A shout out for swaps!

Swaps with the Itty Bitty Group on ravelry are THE.BEST! It's a great group of women outside of the swaps. Genuinely caring about others in the group, open arms to new people, prayers for those in the group hurting, lots of virtual hugs, and wonderful knitters/crocheters. But add the swap dimension and you add fun to the group as well as lots of chatter. I went to church and came home to find 86 posts in the new swap thread! Our latest swap just finishing up was an Easter swap. My swap partner packed a box with my grandmunchkins in mind so there was candy and bubbles and a toy and bunny ears to name a few things. The package had to include one hand made element but not neccesarily knitting since it was a fast swap. My partner included a hand made hand towel. But it is so cute I think I'm going to use it for a table runner on Easter. She had stitched the facial elements. Beautifully done!

Hard to beat this little bunny for cuteness.

Here is the whole package. A kit to make a bunny or chick also had to be included and there was Spud and Chloe to make the hen and chicks in the new Spud and Chloe farm book. I love Spud and Chloe yarn and the book is adorable. Hmmmm, might squeeze that in knitting bag for something fun to knit on the plane.

My package went out yesterday. Included was this bunny hat from Itty Bitty Hats for my swap partner's new granddaughter. That would be knit number 7. Doesn't sound like much for 4 months but there are 4 projects on the needles that will bump up the number. As well there was a lot of sewing and scrapbooking the first of the year so there was little knitting time. More details on the hat on my ravelry page.

Whew....I haven't lost my touch

In sewing that is. The last sewing session was more about correcting "oops" than it was creative. And I just wasn't really happy with the Minnie top. The straw that broke the camel's back was when my daughter commented it was a bit big in the neckline and could I add a piece to keep it on her shoulders. I.hate.repairs. I would much, much rather make from scratch than try and repair or creatively alter something I've already done. A bit more fabric (at 50% off) and wa la...a new top. One I am much happier with. One the little girl is much happier with. One the Mommy is happier with. Whew!

And I finished another knitting project for 2011, #6. A quick one for the Easter swap in the Itty Bitty group. We are required to put in a bunny of some sort, a chick of some sort, and some chocolate. Only one thing has to be handcrafted since our timeline was short. I finished some sewing and one knitting project for my package. There is another on the needles I hope to show on Finished Friday since the package is supposed to be in the mail on Friday.

I'm not the only creative one! Look at what this guy does with Lincoln logs!

Putting life on hold....

Well, as much as possible. But with adorable and active little ones around, there is only so much you can put on hold. She's on the move....which means keeping carpets vacumed, doors closed, floors mopped, coffee tables cleaned off.

We couldn't let Dr. Seuss' birthday pass without some fun. So there were Cat in the Hat hats to create.

And a birthday cake to blow out the candles.

But when I wasn't busy with grandmunchkins I was addressing the New Year's resolution 2011- catch up the grandmunchkin's scrapbooks. New Year's resolution 2011-done! I didn't exercise, except for a few walks, didn't eat, much, didn't do anything the last couple of weekends, except...scrapbook! 2010 is all in the books! There are a few more pictures coming today for January and February 2011 which should take an evening to scrapbook and then I am caught up. It just wasn't getting it down to do a few pages a day. With adorable grandmunchkins changing rapidly I was taking pictures faster than I was scrapbooking them and getting further behind. Now, the next resolution...stay caught up and enjoy scrapbooking again!

There was another swap in the Itty Bitty group in the midst of all that scrapbooking.
The theme was, "Let's start at the very beginning" or, in other words, "A" is for apple. It was an apple swap.

Three more knits for my 2011 tally. These were the requirements for the swap package. The rest was left up to our discretion, choice, and creativity.

This is the hat I received in my swap package. It is adorable on the youngest grandmunchkin.

And talk about creativity! This is the swap package I received from my swap partner...all the way from Ireland!

Here's to hoping the blog stays caught up with the scrapbooking. There are some sewing and knitting projects in the works!

I am making progress...right?

