Etsy Shop Update

It's there!

You're All My Favorites

If you have been reading for awhile, you have heard me mention my friend Carla. Also know as Blogless Carla, to explain why there is no link.

It regularly astounds me that I have met and made such a friend just because both of us frequent the same LYS. She has been by my side cheerleading me through the past several months of starting this yarn selling business, and I run most of my ideas past her.

We've met at the grocery store for emergency yarn exchanges. Yah, THAT kind of friend.

She makes these:


They are little sweater ornaments. Look closely, see the little hangers! She makes them from left over sock yarn.



She made most of these from leftover Sophie's Toes.



I love them so much I could almost sleep with them on my pillow.



The kids love them so much too. Looking at them. Sorting them. Picking favorites. Petting them. So small, so cute.

I had to hide them.



I am going to put them on my tiny kitchen Christmas tree. So I can wash dishes and look at them. When I get the tree up (after the exploding-volcano-cake-birthday-party this weekend), I will show them again, on the tree.

Here is the pattern.

Thank you Carla! You rock!

It's a Bootie

A few of you smart cookies knew it was a bootie. Here you can see it growing...


And here they are done!

Photographed outside on our beautiful Thanksgiving morning and gifted to my B and SIL over the weekend.

I will definitly have more to say on the bootie pattern in upcoming months, as it is a favorite of mine. It's the Stay Put Baby Bootie, from Knitting for Baby, by Melanie Falick. Love that book.
Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn, color Robin Egg. I weighed the pair and they are 20gms. So you could get 5 pair out of one skein. (Or probably 2 pair and 2 newborn hats, if you weren't quite the bootie-knitting-machine.)

I finished the quilt, too.

And I'm very happy with it. Cheerful City. Just what the doctor ordered. Now if we could only get the baby to come out. My poor SIL started having contractions last Wednesday morning, on her due date. By evening they were just a few minutes apart and by midnight they were at the hospital. But apparently, they weren't strong enough (the contractions). So she was sent home. She's been to the hospital again later that week, and sent home again. Still having the contractions all week.

I haven't had an update in a couple of days, and I'm afraid to ask. Let's all send some good karma down that way and get that baby out!









I made this quilt with no templates, and no measuring. Just cutting some strips by eyeballing the width, and sewing them crooked-ly.

I have had several questions over the past few weeks both in the comments and in e-mail, and I'm sorry I've been so slow to answer. If you have asked a question, I intend to answer it! I have a yarn update on Thursday, a Santa Breakfast to work on Saturday and a Very Important Seven Year Old Boy Birthday to orchestrate on Sunday.

Then I will get organized!

Any suggestions having to do with a volcano/dinosaur/gooey/slime/gross cake would be greatly appreciated. Ok, maybe not the slime.

The Babies Are Coming!

All of a sudden babies are popping into my life all over the place. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, and even a teacher.

I have a very good friend and a sister in law that I planned to give big gifts to, and I asked them if they wanted something knitted or quilted. They both said quilted.

This baby quilt is for my friend who already had her baby (gulp--six weeks ago. I'm such a bad friend.) She wanted yellow and mint green.


(Photographing projects at 11pm does not do them justice.)



Current stage of completion: basted and ready for quilting.


Yes, I basted with straight pins. Lazy girl.


The other one is for my SIL and she requested primary colors. This baby hasn't been born yet. It is due tomorrow. (I'm going to be an auntie for the first time!!!!!)

I had such a feeling of responsibility as to finishing the first one first--doing them in order--but the first one will have to be sent to NYC, wheras my little nephew will be born this week, and I hope to see them over Thanksgiving, so I could give it to them in person.


So I go back and forth between the two quilts, hoping to get them both done before Wednesday.


Oh yeah, that's tomorrow. Oops.


And then there's this:

Hey.. what's THAT gonna be?

Mom Make-Over

Mom Make-Over does not refer to me. It is about my mom. Grandma. "Sandy". AKA "Sandy-Mom" (or sometimes even "Grandy-Mom").

Meet my mom.


My mom came up last week for the quilt show,


(additional gratuitous photo of my quilts at the show)


...and she stayed several more days to help me get organized. Which means, mom watches the kids while I tackle enormous, overly-ambitious home rennovation projects, and she cheerleads me all the way. My mom rocks.

And when she gets a little break from the kids, I can find her on her hands and knees scrubbing my bathroom floor. She's got my German-farmer-grandparent's work ethic, yes she does.

I love my mom.

And now, devilish daughter that I am, I'm going to poke fun at her.

