cabled footie

Cabled footie from One Skein in lettuce Malabrigio. I finished this around halloween, but was hoping to have it's friend done before posting. Alas. So this is a process/progress post. This is one of those little milestone projects - first cables and first sock-like project. The cables were a piece of cake and pretty fun and interesting, I can see why knitters like them. It's so satisfying to see the twisting pattern come alive. The sock thing was fun too, very portable and the rows go round real quick. not sure i'm ready to pull out the size 1 needles though.

Here's the other process in progress. Lots of piles. The holiday season was pretty busy for the soap business last year, and I'm hoping that this year is similar. Though my intentions were to make piles and piles of soap - it didn't quite happen that way. It's likely that I'll run out of most of the varieties before the madness is over. I don't just sell soap, but lotions and salts and things. So, I'm trying to make them up a head of time so that i'm not killing myself trying to get all the orders out. And on top of the regular preparations I wanted to try some new things like tissue covers and sample sets and new recipes and and and and...

On December 9th I do my first craft show, so I'm trying hard to have enough things on hand and think of a way to set it up and make everything look good. I can't wait to get this one under my belt and see if it was successful or fun and something to continue to do in the future.

let's catch up...

it's been over two weeks since my last post, though my blog has been quiet my life has been rather busy. the good news is that the major outside work projects have been realized and are done for this year. the bad news is that now i'm going to need to ramp up the soap biz and get ready for my first craft shows. there's lots to do for the bike shop as well. so, although i've successfully come through in one way, there still won't be any rest until the holidays.

the conference that i've just returned from features several costume parties. after having endured endless teasing when a board member blindly stumbled onto this post and then finding the pattern for this - my costume became clear. It had to include an awesome knitted component. Princess Leia's hair knit up quickly in Lamb's Pride Bulky - double stranded. In fact, the buns were finished in my hotel room and are stuffed with tissue from the room. When I get a chance I'll add some more pictures, it's a fabulous pattern.

knitting break

First - it's halloween time and last night there was a party for the preschool kiddies which meant that K needed a costume. He was going to go as Kurt Cobain, but I had trimmed his hair a bit last week and it just didn't seem like it was going to work anymore. So, I asked the three year old what he wanted to be for halloween and he said 'a ghost'. So yesterday I cut up our only white sheet into a ghost costume and there you have it. There were a lot of kids at this party. Nearly every boy was a dinosaur in the same fuzzy costume. Or a superhero or a pirate. Nearly every girl was a princess or a fairy. The coolest costumes were a little girl dressed as a lego and a little baby all wrapped up in gauze as a mummy.

my right wrist has been giving me some carpel tunnel type pain lately, especially when knitting or using the scroll wheel on the mouse. so this past week i've been taking a bit of a knitting break and trying my hardest not to use that darn wheel. life has been wicked busy, so in a way it's been nice to kick back at the end of the day and do nothing.

well, nothing is a bit of an overstatement. i've been collecting fabric and trying to pick up sewing again. my mom taught me when i was in my teens and at that time i hated the meticulous nature of sewing. i hated the constant ironing of the seams - especially since the sewing machine lived in the basement and the iron was on the second floor. that's a lot of up and down. so anyway, i didn't sew again until the past year when i started to make the wool sachets for Hug-a-dub-dub. lately i've been watching all the cool projects in blog world as well as project runway - and just getting the itch to do a little sewing myself. i bought the book Sew-U to help me get started as well as tackling some little projects.


Today I finished up this cute little zippered pouch inspired from this tutorial. it's actually my second try - the first i sewed so close to the zipper that it didn't work, i'm still trying to rip that one apart.
Here's a little peak into my workspace. it's in our basement, but we do have a walkout basement with some lovely windows. It's a constant battle to keep this space organized - as you can see, mostly a losing battle. I'd like to add one more window and more shelves and cubbies and things to use the space more efficiently. Behind this table is a big piece of carpet with a monster train set up so my son can crash Thomas while I fiddle with craftly things.

the sampler

perhaps you've heard ofThe Sampler? It's a nifty subscription service that sends out a monthly package of little sample goodies. I'd seen it, and wanted to get it - but finances being what they are I had to wait until I could get my act together to be a contributor. Last month 100 little soap samples and little postcards went over to The Sampler. As a bonus, contributors actually get a package and mine came today.

