All Laid Out

I've been working on a modern quilt on and off for a few months. I got some pre-cut fabric packs for Christmas (the triangles and the 2.5" strips). All the prints are floral, so I picked out the most graphic, modern ones because it's for Ben. Since most of the prints are rather small, using all of them would have looked to busy for the effect I was going for. I am quite pleased with how it looks laid out, but I'm worried about some of the slightly wonkier blocks.

Ben "helps" me sometimes. He's actually really happy to sit and take the pins out of the finished strips and put them in the pincushion. He knows the quilt is for him and he even picked out a fat quarter of extra fabric and demanded it be included. It was black and white, who was I to argue?

Warmer weather always makes me want to drop my knitting and sew. I ordered the Loulouthi Morning Quilt bundle today. Aren't the colors and prints so happy? The plan is to make it for our bed.

You can find the free pattern at Stitched in Color.

Easter Bunnies

Pattern: Anything Animals(free!)
Yarn: Worsted weight scraps
Needles: 6

These little guys are even cuter in person! I made them for Ben and a friend's Easter baskets. They are quick, fun, and a little addictive...so quick that there's still time to make one or two before Easter. If rabbits aren't your thing, the pattern has instructions for making various kinds of ears or hair to create whatever creature you desire.

The tutu was my own adaptation.
To make the tutu, knit 7 rows in the shirt color in stockinette, then knit a row on the purl side. This will give you purl bumps on the right side.
Continue knitting the body per the pattern. (I switched to the tutu color at this point.)
When the body is completed, use a crochet hook to attach the yarn through one purl bump on the left side of the body.
Chain 5, then slip sts through the 3rd purl bump. Chain 5 again, and slip sts through the 5th purl bump. Continue to chain 5 and attach to every other purl bump all the way across and tie off.
I knit the legs in the same colors as well to give the appearance of stockings.

I didn't get a picture of it, but they also have little pom pom tails in the back.

Happy Spring knitting!

Sweet Gift

One of the lovely gifts I got for my birthday this year was a "party in a box" from my sister. I love getting boxes of fun stuff in the mail and I think this is such a thoughtful gift. There was a sneak preview CD from her band, a handwritten and water-colored recipe for vanilla buttercream, cupcake wrappers, ribbon, and custom cupcake toppers!

There was also a sweet birthday banner and bunting. Just add friends, and you have a party!

In addition to being an awesome sister and gift-giver, she is an excellent musician. She contributes her talents to various bands and she is currently raising funds via Kickstarter to record an album with Envelope Peasant and the Scientific Orchestra . Check them out, you need some new music in your life!

Matchy-Matchy

My new pot of miniature roses and my birthday pedicure are so on trend, aren't they? My Knockout Coral Drifters I planted last spring aren't blooming yet, so I'm happy to have these little grocery store wonders by my back door. The insane color of the blooms and the dark green of the leaves gets me every time.
I'm also anxiously awaiting a bud or bloom on the more lady-like Belinda's Dream rose I got for Mother's day last year. It was a tough summer, but I'm hoping all of this wonderful spring rain will make up for it.
I'm spending my weekend in the backyard. I've got big plans for the desolate flower bed. What are you doing?

Shalom Cardi

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan (free!)
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Royal Llama Linen (discontinued)
Needle: size 8 (I think)



First off, I apologize for the poor photos. It's raining today and even if it wasn't, my camera is getting a bit long in the tooth. Anyway, I am finally calling this one done. I started it way back in June. It's a good pattern and a million people have made it so there's lots of helpful notes on Ravelry. I got the yarn on super sale from Webs some Christmas past. It's beautiful, the pictures don't do the color justice. Llama, linen AND silk, married together in tweedy glory? Awesome.

Except that the yarn screwed me. The glory of the Shalom pattern is that it's easy to customize it to your personal body type. I happen to have a long torso and broad shoulders, so I knit this to accommodate those little features. I so badly wanted this to be the Perfect Cardigan that I ripped out 10 inches (!!!!) at one point because I thought the armholes were too baggy.

So I finally got it right. And like a good little knitter, I blocked it. And disaster struck. It grew. And got really drapey. I thought about ripping it out and doing it again, but I reinforced the button holes (so badly hoping for perfection) and that made it too hard to rip. I literally threw the damn thing into the closet.

Then some helpful and more fashionable friends said it wasn't a total loss if I put a belt with it. So I bought a belt and did a single crochet around the neckline to make it less baggy and ta-da! not a total loss. Such is life and knitting.

In other news, a pair of cardinals have been gracing my bird feeder lately. Aren't they sweet?

PLaydough Color Surprise Activity

I think you either love or hate playdough as a parent. I love it. It offers hours of endless, open, independent play. I extended the activity by adding an element of surprise. Here's how:

Make some natural-colored playdough. I use this recipe:
~ in a large sauce pan, mix together 2 c plain flour, 2 cups of water, 1 tbs of cooking oil, 1 tsp of cream of tartar and 1 c of salt. Stir over medium high heat until thick and dough-y. Remove form heat and let cool.

When the dough is cool enough to handle, divide it up into small balls (I would guess about the size of a lime.) Put a dent in each ball with your thumb and fill with a few drops of food coloring. Pinch the dough closed over the food coloring, careful not to squeeze it out. Let sit 5-10 minutes for the food coloring to slightly absorb.

Hand over the dough balls to your little ones and encourage them to knead them around. The color with slowly work its way out, marbling the dough and eventually becoming all one color.

This is a great way to build hand strength, especially if you make the balls too large - you'll be the one working those muscles while your toddler repeats over and over, "What color, Mommy?"

My Guy

A little while back, Ben and I collaborated on a guy for him. Not a doll, or a baby, but a guy. His name is "My Guy" in fact. He's bigger and heavier than the other dolls I've made, standing about 16" tall. Ben picked out the fabric for the clothes, the button on the shirt (he loves buttons) and the color of his "hair". My Guy was supposed to have blue hair, but Ben liked the crocheted wig cap so much as a hat, I just left it as is.

My Guy is currently in the closet because Ben has zero interest in him now that the sewing portion is done. That's ok. We passed several pleasant afternoons sorting buttons and sewing together. He's old enough now to sit on my lap with his hands on mine and sew. He loves all things machine, so my big grey heavy duty Singer machine is way more interesting than a doll. Or guy. I let him do the reverse button and turn the wheel. The other day, I took it apart to clean and oil it and he thought that was pretty awesome. We're currently making a quilt together.