WIP Wednesday: Monsters!

It seems fitting that my WIP project for this week is a monster.  The pattern is wickedly cute:  Daphne and Delilah by Danger Crafts.  The yarn is Lion Brand cotton ease and I use a size 6 needle.



If you've been visiting this blog for some time you may recall that I made a bunch of the Danger Crafts monsters for Naomi's nursery.  Daphne and Delilah are her favourites and have often made a trip into daycare.



One of the ladies at daycare would just go gaga over these little guys and since she is expecting a baby next month I thought it would be fun to make her (and the wee one) their very own Daphne and Delilah monsters :)

Other than that we've been to a couple of early Halloween trick or treat parties, and have been preparing for the real deal today:

Grab bags of play doh ready for Naomi's class mates - check



Giganto bowl of candy ready for this evening - check



Cutest costume ever - check




Wishing you a happy Halloween!
Sam
xxx

Preparing for Halloween

This week we've been getting some additional bits and pieces ready for Halloween. Naturally we had to decorate a pumpkin. I didn't want to arm Naomi with pumpkin carving tools just yet :o))) and was looking for fun alternative ideas. We found these great 'Mr Potato Head' kits so that you can transform your pumpkin into a Vampire, Witch, Skeleton etc, etc... They are perfect for the little ones. The only tip - the grown up really needs to make the hole in the pumpkin first so that the wee ones can just assemble the pieces.  (I use a screw skewer that was made for corn on the cob).





Now we have a pumpkin head Vampire and, because it was so much fun, we returned to the store for a pumpkin head Skeleton! Naomi really loves her pumpkin heads. They are greeted in the morning with a kiss and a cuddle and the same again in the evening before bed. I think there may be tears when they need to 'go on holiday' after Halloween! ;o)

This little plush velvet pumpkin will hang around through Thanksgiving. It was a great find from our Glenwood Springs trip. (If you go to Glenwood Springs I recommend that you peruse through the art center near the hot springs pool - they have all kinds of goodies). I'd picked up the plushie pumpkin thinking I could make some myself... forgetting that there are only so many hours in a day :)



If you are interested in making these, there is a great tutorial below. Maybe after Halloween I'll be able to find some time to make these and use them as Thanksgiving table decorations



On a knitty front I've been working on a Polka Dot cardigan for Naomi with some bright self-striping yarn. We'd had some windy weather here in Colorado the other day and I thought that it might be a nice effect to photograph the cardigan in the colorful leaves that were strewn on our front lawn.

 

My little helper grabbed her camera too to see if she could get some good shots.



Anyway the leaf/photograph thing didn't really work out. So we had fun rolling down the slope of our front yarn in the crunchy leaves instead! Naomi just giggle and giggled!



Maybe I should just stick with the usual white background for pictures of my projects:

 

I've also been putting together some Halloween goodies bags for my nephews. The gift boxes are Martha Stewart favours packages that you assemble yourself. If I had my act together I would have made some goodie bags again this year. But these work just fine :) For my older nephew I found these mini bags of jelly beans. I think these mini bags are fantastic - just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth, but not too much. Plus being individually wrapped, I'll be able to put the rest in our big halloween basket for trick or treat night. My other nephew is a year younger than Naomi - candy wasn't going to work for him. I found these teeny tiny pots of play dough and used them in his goodie bag, selecting the most appropriate halloween colours of course :). I'll be making more of the play dough party favours for the kids at daycare. Makes a nice change from candy. And then any left will also go in our trick or treat basket.

 

Originally I was thinking of decorating the play dough pots to look like monsters. I'd seen this from 'the idea room' and this one from 'Meet the Dubiens' online and thought it was a fabulous idea! However the pots I picked up are teeny tiny... this idea would be better suited to the regular sized pots of playdough.

Hope you are enjoying the autumn and having fun with Halloween preparations,
Sam xxx

Puerperium Cardigan

The folks at work are throwing a baby shower for one of the ladies in our group I hear 'baby shower' and my mind immediately starts thinking about all the cute itty bitty knits that I could make. The lady in question has decided not to find out whether she'll be welcoming a little boy, or a little girl. So that helps narrow the choices down to a unisex cardigan. As always I go to the Ravelry pattern search and start flicking through the baby patterns. That's where I found the Puerperium cardigan by Kelly Brooker.  Look how precious this is, and it is free.  Bonus!  The cardigan is a very easy knit and the pattern is well  written. Perfect for a beginner.  It is knit top down, with practically no seaming (except the underarms).  I used size US6 needle.

Here are a couple on Ravelry that caught my attention:

- Bethmarian's version with icord edging

- Babysnakes version - it tickled me seeing a cat wearing this!

