July Birthday (Sneak Peek)

My little boy turns

2

in July. 

No, not right around the corner (well...), but close enough

for me to be thinking about

Birthday Presents.

Especially those of the handmade variety.

The last couple of months the boy''s been completely obsessed with the color Blue. He points out all the blue things everywhere we go and he'll repeatedly say, "Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, blue, Blue, BLUE, BLUE!!" until you acknowledge, "Yes, that car is blue!" He can now smile at you with his blinky little eyes that sweet little face and reply, "Mhmm" (because he can't yet say "yes"). 

I try as hard as I possibly can to be a birthday and Christmas minimalist, but I do feel compelled to make my kids something special during those times. My older son got a blanket last October when he turned 3 , and while I wanted Little Brother to open his own star blanket on his 3rd birthday, I realized today-- why? They're two very different boys, so they honestly don't need the same things just in different colors. And once that sunk in, I got to work.

I had leftover turquoise yarn from my still very secret Cooperative Press project and figured it'd be just perfect for my speedy-summery-seed-stitch blanket. I don't have enough blue to make the blanket the size I want, so I'm interspersing it with very random -and therefore, very delightful- stripes of whatever extra cotton I have lying around. Not very much, come to find out. Most of that is going to the Sunburst Granny.

I'm only one day into this blanket, and probably close to a 3rd of the way done. Assuming I have enough yarn to pull it off, it'll easily be done within a week. Very speedy, indeedy. And THEN I'll take some glorious, "Look, it's FINISHED!!" pictures and write out my little pattern to share with the world-wide-web. A free pattern, nothing quite as delightful!

In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!

Have a LoVeLy DaY!

***
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Avocado Yarn (Yarn!)

A couple days ago

I received a skein of

New Yarn!!

Yeeeees!!

And of course I celebrated the

yarn arrival with a 

HaPpY DaNcE

....but only after I was sure the postman was out of sight. 

=D

 I don't know about you, 

but I tend to get into a yarn rut. 

I buy the same ol' yarns,

in the same ol' colors,

from the same ol' store.

So, I was perusing Etsy and happened upon 

this 

beautiful

skein

of

yarn.

At first I was going to put it in a treasury.

But then I realized....

someone might buy it.

Someone else.

And I wanted it.

It (obviously) didn't make it in the treasury.

It's mine. 

=D

I can't wait to get to working with it!

I have to finish that floor mat (so close!).

I should probably finish the mystery project.

I need to keep working on my Bed of Roses blanket.

But in the midst of all this I will

surely

most definitely

make something 

beautiful 

with my Avocado Yarn. 

Sigh.

This yarn is 

so very gorgeous.

I like to keep it in view, 

despite being at least a couple weeks away

from working with it.

See more from this seller by following this link:
needleclicksEtc

It just doesn't seem right to 

hide it away in my stash bag.

Yarny yarny goodness.

=)

Ok.

Enough of that...

And now:

a little about the shop I got it from...

needleclicksEtc

She has another skein like this but with *more* yardage (450 yards, oh yeah!).

She offers yarn, 

kits, 

project bags, 

patterns (how cute are these sheep?!

 Love them so much! Makes me wish I could knit),

and more!

***

Hope you all have a delightful weekend!!

Wanna See?? (WIP)

Part of the reason my blog posts have been lacking is due to the fact that my WIPs (Work In Progress) are all orders for Christmas gifts. I don't actually know *who*, for sure, is reading my blog consistently (well, some I know, -- Hi Granma! Love you!), so I just avoid putting any pictures up of commissioned-for-Christmas orders. All these orders have kept me B-u-S-y! which is an awesome thing, but not for the ol' blog. 

So, I'm pleased to show you an excessive amount of pictures (15, so you don't have to count) of my current WIP. This is a baby blanket commissioned by my cousin for her baby-girl, due technically any day but expected at the end of this month. It's inspired from my Bed of Roses blanket, but I'm alternating Granny Squares in to add some more...

COLOR! 

Is this yarn familiar? ;)

Found this old metal strainer at the Goodwill for $2. It's the perfect width and depth for fruit, so that's what were *were* using it for. But when I started this blanket last night I realized I needed it for my yarn. Now I have no place for my apples, avocado, banana and tangerines. But, it's all done in the name of Crochet. 

Using the Join-As-You-Go method, check out a great tutorial by Attic24

Yum. 

Can't wait to show off the FINISHED BLANKET!

Hope you all have a fantastic day!!

Not Days, Weeks! (Inspiration)

It's been WEEKS now since I updated my blog! Shame! In my defense, I've been busy.  Between Christmas and Cooperative Press and now Knit Picks (yes! I'm part of the Independent Designer Program! Well, will be as soon as they restock some yarn that I need), I haven't designed anything new (which is a bummer, since I have so many great ideas in my head and have no idea if they'll *actually* work) nor have I been sifting through Etsy searches for more fantastic finds. :( Sad.

I need some inspiration. And maybe some more.  And maybe one more. Okay, good.

The good news is that I received a box of yarn! This is not how it looked when I opened the box, this is how I put it all back together. And to be honest, the colors do not look as vibrant as they truly are because the natural light bleached them out instead of warming them up. Boo, pictures!

