knitting round up

On the last day of 2014 I am going to show you a a round up of knitting projects from the past few months that I didn't get around to as they were finished.

The first one is the Petawawa Cable Toque.
The designer is very admirable and this hat is very nicely designed. I actually started it quite a while ago and put it aside for almost a year. The yarn came with the pattern so I don't have the info. on it.

A red elf hat..debating on keeping or selling this one.

Knit with Spud and Chloe yarn
Looks so sweet on her.

The second pair of these two-tone mitts knit using this pattern without ridges. I used Cascade Yarns Eco Duo in Almond Smoke.

A child size winter cap for my Etsy store in Cascade Yarns Eco Duo in Zebra with red pom pom.

A second keyhole baby/toddler scarf in cream for my Etsy store.

I think there were a few more and I still need to show you the boyfriend hat I knit for Mick.

This week is so unique. A little breathing room. Wishing you all a Happy New Year. 2015!

copper chandelier project

Hope everyone had a nice holiday. I want to take a minute to show you you this really lovely project I saw on Design Sponge. It's a copper hanging chandelier and the instructions can be found here.
We don't have a ceiling fixture in our living room and it can be quite dark in there so this project was perfect for this space and looks nice hanging above our coffee table. All the guests who have come by have commented on how much they liked it.


Although our oven broke a few days before Christmas our neighbor was kind enough to allow us to use hers to bring things back and forth for a few hours that day. Some things planned did not happen. Perhaps some New Years baking instead.

I have a round up of knits to show you which I hope to get to in a few days. Hope everyone is enjoying some quiet days at home

leopard print collars in the shop

I just added a few girls leopard print collars that I had made up for the bizarre. They are sewn with soft thick fake fur and cotton. I love these little pieces. I made them a few years ago for my daughter and I. We love them.

little leg warmers 2

It was time for a new pair of leg warmers as she has been dedicated to the ones I made her a few years back even wearing them to bed on occasion but, they were a little short and worn. These new ones were made with Cascade 220. They were so simple to knit. Next time maybe I'll try them with a pattern and color mixing.

quilt exhibit

Last week at this time a friend of mine and I went to the Montclair Art Museum to view From Heart to Hand: African-American Quilts from The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. I highly recommend this exhibit if you can make it and not only if you are a quilt maker. I believe anyone can appreciate the work that went into these, the methods applied, the innovative use of material and unique way of looking at pattern and shape. Not all of these quilts are precise or shall I use the term 'perfect' which is something I sometimes struggle with when piecing. Walking away I felt that is not always essential to the quality and adds so much character in some designs. It was also very interesting to see the narrative work of Yvonne Wells.

a day at the bazaar

My event in town this past Sunday went well with lots of people stopping by and sales higher then any fair I've done before. The event was run really well by Studio B . I am trying to conjure up some better display ideas in a small space. I need to go up, perhaps build something or allow for more clothing racks in the future. My neighbors were great too. One had handmade pajaki egg ornaments and on the other side were the girls from The Able Baker.

'tis the season

You know that feeling when you are trying to do too much and you don't feel like you are getting much done. That's when it's time to make the list. That's what I am doing tonight.

It is also time to step back and enjoy the sweeter side of the season like this morning when my daughter came to me showing me each ornament she was pulling out of the box and marveling and talking about each one together.

I have a few more days to prepare for the bizarre in town (this Sunday 10-4) and I'm struggling with whether to knit or sew. My instinct says knit, winter is coming. I've been knitting so much lately.

I've begun to really like custom orders. Recently, I did just that and I made this custom keyhole scarf above for a baby girl in California.

So much to show and tell but, I must sign off for now.

strawberry thief 'birthday dress'

A new 'Happy Birthday Dress' that I will have for sale at my upcoming holiday market. I think this would be so special for a 1st birthday or any day really. This print is called 'Strawberry Thief' by Liberty of London which is so apropos with my own little thief in our strawberry patch come Spring.

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and start to the holidays. We took a brisk walk through Central Park this afternoon and avoided the shopping.

through the looking glass beret

This blue! I am in love. It's called, Through the Looking Glass as in Alice in Wonderland. If I may steer off topic I have wanted my daughter to dress as Alice for the past few years but, she's not buying it.

I used it in this project and I am happy I still have more to use it again. This time I thought it would be so pretty knit up into a beret for s special little lady. Perhaps I will get my own to model it for you. I will have it for sale at the Bizarre Bazaar in Maplewood, NJ on December 7th.

.....I took down the candy cane quilt photo because I just didn't like the picture. I have the worst time photographing quilts. I guess it's the size and trying to figure out how to set up the photo. I have two quilt tops and one finished quilt over the past month.

green mittens for s

I knit this pair of mittens for Scarlet. I love this shade of green and there is enough to make something matching at some point. I am working on knits for the Bizarre Bazaar and I should have a few pair of women's mittens to sell - hoping the yarn arrives tomorrow. If the stars align perhaps I can make some for the kiddies too.

liberty of london - coral meadow blouse

I am adding this blouse to the shop today. It is a size 3T but it would fit a 2 or 3T perfect. It's a peasant style with elastic at the arms and neck. One of my go to styles that always looks beautiful for everyday or special days. The print is called Coral Meadow. I made this fabric into a sweet summer top for my daughter and was happy to have enough left for an item for the shop. If it does not sell it will be with me on December 7th at the Bizarre Bazaar at The Woodland. The Abominable Snowman will be there so you have to come.

knitting with warm wool for babies

Here are 2 finished knits that I dived into the past few days using wool that I purchased in Rhinebeck, NY.

