Knit To My Lou

Best of Knit 2 My Lou Part 1

2012-02-08T06:59:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to make one of those photo montage thingies of of all of my projects from the previous year, but here it is mid February, and while I'm still having a hard time writing "2012" at the bank, most people have adjusted to the change. Instead of doing a "Best of" from 2011, this will be a multi-part All Time Best of since the blog's inception on November 5, 2008. To keep things nice and easy, today I will blog only about 2008.

My very first blog post was about my first adult sized sweater. I was so proud of this one. Unfortunately the sweater has grown so enormously that it is unwearable. I learned that cheap yarn = disaster.

I fared much better with kool aid yarn dyeing. Before and after!

2008 was also the year of the Great Knit Knack blanket square fiasco. I still get twitchy and punchy when I think about it. My lesson from that experience was that some people are fantastic, while others really, really suck. I sent these squares out-

and in return received these. I treasure this blanket!

My favorite 2008 project was making an owl sweater for Kaz. Seeing this makes me realize what a big girl she is. I would love to remake this in a larger 2012 version.

Stay tuned for 2009, and don't forget to check out the Wool Junkies podcast. We've got a contest this week!

Anniversary party

2012-01-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Stitch n Bitch anniversary party! 8 years of stitchin' and bitchin'. The group always has a grab bag scarf swap the night of the party, so I made a chunky reversible cable cowl to trade. My goal was to make something that would match just about anyone's winter coat.

The bag I picked didn't have a scarf, but instead had hand-stitched paper cards with scarf wearing snowmen! Aren't they fantastic? These were made by my friend Joanna. Look at their belly buttons! She sells her cards here on her Etsy shop.

We had such a great time. Everyone brought food and yarn and scarves.

Members all received a shrinky dink blimp pin too! Akron Stitch n Bitch rules!

Last week I made a Regina hat for a friend's relative under going chemotherapy. Everything about the pattern is superb- it adapts to fit any yarn weight and head size, the construction is clever and interesting, and the finished hat is flattering to everyone! I used less than a skein of LB Cotton Ease to make it. Boo yah!

Granny hexagons

2012-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

I dove into my stash and pulled out all of my bits and pieces of worsted weight cool tones. Four episodes of Sons of Anarchy later and they are looking fabulous! I used my co pilot's pattern for the hexagon. Right now the eight of them would make a great cowl, but I may decide to continue hooking and piece together a full sized scarf.

As soon as I make up my mind about the hexagons this sweater is getting unraveled. I have been dying to make myself one of these shawls ever since I first saw the pattern. I'm planning on documenting my yarn re purposing methods for an upcoming podcast. Speaking of which, look for a new episode of the Wool Junkies this weekend!

Snowflake ascot

2011-12-30T11:08:00.000-08:00

I really love garter stitch. I think it's the ease of knitting without looking and it's stretchy squishy texture. Combine that with short rows and I'm in heaven. This pattern is the Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle.

I jazzed it up a little bit with some sparkly snowflake buttons. The yarn is Patons Classic Wool Merino in the Denim Marl colorway. My other mods include knitting this on size US 8 needles and switching out the knitted bobbles for a crocheted picot edge.

This is the perfect scarf for a day like today's unseasonably warm temperatures (44 degrees F and rain). Kaz made our bird friends a feeder with a pine cone, peanut butter and bird seed. Hopefully the squirrels don't get it first!

Presents revealed and new podcast!

2011-12-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays! I am so happy to have finally gifted all of my handmade presents so that I can post pics of them. It's hard to maintain secrecy about these things since most of my family and friends read my blog.

For my Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie I painted a portrait of their dog Lucy. Here's the photo I worked from.

She's such a great dog, and my aunt and uncle are hard to buy for, so what better gift than a painting of their baby?

For my neighbor friend Tracie I embroidered a lucky cat and some sushi. She's a foodie who appreciates handmade gifts. The kanji is supposed to say "happiness" but since I copied it from the internet, it might say something else entirely.

Speaking of potty mouths, this is the finished sampler I made for my Aunt JoAnn. It's a Subversive Crosstitch pattern. I haven't been able to complete the second one I started that rhymes with "cut the duck up" since Kazia can read now. I guess I'll have to save it for Aunt JoAnn's birthday.

I bought this guitar birdhouse from Mad Brain Creations while at Crafty Mart. It's for my cool Uncle Frank who loves to play and make music as well do some great woodworking himself.

Now for a drumroll...

I have teamed up with my great friend Andrea to create the Wool Junkies podcast! It's us talking about our favorite things, like knitting, crocheting, and dogs. We plan on covering other fun stuff as well and have plenty of exciting ideas up our sleeves. Go give us a listen!

Teacher gifts

2011-12-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

I've crossed two more handmade gifts off of my list! When I asked Kazia what she wanted to give her teacher as a present she immediately said mittens and a scarf. Thankfully Kaz also chose bulky weight yarn (it's Lion Brand Tweed Stripes) so I was able to make both the mitts and scarf in only a few days. The mitt pattern can be found for free here. I used almost one entire skein for both mitts by knitting them 2 at a time magic loop.

The scarf is my default scarf pattern Queen Anne's Lace. This pattern is like the Chinese food of scarf patterns- everyone loves it, it's fast and reliable, and I never get tired of it.

Just 3 more handmade gifts to complete and I've still got 2 weeks! It's a Christmas miracle!

Handmade presents

2011-12-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

The best gifts are handmade. Just because someone spends hundreds of dollars on Made in China garbage doesn't mean they love you more than the person who used their talent and resourcefulness to create a one of a kind handcrafted present. In fact, I think it means pretty much the opposite. This holiday season I've challenged myself to make or purchase all handmade only gifts. (Full disclosure- I totally chumped out and got Kazia the Barbie Dream townhouse. But that was the only "manufactured" gift we've gotten her. 5 year old girls have ways of making us break the rules, right?)

This post is mostly about handmade gifts I've bought for myself, since many of my blog readers are people who are getting gifts from me and I don't want to ruin the surprise. Last weekend at the Rowdy Indie Craft Fair I found the above felt ornament shaped like Ohio with a heart where Akron is situated. Adorable!

I bartered a custom hat for this gorgeous pillow made by my friend Sara Edwards. (Don't forget- you can still buy my hat pattern to benefit her fight to reunite her with her kidnapped son here.) Sara makes these beautiful pillows out of Turkish rugs. Locals can buy them at Lock 3's Holiday Market. Non locals can send me a message and I will gladly hook you up with Sara to get a pillow.

The biggest handmade gift I've gotten for myself is my new tattoo. (Sorry it's upside down. For some reason it's fine when I upload it, but it still gets flipped. But that's they way I view it, so maybe you should too.) These are honeysuckles that I got as a memorial for my mom. Honeysuckles grew at my childhood home, and they represent homesickness. The tattoo was done by Dustin at Good Life Tattoos in Akron. I love it!

My Crafty Mart earnings paid for the tattoo. Check out this cool blog post that I was featured in along with some other Crafty Mart vendors. Another great gift to myself that I will constantly use are Crafty Mart tote bags.

Quite a few custom orders have come from Crafty Mart too! Lots of funny hats like the owl and elf ones. I've still got plenty for sale on my Etsy as well.

Another lucky giftee is getting a crocheted cotton swimming pool bag. These are the best for lugging wet towels around in, I mean, who likes that funky hot wet towel smell that happens in most nylon beach bags? Not me!

My gift making will most likely continue until the last possible second. Kazia wants me to make her teacher a scarf and mitten set. I using this Cascade chunky pattern for the mitts that I'm constructing 2 at a time.I still haven't decided on a quick scarf pattern. Any recommendations for a quick scarf with one skein of chunky yarn?

Special Olympic scarf

2011-11-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to donate a scarf to the the 2012 Special Olympics USA scarf project. I whipped this one up yesterday using a pattern from the Art Threads blog. How hilarious is that husband?

I've got enough yarn leftover to make at least 2 more scarves. Hooray Team USA!

All of my Crafty Mart leftovers are now on my etsy at rock bottom prices!

Oh my goodness, where have I been?

2011-11-28T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello fair reader! Remember me? (That reminds me of when my grandfather would ask- Halt! Who am I?) Oh wow, over a month since my last blog post. So disappointing and sad.

Last weekend was Crafty Mart! My great friend Jenn took these pictures of me and my wares.

Hats and owls!

Here I am smiling with the fabulous Devona. Check out the glowing upcycled blender lamps in the background. Oh Crafty Mart is just incomparable and amazing and exhaustively fun.

I also sold mustaches! Look at these hot mommas!

Somewhere in there I remodeled our tiny bathroom on the cheap! Painted linoleum floor, $3 roll of contact paper on the windows (plus wall paint, faucet, towel rack and cabinet) and it's a completely different room.

Now that all the craziness is over with I hope to be a better blogger. December is the month of selfish knitting!

October already?

2011-10-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ta and da! That's the first thing that comes to my head when I see this pic of Kaz modeling her pink legwarmers. Last week her school gave the kids the option to wear pink shirts and accessories for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Believe it or not, this is a toned down version of all the pink she originally wanted to wear.

(Disclaimer- all of the pics on today's blog were taken at the last possible second with my phone. We rise and shine early and I only have a few moments of morning light to snap pics before the bus arrives.)

I knit the legwarmers 2 at a time magic loop in mystery acrylic. She loves them and wants a pair in standard uniform colors for everyday use.

Oh these fingerless mitts were so much fun to make! The pattern is perfect for using up bits and pieces of yarn and playing with fun color combinations.

These are a birthday gift for our friend Ella. Once a certain someone woke up this morning and saw them, she was clamoring for a pair of her own. I made these in only an hour and a half, so easy and sweet!

"Why can't I have these mom? You can make Ella another pair!"

Crafty Mart (Facebook link) is again just around the corner, so I've gotten a jump on hat making. I sold out of owl hats by noon last time, so my goal is to make one a day until the show.

I started my Christmas gift making this week too. This is for my crazy Aunt JoAnn.

Bring Eli Home hat

2011-10-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce a hat design that I am selling to generate money to help reunite a mother with her kidnapped son.

Abdullah Eli Kiraz was deceptively removed from Ohio on March 4th, 2010 and is being illegally retained in Turkey by his father Muhammed Mucellid Kiraz. Eli's mother, Sara Edwards, is fighting for his return and needs our help.

Please take a moment to go to Bring Eli Home and watch Sara's video.

Sara says on the website-, "If this was your story, if this was your child, could you let any obstacle stop you from holding your child again?". That's why I am donating 100% of the proceeds of this hat pattern to raise funds for Sara's mounting legal costs. How could I not?

... Please help us spread the word and attract attention to this case.

Even if you don't crochet (what a great reason to learn if you don't know how!) please donate.

The Bring Eli Home hat is a crocheted slouchy brimmed hat made in worsted weight yarn. The hat is adorned with a removable band that is great for showcasing small amounts of hand dyed yarn.

The pattern is available as a PDF on Ravelry- buy now. The pattern can be purchased without a Ravelry account.

My sincere thanks to the following people for their generous help and love- Devona, Sara, Andrea, Tracie, Maiya, and Amy.

Bebop shrug

2011-09-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

My girl attends a school that requires students to wear uniforms. We bought her a boring white cardigan at a store, and after 2 weeks of wearing the sleeves are already stained. I'm cool with that though, stains mean she is having fun in kindergarten, and it forces me to make her some cool sweaters myself.

