MoosieKnits

Some eye candy and a hello -

2011-07-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

I've been having fun since my last post. I'm making all types of homemade beauty products including oil cleansing, lotions and mineral makeup. Handmade is soooo addictive. I always spend more than it would cost to just buy it but I love the process of creating it myself.

I hope to share my creations on the blog soon. Until then here is a little bit of the last couple months.

oooh a newborn

some newborn socks
Debbie Bliss two tone socks

my favorite dyeing I've done in a long time
on gaia bulky

some newborn longies
Attd Silver Lining

my little model

again modeling for me

faraway, so close
by sweet mama small sugar
50/50 wool/silk

.....................................................................................................................

bubbas 9 month photos

loving the not your mother's prefolds

last day as a 2 year old

First day as a 3 year old

ooh yummy yummy
Handspun
Wildflower Whimsy
paintbrush on SW merino

Vegan Lactation Cookies

2011-05-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Dairy Free Lactation Cookies

.....photos to come later....

Ingredients:

3/4c Coconut Oil
1c Brown Sugar
2-4 tbs Blackstrap Molasses
3 tbs Flax seed meal
4 tbs water
2/3c Pumpkin Puree
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2c Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2-4 tbs brewers yeast
3c Rolled Oats
1 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
optional: toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350
Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 3-5 mins
Beat Coconut Oil, Brown Sugar and Blackstrap Molasses
Add Pumpkin puree and mix well
Add flaxseed mix, vanilla extract, mix well
Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda and salt
Add dry ingredients to Coconut mix
Stir in Oats and Chocolate Chips (optional to use dark chocolate chips, non vegan but yummy)
optional: stir in pumpkin seeds
Scoop on a baking sheet with ice cream scoop
press on cookies to flatten a little bit (cookies will keep same shape after baking)
Bake for 12-15 minutes
transfer to rack to cool
Enjoy!

Even if they don't boost your milk supply they are super yummy and healthy!

My baby boy is 6 months

2011-03-09T06:46:00.001-08:00

Here are some of L's 6 month photos I took over the weekend of February 12th. These were taken at my favorite beach, El Matador! We had a fun couple of hours taking pix on the beach that evening.

A little Bit of Spinning

2011-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much time to craft lately. I've been super busy with the rest of life. I dream of crafting but don't get much done in real life.

I spun these up last month and part of this month and got a chance to sit down and post some pix.

The first is a 100%wool from Mountain Meadow that I Hand Dyed with some warm firey colors. A mix of oranges, yellows, browns and black. I didn't really care for this fiber and probably won't ever spin it again. I do love the colors. I did the 2 skeins at different times. The first is a chunky weight and came out to be about 142 yards. The second came out a more worsted weight and about 184 yards.

Up next I have some yummy BFL/Silk that was Hand Dyed by the wonderfully talented Angelina at Wildflower Whimsy. I love her work and decided to sign up for a 3 month fiber club. This is her January 2011 fiber "Grey Cracker" It was a dream to spin and turned out to be some gorgeous yummy muted tones of silver, blues and burgundy. I think it is around 200 yards, maybe worsted weight ( I haven't measured it yet)

Thanks for looking! I've been cutting out some fabric with hopes of doing some sewing!

I Heart Faces - Best Face Photo

2011-01-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here is another entry into the "I heart Faces" weekly contest. I think I didn't follow the rules last time, so I hope I do it correctly this time.

I took so many great shots of A. this month its so hard to choose her best face

eeny meeny miny moe.....

January 01, 2011

I heart faces - "Innocent Wonder"

2011-01-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a new headband I made over the weekend for A's Valentine's shoot.

I used a gorgeous pink ranunculus flower attached to a skinny metal headband

with a vintage style button center

I will be entering an "I heart faces" weekly challenge with one of these photos.

Their weekly challenge is

"Innocent Wonder"

Free Valentine's Templates from Florabella

2011-01-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

Well I'm back at work, no fun, no time to play. I have been spinning a little here and there hopefully I can finish this weekend and post some pix, yum yum

Until then check out Florabella and download her free Valentine's Templates for your Valentine's cards. Super Cute!!

http://florabellacollection.com/blog/2011/01/13/free-florabella-valentine-cards-bookmarks-giveaway/

Here are some my recent photography

Vintage Rolled Rosette Headbands

2010-12-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Still crafting while I can, only a few more weeks of maternity leave :0(

I had fun putting these together. I put the cream one on A. and she looked soooo adorable!
So I made two more as gifts for my little niece A. and L.
I'll work on getting some action shots

Its a satin rolled rosette with a black feather attached to a skinny metal headband, so fun to make.

I also put together this awesome coffee filter wreath I saw on Martha Stewart, super easy and very beautiful
1 paper plate and approx 160 coffee filters

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/coffee-filter-wreath

Happy Holidays!

HeadBand Giveaway WInners Announced

2010-12-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

I counted up 16 entries. Wow you guys have a great chance of winning :0)

I wrote down each name and assigned them a number. I am entering into Random.org right now and will pick 3 numbers. Here we go....

11
15
10

Winners are

11. Kara H
15. Christene
10. Kelli P

Congrats! Please contact me for details on how to redeem your free Head Band!!

The remainder of the Head Bands will be for sale in my shop tomorrow
check out the Facebook
page for a 20% off coupon code

www.facebook.com/fernadele

And whats a post without a picture :0)

Look what's drying....yummy squishy handpainted wool

2010-12-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to checkout the current Giveaway

Super Drool, I spent yesterday afternoon dyeing up these lovely's. 24 oz of yummy squishy wool

brb with pic of the babe....

Headband Giveaway Update - Ends Sunday 12/5

2010-12-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Just want to give an update on my current giveaway and show some pix.

3-pack skinny elastic flower headbands

Hand Crafted Mini Rhinestone Flower approx 1.5inches
attached to 1/8th inch colored elastic with a professional felt finish on back.

Here are the official Rules to enter to win a headband.
updated from Monday

1. Go to www.facebook.com/fernadele and "like" me
2. Comment on your favorite item in my facebook photos
3. Leave a comment here that you entered the giveaway

I have decided to pick 3 winners an each will win 1 headband of their choice.
Giveaway is extended through Saturday
I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday
December 5th.

Good Luck and Thanks for Visiting my Blog!

Giveaway - 3 pack of skinny flower headbands

2010-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to have over 100 "likes" to my facebook page that I'm going to offer a free gift. I'm putting together a 3-pack of skinny flower headbands.

Check out www.facebook.com/fernadele and "like" me. Add a comment to one of my facebook photos. Go to my shop and come back here and post your favorite item.

For extra entries post a link to my blog or shop on your site and give me a link.

On Friday I will randomly pick a winner! wahoo!

Now on with some pictures

Then:

Now:

patiently waiting to be spun:

Fun Fact: The two blue colorways were dyed using the same exact dyes, one was hand painted and the other was kettle dyed

Coming Soon:

Some new hats :0)

Free Christmas Card Templates from Florabella

2010-11-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Just posting about the free giveaway at Florabella actions and textures. If you like them on facebook you have access to a free set of Christmas card templates. And I also get entered to win a giftcard. wahoo

Check it out

Florabella Actions & Textures Free Templates

Black Friday Mega Giveaway & Sales Event

2010-11-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

Come join everyone over at Pamela Topping Photography tomorrow for a giveaway and sales event.

Here is a sneak peek at whats to come

http://www.pamelatopping.com/2010/11/surprise-for-monday/

Playing around with flowers....

2010-11-19T16:34:00.000-08:00

both kids are asleep ... shhh ... here are some pix from naptime

BFL Wool Roving Dyeing today

2010-11-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

I pulled out some of my BFL wool roving to dye today. 3 4oz pieces, 2 hand painted and 1 kettle dyed. I was tired of looking at my undyed stash and decided to get to work on it. I mixed some dyes a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to put them to use.

I have 2 lengths drying and one cooling down. My Fuchsia bled really bad with my key lime and created orange, not what I was going for but it will work out okay, might try that one again later.

I'm trying to designate each day with something crafty I want to do. Yesterday I worked on some fabric flowers, no pix yet. I have Alana tomorrow so no time to be crafty but I'll come up with something else on Monday

Oh and I added a bunch of hats to my new store at Artfire.... check it out let me know what you think fernadele.artfire.com

Marcie

Crafty Collage

2010-07-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been so long since I've posted. I got stuck in jury Duty and forgot all about my Tuesday posts.....

Here a peek at what I've been up to since last post

Tutorial Tuesday and some crafts from me, yay!

2010-04-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to take some pictures of a few things I've been working on. Lots of girly flowery stuff I'm having so much fun making for Alana. Though she doesn't need it all and probably won't use it all. Maybe I'll actually start listing some stuff in my artfire shop. I've been paying for it for a year and have yet to list anything. procrastination big time.

Anyway here are all the beautiful photos of stuff I've been working on, and lastly a tute for the week.

playing with my drop spindle, I plied to skeins of purewool lace weight. After practicing with this, I actually spun some fiber.. waiting for pix of that

mmm yummy!

Here are some fun fabric flowers I made using the DuhBe Flower Tutorial.
Through a lot of trial and error I came up with these, I think they will get better with more practice.

Hey my tutorial for the week.
An awesome etsy seller who shares her basic techniques for making these flowers. They look much easier to do then they are. But I figured out a perfect setting on my ruffler foot to get the gathers. Still working on the perfect thickness for my hair clips.
yep I turned them into hair clips!
Her Blog is great check it out

ooh more fun fabric flowers.
These are rolled fabric flowers and you can find tutes all over the internet.
Super easy to make. This flower was made into a hair clip that clips onto a headband.
I added some ribbon to the joining part of the headband
so that you can attach the hair clip.
Interchangeable hair clips.. totally awesome

I bought some of these ever so popular crochet beanies
and some fabric flowers to make some hats for photography.

I deconstructed the flowers, flattened the back by melting it, put them back together,
added a rhinestone to the center,
added a hair clip to the back and clipped it on the hat.

more flowers I purchased, deconstructed, and added a hair clip
these are quite big, so not sure how I will use them

just showing the matchy matchy hairclips attached to the back...ya go me

you may have seen these hats on my blog before. I love love love making them for Alana
and even made one for a friend to photograph for me. I picked up some more cotton yarn
to make more.

I recently purchased some organic cotton that I will dye myself to make
more. I hope to sell these in my Artfire shop.

What do you think?

yarn choices for now....