Here are some of the cool things:
Remnant - sent a pony tail elastic with cool recycled sweater flower detail.
Starchild Crafts - included a cool fabric cuff
SBS Teas - sell tea ( a favorite thing of mine) and sent an emergency tea kit that I can't wait to try.
Papered Together - sent a super cute letterpress card with a giraffe. Check out the holiday cards on their website - I want them!

So, the question on mine and other crafty business owners - is this worth the time, effort and money to send stuff into the sampler. Will I buy anything? Hard to say as right now is not a good money time for us. But I'd like to buy this ID holder from Remnant Clothing and the holiday cards mentioned above. Copacetique included a little zipper pull, I've bought from them in the past and this reinforces my happy experience with them. Their promo piece was a cute postcard suitable for mailing. So, I think that there is some value. I will definitely revisit these items and business cards if I get the freedom to spend.

The second question, how did my samples compare to the other bath and body? I've figured it out - everybody (and I mean everybody) makes soaps and things and it's very challenging to stand out. There were two bath and body samples in my package. Prairieland Herbs packaged theirs very similar to mine - in a little ziplock style baggie with label. Kristine's Shower sent a sample of lotion, a promo card and a little bar of soap that was nicely wrapped (though the flavor was not noted). I think that my soaps were nicely packaged - the label is large and centered and colorful. However, I should have indicated on the actual sample packaging that there is a special discount for Sampler recipients. It also would have been nice to attach a header card with more info and other things available.

The samples that I received are all scented with fragrance oils, and personally I can't stand fragrance oils. They just smell fake, and being cooped up in an evelope with other fragrance oils, now they smell muddy and confused on top of fake. This is probably where my soaps stand out - they'll never smell fake because I can't bear to use fake fragrance. But I'll also be limited to the more affordable essential oils and natural ingredients.

Thanks Sampler! I think I'll contribute again and see if my realizations about sample preparedness can improve the chances of getting some orders from all of this.

Tea Swap has Arrived!

so, it turns out that the Knitters Tea Swap is the best swap going. I came home last night to find a large box had arrived in the mail. Now, I was expecting a large box from UPS filled with birthday presents for the boy, but the second box was a mystery and it was addressed to me - not the birthday boy. then i saw the address label and saw that it was from my swap partner and I couldn't hardly believe that I would get something in that large of a box.

things were really going my way, and i had 15 minutes of time all alone in the house in which to open this up. all alone. no sharing or explaining to do. and look at what was inside that box:
I'll break it down for you:

• Yarn treat - two skeins of lovely Patons SWS - soy wool stripe in my favorite colors. It feels a bit similar to the bamboo that i just used for Clapotis and i think it might make a lovely scarf for winter.
  
• 
• Tea Treat - all sorts of teas from Sip for the Cure, to samples from her favorite shop, a box of lady grey (perfect for my office stash!) and a bag of loose Rosebud tea. which i'm testing out as i type...
  
• 
• The treat for eating was a lovely box of cookies with jam in the center.
• then there was still more! Two yummy candles
• a coloring book and crayons for the boy
• very thoughtful breast self-exam information as September is Breast Cancer Awareness month
  
• and best of all -- a holder for my circular needles, which i was in desperate need of

A big thank you to my pal who really made an extra-super-special effort. Thank you!

Whiplash - Knitted Faux Bead Necklace

My entry for this month's Whiplash competition is a simple knitted bead necklace. Anyone with basic knitting skills and a set of double-pointed needles can craft this. Be irreverent and knit one for your next formal occaision. Make a few for a child's dress-up box. Can you say 'Mardi Gras Party'?




Most people don't know that I collect vintage costume jewelry. The color and style of this necklace were inspired by my alternate wedding necklace which was given to me by my Stepmother-inlaw. I ended up wearing white faux pearls, but it was a tough decision.

The Knitted Faux Bead Necklace Pattern:

Yarn: I used Lamb's Pride worsted in a demure pink
Needles: size 6 dpn
Gauge: whatever you'd like

Cast on 3 stitches. Knit I-cord for 4-5 inches.
Begin bead shaping:
Round 1: each stitch, increase one stitch (6 total). Place 2 on each needle.
Round 2: Increase each stitch again (12 stitches)
Round 3: work even
Round 4: *K, M1, K2, M1, K1* repeat around (18 stitches)
Round 5 and 6: work even
Round 7: *K1, K2tog* repeat around (12 stitches)
Round 8: work even
Round 9: K2tog all around (6 stitches)
Round 10: work even

at this point stuff the bead with yarn scraps of a similar color, or polyfil or wool roving.

