I was looking at stuff online and came across directions for a Yarn Swift. As we all know they can get costly just like our friends the ball winder. I was rather surprised at how easy the directions where and how well it all assembled. Next time we make a trip out to Lowe's or Home Depot I might just pick up the stuff to make one. We know Brian is handy and this is right up his alley.
Thank you very much Robyn. I really really LOVE the Rowan Tapestry yarn. It is so very soft. I also like the mug, stick markers, note cards and the tea. The Rowan yarn will be knitted into something for ME! I might do the candle flame shaw or branching out. The colors are just wonderful in the yarn.
I have been busy knitting and crocheting cloths for Hershey. He has a crochet camo vest and knitted camo pants. I will have his back shirt done tonight or tomorrow depending on how hard the sleeves are going to be. The vest is an altered pattern for a child's crochet sweater. Thank fully preemie knit fit on Build a bears. I just had to leave a space for the tail to come out.
I don't go on Ravelry everyday to read my groups or to put up things I am working on or have finished. Today I see at the top that I have new message. I click on it so I can see what the message is. Mostly its friends requests. OH but not today. I got a nice message from Interweave Knits! Staff wanting to know if they could put my fingerless gloves picture on the Hands up! page. YEAH you can!!! I am very happy that they would like to use one of my photos.
Dear Santa,
I would really like a ball winder for Christmas. I have been a good little knitter. Really I have. When projects get finished I try to remember to blog them or take picture and put them on Flickr. A ball winder would really make things easier and much much faster. Also Santa I would like to have some more yarn. My stash is not nearly big enough to keep me busy for a whole year. I never knit anything for myself, I always knit for others and give it all away or sell it on Etsy. Those who receive my knitted gift appreciate them and cherish them.
I have been a good knitter this year
Christine
I have been a busy little knitter trying to get my stuff knitted up so it can find its way in to the mail soon. I have knitted stuff up for my mother in law, father in law, sister in law and her fiance, and my mom.
I still have the second sock to knit on Brian's socks and Michelle's Reid sweater to do. I'm now in the air as to which size to knit for her on the sweater. I am thinking that I am going to knit the 4yr size instead of the 2yr that way she has more room to grow into it.
I have been on a roll lately with my knitting. It has to do with the fact that the weather has cooled off and not 90* come noon everyday. I have ventured out into the world of knitting and started a pair of entrelac socks. I liked bits of the pattern and gave it my own spin. While I am on the sock kick. I'll be finishing the pair I have started for Brian, which have been in the works since February. I guess that would make them a long term project.
Here is my latest creation. My model was very please with my work. Getting her to hold still was the challenge. I am working on a small bag that will match the scarf.
WOW its sure has been awhile since I've blogged. I swear I'm alive. I have has some success with my Etsy store and had a customer order last month along with a sale. I had the opportunity to design a toilet paper cover for the custom order. The blue one is the first one I did for the custom order and the white one I recently finished last week. I have been working on a hand towel, wash cloth, and dish cloth to go with the toilet tissue covers. 
How ever I have gotten some of my Christmas knitting/crochet done. I have things done for my Mother in law, sister in law and her fiance. I have socks started for my DH and my mom along with a hat/scarf combo for my DD. As to what to knit for my dad and father in law, well that just escapes me. I will probably knit my brother some fingerless gloves or a beanie style hat, lol maybe with a big 'ol pom pom on top. I still have over 2 months left to get stuff done. So we will see what I can turn out in that time.
I 've been busy working on stuff for my Etsy Store. I've had 2 sales since I've opened it up. The forums tell me to advertise and "pimp" my store. LOL Some even suggest getting business cards to give to people who order from you so they can direct there friends to your store.
1. I have had only 2 sales.
2. I have an Etsy mini in 3 different places, apparently this is not enough.
3. No way an I gonna spend money on 250 business card and then wonder what to do with them if this doesn't work out.
However I have found a Child's apron pattern that I like and have been given permission to use the pattern to make aprons to sell. The one at the left is Sized to fit a 2-4 yr old or a Toddler basically. Now if my said Toddler would hold still and let me take her picture in it THAT would probably sell the thing.
Awhile back I decide that I wanted to knit & crochet some stuff to sell on line. So I researched and thought and pondered and thought some more. After all of this I went with Etsy.com, which is like a craft only Ebay. I knitted a lace doily then crocheted a few doilies and knitted a couple of dish cloths.
Last Saturday I listed what I had gotten finish during the week. On Monday to my surprise on of my dish cloths had sold :) :) That was the high light of my day yesterday.
The really nice thing is that I can stick a blurb on my blog so take a look on the right hand side and feel free to click to visit my store.
#1 is after round 35 and #2 is pinned and starched.
Last week I decided to join in on a Lace Knit a Long. What better way to do a lace pattern than a doily. I hunted and hunted for on that look pretty and some what simple to do. I found one HERE that looked easy. After about the 66th round I was feeling rather tired of knitting the doily so I cast off. Instead of being the full 15 inches it is supposed to be its about 12 inches. It is done with Patons Grace in Lavender.
I haven't been the busiest knitter lately. With going to Ohio to visit my family and with the weather being so humid and hot I just haven't had the desire to sit down and knit. I did start a felted bag and I need to get the ends knitted on so it can be felted. It is Red & Black to keep with teh project spectrum theme.
I just finished a lace edge doll dress of my own design. I don't know if I'm totally sold on the design or not. I do know that the I-Cords needed to be longer than what I made them but I guess that is half the fun of designing and writing your own patterns. I do know that I will knit this one again but I think I'm going to use a lighter weight yarn. The worsted weight is fine but I would like to see more of the lace work a little better. Also Next time I'm going to leave off the I-Cord and see what I get.
From let to Right: Original Outfit, School Days (I need to finish the bag) Going to Graceland ( there is a pair of white sock and blue saddle shoes), T-E-A-M, and Sunday Go To ( Which is done in Texas A&M colors)
Here are what I have done so far for Michelle's Dora doll that Nana got her for her Birthday next month. I have been stash busting to make the outfits. I found that I had quiet a few small balls of yarn that where not quiet big enough to make any thing on the larger side so they became doll cloths. LOL Now I can buy more yarn once I empty our my small Rubbermaid tub.
Here is a picture of my bag from Nadine. She also sent me a crochet Snowman, a ceramic thimble and post cards from Long Lake, New York. Long Lake sounds like a nice quiet place to live and spend time. Maybe one day I can make it out that way.
I've got stuff in my bag and even took it to Lowe's tonight. It holds a skein of yarn along with my wallet and keys REALLY well. There was even room for Michelle's snack and toy.
The colors for Project Spectrum: April & May are Pink, Yellow, & Green. I have had fun working with these colors. The crochet bag group that I belong to is doing a Spring bag exchange and I just couldn't resist using my bright spring colors.
The bag is done with Lion Micro spun in Buttercup, Lime, Mango, Fuchsia, and Turquoise. The 2 small dish cloths where knitted with Peaches & Cream Lemon-Lime and the doily is done with DMC cotton #10 thread. The doily pattern cam from Crochet Pattern Central and is 
called "My First Doily". I had no troubles doing the doily and it took me about a day. (After I redid what some one small tore out that is)
I just finished up this hat from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson. The hat is in the newborn size and will fit on a 15-18 inch doll. There are many wonderful hats in her book as well as a simple rolled brim hat pattern.
I found a doll cloths pattern here. The pattern includes a jacket shirt and pants. I am going to knit them out of Lion Microspun in Lime, Buttercup, and Fuchsia. The doll cloths will be for a Build-a-Bear dog instead of a doll. Since the pants are done in two parts it shouldn't be too hard to leave a space for the tail. I also think the jacket looks like a Baby Knit Surprise by Elizabeth Zimmermann.
I got some DMC Traditions crochet thread from Wal-Mart on Tuesday. It is # 5109 which is a verigated yellow, pink, green, & blue. I think it was the green & pink that caught my attention. I use the Octagon Dishcloth. I only did 8 of the 9 rounds with a size 10 steel hook. I still need to go and block it so the edges lay down flat and ad some starch so it stays flat.