Being modeled by an adorable little friend. The yarn in this photo is different than the ones above.

are you still with me...
here is some fabric I cut out over the weekend. But didnt get a chance to sew
Hopefully next weekend

top to bottom:
Gracie Top - Portobello Pixie
Jada Ruffle Pants x 2 - Romeo and Mae
Pink Shrug

Tutorial Tuesday! MADE tutorials

2010-04-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

What a great incentive for me to post, 3 weeks in a row, I'm on a roll. Although I put my crafts down the last 2 weeks for my sanity. I'm still always searching for new ones. And this is my answer to l

Over on dana-made-it.com are some great fun and free tutes for kids clothes. My favorite right now is the 90 minute shirt.

photo from dana-made-it.com

She shows how easy it is to trace your favorite T and to even enlarge it to make your own tshirt pattern. And then goes on to give a great pictorial and directions for making a cute little tshirt. The fabric combinations are endless, though her tutorial includes using an old shirt, and up cycling. woohoo!

She has at least 10 different tutorials on her site, so get busy, and I will too..

oh and if you have a girl check out the Market Skirt, super cute!

photo from dana-made-it.com

Tutorial Tuesday - Tshirt Necklace

2010-04-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

image from wholeliving.com

I almost forgot it was tutorial tuesday, whew, just in time.

I'm sitting here watching Martha Stewart while I'm eating Dinner and they are doing this craft with tshirts that I think looks so cool. Its a tshirt necklace. Check out the tute here on her website

Martha Stewart Tshirt Necklace

taken from website:

Recycled Craft: The T-Shirt Necklace

The last time you made a necklace, it probably involved macaroni.

Here's an idea inspired by a project on the blog Cucumbersome.com: Turn an old shirt into a piece of wearable art that's quite grown-up.

Tools and Materials

* Soft cotton T-shirt
* Ruler
* Scissors or rotary cutter

T-Shirt Necklace How-To
1. Lay the shirt on a flat surface; cut off the hem and discard. Then cut the body of the shirt horizontally into strips approximately 3/4 of an inch long. (They will actually be loops.)

2. One at a time, pull the loops open and stretch until the fabric starts to curl. Stack the loops on top of one another so that all the T-shirt side seams are in the same spot.

3. Once you have the thickness you desire, wrap the seams with a scrap piece of fabric (about 6 inches long) from the same shirt. Tuck the end of the scrap under itself.

notes from the show:

approximately 20 strips for this necklace.
hold at each seam and pull to stretch and curl
pick up entire bunch at the seams, turn into a figure 8 and match seams, so their all on one side.
use scrap piece to make a loop and pull ends through loop, wrap excess around the seam to cover and tuck in the ends

When I get a chance to do this tute I'll put up my own pix!

images from website
http://www.wholeliving.com/article/t-shirt-necklace

Tutorial Tuesday - Coffee Filter Flower Tutorial

2010-04-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have so much fun and get so much inspiration by others who share their tutorials. I thought I would share my favorites with you. So every Tuesday I'll share with you a great tutorial I've found on the Internet.

I thought about this a couple weeks ago when I was watching The Martha Stewart Show. I was thinking of how I love to do all these crafts but I always seem to forget about them or not get to them for a few months, or even lose the link to find them.

With this idea I can keep a nice list of tutorials I want to try and share my finds at the same time

Well on with the tutes!

Today I stumbled upon a super cool video tutorial from Rhonna Farrer of House of 3. I 've never heard of her until today but she has some super fun tutorials for paper flower decorations. I spent so much money on buying materials to make some of these before but now I can't wait to make these for sooo much cheaper and sooo much easier.

Coffee Filter Flower Tutorial video can be found here:

http://vimeo.com/9257560

and Rhonna blog can be found here:

http://rhonnadesigns.blogspot.com/
Enjoy! She has lost of fabulous ideas on her blog!

Let me know if you try this and I'll post my try later on, ooh fun bday decorations for Alana's 2nd bday!!

2010-04-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

A few things on the craft mind.

I've been having fun making rolled fabric flowers. Found a few fun tutes. I'll blog on those later when I have some pix taken.

I've been very intrigued with spinning my own yarn and hope to find some time to work on that.

I've been crocheting more cluster stitch hats, coming soon in a variety of colors and also knitting some hats with some fun colored and spun yarn off etsy.

now for todays post:

I cut these out the other night and locked myself in my room to sew them up yesterday

They are both patterns I purchased off of Etsy a few weeks ago, here are the links
[url]http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=43868062[/url]
[url]http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=27413573[/url]

Summer Wonderland Dress:

Dress Fabric: Pink Linen-linen look fabric from Joanns (40%off coupon)
Accent: Farmers Market Fall Medallion Bloom (on sale at fatquartershop.com)
Mods: added two button/elastic closures on the backpros: not too many pieces
cons: not clear to me how to prepare the bottom back corners for adding the skirt, became a little messy. Straps seem too far apart. A little more difficult to me than it looked. I made a 2T and its a teeny tiny bit small at the arms/waist.

The patterns comes with pattern pieces for the straps and waistband but the dress part it just gives measurements for. Patterns are hand drawn and need to be taped together from your printer.

Pix:

my cooperative model

okay now she is standing

here is a closeup of the back:

I used hair ties for the loops. The seam at the back where it opens on the skirt, actually ripped the first time I tried it on her. I did sew over the seam a few times but it still ripped, next time I would sew over it a lot more to keep it stronger

Tunic:
Fabric: Joanns linen / linen-look fabric in navy blue
Accent: Same as above
Pros: a lot easier than I thought
Cons: I made a 3t and its too big right now

patterns are hand drawn and include all pieces to sew the tunic

I might go back and re-sew just the part of the neck piece so its not blue on that fabric, kinda bugs me.

Thanks for looking

Bamboo Prefolds and my "new" ruffler foot

2010-03-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

wow I'm on a roll, 2 posts in one day. I guess my other post got me motivated to take some crafty pix

I worked on some bamboo prefolds over the weekend. Thanks to a fellow online friend at diapersewingdivas and pregnancy.org I was inspired to finally cut my fabric and try a few

I tried a few different methods. And I went with 2 sizes, newborn 0-15lbs and regular 15-30lbs. I'll be back to add the measurements

The 2 with the giraffe print are the newborn size, inside is organic bamboo velour, outside is organic bamboo loop terry and the giraffe print is an organic bamboo knit. I serged the long ends wrong sides together, flipped right side out, serged short ends with knit print that was serged with more bamboo, then sewed on knit print

Robots, and chicadees are organic bamboo french terry with cotton knit embellishment. 3 different styles of folding

Zoo print is organic bamboo fleece with cotton knit mint zoo, 1 long piece folded in to meet in the middle, layed zoo print serged with a layer of bamboo fleece in the middle, short ends serged, middle layer sewn on with a straight stitch, my favorite of them all

hmm my instructions are pretty vague, I'll try to get more pix next time I make one.

and last but not least, I finally broke out my ruffler foot that I bought forever ago, put in on my old cheapy singer, and I have a dedicated ruffler machine, woohoo. I practiced with it over the weekend and then started some knit leggings I've been wantind to make. Just striped knit leggings that will have 3 rows of ruffles on the bottom. Inspired by my favorite MJ leggings.

2010-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

just a few random thoughts

I've been searching around looking at lots of inspirational sewing blogs. I have so many things I'd love to make and so much fabric to make them with. I'm afraid with the new baby coming I will never have time to do anything. So I feel the urge to get as much done as I can. I can't wait to confirm the gender so I can work on some cute quick baby stuff.

I am expecting #2 in August and cannot wait for all the new things it will bring in our lives. I have been neglecting my crafty side for a little while. We moved into a new apartment and the craft boxes just got pushed to the side while I unpacked everything else. I have kinda sorta organized it all in my walk in closet. woohoo no longer in the hallway. I can actually leave my sewing machines out and ready to use.

I'm going to try and backtrack where I last left the blog. In pictures that I've at least taken of my camera.

Here is a hat I crochet'd up for an online friend. I'm am totally loving making these hats and can't wait to get my hands on some great yarn to make some in more colors. I used Debbie Bliss pure cotton for this one. But a little too thin for me, so I hope to find something similar in a little heavier weight.

Here is a picture of the new little bean. Chillin out upside down with legs stretched out

Hey I've got a huge yarn destash going on over at Ravelry. Check it out, username moosieknits of course

Here is my little cutie dressed up for her valentines pictures, her cutie tootie cousins while we were home visiting, and one from her 18th month shoot.

Well I couldnt find much craft stuff in my flickr stream...... I'm working on some ruffled leggings and matching top, so hopefully I can get that worked on this weekend. I also made some bamboo prefolds for the little bean. I recently ordered a few patterns off etsy and some other coops, can't wait to try those out.

Estate Sale Blue Blouse GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-01-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

love this blog!!

Estate Sale Blue Blouse GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Social Darling Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-12-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

Social Darling Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Um Yeah.... woops

2009-11-22T22:47:00.000-08:00

Patrick Raglan hoodie, sweatpants and some super cute ruffle pants

2009-11-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

I snuck in some sewing time last weekend and finally cut into my pink skulls french terry I've been dying to make a little sweat suit out of for Alana, I decided to use the patrick raglan hoodie for the top and went a size up as suggested for heavier weight fabrics, its a little big but nothing she can't quickly grow into

she was busy playing with the water in the glass while I was trying to snap some pix, thats why she looks wet, and this picture was taken before I hemmed the pants

and I completely adore these ruffle pants, just a double ruffle attached to the bottom, and I'm kicking myself for forgetting that I bought a ruffle foot a couple months ago and not breaking it out, definitely more ruffles in my future

These are from an Amy Butler fabric, based off of the Jada Ruffle Pants pattern, I modified them to fit over her cloth butt, but very simple to make, honestly you could use any pants pattern shortened and add a ruffle to the bottom

btw these pix were at the park and there was a dad who just adored these pants, he thought they were so awesome and kept saying wow check those out

Discounted ArtFire memberships through November

2009-11-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on getting people to sign up for Artfire so we can both share a free for life account!

See details above in the Contest tab.

Right now Artfire is running a special, the normal $12/month fee can be paid in full for a year for $100, you save $44 on your membership. And that includes unlimited listings to sell your items among dozens of other features.

So if you want to sign up, make sure you use me as your referral, artfire member "moosie". And if I get 12 people to sign for a verified account, I can randomly give one of you a free for life account. And for a limited time, anyone who signs up will also get their first month free on me.

Here are the details from their website:

https://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=anniversary

To celebrate our first anniversary we are extending a special membership deal to the community. For the month of November you can choose to pre-purchase your Pro(Verified) account for all of 2010 (12 months), for only $100* That's a savings of over 30% off the regular price!

If you take advantage of this offer, beginning January you’ll have no monthly subscription to worry about until 2011! This offer will only be available to the first 500 members, so you’d better hurry. What makes this pre-purchase even better is that starting in January the monthly subscription will increase to $15 a month for all new Pro(Verified) account sign-ups. If you’ve been on the fence about a Pro(Verified) account then now is the time to lock in your rate at $12 a month and save $44 on your 2010 ArtFire subscription!

Announcing A Winner .........

2009-10-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Didn't win? Still want to check out Clickin Moms. Anyone who joins using the link below and uses me for their referral will get 10% off now through November.

I've counted up all the entries, I have 22 to be exact, they are all written down on a little piece of paper and as soon as Alana gets up from her nap I'll have her pick out 2 people, the first one for a year subscription and the 2nd one for a 1 month subscription

I'm so excited, I can't wait to see who wins, I'll be back later to update this post...................

We have 2 winners.....

Congratulations!
Grand Prize goes to Berritt
2nd Place Prize goes to Alli

Didn't win? Still want to check out Clickin Moms. Anyone who joins using the link below and uses me for their referral will get 10% off now through November.

I'll be in contact with the two of you about how to claim your prizes
Thanks to everyone who entered, I wish you all could win. Make sure to visit my blog often, I am always thinking of new things to give away!!

The next contest will be for some knitting items, details to follow....

Work In Progress - Alana's Boheme

2009-10-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will announce a few winners for my recent contest. See the Contest tab on top for more details. Today is the last day to enter. All you have to do is leave a comment on my blog and your entered to win a free 1 year membership to Clickin' Moms.

I have been knitting here and there, I'm exicted for the cool weather and to be knitting some hats for my little babe. I want to dye some yarn and then knit up some cute stuff for her. I love hats, their small projects, and easily finished. I started this WIP a couple months ago. ugh. But its basically finished I just need to weave in a few ends, put on some buttons, and maybe decide on a finish for the bottom edge.

Just wanted to show a sneak peak of what I have been doing knitting wise. This is knit using size 9 needles and worsted 100 purewool in the Hardley colorway.

taken this morning in my kitchen

a little crazy with the DOF

My Little Lamb

2009-10-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

It's almost Halloween!!

Do you love photography?
Don't miss out on my current contest. Less than 3 days left to participate.

Win a 1 year membership to Clickin' Moms
now 4 ways to enter.

Post a comment about your photography inspirations here
Post about this blog on your website and link back with another comment.
Post a link to this blog on your facebook and link back with another comment
Post a comment on any of my previous blog posts.

Grand Prize: 1 year membership to Clickin' Moms
runner up: 1 month membership to Clickin' Moms

Click here for contest details

Contest ends Friday midnight pst

Don't Forget - 2 contests on my blog

2009-10-19T10:55:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder that I have 2 contests right now on my blog

you can win a free year at clickin' Moms and a free account over at ArtFire to sell your crafts

Click here for details

http://moosieknits.blogspot.com/2009/10/contests.html

Blog Stats

2009-10-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Blog Stats
updated 10/09

I started this blog to document my adventures in Knitting. My first post was April 23, 2007. Since then I have started other adventures in crafting including, crochet, sewing, photography and whatever else I can teach myself.

As of October 2009 I have had over 50,000 hits on my blog. I had a little hiatus in posting when I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Alana. I have started to post a little more when I can find the time. I love to have giveaways and contests to help draw in more readers.

Last Month, 9/09, I had 424 unique visitors and over 1,000 page views. My highest month was March of 2008. I had 620 unique visitors and over 2,000 page views. On an average month since starting this blog I have 355 unique visitors and over 1,000 page views.

I get a lot of page views because of my knitting needle pouch tutorial which is posted on tipnut.com. I also get a lot of google views from my post when I made my own yarn swift with materials from the hardware store.

I love to get comments, so please leave a comment if your visiting, and I'm sure I will come visit you and leave a comment on your blog!!

Links - Favorites

2009-10-15T14:09:00.001-07:00

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CLOSED-Big Contest - Win a 1 year membership from Clickin Moms

2009-10-14T14:42:00.000-07:00

CONTEST IS CLOSED - WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON 10/31

Didn't win? Still want to check out Clickin Moms. Anyone who joins using the link below and uses me for their referral will get 10% off now through November.

Contest end date changed - contest will end Friday October 30th, pst.

I have always loved photography and I became a member at Clickin' Moms when I started taking pictures of my daughter. When I first had her I kept going to the big chain photo places and spending a lot of time and money on sub-optimal photos. I wanted to learn how to take and process my own pictures to print.

I came across this community entering a contest on another blog back in July and I have never looked back. I have learned so many new techniques in photography, especially in processing. There are so many helpful friendly members there and tons of tutorials you wont find anywhere else. Vendors will offer their items at bulk discount and there is even a pay it forward forum where you can get tons of freebies.

I now have the opportunity to share with one lucky reader a 1 year free membership to clickin' moms. This is valued @ $50. No worries, you don't have to be a mom or even a woman to join, just someone who loves photography.

3 ways to enter and get extra entries.

1. Leave a comment here and tell me who/what inspires you to take photographs, or what you want to learn about photography or processing.
2. Mention this contest on your blog and link back to this post.
3. Mention this contest on Facebook and link back to this post.

Please be sure there is a way I can contact you, and leave a comment with a link so I can see the other entries.

Contest will end on October 30th pst. I will then pull a random entry out and announce a winner. The winner must be a new member and not an existing or expired member.

And wait there is more..... I will pick one more name to win a free month from Clickin' Moms, you will receive a paypal credit after you have signed up.

if you dont want to wait for the contest and want to join now be sure to click on the picture below to sign up.

fine print

contest ends October 30th pacific standard time
winner must be new and not an existing or expired member
winner for a free month must use my name (moosie) as your referral, by using the link in this post, after signing up you will receive a paypal credit for the amount of 1 month at Clickin' moms.
please link back to my blog moosieknits.blogspot.com when referring to this contest
I reserve the right to end the contest early if needed

here is a screenshot of some of the awesome forums that are available

Free Tutorials

2009-10-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Free Tutorials @ Moosieknits.blogspot.com

Knitting Needle Tutorial
Create your own custom unique knitting needles WEB / PDF

Small Knitting Needle Holder Tutorial

Now that you have awesome knitting needles you need something to put them in WEB / PDF

*my picture hosting site went down, I'm currently trying to locate them, until then please use the PDF link to download the tutorials*

Free Web Tutorials
tutes I've found on the web

Featured on Tutorial Tuesdays......

DuhBe Fabric Roses/Flowers
90 minute shirt
T-Shirt Necklaces
Coffee Filter Flower

Contests

2009-10-14T10:19:00.000-07:00

Current Contests

Click the link for rules and to enter the contest, the link will bring you to the corresponding post on my blog.

1. Win a Skinny Elastic Flower Headband
3 giveaways
winner announced Sunday 12/5

I reserve the right to end contest at anytime. Please read all fine print and ask any questions prior to entering the contest

Old Contests

Win a Free ArtFire account for life (regularly $12/ month)
Contest end date has not been determined
eta: now through 10/23, the first 3 to sign up get their first month free

Win a 1 year membership to Clickin' Moms ($50 value) - ended 10/30/09

Pajamas, hats, sweatpants & washcloths

2009-09-12T21:35:00.000-07:00

Check out my current contest, win a free for life account with ArtFire.

Just wanted to share some more things I've made for Alana, some new, some older

Here is a set of pajamas from otto 04/04 size 86, they came out kinda big. I have more fabric I want to use for pajamas.
I added bands to the bottom of the pants and the waist, no pix cuz she is wearing them now.
Fabric: Fairy Princess

still having issues with hemming the bottom of my knit shirts, I've tried using spray starch which helps but still not good enough, what are your tips

I'm so afraid of necklines, and I'm soooo happy with this one :0)

Cute dress/top and leggings, my own patterns, copied some pants I already had and the top is just a band around the chest and gathered panel attached to the bottom, the straps are sewn separate at the back and cross and snap at the front

Here is another sun hat, I love making these

some fun candy skull sweatpants!!

I really really want to make a matching sweatshirt for this, any pattern recommendations??

mmmm yummy bamboo (rayon :0) washcloths, velour/terry

A Cotton Crochet hat I am soooo in love with, I'm making more of these, just a cluster stitch beanie with a single crochet band at the bottom, super easy!

ArtFire - Contest - Win a FREE FOR LIFE account

2009-09-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

*10.18.09* right now the first 3 people to sign up for a verified account using "moosie" as their referral will get their first month free, just sign up and once I get verification that you used my referral name, I will credit you via paypal for $12, this ends Friday 10.23.09

So here is your chance to get:

1)A free lifetime unlimited Artfire account

or

2)A free month of an Artfire verified account.

If I can get 12 people to sign up with a verified paid account, I can get it free for life and then I can pick 1 person to get it free for life.

So if you want to sign up, use the link below, and make sure my username "moosie" is in the referral box, and then message me with your username. I will be contacting you through ArtFire to confirm your account.

If I get 12 people to sign up I'll randomly pick one of the first 12 for the free for life account. Sounds awesome huh!

For the other 11 who sign up with a verified account using "moosie" as the referral during the contest, you will also be entered into a random drawing for a free paid month of an Artfire verified account.

Click This Link To Register on ArtFire.com

How did you hear about ArtFire: Art Fire User
ArtFire member who referred you: Moosie

When filling out your form you first pick Art Fire User and then a new field will pop up to enter the person who referred you

This is how it looks:

* User Name:
This will also be your studio name

* Password:

* Re-type your password:

* Email:

* Retype your email:

How did you hear about Artfire?

Account Security Question:

Security Question Answer:

ArtFire member who referred you:

Rules

You must sign up as a paid verified member for the referral to count (Basic signups who later convert will NOT count).

Both contests end once 12 people have signed up, I'll do my best to keep you posted each day. To keep it fair only the first 12 people who sign up for a verified account are eligible to be picked for the free for life account. Any questions please message me. your free month will entitle you to a $12 credit to your paypal account.

1 free month contest is eligible to anyone who signs up for a verified paid account no matter how many entries.