This is the Bebop Cardi in Caron Simply Soft black. I'm limited to only using uniform shirt colors- black, white, navy blue, powder blue, green, and yellow. Since white was obviously a mistake, I wanted to make a quick shrug in the most stain resistant stuff I have.

I went down a hook size to an H-8, but I still had to add extra decrease rows at the yoke to keep it from slipping off of her shoulders. Believe me, she was fed up with me putting this thing on and off her today, and her silly poses show that.

To personalize her shrug, I made her some shrinky dink buttons with cute little Totoro characters. I have a bad feeling about putting these buttons through the washer and dryer though, they may end up getting replaced, even though Kazia loves them.

I also modified the edging by doing a (sc,ch 3,sc) picot edge on the sleeve, hem and neckline.

Next up- a yellow vest!

Peasant hat

2011-09-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

I've coveted this hat pretty much since the day I signed up on Ravelry. It's the Just Like a Peasant hat pattern, and I finally made one for myself! What was I waiting for? This is without a doubt my most favorite hat that I have ever made.

I used almost an entire single skein of Malabrigo worsted (in the polar morn colorway). Since I only had one skein, I knit with a single strand instead of doubling it the way the pattern called for. I honestly don't think it makes much of a difference.

Here I am wearing it with my Black Lodge mitts that Maiya made just for me! How can the day be anything but fantastic as long as I am accessorized in such finery?

Yarn bomb and birthday swap

2011-09-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

The Akron Stitch n Bitch had it's first yarn bomb! We decorated street lamps, trees, and bike racks for the Art in the Square festival.

As of this morning, all of our installations are still up with the exception of the hanging yarn balls (they were melted during the next day's rain storm) and one post cozy. I'm positive our group will be making this an annual tradition.

Last night was the Akron Stitch n Bitch birthday swap. I made stuff for Amy- the owner of 2 super cute little Maltese dogs that I also happen to groom.

I made Lucy and Marshall sweaters with the Biscuits and Bones pattern and a jar of home made dog biscuits, and gave Amy some homemade deodorant and margarita (her favorite drink) fixins'.

I received presents from Sam, who gave me a fantastic owl themed package. She even made me a great slouchy blue hat that I am currently donning on my head.

While I loved making things for the bomb and swap, I am in desperate need of some selfish knitting time. Can't wait to cast on for this sweater pattern!

Blimps, bombs, and tattoos!

2011-08-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

This month I was promoted (hee hee) to co- leader of my Stitch n Bitch. My first order of business was fulfilling my dream of getting a knitted blimp logo made up for the group.

For my non- Akron readers- the Goodyear tire company is headquartered here. Seeing the Goodyear blimp flying around in the sky is a common occurrence in this city, and I wanted the logo to pay homage to our local dirigible.

Thankfully our super talented Sara is married to a super talented graphic designer who took my idea and ran with it. I am so in love with this design!

The Stitch n Bitch is also preparing for our first group yarn bombing. On Saturday afternoon a small group of us gathered at Craft Akron to make yarn balls to hang from trees for our upcoming bomb. Don't they look like pretty Easter eggs? Keep your eyes peeled on September 3 Akron!

Akron Stitch n Bitch member and my good friend/birthday twin (different year though, right?) Andrea Sanchez has had yet another fantastic pattern published, this time through Knit Picks. I just love her designer bio. Yay Andrea!

I'm afraid it can't all be good news on this blog post. My husband's "thanks for the puppy socks" have already gotten a big hole in them. I have been so careful to only wash these on the delicate cycle and air dry them, but the yarn (Louet Gems sock) should just be called Louet Gems Suck.

The color has faded so badly on these and the fuzz started blooming before I even got them off the needles. They didn't even last 8 months.

On to some more happy news! I designed a logo for my online knitting group Knit Knack, which started long ago on Myspace back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth and now continues on Ravelry. These are friends that I've known for years now, we've shared births and deaths and everything in between. The logo (it's COPYWRITTEN, no one can use it without my permission) is the owl yarn ball under the "about me" section to the right. Quite a few Knit Knackers have been getting the logo tattooed! I feel deeply honored that someone would get one of my creations permanently inked on their body, it's just so cool!

First is Stephanie's. She wanted to stay true to the original design. This is her very first tattoo!

Next is Gwen. She had her artist embellish and fancy up the owl.

Kelly got this orange version on the back of her calf.

Kim's gorgeous owl looks like handspun yarn! The colors are breath taking!

And finally Maiya got one on her outer ankle. I love them all!

Speaking of Maiya, I was so fortunate to be paired up with her during Knit Knack's "Pick your own theme" swap. My chosen theme was Twin Peaks (which is available on instant streaming on Netflix right now, yay Twin Peaks!), and Maiya blew me away with her imaginative gifts. Read all about the amazing stuff she sent me over on her blog.

I'm busy stitching away for another secret swap, this time for my Stitch n Bitch, so unfortunately I can't show my current projects, so instead, why don't you check out my recently updated etsy shop? Shrinky dinks!

Día de los Muertos potholders

2011-08-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

These potholders are the reason I haven't been posting as frequently as normal. See, I made them for a "Pick your own theme" swap, and I had to keep them a secret until the recipient got them. I had SO MUCH FUN making these, she nearly didn't get them because I wanted them for myself.

I was paired up with Georgia, who's chosen theme was "Too hot to handle". She lives in Texas, so her theme was very appropriate, and ruled out my making her a wool hat and scarf set.

My original intent was to make one "good" and one "evil" skull. At first the black skull sported devil horns and the white one had a halo. Instead of adding to the pieces, the horns looked like kitty ears and the halo looked cheesy- it was a no brainer to snip them off.

Clearly I am no embroidery whiz, but again, I had SO MUCH FUN decorating the skulls. The skull pattern is available here (Ravelry link), lucky for me I downloaded the pattern when it was free.

To make the potholder, I chained 35 and then half double crocheted (hdc) each row until I had a decent size square (make 2 squares the same size). I then attached the skull to a square, embroidered, then single crocheted 2 wrong sides together and made a hanging loop. Easy!

Georgia reported that she loves the potholders and will use them as kitchen decor. I can't wait to see what I get for the swap!

Happy stuff

2011-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Kazia received a pair of hand knit Jaywalker socks from our friend Amy, aren't they adorable? The colors are just right for a newly 5 year old girl- hot pink and purple stripes! Thanks Amy! (Thanks to Amy's husband Chris too. He brought Kazia the ultimate play doh pack- 24 colors! It's so cool!)

I took advantage of the hot humid weather and dyed some yarn for my secret swap buddy. After soaking it in water and vinegar, I painted Wilton's icing dyes on the skein with a plastic spoon and then tightly wrapped it up in plastic wrap. I then set the wrapped skeins out in the sun and let it cook to set the colors.

My oh my July!

2011-07-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

July is half way over and this is my first post for the month? Wow, what a crazy summer it's been already! Before our nearly 2 week long vacation, I finished crocheting squares for my Inga bag- I even managed to sew them up and attach straps. Alas, I cannot use it until I line it with fabric, and my quest for just the right shade of gray fabric has been fruitless so far.

I started another pair of husband socks while car knitting on our uber long trip. The pattern is Simple Skyp Socks and I believe that the yarn is Socks That Rock (lost label) in a color that I have dubbed "Seventies Garanimal Stripe". Of course I am magic looping them on size 1 Addi turbos.

Cute heel, no? I dig how mindless yet zippy the stitch pattern is. Second one is on the needles!

These are close ups of a super secret project. I can't say anything else about them, well except that this project is completely rocking my face off and I can't wait for the big reveal.

My absolute favorite part of July has been celebrating my girl's 5th birthday! We threw her a huge bash at the lake with all of her (and my) favorite people. Happy Birthday Kaziamiera!

Pillowcase Dress

2011-06-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

What a fun sewing project! Using this tutorial and a 30 cent pillowcase from the thrift store, today I made Kazia a new summer dress.

This was the first time I've used bias tape. My folds aren't perfect, but I'm satisfied with the finished dress. I kept the length of the pillowcase so she will hopefully also be able to wear it again next summer.

Homemade deodorant, pie, and squares = awesome day!

2011-06-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to post about making homemade deodorant. Store brand deodorant/antiperspirants contain so many harsh chemicals that make my pits break out, not to mention containing aluminum. (Some studies show that aluminum may cause /contribute to the growth of cancer cells. My mother died from breast cancer, and I'd rather not take any unnecessary chances by rubbing a metallic chemical cocktail so close to my breasts just so I smell pretty.) Not only is homemade deodorant more healthy for me, but it's easy, economical, and works better than store brand! Seriously, I can't stop smelling my pits.

Here is the recipe I used. I saved the cool tins for holding stitch markers, but they are perfect deodorant containers. I'm going to make another batch just for my husband using arrowroot and sage oil to help with his manly perspiring.

Last month I made my first rhubarb pie using a recipe from the newspaper. It was good, but used nutmeg and had a custard filling that turned some of my pie tasters off (Aunt Susie and Kazia). While perusing recipes online, I came across Smitten Kitchen's strawberry rhubarb pie recipe, and I knew right away that I needed to try my hand at it. I even used SK's all butter pie crust recipe, you know, for science. OMG! This pie is amazing! It takes like magical fairies made it to take to the unicorn queen's tea party in the enchanted forest.

So delicious! That slice of pie was my dinner. Guess what I'm having for dessert? Yep, more pie!

The noro granny squares are zooming along. I hope to finish the whole thing before our trip to visit my in laws next week. I love these colors!

I forgot to blog about using my crochet skills for gardening. This is my DIY upside down tomato planter. I have catnip on the top (To keep the strays from eating it out of the ground) and grape tomatoes on the bottom! Then I just crocheted chains of acrylic yarn around the edge and hung it up to grow. Win!

Striped socks

2011-06-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

For once I finished a pair of socks by my own self-imposed deadline! Go me! My husband loves wearing hand knit socks, and socks are pretty much the only hand knit that he can't lose, so these are his birthday present.

I'm glad the striping effect is so similar in both of them, the kookiness grew on me. He's happy, so that makes me happy.

I need a new purse, so I'm using Noro sock yarn to crochet an Inga's Haekelbeutel. I've always loved how this bag looks when made with self striping yarn, and I've had the noro sock stashed for awhile now. Since I'm using such thin yarn, I know I'll have to line the bag. Gray fabric?

We like to party

2011-06-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

My friend Amy is a hardcore knitter. She busts out socks and blankets like the wind, she laughs in the face of intricate color work, heck she even dabbles in design and teaching. But Amy has one tiny knitting problem... she doesn't/can't/won't make hats. (Believe it or not, I'm still friends with her despite this major character defect -just kidding!). Her birthday is this week, so I did what any good friend would do, I made that girl a cool hat.

The pattern is the Indian Summer pattern (I was lucky enough to download it before it became a paid pattern). The yarn is Deborah Norville Serenity Garden Yarn (super soft sport weight microfiber) that I picked up on a whim at JoAnn's with a 40% off coupon in the crocus colorway. I LOVE this yarn! It's not splitty and squeaky like some microfibers (*cough LB Microspun cough*) and has gorgeous color and drape. The pretty buttons came from my buddy Andrea in the last SnB birthday swap.

Speaking of Andrea, she threw a birthday party for her canine children (L to R) Hazel and Timber last Sunday. The dogs had so much fun! Devo ran around with his best doggie friends, he even got to cool off in the dog swimming pool.

Timber doesn't like the water (he's a true Swedish Vallhund- they prefer winter sports), so he tried to cool off in the shade of the tiny patio furniture. He's so cute!

