More Swap Goodies

I've really been slacking in sharing all the wonderful goodies I've received in swaps.  A couple weeks ago, I shared my Easter swap package from Mary Rose.  This week I thought it was time to finally share my swap package from the March Sewing Swap.

This swap was part of the Sewing Daily boards on Ravelry.  A small group of us decided to participate in a small sewing swap.  The requirements included a yard (or equivalent) of fabric, a handmade sewn item and any other notions or goodies we'd like to include.  We had a maximum $ limit set and we were off.

My package came from the wonderfully generous Elly! (IKnitCupcakes)  Elly does great work with a sewing machine and I was so thrilled to receive a package from her.

All the goodies came boxed up in this lovely storage box (I can always use more of these!).

Inside I found a chocolate peanut butter bunny, yummy sour bunny gummies (these are so fun!), and a duck cookie cutter.  Mr. Man especially has enjoyed the chocolate peanut butter bunny - it's his favorite candy (yep, I decided to share...). )   There were also a set of 4 mini notebooks to stash in my project bags when knitting and a fun plaster project to paint your own figurines.  I figure I'll have Squishy help me with that one. :)

For the sewing elements Elly sent a yard of John Deere tractor fabric for a quilt I will be making Squishy in the future.  It's perfect fabric and just the kind of thing I keep my eyes open for.  She also sent a 2" template set for quilt making that I look forward to putting to good use. :)  She also included a couple packages of fun buttons, one Easter related and the other different forms of transportation (which will be fun for Squishy!).

And finally, the handmade sewn elements - I got two!  The first is a quilted basket to store all sorts of little goodies.  Elly said this was her first time quilting and I think she did a great job!

The second item is a little box bag to add to my collection of project bags. :)  This is my favorite element of the entire swap and almost as soon as I saw it in the box, I had it filled and ready to put to good use.  This little bag is really neat.  It's a box bag, but instead of the handle being on the side, it's on the top.  And instead of one strap, it's two straps that connect.  Then, when you're knitting, you can pull apart the straps and lay them to the side while you access all your knitting goodies inside the bag. :)

This bag is perfect for those small projects.  I've been toting around a baby hat for a couple weeks, with notions and all and it fits great.  I can fit about 1 1/2 - 2 balls of yarn in the bag and not feel like it's too full.  Although I've never knit them before, it seems as though it'd be a great size for sock knitting.  Elly did a great job on designing this bag and I think we should all encourage her to sell them in her Etsy shop (she doesn't have one yet, but has talked about it and I think this would be a great item to sell).

So, Elly, thank you, thank you!  I love it all.  :)  I feel really spoiled. :)

WIP Wednesday 4/20

Guess what? I actually have some photos to share with you today! :)

I still haven't been as busy with knitting as I'd like to be.  I'm still plowing through Etsy orders, which take a lot of my time that might normally be devoted to needles and yarn.  But I just finished a big order that's taken me twice as long as it should have, just due to lack of energy.  But now that I've got that order out of the way, the remainder of my Etsy orders feel a lot more manageable.  And the case I finished last night was actually very simple and a lot of fun to put together.  Hopefully my customer feels the same way!

So back to my WIPs.  I've got a deadline looming over me for some baby shower items I told my sister I would make.  The shower is April 25th.  The items?  A hat and two pacifier clips.

The nursery for the baby is frog-themed, so Sis asked for a frog hat, a frog clip and an elephant clip.  I haven't yet started the clips.  The only clip I'm really concerned about with time is the frog clip.  The pattern isn't complicated and the finished knit is small, but there are SO many pieces that can be time-consuming.

I will start (and finish) the elephant clip tonight, I'm sure.

The frog hat is actually a modified pattern.  I'm using the Bunny Tail pattern from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson.  The hat is simple stockinette, but the neat part comes at the top after the decreases.  The stitches are divided in half and for the bunny (or bear) hat, each half of the stitches becomes an ear.  My modification included shortening the ear portion A LOT to make the ears look like frog eyes.  I believe I knit 7 rounds on each "eye" before doing the remainder of the decreases.  I think it should work out really well.

