Lake, Splash, Root Beer, & some Grass, too!

Have you seen this adorableness? When I first saw the pattern for this Cheery Scrap Cap, I just knew I had to make one. And

who better to make one for than our nephew, who we will visit next month.

After digging through my yarn bag, I realized that I didn't have quite as many boy colors left in my stash as I'd hoped: just a tiny amount of Lake and some Splash, Root Beer, and Leaf (Spud & Chloe sweater - yum!). Not wanting to make a trip to my LYS, I decided to modify the pattern a bit, ending up with a 10 stitch repeat instead of the 12 stitch repeat the pattern uses. I couldn't figure out how to modify the skulls and crossbones, which was a total bummer, since I think they'd have looked adorable in Splash on a Root Beer background. Baby M loved modeling this hat and was very bummed when he realized it wasn't for him. I guess I'll just have to make one for him after all... :)

This was only my second time doing some color work, and I found using this many colors a little confusing. I think I need to practice carrying the yarn in my free fingers, because I kept getting them slightly tangled in the back. I must say that the underside doesn't look as clean as I wish it did, but I guess that's ok...

And our newest nephew, who we will meet next month, needed a hat to coordinate with big brother's! So I (yet again!) used Amanda Keeys' book Baby Beanies to whip up a Pompom Bear hat. I am a sucker for pompoms on babies, and cannot wait to see that adorable babe in his new hat!

January Project: almost there!

We've been busy around here living life and spending some quality time with a special Auntie that came to visit. Baby M had such fun with his Auntie that I think she went home with a sore back, but a very full heart. We are so grateful she was able to come out and visit and spend some time with us.

I realized this morning that 2/3 of the month of January has already passed, and I have not yet completed my January project. It doesn't matter, though, because I am ready to go! I chose Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing as my book for January, and have had such fun re-reading it and tagging all the projects I want to make out of it. There are so many I want to make!! Of course, with just 11 days to go til the end of the month, I will have to choose just one and get it completed. This morning, as I watched Baby M playing with his dinosaurs ("Dinos!"), I chose my January project: the Clever Coasters. LOVE! I have not chosen the fabric yet, but will be back before the end of January with a project to share!

In the meantime, I wanted to show you my new favorite toddler hat (yes, must admit he is no longer a baby but rather a toddler. Sob!). I made the loopy pixie hat in Amanda Keey's book using some Mochi Plus. It is so ultra soft and nice to knit with, and I love that it is self-striping. The green and brown have inspired multiple comments about him being a little acorn or a pea, which always makes me giggle inside. I have since made two more, both gifts, using Cascade 220 Superwash. Not as soft, but it is machine washable, which is always a plus for a baby gift. I really need to learn to knit something other than baby hats... after all, how many hats does one little boy really need? And, worse, what will I knit when summer rolls around?!

New Year, New Projects

I love new beginnings, and a new year is just that: a time to start over, with resolutions and good intentions. It's also a time to clean out our home, make time to get organized and simplify. Or at least, I like to think so.

A few days ago, in an attempt to start simplifying my life, I took inventory of the very large number of craft books that I own. As I sat studying these books, I realize they perfectly map the route I've taken with my creative endeavors over the last 10 years. And as much as I love these books and what they represent, the truth is I've outgrown many of them.

So I found myself wondering: If I had to get rid of all but 12 of the craft books I own, which would I keep?

It was difficult for me to choose, but I decided the 12 that I currently can't get enough of make the cut. And then I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool to actually make a project a month from a different book each month?"

And so, this year, I am challenging myself to complete one project a month from one of these books (listed in no particular order):

1. Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross
2. Even More Quilts for Baby by Ursula Reikes
3. Baby knits for beginners by Debbie Bliss
4. The Big Book of Baby Knits by Zoe Mellor
5. Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson
6. Bend-the-Rules Sewing by Amy Karol
7. Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
8. Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule
9. Stitched in Time by Aicia Paulson
10. Material Obsession by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke
11. Seams to Me by Ana Maria Horner
12. Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys

These are all books that I love to browse through for inspiration, but that, with a few exceptions, I've rarely made an actual project out of. This is the year. I'll pick the projects this weekend, and be back in a few days to report on my selections.

Baby Knits

There are quite a few sweet babies joining our family and friends this autumn and winter, and we couldn't be more excited. The first of these sweet babies, our nephew, arrived last month, and he's as cute as can be!

When we first heard the news from the expectant parents, I knew I wanted to knit something special for these babes. But, being relatively new at knitting, I knew I had to keep it simple.