Amy brought her adorable maltese pups Lucy and Marshall to celebrate too! As Devo kept saying, "It was a real dog party!".

Before the party, Amy, Andrea, and I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival in Wooster. I bought a skein of pretty hand dyed lace weight and some yummy scented lotions. I even managed to finish one of my husband's birthday socks too.

The crazy pooling has grown on me, I just hope the second skein does the same thing!

Bikes, yarn, flowers, and a twister!

2011-05-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Before yesterday's crazy weather events, we took Devo on his first bike ride on the Ohio and Erie Towpath Canal. We love to ride bikes, and I always felt sad and guilty each time we left him at home. My husband vetoed pulling Devo in the tow behind trailer that Kaz used as a baby (she's graduated to a trail-a-bike), but I was determined to include him on our rides. My bike expert brother recommended a basket and my dream of an entire family bike ride came true! Devo LOVES riding in the basket!

I cast on my husband's birthday socks in Shibui Sock yarn and got some unexpected pooling. He claims to be okay with it and to actually like it, so I'm continuing with the pattern. I'm magic looping the Wise Hilda's basic ribbed sock pattern on size 2 Harmony circs.

Check out the new embroidery patterns that I got last night. I was hanging out at Craft Akron for our usual Wednesday night Stitch n Bitch meeting when all of a sudden the skies went black and the tornado sirens started blaring. Everyone's cell phones started going off at once from concerned spouses calling to warn us of the impending tornado. All of us opted to ride the storm out at the studio instead of trying to rush home in our cars. We pulled some big tables to the back wall and prepared to huddle together in the bathroom. Thankfully we were all safe and and even had a good time while the storm raged past us.

My flowers have really benefited from all of the rain. I took these pics this morning while everything was still wet.

Thank you shawl

2011-05-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

I made another Summerflies shawl, this time in Knit Picks shimmer (alpaca and silk) in the lilac dreams colorway. I LOVE this yarn, it's so lightweight and soft.

The recipient is a secret for now, but they'll soon find out it's for them!

My little model wanted in on the action today too!

Handmade gifts

2011-05-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my girl's last day of preschool- she's graduating to kindergarten. I wanted to make her wonderful teachers a present to show our appreciation for all of their awesome and hard work. Kazia told me she wanted to give them pretty flower necklaces, and this free pattern fit the bill perfectly. I made the white one with scraps of Lionbrand microspun, the bronze one is Berroco seduce. I used vintage buttons from my button tin for adornment- so cute and easy!

Last week was my birthday, and my favorite card came from my friend Joanna. She hand stitches the most stunning paper cards. She sells them on her etsy and at local craft shows, she even teaches classes on paperstitching at Craft Akron.

Joanna isn't just a super talented paper stitcher, she's also a Christmas TV expert and the author of two books: 'The Christmas TV Companion' and 'Tis the Season TV.' Check out her Christmas TV blog.

My upcycled fork card holder was gifted to be by my super cool friend Andi/Knit Brit. She's going to have some super huge amazing news to announce soon!

I'd also like to remind everyone that there is still time to sign up for one or both of the classes I'll be teaching this month at Craft Akron.

May flies

2011-05-09T07:15:00.000-07:00

I finished my Summer Flies shawl! I loved every minute of this project- it is the perfect "one skein" and "easy lace" knitting that makes me love this craft so much.

My original intent to modify the pattern by enlarging it was changed because I realized that I would run out of yarn. I'm happy with the outcome of following the pattern as written, the sections were changed up enough to keep my interest- I was never bored with the process.

I steam blocked it with my iron instead of wet blocking it, but I think I will end up soaking it and pinning it out to see if I can make it grow a little bit more.

The butterflies are so subtle and sweet, I just can't say enough good things about this pattern.

I'm still chugging away at my cross stitching too. This tea towel is almost done, I'm probably going to do a small border and then start a new one. Perhaps a Totoro towel?

Spring flies

2011-05-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Coming off of a craft show and sample knitting galore pretty much drove me into what is (in my opinion) the ultimate in selfish knitting- a shawl. I've been eyeing up the Summer Flies pattern for at least a year now, but hesitated in casting on because the pattern isn't charted. (What can I say? I'm a devout member of the Church of Charted Lace.) Long rambling written out instructions irritate me, I want to glance at a tidy little box of symbols with my trusty pad of post it notes at my side and be secure in the efficiency and simplicity of a chart.

I was wrong to be so close minded. I love this pattern! The lack of chart in no way deflects from the row by row awesomeness of this clever design. My yarn is hand dyed sock weight from my friend Martha. I hope to increase the size so as to use up the entire skein of yarn, so cross your fingers for me that my math skills are up to the challenge.

Last fall I scored this embroidery kit at a private destash for only $5. The last time I embroidered was when I was in the Blue Birds and failed miserably at french knot making. I really want to hone my needle skills so I can make my awesome Aunt JoAnn a cuss word filled sampler from Subversive Stitching. Believe me, she will truly appreciate it. The Stitch-it Kit is perfect practice and has some really cute patterns.

I'm finally remembering to show off the Ponyo amigurumi that Andi/KnitBrit gave me in the ami swap. My household is one of diehard Hayao Miazaki fans, but especially my girl Kazia. She jumped for joy when I handed this doll to her. Thanks Andi!

Kazia also got this adorable terrarium by Landen Road Designs for being my helper during Crafty Mart. Jenn was the hit of the show with these things. Thanks Jenn!

Crafty Mart!

2011-04-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Crafty Mart time! For this Mothers and Fathers Day themed show I was inspired by my wonderful rescued yorkie mix Devo to make gifts for Moms and Pops of four legged kids. I will have healthy, natural, and mostly organic dog treats in fun shapes and flavors.

For the felines I've made organic catnip stuffed cranes, fish and kick sticks in colorful zany fabrics. Guaranteed to make your cat wonder, "Did I just say that out loud?".

I will also have these super stretchy and sturdy tug toys made from upcycled t shirts. Once it gets too slimy or stinky from all of that tug of war it can be thrown in the washing machine. Devo loves this toy!

Crafty Mart will be held on Saturday April 30 from 10-5 at Musica in downtown Akron. Free parking across the street in the High Street parking deck. Food, drink, and fantastic affordable handcrafts. Please come out and support local artists.

Onion skin dyed Easter eggs

2011-04-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

My ultra- crafty Aunt Vickie sent me these beautiful eggs and the directions and supplies to make more. Thanks Aunt Vickie!

Onion skin dyed eggs

Supplies needed-
one dozen white eggs
empty metal coffee can
lots and lots of onion skins

Cover the bottom of the coffee can with onion skins. Gently lay 3 raw eggs on top, cover with more onion skins, add 3 more eggs, and continue in this manner until the coffee can is full with alternating layers of eggs and onion skins. End with onion skins on top. Fill the can with cold water, then put can on stove top on high heat and bring water to a boil. Turn off heat and leave eggs to sit in the coffee can overnight. Remove eggs and dry on a paper towel. Rub the eggs lightly with oil.

I can't wait to try this with purple onion skins. The eggs have no onion smell at all and the color doesn't rub off onto your hands the way it usually does with standard egg dyes.

Happy egg dyeing!

My new favorite hat!

2011-04-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Unraveled thrift store sweater yarn? Check! Gradient Kool Aid dyeing technique? Check! Fantastic pattern for teaching magic loop? Check! This is the hat I'll be using to teach magic loop knitting at Craft Akron.

The yarn started out as an alpaca acrylic blend sweater from the thrift store. I unwound a sleeve into a couple of regular old round balls (not center pull) and dyed them on the stove top with orange and lemonade Kool Aid.
My extremely un-scientific method was to put the dry ball of yarn into the saucepan of orange Kool Aid bath, then I weighed it down with a heavy bowl. I let it sit until most of the color was absorbed, then I dropped the ball into clean hot water in the sink. I then rewound the ball by hand so that the orange was in the center and repeated the process with the yellow Kool Aid. Easy and fruity!

The finished hat is so soft and wearable. Martha (also the owner of Craft Akron) designed the hat as a slouchy beret, but I added 2 extra inches for slouch and to show off more of the orange color.

Granny panties... I mean squares

2011-03-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

I just love these granny square pillows from the groovy book Better Homes and Gardens Knitting and Crochet. I've been sick as a dog for the last 2 weeks and needed a mindless happy project, and remembered how cool these pillows are. I have the perfect yarn to make the orange one too. They're grannylicious!

Blueberry!

2011-03-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

In preparation for an upcoming seminar I'll be teaching at Craft Akron on "Yarn Harvesting" (unraveling, recycling, re dyeing yarn from thrift store sweaters), I decided to start knitting up some samples with my pretty harvested yarn. This pattern is so easy and fun (and free!) and fit the bill perfectly. I knit the size stated in the pattern, but it also looks great on a four year old's head. (Although I do not recommend this look for men- James put it on and looked a little too Bret Michaels for my taste.)

I dyed the yarn with Wilton's cake icing tint in the crock pot. Bold bright colors like these just set my pulse racing.

My local grocery store had organic blueberries on sale yesterday buy one get TWO free. Talk about pulses racing. My girl can (and has) eat blueberries until she gets sick. Of course I bought 12 containers. Today we made 2 batches of blueberry freezer jam. It's sooo good. Bed Bath Beyond sells these great Ball freezer containers that I bought using my 20% off coupons. Tomorrow we're having blueberry pancakes!

Kokeshi doll

2011-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia- "Kokeshi dolls have been made for 150 years, and are from Northern Honshū, the main island of Japan. They were originally made as toys for children of farmers. They have no arms or legs, but a large head and cylindrical body, representing little girls. From a simple toy, it has now become a famous Japanese craft, and now an established souvenir for tourists."

Isn't she just adorable? As soon as I saw the pattern on Ravelry I immediately purchased it and stitched one up. All of the money made from this pattern goes directly to the Japanese Red Cross, so how could I say no? I also bought this super cute paper lantern pattern that also raises money for Japan.

Lucky me!

2011-03-07T11:38:00.000-08:00

I hit the jackpot in the Sweetheart Swap! My partner Gwen sent me so many wonderful presents- I am completely head over heels with excitement. She even made me a hat!

Not only did I have a lucky swap partner, but I won a skein of yarn over at the Love My Fiber blog. I've got one word for how I feel this week- WINNING!

I bartered a painting for some photography with a friend. I really need to paint and draw more often, I always feel so happy when I force myself to sit down and do it. My super fantastic brother had a birthday this week, so he's getting this-

I'm VERY lucky to have such a great bro. Happy birthday Zack!

Finished beanie, now with 100 % real beans

2011-03-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wow, today's blog title pretty much wrote itself. I love the finished outcome of my Urban Jungle Beanie- it's so pretty and wearable. I chose to pick up stitches and go with a single crocheted band for the brim, I kept going until I ran out of yarn.

For Valentine's Day my Aunt JoAnn sent Kazia a box of jelly beans and a lima bean growing kit (Kazia's nickname has been "The Bean" since the day she was born, because of the way she would draw her little knees up and lay on my chest and position her body like a bean). According to the packaging, the beans would have a message of love on them after they sprouted. Read for yourself-

Did somebody say cheese danish?

2011-02-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Behold the deliciousness. This was my breakfast today. Just google "cheese danish" and you'll find a million ways to make one, but I think I've tweaked it into perfection. Here's how I do it.