You can only qualify for the free for life membership if 12 people sign up for a verified account. I can only give out 1 free for life membership, chosen at random. If I do not get 12 verified accounts, then no one will qualify.

my username "moosie" has to be in your referral link in order for you to be eligible

this offer is for a limited time on ArtFire, Contest could end at anytime, once they announce the end date I will have 30 days left to offer this promotion.

this is from their site:
for a limited time, you can earn an account with full functionality and the ability to list unlimited items in your Fusion Studio absolutely free for life! Just refer 12 of your friends and when they join as a Verified member you, PLUS a friend of your choice receive a Free Ride!

details about the verified account:

Full Feature VERIFIED Account ($12/month)

* No Listing/Final/Hidden Fees
* UNLIMITED Active Listings
* Full Custom Fusion Studio
* Personal Domain / URL
* Free Web Hosting of Your Studio
* Preferred Placement in Searches
* Enhanced Customization Options
* Up to 10 Pictures Per Product
* Up to 99 Studio Categories
* Multiple Quantity for Items
* Full Community Interaction
* Social Media Promotion Tools
* Rapid Cart (sell on your blog!)
* Market Hub (Link to ETSY)
* Add Custom Widgets in Studio
* Integrated Payment Processing
* Google Analytics & Site Statistics
* Global Shipping Profiles
* Social Media Resource Library
* Live Instant Flagging
* NEW! Facebook Kiosk Application

* Categories Displayed Randomly
* Fast, One-Page Listing Process
* Sticky Cart (reserves buyers item)
* Fast, Accurate Filtered Site Search
* Quick One Button Relist
* Vacation Mode & Sales Mode
* Education/Training/Support
* Listings SEO Optimized
* Google Base (Auto Submitted)
* View Prices in Any Currency
* Kudos / Karma Feedback System
* Artisan Guilds
* Artisan Councils
* Artisan Profile with Photo
* Ability/Option to Accept Offers
* Credibility Program (Artifacts)
* Automated Markdown Manager
* No Third Party Ads on Listings
* Increased Trend Pages Exposure
* Increased Gift Guide Exposure
* NEW! Coupon Codes with Tracking

Fishsticks sewing patterns - go get 'em

2009-08-24T11:54:00.001-07:00

I finally opened my fishsticks patterns, emmy dress, patrick raglan and pants
and I love them, so easy!!

If you are a beginner sewer or just not super advanced I would recommend these patterns, they are so simple and easy to use and you get such a cute product from them. I get frustrated with commercial patterns, they are so confusing to me, these are very straight forward with real pictures.

Emmy (dress)

I cut out the pattern so long ago I don't remember what size or if it was supposed to be dress or shirt, looks like a cute dress on her
I used cotton hearts fabric and bamboo jersey for the solid, I am very impressed with myself on this one, no mistakes or problems like I usually get

Patrick Curved Raglan

Next is 2 curved raglans, the first one turned out pretty well it just makes her look like a boy so I tried a girly version but that one is all crazy wonky, and I thought it was a pink/white stripe but afterward I realized it was pink/cream. I think I will go back and at least work on the neckline.

The pant were made from bamboo denim, using the AJ bottoms pattern. I love them, I just didn't hem yet, I left the bottom frayed and only rolled up the cuffs which I like

On the blue one I also did a narrow hem and tried to get that wavy effect, kinda sorta worked

Infant Sun Hat
I'll have to go back and look for the pattern name and number, I did use a commercial pattern for this, but it was simple enough to sew on my own, since I really didn't understand the directions.

lastly is a hat I made her a couple weeks ago that I LOVE, I actually wanted to use a different fabric but she was napping in the same room my fabric was in so I used this, so I will be definitely making another

Some new knitting

2009-08-06T22:00:00.001-07:00

Here are some baby hats I started the last week or so...

This is from itty bitty hats, using some random
cotton yarn I had lying around

This is just an earflap hat I am knitting as I go, we'll see how it turns out, I love these colors and the yarn is from purewool, yummy, makes me want to go dye some yarn again

I also finished the pink/black longies from earlier, just no pix yet

wow what a facelift

2009-08-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

so I was on my sisters blog tonight and saw her super cute new layout, so I went to the cutest blog on the block and found a super cool background and used my new found photoshop skills to create a new header.... what do you think??

enjoy a new pic of Alana too

Alana turns 1

2009-07-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well Alana turned 1 year old last month. I really really want to blog here more its just so hard to find the time. I just need to make some time. I have been sewing and knitting a little here and
there.

In this last month Alana has been walking all over the place and even climbing up the couch and chair and her highchair, yikes! She has learned to give great hugs and kisses and she can even give a high five. She is really starting to copy things we say and do. She loves to pick up my hairbrush and brush her little hairs. Towards the end of her 12 months she started getting 2 new teeth up top. She started swim classes and loves the pool. She is so much fun and we love her soooo much!!!

I have been getting more into photography again and we bought a new camera and I have been having so much fun with it taking pictures of Alana. I joined a new community called Clickin' Moms. They have a special through this month for 10% off using code FRIEND. Click below to check it out

Here are some of the pix I've been working on for her 1 year pictures. I've learned so much with the forums and tutorials there.

Here are some crafty things I've been working on

first are the soakers I made for my BG's cloth diapers, they are 2 layer trifold and also fit perfectly into my OS fitteds, sweet! most of them are bamboo velour/fleece but I made a few today that are bamboo velour/ hemp fleece. I love them soooooooooo much more than the stinky BG microfiber inserts

Here are some wetbags I made yesterday that I LOVE, they are cotton woven 1 mil pul laminated and a snapping strap, the pink gingham one I squared the bottom. I'm using these for daycare to put the cloth diapers into

Here is another hat I crochet'd for Alana, I love it so much but she won't keep it on her head.

and what do you know, some knitting, where it all started... here is a UFO, some longies I've had sitting around fo'eva that I recently picked up and started working on again, I started them leg up but gave up on it, so I'll figure something else out...

Thanks for reading my blog, maybe I'll be able to get on a schedule and actually do some posting

Claire by portobello pixie and a super cute pinafore

2009-04-28T06:36:00.001-07:00

I bought the portobello pixie patterns at a coop and just now got to use one

I went with the Claire pattern for the round apron dress

I thought it was pretty easy, and I get easily confused, I didn't add the apron strap yet, wasn't sure if I needed it, but I think it would make it fit better. I also didn't realize until I was taking the pictures that the print on the bottom is sideways, woops

fabric is from Amy Butler Nigella (I think)

and an ever so popular pinafore for her, I love these, so easy to take on and off, and super easy to make

Fabric is hippos from IKEA and pink side was hemmed off from her curtains (From IKEA) in her room that I dyed pink

Happy Easter to all & Happy Anniversary to me

2009-04-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

First off Alana was super excited that the Easter Bunny came to her house....

and Second, it is my 3rd Anniversary and my AWESOME Husband got me an AWESOME gift
I have this picture of my dad and I when I was a baby, it was taken January 1980, It's my favorite picture ever. I used to keep it in my old crx on the dashboard and over time it got super faded, and my nephew Aaron when he was 2, got a hold of it and bent it in half. Also my car was broken into and the police actually fingerprinted the picture because it was moved and it has black fingerprint powder stains all over it. This picture has been through so much. Then after I sold the crx, I've never been able to find the picture, and last month I was unpacking some old picture frames that have been in boxes since I moved in 2005 and guess what?? I found the old picture

Here is it, its one of those old pictures that are like 3.5x3.5 inches, notice the major fading on the bottom, and the crease in the middle...

Well for our anniversary David photoshop'd All the creases out, restored the color and then had the image printed on canvas and stretched into this huge reprint check it out....

I have to find a special place to hang it, its hard to take a picture of it indoors, its so beautiful, I'm kind of using the couch and sewing machines to gauge how big it is

amazing...

Have you checked out Artfire

2009-03-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

Its a new place to sell your crafts, like etsy. They charge a flat rate fee for sellers instead of a fee per item and right now there is a special of only $7 a month

After I signed up I also saw that if you can get 10 people to sign up and use you as a referral you can get an account free for life, how fun

check it out ... my user name is moosie

Register on ArtFire.com

and for your viewing pleasure

whats on the needles

2009-01-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

look at me, 2 posts this month and its only Jan 4th, thats the good thing about nap time and ignoring the big piles of laundry that need to be done :0)

I'm having a hard time, like most knitters, with having multiple projects on the needles and still wanting to cast on more. I thought maybe I could document what I have and start a list on the side to help me want to finish what I've started or just frog what I know I won't finish or don't like

I'm loving knitting hats for Alana because I can actually finish them, but I really want to make her some sweaters or something really nice for her to keep as an heirloom

Here are the socks..um... the sock I started for Alana, mucho grande, but I have only knit one and never started the second, ahh second sock syndrome - I name these Kool-aid socks, its the yarn I dyed with kool-aid

Here we have the beautiful Matinee Coat from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby, so pretty, that lace is so time consuming when you have a baby to feed every 2 hours. I started this when Alana was newborn, and I think she has already out-grown it

These are some wool longies I started as a gift for someone, realized I would never finish the legs in time so I immediately cast on for a pair of soakers for her instead. Now I'd like to finish these for Alana before she out-grows these too. I'm knitting magic loop for the legs, which is nice, since I don't get the ugly ladders from using DPN's but....will I ever finish, I spend most of my time trying to keep the yarn from tangling

and lastly or at least the last one I want to admit, is a sweater I started for Alana, I'm knitting the 12 month size, so she won't outgrow it before I finish. Also this is knit using a chunky yarn, with high hopes of finishing it.

ahh feels so good to get this out in the open... so I will try to show some progress as I move along, not sure if I should stick to one item and finish or do a little here and there of each one, so I won't get bored and want to start another.

I already have a few hats in mind.....

oh and I absolutely can't post without sharing the cute face of Alana

Some knitted FO's - Stocking Cap for the babe

2009-01-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest FO. Its the striped stocking cap from Itty Bitty Hats. I love having an itty bitty model, it makes my blog so much more cute! I used Jo-anns Angel Hair for this project, very slippery yarn, but very soft, I finished this hat in 2 nights, I made another hat for her the night before this, no pix yet, were lucky we have these.

Thats the hardest part about blogging, finding the time to take the pix then upload them then post. I was able to post these since I've had a few extra days off during the holidays.