I first learned to knit this past winter, after my Mom made Baby M this sweet pumpkin hat. She taught herself how to do it using this book by Debbie Bliss, and when I visited my parents last Christmas, I decided to give it a try. I chose the "wrong" yarn for the project so my gauge was off and I ended up making an enormous baby hat, one that was too big even for me. I wasn't totally put off, though, and upon returning home, I promptly went to my LYS to purchase some pretty yarn and this book, which I have really enjoyed. While there, I decided to sign up for a class to learn to knit in the round, and I haven't looked back since.


I love to knit, even if I haven't made more than a few dozen (yep...) hats. All of our friends' kids now have hats knit over the summer, when we didn't have tv. And all of our sweet little friends will be finding knit goodies under the tree come Christmas morning.

But back to the baby knits...


Like I said, the knits I wanted to make for these new babies had to be fairly simple and quick knits. I have always loved the look and feel of baby booties, and so wish Baby M had gotten some when he was born (forget that he was a summer baby and we had two terrible heat waves right around the time he was born...). So since these babies are cold weather babies, I thought, why not?

I made these simple booties (minus the pompoms) from Claire Montgomerie's book using Baby Cotsoy (SO soft!!), and these adorable seamless booties using some cotton viscose blend. Both were such quick knits and turned out so cute that I am now ready to make more! Good thing a dear friend is expecting her second in April... :)

Finally... Finished!

They say better late than never, and, in this case, I couldn't agree more! I finally finished Baby M's Halloween quilt. Yes, I know... it's a week and half late, but he doesn't seem to mind, so I won't, either.One reason it took me longer to finish it than I'd expected is that I decided to hand quilt it. I actually tried to machine quilt it (twice!) but was so unhappy with the way it looked, I decided to try hand quilting it instead. It worked out well, too, because for a while there Baby M decided he wouldn't nap unless he was in his car seat. I can't tell you how nice it was to have a project that I could work on while we sat in the driveway.

I found hand quilting quite enjoyable, which surprised me. I've always loved the look of it, but it was always a bit intimidating to me. My stitches are not as even as I'd like, but for my first attempt, I'm very happy with it. Now I'd like to take a hand quilting class to learn how to do it properly (especially how to hold the quilt while you're working on it... I always ended up with some pain from holding it awkwardly).

When I started working on this quilt, I was less than thrilled with my fabric choices, and thus not too excited about it. After spending so much quality time with this little quilt, I have to say that it's really grown on me. In fact, I kind of love it now (and so does Baby M, who you can see running around all over the quilt in these two pictures!).
I tried to use my scraps for a pieced backing, inspired by AmandaJean. I like how it turned out, but I found it challenging lining everything up to get the pieced strips to be straight. Do you ever make pieced backings? How do you line them up so that they're straight? I'd love any tips!
Happy Friday!

Halloween came & went...

...and I didn't get to finish the Halloween baby quilt, as I'd hoped. That's alright, though, because it turns out Baby M didn't really get the whole idea behind Halloween this year anyway, so he won't care if it's a week or so late.



We had a really nice Halloween, and we lucked out because it didn't rain. Baby M got lots of running around time: running at the park, running around the house, running around in the backyard... so by the time we finally made it out to trick or treat, he was exhausted and thoroughly confused. I can't even imagine what must have been going through that little head of his as he saw all these people dressed up, asking for candy. Maybe next year he'll understand Halloween a little better.

In the meantime, I'm off to go work on the quilt a little more. Hope to be able to show it, finished up, in the next few days.

Fall Quilt Show

Amy of Park City Girl is hosting a Fall Quilt Show. I have had the opportunity to browse through the entries of about a quarter of the participants, and they are truly stunning. There are some seriously talented quilters out there! I love how people are so generous with their talent and knowledge and choose to post their work for others to admire and learn from. Being a novice at this, I was hesitant to post a quilt of my own... but I finally finished Baby M's soccer quilt, and decided I would join in.

The quilt is small and fraught with all sorts of errors: seams not lining up, puckers in the quilting, crooked quilting lines, etc. But I love it anyway... I purchased the soccer fabric a few weeks after finding out we were expecting a boy, knowing Mikey would love it. I chose the red and blue for the blocks because they were the only fabrics that matched that I actually had enough of... and the white was added to keep it from looking too busy. Mikey calls it Baby M's Fourth of July Soccer quilt, which makes me giggle. I was happy to see the little guy get right on the floor with his quilt the second I set it down. Imperfect as it is, I know it will be loved.


This photo was take pre-washing, right after I finished hand stitching the binding -- so don't look too closely, or you'll see where I picked out the incredibly crooked quilting I had done but hated!

Thanks for looking!