- Possum version with an embroidered turtle

I chose to work this in Zitron Unisono.  I recently picked up this yarn at Mountain Valley Weavers in Glenwood Springs (if you are in the area, I recommend that you visit the store.  This is a not for profit that offers developmentally challenged adults the opportunity to explore and develop their creativity through the art of weaving - we were lucky enough to see some of the weavers happily working on beautiful scarves).  Any hoo the Unisono is lovely.  It is machine washable and is soft enough for babies skin (it has aloe in it).  Yes, this would do the trick.



I often think it is the little details that make a project.  The cardigan is lovely, but I wanted to add a little something to it.  First, the buttons.  These are some that I had picked up from Stampin Up a while back - I like that they work well with the colours in the yarn.  That was a good start, but it needed something else... a pocket.  (I simply cast on 15 stitches, knit in stocking stitch for approx 1-2 inches and then finished with 4 rows of garter stitch to match the garter stitch on the hem and neck band).  I love the pocket, and it makes me giggle thinking how throughly useless it is for a baby - pure decoration only. 

The pocket was good, but hmm it still needed something else... that's right an over stitched heart.  I think it did the trick!

I still had yarn left and made a little umbilical cord hat to go with the cardigan.



Using US 6 needles cast on 75 stitches.  The hat is knit in the round.  First 4 rounds are garter stitch.
After the garter stitch, knit about 3-4 inches in stocking stitch.  Then comes the decreasing:
- *K3, K2tog* all the way around
- Knit a row
- *K2, K2tog* all the way around
- Knit a row
- *K1, K2tog* all the way around
- Knit a row
- *K2tog* all the way around
- Knit a row
- *K2 tog, K1* all the way around
- Knit an icord to the desired length, break yarn and thread through remaining stitches, pull tight and weave in. 

Of course this needed a heart too!

I still had more yarn left!  So I worked on my first 'Project of Love' hat.  I used the same instructions as above, but just knit the icord for about 4 inches and tied the icord in a knot.

It feels good to have that done.  I've also been working on more + squares for Mum's curio quilt.  I have passed the 300 mark so I am making good progress.  I've also been shopping... check out these beauties that have made their way into my stash over the last couple of weeks:

More Fee laceweight yarn from Phydeaux Designs (I really enjoyed making the Citron shawl out of the Alpha Centauri colorway - this is extremely soft yarn with wonderful yardage and colours):

Holly



Aubergine



Today we attended a local craft fair and there was a stand with alpaca yarn from a local alpaca farm - Amazing fibers.  I was thrilled to bits :)  Alpaca is such a lovely light and soft yarn.  The ladies said I should come visit their farm - they have 100+ alpaca.  You know I'll be taking them up on that offer and I know a little someone who will love it too! 

Fingering weight handspun:



Worsted weight:



Now, if only my output matched my intake of yarn!
Hope you had a great weekend,
Sam

"Do Something Nice" Day

Did you know that today was 'Do Something Nice Day'?  I love that there is a day on the calendar to remind us of the importance of doing something nice for others, and for ourselves.  It should be a daily mantra, and yet sometimes it can be too easy to just think the nice thought, instead of speaking the kind words, or acting out a sweet idea.

Did you do something nice today?

I decided to express my thanks to the lovely folks at Naomi's daycare who take such wonderful care of her, and are helping her grow to be a lovely and smart little lady. 



First I googled for free 'teacher appreciation' printables and found one that fit the bill perfectly over at Bitsycreations web site:  It takes a BIG heart to shape little minds.  I simply printed these from the web and used them to decorate boxes of choccies that we handed out at daycare this morning.



A simple gesture, but very well received.



Interestingly, another opportunity to do something nice landed on my lap this morning.  Well, in my email account.  A couple of very dear friends alerted me to a worthwhile cause that is looking for volunteer knitters.  The charity is called Project of Love and they started by knitting chemo caps for children, but have since expanded to include knitting hats for children in shelters.  You can read all about it on their blog site.  I love that Betty (their "CEO" as she jokes) signs off her intro post with "Nothing is by Chance".  Isn't that the truth!

If you too want to help, take a look at the link to their blog and email Betty to get involved.  (Think of all those leftover sock yarns and sweater yarns that you could put to good use, and get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you did something nice :)  And for my local knitterly friends, if you want to get involved, I can happily round up donations and do a bulk mailing.

Have a lovely weekend,
And to my local friends, stay warm!
Sam
xxx

Curio Quilt - WIP

One of the projects that I've been working on this last month is a Curio Quilt for (and with) Mum.

Mum has been talking about redecorating her bedroom for a little while and asked if I'd be interested in making a quilt for her.  Well, of course!  We created a board on Pinterest to start gathering and sharing our thoughts for what the quilt could look like.  The ideas evolved and we eventually settled on the curio quilt, using lots of bright fabrics from Kaffe Fasset and Westminster Fibers. 