There was a sweater (ravelry link) I started when I was pregnant, the Roll Edge Jacket from Simply Baby, I did manage to finish that before my pregnancy carpal tunnel got too bad, but I haven't taken any pictures of it. It is very large and won't fit her yet but maybe we'll do some model shots tomorrow for your viewing pleasure

I've finally started getting some knitting done lately, I just spend maybe 30-40 minutes a night after the babe has gone to bed to knit before I get so tired that I have to go to bed

Now that I have a baby instead of casually waking around 8 or 9, I get up at 6am every morning, to feed her, then pump then go to work or play with her because by then she is awake

Its crazy how much a baby will change an alter your life, but its in such a good and pleasurable way, life is so fun now, seeing her face smiling up at me as I pick her up out of bed is the best feeling ever. By the way, she still sleeps in our room, in her own bed though, I just can't get the courage to put her in a room all alone, all night, eventually, but not yet, I still need to hear her sleep as I wake during the night, listening for her

My, I'm rambling, here are some more pictures of the Stocking Cap

Yarn: Jo-anns Sensations Angel Hair
Needle: knit picks options size 9
Pattern: Striped Stocking Cap
Knit entirely with magic loop

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth

2008-12-07T16:20:00.000-08:00

I just had a baby and well have spent my only free time with her and blogging on the baby blog for out of town family

http://www.littletbabynews.blogspot.com/

I unfortunately was unable to knit during most of my pregnancy due to very painful and numbing carpal tunnel

but thankfully as soon as I gave birth that went away

I am stuck at work on-call and decided to come say hello, I'm sure there are some echoes, since I probably have no readers,

I have slowly started knitting again

I made a hat and bunny for a friend who had a baby, I knit a diaper soaker for a swap, and now I'm knitting some socks for my little babe

so hopefully I will blog ever so often to show the world what I can still make or maybe you will just see picture of her

Some new things

2008-03-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well I sure have been neglecting this blog. Its not that I'm not doing anything crafty, its just the pregnancy brain, I can't get anything done. I've been slowly knitting at my roll edge jacket. I have the back and 2 fronts done and half of one of the sleeves.

But I did mange to wip up a pair of baby longies, copying this super cute seller who makes these called crankypants. I use patons classic merino and followed this pattern here

here is a pic, although I don't have any black wool yarn right now, so he doesn't have eyes yet, I even thought about adding a cute pink tongue

this was the inspiration picture I was knitting from

Lastly I saw an episode of Martha Stewart and Etsy seller blackapple was on with a tutorial for making her black apple dolls, so cute and so easy, so I whipped these up just last night, one for my baby to be and 3 others for my nieces. I've never seen these dolls before but she is the highest seller on Etsy

You can find the tutorial here on Martha's website

hopefully I will get some cute baby knits done before this babe is born so I can share

until then I will post as often as I can remember :0)

Thanks for reading!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

I made blueberry pancakes with heart shaped strawberries on top for my hubby this morning, they were sooo yummy

I'm gonna make some strawberry cupcakes for him for a surprise when he gets home from work with heart shaped strawberries on top and bring some extras to work for my co workers

as for knitting, I'm working on a very cute pink, yes pink, roll edge jacket from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby for a certain little girl in my belly! woohoo I get to knit pink, Im so excited, its so much more fun knitting for a little girl

here are some progress picks, I finished the back and started on the left front
Im using GGH Samoa, in a super cute pink/cream combo

I really really want to make the Smock Coat from this book too, it was the reason I bought the book in the first place, but I'm no sure which size I should knit, I have 10 balls of the recommended yarn in brown, so I can make any size, any of you with experience with kids know what size I should make

little bits of knitting

2008-01-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Did anyone else see the ad on yahoo.com about a possible NKOTB reunion, holy moly, the moment I have been waiting for. I'm so there, front row, awww yeah! hehe

I did a little bit of knitting since I last posted, some wool soakers for the baby, here they are

The first is made with some malabrigo I have been pondering on what to do with, its so soft and lovely, I didnt want to waste it on anything, so using a little less than one ball I made this using the ottobre soaker pattern from here ... http://fullvid.com/wool/WSLinks.html
it knit up very quickly, just one night for me, but the pattern calls for roving and garter stitch, instead I used size 8 needles (I think) and stockinette stitch, looks good to me

used my knitting machine, which was awesome, I've had that for at least 6 months and this is the first time I've used it. Then today I knit a big square with some cascade 200 I had leftover from the felted tulips. Then I partially felted it so I could cut it up and sew a soaker, crazy huh, but I really wanted this stripy colors and I'm pretty sure I wasn't gonna find a sweater like that at the thrift store

The pattern I got off the yahoo group here but I think it is also on someones blog here
but the blog doesn't include the pattern pieces to print which are on the yahoo group

so I think I partially felted it a little too much, because it lost a lot of its stretch, but its still super cute!!

we find out on the 8th, what were having, if its not a girl, then I'll just have to save these for the next one :0)

oh no! no knitting......

2008-01-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

wow its been a whole month, well I was out of town for christmas after the 17th and then came back sick for a week and well this is the first week I've gotten back to normal

this pregnancy has made me lazy and I have done absolutely NO knitting, crazy, I just don't feel like it right now, but I'm sure once I find out the sex of the baby I will start again, especially if its a girl, lots of fun stuff to knit little baby girls

I am in my 16th week of pregnancy and should find out the sex in february..woohoo

just want to let everyone know I'm still here and will be back in knitting action sooner or later

until then enjoy a cute little video of my bouncing baby taken a few weeks ago

knitting ball ornaments and prizes

2007-12-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

I saw this post on Craftster.org and I just had to try it, I bought some Styrofoam balls and used some leftover acrylic yarn. following her tute, I hot glued one end of the yarn onto the ball, wrapped until fully covered, then hot glued the end of the yarn. I poked ornament hangers into the ball and formed a loop with them at the top, adding a beaded embellishment to the hook. Then I cut down some bamboo skewers I had, hot glued a wood bead to the end, then painted and added a rhinestone to the hole at the top of the wood bead

I'm not sure which look I like better

I think I have finished up most of my cards, now I just want to print out a little note to everyone to slip in there and sign them, I couldn't find any Christmas related stamps at Joanns so I bought a set of letter stamps, and I actually stamped Merry Christmas in individual letters on most of these cards, yikes, am I crazy, here is how some of them turned out

There were a couple that said Merry Christmas on the fronts so I added some foam stickers inside instead of the stamps

Also in other news, I won a contest over at Knitterella
this is the first contest I've ever won!!
She has a great blog, go check it out when you get a chance
I won a set of her knitting note cards, the new variety pack, they are so cute, and I plan to use them when I give away knitting gifts,

And lastly I want to share with you a little wip I found recently when cleaning, I just finished the seams and added a little flower on the front, then bent some wire to make a hanger, Im not sure what to do with it but its super cute

I used a pattern from Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick, its the egg cozy pattern, I had some yarn left over one day at work and decided to use it for this pattern, since I had no other work with me at the time

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure

2007-12-03T15:21:00.001-08:00

I finally found some Camo colored yarn, I was looking for the Lornas Laces Worsted in Camo at a nearby lys and they are always out of that color, I went again last week and they are no longer carrying it, so I went to wildfiber and they had this super soft merino wool in a color called Camo, how cool, but it was a bit pricey, I've already made a hat with it and have enough left over to make another or even some mittens maybe

The yarn is Pear Tree Australia 100% merino wool knitting yarn in color "Camo" I haven't been able to find out much about it on the internet

I made a simple hat with it, but I want to try to add the fake mohawk to it, Im having doubts, I need figure out a way to only felt the mohawk part, so it will stay upright, it looks like a long tedious project, so we'll see if it I do it, Ill show some action pix when I go home for christmas, since its a gift

I was cleaning up a bit today, well a lot, I'm so ready to get rid of so much stuff, its a lot of work, well I came across this cotton yarn I attempted to dye with RIT and Dylon, which took several attempts, and I learned from this experience only to dye wool or animal fibers, no more cotton, but I thought I would show it off anyway

I would like to start on my Christmas cards today or sometime this week, this year I found this cute little kit from Joann's which I used my coupon for, woohoo, I hope its not too much work, but it looks pretty kewl!

Lastly today I just want to say how proud I am, I love to plant flowers in pots on my patio, but I can never seem to keep them alive, I've now realized its lack of watering, but look I've had these flowers since August, and their still alive, (thanks to my husband who really is the one who remembers to water it) but its a first, yay! and their so pretty out there

And while actually watering my plants quite often, we started to notice this little green thing sprout out of an old pot that an old plant had died in last year, it grew up pretty quick and looks like this now, I wasn't sure where it came from, or if a bird had maybe dropped a seed in there or something, it just popped up out of no where and looks now like its going to bloom

so today I looked back and noticed in this picture, which is also in my header above, duh! This is what used to be in that pot, which dried up and died soon after

Its the same plant, crazy, its been gone for a year now and just suddenly came back :0)

Square box bag for knitting or cosmetics

2007-11-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

I've seen these types of bags everywhere for knitting and I always thought they were really cute, I searched for tutes all over and used a few to come up with this, its actually fairly easy, much more than I thought it would be.

I used some fun fabric from ikea, Ive seen on here before, green with cute white hippos, lined it with some pink cotton, a black 9 inch zipper was all I had here to use and the handle is pink with white polka dot grosgrain ribbon

everything I already had so even more fun, I didn't have to buy anything extra

The most difficult part for me was getting the corner seams even, where you sew the triangles, I had to do it twice, I also would use more stiffer interfacing when I make another, this one is really floppy, I just used what I
had

here's where I got most of my tips from http://dragoknit.blogspot.com/2007/02/box-bag-tutorial.html

here's some pix

In Memory

2007-11-26T16:37:00.000-08:00

Just want to mention that today would have been my Dad's 64th Birthday
Happy Birthday Dad! I love you!

This picture isn't dated but was probably taken in 1983

start of christmas knitting and more

2007-11-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well, time for an update.

So I haven't been keeping up as much with this blog, in part because I have started another blog, for my new pregnancy, yep, woo hoo, I'm pregnant, I think the people who read this blog that I know already know about it so I can finally announce it on here, I am around 9 weeks, so still early but boy have I been tired and sluggish, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with it, though (knock on wood) I haven't experience any morning sickness, but everything else :0)

my other blog is just so my family and friends who are on the other side of the country can join in on my experiences and I can share pictures with them

I haven't done much Christmas knitting yet but I have at least started.
I have decided to make these wristlets for a few people for Christmas presents, I can usually make a pair in a day, so their are not too challenging, I am on my 3rd pair out of lets say maybe six?? The pattern is free and can be found here.

sometimes I usually just knit until it looks good not necessarily following the pattern exactly
here are the few that I have finished so far

the white is in Zara merino wool, red is DB alpaca silk, and the pink DB Cashmerino chunky, its great they only use less than 1 ball, good stash buster with leftovers

Here are more choices I have for the rest of them, all Debbie Bliss, I have a lot of her yarn

I knit the pink ones while trying out my new hand painted knitting needles, I have lots more in the making, but I am super lazy at the moment so their being painted very slowly.

I also have this fun yarn, I had stashed away for a while, not sure what it is, I don't have the ball band anymore, but its really cute, and I want to make something for my 8 year old niece with it, maybe a hat, but I'm not sure it would be enough

I Need To Vent

2007-11-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

okay I am so angry right now I have to vent it to the world here. I just received my 7th, yes thats 7th, dent on my 2007 Jetta from idiotic people who don't know how to open their car door without destroying mine. Is it that hard to open your door without denting the car next to you, I purposely don't park in tight spaces for this reason but I cant seem to get away from it. Seriously whats the deal, is everyone around me that ignorant?

Can someone please invent a contraption that I can put on my car when I park to avoid these people

ggrrrrrrrr!

sorry I had to get that out there

I've added new stuff to etsy... contest soon!

2007-11-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

I spent some time this week trying to get some new stuff onto my etsy shop. I have tons of fabric just waiting to turn into fun knitting accessories, I started using most of my project bags instead of selling them though

I was able to make 3 new knitting needle holders, it takes so long to sew them because of all the slots that I can only make a few at a time

I also worked on some unfinished stitch markers today and added those on, I have so much just waiting to be created, so at least I got a few of those done, while also working on the secret knitting project for christmas

The contest is brewing in my head, and will be up maybe today or tomorrow so keep your eyes peeled, your gonna love this one!!

Happy Hump Day!

Knitting again

2007-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well, a little push and I'm back knitting after 2 weeks off, got a couple of projects going for Christmas presents for my niece

I was asked for some mary jane style booties and even sent a free pattern to use so here is what I have so far, just imagine some nice cute white ruffle socks on there, gotta go find those next, oh and buttons!

The red pair was using baby cashmerino and following the pattern, ooh sooo tiny, but I'm making these for a 6 month old, so I tried cashmerino aran and bigger needles and added a few rows to the top of the purple pair and those seem a little better

Next Im also making a pair of the DIY network "ugg" booties, using ggh velour, works great
this is my 7th time making these

only part way done with one of them, but so cute

And lastly I have started knitting a surprise for my other niece, her mother knows this website so I cant let you know a whole lot about it, but I'm using Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a pale purple, it doesn't photograph well

Heres to hoping I finish this one by Christmas, I also want to make a pair of socks for my other niece who is 8 and maybe hats for the boys, I was thinking one of those mohawk hats for one of them, maybe I can tweak my own pattern, and some camoflauge for another, and maybe some football colors for the third

Am I crazy? no just poor, and I should have everything already in my stash except for the camo yarn which Ive been looking for all year, its always sold out

I'm also in the process of cutting fabric to make more stuff for my etsy shop, I've peaked some interest so I want to get more on there

and in contest news, trust me it will happen one day, I just need to do a little work on it

OMJ I am such a bum - thats "oh my josh" for you non fans out there

2007-10-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Well, It has been a really looooong time since I've posted, I went out of town to Virginia for 11 days and visited family and had lots of fun, I got back on the 22nd and slept all day and have had no desire to do anything ever since

I got some really exciting news, Ill have to share at a later date that has been keeping my mind busy and I also had an interview today that I believe went very well, so Im super excited about that too

The one thing that got me on here today is because I received my Fall into Autumn swap package, yippee, I was napping, yes what a bum right, when the Postal lady knocked on my door with my package, how exciting to get something other than bills

So I am here today to share photos of all my lovely gifts and a few from my trip

Not much knitting news, I made a matching pair of mittens for the baby hat, and I finished the jellyfish shrug for mom while I was there, but haven't started or finished anything, my knitting mojo seems to have gone missing, what am I gonna do..eeek...

Here are pix of the cutie in the hat and matching mittens, adorable, also she is wearing the baby shrug I made for here last xmas!!!

These are all the little people in my life
pix from my last trip
Oh ya!! I dyed my hair brown, its not permanent though, so I will be blonde again in 6 weeks!

And now for the swap package

I got a really cute card, a gorgeous washcloth, some yummy peaches and cream which I've never used before and have been wanting to try for a while, and then more yarn, how did I get so lucky, its Bernat cotton tots, in two super cute pink colors and its sooooo soft!! Got a fun washcloth patten book, some beautiful fall leaves, she brought me a little fall from the east coast, which I don't see much of anymore, my favorite kind of chips, kettle cooked chips, I am such a potato chip fiend, ask anyone, my absolute favorite Candy bar from Trader Joes, altoids chocolate mints, ooh yummy, a really cool bar of soap in one of those "loofah" scrubbers, It think thats what its called, the natural scrubbers, I've never seen anything like it but its really pretty, a super cool SSK magnet, how cute, and a tube of lip balm I believe from trader Joes also, just what I need for the upcoming cool weather chapped lips!

Everything is so perfect, Thanks so much Katie!!!!! I love it!!
http://mayleebeezir.blogspot.com

Okay, so hopefully I get back into the swing of things on here, I 'll try to get a post together on my finished JellyFish Shrug, until then, have a great Halloween!!

Finished Knitting - Childrens Cotton Hat

2007-10-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

This really is a last minute knitted gift for my niece's bday next week, very quickly knit

Well I really like this yarn, it is so soft, but of course cotton can really cramp your hands when knitting

I used some of my homemade DPNs since I haven't purchased many different sizes, this was the closest I had for the yarn, I did get gauge perfectly though

Now I'm stuck on how to finish it, I want to use ribbon in the eyelets and have a knitted flower where the tie would go, but Im not really liking this ribbon and cant tell if I should use this flower

its a flower from Nicky Epstein Knitting Flowers, but not sure if I should try it in a more contrasting yarn or leave it with the same yarn

Pattern: Children's Cotton Hats from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Patagonia Nature Cotton, 214
Needles: Handmade size "8" DPNS
Size: Toddler
Notes: no modifications to actual pattern, gauge was exactly as for pattern

I dont know if I like it as of now

Here are some other pictures, that make it look kinda wonky

and in progress with my handmade DPNS and stitch marker

Any Los Angeles area readers out there

2007-10-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

Any Morrissey fans, Im desperate and I want to sell my tickets for Morrissey this Saturday so I can buy tickets for Monday instead, He's playing at the Hollywood Palladium and its a sold out show

So if I have any LA area readers who like morrissey give me an email

Jellyfish Progress.. finally some knitting to show

2007-09-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

Im finally making some progress on the Jellyfish Shrug. This is a shrug my mom picked out for me to make for her, I am using Gedifra Beauty cotton in black, my pictures aren't showing the black so well, its coming along very easily, I am splitting the pattern in two, instead of knitting it all in one piece like the pattern, so the lace pattern will look the same on each sleeve. I really like this yarn, but I have had to make a lot of adjustments because its completely different than the pattern calls for, it really creates a beautiful looking and feeling fabric, feels very luxurious, I bought it on ebay fairly cheap with plans to make myself something, but its okay, I can always borrow it right.

I plan to use the kitchener stitch to graft the two halves together when Im done so there wont be any seam there.

I love this pattern and its a very easy repeat to learn

I'm trying to think of a good contest, using some of the stuff I like to make, I cant decide on one thing, so maybe Ill just have a contest for each of them, then I could get some feedback on whats good and whats not! some ideas are knitting project bags, which I love and use all the time, lavender pillows, needle cases, needle pouches, knitting needles (I have a lot of ideas and supplies for these). what does everyone think of those

mmm lavender

2007-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

I think I posted some of these a few posts back, Ive been making more with my scraps, its so perfect, I bought some dried lavender buds at the farmers market and then I saw these little pillows at a LYS and thought they were so cute and so easy to make

here are some of the ones Ive made so far

They are so perfect for me since I have yarn in baskets around my house, I can just drop one of these in there and not worry about anything messing up my wool and they smell great, I may even put in the dryer next time I wash my sheets, wouldnt that be lovely

Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap Topic of the week

2007-09-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

I guess Im popular now, I've officially been the victim of spam on my comments, I am deleting the last post and reposting it now, and I will now moderate all comments before they are put on here

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

woops I didn't do this last week, slipped my mind, well Ive been kind of lazy lately, in the crafting world that is, I have been vacuuming and washing dishes and doing lots of laundry, all that fun cleaning stuff, since my husbands been working so much, he hasn't been able to do his share of chores

so here I am just posting this, I have painted some new knitting needles, Ill try and show those off tomorrow

So my favorite thing about fall, I love the leaves changing colors, but I don't see them that much now that I'm in California, the cool air, wearing long sleeve shirts, I just hate giving up my flip flops though, I love the holidays that are coming up and visiting my families at those times, going camping is always fun!

ok ok, so I cant seem to post without at least one picture, and since I have no new knitting pictures you can have another hottt boy from supernatural, both of them are super hot, but I think Dean is my favorite, his face looks kinda funny in this one but hey hes got his shirt off who cares

ooh what about this one, a little grainy but yummy

stripey goodness

2007-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick hello before I head off to work, I knit up some of that sock yarn I dyed last week to see how the stripes would look, pretty cool, I'm loving it.

I cast on for the Jellyfish Shrug last night in some black cotton, not what the pattern calls for, but Im going for something more solid and warm but still with the delicate lace sleeves, the swatch I did looked great, so hopefully I figured out the gauge correctly

I have been doing more sewing also, I made a case for my circular needles, no pix yet, Ill take some tomorrow, and I added some fun items to my etsy account, I have only bought stuff on there, this is my first time selling, I'm not expecting to much, its mostly for fun

Well gotta go get ready for work, I thought I would bring this pic back up to life again, ooh yeah, what a hottie, I love me some superman

Break out the tools, Im making a yarn swift

2007-09-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing this tutorial a while back on how to make your own yarn swift when I was searching to find the cheapest one, well there are no cheap yarn swifts, so I searched again yesterday and found the website with the tutorial. If interested you can find it here Home made yarn swift

I headed out to the hardware store early in the morning bound and determined to make my own

I already had most of the tools needed, just had to buy the parts which came to a total of $.8.60. I did have to buy a wood chisel which was $7.79, I had them cut the wood to the sizes needed, all I had to cut was the notches to fit the top pieces together

I still am missing one 3 inch piece of wood on the bottom, but I am using my old college textbooks in place right now until I get that cut
Well here it is in all its glory, I love it, its awesome, and it comes apart for storage, this is so amazing

(...Im having a little video trouble, Im working on it....)
and a little video demonstration, I changed the TV to a music channel so you didn't have to hear my TV show, instead its some loud music Ive never heard, but it sounds like a cool song, any one heard it before? who is it? well have fun, I know I will

Adventures In Yarn Dyeing... Round 2

2007-09-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well I ordered this yarn from knitpicks, so I could practice some more on some nice soft yarn that I actually want to use. This is Knit Picks bare merino wool in fingering weight, its very nice. It cost $5.99 for the superwash, but you get a lot of yarn for that, 462 yards. Well here begins my dyeing adventures

I attempted to make some self striping yarn, nothing fancy, no crazy measurements, I knit a few rows in the round and measured how much would make 5 rows, then wrapped that much around some chairs, no pictures sorry, but very similar to this person from craftster. Well the chairs I used unfortunately slanted out and as I finished wrapping, the yarn wouldnt come off, silly me, I always learn things the hard way. I almost ripped the yarn in half trying to get it off, pictures would have been funny. darn

So I chose, strawberry, lemon lime and lemonade "Kool-Aid" this time, I got a very nice pink color last time I used a very weak mixture of the stawberry, so I was going for a pink, yellow and green, well it didnt work out that way, I got these colors that reminded me of Rasta colors, thats cool and all but not what I wanted to wear on my socks or for my niece's socks

So I decided to overdye the yellow with blue, you see with Kool-Aid dyeing you can't get much other than these crazy neon colors, which is cool and cheap so Im having fun for now, but Im sure down the road Ill start using yarn dyes so I can get the colors I want, but for now here is what I have

I also re-dyed the other colors, The superwash doesnt pick up the colors as well, and I had a lot of splotches. Again, learning the hard way. See that yarn rinsing, I sure hope all my ties are still functioning cause that looks like one big mess

Yep here is that mess I was talking about, I almost had a heart attack, when I first started, but you know, my ties did well and it came off very easily (partialy dry because I have no patience) despite what you see :0)

Oh yeah, here are those stools I used, see how they slant out, woops, I almost couldn't get the yarn off

From the mess on the floor came this..ahh pretty

and all that hard work was so worth it, I absolutely love this and can't wait to try out that striping pattern, until then.....

Swap Topic Of The Week

2007-09-11T12:07:00.001-07:00

Here is my weekly contribution to the Fall into Autumn Swap

Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I dont change the type of yarn as much, since I prefer to use a lot of the same yarn, but I definitely change what Im knitting, obviously I will start knitting cooler weather items, I use a lot of soft wools, and cashmere or cotton or silk blends. I love soft yarn. I prefer to use debbie bliss yarns, I just love the texture and stitch definition that comes with it but am always open to trying other popular brands that I havent used before that compare.

A Whole Entire Crafty Day

2007-09-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, My husband had to work this weekend so I was left all alone to craft all I wanted, I tried a couple different crafts today all while doing Laundry

I've wanted to make some lavender soap with lavender I bought at the Farmers Market, Though I'll probably never really made soap like my sister, My Joann's was just revamped and now has a cute little soap/lotion/candle/lip balm section, so I bought some pre-made soap in a big block and melted it down, added Lavender Oil and Lavender buds

Although it smells wonderful, it looks to me like there are bugs in it, scary, maybe I should of grinded the buds, I'll try that next time

Here is some more work with the lavender, my other plan for it, lavender pillows with my scraps, I knew I was saving those scraps for something, these are going to live with my yarn in their baskets, to keep pesky things from eating my yarn...
mmm I love the smell of Lavender

Oh and the fun didn't stop there, I bought some wood letters a few weeks ago to try something I saw on "Creative Juice" These are the initials of my newest niece Addison

Each letter separate to see the designs, just scrapbook paper glued on, I haven't decide if I want to put a coat of "Diamond Glaze" on top, or if I'm even sure it will work

Then I added Green ribbon to the edges with the glue gun, lots of curves and very tedious

Well then I decided to make myself a new Knitting Needle holder, I have lots of fabric reserved for these, to be gifted and possibly sold... we'll see about that,
I need more practice, I do a lot of sewing before thinking here and you can see I forgot to add the ribbon, but no worries, Its still open on the bottom and I can still add it,

I can't seem to find my green thread, which I know I have, so I can't top stitch it yet, but I still love it, I added some interfacing so it feels nice and sturdy

And well just for fun a close up of the fabric

and Last but not least the progress of those lovely Tulips, the knitting part was a breeze its just the finishing thats getting to me,
all I have left to do is sew the petals of the pink and purple flowers and I'm done!!
Oh! btw, I intended on having 6 tulips but I have to ship it tomorrow so shes only getting 3 for now!

phew! what a day, but I got a lot of projects done Ive had waiting around, it was fun

New Mail - more dyeing

2007-09-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yay! new mail! I ordered some bare wool from Knitpicks, my first purchase from them, and I plan to do some more dyeing with "Kool-Aid" I got some sock weight so I plan to make my first officially pair of socks, and my niece asked me to make her some socks so I will let her pick the colors for her pair with the other skein

I also got a pair of size 2 circulars to try the socks on circulars method, I've never tried but there are some great tutorials on the internet that I plan to follow. They weren't part of their Options set which I would love to purchase one day

This is a Necklace I am making from some items from the Hardware store, its just needs the top coat which Im waiting to come in the mail, Just a little playing around

I would prefer to find a better bead and some brown cording for it, I just wanted to see what it looked like on and this was what I had in my stash

And The Winner Is.........

2007-09-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Alright here we go

I have drawn a name for the winner of my contest, It was really hard to just pick one, I wish everyone could of won, this was my first contest and I plan to do more, so be sure to keep checking around

And the winner is........

Congratulations Sonya! I will be contacting you soon
Thanks to all who participated
no worries there will be more

I just might open an Etsy shop for the fun of it

Contest Update - ending today

2007-09-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well a big thank you to all who have participated so far, this is a lot of fun and I definitely plan to do more of these, Just a note that the contest ends today at 11:59pm PST, I will then put all your names in a bag, literally, and draw one name to win one free stitch marker from my previous post on 8/22, and will contact the winner tomorrow by email to get shipping information! I'm so excited! Good Luck!!

"Fall Into Autumn" Dishcloth Swap

2007-09-05T11:24:00.000-07:00

I am participating in my first swap, this sounds like it will be fun, here is the link to the website "Fall Into Autumn" Dishcloth Swap

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it? I mostly Knit and sometimes dabble in crochet, I have been knitting for about 4 years
2. Have you made dischloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both? I have made 1 dishcloth, for the kitchen, the ballband dishcloth and modified another for my swiffer cover
3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ? I have only used sugar and cream, maybe would like to try a smoother softer cotton for a face cloth??
4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles? I usually prefer straight needles, and wood, but if its a tough fiber I like metal
5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much? I like blues or pinks, Im not much into browns or reds or oranges
6. What do you like best about Autumn? the changing of the leaves
7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks! Im not much of a pie person but my favorite would be Pecan, then apple, then pumpkin
8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day? definitely overslept
9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap) I love Halloween decorating, I'm an xray tech I look at bones and skulls all day long, even though I'm a little afraid hehe
10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose? anything made from Potatos, dark chocolate, cheese!
11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;) husband who seems like a kid!
12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why? This is hard, I like a smooth clean yarn, like smooth clean skin, but also like a varied spun yarn, shows how I can go from one extreme to another, and colorful! does that make any sense :0)
13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths? Ive only made one dishcloth, I've never tried a facecloth
14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays) hmm hard one, but the food always wins, I say thanksgiving, even though I have to work it every year, I still remember the times I spend with my family on that day, eating all those wonderful foods you only get on that day, and the footbal, go Redskins!
15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about? no allergies that I know of, I like soft stuff

Felted Flowers

2007-09-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

I started a new project, I'm making the Felted Tulips from Pick Up Sticks, I got the pattern on sale a few weeks ago, I also purchased the Daffodil and the Poinsettia Wreath.

I'm planning to make six flowers in 3 different colors, I'm using Cascade 220, I've made one so far and am felting it right now to see if it looks okay, I used my I-cord maker for the stem so it ended up a really tight gauge, not sure how that will felt, I did take some picture pre-felted.

This is going to be a bouquet to go along with the swallowtail shawl for the my Grandmothers 90th birthday

Check out the cool video of how the Embellish Knit! works, its a life saver I love it and I recommend it to all who knit

Groban Weekend

2007-08-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't done much knitting in the last week, I started two new projects before that, one being the Kasbah belt which was a free pattern from Wildfiber in the store

the other project is the ballet sweater from speed knitting, since I have tons of La gran and no ones wants to buy it I started using some of itThe ballet sweater is coming along very speedy as the book titles it, I only have the sleeves and straps to finish, maybe this week

I had a fun filled weekend with Josh Groban, I didn't, I saw his show in Anaheim, I just love it, so much fun, before the concert I met his Dad and his manager and his opening act Angelique Kidjo, all very nice people, I didnt get to officially meet Josh yet, as many contests that I entered, but one day I hope it will happen, we had 6th row seats and they were great, stayed up at the stage for the last 5 songs, AWESOME

Well back to knitting, I did get 2 new books in the mail this weekend, knitted flowers by Nicky Epstein and 200 Crochet blocks by Jan Eaton, I adored this baby blanket made by Angelknits so I want to try to create my own using the patterns in that book

So as soon as I come off my Josh Groban high and get over my PCD Ill start knitting again...

More Stitch markers

2007-08-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well I was working on a few and then bought some beads at the fiber fest and made a few more.

