Christmas stamping

I can hardly believe it's been a whole month since I last posted. Time is flying... I have been busy with work and play. And part of that play has been some craftiness. So here's the first of a couple of posts to get caught up.

After I finished the mittens I needed to knuckle down and get started on my Christmas cards. I received very disappointed looks from Joe last year when I (who owns too much stamping stuff to be buying a card. Ever.) went out and bought all my Christmas cards. This year I was ahead of the game and pretty much made every single one. I even made a couple of batches for my sis - more on that below.




































Sometimes I lack inspiration for a design, and so I scouted the web and my idea books to come up with these. I really like the simple red/brown, green/brown and red/green colours.

And because I was on a roll I offered to make my sis some. She wanted some fun ones and I had this great stamp set with cute animals so made her a batch of those.













My sis also makes cool resin jewellry and ornaments, so Mum and I made her a batch that could 'house' the resin goody so that it would double as a gift and card for her friends. (Mum was over for a vist over Thanksgiving... we had such a nice time, and I was sad when she had to return to the UK).





















Next up, some knitty goodness for the Little Lady...

Bella's Mittens

Who went to see New Moon last night? What did you think?

I thought it was great! And the midnight showing had a really fun atmosphere with a bajillion teenage girlies in their pajamas. I think I'm well and truly in the minority routing for team Jacob. And Taylor Lautner... whoo he looked good. But as my stepson correctly pointed out, WAAAAAY too young for me LOL! We're thinking that Dwayne Johnson might make a more age appropriate substitute though (for me that is, not Bella. Pah!). Erm, er, sorry Joe... you know I only have eyes for you ;o)


Anyhoo, my dear friend that invited me is a major Twihard fan and so I thought it would be fun to make her a pair of the Bella's mittens that have been circling round blogland and ravelry.

There's a couple of free patterns out there and I chose Phenomenom by Carine Ancel (Ravelry link) because I really like the cross stitch type effect she's created on the palms. The yarn I used was Dream in Color Groovy, colourway Black Pearl. I needed 2 skeins. My first time using Dream in Color and I was really happy with it - nice and soft and held the stitch definition well. I especially liked the subtle change in tone from black to charcoal grey in this particuar colourway.


And if you are looking for some last minute Christmas knitting these could be just the ticket - each mitten took me about 2-3 evenings to complete.


They were well received by my dear Twihard friend yesterday evening. Which makes this knitter a very happy girl indeed :)

February baby sweater

One of the cutest baby gifts I feel that I made was the EZ baby sweater out of sock yarn, for my cousin's daughter. I decided my little lady lady also needed one.


This is a great project if you are looking for a fast, easy and interesting cardigan for a baby girl. I took mine on a business trip to the east coast last week and was pretty much complete by the time I returned home. Besides, anything that makes good use out of my ever-increasing stash of sock yarns is a good thing.

There seems to be a lot of discussion on baby knits - whether it's worth the effort. Right now I think so, but soon I'll have firsthand experience at how fast the wee one grows. (Who am I kidding - I'll be knitting regardless of how fast they grow... and at this stage, maybe the amount of time it takes to knit is in relation to the amount of time they'll be wearing it!) I'm telling myself that this particular cardigan might last a bit longer because it is lace, and there's some manipulating that can be done during blocking to stretch a little as baby grows. That's all theory at this point. I'll be able to let you know in a matter of months! Maybe February baby for a February baby sweater? (More likely early March, the Feb part is wishful thinking).


My modifications to the original pattern are shown in the post on the first version I made. Essentially all I did differently was cast on more for the neck, and then knit a few extra rows on the yoke. Everything else is per the guidelines in the book.

I still favour my first version most (it's that delicious sundara yarn). But this one in Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn (colourway Lobster Pinch) is still cute, vibrant and fun with those contrasting purple flower buttons. Although Joe is being a little more practical than I and is advising that I might want to avoid buttons for future baby knits -- that little ones love to chew.

I still have a little yarn left from the one skein of sock yarn - potentially enough for some Saartjes booties. The little lady will need matching accessories after all ;o)

Tempest

I'm really happy with how the Tempest cardigan turned out. This counts as my September NaKniSweMoDo09 effort.


The yarn I used is Aspen Sock from Red Rocks Fiber Works. I really like Mary-Kay's yarns, in case you hadn't noticed! (They make a frequent appearance here) :o))) It's actually one colour of sock yarn, in darker and lighter shades. I think it's fun how some of the stripey lines look a little wiggly where the lighter shade may have some darker areas, and vice versa.