She has this little style "quirk" that has been driving my sister and I crazy. She gets cold, and insists on wearing a cloth diaper (I use them as dish towels) around her neck like a scarf. Take a look at that top picture again. Yes. It's a diaper.

And here she is, gasp, wearing it in public!


This is all I can say about the cloth-diaper-as-scarf look:

(That's L for "loser" for any of you in foreign countries not familiar with American slang.)

I told her that under no circumstances would she wear a diaper to the quilt show. I gave her my blue Koigu scarf:

Doesn't she look dapper?!

And here's another look we tried, my Diamond Fantasy Shawl:

Gorgeous!?!

I think I convinced her, in fact, at one point I was so sure I had lured her away from the dark (diaper) side that I was a little afraid the DFS might be going home in her suitcase.

I begged and pleaded with her to help me out with some specific ideas of size, shape, and color. I hinted about Christmas. But all I got was "oh, honey, you're so busy".

I showed her this, offered another of these, or perhaps a smaller version of my this. I was relentless. I wore her down. Finally, after several rounds through the Scarf Style and Wrap Style books, I think we have settled on the "Shoulder Cozy" from Wrap Style.

I'd still like to make her something lacey. I still think she'd look awesome in the Flared Lace Smoke Ring. I might have to make one for myself so she can try it on and see.

Oh, the sacrifice.

Much News

1. Dulaan Knit In Last Weekend.

Had a great time with blogless Jodee. Met great new people. Saw great old (as in, previously-met) people. Made a hat!

Used Bonne Marie's pattern. (except I forgot the purl row in the beginning so it has the roll brim, but I think the recipient won't mind). I double stranded worsted weight yarn and used the denim throughout, and changed the other color every 10 rows or so, until I got to the top where I made it solid navy.

Franklin is just one outstanding human being. So witty, charming, talented, kind, sarcastic, humble, and maybe a little bit shy (?)--all rolled up in one unique person. He did such a great job organizing the event, and fun was had by all. Not to mention some seriously productive knitting for a very worthy cause. Thank you Franklin!

2. Finished the quilt.

Un-cropped and un-edited picture of not quilt finished (the binding isn't sewn down) quilt on my design wall. All the quilts were hung today by the other members of the CSOF (that's the Chicago School of Fusing). We have a special exhibit at the Greater Chicago Quilt Exposition in Schaumburg this weekend. A few of you commented that you might be there. Sorry, I am behind on all of my comments and e-mails, but I'll be there on Friday and Saturday, so if you see me please say hi! I would love to meet a few readers.

3. On the TV. I know this is short notice, but it really snuck up on me. The other episode of DIY that we taped last June airs tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10:30 EST. (That's 9:30 for us Chicago folks.) I really loved the little project that I did for this episode! Set those Tivos tonight!

4. Shop Update. Also tomorrow. I've dyed heavier on the monochromatic colors this time, in case people are itching to start a shawl. I've started one!

And check out Jan's gorgeous Flower Basket shawl in Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn.

One skein would make a small shawl or scarf, and two would make most medium or large shawls.

5. Other Knitting Has Been Taking Place.

Updates on that shortly.

Whew. That's a lot. I'll leave you with some close ups of the finished quilt "Red Poppies".

Go Go Go!

Thank you for your sweet comments about the kid's picts. I actually gave some serious thought last year to making our Christmas card a collage of the "bloopers".

I do love the fun expressions on their faces when things aren't going exactly as mommy planned. I had too much on my plate last year and didn't end up sending out any cards. Ok, maybe this year.

But wait, what am I doing? The quilt deadline is tomorrow so there's no time for idle chit chat!


Quilt, girl, quilt!

October Roundup

The crown turned out great.

Crepe paper crown from Alterknits, by Leigh Radford. One "skein" crepe paper in light pink.

I must have demonstrated my aptitude with a glue gun, because at one point during trick or treating, my daughter was getting frustrated with her crown being tied too loose and falling down into her face and she said "Mom! You need to glue-gun this thing to my head!"

So my baby is two years old and I do not have a single picture of the three of them together looking at the camera and smiling. Feeling determined, I set off for the park on Monday, our last day of nice weather, to get pictures of them in their pumpkin hats. (The older one won't wear his anymore--I had to bribe him.)

This is the best of the bunch.

I must've taken 100 pictures. Most of them looked like this:


or this:


or even this:


Can you tell that knitting has taken a back seat this month? If you want a Socktoberfest update, this is all I have to offer: