A few finished things.

This week was a busy one, and boy did it go fast. I am a bit at a loss for what to say so this will not be a long post.
I was a lucky gal and my husband bought me some lovely beads when we took a day trip to Granville Island this summer.

It was wonderful of him.... and I promised that I would use them up.
So I did. Yay!

I am wearing the amethyst ones right now. Thank you Husband! Seriously they make me smile, just being done.
Also completed this morning a new cowl for my Dad, I used a Knit Picks alpaca blend in a light grey. It's just drying,and I have to tack in the ends, but other than that complete! Not a really exciting photo ad it's not a real pattern per se....so no photo.
Also completed this week are the baby burp cloths....
You may recall.

All done. Yay. Sorry for the post short on words..... long on photos. Hope you had a great week and I hope I can be inspired to write a more interesting post this week.

Been busy!

Hey gang.
I have been busy, but sadly absent from this blog community.
Sorry about that... I just always sit at the computer and get sucked into other kinds of stuff (like pintrest........ don't judge me)

Let's see what I have to report.
I spent an afternoon a few weeks ago getting a pile of baby burp cloths ready for sewing. Turns out that we have to prep for a new family member from both sides, as well as several family friends....

so I got prepared. They are cut, paired and ready to sew up. Now all I have to do is get my kitchen table cleared off! 

I picked up a new, larger cutting mat with one of the famous 40% off coupons from a well known big box and it worked out really well. as you can see from the variety of fabrics, I have anticipated both genders. In some cases families find out the sex and in others.... we wait.

In addition I was dealing with the last of the summer berries.

I picked enough blackberries just down the street from our home, to fill two large freezer bags. It really is nice to live so near farmland. 

There were other things going on during weekends of course...... the Yarn Harvest was two weeks ago and I really should show you what I picked up as my gals and I toured the local yarn shops...... yes, must get that stuff photographed!

Husband and I are trying to get a creative studio set up in our second bedroom, and we have been pulling out the carpet to allow us to be a bit dirty back there. I have been consolidating my fabric, yarn ans craft projects as much as I can so they are reasonably easy to move around and store if we need to put them in the attic or under the stairs while we move things. It will be great, I can get my pottery wheel up and we can organize the leather working area too. 

Did I mention pintrest? Yes...... I may not be on social media. But pintrest grabbed me. Dang it...... so much to see. Drop me a line if you want to link up..... I'd love to see your boards. Okay, I have stuff going on behind me so I will end here and drop in for another post later. :) Happy crafting!

The First month is done!

Today I was home with my puppy...... well he's three. Not really a puppy anymore. He has pink eye and as much as that is trivial in a human..... stopping a dog from scratching his eye without putting him in a cone of shame all day is hard. Why not put him in the cone? He doesn't move. No walking, no drinking, no lying down, no treat eating,  none of the above. Just forlorn looks, rigid posture and after he realizes that you intend for him to wear it a while, incessant whining. Keeps us from using it overnight, let alone all day while we are at work. Too much stress for him and me! 

So I was home from work medicating his eye and supervising so he doesn't make the bleeding or current scratches worse. Needless to day it's not a day to be getting into anything that you can't put down. So I did TONS of laundry, changed bed sheets, got dishes done and out of the way; you know that productive household stuff that can get put off on the weekend. I also decided to make my dog a durable (in my estimation) kennel mat.

I used some old jeans that my hubby wore through and a duvet cover I never use because I detest it.

Measured the kennel. Brand noted, I have no way to erase it, sorry. You can see that the towel inside is in need of replacing.......

Next I cut the flannel duvet cover and pieces of the jeans to dimensions that would work. Of course the jeans have to be a patchwork idea, no part of my husband is big enough to cover 21x30" lol.

I did not take any photos of the sewing as I do not have a tidy sewing space, I will work on that. The marks you can see indicate the side that is to be sewn first. It didn't take very long, a fresh needle in the machine and things happened fast.

I have not quilted it... I want to make sure that it will outlast some dog wear and tear before I make him something with alot of work in it. Hopefully I will have a positive report when his eye is better and we can leave him alone again.......... gotta buy dog food somehow!