But they're pretty just the same.

This yarn is the quite excellent Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (follow the link to see all the pretty colors much truer to life). I've used it quite a few times now and I simply L-O-V-E it. It's soft, which most cottons don't have going for them necessarily. They're usually very tough and not amazing for wearing. It comes in pretty colors- again, unusual for a cotton yarn. Most times they're either pastels or singe-your-retina bright. And being Lion Brand means that it's usually included in the sales that go on at JoAnn's, which is where I tend to buy my yarn. Buy one get one half off, those sort of things. Delightful!

So this post is intended to inspire me to keep on keepin' on. I've been keenly aware of the Christmasy deadline and getting overwhelmed. But seeing the pretty yarn and talking some things out to no-one and everyone simultaneously, thanks to the magic of the internet has helped.

And now I'm off, to finish one more Flora Infinity Scarf! Will it be done today? Time will tell!

This Yarn Post Sponsored by: Knit Picks & Cooperative Press

"Hey, Jess, did you know there's a package on the front step?"

Oh baby! Check *this* out!

A package from Knit Picks address to yours truly. 

Knit Picks is the company that is graciously providing the yarn for that project of mine (read about it here, then do a happy dance for me). Thanks, Knit Picks! It's an honor!

Here... it... is! I've never opened a box of yarn before. It's such an exciting experience: worthy of documentation, some happy-dance breaks and much "Yahoo!"-ing as I kissed my sweet one-year-old's cheeks in celebration. He loved it too.

Yarn Love.

Here they are in their snug little basket.

I love this part of the skein the best. The swirly parts. Surely there's a name for it, but you probably have to work in the yarn manufacturing industry to be privy to something so obscure.

Here are my colors, side to side...

...and now vertical.

Dramatic Closing Photograph

And ending the photo essay with another epic shot. 

I'm not at liberty to discuss The Pattern with you all. Tough cookies: you'll just have to buy the book. ;) But I can tell you all about the yarn and have decided to document my creative process by showing how much yarn I have left. 

Here's some quick info on what exactly I have in my basket (for those who fell in love, as I have)

~10 Skeins of Knit Picks' "Dishie" 

8 in Azure... If you check out their website you'll discover that... "Azure is a heraldic blue color that will remind you of a cloudless sky. Its blue color and light purple undertones shine when combined with other neutrals and other luscious blues."  Cloudless sky, much like the gorgeous sky right now. And if you ask *me*, you'll discover that Azure is one of my favorite colors. 

and 2 in Tranquil... "Tranquil is a calming blue green color. If you find the calming turquoise colors of the ocean soothing and enjoyable, then you will love having a sweater knitted out of Tranquil. It’s a beautiful color on its own or for color work."  Gorgeous, gorgeous color! I am in love with turquoise lately (just take a peek at my kitchen... or living room... or most of my shirts and a few of my dresses. Oh, and my glasses too... and very nearly my front door, but I resisted the urge because, really, I have to draw the line somewhere). 

"Dishie" is made of 100% cotton (= eco-friendly!) and is 190 yards/100 grams per skein. Machine Washable and Tumble Low Dry-able. 

So what did I miss. I'll recap...

It's gorgeous

It's affordable

It's eco-friendly

It's durable 

...and I can't wait to get to work!

Organic Cotton Yarn (Fantastic Find)

No pictures now. First, a story. Then pictures. Good ones, too.

Before my son was born in 2008, I never really cared about organics. Even after he was born, I didn't give it much thought... until he started solid foods. And, suddenly, the idea of my little boy ingesting a chemical coated anything was reprehensible! I could not, in good conscience, continue to turn a blind eye to this issue.

So our family moved towards organic foods (thank you, Food Inc!), and gradually cleaning products, personal hygiene products, and so on. We (try) to ditch the plastic bags and bring our own. We prefer to eat local (read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). We can't wait to start out garden. We have chickens -- no eggs yet. (Any day now, right?)

You see then, we've set off on a path. And naturally there would be talk - especially after watching the documentary Tapped - of us going plastic-free.

I suspect some are having an "ah-ha" moment and know where I'm going with this. The other half thought they were in a crochet blog, but must have been mistaken...?

Perhaps you're familiar with "acrylic" yarn? Know that that is? Of course! It's cheap, it's consistent, it lasts forever! Oh. It lasts forever. It's plastic. It's *not* biodegradable.

Initially I fought this reality. No, not my cheap yarn! But I loves it. *sigh*. This can't continue.

I've moved on. Well, am moving on. This responsible living is a process- it surely doesn't happen over night. I still have a bit of acrylic blend left in the stash upstairs. And that's okay, what can you do? But I wanted to move towards pure wools, bamboos, silks and organic cottons. Especially cotton, because: Cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop on the the planet. Yuck.

Fortunately, I'm not the first to realize this. Below are some Fantastic Finds: Organic Cotton Yarn! Who knew responsible living could be so much fun? =)

Image courtesy of quovadishandspun

Image courtesy of ScarecrowOrganics

Image courtesy of ThoughtfulGemsCrafts

Image courtesy of Blue Sky Alpacas

Image courtesy of Knit Picks

Image courtesy of Lion Brand

Hope you've been inspired!

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