garlands

I made 4 of these over the weekend and I have one more to complete. I will split them between my Etsy shop and Mackey Blue. I love making them. I think they are great for room decor, birthday party decorations, shelves etc.
I have another style of garland that I've made one of so far that I plan to make more of. I can't remember if I've shown it before here or not but, I love it. Mysterious, I know.
I had all sorts of things planned for this week including sewing a dress for a little one that I have all cut out and ready to go but, it seems the cold from last week has reappeared as of yesterday and I feel terrible so, I think I'll sign off now and get some rest while Little M is sleeping because I know he'll be ready to go when he wakes up even if I'm not plus, I've got work tonight.

acorns, getting ready for fall knitting

I found bunches of acorns in my parents driveway and patio on Saturday. Luckily, I managed not to get hit by any of the ones the squirrel was throwing from the tree. I thought it was really interesting to see the variations of the all green ones and the already brown ones with dark caps at this time of year. I also collected some caps only which I like for crafting. I did needle felted acorns with real caps last year.

I had a little cold last week and so did Little M so it slowed things down a bit but, I think I am back on track.

I've sketched some ideas out for the knitted items plus a few other goodies I want to make this fall to sell. I'm not sure how many pieces I can complete but, it's good to be ambitious. I'm planning more kerchiefs which you can see over there on the right and I want to do mittens and hats and maybe more rapunzel scarves. Another item is this knit collar which I have 2 of right now.



I still need to sew in the ends, steam them and add the bows. The bow requires a trip to M & J. I may not get there till next week. I've made collars with buttons before which I also like and may make as well. As you can see, I didn't do my hair today. It is one activity I loathe to do but, wish I loved because then I wouldn't always be pulling it up. It requires time and I guess I dedicate that time to other activities like sleeping later.

I have 4 or 5 knits now in progress. One, I mentioned before is a sweater for Little M. I really dislike the way the pattern is written which makes it hard for me to work on but, I do want to finish it by end of summer. That is the middle of September, right?

the mitten

This book is heavy on rotation this week. If you do not know this story, it is quite charming.

It is about a boy named Nicki who wants white mittens and so his Baba (Grandmother) knits them for him even though she is concerned he will lose them in the snow. He soon loses one mitten and then a mole, a badger, a rabbit, an owl, a hedgehog, a fox, a bear and finally a mouse take refuge inside the mitten. The mouse's whiskers tickle the bear's nose which makes the bear sneeze and the animals fly out of the mitten. Nicki's mitten sails through the air and so he finds his lost mitten this way.

This is one strong mitten. I think Baba must have knit it with super powers.

Here is my version for Little M. I just had to make him some so he could have his own white mittens.

rapunzel scarf

The length of this scarf just kept making me think about Rapunzel in her tower letting down her hair.
I just kept going and going using almost all of 3 skeins to complete this moss stitch scarf. It is very soft and thick with wonderful texture and very warm. I sewed up a pocket on one end to store a few things if you are just running out to the store, or perhaps a trip to the mailbox (does anyone do that anymore?) or even a great place to store your mittens so you are sure not to lose them.

sew a button, knit a stitch

I've been meaning to publicly thank my dear friend Anna who about a month ago had me come and pick through supplies she needed adopted. While there is way too much to photograph it feels a little like I won the lottery. I got a ton of Brown Sheep Bulky, some Cascade plus a variety of some other yarns, tons of vintage buttons, zippers, lace and trims, vintage hankies, sewing patterns...I'm sure I forgot something. Most of it I just can't fit in the apartment. I cleared out a shelf for some of it that I plan to use in the near future and the rest of it is in storage.
Anna is an amazing knitter. You should check it out. She's got her hats and scarves in some of the best stores in NYC.
So, Anna...THANK YOU. It will all be put to good use and I will be making you a little something at some point that I know you want.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. It's supposed to be glorious weather.
Oh, and yes, I did make the little mason jar pincushion top the other day.

wee kitty cat

This lil' darling finally got finished up today. I had been waiting on polyfil and everywhere I went was sold out of it. So, I finally gave in and dug into some batting I had and it seems to have worked out just fine. Last year, I made the bear for Little M's 1st birthday. You can see it here.
So, now I just have the bunny to do someday. The combination of all 3 is one pattern and you can purchase it here.

little m's room

I thought it might be fun to do a 'corners of my home' and show some pics of Little M's room

First up is a painting by an acquantiance of ours named Hamish Kilgour. We adore this painting and so does Little M. The painting actually came years before his arrival.




Next a print from Stella Im Hultberg
This is titled 'I'll keep you warm' and I love that the little child is wrapping a scarf around the little birds



This is part of the scene on his non-working fireplace mantle...some animals, knit booties, vintage miniature children's books including a miniature copy of Hamlet for him to read during his downtime....hehe....



what you see when you look up



one side of a shelf showing one of the Jenn Docherty animals I own, M's initials and a jar of marbles



recently purchase paper doll set from Wool and Water that I put together last week and framed.



recently acquired vintage children's table for crafts, snacks, puzzles...



my brother Christopher's old toy box with some of little m's cars, trains and his plane




an old family heirloom china cabinet that we painted and use for storage



really great animal letterpress cards



a handmade bird stuffie from this shop which I love.