Three things to do this year: catch up scrapbooking in 7 albums (I am 6 months behind) and knit the stash down (I have a bunch of yarn), and read a bit more, and all the while cold sheep as much as possible and cold paper. Cold paper is like cold sheeping but for scrapbooking and reading. I have a lot of scrapbook paper and stickers. A.Lot. And then my daughter sprung digital scrapbooking on me. She suggested it might be faster and more cost effective. After I use up the supply I have. That would be in 3 or 4 years....maybe. And books? I have a few of those too and I'd be better off using the library. I originally bought all those books because I wasn't reading fast enough to get them back to the library in the alloted time. So with those goals in mind I have completed this:My first knitting project for 2011. It's the tulip sweater for our 6 month old granddaughter. A h at to match is on the needles.

And this was what I completed in a weekend in scrapbooking. As in two days! I'm amazed. But there's much more to be done. This the youngest granddaughter's first album so there were a lot of birth-day pictures. But her album is now caught up to her cousins. And I'm waiting on more pages and pictures to progress further. Guess that means knitting and reading time.

And I've read two books already this year. I'm making progress!

Drum roll and the totals for 2010!

One of the threads in the Itty Bitty group on ravelry is totaling up their projects (knitting) for 2010 and, given that I don't feel like I accomplish much most days, I thought I'd take a look between my projects page on ravelry and my blog to figure out how much knitting I'd accomplished. It didn't help much. I totaled up 23 projects. But the size of the projects made up a bit for the number. There were 4 stick horses, 1 toy Santa w/his bag, a pair of socks (my first), a baby sweater and hat, 3 hoodys, a huge, intricate lace shawl that took 4 months alone, a shrug for a nine year old, a lace sweater, 3 necklaces, a quiviut lace scarf, 2 hats, 3 washcloths, and 3 swaps that included a knit tea set, a turtle hat, and another hat w/matching socks.

I know I did a LOT of sewing in 2010 so I perused through my blog and found a more impressive total for sewing. Indulge my sense of needing to feel I accomplished something while I total that up:
Quilts: 6, 1 Christmas for the table, 3 twin for birthdays, 2 baby
Aprons-9
hats-11, 7 Chef hats to go w/aprons, 4 girl's beach hats
Boy's shirts: 8, 3 for Christmas, 3 for the 4th, 2 for birthdays
Project bags: 18, 10 for WWKIP, 2 for girls for WWKIP, 6 for swaps
Teddy bears for swaps: 2
Girl's dresses: 5, 3 Daisy Kingdom dresses for birthdays, 2 for baby shower
Girl's tops: 3 for the 4th and their might have been for the summer but I don't remember
Towel cover ups: 7, 3 superhero capes, 4 mermaids
pillowcases: 2 for swap
nightgowns: 5
PJ's, boys: 6
Jumpers: 3
Bibs: 12, at least
Total for sewing that I can account for: 97

These totals would explain why my stash of yarn is taking over my closet and spilling out into the bedroom and why there is almost no fabric stash. This also explains why my 2011 resolution is Cold Sheeping and not Cold Fabric. This also explains why my husband groans if I mention going to a yarn shop but not the fabric store. More knitting in 2011 I think!

And I have models for the last sewing projects in 2010:











I'm already cooking on 2011 which looks to be more knitting and less sewing and lots of scrapbooking! Stay tuned.

It only took me 5 months....

To get the sweater and hat done for the littlest grandmunchkin. Or rather, she's now 5 months old and she finally has her first hand knit hat and sweater from Nonny. It's a good thing she's so petite because the 3 month size still fits her. I used fingering yarn I received in a swap and the Maile pattern from ravelry. The pattern was a bit tricky at the sleeves but if you follow her instructions, it works out. I would pick up or add stitches at the underarms if I did it again just to make it easier on my needles and hands. But overall I was pleased with the pattern and the outcome.

"See, there are buttons"

Our high temp for today is 23 degrees. Perfect for a new sweater and hat.

I am an adorable baby. Nonny says so.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for a new sweater and hat!

puttin' on the ritz and glitz

via knitting and crocheting! I finished my second Moonrise necklace and it's hard to decide which I like more. The pattern is from Sivia Harding. The beads from Earthfaire and called Crystal Bouquet. This one definitely went faster that the first.