I'm trying to decide what to do for the eyes.  The hat is the 0-6 month size, intended to be worn around the 3-6 month stage.  So in case the baby gets ahold of the hat in her mouth, I don't want to use removable eyes.  I like the eyes on the toy, Ribbit, so maybe those - with some eyelashes for a girl.  We'll see. I need to do some hunting on Ravelry.  Sis has also asked for a little box to sit on the frog's head to indicate a girl.  So I also need to find a bow pattern.

Ribbit, photo by Susan B. Anderson

Think I can finish on time?

Next up on the list are a few swap knits, as well as some baby items.  The baby items aren't top priority, but none of them should take long since they're so small and quick.

What's on your needles this week?

Yes, I'm Still Here

It seems as though that's what a lot of bloggers have said lately.  Maybe because of the seemingly long winter and just being worn out from all the gray and cold.  And now that it's sunny and nice out (at least where I live), we don't want to stay cooped up inside all the time, but instead like to get out in the fresh air.

Anyway, I'm still around although the last few weeks my blogging has been less than great.  I know today is Friday, but I'm going to skip Friday Favorites this week.  (Obviously, WIP Wednesday didn't get any attention either!)

There's a lot right now that's keeping me busy, while at the same time I don't feel like I'm doing much of anything.  I've been knitting a bit, and I'll be sharing more of that with you next week.  I've done a lot of sewing, but it's mostly for the shop, so not anything too exciting.  I've got some swap stuff to share with you all, as well.

There are projects on the needles.  Unfortunately, the Bathrobe has seen no progress.  There are other items I need to get finished up and delivered before I'll go back to that.

Hopefully soon I'll be back to a regular posting schedule.  :) Thanks for stopping by!

Friday Favorites 4/8: Swaps

I'm sorry for not posting much recently.  This week has been absolutely crazy, and last week...well...just didn't get around to much posting.  My crafting has taken a back seat to other things that needed to get done.  Hopefully this weekend that will change a bit.  I did actually get some knitting in on a car-ride yesterday.

But today is Friday and it's time for Friday Favorites.  My most recent favorite thing is the Easter swap package from my friend, Mary Rose!  I have seriously been slacking in telling you all how wonderful, thoughtful and generous she is. :)

This swap was fairly simple.  It incorporated the letters B and C.  Bunnies and Bilbies (click HERE to learn more about them) and Chickens and Chocolate.  You had to craft one item for the swap yourself, and include a kit for one of Susan's bunny or chick patterns.

One afternoon I came home from work after getting a text from Mr. Man telling me there was a package from "so and so" and did I know what it was.  Of course I knew who he was talking about and what the package was.  I had lots to do that day, but I put it all off until I could open the package.  And here's what it contained:

Mary Rose included so many cool things. As always, it was packaged in a beautiful storage box.  I love these boxes and keep my yarn in them.

Starting with the sweets, there's several kinds of chocolate and some marshmallow Bunny Legs just for Squishy.

I got some really neat Easter-themed items including a blue metal chick (which Squishy LOVES and wants to hold at least once a day), a glass chicken (who is spunky and radiates personality), chick towels and Easter chick socks. There were also some really neat Easter window clings. :)  I also can't forget the bunny and chick cookie cutters!  Squishy and I will enjoy these!

The kit that Mary Rose included was 3 skeins of Simple Worsted Cotton in Marshmallow and Dogwood Heather for the Bunny pattern from Itty Bitty Toys.  I've been wanting to this guy!  There were so many cute bunnies from last Easter, I may have to steal their ideas!  There was also bunny stitch markers, a row counter, US 5 dpns, embroidery floss and a needle sizer.  Awesome!  And a blue project bag to fit it all in!  There's also a really cute knitting keychain which has already been attached to a notions bag of mine. :)

I also got four skeins of Knit Picks Gloss in Kenai to knit the Pea Vines, a shawl pattern she gifted me with while I was sick.  I really appreciated getting the pattern while I was feeling so crummy!

One of the coolest items in the box was a little crocheted bilby!  What a unique and wonderful find on Etsy!  He's a tiny little puppet for Squishy.  I love him, Squishy loves him.  He's a great edition to the knit toys box. :)

And saving the knit item for last, I got an adorable little bunny from Knit Simple 2010 Holiday Edition, the Woodland Creatures collection by Susan Anderson.  I love that little bunny.  I know Mary Rose had a hard time parting with him, but I see him every day when I come home and sit down from work and he always brings me a smile.  He's squishy and soft and wonderful!