Hope you like, comments or lurking always welcome!

Plans for the Dog

He looks so forlorn. Poor Sam, I made him a jacket.

Before Christmas I pulled out some fleece and did something I have been meaning to get to for a while. I made my dog a new jacket. To some this may sound ridiculous, or crazy. "But why would a dog that size need a jacket" or "You didn't knit him a sweater?"
To answer these unspoken but possibly considered responses; my dog Sam is a German Short haired Pointer they are a good sized dog, but lean. In Sam's case quite lean, we can't seem to get much fat on that little body. So he, hates to get wet, loves the snow and really can get cold. Knitting him a sweater is something I may consider once I finish my goals this year (another post to come). Right now I just want  a sweater for me done! LOL

Anyhow, the jacket we purchased for him is too small this year. He may be lean, but he has a broader chest than he did at 1 year old. I found a pattern in a fleece sewing book that I thought was genius. Then I cut it out....

and realised quite quickly that with his lean little frame, Sam would swim in it!So I modified it very heavily using the old jacket as a base. Snaps along the little base strap and Velcro and snaps to the front, and Voila!

This okay jacket that I know I can make work for my dog better. There are a few things about this jacket that I don't really like, so when I have made a superior jacket I will share how I did it with you. I learn best when I make mistakes. That is why knitting is such a good hobby for me. I am on the third incarnation of fingerless gloves for my husband! Hope these ones are the winners!
I mentioned above that I finally mad a bit of time to sit down and consider goals for this new year. I have 12. I will post about that when I have considered how to word that post. I think this week. I have somethings going on, but I really want to share it. Hope your crafting is going well this week. I know someone who has committed to finish over 100 projects this year! Go Toni! I have committed to 100 balls of yarn used up for sure, but other than that.... next post! I swear! LOL 

Back again

So here I am ready to give a better update than the previous post.

I will start with my completed pumpkins.... cute litte guys eh, bet you can guess when I started these little babies..... around the Halloween swap! LOL Oh well, they have been waiting to be stuffed for ages and now they are put together and getting rave reviews!

My new pair of socks is so close to being off the needles, if I just stopped typing, I could have them done and photographed, and up her in about 15 min..... but I will block them first and then show them off. Here is an update photo however... I think the colours are working quite nicely!
Speaking of blocked socks, here are the first pair from the hand-dyed yarn..... on my homemade blockers LOL !! So cute!

I also have to get ready for the next pair of socks.... for a friend who live a ways away, they will be a suprise. I am planning on making a pair for her husband too. His will be boring black, with maybe a stripe of her yarn in it. Her sock yarn is truly a marvelous thing!
Nice huh, it's called Panda Yarn and it is a bamboo superwash mix. Dyed by the same shop owner who created my teal sock blend. She is pretty good eh? I am pretty excited to get these knit up, it's a "Christmas" gift. We don't really exchange holiday gifts, but we like to send care packages every once in a while LOL.

And last but not least, the Skull scarf for my good friend James. This IS a late Christmas present, but it is double knit, and I am improvising the pattern, so it's slower going than I would like! Any way, here is a nice shot of it.

I finally managed to get most of my Christmas gifts done. James and Tiztianna are left. The project that I am making for Titzianna is a black and red Star Scarf.... she will totally rock it, I can see it now!

Can you imagine, I started on the wrong things in September, so I never got enough ahead in my Christmas knitting! Dang! LOL Oh well, live and learn!

So gang..... there you have it. I have even posted all my UFO's in Ravelry.... so I can't get away with not finishing them...... they will haunt me every time I am in there. This last picture is of some sock yarn from the same source as the teal and the blue bamboo mix. This will be aother pair of socks for me, as soon as I am good enough to get all the little thing that are haunting me off my plate! I am so in cleanup mode! The DF and I are looking at moving, as I mentioned so I am taking the oppurtunity to pack up my things as best as I can..... at least what I am not using. LOL I will have some sewing to share with you next time I post.... the other things that I have to finish! aack! LOL Thanks for stopping by!