Another Tuesday

Well the weather has taken a turn for the worse! We got three inches of snow yesterday and the temp has dropped to the teens again....BLEAH! The high 30's were feeling SO GOOD.


I was checking out the latest on Wilcox Wizard Wears blog to see what she's been up to lately. She's attending school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and participates in a lot of Harry Potter related craft swaps (my personal favorite stuff to check out, maybe someday I will start in on the swaps too). She got a new yarn that is JUST GEORGEOUS! I don't know if it is okay to copy pics of her blog, so here's the link to it...I would love, Love, LOVE a skein of this yarn!! However, my stash being now 3 large tubs of yarn, I really should complete many things prior to adding to it....but how do you resist!! A knitter/crocheter needs a yarn stash to choose from, a beader needs a bead stash, a quilter needs a fabric stash and a scrapbooker needs a paper & embellishment stash.......AND I HAVE ALL OF THEM! My husband is not too thrilled about me taking up half the upstairs with my crafting. So what I'm really trying to say is, not only is my stash of yarn up to 3 large tubs of yarn, it's also 6 large tubs of fabric (not to mention two boxes worth of just patterns), two medium size organizers of beads (one being just the seed beads, so many colors!), one upright roller cart and one travel case of scrapbook paper & supplies, and piles and piles of miscellaneous craft stuff crammed in between it all! This whole confession is really making me want to create something with what I already have...


...WAIT! I am!! Last night I dug out many yard pieces of fabric, D-rings and boning. Odd combination?? I'm making several nursing covers for this weekends Baby Fair that I'm assisting my local La Leche League chapter with. We'll be selling the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, raffle tickets for an adorable baby basket we've assembled and the nursing covers made by me! All as a fundraiser for LLL and to inform the public about who we are and what we do. As soon as I finish them I'll take a pic and add to this post. I have so much in my stash that I didn't have to buy any materials for this project...it really felt good!


Happy Tuesday!

Grosgrain: Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yet again I was browsing my usual blogs, and Grosgrain is one of them. She makes the coolest and cutest clothes for both her girls and herself! Her current giveaway Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!! Is SO CUTE!! She used the funnest fabric! I actually have one similar that I bought years ago that I meant to make a nightgown out of, but me and my lack of.......well, energy perhaps,....the fabric is still sitting in my fabric stash.

Catching Up

YEAY!! My husband is home!! He's been gone for three weeks for military training (he was the instructor) and now he's back! It's so nice to have him home. It's also the reason I haven't had a computer to download pics. Now to catch up...

I received my PIF from YarniGras the first week my honey was gone, a baby hat and blanket. Isn't the hat adorable! It has inspired me to make a bunch for myself and 5 other of my pregnant friends. It is SO SOFT too!

The view from our room from last weekends Leavenworth craft retreat with my mom, aunt and grandma. So beautiful!

In Leavenworth, I bought this Misti Alpaca 100% baby alpaca yarn made in Peru that I want to make a baby blanket with for the next baby (cross your fingers that the pink is appropriate, we still don't know). Unfortunately it will only make about a 14" square knitted, at least that's what the sales lady said, and I can only gently hand wash the completed item (am I a glutton for punishment or what?). I guess I'll find out. I'm thinking I will start with a knitted square, buy more, then maybe crochet an edge. I just found a book at the library that combines knitting and crocheting. Very encouraging, inspiring and FULL of ideas!

And of course, ALL the beading that I did on our Leavenworth craft retreat. My two beaded beads, my fan-fare necklace component, the anomone bracelet and the New Jade and silver incomplete bracelet.

Gotta go! We're heading to the grandparents now!

Weekly Update

I always feel guilty when I don't type a new post every few days. There are SO MANY new crafty things that I can post about but just haven't been able to. This past week we closed the office at work, so I had an entire week to be creative. Instead I travelled to my parents (where I began my PIF for muntedkowhai, I'm pretty excited about it, a new design!), then spent two days home full of non-work related meetings and playdates (so fun! can't wait to have more for my son's sake) then this past weekend in Leavenworth, Washington for our yearly family craft retreat with my mom, aunt and grandma. All in all, I guess I was crafty, but not as much as I had hoped for.