So thank you, Mary Rose!  We love everything.  We've enjoyed the knits and the chocolate and marshmallows, the knitting notions and yarn (okay, that's maybe just me...).  You did it again!  :)

WIP Wednesday 3/30

Today's WIP Wednesday is much like last week.  I've been sewing up a storm getting Etsy orders made and out the door.  I still have 5-6 cases left to make, so the busy won't stop anytime soon.  :)  Luckily, they don't take a long time and people are patient. (I say patient because at this point, my orders all came around the same time, but the wait has turned into a couple weeks instead of a couple days because of all the orders.)

Last night I took a break from the sewing and got some work done on my knitting.  Evie's sweater isn't getting done before Spring arrives, so I've placed it in hibernation.  There are a lot of other things I want to do at the moment and this project was added after the fact, more of a spur of the moment type project.  So I'm not officially counting it towards my WIP pile.

And Squishy's poor Bathrobe...it's been neglected again.  Not for lack of wanting to knit it, but more for lack of time.  Between being sick and the sewing and my projects for the Easter swap, it's just not getting much love.  I still want to get back to it sooner rather than later, but it may be a project that I work on, but don't commit to for 100% of the time because I know that I'll get bored of that seed stitch.  So still on the needles, still in need of a lot of attention, but I'm trying to ease up on feeling frantic about getting it done.

I have secret knitting I've been working on.  I restarted it 3 times before I finally got it right.  By then, I wasn't much in the mood to work on it.  Last night it finally got some much needed attention and I should be able to finish it up tonight.  Then I have one more secret project to knit on Thursday.  I should be able to share more details after that.  :)  I do just want to say that I'm using Malabrigo Rasta for my current WIP and it is awesome!  It's so soft and squishy.  I love the bulky feel and I think it's the perfect yarn for the project.

Since I don't have any pictures to share with you, I thought I would tell you some of the things I'd like to be knitting soon.  My sister requested some knit items for a friend of hers due in June.  Her friend really likes frogs (or perhaps the nursery is going to be frogs?) and so I'm making a frog hat, the frog binky clip, and the elephant binky clip.  Originally, she asked for a frog toy too, but that's not on the current list.  The only requirement for the frog hat is that the frog must wear a bow to indicate the baby is a girl. :)  I've got a while to knit these, so it's not urgent, but I've been thinking about it recently and may add it to my project page soon.  I've got some Tahki Cotten Classic leftover from items I knit for a friend's baby and it should be nice and cool for the warmer climate.

There are loads of people I know who are expecting and I'd love to knit something for everyone.  If only there were more hours in the day!!  I have a couple projects in mind I've been wanting to knit soon, I just need to find the time.  I've got patterns picked out, and I probably even have the yarn in my stash for them all.  Once I get through my Etsy orders, I'll get a move on those.  :)

So I guess that wasn't really specific about what I'm thinking, aside from what my sister asked for. :)  That's okay, it'll give me something to share with you all in the future!

I hope everyone is having a great week.  I know I've been enjoying "warmer" weather this week (high 30s, low 40s) and I can't wait for the real Spring weather to hit. :)

What's on your needles this week?

Friday Favorites 3/25: Friends

I'm sorry but I don't really have any photos for you today.  Today's Friday Favorites is a little bit different in that I don't have an object to show you.  Instead I thought I'd share something a little more personal.

Today's topic of discussion is friends.  There are so many things that apply to this simple word I can't begin to cover them all today, but I thought I'd share just a few.

We live in a small community, at least 30 minutes driving distance from our nearest friends.  Life gets busy or we forget and so we don't often get to visit or make plans with those who are close to us.  Mr. Man and I were talking about how so many of our friends live a good distance away.  It's not like in college when they were in the same town (or perhaps even the same apartment!).  So for me, one thing I value is visits and time with those friends.  Lunch or supper out with a girlfriend or an afternoon spent at our friends' house is refreshing and a good reminder that we're not just parents, but young people who like to get out and do things!

This weekend we have a couple of our really close friends coming to visit.  I went to high school and was friends with L and Mr. Man went to school and was friends with J.  Funny how that works out sometimes, right?  They just had a baby back in October so he's right about 5 months old.  I can't wait to see how much he's grown!  We're planning on having supper together and just catching up.  I really wish we lived closer!