Any comments or criticism are welcome! and hey I'm even going to choose one lucky commenter to get a single stitch marker of their choice (oops except for the gold ones :0) free just for commenting on my blog

These are some glass beads I bought at the fiber fest

These are some glass turtles I picked up there as well

These are some plastic beads

These are some glass beads

Santa Monica Fiber Fest

2007-08-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Santa Monica Fabulous Fiber Fest

August 2007

Well I enjoyed myself, I went on Friday to the fiber fest, and used my $1 off coupon so I got in for $5, I only spent about 2 hours in there but I could of looked around forever. There was all sorts of goodies everywhere, I tried to limit myself and I actually didn't buy any yarn, There wasn't a whole lot of it there and there wasn't much that I couldn't get anywhere else on a normal day. I bought some plastic flowers to hopefully use for my knitting needles, some yummy fabric to make some needle holders and other stuff out of off and some cool glass beads I want to make some stitch markers out of. Here are a few pictures of what I bought and some of the fiber fest

Here she is, my first dyed yarn

2007-08-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

I invested in a yarn winder, so much better than winding yourself

First attempt dyeing wool with Kool-Aid

2007-08-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun doing this, Its amazing how quickly the wool sucks up the color, I chose to use Kool-Aid since its so cheap and the colors look so great from what Ive seen. I purchased some knit picks super wash merino but got to anxious waiting for it in the mail so I bought some wool from Joann's, its near impossible to find 100% wool in these places, so Its not the best yarn its quite rough but it was my only option, so when I get my knit picks Ill be ready to go.

First of course, I wrapped the yarn around two chairs to make big loop, then tied of 4 sections, then put it in water to lightly clean and get wet. I used Grape, Cherry and Strawberry Kool Aid, 1 packet each Jar, the Grape I used 2 packets since I was putting twice as much yarn in there, I used the four sections that were tied off to be (red, purple, pink, purple) no self striping for me yet

I found that The Cherry and Strawberry looked almost exactly alike when I tested a strand, so the mixture of Strawberry I had, I dumped out 3/4 of the dye and added more water, which created more of a pink, instead of red.

Here is the original test, see the cherry and strawberry look very similar

I chose a stove top method, I got the idea from this craftster post, putting it in jars and then putting the Jars in a pot of water, it didn't take long for the water to turn clear, maybe 20 minutesThere a 1 loop in each of the reds, and two in the purple

Then I set the Jars aside to cool, that took forever, when It was not as hot, I put the yarn in the sink with water at the same temperature, then let it soak there until cooler,

This is the best picture for accurate colors

then I hung it to dry, I was so impatient during this, I just wanted to play with it so bad, then around 11pm I couldn't stand it anymore I took it down and began a swatch, I was so giddy, I love the colors sooo much, I am so gonna do more of this
As you can see the white parts in the middle stayed white, The dye sucked up into the yarn so quickly, I didn't get much time to try and get the white parts in the dye, I'm sure I could of hand painted those parts with more dye but I was impatient I couldn't wait to see what I had created, its a cool effect, but will dye those parts next time

SwallowTail Shawl is now blocking...yes!

2007-08-09T11:52:00.000-07:00

WOW I did it! I finished my swallowtail shawl, I thought this day would never come, yeah, now I can start a new project!! I have been only allowing myself to work on this so I could finish it. Well here are some pix of my blocking progress and measurements before and after

I used a dab of Johnson's baby shampoo, I have yet to try any special cleanser yet, I really love the smell of baby shampoo so It works for me

here is it is after I finished casting off, btw, was that cast of method specific to this pattern or just another way to cast off??

and finally my favorite part of the whole knitting process, blocking, bringing it to life and all its glory, how is my blocking looking? this is only the second lace piece I have ever blocked. The top corners look a little weird, am I being to aggressive, this is 100% extra fine wool, I read you can be more aggressive with wool, any tips out there?

Here is the widest measurement before and after blocking, looks like I gained about 11 inches

slow progress

2007-08-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been making some very slow progress on my Swallowtail Shawl, I only have 8 more rows to go but I can only do like 2 at a time, there are so many stitches on the needle now its hard to get through it without needing a break, thats my knitting ADD kicking in, so no fun knitting progress pictures to show

so in celebration on my many years on vegetarianism, I bring to you a really good sandwich I made today

I used hummus, red onion, cucumber, micro greens, avocado and swiss cheese, this sandwich was very delish and very fresh tasting

and then I just started playing with the macro function on my new camera, I love this camera. so much fun to play with, I cant wait to actually use it for knitting and those cool super close up shots of the yarn....

mmm veggie soup

2007-08-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well It has now officially been 14 years since I began to start my life as a vegetarian. Today I made some yummy veggie soup, and well also having a new camera I just wanted to post a picture! yum yum

I used yellow onion, carrot, celery, sauted for 5 mins in olive oil, then added veggie broth, water, potato's, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, simmered for 15mins, then added fresh tomato's, green beans, simmered another 15mins, served with a baguette & butter

all veggies were fresh from Trader Joes and some from the farmer's market, my favorite!!

Ralvery Waiting List

2007-08-03T12:32:00.001-07:00

I was looking around and found this option to view your place on the waiting list
http://www.ravelry.com/antsy/

here I am... anxiously awaiting

Found you!

You signed up on June 14, 2007
You are #8932 on the list.
1285 people are ahead of you in line.
13609 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far

Swallowtail Shawl progress

2007-08-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

I am currently in the middle of the lilly of the valley border 2, here is my progress so far, I stopped it to do the summertime tunic but now
I am trying to finish this by the end of the month for a gift to my grandmother

I started on straight because that was easier for me, but now I definitely need to transfer to circulars so I can really see what I am doing, Ive had a heck of a time starting out with the nupps, this is my first time and I think I messed up the first row but not enough to frog it and well I never did put in any lifelines, silly me, will definitely do that on my next lace project, I gave myself such a headache in the beginning but the repeats are very easy to remember so all i well now, just have to push myself to finish this without starting anything else

I am so excited to get to eventually see this blocked!!!

out of town

2007-07-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

sorry Ive been out of town, I will try to post pictures this weekend....

Lainey's Dresses summer 07

2007-07-16T18:56:00.001-07:00

NewLook 6578

Butterick 5020

Completed Summertime Tunic

2007-07-15T15:53:00.001-07:00

Well I finished my Summertime Tunic last week but just now got to take pictures of me wearing it. It ended up very big and I tried 3 times to shrink it but not much of a difference, I really like it Im just bummed its so big around the bottom, I may give it to my mom, but I cant decide cuz its so cute, Im not set on a ribbon yet either, I just chose this one so I could try it on, its a little rough, Id like something more smooth on my skin

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cathay in Teal
Needles: circular 4 and 6
Mods: I casted on a number between the 33 and 36 inch size, I cant remember how much, I have it written down somewhere Im not sure of right now, Other than that I followed the rest of the instructions, except knitting the back on straights, so I didn't have to move stitches around

Here are some pix..enjoy!

I need a vote on a button

2007-07-10T12:34:00.000-07:00

Which button, pink or green?

My latest little Project

2007-07-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well I finished my SummerTime Tunic.... YAY!!! I just need to get pictures of me wearing it to post it. until then I started working on this wee little dress for my wee little niece, The dress pattern is a very simple one from Newlook 6578. I am adding my own embroidery. This is my first time really embroidering and I am so excited about it so far. Check it out!!

I used a template off of a Uncommon Threads episode, where they embroidered a pillow and added the stems on my own making my own template for the dress.

2007-07-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

My husband got me this blooming tea from raworganictea.com , this was my last one and it was kind of old but I wanted to share some pictures of it as it blooms in the cup. It is loose leaf tea wrapped in a bloom and that opens after you add the hot water, its way cool, the flavor is very weak but smells wonderful and it looks so neat in a clear mug

and I thought I would share some pretty flowers in my kitchen

Summertime Tunic update ... soo close

2007-06-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

Yay I just got to the front and back split, in what seemed like Fo-Eva, I was about 4 inches shy of it after yesterday so I went and sat out on my patio and tried to get a tan on my legs while knitting away, and I made it... I just left the front stitches on the circulars and started knitting the back with some 6 straights, so I dont have to take off and put stitches back on the needles like it says to

Im not sure if it will be too big, I cast on a number between the 33" and 37" since my size is between the two but it looks really big, I measured and its about 17" flat so 34" around which sounds fine but I guess we'll see in a few days,

I still have no idea what color ribbon to use, Ive seen a lot of chocolate brown which is great, I plan to take to the store and hold some different colors up to it to see what I like best, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :0)

Posting on Instructables

2007-06-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

I added my neelde holder to Instructables.com for the etsy contest, I know its not that great but I still wanted to enter just for the fun of it since I already made the tutorial, no extra work

You can view it here and give feeback and comments
http://www.instructables.com/id/EZRK0O9F3B4B3B6/

well I cant use the swiffer wet

2007-06-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

I attempted to see if I could use the swiffer cover wet and it was disastrous. its got all stretched out and started falling off, I need to come up with a better one for wet, but otherwise it works amazing when dry

here's the poor thing all stretched out after using it wet

Knit Swiffer Cover

2007-06-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

So as soon as I saw this post on craftster, I knew that I must make this, my swiffer has been collecting dust because Im too cheap to buy more refills, and well the dollar store refill just plain suck. So here is my version of the swiffer cover of a different kind

Yarn: pink and purple Lily's sugar and cream cotton yarn (on sale at michaels) not quite 1/2 each color
Pattern: base pattern taken from mason dixon ball band washrag, modified to fit my swiffer cover, let me know if you need help I can write out what I did.

really quick and easy knit, It just took me longer to finish because I needed to go out and buy buttons for it, I picked up two yesterday since they were on sale 40% off at Joanns, got home to sew them on and realized I needed 4 woops! so I went back today to get the other 2 and managed to get them a little smaller, but who cares its only a swiffer cover, its gonna get dirty, oh and I strategically hid my loose ends which as of yet I have been too lazy to weave it, but no fear it will be done before going in for its first wash

so as I was at Joanns I have to show you what else I got
check out these way cool vintage buttons they have (40% off)
I thought they were really cute, not sure what Ill use them for yet but I will find something

and fabric remnants for needle holders, super cheap, purple one was 1.25, blue .65, black .89, and their all about 3/4 of a yard, way cool, and then I picked up some cotton flannel for blankets for my nieces, only $2/yd normally $5

Im one crazy yarn obssessed lady

2007-06-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

So I went to the huge sale at Black Sheep Knittery, most everything was bagged at 75% off, so I pretty much bought all the debbie bliss I could find since its my favorite, and then got some rowan, classic elite mohair, crazy, they were like $2 a ball and less, woo hoo, here is 1 of 3 of the trash bags full of yarn I have, although Im not that crazy I am sharing most of it with my sister

see it in all its glory Here

Happy Birthday Rhonda!!

2007-06-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Happy to birthday to my knitting sister!!!