A Rainy Day Update

It's a gray, drizzly day, so a good day to spend some time updating at the computer!

First up is a nightgown I made for Lucy. I LOVE it though and may end up using it as a dress. This design is super easy and fast and if there's interest I may start stocking them. I'm already eyeing some more vintage fabric for more of these!

Here is a detailing of the hand crocheted edging. I'm still working on the edging for the bottom, but the rest is put together.


Here is a criss cross dress with rick rack trim for the store (say that 5 times fast!)
And another for Lucy.
A soaker for Lucy.
And another soaker for Lucy. This one has ruffles on the bum, but I'd never done it before, so I put the ruffles too far down...it just doesn't look right on her. So I will probably take them off and try again...thank goodness they were just sewn on!
And that's it for right now. Several projects in the works right now, but first and foremost is finishing the edging for the nightgown/ dress :)

It's Raining Yarn

Hallelujah, it's raining yarn...

Not quite, but after my stern determination that I need to cut down on yarn, I returned from Ohio with a large rubbermaid tub full of yarn.

In my defense, it was free.

I love my hobby!

Bad Blogger!

I know, I know, I'm such a bad blogger lately! I have been busy, just not good at getting my pictures up to day. But here's a little of what I've been working on lately:

1. Spinning - I have finished 2 skeins since last posting, have taken pics, but not on the computer yet. I'm working on my next skein now, a Blue Faced Leicester (bfl) wool in the wicked witch colorway from KnitFit Knitting.

2. Knitting - Been working on shorties and soakers- finished a pair of shorties, then used the leftover yarn to make a coordinating soaker. The soaker isn't quite finished yet, but close.

3. Sewing - Made myself a new skirt, and have 2 cross cross dresses for the store in progress.

4. Organizing - I actually went through all my yarn last night and sorted it by fiber - Fun! I also see that I have Too Much Yarn, so I'm now on a destashing frenzy. It's time for some odds and ends projects, because I really don't have room to be buying any more yarn or fiber right now.

BUT

I already have 1 lb of roving coming my way (blush). So I need to find somewhere to stash it!!!

So I'm looking at some scrap afghan patterns right now. I have tons of acrylic, but really prefer to knit with natural fibers, so I'd like to get rid of the bulk of my acrylics. I like to keep odds and ends on hand for stuffed dolls and animals, but I don't need anywhere near the amount that I have on hand right now! And that will free me up with space for the wools and cottons that I really love. So starting tonight is project SCRAPS! We'll see what we come up with!

Oh, and I found an alpaca farm nearby that I can't wait to visit! I already have a couple friends who want to work out a field trip for the kiddos, so it should be a blast. I'm hoping to get my hands on some roving - I know they have the whole fleece, but after reviewing my stash last night I really think I have enough on my hands without cleaning and processing an entire fleece...that just seems a bit...much. But I have a habit of jumping in with both feet, so we'll see...

April Showers...

Means more time for knitting!

I finished up a few small projects last week.

First up is a baby bonnet knit with Panda Bamboo Silk. A fingering weight yarn, it is a DREAM for knit with...very soft and smooth! I still have a skein and a half left after making this bonnet and a pair of booties, so I have cast on a lace scarf for myself.

This stretchy newborn hat is also knit out of bamboo. These projects were my first foray into bamboo, and I gotta admit, it's not my favorite fiber. The bamboo and silk was a nice combo, but I guess I didn't like the way the strands tended to separate on the bamboo.

These are the booties to match the bonnet above.
Ok, I'm not sure how this one got turned sideways, but it is a 3/4 length sleeve shrug for my 15 month old daughter. She wore it to church this morning and it was darling! It was a super quick knit with worsted weight yarn and size 7 needles.
This has also been a do-it-yourself weekend. I have been slowly but surely spinning by spindle. I decided to make two little helpers this weekend - first up, this is my niddy noddy, a handy little skeining machine...I wind on 2 yard skeins with this.
Ok again, not sure what Blogger is doing to my photos because this one is sideways too, but this is my makeshift Lazy Kate. I slid my singles off my spindle and onto a straw, then slid the straw onto size 2 straight knitting needles and poked them through a shoe box. Then I was able to ply the two singles together while keeping my singles nicely seperated. It worked fantastically and I was able to ply these two together last night into a 180 yard skein of blue-purple yarn (pictures to come, it is still drying).

So that is what I've been up to lately...lots of different odd projects! I started spinning a new yarn today - Blue Faced Leicaster, and this roving happens to be superwash so I can machine wash whatever projects come out of it! I bought this from a new source and it seems to be losing some color on my hands, so I'm not really thrilled about that. But it is fun to try a new fiber!

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!