The hat is made with naturally dyed wool from Fiber Craft Studio. Sorry, I don't know which dye was used but, perhaps osage orange, myrobalan or turmeric. I made up the pattern for an ear flap hat for size 6 months. I love this shade of warm yellow. I tried walking away from it but, returned to pick it up with a lovely peach. I've talked about Fiber Craft Studio here before and would love to visit someday, it's located in New York State.

The romper is size 12 months and I used 0-wool which is an organic merino wool and is a wonderful environmentally friendly and affordable yarn that I really enjoyed knitting with. The company is situated in Philadelphia, PA and they use wool from South America and Australia. If you go to their website you can learn more about this company. I do have a beautiful red from here too. I see this romper paired with tights and a pretty blouse. I finished with vintage buttons the back.

I will be selling my handmade items next month at a local event in town. More on that soon.

puck

When I let time pass, things build up and then I forgot what I wanted to blog about. In the 'old' days when I blogged more often I could keep track. So, today I'll show you something I finished in the first half of October. I didn't take pictures of this at the time on my son because as I was finishing it that was the day he fell and got a big gash on his face which is still in the healing process but does not look as awful as it did the first few weeks. Since then I've also finished and destroyed a sweater I made him. This one, Lancelot, as I had an error in it I could not overlook. I am having trouble with the directions and it's not the technique since I've done short rows dozens of times. It's after joining the sleeves and working the yoke. The directions do not make sense to me. I did and still do have a fever so I'm going to wait it out and maybe rewrite the directions. It's certainly frustrating after 2 weeks of knitting to finish then unravel and cut (my goodness). It's now sitting in another room in a sad state. We are taking some space from each other till I work up the nerve to try to revive it.

This hat though, such a nice pattern, is called Puck and it was a fun knit using some fingering yarn I had in my stash. An unusual pairing of colors but, nice and autumnal. This boy gets excited about handmade knits. Here is the link to the hat. Design by Dani Sunshine

bright spots in the snow quilt

I am finished with this quilt using the snowball block and all solids. The quilting took some time for me because my machine is not cut out for quilts this size and it was a pain to get it through but I did it and it's bound.

The specifics of this quilt: it measures 60" x 78". The blocks are 10" square and there are 20 of them. The sashing in between and on the border are 4 1/2" wide. The fabric is Robert Kaufman in Snow and the colors pieces are a mix of Purl Soho's Spectrum Bundles

This was a fun quilt to make... choosing the color combinations and seeing it all pop against the white. I think it will be very cheerful on cold days.

olive juice skirts

Olive Juice Kids whose designs I have loved over the years is now selling some fabric from their clothing line. I took the opportunity to purchase some corduroy fabric in British Tan and Bittersweet as well as Brown Plaid in 100% lightweight cotton and pink tweed. I have had the pink tweed before in the shape of a dress three years ago and knew the weight and feel of it. It's a nice heavy winter fabric. The other three are lighter but perfect for Autumn/Winter wear as well. There are lots of skirt and tights days here. I used the whole half yard, made an elastic waist and finished with a nice wide hem. The one seam in the back is serged. They are quick and easy to make and best of all I know they will get lots of wear. I finished them with a label with my name which I know will bring a smile.

Rhinebeck 2014

Rhinebeck 2014.

We made our annual trip to Rhinebeck for the Sheep and Wool Festival. We spent about 5 hours there and I still felt like I only saw half of it. This festival is really something and there are great vendors from food and wine, to wool, woodcraft, basketry, recycled wool fashion, ceramics and more plus animals! M took a turn leading an alpaca. He may be a bit shy with dogs but, alpacas not at all. My kids love to watch the dog frisbee, dog herding and other animal related activities and the food so I usually go off on my own for a bit to shop for wool and other trinkets.

Here is the wool I came away with and a beautiful Swedish cottolin hand towel.

I also bought some lovely ceramic buttons as I have done in the past from Melissa Jean and a few pieces of wool from Heavens to Betsy. In the rush to get out the door I forgot my camera and then once I got there I was too distracted to shoot much with my phone.

dream dress

This dress is from one of my favorite sewing books, Carefree Clothes for Girls, and was sewn on Monday of this week. Wednesday was the first time she actually got to try it on and play around outside in it. This dress has sweet details like lace trim at the bottom tacked on twice, once by machine and as a special detail again with pure silver thread. The empire waist top is Liberty of London and buttons up the back with vintage glass bauble buttons and looped buttonholes made from embroidery thread. A tiny pocket for posies is sewn onto white cotton on the full length skirt. Lastly a bit of silver thread is sewn at the top neckline. Little details and slight imperfections give this that fairy tale quality, traipsing through the house and outside in your own little world as she is wont to do.