two posts in two days? don’t get used to it.

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Ali

So I made another bag last night, and it’s my favorite so far. I altered the pattern to make it less floppy on the top, and a bit deeper, and it looks/works much better. And it’s pink! Cuter.

nov 005

And my next one is going to be made out of this yummy looking speckled cream colored one. I’m pretty excited about this one!

nov 006

Also tried my hand at blocking last night. I finished Paul’s scarf, but knits have that way of curling about them. It didn’t look very good.
nov 001 *Pardon the nasty indoor/outdoor carpet. Eh, such is life living in a rental.

nov 002 So I dunked it in the sink, then gently squeezed and pressed the water out. (Whatever you do DO NOT wring it out. Bad news for handknits) Then we pinned it to the floor into the shape and we’re letting it dry overnight and then all of today. This evening I’ll take it off and see if it stays blocked. If not, well then, honey, you’re getting a curly scarf.

nov 003

WIP Wednesday.

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Ali

So, maybe this should be under “Terrible-Picture-Tuesday” because I didn’t take the time or energy to take good pictures, but instead this will be “Work-In-Progress-Wednesday” cuz I said so. Now you should hold me to this, this WIP Wednesday stuff. I am going to TRY to post my WIP every Wednesday. We’ll see how I do, although we all know my history of failure.

So here, meet the birds.

knitting 004

I’m not 100% sure what I am going to do with them yet, but possibly make some sort of a mobile or sompin’.

knitting 007

I really like how each of their faces turned out a little bit differently.

knitting 009

So there’s the little flock.

And now to another project, the husband scarf. It’s cold here, and he needs to keep warm.

knitting 012

He picked out the colors and the yarn all by himself. Good choice, husband, good choice.

knitting 013

So that’s all I got for today. Back to work with me.

It’s windy out.

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Ali

Remember all. those. blueberries? They’ve been taking up room in our freezer, and so Saturday night I got the urge to bake. I love baking, it’s so relaxing and comforting, and I’ve never made a blueberry pie before, so I thought I would be adventurous.

pie 001

mixin’ it up

pie 003

I’m aware that blueberries in this state don’t look too appetizing.

pie 014

Mmm, prior to baking I (of course) forgot to get an afterbaking picture, but there’s nothing to be done about it now, since it’s all eaten up. Yum yum, and boy, it was tasty, we brought it to lunch with the Stevensons and Penney’s.

So, it’s been SO windy out, leaves flying everywhere, and there’s talk of some snow showers tomorrow. (Oh dear.) But it’s not supposed to stick, as the rain will supposedly come right after to wash it all away for us. I’m not ready for the snow yet! We’re hoping it holds off for at least another month.

So, that Christmas knitting I was working on is almost finished, and oh boy, I don’t think it can wait until Christmas to get to it’s recipient. It may be a “Happy Thanksgiving” gift at this point, because I am just too excited about it. I think it’s just about the coolest thing I’ve ever made, and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought! I will link to the pattern as soon as I give it to it’s handsome little owner, but until then, you will just have to wait in suspense! (In case you haven’t guessed, it’s handsome little owner is going to be Baby Ez, but he probably won’t care about it anyway, but I know his momma will!)

Well, my lunch break is nearly over, so back to work! Happy Monday, everyone.

That hat I was telling you about…

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Ali

So I took some pictures of the hat before I sent it to Ez, but I won’t even bother putting those up because these are so much cuter. I shamelessly stole them from my sister, but seriously, look at this kid.

7516_195244776368_505381368_3833285_4860795_n A little big, but he’ll be growing more soon, I’m sure of it.

7516_195246296368_505381368_3833303_2840346_n Thanks for the pictures, Rik!

Ok, dinner guests coming in 1/2 an hour! Gotta go finish cooking dinner!

The Small Pink Sweater

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Ali

This weeks project was a pink sweater. Last week I found 3 skeins of matching yarn, and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, so I grabbed my needles and started knitting. Pink Sweater 001

I’m not 100% in love with the neckline. It also initially had bell sleeves, but they didn’t really suit the sweater so I ripped them out and just did cap sleeves.

Pink Sweater 002

And today at the farmers market we got some yummy cherries and green beans. Just perfect for a hot summer afternoon.

Pink Sweater 005

Red Cables

Posted on January 9, 2009 by Ali

So, I made a totally awesome blanket for my dearest, and shipped it off and now it’s in Idaho and I forgot to take any pictures of it. But it really was an awesome blanket. Since then I’ve picked up a few projects that somehow worked their way to the bottom of my crafting box (well, the bottom ONE of my crafting boxes.. I’ve got several at the moment, way too many 1/2 finished projects!)

This blanket is teaching me patience, perserverance and humility.
red-blanket-003

red-blanket-004
I’m using some scrumptious merino-wool blend yarn that’s soft as can be, and really nice to work with. It feels good in your hands. Unfortunately, due to it’s silky nature it shows EVERY little mistake. And if you know me, you know that I tend to just keep going instead of taking it out and re-doing it. Not so with this blanket. If you mess up it SHOWS!

red-blanket-005
I am not entirely sure how big it’s going to be, because it’s kind of tiresome to work on, but I still have at least 4 skeins of it in my craft bag, and I’ll just use it all up and however big it is, that’s how big it’s going to stay!

red-blanket-006
Have a great weekend!

More Knitting Excitement!

Posted on December 27, 2008 by Ali

winter-038
Heidi got me a drop spindle for Christmas, and I learned how to make yarn!

winter-039
It’s pretty hard at first, but once you get going you get the hang of it.

winter-042
My mom made me a knitting basket! It is so amazing.

winter-040
I got TWO needle holders for Christmas and I filled BOTH of them up!

More Felting and other craft related stuff…

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Ali

So I wanted to share more of my felting fun with everyone:

Unfelted – felted once- felted twice, just so you can gauge how much they actually shrink. Speaking of shrinking, let me tell you a little story about a purse I tried to make…

So I made one large strip: (With a few stripes for good measure)

Then made an even longer skinny strip for a strap:

And then out of the wash came THIS:

And simply put, it just looks ridiculous with that long of a strap. So now I’ll just call it a ‘clutch’ and who knows what I’ll do with it. Any takers?

Good news is that the craft sale was totally awesome and we sold quite a bit of stuff.

Oh and I made more coasters:

And also a tiny little box to put my bobby-pin buttons in.

Alright, I think that’s enough photo’s for now! I’ll let you know if there’s anymore pertinent crafting information I have left off. But for now, that’s all.

I felted it

Posted on December 2, 2008 by Ali

I tried my first experiment with felting, and I must say that it went really well. I got some more wool at JoAnn’s tonight and I plan on making more for our craft sale on Saturday. Yep, we’re having a craft sale, if you want details just let me know and I can tell you when and where! It’ll be awesome though.