With Easter this weekend I have been busy. I have also been able to killed 2 birds with one stone so to speak. April & Mays Colors are Pink, Yellow, & Green. The washcloths I have knitted for Mitchie's Easter basket are yellow & green variegated with a little bit of white in it. Along with the wash cloths I have a flower purse from Lion brand picked out to crochet in pink with a yellow center and the green with be the stem and handle.
Here a link to a cute felted crochet bag. I haven't done this one yet but it sounds easy. I got the link from the yahoo Crochet bags group.
I haven't had too much time lately to work on anything worth while since Michelle started swim lessons and has PT. I did how ever get another dishcloth knitted up and it has the state of Ohio in it. The creator of the pattern has all 50 states and Canada.
This was a quick and simple project once my brain got the instructions and concept. I think I had a knitard moment or something when I tried it earlier. Here is the link to the Garterlac Dishcloth.Monday was just a normal day UNTIL my computer locked up then began to make a beeping noise and had to be given a hard shut down. Meaning I had to turn of the power by turning off the power strip. So I turn the power back on and NOTHING. So Brian opened it up to take a look and decided that the inside needed blown out, which he did. the tried to turn it on again, STILL nothing. The downside to this is that I have knitting patterns on my computer. The upside, I can take the hard drive out and get the stuff I need off of it. I'm an hoping that what ever is wrong is a cheap fix. One of the perks to building your own computer is that you can replace parts with out voiding a warranty :) I an praying it is not the mother board but the power supply. So we'll have to see what Brian finds out when e tears it apart tonight after work.
Here is a picture of the Crochet Mini Tote that I got from the Yahoo Group Crochet bags. I used Black worsted wool with a white and silver crochet thread as a carruing yarn. I did how ever change the handles from what the patterns said. I just did 11 rows of Double Crochet. In addtion I added a button to hel keep it closed.
I have made a second one for Michelle because she liked mine SO much. I also crocheted a large change purse to put my ID and things in; which fits nicely inside the bag.
Since the colors for Project Spectrum 2.o : February & March are Blue, White, & Grey, I crocheted Michelle a bag. I used the same yarn as the Teddy Bear sweater, then felted it. Her bag is big enough for her to carry toys around in but not TOO big that she trips over it or drags it on the floor.
I am now crocheting a Teddy Bear with Blue Lion Microspun for Jacob Michael.
I have finished the sweater for Hershey, Michelle's Build-a-Bear dog. A black Teddy Bear is modeling it for you in the picture. The sweater is a 3-6 month size, which was the smallest size in the directions.
I am making good progress on the sweater. Here are the body panels and one of the sleeves. If I would have know this sweater was so easy to knit up I would have planned another project. To block the panels I pinned them down with stright pins onto a Press & Cut mat. The sleeve goes all the way to the end but that's okay. Then I put the iron on low heat and steamed over the panels, hopefully the edges will not curl in so much now. I'm knitting up the second sleeve, then it's time to piece together.
I have started my sweater from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. It looks like an easy sweater to knit. However the instructions do not call for blocking. I;m thinking that blocking would be a good thing. That way the seams line up right. Since I didnt notice that the sweater only went up to the 12-18 month size, I'm knitting the smallest size for Michelle's Build A Bear dog. The buttons are on the shoulders of hte sweater and it is for a stuffed toy. Now to figure out how to put the buttons on along with some velcro, that way she will be able to "dress" Hershey (that's the dog's name).
About 4 inches of the front pannel in Stockinette stitch. 
Every good knitter should be able to crochet. So I went a bought a crochet kit so I could relearn the skill. For my first project I desided to takle a hat. I can knit in the round, which is a LOT harder that crochet in the round. Here is my hat. It is done with a Size J/10.5 hook and worsted weight yarn I aquired from Anne.
I have finished my socks for the Knitting Help Sock Swap. Let's just say that I will not be knitting with elastic blend any time in the near future. That was the hardest stuff that I have worked wit yet. I think I'll take a bunky of supper bulky fuzzy yarn over that stuff.
The yarn is Knit Picks Dancing-Rumba in fingerign weight.
Its getting closer and closer to the start of Project Spectrum 2.0. I am getting excited. I have my yarn picked out (which is on the right). It's Knit Picks Telemark Peruvian Wool in Icicle, the blue stuff, and Drift, the white stuff. I'm going to knit the Striped Sweater from DebbieBliss' Simply Baby. Since there are buttons on the shoulders of the sweater I'm going to put gray buttons on. So then I will have my Blue, White, and Gray.
In preperation for Color Spectrum 2.0 I have went and bought all of my yarn that I will need. I found some crochet thread that is 88% cotton and 12% silver metalic. To go with the metalic thread I picked up some red and black wool.
I saw this hat in Itty-Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson and knew that it just had to be knitted for Michelle. I acquired some Lion Brand Micro spun, and it just screamed at me to but knitted into this hat. So after a quick trip to Micheal's, with help of course, I picked out Mango and Fuchsia to go with the acquired Lime and Turquoise. I knitted the brim and first stripe in Carson Simply Soft Black so the other colors "POPPED".
Here is what I have done so far.
The first sock for the Sockentine Sock Swap is finished. After only three different starts, I can say I am proud of my work. Also, I managed to graft the toe and it look pretty darn good, if I do say so. Now its time to find skein #2 of said yar to knit the 2nd sock. I would like to have the 2nd sock done by next weekend so I can get them mailed.
Since my birthday was last Tuesday, i went ahead, broke down, and ordered the Knit Picks Options Needles. you know the ones for $59.99. Yeah I debated it out for awhile, then said, "Self you don't have any circulars. This would sove that problem." So the problem of buying individual circulars was solved. I am awaiting said needles so I can knit a potato chip scarf, whick I am looking forward to, seeingas its only and 9 row scarf. The down side is that it ends up being 12 feet long. I am REALLY thinkingabout modifying the scarf to make it a little shorter.
I am also going to participate in Lolly's Color Spectrum II. The colors for February/March are Blue, White & Grey. For this part of the project I hav desided to tackle a Striped Sweater from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. I dont think I'm truly ready to knit an adult size sweater. That isstill too much of an undertaking for me. Lord the socks I'm working on now have been bad enough. LOL The funny thing about hte sweater is I can't remember if I ordered the yarn form Knit Pick with hte needles LOL If not I'll just trek down ot Michael's or Hobby Lobby to get the yarn.
I really like the needle holder but I don't like the way the needles are in there. My goal was to be able to put my Double Pointed Needles in it that way they where seperate from my straights. Not to mention this one is only 17 inches by 10 inches before felting. The pattern came in one of my weekly newsletters I get in my email. So I went to Knit Picks and picked out 7 colors that would work. As seeing Lion Wool comes in very large skeins and this is a small project I didn't want to have a bunch of extra wool left over.
Now the challenge is to figure out some sort of a pocket storage system for the DPNs. I was thinking about sewing some fabric to the inside and putting the pockets in that way, but I dont know how well sewing fabric to something felted would work.
Her is a picture of the knitted Teddy Bear from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. I think the next time I knit him I'm going to knit the head and nose in the round. Sewing it together was kinda rough.
After spending some quality time with MR. Bear he is finally put together. I re knitted the body because I didn't like the way the first one looked. Here is the spoils of my hard work and sore fingers. I used Navy Blue Buttons for the eyes and nose and sewed them on with black embroidery floss.
I am having issues with the camera since Brian changed it from JPEG to RAW. So Pics will be posted when he gets home
I started knitting Mr. Bear before we left Florida and am half way done with it. The Pattern is from Debbie Bliss' Simply Baby. The books is really neat and has some fun things to knit. The downside to the book is that it only goes up to about 18 months on some of the patterns. I originally wanted the book to knit a Shrug for Michelle but came across the Teddy Bear.