This past weekend was beading devoted, so I have 5 new beaded items to post about. The difficult part is that I don't have a computer at home and thus cannot download pics until I do. For now, it's going to be just words describing them all. I made two bracelets, one completed green "Anemone" bracelet from this instructional technique link at Fusion Beads (one of my FAVORITE bead stores to go to in Seattle), the other bracelet is just an incomplete inspirational piece so that I wouldn't forget it later. I also made two beaded beads, one with size 11 seed beads over a wooden bead and one with black seed beads and copper pearls over a black faceted glass bead. The fifth item I made was a pink, red and white fan-like component to a necklace project out of Beadwork magazine that I will probably turn into a pendant type necklace. As soon as I am able, I can download the pics and add them to a later post.

Happy Valentines Day!

A day late, but that's okay! I currently don't have a computer at home. I came to visit my parents who live 3 hours away and am using theirs to catch up. The little one and I had a full day with our friend, we had lunch, then went to a movie, then went to the mall to have a snack and play in the kiddie area. By the time we got home we were exhausted!

A couple years ago I went and saw The Golden Compass. Towards the end of the movie, Lyra, the main character, was wearing a knitted hat in the fight scene. Since I had an infant at the time I just HAD to find the pattern online and make one in blue for him. I ended up finding a few blogs that provided knitted patterns and upon making them, found that there were a few areas I was unhappy with. I ended up changing the patterns I found and created one of my own. Here's a pic of the current one on the needles...


It was for my friends daughter for Christmas, I believe it's a little too big and since it's not finished I'm saving it for next year. I'm currently working on writing up the pattern, hopefully I'll figure out how to add it to the blog as a downloadable pdf. But for those who would like a sneak preview, here's a list of materials:

LYRA HAT (from The Golden Compass)

Materials:
1 Skein Lion Brand Wool Ease, color: Natural Heather
1 Pair 19mm US 35 Knitting Needles

Gauge:
Using both ends of the skein and doubling up the yarn: 6 stitches and 7 rows to 4 inches of stockinette stitch.

Pattern:
STAY TUNED!


Here's another WIP I started a few years ago. I finally finished the main body of it. It was a free Red Heart pattern I got at JoAnn's Fabrics for a knit cell phone cover. At the time I started it, my mom had still had a really OLD phone that would have fit into it once it was hemmed up and a flap and handle were added. Recently she finally got a new phone so the size will not work but it is a good size for an eyeglass cover. I thought I would line it with a soft flannel fabric and still add the flap and handle. It was my first cable pattern. I wanted a challenge and it ended up being very fun!

Cool idea!!

So I was perusing from blog to blog to blog...like I occasionally do...and came across Bella Dia. She had this idea of using the scrabbooking rub-on transfers on rocks!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! (You can check it out here.) I like scrapbooking, I also like rocks, I've still got a box of rocks at my parents house. Pet rocks have ALWAYS been cute!! A whole new idea for rocks!! Obviously this was a very exciting find for me.

On another note...I'm still looking for two more to Pay It Forward. I'm an all around crafty person and pretty good at gathering information to make a "specially made for you" something. I'll be off of work all next week and will be posting a whole bunch of WIP...I'm excited to finally have some time to crafty self. I'll even be posting a knitted hat pattern that I researched, modified, and made into my own design. I'm kinda excited to post my first knitting pattern! YEAY! Stay tuned...

Pay It Forward!

About a week ago, I was checking out my regular list of blogs that I frequently check out, sometimes these pay out with giveaways and what not. On Yarni Gras blog I learned about a fun and sharing thing called Pay It Forward. Luckily I posted early enough on Yarni Gras blog to be in on the fun.

This is how it works....

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I LOVE crafting and giving away!!! So, upon learning about all this, I did a little investigating and have tracked PIF through many blogs all the way back to July 2007. I don't think this is when it started, this is just when I came to a dead end in the road. Now I may spend a little more time just to see if they mention again what they gave away, I'm curious to see what many a luck PIF sender/receiver has given and received.

This all reminds me, I recently got a thank you card from Suzy Q's new owner. She's the Knitted Babe I posted about here. She's been renamed Heidy and her new owner is really enjoying her. I've been meaning to call the LYS and find out, but I guess the card beat me to it. She was fun to make! Hhmmm.....the ideas and possibilities of what I will soon be working on....can't wait to figure them out! I believe each handmade goodie will be unique to each person. :) Oh, and I do believe that I will probably beat the 365 day time frame, my goal is to complete whatever they may be by August, once a new baby arrives, I will have NO TIME!

Happy Friday!

