paying-it-forward

Want some handmade goodness?  I saw this meme on Nomes’s Brag-a-long  and thought, why not? I've always wanted to join in on a swap, but the stars just never quite aligned until now. So if you want to play, here's how to join in:

1.  I will send a surprise gift to the first three commenters on this post. The gift will be handmade by me. It will be sent sometime in the next 365 days. It will be a surprise. We all love getting surprises in the mail, right?
2. In your comment, tell me your two favorite colors (that will help me make an appropriate gift).
3. To sign up and receive a gift, you must play along, too. Pay it Forward on your blog, by promising to make a surprise for the first three people who comment on the post.
4. You must have a blog (that is updated, as I will blog stalk you to find the right gift for you).
5. After commenting here, you must re-post this or something similar to your blog in 48 hours. If not, I will chose the next person who comments…

Looking forward to seeing who I get to send some joy to!

done and done!

Guess who got a face and officially entered "finished object" territory? Rose, my Kuku doll! The kit provides the wool roving, and thankfully I had a needlefelting tool on hand from ages ago. I don't know what you'd do if you didn't have one, I'm not sure if it's possible to needlefelt with a regular sewing/embroidery needle ... Although I like the look of the needlefelted eyes, they were a pain to create. I felt like I was stabbing a voodoo doll obsessively! I'm just not a fan of needlefelting, I guess.

I'm even more excited to report back that the crosses quilt has also entered finished object territory! Making this quilt was step one in decorating my daughter's eventual "big girl room." I've been slowly but surely starting to scout out cute furniture options/inspirations online (see my Pinterest board) for it, and am contemplating painting the walls purple ... but this is my long-term, post-baby project. :-D

I am sooo excited by how this quilt turned out! So bright and cheerful! I found a funky orange fabric with large pink and green polka dots for my binding, which I thought was especially appropriate given the polka dot "background" fabric I used between each quilt block.

It seems like quilt-making is becoming somewhat of a pregnancy (nesting, really) tradition for me ... I was in the midst of making a king-sized quilt in my last trimester of my daughter's pregnancy. But this time, I actually finished the quilt before arrival of baby!

going kuku

I've had this adorable kit for "Rose" (one of the Kuku felted doll kits created by the Dolly-Mamas) in my stash for a couple of years now ... motivated by my desire to do some stash busting and finally try my hand at knitted toys, I cast on for Rose on Friday, and felted her in my washing machine on Monday. Can you say super-fast project? It helps that the kit uses worsted-weight Cascade 220 yarn and calls for size 9 needles!

The entire doll is knit flat, so if you fear/dislike knitting in the round, this is the knitted toy project for you! First, you start with the "feet," knitting the two legs separately and then joining them to continue knitting the torso of the body and then the head (the ears are bobbles! such a great idea!). Then you seam down the middle of the back of the doll, and attach arms that are knit separately. You stuff with poly fiber-fill prior to felting, which was the most nerve-wracking part for me ... I'm glad I had a kit, because then I really didn't have to decide how much was "too much" stuffing (the poly fiber-fill won't felt, while the rest of the doll does, so you don't want to over-stuff). I just evenly distributed the amount that was provided, and trusted the kit instructions. Lastly, you use a crochet hook to join strands of yarn for the hair and skirt. Here's Rose prior to felting ...

And after! I should have taken before and after measurements, but forgot--she really does shrink in height quite a bit! At least five inches, I would estimate.

I still need to trim extra threads, and neaten up her hair and skirt, and needle-felt some eyes. As you can see, using this method for creating hair results in a very "dread-lock" look!


Don't forget to check out the other WIPs at TamisAmis and YarnAlong!

more tiny knits

Baby booties and hats, oh my! I knit up my recent stash addition, one skein of Filatura di Crosa Zarina. These are inspired by the stay-on booties pattern (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stay-on-baby-booties-archive), which is no longer available online but has been posted on various Ravelry project pages and within the comments. Very unusual construction, and all garter stitch (my current favorite, it seems!). Definitely a fun, fast knit!

For the hat, I cast on 70 stitches and knit in garter stitch for 4.5 inches before decreasing for the crown. I was hoping to knit something small enough that the little bambino could wear in the hospital, but I have a feeling this will still be too big. We'll see ...

stinkin' cute Easter knits

Let's just say I wish I found these adorable free Easter patterns a lot earlier ... next year, next year ...