I picked up 2 skeins of the dark, and one skein of the light. It was a close run thing with the light - the ball I have left is about the size of a marble. I dipped into the 2nd skein of the darker shade, but still have quite a bit left there. Maybe a similar sweater for my little lady? (Because I'm a bit of a dork like that!)


I pretty much followed the pattern word for word. Chose the 36" size. The only mods were to add a garter stitch border at the bottom vs the approach the pattern called for. If I were to knit again I might not do the slip stitch edging as that made the seaming a bit of a pain. I also learned a new technique with this - the bind off on the button band was a new approach for me. It's really neat and produces a great finish.

This will probably get tucked away until both the weather and my figure are more suited to it. (21 weeks pregnant today - woo hoo, that's over the half way mark).

Little Lady (Cheerleaders?) Dress

A few weeks ago I picked up my first skein of yarn for BOB - it's a beautiful String Theory 'Casper Sock' yarn. I thought it was really pretty and figured it would work for a boy, or a girl. I brought it home to show Joe and he loved it too - it is a colour used by the Miami Dolphins, his favourite football team (erm, yes sweetheart that's exactly what I was thinking when I picked it out! ;o)

It sat in my cubbies for a bit while I was trying to decide what I'd make. During that time I had a couple of scans and found out that BOB is going to be a healthy little lady. Ooh so many pretty choices when knitting for little girls. I've admired the 'Little Sister's Dress' projects I've seen and thought this would be the perfect travel project for my trip to the East coast last week - it's small, portable and knit in the round.


The pattern is darling and I'm tickled with the end result. To make 'Dad' even happier I added a single crochet trim of orange (the other colour from the Miami Dolphin's kit) to the neckline and to create the buttonholes. And also found these cute orange flower buttons that matched the yarn perfectly. This final touch makes it pop and adds a fun girly twist to the dress.


So there you have it, little lady's first Cheerleading outfit. (Although, technically she's not scheduled to arrive until after the season is over.)

Pattern: Tora Froseth's 'Little Sister's Dress'
Size: 3 month
Yarn: String Theory Casper Sock (Green/Aqua), and Mama Blue Troika Sport in Poppy (Orange).
Mods: None

***Edited to add: I only used 1 skein of the string theory sock yarn and still have some left over. But this could be because I did not hold the yarn double as the pattern suggests - I just knit with a single strand.***

Fiery Featherweight

Whooo it is done!


This one felt like it went on and on forever, with all those stitches in such fine yarn. At times I was ready to tuck it in a corner and let it collect dust for a while, but NaKniSweMoDo spurred me on -- I was a month behind my self-set goal and this cardigan was the closest to completion. I'm glad I persevered because it is sooo very lovely, soft, airy and doesn't scream 'hey I made this'.


Pattern: Hannah Fettig's Featherweight
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace, just a smidge over 2 skeins
Mods? Not many - I knit the body and the sleeves a tad longer than the pattern calls for. And instead of the stocking stitch collar that has a tendancy to roll, I plumped for a matching K1P1 rib border... which at first looked like it was going to pull up the edges of the cardigan, but after a little blocking, lies perfectly flat.


So this is NaKniSweMoDo09 for August. Better get busy if I'm going to catch up and whip something out for September...
(Oh yes, and that's a sneak peak at my baby bump - 16 weeks along!)

Slipper Season

It's getting a little cooler here and there are flashes of autumnal colours in the neighbourhood trees. That's right, it's officially the start of slipper season!

Each year I produce a batch of felted clogs for dear family members to keep their toes toasty. They've become a much sought after item, and by now I'm thinking I should be able to crank them out in my sleep.


First up this year were my step son's slippers. He moved from sunny warm Florida to come live with us and his proto-man toes aren't used to Colorado's chillier climes. I won't share the pics - boring, boring grey man slippers.

And then there's my Mum's. Mum can easily go through 2 sets in one wintry season, and since I believe it's also chillier back home already I needed to get hers out in the mail pronto. Women's slippers are far cuter than the boring man version - I can give them 'flair'! :o))) I'm really fond of the colours in these and the ribbon fringe cuff.


I tried to get Buster to model them, but as you can see he's less than impressed about the whole modelling gig. Which, to be honest, just cracks me up even more. Just wait 'til I have my wee one to do some modelling for me as well... I can hear it now, 'Awww Mum, do I have to?'

So that's 2 pairs down, and I think 6 to go...

BOB

I'm about to join the masses of knit bloggers who are blessed with kiddos. I couldn't be happier :)

That's right, I have a Baby On Board - BOB to friends and family.
(The name originated with my 6 yr old nephew when I was asking for potential baby names - his first suggestion was Bob, followed by Thomas, and then Spiderman - which apparently would be very cool!) Bob kind of stuck around here and evolved to stand for Baby On Board. I think it's cute so it became a keeper.

