Happy Easter

There has been some Easter knitting going on here.

Treats are ready for the bunny to deliver. 

I wish you and your family the most wonderful day as my family celebrates the life and sacrifice of our Saviour.

Belinda Bunny (It's almost spring)

 Belinda Bunny's all dressed up in her Easter finery.  Just in time for class.  Looks like Spring is about here.

Instead of an Easter bonnet, Belinda bought a new dress and shoes.

Her panties are pretty cute too.  Even what's underneath is important to the well-dressed bunny.

We took a little winter vacation to get away from the snow and this is where we went.  Isn't it lovely?  Dusk is beautiful in Arizona.  The backyard was just warm enough to sit and enjoy the scenery and wildlife.  My Sister-in-law has a gorgeous desert mountain home on a golf course which she so generously lent us for a week.  

I hadn't shown you my Christmas gifts (because the recipients read my blog).  I made socks of course. 

Both pairI knitted turned out lovely...except my husbands didn't fit.  

He has a large instep and the socks fit too tightly there.  Because the yarn was merino and silk and an investment, I wanted him to wear them and that meant they needed to be comfortable.  So...

This happened.

 

My knitting group cringed.  They asked if it didn't hurt to rip back two lovely socks (size 12) just above the toe where the instep started.  

NOPE!

I want him to wear them and so they need to fit. I now have a custom pattern just for him.

 Here's the finished pair.  Not nicely blocked but finished.

I couldn't resist taking a photo where I re-knit them.

Quite a different scene than the snow and ice where they were born.

No wool socks were needed in this winter weather, but unfortunately we had to go home.

And it snowed again yesterday.  The socks were just what he needed.

Little Cotton Rabbits....hooray!

Aren't these just the cutest little animals you've ever seen.  Julie Williams' Little Cotton Rabbits are addicting to knit.  I may have knitted 35 or so a few of them.

It's been busy here.  Nothing earth shattering or bad...just busy.

We hived two new packages of bees last weekend and they're doing fine so far.  The queen is out and they're gathering nectar. We've had house guests and a family wedding coming up.  Abby graduated from university and Rachel got a new job. And tax season is over!   It's a good life.

I hope to get back here sooner rather than later.
Hope all is well with you.

Merry Christmas!

I have not blogged for a long while.
I have a good excuse.
I've been busy.

I can't post photos of it all, because I'd hate to give away all the Christmas surprises.

But my fingers have been flying; I have callouses to prove it.

Here are a few of the things I've been doing:

 Bleaching "once green" bottle brush trees.

 Nougat or Big Hunk...

Sadly, our last remaining large maple on our parkway had to be cut down.  The trees on our street date back to the 1930's and they are just dying.  You may remember a few years ago when a tree on our parking strip broke off at the trunk in a windstorm and buried two of our girls' cars that were parked under it.
The remaining tree had to go.  It was a sad day for us.

Next spring, we'll be planting new ones.
Can you believe it was the middle of December in this photo, taken last week from the front door?  The temperature hit the high 60's.
Where is our snow?????

Girl Mouse in a Flowery Dress!

Julie Williams' newest pattern.  I am working on the Boy Mouse now.  Julie always does a boy and a girl version of her patterns.  My girl is a little bit pudgy.  I am  loving her though.  I will be adding her to my basket of toys in the studio.

Mouse Girl in a Flowery Dress

Those of you who check in here regularly may have noticed I am particularly fond of Julie Williams' (Little Cotton Rabbits) knitting patterns for stuffed toys.  I think they are the cutest toys out there and Julie's pattern instructions are meticulously written and her projects are photographed step by step.  

I was thrilled when Julie sent me an advance pattern of her newest creation the Mouse Girl.

I knit the Mouse Girl in a Flowery Dress up almost immediately after receiving the pattern.  
And is it ever cute!!!!  Look at that cute little pink tail and the shell ears.

Julie also has a Mouse Boy pattern as well.  I can't wait to get started on him too.
Go on over to her blog and check out her wonderful creations.

Knitting Up a Storm!

Thanksgiving is still weeks away and I am seeing Christmas decorations in the stores already.  So I don't think I am out of line in showing you some of my Christmas gift knitting.

If you are my children....stop right here!  Don't look.  These may spoil your Christmas surprise.

I got a late start this year but the annual gift socks are underway.  I knit them toe up and I love the freedom this gives me to use every last bit of the skein (at least to make them as tall as I want).  I divide the skein into two balls that I weigh on my kitchen scale so the skein is divided in half by weight.