Knit up a vintage Easter bunny! Free pattern by Sara Elizabeth Kellner. Link to free pattern on Ravelry (image by saraek).


Free pattern by Susan B. Anderson. Link to free pattern on the Spud & Chloe blog, link to Ravelry pattern page. (image by mwollin)


... and here come the little chicks! Free pattern by Barbara Prime. Link to free pattern on Barbara's blog, link to Ravelry pattern page.


Free pattern by Linda Dawkins (image by mamma4earth). Link to free pattern on Linda's blog, link to pattern page on Ravelry.


Fill their baskets and decorate your house with this adorable free knitted Easter egg pattern by Purl Soho. (link to pattern on Purl Soho's website, link to pattern page on Ravelry)


More adorable eggs! (Image by pumpkinknits) Link to free pattern by Little Cotton Rabbits, link to pattern page on Ravelry.

Knit yourself or someone you love some bunny ears!

Image by SweetCamoMama. Free pattern by Bernat (link to pattern on Bernat's website, link to pattern information on Ravelry)

Have a great Easter weekend!

sock progress

They're grooowing! I haven't devoted as much attention to these lately, what with my quilt distracting me, but I've reached my favorite part of any sock--turning the heel. No matter how many times I do it, it still feels like "magic." And somehow, the foot goes sooo much faster for me than the leg portion.

yarn crawl across mississippi: jackson

Earlier this week we were able to make a quick excursion to Jackson, Mississippi--which meant I could visit one of my favorite yarn shops in the entire state, the Knit Studio (location, hours). A couple of factors make it one of my favorites ... the owner, Judy, is one of the friendliest, most gracious people I've ever met. She's an owner that truly makes you feel welcome, not snubbed. And on top of that, she has an amazing selection of gorgeous yarns. Noro, Berroco, Manos del Uruguay, Blue Sky Alpacas, .... I could go on and on .... (full list of product lines here). And her shop is open and airy, full of natural light. You just feel happy the minute you step inside of it. It's probably a good thing I live 2.5 hours away!



Of course, I couldn't leave without a few goodies, could I?

Filatura Di Crosa Baby Zarino Print (destined to become a baby hat)

Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash Paints (destined to become a kid's cardigan)

Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Lace (all for meeeeeee.... project TBD)

If you make the trek to the Knit Studio, I highly recommend refueling at Majestic Burgers, an awesome gourmet burger place in the same shopping center. Sweet potato fries, asian coleslaw, hearty burgers in great flavor combos ... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

quilt in progress

Remember my crosses? This week we're on spring break, and this project has become my obsession. After starting construction of the quilt blocks, I realized that my jelly roll was woefully lacking in the number of "solids" I needed to create enough contrast to make the crosses really "pop." So I ended up adding the bright solid-ish orange and hot pink prints. Then what really got my mojo going on this project was finding the polka dot print that you see in between each block here. Orange, pink, and lime green polka dots on a white background--perfect!

12 Socks in 2012: New Pair #2

I loved the socks I started earlier, but my brain needed something simpler right now, so I just cast on for a pair of cross-hatch lace socks by Charlene Schurch (Ravelry link: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crosshatch-lace). The yarn? So old I've lost the ball band, but I do know it is Cherry Tree Hill yarn sock yarn. This pattern knits up so fast and is quick to memorize, I love it!

baby boy sweater #1: petite facile pullover

The Petite Facile pullover is done! I finally finished seaming and sewing on the button last night ... it could have been finished days ago, but I always seem to procrastinate when it comes to finishing. And the sad part is there was hardly anything to finish! Just side seams and arm seams. This was a really fun, fast pattern. I'd make another one in a heartbeat! Course, I am a sucker for a good garter-stitch yoke ...

This is somewhat embarrassing to admit, but this is the first pattern I've ever knit out of Interweave Knits. And that's after subscribing to the magazine for, oh ... five years. Oops. What can I say? I've queued a TON of patterns, but never seem to actually knit any of them ... until now!


Check out the other finished objects at TamisAmis!

new book: 60 quick baby knits

I just got 60 Quick Baby Knits, and man ... there are a ton of must-knit-now patterns in this book! I'm very glad I made this purchase! I want to size up some of the girl patterns to fit my toddler, and there are loads of great boy patterns as well. Not to mention great blanket and hat patterns ... lots of good variety! Here are some of my favorites ...

cabled tunic

twisted rib cardigan

tiny tux (this one cracks me up)

boatneck pullover

sporty cardigan