Although BOB isn't set to make his/her debut appearance until March 7th, he/she is already the recipient of some super lovely gifties from Grandma and Grandpa. Super lovely and especially awesome because they are handmade:


BOB's first knitted item of clothing - a super duper jumpsuit that will be perfect for a cold, snowy Colorado March, April and May.




And BOB's first toy - what could be more perfect for the child of a crazy dog lady, than a toy puppy. And one that's personalized, no less. Love this A LOT!


Yep, BOB's going to be one lucky ducky surrounded and clothed in handmade goodies, and the recipient of much love, kisses and cuddles :)

Thank you Mum, I was really touched by the parcel (and it probably won't surprise you that I welled up when opening this ;)
Love you both xoxo

Precious Pinwheel

A dear knitty friend is due to have a bouncing baby boy very soon... I'd learnt about this some time ago and started working on a small baby blanket for her new bundle of joy.

Pattern: Pinwheel Baby Blanket from the Knitalong book
Yarn: Rowan All Season Cotton - a mix of blue/cream for the center and beige/cream for the seed stitch border
Modifications: I made the seed stitch border a bit wider than the pattern calls for, but that's it.

This is a great simple knit. Movie knitting, if you like :) It's knit in the round and only has a few ends to weave in. Perfect portable project. And I do like the All Seasons cotton it wears really well after being thrown in the machine and dryer... ease of care for a new Mom.

Halloween papercrafting

The other week I was hanging out and stamping with my friend Cheryl. She taught me to make some cute Halloween goodies:


There's the card of course, but also the 2 candy carriers. One is a little gift bag that's made from scratch, the other is a decorated recycled/cleaned Frappuccino bottle that's filled with M&Ms. Cute heh? I love these little giveaway/party favour ideas.

As it turns out, for my monthly stamp club swap, the ladies chose a 3d swap. So I put my new candy-carrier-making skills into action and replicated the little gift bag that Cheryl had taught me how to make with some fun black stripe/red skully paper. I filled them with some Hershey's kisses so the stamping ladies can use as Halloween giveaways if they choose.


These are adorable, but they did take me all night to make! Well worth the effort as a one-off, but I don't think I'll be mass producing for the kids in the neighbourhood come Oct 31st!

A new crafty addiction?

Before Camp Wanna Knit Knit I was wracking my brain for what to contribute to the goody bags. I took a trip to Fancy Tiger because they have some really unique gifty type things there. Browsing around I came upon some gorgeous Japanese sheep fabric. That was it, I was going to make zippered pouches for everyone. I picked up a bolt of fabric and lots of matching zippers and headed home with my loot.


When I arrived home I pulled out my Mother-in-law's sewing machine, threw the fabric in the washing machine and set to planning out my next steps. Joe came in and asked what I was doing - well, I'm going to be sewing of course! I'm going to make some zippered pouches for everyone at camp. Looking a little surprised he mentioned that he didn't realise that I knew how to sew. Ah yes, it's been a while. In fact I can only recall making one thing on a sewing machine at high school and that was an elasticated skirt. To which he then wandered off shaking his head mumbling that he saw a disaster afoot! Giving his comment some thought; realizing that there were only 4 days 'til camp; testing his Mom's machine and understanding that it was less than fully functional I decided he might be onto something. It was time for Plan B! (which you can see in the post below).

But still, after seeing all those lovely fabrics, and knowing I now owned enough bits and pieces to mass produce zippered pouches I was eager to learn.


Stacey gave me the nudge -- Fancy Tiger have a zipper skirt class. We signed up for it.

But first I figured I'd take their 101 class. It was awesome. The lovely lady leading the 101 class showed us how to use the machine, load bobbins and thread yarn, try a multitude of stitches, and we even walked away with our first project - a cute eye glass case:


I was now ready for the skirt class the following day. Brimming with my newfound knowledge and a couple of yards of super cute fabric I headed to the store with Stacey. Another great class - the teacher was super helpful, friendly and fun.




I could hardly believe that a newbee sewer could walk away with a completely wearable, well-fitting skirt after just a 3-hour class.


I see many more sewing projects in my future... perhaps those zippered pouches next. But first a trip to the service shop with my MIL's sewing machine...

Camp WannaKnitKnit... belated post

I've been meaning to write a quick note about this year's Camp WannaKnitKnit -- I had such a fun time with my knitty girls.

Each year a few friends head up to the mountains and spend the weekend knitting, hanging out, laughing, eating good food, watching movies, playing games... It is bliss.



