, which I have been wanting for quite a while. Here it is!

My cowl and fingerless mittens were snatched up right away, which made me feel good. Always nice to make something someone else wants. I made an origami box out of card stock for the set and I think it turned out cute. I love homemade everything! We did a craft as a group, which I have to admit I was skeptical about since I am not a fan of stuffed animals, but how can I turn away this sweet little bunny?

Coming Along Nicely

The little dress is coming along nicely. I did mess up one of the first lace repeats but it is in the back of the dress and hopefully not too noticeable. I am not starting over now, that's for sure. The pattern still bothers me to no end; incorrect stitch numbers, half-missing pattern repeats. It's driving me crazy. Hopefully the finished product will more than make up for the errors.

Today is a rainy day, perfect for knitting. Unfortunately, I have a cold, so it is also perfect for napping. We will see which option wins. I do have some Arrested Development, Season 3 to watch  tonight with knitting, a fire in the fireplace, a mug of tea. Sounds divine.

Next up on my queue, after the baby dress, booties, and (possibly, depending on amount of yarn left over) bonnet are finished, are a few of these beer sweaters. Seems like a great Christmas gift for the fam. (this is the stock picture, not ones I have knit)

After those are knit, it is on to another baby shower gift. My friends sure are procreating these days.

Ooh I am a tad bit

Annoyed. This cute, adorable little tunic/dress for a certain forthcoming baby girl is kind of a pain in the rear. The yarn is great, the dress is cute, but the author of the pattern makes the simplest instructions confusing. I don't like it. Give me straightforward and I will knit you the moon. Or something. I frogged the first ten rows three times. Finally, I just rewrote the pattern to my liking! Dang buttonholes, you don't have to be so complicated. It's coming along, and I hope to have it finished by this weekend so I can move forward with other projects. I have some sewing to do! 

I so wish I had a craft room with a proper sewing table and places for all my supplies. As it is right now, I have to store the sewing machine in the hall closet, pull it out, bring it to the dining room table, move the table so it can reach an outlet, and then get all my supplies from a separate closet. It is less than ideal. Someday maybe we can afford an addition and Craft Room will be on my list. As it is we are pretty maxxed out for space around here. 

I am not in a bad mood anymore, though. Everything is made better by small, satisfyingly squishy projects like these little hamsters.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Let me tell you about things I love. Undyed yarns that showcase pretty stitches. Fingerless mittens, because I am a mother and I need my fingers for those car seat buckles and five hundred other things. Nap time play food projects. Teeny tiny projects worked up on teeny tiny needles. These are a few of my fav-o-rite things. Sing it with me now.

A little something for a craft swap

I forgot until this week that I am in a craft swap soon and of course have to contribute a craft to it. So I perused all my one-skein options on Ravelry and decided on a little cowl and matching fingerless mittens. I am just using stash yarn for this project, and my #1 greatest quantity in my stash is 100PureWool. I have tons of it, mostly undyed. I love it; it is the softest merino wool and is so soothing on the fingers. I tweaked the pattern a bit to do a waffle stitch (originally it is supposed to be a broken rib) and am currently underway on the mittens. I hope I don't fall desperately in love with this set and decide to keep them for myself...

Winter Gear, Part II

Oliver's set is done! Now on to bigger and better things.

Like finishing Clara's stripy vest (almost done)



And I wonder what this lovely yarn will be for? Stay tuned.

Winter Gear, Part I

Clara is very happy to have a new PINK hat and mittens for the winter. The Toasty Topper hat pattern from knitty.com is great--very easy to do and such a cute finished result. The mittens are from a pattern I found on Ravelry, called Extra-Toasty Toddler Mittens. I was going with the toast theme, apparently. The yarn is from my stash. It's pink tweed Peace Fleece from my diaper-cover-knitting days. A little scratchy, but I am planning on lanolizing it to make it softer. It will be super warm, that is for sure.

For Oliver's winter gear I am going to do the same hat, but I will have to wing it on the mittens. He has fat hands and Clara's don't even fit over his fingers.