Two 8-ounce tubes of crescent rolls
Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened (I use Neufchatel)
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg (separated)
1/4 C honey
2 T sugar (I use organic Sucanat because I love the dark molasses taste, but white sugar will work)
1/4 t cinnamon
1 C berries (I used red raspberries that I picked and then froze)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 x 13 pan with non stick cooking spray. Separate 1 can crescent rolls. Press triangles together in a single layer on bottom of pan. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, honey, vanilla and egg yolk with an electric mixer until creamed evenly. Spread over crescent rolls. Arrange berries over cream cheese. Layer second can of crescent rolls on top. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes. Nom.

While I'm still waiting to get my package from the Sweetheart Swap, one of my extremely thoughtful friends (who chooses to remain anonymous) sent me some FANTASTIC unexpected gifts in the mail. Thanks secret friend * winks and gives a thumbs up signal *. I love everything, especially the project bag.

Even though I've got a CRAP TON of commissioned crafting, I've allowed myself some fun stuff to work on while hanging out with my SnB people. Who knew color work would be so difficult to do while holding a conversation? This hat (free pattern ) is so adorable I just have to have one for myself. I'm using Caron Spa- a lighter weight bamboo blend that will hopefully be just right for a springtime hat. I'm so over winter.

Instead of starting the pattern as stated with crocheted ribbing, I just chained 72 stitches and began the pattern at the puffs. I'm just not a fan of the way crocheted ribbing looks and feels, so I'll either pick up stitches and do a knitted rib or a single crocheted band, we'll see what happens.

In an attempt to stash bust I started a reversible cable scarf last week. I held 2 strands of Plymouth alpaca baby brush together and knitted on size 19 needles. Clearly I underestimated how long the scarf would end up and was just about to rip it out and start anew, when my oh so smart friend Amy suggested that I put a twist in it and turn it into a (sort of) moebius reversible cable infinity scarf cowl thing. Voila! That girl really is smart. The scarf is long enough to wrap twice around one's neck, and still looks pretty as a longer drapey neck warmer. I just want to lay my head on a bed of baby brush alpaca. Close up!

Just when you thought I couldn't possibly have yet another crafty project to add to today's blog, I've been sewing too! These are fun little catnip filled fishy pillows that I made using fabric scraps. Here kitty kitty! My cats just love these things. Unfortunately for my cats, Devo likes them too.

Short socks, long gloves

2011-02-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

Oh February, where has the time gone? I know I've been busy crafting away, but appear to have nothing to show for it. The sweetheart socks are finished and currently en route to their recipient. I fantasized about knitting these until I ran out of yarn (my favorite aspect of 2 at a time toe up knitting) but I ran out of steam first.

My wrists have been really acting up, so I'm on a self imposed knitting diet. Just a few rows here and there until I get back to my normal wrist function. My problems might have something to do with making this long glove in one Netflix fueled sitting. The pattern is meant to use only one skein of Noro to make both gloves, but I used a whole skein for one.

The arm goes just up past my elbow. What would cause me to want such long mitts? One word- laundry. I've got an old house with a cold basement. My washer and dryer reside in that cold basement, and lifting wet loads of clothes into the dryer in midwest winter sparked the creation of these bad boys. The pattern (Ravelry link) is free and super easy.

The fabric fairy visited me recently in the form of my former animal hospital coworker Cindy. She 's moving south and gave me some of her fabric stash. I've been experimenting with little bird shapes.

Stay tuned to find out what I get sent in the Sweetheart swap!

Sweet stuff

2011-01-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Meet Clemintine and Jermaine.They are the newest 2 Faced Owls for sale in my etsy store. I was going for gender specific details with these two because I'm running out of upholstery fabric samples from Zero Landfill, so I've resorted to up-cycling thrifted clothing to sew with. Good news though! Zero Landfill Akron will be returning each Saturday in February!

They are just as cute from the back.

Last week's Anniversary Party/ Scarf swap was great! I lucked out and ended up with Amy's column of leaves scarf. I love this color! Thanks Amy!

Knit Knack is having a Sweetheart Swap to coincide with Valentines Day. My buddy is getting a pair of socks that I am knitting 2 at a time toe up magic loop. (Say that 5 times fast!) I bought this yarn last year at a big destash sale and think it's exactly right for the swap and my buddy- she's definitely a sweetheart!

Devo sweater and some more naughty deer

2011-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

Check out Devo in his new sweater! He needed something masculine and stylish to keep him warm in this cold NE Ohio weather. I turned to my trusty old SnB Nation book and used the Casey's coat pattern.

I really like the pattern's striping sequence and the fact that it is so easily customizable. While I started knitting the size small, I altered the chest and leg hole openings to better fit his slight frame.

This picture just cracks me up. That little dog is greased lightning when he goes on a running tear. Those pesky squirrels better watch out come spring!

Yet again the sun was hiding while I attempted the photo shoot. Here he is relaxing on the couch just after I bound off the ribbing. I opted not to do the leg ribbing since he moves so well in it. The yarn was just stuff from my stash- some brown Aussie wool and JoAnn's cosetta (discontinued). I was able to knit the sweater in a day, just one of the perks of owning a small dog.

Here is another fornicating deer chart hat. This was a special request and needed to be knitted in Steelers black and gold. What would Terry Bradshaw say? I think he would say, "Yee haw!"

Tonight is my SnB's 7 year anniversary party and scarf swap! Hooray! I can't wait to see what wonderful scarf I come home with. Happy anniversary to the best knitting group in the world!

Snowy Wednesday

2011-01-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Last week I made another karass hat with some bits and pieces that I wanted to use up. I used this crocheted heart pattern as an embellishment- now it looks way more snazzy.

It's obvious these photos were taken last week- there isn't any snow blowing around to make outdoor crafty photo shoots an impossibility.

Today's photos were all taken indoors, sorry for the quality. I did attempt an outdoor photo shoot that involved multiple layers of clothing, me carefully carrying everything outside in one trip so as not to track snow into the house, all the while avoiding being tripped by my ultra enthusiastic and snow loving puppy while simultaneously arguing with my 4 year old that I didn't need her help and convincing her to take off her snow pants. Once I got outside and set everything up I realized that the memory card wasn't in the camera. Doh!

So now you have to look at pictures taken in my spare bedroom.

My husband's "thank you for the puppy we got in September" socks are almost done. Yes, I know, I started them in September. The first one only took about a week to knit, I just started the second one at SnB this past Wednesday. Even my friend Andrea gave me grief about not finishing the poor guy's socks. I just turned the heel on sock #2 so hopefully he will be wearing them tomorrow and I can move on to knitting other things.

Sewing doesn't count as taking time away from finishing a pair of socks, so I started making these super easy reversible dog bandannas that slip onto a flat collar. I just love that Owl and the Pussy Cat fabric!

I sewed a fabric lining into my cousin Megan's hand knit (not by me) Christmas stocking to match the one I put in her brother's. Steve's stocking had holes from years of cramming gifts inside, and required knitting surgery and glue before I lined it. Sorry, no pics of that one.

My friend Juniper gave me a huge bag of pecans (in the shell) so I made some brittle using this recipe. This was my second attempt at making pecan brittle, I burned the first batch. Luckily Andrea felt sorry for me and lent me her candy thermometer. (I'm paying her back by shaving her dog's butt, haha!) The brittle is so delicious, I added some toasted sliced almonds too.

Even my husband is getting creative- he started going back to glass blowing classes and made me this beautiful ornament. Maybe he'll make me some hanging pendant lamps if I knit him a sweater.

Blanket and scarf

2010-12-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Akron Stitch n Bitch anniversary party/ scarf swap. Normally the thought of knitting a scarf has me yawning with boredom, but this scarf was done before I could say "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt". The free pattern (found here) has a gauge of 2 stitches per inch. I used unraveled thrift store sweater yarn that I dyed myself with kool aid. The pom poms are as big as my fist- who can resist giant poms?

I'm very happy to finally be able to show a picture of the blanket that our fantastic group made for our newest and cutest little SnB'r, Miss Ella Doll.

I put out the request for squares before we knew the wee one's gender, so we stayed with neutral creams and whites. Shout outs and thanks to (in no particular order) Juniper, Martha, Devona, Stacey, Margaret, Andi, Amy, Pam, and Andrea. Yesterday I personally delivered the blanket to the baby and her mama. Congratulations Jenn!

Karass hat and dog biscuits

2010-12-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Free pattern time! The karass hat is a super easy slouchy knit that uses up leftover balls of self striping yarn. (Non Vonnegut readers can check out the definition of karass on Wikipedia.) I highly recommend using TechKnitter's method for knitting jogless stripes in the round to make this hat.

Karass hat pattern

-size US 6 needles (whatever type needles for your preferred method of knitting in the round- I myself am a hardcore magic looper)
-approximately 100 yds of a solid color worsted weight yarn (hat shown was knitted with Plymouth Galway worsted)
-approximately 75 yards of a self striping worsted weight yarn (hat shown was made with Berroco foliage)
- tapestry needle

Cast on 100 stitches with solid color (MC)yarn. Knit K1 P1 rib for one inch. Do not cut yarn.
1.Change to self striping yarn (CC) and knit 2 rounds.
2.Change to MC and knit 2 rounds.
Repeat steps 1 and 2, being sure to carry the unused yarn on each row, until hat measures 7 inches from cast on.
Begin decreases with next step one (knitting with MC).
1. MC-Knit 8, knit 2 together to end of row (9 decreases total)
2. MC-knit
3. CC- knit 7, knit 2 together to end of row.
4. CC- knit
5. MC-knit 6, knit 2 together to end of row
6. MC-knit
7. CC-knit 5, knit 2 together to end of row
8. CC-knit
9. MC- knit 4, knit 2 together to end of row
10.MC- knit 3, knit 2 together to end of row
11.CC-knit 2, knit 2 together to end of row
12.CC-knit 1, knit 2 together eto end of row
13.MC- knit 2 together to end of row
14.MC- knit 2 together to end of row.

Cut yarn, thread onto tapestry needle, pull through remaining stitches and fasten off. Weave in all ends. Rock on with your bad self.

Not to leave out my four legged friends, I am also sharing my new peanut butter dog biscuit recipe. Devo had me bag these treats up for all of his doggy pals and they've been a hit.

2 T flax oil
3/4 C peanut butter
1 C warm water
1 C ground flax seed meal
2 C whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine wet ingredients. Add flour and flax meal one cup at a time, mixing with hands until firm. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into squares with a pizza cutter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Happy holidays!

Oh deer!

2010-12-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I can finally post about the hat I made for my Uncle Mike. I used the fornicating deer chart (Ravelry link) and the Cascade 220 that Andrea gave me that she had leftover from the totoro mittens she made.

Fair isle and I aren't on the best of terms, but this hat was super easy and quick. I blocked it by soaking the hat, then putting it on my towel-covered blue glass heat. Taking advice from Andrea, I then whacked it all over with a wooden spoon. The spoon made the stitches nice and even, and had the added benefit of removing most of the water.

My uncle loved the hat, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of him wearing it.

Holiday goodies

2010-12-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

My daughter will never be able to pick out a bicycle license plate with her name stamped on it, so every chance I get I try to find special personalizations just for her. Craft Akron's birthday open house had a wonderful make and take station taught by Nora Swanson, so I made the girl a festive initialed ornament. Devona just posted a blog about the ornaments she made for her 3 uniquely named girls too.

I'm really behind on my gift making because I've had a sore achy wrist from over-doing the crochet. I took 4 days off to rest, then yesterday finished up the felted slippers I made for my Aunt JoAnn. The before pic is hilarious- they look like surfboards.

