Toys, toys, toys!

These have been my main project for the last two months - a donation to my local MOPS group for the meeting raffles! I am so excited about all three toys...I hope they make 3 kids very happy :)

First up is another Dolly, Dolly, like the one I made Lucy for Christmas, using scraps of acrylic. I adore her.

Next up is a giraffe made with Lion Brand Microspun...he's super soft and cuddly!


And last but not least is this Construction worker from the book Knitted and Felted Toys, by Zoe Halstead. Once again, Blogger screwed up the order of my pics, so you have to look at the close up of the tools before you get to see the whole little man.



The construction worker is 14 inches tall, so quite larger than I imagined! But I love all three...the last one took quite a while to make, though.

Sorry for the lack of updates!

This has been a blanket a long time in the making. It never had a recipient, I just knew someday I would want to be able to give away a blanket in a moment's notice...I had that notice last week so I finished it up and it will be mailed out today.

The yarn is Caron Simply Soft.

Here are a custom pair of shorties, going out today, knitted in Berroco Ultra Alpaca (one of my fav yarns!)
A hat I knitted last month.

I've been busy with tons of projects lately, just not taking the time to update the blog! I know, I need to be better about it!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check out the above link for a very cute giveaway!

Northern Lights Longies

I may not have seen the Northern Lights, but this is a little how I'd imagine they look :) The imagination is a powerful tool.

These were custom knit capris and I love the way they knit up!

The pics are off the camera :)

Here's what I've been up to lately!


This is my second skein of handspun yarn. It is SO much better than the first (see below). I did the yellow single first, then the red and you can definitely see a difference between the two...the yellow has some thick slubs in it and the red is much more even...so I had more of the red leftover. Not sure what I'll do with that little bit! But overall I am thrilled with how well this came out! It's about 80 yards.Here are the two singles before I plied them together. Oh, I should mention that my drop spindle is really too small to ply well on, so I improvised (hubby is supposed to make me a decent spindle to ply on but he was gone and I was impatient!)...I traced a cd onto cardboard, cut it out, and speared it on a size 11 needle. I then used it as a bottom whorl spindle. I did it, but it took a LOT longer that way...I am a spindler who needs a hook at the top! It worked, but I wouldn't recommend it.
Mittens I knit for a friend's son.
Hat I knitted for Lucy. It matches her sweaterdress.
My first yarn barf. It is now a coaster...need to take pics of that one still. Actually quite decent as a felted coaster...and I really love the felted coasters as decor!

Now I am working on a circular sweater for Lucy, but have put it on the back burner for a few days to work in a pair of wool capris. Fun!

Sorry!

I've been sadly neglecting my blog as of late! But don't take my lack of posts as lack of progress! January has been a busy month for my needles.

1. Baby blanket, hat, booties, and mama socks for a friend were all done and shipped in January. Pics to follow (they are on the camera)

2. Baby socks supposed to be for Lucy but they are too small so they will go to another baby.

3. Baby beret for Lucy - ADORABLE! Done but pics are on camera.

4. Mittens for a friend of Toby's - done, pics on camera (seeing a theme here?)

5. On the needles now - a jacket for Lucy. It's a really neat and original concept and I am excited about it!

6. On the spinning front, I finished my first skein and plied and set it. AND knitted it into a felted coaster (it's all it was worth doing with it, it was the ugliest skein EVER!)...but made a very cute coaster :) It's still drying. Have started my second skein. I have one single of yellow done and am working on a single of orange/red, and will ply the two together. Hubby is supposed to make me a big plying spindle, but we bought all the supplies and he never touched it :( So I am on hiatus waiting for him. I still have to finish my red single though so I will work on that a little every day. I also ordered more fiber today...I really shouldn't, but it was 35% off! Who can resist a sale like that?

Oh what aTangled Web

Ok, spinning, not weaving, but I liked the literary allusion.

So I finally tried out my drop spindle and I LOVE IT!!! I'm not very good yet, but I had low expectations and it actually turned out much better than I feared. I've done more reading and think I know some things to fix for next timem but so far, FUN FUN FUN!!!

These are my first two singles, spun from the practice roving that came with my spindle. I did them in one evening and then let them sit for 24 hours before I plied them together. I put each ball in a coffee mug, threading the single through the handle and used the drop spindle to spin them counterclockwise (opposite of what you do to spin the single). Then I soaked the yarn and it is hanging to dry now - that sets the twist. Once it's dry I will take more pics. Some areas are overspun and some are underspun, but overall I was happy that it does look like yarn!


This is a picture of the singles before they were plied. I should have taken a picture of the roving before spinning...I will have to do that the next time!

I am also working on a blanket that has been in progress for a long time...it had been set aside months ago still needing an edging so I'm working on finishing that right now.