One of the things I love about this quilt pattern is how we've been able to feature some of the big floral prints in the larger squares.  It's also fun to see how one fabric can make many different looking squares and +s.





It's been really nice having Mum here to work on this with me.  She's been cutting, ironing and laying out the squares.  (Oh yes and chief mathematician behind calculating how to upsize the quilt from it's written size, to fit a King size bed).


We didn't get as far as I would have liked while she was here - I would have liked to have had all the +s completed for her to layout.  But we did make excellent progress in the time we had together.  I am missing my worker bee :)  Naomi did insist on helping the other day... but lets just say that was not a boost to productivity :)))



So: 244 +s completed now.  I think another 100 or so to go.  I better get a move on:
1.  My brother painted her bedroom whilst she was here, and now Mum is eager to get the new room together (my saving grace - she still has new carpet to lay in there)
2.  Joe is eager to host a party in the basement, and that isn't allowed as the basement floor has become the layout zone for the quilt.  It cannot be moved.
3.  My brother is coming to visit later in the year, and I'd love to be able to send this back with him. But, erm, need to clear this with him first.



More to come,
Sam xxx

FO Friday: Halloween Toddler Shrug

I don't normally make a big fuss out of Halloween.  Maybe because it's not an event that we really recognized, growing up in the UK.  But this year I seem to have been bitten by the halloween bug!

I've picked up a few decorations already and these adorable skeleton pajamas for Naomi (the pjs glow in the dark - how cool is that!).  Also, when I was in Glenwood Springs a couple of weeks ago I found some cotton yarn on sale that just screamed Halloween to me.  It is a Viking of Norway yarn made from cotton and milk (of all things!).  I knew I could make a little something for Naomi out of it.

Last year I made Naomi a little shrug, and figured that I'd do the same again this year.  It turned out to be really handy when she needed just a little something on top of her t-shirt to help take the chill off.




Here's the approach I took this year:

• US 3 needles
• Cast on 60 stitches
• Join to knit in the round
• K2,P2 rib for 10 rounds
• Continue knitting in the round in stocking stitch until sleeve is desired length
• Once sleeve is desired length, then you change from knitting in the round to knitting flat for the back of the shrug
• Knit flat until the back is the desired size
• Join back and knit in the round again until 2nd sleeve matches the 1st
• I also added a crochet edge around the opening of the back (if I'd had more yarn left I would have picked up stitches and done a k2,p2 rib)

Super simple!  My only watch for:  If in doubt, err on the side of caution and make the back size just a touch bigger than you think might be needed.  Don't want the wee ones to be constricted if the sleeves go right up into their armpits (ouch!)



Little miss was quite happy to model this today.  She's also wearing the skirt that I made for her last year.  I'd spent the night before Halloween creating this based on another skirt she had in her closet.... but the little miss decided that she didn't like it!  Since I'd put in the work I was determined that it was going to be worn... and so poor Bella got the short straw and wore it as a ruffle collar!!  (Oh, if only I had  a picture!) This year thankfully Naomi seems to like it and it still fits... maybe we'll get some wear out of these items this October.  Although probably not all in one go as I have here ha ha!

Enjoy the weekend,
Sam xxx

September

This month has just whizzed by - it is true when they say that time flies when you are having fun.  You see my Mum has been visiting for the last 4 weeks.  We've been 'out and about' enjoying ourselves and creating lovely memories.

Before I start to tell you some of the highlights, I have a little crafty content to share first:  Mum brought with her this fabulous cardigan that she had made for Naomi.  Isn't it gorgeous!  (And doesn't the little model pose crack you up!)



The pattern is 'Girls Waistcoat Vest' from Sirdar, and it is knit in an aran weight wool.  This is a beautifully rich and warm colour - perfect for the start of autumn.  And of course looks beautiful on the little miss.  I am seriously tempted to make one for myself.

We've had some lovely family time these last few weeks.  There was a trip up to Glenwood Springs to enjoy the natural hot springs pool.  Glenwood springs is very beautiful.  It is nestled in the mountains and has an extremely friendly community vibe.  I can see this becoming an annual weekend away.



I've learned my daughter is part mermaid if her love of the water is anything to go by... must sign her up for swim school!

Another weekend we took a trip on the Georgetown loop railroad - a steam train that took us on a little journey between Georgetown and Silver Plume.  We were lucky to take the trip at this time of year as the aspen are changing colour and are a stunning shade of yellow right now. 






Naomi was tickled pink with the trip.  She's quite interested in trains at the moment and absolutely loved her very own train driver's hat, scarf and whistle!



