Spring at My House

I spent a happy weekend in the yard planting. It's so nice to see green again. I am slowly working towards a yard full of native plants...one day, I think it would be neat have my yard become a certified wildlife habitat. I did find a dead mouse head in the backyard, but I don't think that counts.

I spent some time Saturday at the nursery with my Grow Green Guide in hand, trying to get a good variety of plants. I came home with an Anacacho Orchid tree (center), verbena, jasmine, a beautiful Coral Drifter rose bush, lavender, and pink salvia. Most of them ended up in our front bed, heavy duty landscaping in the back will have to wait for another season. The tree and the jasmine are back there though, and I really enjoy when the wind blows the jasmine smell my way!

I'm out of the yard and back in the craft room, I'll have more to say about that later.

Wedding Season

 I've been doing a little crafting for my friend's wedding this October. This is the ring bearer's pillow. (Ben is the ring bearer. I can't wait to see him in a tiny tux!) The project idea came from The DIY Bride.

 We made some modifications to the original concept, such as using silk flowers instead of real ones. Also, the original is all stephanotis flowers. Her pillow is mostly cream Phalaenopsis orchids, with the spaces filled in with small white hyacinth flowers. I think the result is so pretty! It's frilly and girly, yet still modern and elegant.

The rings, by the way, are mine and will mostly likely be the only real rings this pillow will hold. There's no way I'm going to trust my almost two year old with theirs!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

"May the road rise up to meet, may the wind always be at your back, may the sun shine gently upon your face, may the rain fall softly on your fields..." - Irish Blessing

There has been more yarn dyeing afoot! This is just one of many skeins my friend and I colored last weekend. It's a sock blank from Knit Picks, dyed in a gradient using teal dye.  The darkest end turned out almost shamrock green, while the lightest end is a happy aqua.
The blank is actually two separate stands, so when you knit with it, you will have identical socks. I am planning on making them into Kalajoki socks .

The warmer weather has my thoughts turning to sewing and doll making, so the socks may have to wait.

Hand-Dyed Yarn

 

The other day, I spent a happy nap time in the kitchen with steaming pots of vinegar water, yarn, and dye. I haven't dyed yarns in years (some previous attempts here and here), so I refreshed my memory of the process with a few tutorials and then jumped right in.

 As everyone knows by now, I love making a mess. Dyeing your own yarn is a great way to make a mess. I suggest gloves at the very least, but a full body hazmat suit wouldn't be overboard. I got dye everywhere. Luckily it came out of my jeans, off the floor, and didn't stain the counters. The trick is to get it up quick before it sets.

Anyway, this round was done with food grade dyes on a bulky 100% wool single-ply base yarn. All of these little skeins are destined to become doll hair. Fairy doll hair.

Aren't my pictures nice? I rigged up a tiny home photo studio for about 10 dollars and 20 minutes worth of time. As you can see though the window, there was almost no natural light to be had that day. Ha, mother nature! I got good shots anyway. The how-to for the photo light box is here.

Nekkid No More - Sewing Machine Cover

My new sewing machine (a Singer 4423) is awesome. It was my big Christmas gift this year and I've really enjoyed using it. The only downside is that it came with a less than attractive plastic cover.

I remedied that today with this super simple project. Before I made this sewing machine cover, I looked up a few tutorials but in the end I just measured it, sketched up a rough idea of what each piece should look like and stitched it up. I wasn't able to complete it in one sitting but I would estimate I spent about an hour total.

My sister taught me how to make these easy and cute roses from felt last year. I used up-cycled felted sweaters for both the roses and the leaves, but any felt will do. There's a tutorial on how to make them here.

Belated!

It's been a while since I've posted, though not for lack of subject matter. I just hate this time of year. It's bone chillingly cold, everyone is sick, and the skies are grey more often than not. I have been hunkered down, waiting for spring.

I do have some bright spots of color to share now. We had a laid-back Valentine's Day. My husband came home for lunch (seeing him mid-day is always a treat!) and we splurged on these awesome coffee mugs. And of course, there were roses.

This one goes beautifully with my new purple kitchen walls.

See the double center?

These long late winter nights have been filled with making of various kinds. I have knitted my first successful sweater! I wore it to mom's night out and no one even asked me if I made it. I count this as a huge compliment, because it looks so good people must have thought it was commercially made. Unfortunately, I have yet to get a great picture of it. This one will have to do instead.

Pattern: Idlewood
Yarn: Berrocco Peruvia in Abusar
Needles: 11 and 10

It is so flattering and comfortable. It has also restored my faith in my ability to knit garments.

It hasn't all been knitting here, either. Here is the first doll of 2011.

He is made from a new pattern I designed and a sweet 9" tall. His jammy pants are upcycled from an old button down and his shirt is flannel. I'm not 100% happy with his shirt, but overall I love him and plan on making some more. There are a lot of things happening in the doll department but they're not quite ready to be announced yet. Stay tuned...

Hello 2011!

2010 went by so fast that I never got used to writing the date. December '09? Oh, wait, oops. I hope this next year feels more leisurely. I have some big plans and some small goals - get the house decorated more to my liking, get some muscle tone, and maybe get my little crafty business officially started.

Anyway, back in the old '10, I knit a scarf that I have been affectionately calling my buttered kittens scarf. No worries, neither kittens nor butter were harmed in its creation but an alpaca or two might have been a inconvenienced. Wanna see it?

 

Pattern: Big Lace Scarf from More Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky, color 562 (2 skeins)

Needles: size 15 (which makes me feel like I'm knitting with someone else's arms!)

Rarely will I buy the whole book for just one pattern, but the yarn was such a perfect match and I enjoyed the first Last Minute Knitted Gifts so much, it had to be done. It also looks quite nice with my heathered gray winter coat.

Santa was good to me this year and many of my crafting dreams came true, including a new sewing machine! Let the 2011 creations commence!