I double stranded no name DK weight wool purchased at a fiber fest. Since I had no idea how well this stuff would felt, I was pretty timid about the length of time they needed to shrink in the washer. It turned out to be unnecessary- these suckers needed 4 full cycles to get to the correct size. But they turned out so much better than I expected. Voila!

One of the biggest reasons my wrist was sore was making another polka dot stocking. Only one more to go! (Unfortunately these are forever going to be known as the camel toe stockings. Even my husband and aunt refer to them as such.)

I've still got a rather long list of gifts to be made, but I've got a great little helper to assist me. She's chomping at the bit to go shovel and make snow angels. Check out all of that snow out the window.

Mittens and dog biscuits

2010-12-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received my "Anything Goes" swap present- beautiful mittens made by Juniper! These are so soft and squishy and warm. She used a cotton silk blend and made them nice and roomy for my big ol man hands. I love them! She thoughtfully packaged them in a hot pink mini lunch box, Kaz squealed as soon as I walked in the door carrying it.

Craft Akron's one year anniversary open house was also yesterday. I helped out by instructing some "make and take" stations. Martha gave me this awesome calendar as a thank you. (Don't tell Martha, but I would have gladly done it for free.) Hooray for Craft Akron!

Last night I made Devo some home made biscuits. Store brand biscuits are so expensive, and are without fail too large to give him. Here's the recipe I improvised.

2 c whole wheat flour
1 c ground flax meal
3/4 c corn meal
1 c beef broth
2 T dried parsley
2 T flax seed oil
2 T olive oil
1 egg
Mix, knead, roll out, cut into pieces (I just used my pizza cutter and made small squares), bake 35 minutes at 325 degrees. Devo absolutely loves them! Best part- I had all of the ingredients on hand so they were pretty much free.

* Apologies for all of the indoor pictures. It's snowing like crazy right now and I'm headed out to the ballet, don't want to muss up my fanciness in the snow!

I ordered the chicken tenders, not the camel toe!

2010-12-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I whipped up a crocheted stocking using this free pattern. I love how graphic and retro the polka dots look, plus I was inspired to make stockings in these colors after seeing the knitted stockings my friend Amy made.

This pattern couldn't have been simpler, basically it's just 17 hexagons put together in a stocking shape. (Hint for those thinking about making one- laying the hexagons out in the stocking shape before sewing them together will save you some time and stress.) The pieces are attached from the top working down, ending with the toe. My joy at finishing was short lived after seeing how that last hexagon gave the stocking a camel toe. Who wants that hanging from their fireplace? Not me.

So I un-picked the toe (hee hee) and unraveled the green round. Instead of following the pattern's directions to dc 3 in 1 space, followed by 3 dc in each space, I did 2 hdc in 1 space, followed by 3 hdc.

It worked! No more unsightly camel toe. Santa will be so relieved.

This morning we tied pieces of candy to the adorable advent calendar my ultra crafty Aunt Susie made for Kazia. We used leftover Halloween candy. She absolutely loves it!

Even Devo is getting into the holiday spirit! This morning he experienced walking around in the snow for the first time. I think we are going to have to go boot shopping for his tiny tootsies. What a cutie!

Etsy update, anything goes swap, and Crafty Mart success!

2010-11-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

What a busy month November has been. Today I added eleven new 2 Faced Owls to my etsy shop. I hadn't realized that my previous listings had expired, oops.

I spent Thanksgiving visiting my in laws in Illinois. My husband and I were able to sneak off to Chicago to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

We had an AMAZING meal at Topolobampo, owned by Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless. Chicago is just the coolest city.

My knitting group is having another swap, this time the theme is Anything Goes. I wanted to make something tatted (oh yeah, I forgot to blog about my foray into shuttle tatting), but sadly I haven't been able to produce a swap worthy FO yet. Instead I'll be giving my buddy a mish-mosh-pish-posh of random goodies.

I made these crocheted lace cuffs to sell at Crafty Mart and had these two leftover. They just happen to be colors that I know my buddy loves.

I also made her a flower choker necklace while riding in the car on our Illinois adventure. She's also getting the owl wearing it.

Crafty Mart was a great success for me. I sold all of my hats by noon, and almost everything else by the end of the day. Here's a picture that my good friend Jenn took of me hawking my wares. Jenn is getting ready to have a baby any minute now, and I've been hard at work making something for her new bundle. (Sorry Jenn, you don't get to see it until Gabriella gets here.)

Cookies and Crafty Mart

2010-10-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! Crafty Mart will be held November 13, just in time for the holiday gifting season. Of course, I'll be a vendor again. This time I decided to do something different and sell hats. I found this great pattern from The Inner Hooker (great name, right?). She encourages customers to sell items made from her adorable patterns, and we all know how much I love owls- it's a match made in heaven.

I plan on making these in baby and kid sizes, but who knows, you just may see me wearing one that day.

The local newspaper is having a cookie contest and I entered two recipes. My grandmother always made orange cookies for family occasions- I swear these cookies taste like Christmas to me.

Elizabeth Oliver's Orange Cookies

Dough
(For best results, make cookie dough the day before, cover, and chill overnight.)

2 cups white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 scant cup of shortening
2 eggs
The grated rind of one orange
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder

Cream together sugar, eggs, orange rind, and shortening in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add baking soda to the cup of buttermilk and whisk to blend. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to creamed mixture, scraping sides of bowl often.

Drop chilled dough by tablespoon full onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Cool on wire racks, then ice.

Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
4 T butter
6 T orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind

The other recipe I entered was something I found in a magazine. They satisfy my sweet and salty cravings perfectly.

Sweet & Salty No Bake Pretzel Bars

1 1/3 cups (8 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
61 (2 cups) saltine crackers, finely crushed
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups bite size pretzels

Line a 9 inch baking pan with non stick foil.
Melt both chocolates and the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until blended and smooth. Remove from heat; stir in cracker crumbs and milk until blended. Fold in 2 cups of the pretzels.
Spread evenly in prepared pan. Lay remaining pretzels on top. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Lift foil from pan and cut into squares.

Pinwheel sweater- finished!

2010-10-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

And the winner is...

2010-10-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Lucky comment number eleven! It's Shanny! She said, "Oh, it's so hard to decide! I was immediately drawn to the firey looking orangish one, but I love the details on the green one. You always do such beautiful work - can't wait until you can unveil what that scrap yarn was left over from...." So I'm choosing for her and sending the green bowl. Congratulations! My extremely scientific method of choosing the winner was asking my four year old daughter to pick a number between one and nineteen. Thank you to everyone who entered and became a blog follower.

Crafty Mart is just around the corner. I've been sewing my two faced owls and crocheting hats to sell. I just love having photo shoots with the owls.

My girl outgrew all of her hoodies and sweaters, so I'm knitting her a pinwheel sweater in Patons Lace. This yarn is fantastic! Huge yardage, gorgeous colorways, and zero itch. The mohair gives it the best halo and fuzz, and it is machine washable. Plus I got it with my 40% off coupon at Joanns!

I'm making the sleeves using the afterthought heel method in the armholes. This has knit up so quickly, even with the lace weight yarn. To measure for fit I've just been holding the circle up to my girl's back and going from there. I'd love to make one of these for myself too, but my selfish knitting time has pretty much been overtaken with items for sale and holiday gift giving. Time to get busy!

A contest/Fall is here

2010-09-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

And I am not ready for it! There are so many things that I love about fall- the caramel apples, the leaves changing color, wearing the hand knits that I spent so many hours making, but the cold temps are so agonizing when I'm still sporting summer tan lines.

I've been so busy lately! I worked on a secret project on a crazy deadline. Pretty much all I can show is the scant amount of yarn leftovers.

Speaking of deadlines, my BFF's sister-in-law is having a baby girl with a ladybug themed nursery. I made these crocheted booties, hat, and blanket for the shower this weekend. Crochet is so unbelieveably fast.

My husband's socks (that were put on the back burner while I worked on the secret project) are finally starting to show some progress. I used black elastic thread on the first inch of the cuff to help keep them up on his slender calves. The free pattern is here on Ravelry. I'm using Louet Gems in the Lily pad colorway that I scored at Yarnia's going out of business sale.

Last month I started a shawl/scarf for myself that uses garter stitch and short rows. I needed an easy mindless project for watching movies and to take while I watch my girl at her gymnastics class. Ultra Alpaca is one of my favorite yarns.

I forgot to take pics of the finished bowls that I had shown when they were still flat and unvarnished. These records are courtesy of my generous friend Angelique.

Okay, so here's what you've all been waiting for- I will be giving one lucky reader their choice of one of these bowls. All you have to do to enter is to leave me a comment telling me which one of the bowls you prefer AND become a follower of my blog making sure you leave a way for me to contact you via your email, blog, or Ravelry name. That's it. Entries can be made until Wednesday October 13.

Puppy and birthday swap

2010-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

We adopted a puppy! Please meet Devo, he's a 4 month old yorkie mix that we got from a great rescue. Last night he was introduced to my beloved knitting group and got some serious socialization in the form of babies, other dogs, and loud laughing women. It was our birthday swap!

I made gifts for Juniper. She is a self-proclaimed "non hat person", but I had to make her a hat, I mean, I am the hat queen. I almost fainted when she walked in the door at Amy's WEARING A HAT! It was meant to be. I also made her something else, but it's an unpublished design from KnitBrit, and I'd have to kill you if you saw it now.

I was the lucky lady who received gifts from Andrea. She is the best! Don't believe me? Look at these goodies she bought me! Look at the scarf!

I may have even peed myself a little when I saw these. My own Totoro mittens!

Oddly enough I almost made a pair of these for Juniper, but chickened out because stranded knitting makes my head hurt. What a great swap. Life is good.

Double duty yoga strap

2010-08-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

I crocheted myself a yoga mat bag using this great free pattern, but wanted a carrying strap for it that could also be used to help me hold poses. I was discussing it with my SnB one day and my clever friend Juniper showed me a nylon strap that she uses with 2 strategically placed slits that allow it to double as a both a mat bag holder and pose strap. So I made one.

Double duty yoga strap pattern

Materials needed-
size 4.0 mm G crochet hook
worsted weight cotton (I used Peaches & Creme cotton from a cone, or use 2 of the 120 yd balls)
2 split ring stitch markers

Chain 195.
Single crochet (sc) in 2nd chain from hook and sc across entire row. Chain (ch) 1, turn.
Sc across entire row, ch 1, turn.
Again, sc across entire row, ch 1, turn.

Next row make slits-
Sc into the next 6 stitches, ch 6, sc across row to 12 sts before end, ch 6, sc in remaining 6 sts, ch 1, turn.
Sc across entire row (you will sc into the 6 ch sts), ch 1, turn.
Sc across entire row, ch 1, turn.
Sc across entire row, ch 1, turn.

(Click photo to enlarge)

Mark folds by counting 36 ch from beginning of row and place the 1st marker. Now count 20 sts from that marker and place the second one. Fold strap in half horizontally and use the markers to hold it in place on the corresponding st from the beginning ch row.

Sc across row to marker. Sc through both rows to connect each st until 2nd marker.

Remove markers and count 36 sts from end and place a marker. Place 20 sts to the right of it and place 2nd marker.
Now sc across row until you come to the 20 sts you just marked. Connect them in the same way you did the first set, then sc to end. Cut yarn and weave in ends.

Pull strap through the slits inside itself until you have 2 loops like the ones in the picture. Slide these over your yoga bag and pull tight to use as a carrying strap.

Bits and pieces

2010-08-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

My daughter has been on a big painting kick lately, so I decided to join in on the fun and paint a few record bowls. I'm not sure if I'll be putting these up on my etsy store or not- my bowls just don't seem to move over there, so I'll probably just hang them up in my dining room with the rest of them.

This hat (Ravelry link to free pattern) has been finished for a couple of weeks just hanging out on my blue head. It's part of the present my secret partner is getting in the birthday gift swap that the Akron Stitch n Bitch is having. The embellishment for the hat is a secret because I'm afraid the color and style may give away the identity of my swappee. I'll show more details and the rest of her gifts after we swap.

Click on the picture to get a better look of the hat construction. I love the sideways garter picot. I double stranded Knit Picks palette in asphalt heather to keep it neutral but pretty. For sure I'll be making one of these for myself.

Birthday party hat

2010-08-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you are invited to a birthday party for a 3 year old girl at the last minute and are told not to buy a gift? Why, you make her a hat of course. This pattern was so easy and quick, I altered it by adding more rows of single crochet to the brim and embellished with 3 flowers (and a pinch to grow an inch) instead of one.

I've got the perfect newly 4 year old girl to try it out on, she also helped choose the colors.

I hope the birthday girl approves!

Buttercup Bag

2010-08-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to make this absolutely adorable purse for about a million years now. See, my good friend Devona has been teaching a class on this bag at my friend Martha's fabulous store. The cuteness has been taunting me for forever, the problem is that the class has been divided into 2 parts, a Friday night and a Saturday morning. When you are married to a sound guy there is no such thing as a free Friday night, so I've woefully missed this class each time it has been offered. Cue my Aunt Sally, quilter extraordinaire and all around sewing expert. She invited Kaz and I to tag along on my dad's visit to see her and my Uncle Mike in Muskegon, Michigan.

The pattern calls for 2 fat quarters, a magnetic snap, and some stiff interfacing (that's what she said). I found both the outer fabric and lining fat quarters in the clearance bin for 59 cents each. The magnetic snaps were 3 for $1.99 at Joann's (you bet your sweet bippy I used my 40% off coupon too.) Aunt Sally generously donated the interfacing and sewing mojo.

It's even got a pocket! I loves me some Aunt Sally magic! She taught me so many new skills: pleats, pockets, curved seams, and I even used a pressing ham. Guess what everyone I know will be getting as holiday gifts this year?

This bag is a birthday gift for my best friend Jenna. It even looks great hanging out on Ohio's largest aloe plant.

We had a great time doing other things besides sewing while in Michigan. I'll leave you with my two favorite pics from our petting zoo adventure.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2010-07-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

I finally made homemade laundry detergent! I've been wanting to do this for so long, but it seemed like I was never going to use up the store bought stuff I had. I used this website's recipe, and I followed the measurements exactly. Many different recipes can be found on the internet, but I love how the author broke down the costs per load, as well as her FAQ section. I also chose it because the recipe makes liquid detergent which I prefer because I almost exclusively use cold water when I do laundry.

I had no problem finding the borax, but for the life of me couldn't find the washing soda or Fels-Naptha soap. Finally I did a search online and discovered that Ace hardware stores carry them both.

Because I am mathematically impaired, I just filled my empty store bought detergent container with water and subtracted the amounts of water for heating from there.

I grated the soap with my cheese grater, super easy and it looks like cheese, no? The soap has a pleasing fresh scent, so I opted to not add essential oils as fragrance. It would be so easy to use unscented natural soap instead if you are sensitive to artificial fragrances.

This is what the grated soap looks like dissolving in the hot water. Once the soap heated up, the whole house smelled fantastic, like I was burning a linen scented candle or something.

The cooled mix has to sit for 24 hours, so I haven't gotten to use the detergent yet. I never thought I would be so excited to do some laundry.

Garden View

2010-07-26T08:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I made chili with the first peppers picked from my little garden. I guess the cucumber served as the appetizer, although I ate it all by myself while cooking the chili with a little salt and pepper, no sharing. This was the first year I decided to plant veggies in my front yard flower bed and the results have been fantastic so far.

Here's a picture to show just how small a space I'm working with. My backyard just doesn't get ANY sun and after 3 failed summer gardens I've finally learned my lesson and planted in the front.

My across the street neighbor has been sharing his blackberries with us, we have an open invite to pick whenever we want. I used the berries to make a pie last week, and last night I made some freezer jam that would make you want to slap your grandma, it is that good.

This morning I heard a familiar buzzing noise while out pulling weeds and was greeted by the Goodyear blimp.

I'm busy knitting up a storm on some secret knitting for my SnB birthday swap, one of which is actually a test knit for a new Knit Brit pattern. It's super fantastic so far, even the pattern name makes me squee, but you will all have to wait patiently for it to be published. I'll give you one clue though- JABBERWOCKY!

2 Faced Owls

2010-07-23T07:40:00.000-07:00

I just updated my etsy shop with eight new 2 Faced owls! I just love these little guys.

Fat Bottom Bag

2010-07-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

July must be my month for charity crafting. A girl that I went to high school with was recently diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and some fabulous people from the old hometown are having a fundraiser for her and her family. You can read about it here on the Facebook group (and send a donation as well).

I knew that I wanted to make something pink to auction off, and came across this great Alexander Henry fabric that Amber sent to me in the Spring Cleaning swap. The fat bottom bag pattern meshed perfectly with the yarn and fabric amount I had. Thankfully I had help sewing in the lining from my great pal Andi Smith aka KnitBrit.

Kids chemo hats

2010-06-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

I can't imagine how difficult having a child with cancer is, and how much suffering their little bodies endure from the disease as well as treatment. My mother died from breast cancer a little over a year ago, and I know how chemotherapy drastically affects adults.

The pink hat is the Jenny cloche pattern, the blue one is a free pattern that can be found here.

Hot pads!

2010-06-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

I prefer the term "pot holders" but I like the way "hot pads!" reminds me of James Brown saying "Hot pants! Smokin'!" These are for the Knit Knack kitchen swap. I didn't use a pattern, I just made 4 mosaic squares and then crocheted two of them together wrong sides facing. Here's a view of the opposite sides-

An old pal from when we worked together at the animal hospital sent me a message on facebook asking me to make a shawl. She needed it for a wedding a week and a half later, so I rose to the challenge and busted that shawl out in record time. I was working so quickly that I neglected to take a picture of the finished shawl. So use your imagination to picture a black and silvery metallic triangle shawl with fringe inserted here.

Last week I visited one of my favorite yarn stores while up at Lake Erie, Christi's Just for Ewe. She has a barn next to the shop with sheep that she spins wool from. That woman is living the dream. I ventured out of my usual yarn buying habits and bought some gorgeous silk yarns to play with. All of my fun time is being put on hold while I get ready for a street wide yard sale my street is having this weekend. Kaz is so excited because she is going to have her own lemonade stand while I sell my junk. She'll probably make more money than I do.

Entryway redo

2010-06-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Glidden Paints was having a free can of paint giveaway. It was just a really small can, but I knew it would be just right for the small amount of wall space in my entryway.

(Whoa! Check out the greasy Kaz handprint on the glass door. Note to self, clean door after blogging.)

It's hard to take good photos inside a space the size of a closet, but the small inset has some generic shelving with a clothes bar that always look like a hot mess of winter coat and hoodie over load. I mean really, that's not what I want people to first see when they enter the casa. Plus it's summer! The jackets and coats can go hibernate in the guest room closet.

The woodwork is the main attraction, but those generic white walls have been taunting me for the 4 years we've lived here. Today I declared that enough was enough, so I painted the walls eggshell mauve.

It's not as pastel purple in real life, but I had to use my flash to take the pic. I know those curtains do nothing but hide the charm of the wood and leaded glass, but I really need to have the privacy.

The new color really marries the entry to the rest of the house. (The first time my Uncle Frank visited my house, his reaction was, "Wow Mary! You sure aren't afraid of color!".) Hopefully the rain will go away long enough for me to paint the front porch floor tomorrow.

Silver bells and cockle shells

2010-06-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

That's how I get my garden to grow. The heat and rain and crazy humidity have made my peonies and roses showstoppers. I've been spending so much time sitting on the porch swing and smelling the fragrant flowers.

This is one of my white peonies. Next year I'm going to try putting coffee grounds in the soil, supposedly it changes the soil ph and makes peonies blue.

My coral orangey red roses smell so nice, so do the hot pink ones.

The rest of my garden is also doing very well. I've got blueberries! And tomatoes!

I even have chili peppers and miniature sunflowers growing from seeds.

Lest you think this post was going to be all about my garden, I have been doing other things too. On Sunday I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Show and had fun. I'm sorry that I lost the names of the vendors that I bought stuff from, but here are pics of some loot.

12 skeins of wool per bag for making felted cat beds. Each bag was only $12.

A wooden button burned with an image of a moth that I just had to get for my BFF. She's got a large moth tattoo that looks very similar. Now I just have to make something to put the button on.

I am moderating a Kitchen Swap on Knit Knack, but since I am also participating, I don't want to divulge any of my secret projects just yet. I can show a record bowl that I made for Knit Knacker Melody (Ravelry name Gingerly4it) that she requested in greens and purples. Hopefully I'll get it sent out tomorrow.

Even though I've had them for awhile, I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of my groovy new pincushions that I bartered with some fellow Akron Snb'rs (Andi and Andrea). How cute are they? I think I see a new collection about to start.

Stripey love

2010-05-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked to make a couple of hats for a 7 year old girl with leukemia. This striped hat was intended to be one of them, but it ended up being too small. Guess who immediately claimed it? This is just a basic stockinette beanie with an embellishment of crocheted flowers on one side.

The weather has been awful for spending time outside, it's rained the past 4 days. My garden has reaped the benefits of the spring showers.

I put all of my veggies in my front flower bed this year. We planted tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, and even some corn. My herbs are staying in the backyard for now, but I'm already thinking of ways to rearrange the front to make room. Thanks to my neighbors' enormous trees, the backyard is almost entirely shaded and makes growing things difficult. My buddy Jenn delivered a truckload of shade loving plants that her mom thinned out from their family farm (thanks again!) so the backyard really is starting to get spiffied up despite the lack of sunlight.

My Neighbor Totoro

2010-05-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

The favored movie at my house right now is My Neighbor Totoro. Kazia even likes to pretend to be Mei (I'm always Satsuki), so I knew I had to make her a Totoro of her own. I used Lion Brand Pound of Love in denim, and this crochet pattern. I loved the way the felt eyes really capture his personality. Instead of stuffing him firmly the way I usually do, I left him a wee bit under stuffed to keep him super squishy and huggable the way I imagine a Totoro would really feel. Today's photo shoot was so much fun!

May flowers

2010-05-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. I received many beautiful flowers and plants as gifts.

OddMall

2010-05-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is OddMall. I'll be there selling my Quite Contrary Goods with the amazing trifecta that is The Lollipop Guild. I did very well last week at Mini Mart, and intended to use this week to beef up my supply of owls and record bowls, but I was side lined by an injury. I tore my meniscus (cartilage) in my right knee while running. Yep, you heard that right, I was running. (It was the Couch to 5K program actually.) It probably wouldn't have been so bad had I not ignored the screaming pain and deluded myself into thinking that it would heal itself in a couple of days. I put off seeing a doctor for a week and a half and was even stupid enough to stand most of the 7 hours that I was selling at Mini Mart. So now I'm going to physical therapy and crossing my fingers that I don't need surgery. I was only able to make 6 more owls, but I used feminine fabrics for this bunch to hopefully draw in the shabby chic crowd.