Then there's been trips to Colorado Springs in an attempt to see the balloon festival... but we were too late (doh!), but luckily got to see the balloons at the Columbine memorial event a week or so later.



And Canvas and Cocktails - an event where you get a little drinky while you learn to paint a specified picture.  We went on a Mimosa Morning and it was a LOT of fun.  Good music, excellent hosts, a little creativity and best of all wonderful company.





And there have been lots of trips to the farmers markets to grab fresh fruits and veggies.  Naomi and I made a delicious green chilli sauce one day which I then heaped over my chicken or fish dinners for the following week.  Yum!  And speaking of yum, my good friend Anita had us over for dinner and made pistachio chicken with a lime/avocado dressing.  It was superb!  Delicious and healthy - this will be on the menu again this week!



There's more to come from a crafty perspective... when we weren't out and about, Mum and I were hunkered down at home working on a project together.  (Sneak peeks on my flickr page.)

I was very sorry to say 'bye for now' to Mum today, but thankful for the wonderful times we spent together this month.  Roll on our next visit. xxx

Handspun Henslowe

My goodness this yarn and pattern are a beautiful combination!  The handspun Henslowe is now complete:



I'm really loving the slight changes of shade in the yarn, that add a subtle but interesting touch to the finished shawl.  Thanks Nicole - you spin lovely yarn in wonderfully rich colours.  Ooh yes, and let me also add that this yarn is as light as a feather.





The Henslowe shawl pattern is a really interesting knit that is worked in 3 distinct stages.  I made no mods to the pattern, and was thrilled that I got to use up the majority of the wonderful handspun yarn.  If I were to make again, however, I'd probably make the shawl a touch bigger.  The other thing to watch for is on the garter section of the shawl - be sure that your yarn overs at each edge are not too tight - my shawl would have benefitted from a double yarn over at each edge so that I would have had a little more elasticity between the garter stitch section and the roman lace pattern.



Otherwise I am really pleased with how this turned out.  A perfect knit for when those Autumn days start to roll around.



Wishing you a great week,
Sam

This Week's WIP: Handspun Henslowe (And the beginning of my weight loss journey)

I stumbled across Purl Verde Textiles online some weeks ago.  My goodness her handspun yarn is pretty.  Needless to say, I 'had' to have some:



This is 100% Falkland Wool in a fingering weight and the colourway is October Mums.  Doesn't it just make you dream of Autumn?  I love the subtle variations in the depth of the colour.  And the yarn is beautifully sproingy :)

I searched online for something to make with the 446 yards of loveliness.  The ravelry pattern search is perfect for this task: I knew I wanted to make a shawl and simply plugged in the weight of the yarn and the yardage into the pattern search tool.  Amongst the many beautiful results was Henslowe.  Yes, that was the one for me.



I've made pretty good progress this week on the garter section of the scarf, and have now started the lace pattern.  Thoroughly enjoying this knit.

I've been loving working with this yarn so much that I did a little repeat purchase this week:  Hidcote Lavender.  What a great colour for a winter shawl.  (The colour was very difficult to photograph and is far prettier in person than I could capture with my camera).

The other important thing that happened in the last couple of weeks is that I started to diet.  I hit a weight/size where I just wasn't happy with myself anymore - how I felt, or how I looked.  So it was time to take charge and make a change.  So far so good:  3lbs lost, and another 17 to go.  Slow and steady wins the race right.  One of the hardest parts is finding tasty ways to prepare fish, chicken, vegetables and keep it interesting.  If I discover any gems, I'll also be sharing them here.  This week's fave was a simple tilapia fillet with thinly sliced lemons that I broiled.  Very yummy indeed.  This week I added some fresh parsley and last week was dill.  Pick a herb you like and serve with steamed green veggies.  Yum! 

Now it's off to the farmer's market to get some more healthy goodies for the week.

Hope you have had a lovely week,
Sam xxx

Citron

I've been knitting like a maniac during the Olympics, and making good use of all that TV viewing and sofa time!  Here's what I have to show for it:  a Citron shawl.



Citron is a free pattern on the Knitty.com web site.  It was perfect TV knitting - lots of mindless stocking stitch.  The instructions are written for 5 repeats of the main pattern, with some extra guidelines for making it bigger, if so desired. 



I checked ravelry, and saw a bunch of folks had recommended 7 repeats.  I really like the size that the recommended 7 repeats produced.  The only other change I made was to go down a needle size to a US 5, which worked well for this lovely fine yarn.



And what is this lovely yarn you may ask.  It is a merino wool/silk mix lace yarn from Phydeaux Designs.  Isn't it beautiful.  Colorway is Alpha Centauri.  I think I may become a frequent shopper at this online store!



Hope you are having a good week and enjoying the Olympic Games,
Sam
xxx