Unfortunately we didn't get a group shot this year which is a shame as we had fab new Camp WannaKnitKnit clothing to model! In addition it's become a tradition to come away with a goodie bag, and this year everyone chipped in to create something. Thanks all for the super gifts everyone - I love everything :)


I wrangled my sis into helping create my piece for the goodie bag. She made some super cute Shaun the Sheep resin badges. You can check out the details on her blog. I found some little tin pails and modge podged them with cute paper, and created a little matching notepad and added in some jelly beans - knitters need snacks!


I spent my time there working on Featherweight. It's a pretty pattern, and I love the malabrigo lace. But man, after a whole weekend of non stop knitting on this I was ready to tuck away for another day. There's a lot of teeny stitches to work on.


So tempest has come out of hiding again. I'll need to get a move on if I'm going to finish it up for August's NaKniSweMoDo.

Scrappy Cotton Ripples

Hi, sorry... been on a blogcation I guess. Maybe it's the summer weather but there's not been much knitting going on. And not much blog posting, or browsing for that matter.

I have been dabbling in some crochet occasionally. Inspired by all the lovely crochet goodness I've seen out in blogland this last year or so. I had a bowl full of scrap cotton yarn and figured it would be fun to try my hand at a ripple pattern blanket. Mixing the different cotton yarns and colours, and adding a white in between to help tie it all together. I used one of the patterns in Erika Knight's Simple Crochet book to get me started.


Truth be told, I didn't have high hopes for this project - it was just relaxing to work on, and made me happy to know that random scrappy bits of yarn were being put to good use. But I'm quite pleased with the end result. Not quite gift quality though, which is a shame as a few friends are having babies this year. But I'm sure I'll find a use for it...


Hope you are having a good summer,
Sam

Liesl in Sundara's Aran Silky Merino

I'm in love with Sundara's aran silky merino yarn - it is so very soft to the touch, and the colours are striking. A little while ago I was able to pick up 3 skeins in the colourway Viridescent, and have been eager to cast on with it. After an exhausting business trip last week, a lazy weekend of knitting was on the books. I picked up this yummy yarn and the pretty Liesl pattern and cast on.



The pattern is really well written and extremely flexible - wide neck vs tighter neck, short sleeve vs long sleeve, frilly picot edge vs standard cast off, buttons vs ribbon vs other... lots and lots of options to customize and make it your own unique version.



I used a slightly smaller needle than the pattern called for, and went up a size to compensate. I cast on for the wider neck because I figured the thinner yarn and smaller needle would end up producing a smaller neck than the one in the pattern - it turned out just as I'd hoped.



This is July's sweater for NaKniSweModo.
Pattern: Liesl by Ysolda
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino, Viridecsent - 2 skeins (only a very little bit left over)
Size: 36in
Needle: US 10.5

I'm so very happy with the end result. Just need to find a suitable button for the top.

Rowan Joy

I'm still plodding along with the NaKniSweMoDo challenge, and this top - Rowan Joy - marks June's contribution. That means I've passed the half way mark - yay!



This felt a little like another 'cheat' project to help keep the monthly FOs coming -- it was in the WIP pile, it's chunky yarn on big needles which always goes super fast, and there are no sleeves to work on either. Yippee!



Pattern: Rowan Joy, size medium
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Tape x 6 skeins
Needles: US 10.5 and 11
Modifications: None



With the exception of wrapping my head around the slip stitch/chain stitch edging (took me a few goes to figure it out, and then had to be careful that the 'chain' was appearing on the RS) this is a super easy and fast knit. And unlike most of the chunky yarn sweaters I've knit to date, I actually think this one turned out pretty nice and doesn't make the wearer look larger than they actually are.



Ooh what to work on next? Pull Tempest out again, maybe?

Cashmere Lace Ribbon Scarf

It truly is deliciously soft - this is the lace ribbon scarf that I was knitting for a dear colleague, out of a silk/cashmere blend. It has been a delight to work with, and will be difficult to part with.



I'd planned on finishing up sooner, but luckily our farewell luncheon had been pushed out until later this month. So I still get the chance to gift it in person.



Seems I like taking pictures of this type of scarf in a tree - I did the same with my last one. At least with the last one it was in the privacy of my Mum and Dad's back garden. For this one I was laid at the base of the tree in my front garden, snapping pictures up to the sky. I can only imagine what the neighbours must think about the eccentric English lady next door ;o)))



Pattern: Lace Ribbon scarf - free from Knitty.com
Yarn: Jade Sapphire Silk Cashmere in colourway Caribbean Mist, one skein