I completely forgot to take pictures of the stuff that I sent to my Spring Cleaning Swap buddy. You can read her fabulous blog post about the swap here.

Don't forget that tomorrow is also Stamp Out Hunger day. Basically the USPS is asking everyone to donate non perishable food items that mail carriers will pick up while delivering mail tomorrow. I've got my bag ready to go.

Mini Mart

2010-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

This Saturday May 1st I'll be a solo vendor at MiniMart. I'll be selling my upcycled hand painted record bowls in both regular and mini sizes (in honor of Mini- Mart perhaps?), my upcycled owl plushies, and resin magnets and pins. The show is from 10- 5 at Musica in downtown Akron with free parking at the library parking deck on High Street. Come see me!

Spring cleaning swap

2010-04-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

This morning I received my swap package from Knit Knack's spring cleaning swap. My secret sender was Amber/Yarnaholic and she spoiled me rotten! I got a skein of her gorgeous laceweight handspun yarn. I had already favorited this yarn on her Ravelry page. I am thinking about making a simple triangle scarf/shawl with it so I can weigh it halfway through and not waste a single centimeter of this gorgeous yarn. Amber spun this stuff on a drop spindle, I am seriously blown away by her talent. She also sent the hand dyed merino fiber for me to spin myself.

These 3 shawl pins were also made by Amber. They are so beautiful, I can't get over it. She made the rainbow skull stitch markers too.

The rules of the swap were "spend no money" but Amber broke the rules to sent me the owl necklace. I absolutely love it!

Finally I got dark chocolate, popcorn, and fabric including some with pin up girls. How lucky am I?

Bottle caps, bottle caps, bottle caps!

2010-04-11T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the wonderful ladies at Musica, I've got an excellent stash of bottle caps for my resin magnet and pin making. This batch has been made to appeal to fiber enthusiasts.

Click on the pictures for a better view. I'm running out of phrasing ideas, so any helpful input is very welcome.

I scored some fantastic show display items thanks to my eagle eyed buddy Jenn. I can't wait to tackle these with some elbow grease and spray paint to make a record bowl stand and owl nesting shelf.

Gearing up

2010-04-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm selling at 2 big craft shows the 1st week of May. Mini Mart is May 1st at Musica in downtown Akron. I'll be a solo vendor for that one, selling my bowls, resin bottlecaps, and stuffed owls. I found some cute little 45's at the thrift store and I've had fun painting designs on them. The second show is Oddmall-Emporium of the Weird at the Clarion Hotel in Hudson, Ohio on May 8th. I'll be with my Lollipop Guild posse for that one.

Hand dyed in action

2010-03-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Knitting the gaia shawl really gave me my knitting mojo back. I was inspired to finally use some of my hand dyed recycled sweater yarn and the projects have just been flying off of my needles. I made myself a Sunday Market Shawl (Ravelry link) with some cheerful pink and orange sport weight that I colored with cake icing tint. I was so worried about making it long enough to wear wrapped around me that I may have overestimated things. After blocking it measures 6 and a half feet. But I guess it's better to be too long than too short. (Insert 1st "That's what she said" here). Isn't my prop cute? My sweet friend Jenn gifted him to me.

This pattern couldn't be easier and the results are just as pretty as a clapotis without the stitch markers. It only took 2 days to knit up (granted that was 2 days of sitting on the couch with a massive sinus situation, but still). I used a German twisted cast on and bound off with needles 3 sizes larger and still could have been a bit looser. ("That's what she said" #2).

Even though the calendar says that it's now spring, it's still awfully cold in NE Ohio. My absolute favorite accessory is a hat (you can never get too fat for a hat, am I right?) and the Copy Cat Slouchy pattern (Ravelry link again) has been in my queue for way too long. I dyed this purple stuff with kool aid and food coloring in the crock pot with aforementioned awesome friend Jenn. This pattern is really easy to memorize and gives the illusion of a cable stitch when in fact it is a slip stitch pattern. Fierce.

Finally I just have to announce that I have a brand new baby boy in the family. My cousin Rachel is the proud new momma of Gabriel Thomas who was born at 2:32 pm today! Congratulations! I can't wait to meet the handsome fella in person!

Noro Taiyo Gaia

2010-03-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my friends Andi and Jenn and I visited Studio Knit after our show at the Medina Baby Fair. One look at this skein of Noro Taiyo was all it took for me to hand over my wallet. After browsing through finished projects made with this yarn on Ravelry, I cast on the Gaia shoulder hug pattern. Every second of this project made me happy. The pattern, the colors, even dealing with a knot in the color run couldn't dampen my enthusiasm for this shawl. I'm happy with the size it blocked out to and envision it being worn more as a scarf than a shawl.

Baby blankets

2010-03-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

This Saturday is the Medina Baby Fair. I'm joining forces with some of my peeps to have a craft booth. I'll be selling these fleece baby blankets and hats. The swirls are actually a crocheted potholder pattern that can be found here.

Amigurumi swap

2010-03-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

Today was the Akron SnB's amigurumi swap. I made Amy a Tobias and a Lindsay from Arrested Development.

Tobias suffers from "never-nude" syndrome (which, as the narrator states, is "exactly what it sounds like") and wears denim cut-off shorts at all times in order to avoid anyone (including himself and his wife) seeing his pelvic area.

Lindsay is Tobias' frustrated wife.

The swap was so much fun. Here's a group picture of the swapped ami's. I can't wait until next year.

Wallpaper banner

2010-03-09T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made the absolute easiest shop banner ever. I simply cut triangles from wallpaper samples that I picked up last month at Zero Landfill and then glued pre-cut letters onto them.

The letters are cardboard scrapbook items that I bought for 99 cents at Tuesday Morning. As you can see the colors are unappealing, so I remedied that with a single coat of glossy black spray paint. (It's been in the high 40's here in Ohio, practically a heat wave, so I took advantage of the high temps to do some outdoor spray painting.) I haven't decided how I'm going to hang the banner, I'm either going to staple them onto a thick ribbon or machine sew them onto fabric.

I'm also gearing up for the first craft show of the year with my fabulous friends Devona and Jenn. We are combining forces and presenting ourselves as "The Lollipop Guild". The pic shows one of my works in progress that I'll be selling at the Medina Baby Fair.

My Stitch n Bitch amigurumi swap has been rescheduled to this Saturday, so everyone will just have to patiently wait for me to blog about the creations I've made for Amy. (She reads the blog, so I don't want to ruin the surprise.)

And the winner is...

2010-03-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry that I went beyond my March 3rd deadline to announce the winning name for my etsy store. Who could have guessed that nearly every name (and version of) has been claimed for use on defunct accounts? I was finally able to choose a name that I loved that stemmed from one of the entries. Check it out here. Don't worry about the lame graphics and lack of items, I have many wheels turning and fires blazing. Oh, and the prize has already been awarded to the winner. You can see it on display in person at Craft Akron. Congrats Martha!

Since you've probably realized by now that I don't have any photos of current projects to show, why not have a look at the gorgeous photos that my friend Margaret took of my buddy Andrea and her canine kids.

Gifts in action

2010-02-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of Lucy the shi tzu modeling the Biscuits and Bones pullover that I knit her for Christmas. She is especially ravishing because I just gave her a fresh haircut. (I used to be a dog groomer in my previous life.)

I made my Aunt Joann a Queen Ann's lace scarf to go with the floral cloche previously blogged about here. I used Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande and loved every second of working with that fluffy black fiber.

If you are a pet lover you should check out my SnB buddy Andrea's blog. She is having a yarn raffle to raise money for the Greater Akron Humane Society.

Hoo's sewing?

2010-02-26T15:37:00.000-08:00

I've been putting all of my Zero Landfill upholstery samples to good use this week. On one side they are awake, on the other side, asleep.

Monkey business and a contest!

2010-02-17T11:55:00.001-08:00

My wonderful cousin is expecting her 1st child soon and knows that she's having a baby boy. Nothings better than monkeys and granny squares for cute nap time fun. I've only got a couple of weeks until the shower, so I hope I can make some matching accessories like a hat and booties to go with the blanket.

The Ravelympics/ Knitting Olympics is going on right now. Instead of casting on for something new I've decided to take the opportunity to finish the Delft pillow I started in October. I have to confess that I'm really bad at color work. Since I'm a thrower/English knitter my left hand is pretty useless for 2 handed knitting. I've even taken a class on 2 handed fair isle and still have to put each color down after each stitch. It's slooowww going I tell ya, but I want to win a gold medal for my team. The pics show the bag front and back, as well as the custom made ceramic buttons (shout out to LandenRoad! woo!) for the slit. I'm almost to the halfway point and just can't wait to finish.

Now that you've read this far, you are probably wondering what the contest is. I need a name to use for my etsy store and craft shows. I will be selling handpainted record bowls, hand dyed yarn, jewelry, and whatever other miscellaneous doo dads I come up with. Whoever comes up with the chosen store name wins a custom painted record bowl like these and these. The contest ends March 3rd at midnight, so put your thinking caps on and help a sister out. Please leave your name and a way for me to contact you (Ravelry name, blog link) when you post your entry in the comments.

Zero Landfill

2010-02-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

Today was Zero Landfill in Akron. My partner in crime and I each came out with a haul. The fabric swatches alone are worth squealing about. Rest assured I'm spending a lot of time behind the sewing machine today.

Last month I blogged about the SnB scarf swap, but neglected to post a picture of the one I received. My scarf was made by Devona, who backed a thrifted sweater with designer fleece. I've been wearing it constantly and just love it to bits.

My yarn dyeing experiments have moved into the realm of cotton. I attempted to create an ombre dip dye effect with this unraveled sweater cotton and RIT dye.

My wool allergic aunt mentioned needing a new winter hat, so I crocheted this cloche with a cute poppy flower. I made this hat in only a couple of hours. Crochet is the best!

Right now I've made finishing a fair isle pillow my goal for the Ravelympics/ Knitting Olympics. No more new projects! Sewing doesn't count, right?

5th Saturday, bowls, and a blanket

2010-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today I got a little bit of record bowl painting done. I'm considering painting on both sides of them instead of just the inside. My favorite way to display the bowls is to hang them on a wall, making the inside the only visible area, but I know that other people actually use them as bowls on flat surfaces.

Some of my knitting group friends have organized a charity project for a local women's shelter. It will be held this Saturday, January 30th at Craft Akron. I'll be there all day volunteering and getting my craft on. Here is the info copied from the Craft Akron website:

.........

Spend the day at Craft Akron doin' some good.

Craft Akron has opened it's studio to host crafters, artists, and others on the Fifth Saturdays during the year to help raise funds and provide useful items to ACCESS Shelter for women and children.
Attendees will be allowed to use the studio and/or equipment on the Fifth Saturday by donating to ACCESS in one of three ways.

Option 1: Item Donation-please bring NEW items only:

For 1 hour event day studio/equipment use:
2 of the following items: bottles, onesies, formula, wipes Paper products (facial tissues, etc.) feminine hygiene products, diapers
1 pkg or full set of underwear for male and female all sizes; bras all sizes

For 2 hours event day studio/equipment use:
Shoes, boots, slippers, all sizes

For 3 hours event day studio/equipment use:
Winter coats, all sizes

Option 2: Sponsor a resident for crafting class on event day

A crafting class will be taught from 12pm - 2pm. Sign up is available in advance of the event or event day. (January 30 class will be needle felting, taught by Devona Brazier, $18 class fee/per student=$36 for sponsoring participant.)
Participants will pay for the two hour class fee for themselves and for a current resident of ACCESS. Studio space and equipment will be available for two hours prior to class time for their use.

Option 3: Participate in Creating the Monster/Angel Kid’s Pak

The Monster/Angel Kid’s Pak is designed to offer children a soft toy that transforms into a back pack for carrying their personal items. The kit will be available for $10 and can be constructed by the participant the day of the event. Two hours of studio space on the day of the event is offered to donors.

Ellet and Firestone Park IGAs have generously offered to provide snacks and drinks for The Fifth Saturday participants.

Join other crafters and artists for knitting, crocheting, sewing, felting or general fantastic artistry and do a little good for ACCESS.

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

A million years ago (actually, only a year and a half ago) Knit Knack had a blanket square exchange. 24 people signed up to knit 24 squares. Each person then mailed out her squares and received 24 from the other participants. I only received 21 squares. I made up the difference by making 4 squares for my own blanket to then be able to finally finish this thing up. This week I'm going to start sewing the pieces together and hope to be snug and warm by the weekend.

Fey clay

2010-01-22T13:59:00.001-08:00

I have some amazing friends that I've never met face to face. Fey is one of the best. She sent hand thrown pots out for her friends to "critique". Mine arrived today. How lucky am I to have such generous, talented, and artistic chums?

Fey has a charity auction on Ebay to raise money to send to Haiti that can be found here.

Dye day

2010-01-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

Cake icing tint, Kool Aid, and sheep hair = most fun ever!

Just your typical Tuesday in Ohio

2010-01-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Right now it's winter and it's really cold. One of my most favorite (and infrequent) indulgences is to soak in a steaming hot tub full of bubbles alone. Being the mother of a 3 year old who has zero concept of the notion of privacy, you could count on your fingers the number of times I accomplish this feat in a year. Yesterday the planets aligned so that I could have a bubble bath, so I jumped at the opportunity. I ran the water as hot as I could stand it and dumped half a bottle of bubbles in. I had just sat down in the tub and began to close my eyes and relax when I heard a noise. I opened my eyes to see Kaz standing there stripped bare and wearing her swimming goggles and an expectant little grin. (My husband snapped this pic before she climbed in.) Of course I drained half of the hot water out and ran enough cold to accommodate the interloper. My whole family found this occurrence to be so hilarious, but these people have the luxury of private bathing.

I've been unraveling sweaters from the thrift store so I can do some more yarn dyeing. This purple chunky stuff is a Gap woman's size medium that is half wool and half acrylic. I think I'm going to attempt to do some cold water Rit dyeing with it.

The pink is 100% wool that didn't unravel as easily. The tiny balls leave lots of room for experimentation though. These will be dyed with food coloring, Kool Aid and cake icing tint.

I was inspired by the color of the swimming goggles to crochet some pretty dishcloths yesterday. I think these ones will be mailed to my aunt and uncle in West Virginia.

My studio

2010-01-16T10:45:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about our house is the finished attic. I'm slowly getting the room set up as my studio and it's been very inspiring to have my own artistic space. Since I do a lot of painting the crazy 1970's shag carpeting is the perfect floor covering to hide accidental drips and spills. Decorating around an avocado and lemon yellow color scheme takes some imagination. Luckily my friend Adrianne Z. gave me an old knitting stitch book full of close-up black and white photographs of knitted fabric swatches. I cut some of them out and put them in black frames from the dollar store.

The big green table was in our basement when we bought this house. Now it's my painting/sewing table. I keep all of my acrylic paints in that fishing tackle box.

The back corner of the room houses my yarn winding station. All of the storage containers house the abundant yarn stash.

Said stash extends into the built in drawers and crazy flame dresser. (Please excuse the blurry photos. For some reason they didn't seem so bad when I uploaded them.) I can't wait until I get everything finished and then invite my friends over to play.

Happy Anniversary

2010-01-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the Akron Stitch 'n Bitch's 6th anniversary party at Craft Akron. I made six tiny sweater pins (made on size zero needles, I think I'm cross eyed now) with six colorful stripes.

We are also having a scarf swap tonight. The swap is completely random and anonymous; no buddies were assigned. Instead, everyone will bring their scarf in a plain paper bag (I want SO badly to write, "Do not eat. Dead dove." on mine per my all time favorite show,) and place them in a pile on the floor. Then swappers choose one from the pile in alphabetical order. The last time we swapped this way was so much fun.

(Side note- my friend Kris made me those wonderful care instruction labels with my name and owl logo. Love them!)

My scarf was made using yarn from the generous Adrianne Z. It used to be a lime green color, but I over-dyed it with yellow, green, and blue food coloring in my crock pot. This was my first time using my salad spinner to dry hanks (and the scarf after soaking for blocking) and also using hair conditioner to soften wool. Success on both counts.

I am so fortunate to be involved in such a fabulous, talented, smart, creative, and kind group of women. Everyone there is such an inspiration, not to mention hilariously fun. Happy Anniversary friends!

Howdy buckaroos!

2010-01-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Neck warmers are in, so is elaborate facial hair. This is incognito, and so am I.

Cat hat

2010-01-03T10:38:00.001-08:00

My girl needed a warm hat to match her spiffy new mittens. I modified the kittyville hat pattern by doing a malabrigo single crochet edging and braided i cord and chains for tassels instead of pom poms. And I found the cutest button of cats in hats to adorn the front.

New year's eve mittens

2009-12-31T11:41:00.001-08:00

You know that saying about the cobbler's kids having no shoes? That totally applies to the state of my girl's warm winter accessories. She was wearing a cheap pair of mittens from Target's dollar bin until I finally made her this pair. I used this pattern, but ended up modifying it per my usual short cuts. I made these two at a time magic loop, made 4 inch ribbing cuffs for extra warmth, added mirrored cables, and switched the decreases to ssk, k2tog, then kitchener graft the top like a sock toe. The yarn is Ivy Brambles superwash worsted that I won for KnitBrit's pattern naming contest.

Ditty bag and scarf

2009-12-28T07:59:00.000-08:00

My friends are walking billboards for my fiber obsession. Case in point, my BFF Jenna was wearing the queen anne's lace scarf and little ditty bag wristlet that I made her for her birthday while out to dinner with some friends. One of the women she was dining with fell in love with the combo, so Jenna passed my info along to the husband who then commissioned a set.

The yarn is Universal Yarn Classic Shades that I picked up on a whim from Stitch, Piece, and Purl. It is so soft and pretty, just right for wearing against the neck. It has zero itch factor and such pretty color changes. I really hope she likes it.

Handmade gifts

2009-12-22T11:00:00.001-08:00

Lucy the shih tzu (my aunt and uncle's dog) is going to be one cozy little pup this year. I made her the Biscuits and Bones sweater out of Vanna's Choice.

Last night was the Akron Stitch n Bitch's holiday swap. I got the greatest knitting bag ever from KnitBrit. She is sooo talented.

It's got nine pockets! Nine! I've already got it filled with WIP's.

I made Juniper a crocheted katamari complete with magnetic action nubs. She was speechless, but in a good way. For this project I learned the magic loop method of crocheting a circular motif.

Not quite bowls

2009-12-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

I really love how my painted records look before I heat and shape them into bowls. The owly (I was aiming for Noro-esque colors when painting the owl record's background) one is a prize for my friend Amber for correctly (well, she came the closest anyway) guessing Shanny's delivery date. Baby Skylar was born on December 3rd and has a whole group of surrogate aunties (Knit Knack) who are so excited about her arrival.

Cashmere for Kaziamiera

2009-12-07T08:29:00.001-08:00

This week I turned an adult sized cashmere sweater from the thrift store into a Christmas dress for my 3 year old using this fantastic tutorial. For embellishment I crocheted a snowflake and tacked it to the front of the dress with a needle and thread.

Kazia is wearing a headband made by my friend Jenn Doll of Landen Road Designs. Thanks Jenn!

I've been knitting up a storm making gifts, but I'm not blogging about them yet because some of the recipients are readers of the blog. This Wednesday I'm baking all of my cookies and candy and then will be headed to Craft Akron for our first SnB meeting since the group moved there from Square Records. I was thrilled to be asked to help my friend Martha (owner of Craft Akron) hostess for the grand opening last Saturday. The turnout was incredible and I just know that Craft Akron will be a huge sensation.

Swirls for me

2009-11-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Having already made two hats from this pattern as gifts, I finally made myself a swirls cap. I used the skein of Himalaya yarn that Stacey gave me in the Akron SnB birthday swap. The color matches my favorite coat perfectly.

The only problem I had in using this yarn for this pattern is that the yardage is too short. I remedied that by stash diving and finding the skein of Wool of the Andes that Kris sent me in the most recent Knit Knack swap. Can you see the difference on the underside of the brim? It's a near perfect match! The only thing missing now are buttons. Now that I've gotten a taste of the handmade ceramic buttons made by my new friend Jenn of Landon Road Designs I won't settle for anything else for this hat.

Here's what the backside looks like, hence the name swirls cap.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and takes the time to reflect on what you are thankful for. This is my first big holiday without my mom and I'm so lucky that I was able to tell her what an amazing person she was and how much I loved her before she died.

Crafty Mart

2009-11-13T12:25:00.001-08:00

I made a few more record bowls thanks to the generosity of Square Records. These pretties will be available to buy at Crafty Mart tomorrow from 11- 6 at Musica in downtown Akron. There will also be a knit in during the show so c'mon down to see some fantastic local artists' wares and have a great time!

Record bowls

2009-11-08T10:07:00.001-08:00

I found some one dollar vinyl records while visiting my in laws last week. I've always wanted to make record bowls but knew I couldn't do just plain old average ones. I painted designs with acrylics before heating them in the oven, then sprayed with clear coat after shaping.

The purple one is a Styx album, the green is John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album. Not bad for two bucks.

Two at a time toe up magic loop

2009-11-05T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's how I made this pair of socks. The pattern is a free one from the Knit Picks website. I love how the slip stitches begin on the bottom of the heel since that's where I tend to get holes first. The yarn is also Knit Picks bare superwash that my friend dyed with Wilton's cake icing tint.

Family treasures and a marf

2009-10-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Jo Ann gifted me with my maternal grandma Josephine's button tin over the weekend.
I haven't had a chance to closely inspect the contents yet, but here are a few of the coolest things I've found-

A wooden nickel and lot's of different size thimbles, I suspect the painted one is bone. I'm so happy to have this piece of family history.

My cousin Megan loved the swirls hat I made for her. Here she is modeling the hat and a scarf that she renamed a "marf". It's like an El Camino, half car- half truck, half mittens- half scarf. The scarf was so easy, I even lined the pockets with fleece that was upcycled from sweat pants.

Basic marf pattern

Size N/P (10.0 mm) hook and 3 skeins worsted weight yarn to be held together triple stranded. I also think this pattern would be a great way to use tarn (t- shirt yarn). The possibilities are endless.

Loosely chain 126 sts.
Starting at the 2nd chain from hook, single crochet into the back loop of each chain.
Continue single crocheting into each single crochet until scarf is desired width.
Cut yarn and bind off last stitch.
Fold one edge over (approx 12 sts) to form pocket. Single crochet around both edges to secure.
Repeat for other pocket making sure pocket openings are on same side.

I am sort of tall and the scarf was long enough for me to loop around my neck once and comfortably hold my arms at my sides in the pockets.

Add lined pockets by sewing 2 squares with an opening (in other words, a pocket) approximately 1/2 inch smaller than crocheted pocket. Whip stitch lining into pocket by hand and rock your marf all over the place.