dress up - st. lucia

I like the festival of St. Lucia day which is celebrated on the 13th of December. Though I do not claim heritage to this part of the world I do enjoy learning about different cultures.

The history behind this day.

In Sweden the eldest daughter rises early and wearing a white dress, red sash, and with whortleberry-twigs and nine lighted candles as a crown awakens the family with singing and serves coffee and saffron buns.

Here is my own little special St. Lucy dressed in a nightgown her Mama made from a bed sheet a few years back and a crown template from Sweet Paul Mag. Lots of super fun craft ideas over there.

liberty bloomers

I love bloomers... loose fitting, charming and sweet they can be worn in warm months or layered with leggings and tights in cooler temperatures. These are made with Liberty of London cotton with an elasticized waist and leg openings. They will be part of a shop update I am planning for January (fingers crossed). Size 12 months.

two tone mittens

I finished up these mittens over 2 days. The pattern is Jenny Gordy's: Purl Ridge Mittens however, I omitted the ridges for these. I might try again with the ridges in a solid. The yarn was purchased last Fall at Purl Soho and I've misplaced the tag but I am pretty sure it's Cascade Eco Duo. The pattern calls for Aran and this is worsted but, fits well. I love that each one is slightly different from the other. I'm not always a fan of variegated..this time it really suits me though. The thumb construction which is held and then picked up with a few extra stitches on the sides and knit in the round (does this make sense?)is the perfect thumb in my opinion. I am excited about those thumbs.

I have another cold (boo!) and it's been really hard to get as much done as I would like. Baking hasn't even happened yet. Knitting thankfully is one thing besides the everyday stuff that I can pretty much always do. A lot of my ideas and half finished projects are going to have to wait for the new year.

I called these Two-Tone mittens after a store I used to frequent in Montclair and work at on Sundays for awhile. Ah, and here is a photo of the lady who was my friend/boss.

turn a square

I had not knit anything in awhile for Matty....feeling guilty, I knit him a hat. It's the same as this one but, different. Yellow is his favorite color and it suits him well- bright and buzzing with energy.

Pattern: Turn a Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Plant dyed merino wool from here
Needles: Us 3 and 5

Have a good weekend everyone!
I am looking forward to this one as we have music shows and parties all weekend. Also, Matty is testing for a new belt in Tae Kwan Do tomorrow!

orchids and fairy lights

Most definitely one of the prettiest hats I have ever knit for myself. It's comprised of cables and bobbles and is a really stunning looking pattern.


Pattern: Orchids and Fairy Lights
Designer: Tiny Owl Knits
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Rios
Color: Damask Rose

This one is a favorite of mine too that I knit 3 1/2 years ago: Rose Red by Ysolda Teague.

new blouse in the shop

I added a new blouse to the shop this morning in a pretty cotton floral. I just love the pops of yellow, orange and navy on that sage green background. I also can take custom order requests for this style for girls under 8. It is a peasant style blouse I have made over the years. A tried and true favorite.

popping in

Just popping in here as it's been a while....

I recently completed a custom order for a Liberty of London skirt like the one here that has been sent off to the UK as a Christmas present from her Grandma. This one is in the shop right now.

Skirts are well loved in our house and are part of my daughter's 'uniform.' I am planning to add more girl's clothing to the shop in 2014.

I have some other things to show you too. Hope to be back soon.

kindling season

Kindling Season: What a beauty!

I love this sweater/coat that I knit from super soft Malabrigo Yarn.
And the pattern is clever and simple to knit with a design on the back that really makes it special and not boring to knit.

It also has pockets! This should fit for several years down the road. My only change was to shorten the sleeves by 15 rows. If I choose I could always go back and make them longer when needed.

making: jewelry

I was inspired to make some jewelry especially with the holidays approaching and here are a few of the pieces that have been finished. The bracelets are all czech beads and the two with smaller beads are child size. The red is adult size and is a little loose like a bangle for movement. The necklaces are made with beads strung on silk cord in varying metals. I have been wearing the silver 'noodle' (this is what my daughter named it) on a gray cord since I made it yesterday. One of the necklaces (the gold and silver balls) is for her since she picked out the beads at Toho Shoji on Saturday. Always a fun place to go.

a blank canvas

I just finished knitting Ysolda Teague's blank canvas pattern on Saturday. I chose the same shade but in a different wool. Aren't those photos of her so pretty? I wish I had the time to take proper photos but, since it seems I am usually the only one able to do it this is what I get.

It took me a month to knit this with a few other knitting projects thrown in ( a hat and some mitts) to break it up. And though this pattern is quite basic there are nice details in the waist shaping and sleeves. I haven't blocked it out yet so I know it's going to get even better but, I just could not wait to wear it today! The yarn choice is a first for me- it's Elizabeth Lavold Silky Wool in 109 Med. Gray (a blend of wool, silk and nylon). I found it at a cute yarn shop I happened upon at the end of August on a summer drive through the country.

I know myself well enough now to buy one extra skein which I only needed for the collar band and finishing details but, I have made this mistake before and it is not fun having to wait and/or not getting the right dye lot again. This sweater is making me very happy as it's soft enough to wear against the skin with a nice drape. The 3/4 sleeves are perfect for me too.

There are still some things growing out in the garden. I'm going to let the carrots grow through the winter and see what happens. Though I think I should harvest the rest of the lettuces and chard.

friday patchwork

Playing around with the simple 9 patch and trying to decide if I want a whole quilt of it. I'm not sure. I've always wanted to make a red and white quilt. If you know me it's probably pretty obvious that red is my favorite color.

I often look back at my photos from this exhibit which was and is still so inspiring.

Have a good weekend. Tomorrow we celebrate Matthew's 8th birthday!

woven placemat

I've bookmarked a lot of the projects in Lena Corwin's new book Made by Hand. There are so many good ones.

The first one I have finished was my friend Jaime's project: a woven placemat.
You need to make your own loom for this project which was fairly simple - I ordered the screen printing frame from Dick Blick and the nails are hammered in on the two vertical sides leaving the horizontal sides free to weave.

The fabric is cut into 1" strips of two different fabrics for the warp and weft (I used Liberty of London and a linen/cotton blend) and weave away. I thought I cut the weft fabric correctly but it frayed a lot as I was weaving perhaps because of the friction but I am not sure so I will try a different fabric next time for that.

Here are few of many of the projects I would like to make.

beaded necklaces

baskets

I am likely to knit Jenny Gordy's sock pattern first but, we will see.

the sweetheart dress

I made the Sweetheart dress yesterday. The pattern is pretty similar to the Sally with the exception of pockets and the cutout heart.
The fabric is Denyse Schmidt, Shelburne Falls in Deco Fans. I like the fabric pattern a lot and this color is one of her favorites. She is very opinionated about clothes and this got approval though she will get more use of it next year now that the season has changed.
It is always nice to see patterns that celebrate childhood like this and always fun for me to sew.

the sally dress

Love the Sally dress pattern! It's playful and sweet with an innocent quality and charm to it. The pattern is just a few pieces and has a few different options for sleeves. It was very easy to sew and I already want to make another but, I'm going to make the sweetheart dress next because who can resist a cutout heart at the back.

The Sally Dress is a Very Shannon Pattern.