while they are sleeping

I'm not really knitting a whole lot right now. I have one little shrug going for my niece to go with her Easter dress (mini rant: why are Easter dresses always sleeveless?? Hello, this is Minnesota. It is cold, even at Easter time). Just a simple little off-white cotton thing. I'm on the sleeves, so another night should call it done.

Even though my knitting needles are resting, I have still been crafting away. I made some little items for the kids' Easter baskets. 

1. Toddler tote bags. You know, so they can carry everything around with them. My kids are constantly dragging this and that with them upstairs, downstairs, outside. I thought I would help them out a bit. I used this tutorial and it was awesome. Love it. They are reversible. Clara's is the lemon print, Oliver's is the animals/dots.

2. Black apple dolls. I had some leftover material from the totes and decided to try this pattern out for something different. They are cute in a wonky sort of way. I didn't have felt that was hair-color appropriate, so I used cotton and just left the edges raw to fray it a bit. The arm on Oliver's doll is a bit high and stuck pointing up (Think: waving ecstatically). I still love 'em and I think the kids will, too.

Now I am in full-fledged sewing mode. I have decided that this is the Year of the Quilt for me. I would like to make a quilt for each of my kids' beds. Oliver will be moving to a twin bed sometime this summer and so I am going to start with his. I think I will either do a disappearing nine square quilt or a raw edge circle quilt (can you tell what my new favorite blog is?). I am leaning toward the first because while I think the second is awesome, I hate sewing in circles. 

I also discovered that if you read your sewing machine's manual, you can learn a lot. Apparently my machine does a sort of serging--awesome.

Knitting Retreat!

That's right, it really happened, and I have photos to prove it. None of us knitting, but we really did! While watching such classics as Sweet Home Alabama and Emma. I have to say it, I love my knitting peeps. Holla!

Laura - "What happens in Duluth, stays in Duluth"

Two pregnant women and one non-pregnant - she had no choice but to eat with us.

Ice chunks on Lake Superior -

And the finished project that I started on Saturday, finished on Monday night - (pics are unblocked; it looks better now)

I am happy to say my knitting funk is behind me. I have a few projects going right now, including a spring/summer shrug for myself to accentuate my growing belly, and some socks for someone...not sure who yet, but I couldn't resist some yarn up in Duluth and spent way too much money on two skeins. Shh don't tell my husband. I also have a quick little Easter shrug for my niece going. Simple pleasures. :) Until next time.

back at it

I've been MIA for a while. life is changing around here a bit and knitting has been on the back burner. That doesn't mean I haven't been knitting at all, but I haven't been knitting as much as maybe I should have been.

My queue of projects on Ravelry is currently at 137. Yes, one hundred, thirty-seven projects I aspire to make someday. It's a bit much.

On to the things I have made recently.

Longies set.


Leafy cowl (was supposed to be for a church auction but I finished it too late and so I'm selfishly keeping it) and another hat for me, since I have lost TWO hats this winter. What the heck.


Crocheted scarflet.


And next will be some green mittens for me finally, now that it is almost too warm for mittens, and then a little sweater for a friend's baby.

when things go wrong

I had big plans for a felted Easter bunny. It was going to be sooo cute. But then, the ears happened. I increased and decreased incorrectly, because I thought the pattern had a mistake in it. Nope. I realized it was I who made the mistake after the first ear, but just went with it for the second (me = lazy). I felted it and still had hopes it would be oh-so-cute. Um...so it doesn't exactly look like a bunny. In fact, it looks like a fish. I decided Hop the Fish isn't so bad, so I added safety eyes and stuffed him, cinching the "mouth" to look like a fish. See? Sometimes when things go wrong, you can still make them right. 

In other knitting news, my church is having a silent auction for a mission trip they are doing, and I thought I would donate a couple items. One is a "garden scarf," my own design, which has knitted leaves and crocheted flowers. Here is a sampling of it (it's not done yet):

Cute, right? I am also donating an earflap hat and a cowl, if I have enough time.

Next up is longies for a friend in my mom's group. She wanted "boyish" colors.

One last mention, I am SO excited for March! My weekly knitting group decided to do a knitting retreat and it is official, set in stone, and I get a whole weekend away from my lovely but tiring children! Hurrah!

happy hooker

I decided it was time to learn how to crochet. Well, relearn, really, since I have vague memories of crocheting pot holders when I was ten. It is hard for me as a knitter to figure it out. The yarn goes on the wrong side. I have a hand free. I am supposed to grasp the project?? My hands like to hold needles, what can I say. Even though the two fiber crafts are so similar, the techniques are so different. 

Anyway, I didn't let it beat me. I mastered single crochet thanks to  Stitch-n-Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker. Behold, my first crocheted project: The Washcloth.

My next goal is flowers. Wish me luck!

Something I knit: a little baby bonnet to set aside for the Etsy store. A wee bit of sunshiny love. Seed stitch baby shoes to match, coming soon.

possible future store items

Just a list for my own reference. If you have an opinion, please let me know.

~ girl bonnets

~ hair bows

~ flower hair clips

~ brimmed skater boy hats

~  longies

~ fingerless mittens/arm warmers

~ baby shoes

new year, new knits

Happy January! 2009 really went out with a bang for me. It was not a good bang, but 2010 is looking up. My knitting resolution for the year is to use up my stash as much as I can. Good grief, I have an entire closet of wool--literally.

I have started it already, by knitting myself a hat/cowl/mitten set only with scraps I have laying around. It is my all-time favorite wool--1ply merino from 100purewool.com. I have a ton of leftovers from my old longie knitting business. Here are a couple of the items. Mittens are on hold until I get a gift off my needles. The set is bright and random, a lot like me! 

Other highlights from the end of 2009 include:

Clara's Christmas shrug:

Ben's three-cabled scarf (ugh, scarves!):

Currently I am working on a little lacy scarf for my mother-in-law, Nancy, who, along with my father-in-law, is recovering from CO poisoning. I hope she likes it. (And yes,they are expected to have a complete recovery.)

Also new this year will be a wee Etsy store, coming soon, filled with random knit goods. 

Christmas Cowl

For my great aunt. Turned out pretty. :)

Felting Fear

This is a pair of slippers that will be a Christmas gift. They are huge and are meant to be felted, but I am scared to do it. Front loaders are great for laundry, but not great for felting hand knits. They're unpredictable at best. I am trying to talk myself into just doing it. Eek. What if it ruins them?? I guess there's only one way to find out. 

~~LATER~~

I did it and it wasn't so bad. I did about four ten minute cycles on hot and then an extra rinse. They were still a little big, so I threw them in the dryer for twenty minutes. They are still a little big now, so I think I will wash them on cold with some laundry once more to get them perfect. Fears must be conquered.

Drying by the fire (with old sandals and plastic bags inside them for shaping):

All done except the suede soles:

Edit: I just realized that my buttons are placed incorrectly. Whoops. They are supposed to be on the outsides of the shoes. I will fix that after I shrink them a bit more. Guess I ought to look at the photos in my pattern!

Sorry about that...but not really.

It's crunch time, people. I have seven (SEVEN!) half-finished or not-even-begun gifts in the works. Also, two stockings to sew up and embroider names on. Christmas is in T-11 days. Are you wondering if I'll get it done? Well, so am I. 

Sorry, blogworld. You are at the bottom of my list. Talk to you when they're all finished.