Announcement

Well, I'm starting to recover from being exhausted constantly. I'm not ill or fighting some infection,...I'm carrying a bun in the oven! First trimester, like the first time around, has been nothing but exhaustion. This time around, though, I also have a lack of appetite. Most foods are gagging me and when something sounds good, I better eat it before the window of opportunity passes. Within this past week I've finally started getting some energy back. Last weekend we cleaned the house after about a month of neglect. All I could manage to do was go to work, come home to the sofa, then go to bed for twelve hours. The dishes piled up, the toys spread everywhere and ALL the crafts got crammed in the corner.

I did manage this cute little nightgown and robe ensemble for my friends daughter who got a new doll for Christmas. I had several 18" doll clothes patterns, but her's was a 14" doll. So I cut the pieces out that I wanted and photocopied them down to hopefully the right size. By my calculations, if I shrunk them to be 77% of the size, they would fit a 14" doll. Laying them next to Cowboy Bob makes them look like they would fit him perfect...

He wasn't too thrilled at the suggestion and because I woke him from his nap. He's still not happy that I haven't made him any jeans, he's embarrassed about the boxers. Cowboy Bob is another Knitted Babe that I made last summer for my son. He really enjoyed hanging out with Suzy Q while she was here. I recently learned that she is enjoying her new home and has been name Heidi. However, Cowboy Bob's idea is from the other book by Claire Garland Dream Toys. This was another book I fell in love with at first site, mainly because I had to make the mermaid from it (another to-do on my list).

Is it odd that after I took this picture my son insisted that Cowboy Bob had messed his shorts and needed a diaper? Well, that was the case and we made him one only to have it removed shortly after that because Cowboy Bob needed to use the potty. It was all a new and interesting experience brought to me by my 2-1/2 year old.

Now that first trimester is ending, I'm hoping to get back to crafting....my latest goal is to create an amigurumi character. I started this one last fall, it's pattern is from the book Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden. I fell in love with this book the moment I saw it...I just don't know what this little guy/gal wants to be. I think I originally was going to make the amazon warrior, but now I want to do something a little different. I gave it Cowboy Bob's winter scarf because it's still chilly around these parts. Hopefully I'll post more projects soon! We have to see how my energy level is doing.

A fun girl outfit...

Here's a fun little outfit any little girl would love to have by Grosgrain: New Year's Eve Sweater and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!! She always makes simple elegant girls clothes, they're so inspiring. I wish I could have the time to sew as much as she does. She's also giving away an adult top, it looks fun to wear. I just don't think it would fit me, so I didn't try for it.

Survival

I survived the holidays...barely!!! This year they ended up being so exhausting before they even started, for reasons I can't explain right now. :) I started out with so many ideas in my head on what I was going to make and for who...EVERY person on my list had a handmade gift floating in my head. I only accomplished a third of them and I managed to get a pic of only one before I gave it away! So disappointing. I made these for our friend's kids, a 2-1/2 year old and one year old, I didn't get a pick of the 1 year olds. I had a pattern for some fleece pants, then I added their initials in fleece to the behind.

They didn't turn out perfect because of how stretchy the fabric was, you can see in the close up the corners are not that great, I had better success with a similar project when I sewed cotton quilt fabric to fleece. Our friends loved them though, they were a perfect gift! The boys were a grass green fleece with white letters and royal blue thread. I also completed a knitted hat that fits my husband perfect, although it was made for his cousin. I finished it while we were away for the holiday, so I'm holding on to it for next year. It was made in Washington State University colors, hopefully next year she will be attending and it may be a more appropriate time to gift it! I'll post pics of it when I find it.

We're also surviving this insanely crazy weather we've been having for almost a month now. Our yard still has up to 30" of snow and we're expecting another 5-9" overnight. GO AWAY!! Everytime it snows, I must dig out my car and the driveway, hope that I'll make it over the burm at the end of the alley and that the roads have been plowed or I can't go anywhere. Then once I get to work I have to hope and pray that the parking lot has been plowed and that there is no burm to go over to get into the parking lot. This whole process is just so time consuming that I think that's the most frustrating part. If I didn't have to leave the house, I would be enjoying this weather SO MUCH more! I would want to sled, I would want to try my new snowboard, I would want to walk the dog in it. We even had snow for Christmas day which is unheard of on the western side of the state at the in-laws. We got almost 12" or more, and this is in a city that never gets snow. When they do, it shuts down because they have no snowplows. We were one of the few people driving in it, probably because we had been driving in it for more that a week in our own home town already. Here's my wee one helping shovel on Christmas day. He helped by shoveling it BACK into the shoveled area, it was so cute!