back tack practice

With Back Tack three officially underway, I decided that a little practice was in order - so i made this little lady. K. is so excited about the kitty, she wasn't completely sewed up before he went down for his nap, but i promised him that when he woke up she would be ready to play with. And so she is. she is also a 'use what you have' project as everything is from my various stashes.


Things will change a bit for my final project. i have some fabric ideas and ideas about this pattern that i think i will explore.

In other news - outdoor climbing season is upon us again. here are some shots from Friday's beautiful morning. We were the only folks out there, just us and this garter snake(he's much smaller than this picture suggests, i used the macro setting):


Here's a shot from the top of our local crag, no leaves out yet but the buds are breaking and the first spring flowers are beginning to emerge:

One Skein Baby Hat and Soapmaking

Here is my first FO from the One Skein book. It's the little baby hat done in newborn size, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, size 3.5mm needles. It's quite sweet. The detailed bits remind me of seashells, this would be nice in a pale peach or ice blue color - but as it's 'use what you have' month, I used this puce color from my stash. It only took about .333 of the skein. Any ideas what to do with the rest of the skein?

Knitting on the tiny needles was a bit fiddly, but overall went quickly.
tonight's project is a pot of soap. see above, that's what a pot of soap just getting started looks like. lumpy and fatty. i'm making Lemint soap tonight per my husband's request. That's Lemon-Mint soap to the rest of the world.

Back Tack III

I got into Back Tack 3! Signups were last week and they were only taking the first 100 people who emailed. Back Tack II looked so cool, and I watched as people put together these incredible projects and shared them around the world. How could I not want to participate in that?

There are somewhat rigorous guidelines, which I think will make it much more fun. I don't think I want to do the Wee Bunny, but the Wee Kitty might be an option or there are some cool knitted patterns. i think i want to combine sewing and knitting somehow, and i have some ideas in my head. with a good enough start i should be able to flesh them out.

I'm sending to Priscilla. Who has a nifty looking blog and looks to be very talented with the needles.

Amapolola - who seems to be very interested in birding, will be sending to me. She has some lovely stuffies on her blog.

On my needles is the wee baby hat from this book:
it's coming out much nicer than the ones in their picture. I'm using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino and tiny little needles. Should be done later tonight, so come back for more pics later this week.

At first I wasn't thrilled with this book, but it wasn't that expensive and there are several projects that I think I want to do as well as some cable projects that I'd like to try my hand at. The patterns aren't necessarily 'easy', which I like so actually it's probably a good book for my current knitting status. I want to do the cable footies, love the cable hat and the baby bolero. I have some of the organic cotton that they specify and know of a new baby about to be born, so that might be next.

mandy

whip up

There's this crafty competition underway, Whip Up, which seems really cool and just started last week. I wasn't able to participate due to being gone for the weekend, but i hope to be able to contribute in future weeks.

Last weeks theme was 'Everyday Creativity'. It's interesting to see how widely that is interpreted. Some of the entries are really cool. Check out my favorites:

Knitted coffee cup cozy
Egg Planter Buddies
origami vultures - a nice diversion from the normal sort of origami

wee bunnies

done in time for easter! when i saw this pattern at Wee Wonderfuls - i knew that I had to make a few for our first easter decorations. (not our first easter, merely the first time i felt inspired to decorate.)

The smirking yellow guy is made from Marimekko fabric and a flannel receiving blanket that I had on hand. Mr. Pink & Blue comes from some fabric that I traded some of my yarn stash for. It was a great trade, this mama has good taste in fabric. I want to do one of the Wee Kitties with some vintage fabric from another trade.