Happy Halloween!

Here we have a blood thirsty vampire
and a sweet little fairy.


The cape is made from an old elastic waist skirt of mine and the wings from wire found in the basement, knee high stockings and glitter glue.

apple quilt

Did I mention that I would show you my apple sewing project? I think so

The inspiration came from Melissa who made one in a different color way for a baby gift. This one is for Scarlet for Christmas or her birthday in February. We'll see.

I am hand quilting around each and every letter and apple. I think it's nice to pick up once in a while and it is relaxing and fun especially in bed covered with quilts and blankets.

for me and for you

I've a lot to catch up on here.
Today, some of my new knits.

One for me, two for you.

I've been wanting a forest green cowl for a year. I loved the one I made last year so I used that pattern again.
It's the Dolores Park Cowl and is made with lovely Malabrigo yarn.

And, two new things for the shop which shall be added this morning.

A soft and warm merino wool grey capelet


and brown alpaca baby booties for new baby toes.


-I'm working on so many things simultaneously and have many works in progress. One of them is the patchwork scarf from Carefree Clothes for Girls. The book has been making the blog rounds and for good reason. It's lovely. This project is very fun and I used some vintage real silver thread which is pretty amazing that I bought a while ago from Tinsel Trading.
A dress almost finished for Ms. S that has been planned for quite some time. Some quilting and lots of knitting and a few others.
I need to put some final touches on Scarlet's Halloween costume and see if I can pull something together for myself. We'll see.
I'm getting excited though. Halloween is a favorite of mine.

ny sheep and wool

We drove up to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool on Saturday. An event I had been looking forward to for months. We almost didn't go because bad weather had been predicted but, the rain held off which made for a decent day although not quite like the gorgeous upstate sunny October day I had in mind.

I got to spend a good 5 hours there poking around looking at the animals, wool and crafty vendors. Believe it or not 5 hours was not enough to see it all. I wish that the event was more organized because I find it is hard to locate some specific products (when you have something in mind) and also people. For example, Ysolda was there but she wasn't listed in the directory and I could not find her and had really wanted to meet her.

I was also looking for someone selling natural wool stuffing (nope though I probably walked right by it ). Icelandic wool.. I finally found right before we had to head out. I was very happy to see Sunbridge College there again but didn't make it there until I was leaving and I had about a minute to pick a skein and leave. They had little plant dye kits that I would have loved to try with the kids. Maybe I can make one myself.

What I walked away with- some wool (of course) but, not nearly enough (is it ever enough?), one fat quarter of red felt, a nicely made neck pillow, delicious cheese, a deep red wool dress, roving.

What I wish I had gotten - more wool specifically the right shade of red wool (couldn't find one), a nice fingering weight wool for another project, more worsted weight, more wool felt, wool stuffing.
Also, really would love to see demonstrations next time, try spinning and where was the suri/alpaca wool. Also would have liked to spend more time talking to the alpacas and sheep. Ms. S adored the sheep. And, I fell hard for those Aflac Ducks.

I was so worked up from the day I could not fall asleep that night. Yes, you read that correctly. My sister in law Sue described me as a 'kid in a candy store.' I would have to agree.

baby surprise sweater

I've been wanting to do an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern for a long time. I can't believe this is my first one but, here we are.

Knitting this sweater was unlike any other sweater I have ever made.
The instructions encourage you to carry on even when it doesn't look like a sweater as you are working it.

Recently Schoolhouse print came out with directions for sizing up. So, I used that and made this one toddler sized and its fits perfectly.



I used Classic Elite Alpaca wool that I had on hand and this took about 2 1/2 skeins.
It's a light weight worsted. I think a larger stitch count worsted would work out nicely for a size bigger.

The buttons are vintage shell also from my collection.

something old, something new

-a pretty velvet beaded vintage children's collar. The label reads Tucker by Fran and Lou




- a new forest green velvet skirt made from an Oliver + S Pattern.

capelets and cupcakes

A few more capelets.






-That's Liberty of London corduroy lining. You will see that pop up again on a dress.




Ms. S is happy to model for you.




Some applesauce spice cupcakes I made yesterday from the Martha Stewart Cupcake book I won from Elizabeth. I made the cake stand this summer with some nice glass pieces picked up at a church sale. So easy and pretty. The cupcakes are pretty good but wasn't overly excited about the recommended frosting -brown sugar and cream cheese.

bright star

I went to see Bright Star on Friday and loved it.
I think it is the best film I've seen in a long time and the movie stayed with me for quite some time afterwards. When I got home I just wanted to drink tea and stitch and read and ponder. Actually not quite different then most nights:) The leads are very good and the story unfolds in a very slow but perfect way. And, the fashions! Well, I am quite fond of them.
I had forgotten how much I loved Keats and the romantic poets and spent some time reading Keats letters and poetry the past few days.
Lovely film. I highly recommend it.

autumn capes

A wool plaid cape lined in black corduroy.
Perfect for swooshing through/jumping in leaves, going to the playground, the pumpkin patch, to wear with the forest green skirt that is currently being sewn up.




I've been wanting to take my knitted capelets I make for children and try them out in fabric.
This is my first one. I've had some wool/wool blends in the stash for a while and I think I will make some more of these to sell and hopefully a few size 4's once I resize the pattern. I'll also continue to make the hand knit ones as well.

Have a nice weekend.

cashmere gloves

Have you ever knit with cashmere?
I just did.
I wanted to do this project for a while and pulled out the supplies from my stash last week.
These fingerless gloves are for Mick's birthday which is a couple weeks away.
Who doesn't need a little luxury once in a while?

Pattern: Cashmere Fingerless Gloves by the Purl Bee (the modified simpler version)
Yarn: Jade Saphire Zageo 6 Ply Cashmere in Blood Orange (MC) Blue Sky Alpaca Sportweight Melange in Pumpernickel (CC)
Needles: 4 and 5 dpns

an apple a day

We went on our annual trip to the apple orchards this morning and brought home 31 pounds of apples.
I plan to do a lot of baking, cooking and general eating of apples over the next month or so. What are your favorite apple recipes and ways to eat them?

I remember seeing something about apple fritters last year and of course there is applesauce, apple pie and crisp. I was thinking a tart with onions and apples might be good.

We picked Golden Delicious, Jonamac, Jonathan, Macoun, Empire and Rome Beauty.

Matty's preschool has been having an apple theme so he has been doing taste testings there, made applesauce and art projects

I also have had a very slow going apple sewing project in the works. I'll show you soon.

Happy October!
-Oh and if you are local I will have a table at the Farmer's Market this Monday from 2-5 (in Maplewood, NJ).