Round 11: K2tog all around, move all stitches to one needle.

Work 3 rounds of I-cord.

Continue to knit beads, separate each by three rounds of I-cord. I knitted a total of nine beads.

Finish with another 4-5 inches of I-cord. For a clasp, I attached three beads along one of the I-cord ends. The other end I sewed into a small loop, to fit around the bead and allow for an ajustable length.

Finally finished

I hearby declare clapotis finished. All the dropped stitches have been individually teased out. Tons of ends were sewn in and finally the whole thing was washed and blocked. Pre-blocking I felt that it was about 6 inches too short to really do what I wanted with it. But blocking really helped stretch it out to a more appropriate length.


Everything that other knitters have said about this, is absolutely true. This is so wearable. The drape and shape of this piece is amazing. Though I didn't think I'd like it in 'striped', turns out that the heavy colored horizontal stripes nicely balance the vertical lines of dropped stitches and in the end they work well together.

If you haven't knitted this yet, go for it. Go order yourself a big pile of nice yarn. Don't worry about all the stitch markers that the pattern calls for, just purl the stitch that you'll end up dropping. It knits up fairly fast and you'll love the end result.

clapotis almost done!

The knitting on the clapotis is done. However, this bamboo and wool blend does not drop stitches very easily. Basically i have to tease out each and every stitch - which is very time consuming. slowly but surely i guess. it's soft and warm and comfy. my husband thinks it's too big to be a scarf, but isn't sure where to characterize it. does that matter? here's an unfinished photo...


The other thing i've been doing is trying to make a tissue holder for my cloth wipes. i just the tutorial over at Bella Dia and changed the measurements a bit. It took two tries to get it right, but hoo boy - is it cute. it would be great for sticking in the diaper/toy bag for excursions where messiness is bound to happen. i love cloth wipes because they do such a good job, this will be a great way to bring them around.

Roadside America

For anyone that has ever traveled Route 78 west of Allentown, PA - this sign might be familiar. It's on the marquee of a large tan building next to the PA Dutch Gift Barn and features two, larger-than-life statues of Amish folk on a buggy seat. Roadside America is billed as the World's Greatest Miniature Village. Facing an afternoon of nothing particular to do, my father and I took the train obsessed toddler to see the wonders of Roadside America.
You walk into a large room, a walkway surrounds the largest train platform that you've ever seen. Only, it's not so much about the trains as it is about the miniature world. The creater crafted all the buildings and scenes by hand - read more about the history on their official website. See the airport in the middle of the picture above, and the circus parade?

This place has been around forever. I barely remember visiting as a kid - and it's exactly the same. It even smells musty and old. See the indian encampment in the center of the photo above? The miniature power station to the left? On the mountain in the back, cable cars climb up to the resort village and a waterfall pours down.

Here we see a barn raising on the left, and horse and buggies by the old time houses.

A close-up of one of the streets in one of the 'modern' neighborhoods.
Detail on a house. Notice the quilts hanging out of the window for airing.
About every 30 minutes they send everyone (there were five people total while we were there) up to the viewing gallery for the 'Nightime Pageant.' As patriotic music begins to soar, night falls on the miniature world. Lights come on in the little houses and along the streets. Trains and streetcars zoom along the tracks with just their lights to guide them. An airplane begins to circle from the ceiling. On the wall, next to the Statue of Liberty, a projector displays slides of Jesus and Angels and Kate Smith belts out God Bless America at the top of her lungs. Finally, daybreak comes and the lights come up.


All along the display are buttons that you can press. Each button performs a different action - maybe it turns the windmill or runs a streetcar or even milks a cow.

My advice to anyone in the area is to stop and visit this gem before it should go out of business and disappear like so many other roadside treasures.

Camera is Back

Lots to blog about. Today I went on down to Small Dog Electronics (Apple reseller) and picked up a media transfer thinger. my camera still takes photos, it just isn't talking to the computer. so this little thing will read the pictures off the memory card and deposit them nicely in iphoto. For those who are interested, I blog using firefox on my imac G5.


My new hat. the Jester Hat in Auracania nature wool, bulky. Here is the link to the pattern. It's free and it was a quick and fun knit (2 nights of not very intense knitting.) the knitted ball on top was a great idea.

Just a small portion of the carrots from our garden. The vivid colors of fresh carrots are my favorite.

Clapotis in progress. This is SWTC Karoke bamboo/wool yarn and I have to say that I was a little surprised with the stripes. I was anticipating a varigated look, not a striped look - but whatever. we'll see how it turns out when all is said and done. I've started the decrease rows now, so hopefully I'll be finished with it this weekend.

vintage childrens books

Since my camera is out of commission, I thought I'd share a few illustrations from some vintage childrens books that I picked up the other weekend. they were in the freebie pile at the church next to our bike shop - they've been well loved over the years but i loved the illustrations and brought them home.



This book has helpfully labeled itself as 'Educationally Sound' on the cover, so we know that it's alright.



Got to love the evil looking kitten and smug lion. And that wagon, it just makes me so happy!

very sad indeed

my camera is refusing to talk to the computer. or to put it more precisely, is not interested in sharing. the camera is loaded with photos of my cute kid at the Tunbridge Worlds Fair, photos of finished projects and works in progress and photos of my tea to share with the folks at the Knitters Tea Swap. But when connected, the computer tells me 'there are no items to import".

sigh.

i can see them there in the viewer of the camera, just can't share with you.

Finished Tunic

Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple Children's Tunic
Yarn: Treliske Organic Merino in Dark Brown
This was a quick and easy pattern to knit. I made a few simple changes - the biggest is that it's just an open v-neck, no buttons. i also decided not to do the drawstring as i though it would never be used. the trickiest thing was picking up the stitches for the hood, which i did distinctively poorly. Really I should have done this on size 6 needles, not 7's or 8's or whatever size those were. the fabric is just a little too open. but the drape is beautiful, a lovely hand that seems to soften with wear and my little boy is happy to wear it.

Sign-ups are going on for the next round of the Knitters Tea Swap. Out of all the recent organized swaps that I participated in, this and Backtack III were the best. Well, since these are the only swaps where I actually received something in return it isn't saying much. But nevertheless, I like tea. I like yarn. I like treats. This is a good swap for me.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with working full-time, running the soap business, parenting and still trying to find time to pursue other relaxing hobbies. Something will have to give - but I can't give any of these up right now. With holidays and a busy work schedule for the next few months i don't know what is going to happen...

birthday boy

it's the start of birthday

works in progress

we're keeping busy around here. this arrived the other day:hundreds of pounds of soap making and shipping supplies. last year i wasn't prepared for the holiday season and quickly sold out of all of the good stuff. i had thought about making a lot of things in August - it just never happened. this year i would like to do some craft shows with my friend Abby who does jewelry, and i want to have lots of inventory for the holidays, so i'm making lots of soap now.

the handmade paper that i use for soap labels comes from www.paperworks.biz. a fine company that ships very timely and has a gorgeous selection. the website was down in july and i almost had a heart attack, but luckily it came back up even though they closed their retail location.

here's the progress on the Hourglass sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Nothing extrodinary, i got bored. not sure i like the color/handpaintedness of the yarn. something more subtle might have been more to my liking. but i will finish it. right after i finish this:
the Child's Tunic from Knitting Pure and Simple. i'm using Treliske organic merino, which is growing on me. i love the color, and i think it will be pretty soft after blocking but i did here that it pills easily. we'll see how it goes. So far the knitting has gone well, but i overlapped the placket with the buttonhole on the inside and had a bit of an issue picking up stitches for the hood on the first side. that's okay though. i'm not so much a perfectionist or habitiual frogger.

knitted baby kimono

The baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting in Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton, color Shell. This has been a WIP for ages, slow going at first because I prefer knitting in the round to the knit/purl/knit business of going flat. And then I ran out of yarn. For the reference, this patter takes 1 full skein plus a very little bit of a second. I order this yarn from The Yarn Tree, and it took me a long time to get around to ordering that second cake (they cake it up for you). In fact, I wasn't inspired until they emailed to say it's 20% off all this month because of their anniversary. So I got this and yarn to make my boy a sweater.

Speaking of the boy, look how amazing this tower is:
and you know he's only two and a half...

One final shot, here are some custom wool wash soaps that I'm sending out for a mama today. Normally, all the wool wash soap that I make is unscented (unless you want the liquid). But she asked nicely and I made her some flavored balls. They look like candies and smell divine too!