Then in a couple weeks, we're going to another friend's house for the day.  Squishy will stay with one of our parents, probably and we get a little breather.  What's nice is that most of our friends are at the "family" stage in life.  They are married and have kids or want kids.  They understand how life can sometimes get away from us.  Mr. Man's friend, J (different from the above mentioned J) will be back from Indiana for a few days and he and his wife, L (different from L above!) will be joining us.  Mr. Man and J were childhood friends and always enjoy getting together.  They have 4 beautiful children who have just gotten so big!  There will be more people there than just us 4, but it will be especially nice for us to spend time with them, seeing as how they live so much further away!

You know that friend you had when you were little?  And perhaps you don't get to see them much now, but when you do it's like you never lost any time between?  I have a friend like that.  We became attached at the hip in the 2nd grade and shared so many interests.  I only get to see Iz every few months and I wish it were more (she's only 30 minutes away!) but time together is so much fun.  There is not enough time in a day to exhaust our conversation.  The visits always end too soon, but it's nice to know that our friendship can withstand all the time and distance.  She's a friend I'll never outgrow and I hope that when I'm 75 and set in my ways (ha, like I'm not already!), she'll still be around and we'll still be able to pick up where we left off from the last visit.

Finally, I thought there were a few other friends that deserved some attention.  Some people may find it strange, but I don't care.  Ever since I started knitting and perusing Ravelry, I've met so many wonderful women and made so many great friends.  No, I don't see them weekly or monthly.  I may never meet them in person.  But I talk to them at least once a day if not more, and I value them as friends.   We meet, knowing we have knitting in common, and then realize there are other things that make us feel close to one another.  These people are spread out all over the country, including the United States, Canada, Ireland and Australia.  It would be amazing if we all lived closer, but instead we settle for chatting together online.  Several of these ladies have blogs that I read daily, and it's like a glimpse into their lives.      We share stories of all kinds and the generosity I've seen from these ladies is overwhelming.

Friends come in all shapes and sizes, from all over the world.  It's easy to take your friends for granted, so I thought today would be a nice way to remind myself how much they mean to me.  :)

What about you, Readers?  Do you have friends close by?  What do you do when you get together?

WIP Wednesday 3/23

So, I must admit, my list of knitting WIPs have taken a backseat to other things.  I really want to get Squishy's Bathrobe done, but I can't seem to get motivated (or find the time...).  Evie's Sweater will have to wait until I have more time.  The weather is warming up and it's not necessary for her anymore.  I meant to finish some of these things over break, but when you don't feel good, knitting just isn't as appealing.

I have some swap things in the works.  No pictures to show for it, though.  One project can't get started until I get the pattern and the other just hasn't gotten the attention it deserves.

What have I been working on you ask?  Cases.  And cases and cases.  For whatever reason, my Etsy shop is on fire with requests.  (That's not a bad thing, but I'm a one-woman-show who only moves so quickly!)  I took down the custom case listing for the time being so I could catch up on orders.

I finished a case last week but the customer isn't home so it won't be mailed until I hear from her that she's back.  I'll finish another tonight.

Then I'll be making one from these fabrics,

and another from these fabrics.  These birds and birdcages really are my favorite.  I was planning to keep the fabric set aside for myself but I've already got a large stack of fabric with my name on it...I decided to let go of these.  (If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see that some of the birdcages have brightly-colored birds in them...love it!)

After those 3 are done, I have a customer sending me fabric.  I can't wait to see it, it sounds interesting and vintage.  She wants me to make her 3 separate cases!

Needless to say, it keeps me busy.  So for the time being, the extra time on my lunch hour, and any time before little man goes to sleep can be allocated to knitting.  Then, once Squishy is in bed, I move down to my "sewing corner" until it's time to wrap-up for the night.

Awhile back someone asked if I'd be willing to sell my pattern for the needle cases.  And every time I think of it, I have to smile because I don't work from patterns for these cases.  Yes, I have measurements and sketches, but at this point, I've done it so many times I hardly even think about it anymore.  And to write it out in a pattern is just too much work.  If it's something I've come up with myself, I really prefer to work without the constraints of a pattern. :)  That way any mistakes are really just turned into creative solutions!

So, what's on your needles, hook or sewing table this week?