Miss S and I crocheted some necklaces with wire and beads. Wow, if you're in a hurry for a gift that's inexpensive, this is it! Once the beads were strung on the wire, two hours tops to make the necklace. This in mine, three rows of crocheted wire with the beads already on the wire and moved into position as the stitches were formed. The only stitches used were slip stitch, chain, and single crochet.

Miss S crochet necklace:

Three strands of pre strung beads on wire were crocheted using a chain or single crochet with the beads moved into position as the stitches were formed.

Fun, fast projects with great results. But, enough procrastinating, time to get going on Christmas knitting!

It's Quiviut...

So it gets its' own post! My daughter and son in law went to Alaska for their 10th anniversary. I asked her to bring me back a ball of quiviut. I wanted to knit with some. Just try it. And at the cost of a ball of quiviut, "try" is the operative word. She brought me back a ball of cranberry 100% quiviut. And a pattern. But I liked the pattern from 101 One Skein Luxury Yarns better. I loved "trying" it and the "try" yielded a scarf that feels wonderful, was fun to knit, and is pretty to wear. Just in time for almost freezing temps.

(the color isn't very true on this one and I may have blocked it a bit too aggressively)

Tis the season....

for apples and pumpkins and kids and smiles. Let's start with the apples. I love reading blogs. Mostly knitting blogs and ravelry but once in awhile there are others. Susan B Anderson of Itty Bitty fame posted a link on her blog for oven made applesauce. It was a hit, both to make and eat!

Moving on to pumpkins! I haven't carved pumpkins in, um, years! But this year there were pumpkins in the garden that begged to be carved. Miss S just saw Ironman 2 and guess what she wanted her pumpkin to look like? I got a huge smile when it was done, whew! But before I got the smile for a carving job, I got this:

Not too sure about the "pumpkin guts".

But the end result were smiles indicating the pumpkin cleaning was a memory. Um, just to clarify, I did most of the cleaning! And I actually thought it was fun!

Pumpkins on the front porch, carved pumpkins, mean trick or treaters come calling! Spiderman and Superman took time from fighting crime to garner cookies and treats. P'incess Jasmine took time for her royal subjects to bestow a p'incess wave and bow.
There was trick or treating at the local mall and the 7 youngest got together to trick or treat. I love that the cousins are close, both in distance and relationship and love that the Moms foster it!

We have an Avatar, a storm trooper, Spiderman, Superman, Strawberry Shortcake, P'incess Jasmine, and a love bug. Pretty cute if I do say so myself.

And Halloween just kept going! Our church youth put on a harvest party for the kids. They had a cake walk, sack races, and a maze. The maze took up the whole basement and was complete with fog and lights. It took them hours to make and was worth it in the kids' eyes. Our grandson barely came up for a cake walk and sack race and then he was back in the maze!

I managed a few crafty endeavors for Halloween. Of course, there were the cookies for the trick or treaters but there were also pumpkin bracelets for the girls. Another idea gleaned from a blog!

If I did them again, I would use the lighter weight ribbon rather than the grograin. But grograin was what I had on hand.

And the Teddy Bear Picnic swap is finished! The last of the three packages went out last week. It was a fun swap and my swap partner really outdid herself! The grandmunchkins play almost daily with the food and dishes she sent. I sent out the tea set, or most of it, from Itty Bitty Nursery to my swap partner. It was fiddly to knit and crochet and sew up and if I did it again I would use a stiffer cotton yarn. I used a soft yarn and the pieces didn't hold their shape.

And a Hat! The boys need them. The second one is almost done. Hats are great for instant gratification when you don't feel like you're getting anything done. I used Cascade 220 superwash from stash and Dream in Color from stash.

Fall Eye Candy

Ok, I love fall. The crispness in the air, the rain, the colors, the festivities. Except this week we're going to be in the high 70's and 80's and showers. Weird weather all year and the garden is just now producing well so if summer weather lingers to get more produce from our patch of dirt, I'll take it. But I'm also looking for fall where it can be found. My son brought me a bouguet of flowers this morning. It made my day...maybe my whole week! And what gorgous color. Reminds me of fall.

I finished the last of the three sweaters from the knitting machine. It took me longer to put the pieces together than it did to knit all three of them on the machine. But I do like the way they turned out. This one says fall, and maybe spring too.

Just some fall eye candy: