on to the next

i'm happy to say that my sample knitting for nistock farms yarn is complete! the mittens were steamed, blocked, labeled and sent to robin. my goal was to have them done before i started back to my 'real job' and i made it with a few hours to spare. the mittens were so much fun, well the entire project was just too much fun, but with the cool nights, i'm thinking that i need to work on more of those hand-coverings. i still don't own a set of mitts. remember the hat issue from last year? well, mitt for me will soon be in order.

my other sample knitting is for amythefibergoddess. she loves me, i know she does. why else would she chose a pattern with a bazillion stitches and a jazillion rows to have ready for the festival in two weeks, if she didn't think i needed it? actually, after i got through the first round of lace, i'm starting to have fun. i even took it with me to work to settle my nerves :)

it is the miami beach shawl pattern in her kettle dyed worsted weight yarn. i'm knitting it a size us9 needles, so it is really cooking along. i have a suspicion that it is going to be huge when i block it, but she will surely find a wonderful way to drape it in her booth. the family thought i looked reptilian as i had it out for a photo shoot. again, can you tell they love me?

gifts given

several years ago, when i was but a new, green knitter, i fell into the felted clog hole. i crafted these by the dozens (not an exaggeration) and many, many in my family have wooly love on their feet. one of the first that i did was for my niece. a sweet little gal with a summer birthday, i made them with grow room in her favorite colors. she wore them and wore them until she grew right out. her family would often joke that her slippers were the family favorite. by family favorite, i mean critter favorite. it seems that the family labradopes would search out these slippers for biters.if you have never loved a labrador, they are retrievers. nothing is better than carrying around a 'dead duck' in your mouth. since these are family pets, 'dead duck' aka: a biter, is usually a mitten, slipper or same sized object that they carry about.
i stopped to visit today and upon getting out of the car came across this....










the first beloved slipper. it seems that when i was told it was the family favorite, they really meant it. the dogs lug it around, the cat carries it about and here it is decorating the driveway.
it's a good thing she already got her replacement slippers or i would have thought twice! :)

sample delivery

yesterday was delivery day for my samples. with the fiber festival just 4 short weeks away, i wanted robin to have time to play with these and decide how best to display them. to say she was thrilled would be a gross understatement! it was the perfect response for any knitter who has spent time belaboring the pattern choice, needle choice, yarn choice. i was completely unaware that robin is not a crazed knitter. (that would be me :)

i know she knits, i've seen the mittens that she's made. until yesterday i thought she did it easily. well, that is not the case. yes, she knits but she is not completely comfortable with the process. so she opened a bag of magic when she received the samples. here they are in all their glory...

and the final item made from nistock farms sport weight... lace mittens. one done, one to go!

the samples go on

i am absolutely captivated with the 'cascade' baby sweater pattern. when i first chose this pattern it was solely on the cuteness factor. the series of leaves tumbling down the front were just irresistible. then i actually read the pattern and i'll admit that it was daunting. once i started however, it just flowed along. i was sad to come to the end.

completed with the buttons! and my next project? lace mittens!

tags - continued

so, i took my tags to visit amythefibergoddess. she loved them! it is always so much fun to have another person get so enthusiastic about your project. makes you want to run right home and make more.

so, here they are. i used my 'good' paper from stampin'up to craft these. i chose natural, sage green and purple ( per her request) with the star sheep, hill sheep and knitting tags. her plan is to use these to label items in her booth at the fiber festival.

baby sweater #1 is finished. buttons on,a gentle steaming and it is dear.

tags

so, i cleaned the pantry. it was a huge job that has been waiting for a rainy day to be tackled and today was the day. that and the fact that yesterday's shopping adventure at bj's had stuff living on the floor.
i needed a fun task, so we got out all the stamp stuff. well, not all of it but enough to keep us amused for a few hours. i had cut a zillion tags with the die cut a few weeks ago. i can't even say how i got on that kick, must be i needed a tag so why not make enough for a lifetime?
so with the stamps out, i remembered the tags and..... here's what i did.

need to see them closer? on the left is the largest tag, big enough to write a note on the back. on the right are smaller tags that would allow room for your names. perfect activity for a rainy day!

sample knitting

i finished knitting the eyelet baby. as i was telling the yarn owner, this sweater has had quite the adventures. it's been to seabreeze park, several wineries (i didn't let it taste a thing :) two parties and finally found itself done. i took it yesterday to try to find buttons, what a challenge that was. i elected to take my partner to help. we sometimes have different visions, but usually working together come to a consensus that yields a fabulous outcome. well, i wanted to cause bodily harm in the button aisle of joanns. it was painful, but we did find buttons for this little beauty. i'll get it blocked and then stitch them on.

i also started the next item, ~ rustic stripes hat, from the mittens & hats for yarn lovers book. amythefibergoddess had this out from the library and i found several must knits in it. the hat is charming, a perfect example of this bulky weight yarn and was a quick knit started and completed in a day (even with the button fiasco!)

preemie hats

i realized that i never posted my complete quartet of preemie hats. here they are, residing on my wine tree in the garden enjoying some sunshine. the first i made was the purple/blue swirl in the back. i used sock yarn that i found with a coupon at joanns. it is charming how the swirls and colors work so well together. the next i completed was the girlie pink one on the left. again, coupon yarn in shades of pink with some white and green tossed in. since it was pink (and girlie) i made it in an eyelet version. the picture doesn't show it well, but it starts with light pink, moves to the deeper pinks, then ends in the white with green. i decided that i needed to concentrate on smaller sizes. the recommendation was a hat to fit on a lemon. really. so the two lavender hats are tiny and they do fit on a lemon :) on the left is the diamond version and the right is hearts.
i've taken a short hiatus to do my sample knitting, but i think i have to make another set. they were just so dear to knit.