The green socks are knit with Scorched Lime "Smooshy" from Dream yarns.  The yarn is soft but it's more of a sport weight so I chose the Van Dyke sock pattern, which is written for sport weight yarn. The heel is a basic gusset heel which is less bulky than the split stitch heel.  Smooshy is thicker than other sock yarns so the gusset heel is a good pattern choice I think.

I loved the Must Stash yarn in the Dark Side of the Moon colorway that stripes and would happily order it in other colorways but the web store is closed until the owner can fill back orders and restock.  The Yarn Harlot made socks and posted them on her blog and the yarn sold out almost immediately.

The striped socks are basic split heel socks.  This yarn is fine and thin and oh so soft.  It knits up less bulky and I have family who likes not-so-bulky socks.  And best of all, the hank comes in two separately tied skeins, which are then twisted together.  The store owner has started both skeins at the exact same place/color so your socks come out evenly without the knitter having to mark the skein and try to find the exact color spot to cast on to make the socks identical. Genius!  I hope this catches on and other yarn vendors start selling their yarn the same way.  A knitter can dream can't she?

Both patterns can be found in Wendy D. Johnson's Socks From The Toe UP book.

2 pairs down and ....a few lot more to knit.

At least I am not hanging them in front of the mantel yet.

Wedding Dresses....and more dresses.

Much of my spare time the last two months has been devoted to sewing dresses; specifically a wedding dress and a bridesmaid dress for Abby and Patrick's wedding.
Abby is my daughters freshman roommate and we've long considered her one of our own.  Patrick really is one of our own...he's an actual cousin. Now Abby is officially part of our family and we couldn't be happier.

This is Abby in her wedding dress just after the ceremony.  Doesn't they look happy? They are such a handsome couple.

Abby fell in love with the fabric and fit of a strapless wedding gown, but she wanted more coverage and she wanted sleeves.  The wedding date was set for late October and the weather turns cool by then so she chose 3/4 length sleeves.

This was the dress she purchased.

Abby's mom was able to acquire extra fabric and lace from the designer so I could build Abby a bodice with sleeves.  I took apart the entire dress; bustier, boning, lining, zipper and both fabrics (lace and underlining).  I fabricated a bodice with neckline and sleeves, took up the hem about 3 inches and put it all back together with tiny satin covered buttons up the back.

We added a satin ribbon and quite a while later,  the dress was done.
Abby was happy and I was happy. I was happy I didn't ruin Abby's wedding day with a dress she didn't like.  It's always a risk remaking an entire (already beautiful, I might add) wedding gown.  I will admit I was relieved when I finished and it was what she had envisioned.
It was a win/win situation.

My daughter Rachel arrived home from a 16 day European trip the day before the wedding. I made her a bridesmaid dress rather quickly.  She's the tall blonde to the left of the bride.

I really loved how her blue lace dress turned out.  More photos to come of Rachel's dress.

The send off was a success. 

Congratulations to the new bride and groom.

A Few Knitt-y things.

 We've had a bit of car time lately and I've been knitting up a storm. B has been nice enough to do all the driving so I can work on projects.

The talented and amazing Julie Williams from Little Cotton Rabbits sent me a free preview pattern for her newest pattern, Mouse girl.  Here's my little mouse in progress to the right of the fox head. The patterns will be available for sale at the end of October.  If you are interested in the Mouse Girl or her Mouse Boy knitting pattern (or both of them), go on over to Julie's blog  or check her out on the Ravelry link above. She also has a generous giveaway for two stuffed toys on her blog right now.  Two winners will win these darling ballerinas.  Go on over and comment.

 You won't want to miss it.

This skein came in the mail a few days ago.  It's Must Stash sock yarn, in the Dark Side of the Moon colorway.  She must be getting bombarded with orders as her store is down until mid November, but I will be purchasing another skein as soon as she has some in the store.  I love this yarn company and the soft wool yarn as well!  The hank comes divided into two perfectly even skeins that start at the same color in the rotation.  You just ball each one separately and start just start knitting; there is no way to mess up the self striping pattern.  Why doesn't everyone sell their yarn like this?  I had my kitchen scale out, ready to divide the hank, and promptly and happily put it aside.

One sock finished and one on the needles.  Christmas present knitting is underway.  I finished the green pair of socks this week as well.  I'm on a roll.

I'm off to sew on a Bridesmaid dress.  

Have a great week.