Well, I finally did it!  I finished my Margot sweater that I started last summer.

If you want to take a look at the baby steps involved (I’m such a slow knitter), check out these posts:

Margot: My first knitted sweater

Work In Progress: Margot knitted sweater

Raglan Increases Complete: Margot in progress

Margot’s Progress

Waist increases and decreases

Margot update

Margot: Almost Done!

Well, here is the final product!  I’m so proud to be done.  I’ve even worn it to school once already and had a ton of compliments.  I don’t think I’ll get to wear it again for a while, as we are already nearing 90 degree temps in Houston, but it’ll be waiting for me next fall (if we have one?)

It’s been a while.  Life has a way of getting in the way of creativity sometimes.  Oh well!  Back at it!

Lately, Brandi and I have been doing a lot of different crafty things.  I got her back into beading jewelry.  While I’ve done a couple of bracelets, Brandi has made a lot of really cool bracelets and necklaces. 

I’ve really gotten to love working with Tila beads.  I’ve made two Tila Tapestry bracelets that I absolutely adore.

I also signed up for one of the classes at Painting with a Twist.  We did the Sallier Oak painting, which came out SO cute.

I definitely want to do another one of these classes in the future.

Brandi has been learning a lot of techniques from a class from Tim Holtz.  I don’t have much of Tim Holtz products, but that may have to change in the near future.   I learned yesterday how to work with distress inks and alcohol inks.  I’m LOVING the tag, and the alcohol inks were placed on a piece of white, glossy paper.

I see more crafty days in my future, especially since I’ve finally brought most of my craft supplies out of storage (where they have been located since December).

I’m deep into my crafting ADD again.  I’m moving back and forth between crocheting and knitting a lot.  I’ve still got a sleeve to work on on my Margot sweater, but I got really bored with it.  I also started a cabled scarf and a pair of crocheted slippers.

Black Friday came and left and during the day I had an awesome craving (yes, you read that right…a CRAVING) to knit a pair of socks.  I’ve never knitted socks before, so I needed something pretty simple.

I decided on Red Heart’s Self-Striping Knit Socks pattern and Red Heart “Heart and Sole” yarn in Green Envy.  I began them yesterday and I’m about halfway through the top portion of the first sock.  I’m a little upset at the skein of Heart and Sole, though.  The whole point of this yarn is that it is self-striping and will have the same pattern on the second sock.   Well, when there is a knot in the middle of the skein, changing the color orders, then the points kinda moot, isn’t it?  Boo, Red Heart.  BOOOOOO!

I’ve been talking about it for a while now, but I’ve finally done it!  I’ve opened my own Etsy store!

Right now, I’m concentrating on hats, but eventually I’ll branch out to other items (like my cookies!)

So far, I’ve only posted 3 hats.  The first one is the knitted slouchy hat I posted here last week.  It’s such a cute hat!  I hope it finds a great home.

The 2nd and 3rd hats are from the same pattern from Vicki Howell called Urban Jungle.  The pattern is so simple and goes so quickly.  I love how it sits on the head.  It’s not stiffing and snug.  It sits without moving and has it’s own ventilation built in with the puff stuff/chain 1 pattern.  So cute!

I plan on making several more in the coming weeks and then venturing into making my own pattern.

I’m no stranger to making hats.  I’ve been crocheting hats for a long time now.  I used to sell them about 5-6 years ago in fact.  I never made a killing at it.  Hell, I barely covered my materials cost because I was obsessed with buying more yarn instead of perfecting what I was doing! But…that’s a different story for a different time.

Fast forward to now and I’ve kinda gotten away from the crochet hat look.  Not like ANY crochet hat, just the double crochet ones I used to make.  I don’t know, I just like a more flat, sleek look to my hats.

In recent years, I’ve started seeing more slouchy hats around.  You see them on celebrities…

and models…

…they’re everywhere.

AND I LOVE THEM. Srsly.

I’ve been looking for a simple pattern, maybe even one I could modify to work out how I want it.  You see, I didn’t want mine to be TOO slouchy.

I found a pattern on Ravelry that seemed like it’d work well with the yarn that I had available, Noro Kureyon.

I modified the length just a bit.  I only went to 7 1/2″ in length instead of 9.5″ of length.  It’s PERFECT!

I plan on making several more in different colors.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll even post some up on Etsy in the near future to sell.  But for now, they’re all mine! =P

I’ve been making cookies on and off for over a year now.  I was inspired by so many different bakers in the blogosphere and took their advice to heart whenever they wrote.  I kept trying different recipes until I found one that was just AMAZING to me.  Last year, I made some cookies that looked like acorns and turkeys for Thanksgiving and a myriad of different shapes, including snowman and snowflakes, for Christmas.

As the summer days get long and the temperatures kept creeping higher and higher above 100 degrees, I spent less and less time baking cookies.  I mean, who wants to run a hot oven in 110 degree weather?  NOT. ME.

My sister-in-law requested some character cookies for my nephews 2nd birthday a few weeks back.  I hadn’t even THOUGHT of cookies in months.  By the time I had made up my mind to make them, made sure I had the time and all, she had moved on to hire a baker.  “You should sell your cookies!  I paid a LOT for 20 of them, ” she exclaimed via text message.

In passing, I mentioned it to my team mate at school.  She agreed with how delicious they are and how she’d love for me to make her a dozen cookies for her daughter’s sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta.  Then, the wheels started spinning.

First batch didn’t set.  It was humid here in Houston that day.  =(

Second batch came out beautifully.  I love how bright and cheery they are!

So, I guess I’m venturing into the world of cookie making for money in the very near future!  Look out for it on the horizon.

I’ve been working on my Margot sweater since late July.  I wish I had all the time in the world to knit, but alas I do not.

The last two weeks, I’ve been plugging away at one of the sleeves.  I bought bamboo dpn’s specifically for this project but found that they were catching the yarn a bit.  I switched over to metal and my stitches were all over the place.  I switched back to bamboo a few rows later.

When I got to the cuff, I got frustrated and decided to go back to my circulars.  DPN’s feel too much like knitting with a porcupine.  Not enjoyable.

Other than some things that will come out in blocking, I’m really.pleased by how it looks!

I’ve been working on my Margot now for a while.  I’m not the most efficient knitter out there.  I am pretty slow when I compare myself to other knitters on the blogosphere.  Maybe as I continue knitting, I’ll be better at it. =)

Last weekend, I began the bottom borders of my Margot.  This morning, I finally bound of the first side!  I really haven’t been working on it at all this week, so the fact that it took me a week is kinda misleading.

I forgot how careful I have to be when I bind off.  I hardly ever “lose” a stitch when I’m knitting, but dang it if I don’t usually mess up on the bind off!  I took my time and got that first side bound off nicely with no mishaps!

I’m ready to pick up the stitches on the back side and do the border there, then move on to the arms!  Squeeeeee!

Have I told you about my adventure in Austin last weekend?  While the hubs and I visited friends, I decided to take a small detour to Hill Country Weavers to check out their selection.

Ohhhhh maaaahhhhhhh gooooodnessss.

I was enthralled for what MUST have been 2 hours.  I just looked through all the shelves in complete AWE.  I mean, we have yarn stores in Houston but to be honest, I’m usually looking at a very limited selection.

Not at Hill Country Weavers!

I went through shelf after shelf of magnificent yarny goodness and came out with a beautiful hank of Madeline Tosh DK.

225 yards of 100% superwash merino wool in colorway Dahlia.  Totally love it!

Now, I have to find a way to wind it into a center pull ball.  Any ideas?

By the way, ever seen a million pinto beans spread onto a floor?  Check it out.

We did an experiential lesson on mission life in Texas this week.  My portion of the lesson was for our “Native Americans” (the students) to work the fields.  The kids couldn’t talk and had to pick beans up off of my classroom floor for 5 minutes SILENTLY one by one.  I think my favorite part of the entire lesson was being able to go around and knock over their cups if they were doing it wrong!  The looks on their faces were PRICELESS!  Definitely one of the most memorable days in my teaching career.

…and yes, I am still finding beans in little knocks and crannies all over my room.  =)

For the past several days, I have been working on the waist section of my Margot.  Tonight, I’ve finally finished.those.increases/decreases.  I’ve decided that I’m going to length the body to 12.5″ instead of 11″ because I’d like a little more length to it.  I’ve got a lot of straight up stockinette to go before I get to the bottom dividing rounds.  I’m excited about it!

Way back when I first started to knit and crochet(2003?), I started a website to sell some of my creations.  As I began to branch out, I learned how to felt and began making felted purses.

One day, I found the cutest pastel yarn to felt and came up with the idea to make an Easter basket out of the material.
I fell out of knitting for a long time, so the website went the way of the dinosaurs.  I have recently been thinking of learning to design some things in the future and it brought me back to that pattern I had posted so long ago and forgot about.  Oh, waybacktimemachine, you are a life-saver!

**Disclosure** This is my original design.  Please do not use this pattern  commercially without permission.  Please contact me with any questions.

Felted Easter Basket Purse A: 3 balls of Lion Brand Landscapes yarn in “Pastel Meadow” B: 1 ball of Lion Brand Fun Fur in “Citrus” Size 15 circular needles (16”) Yarn needle 4 Stitch holders 4 Stitch markers Gauge: I didn’t check gauge on mine, as I just winged the pattern to begin with. Every one will felt differently, so finished dimensions are up to you. Cast-on 30 stitches with A.  Work in garter stitch for 16 rows. Place a marker on your needle.  Pick up stitches around the piece, first 8, place a marker, then 30, place a marker then 8 again.  Place a “special” marker when you have picked up all stitches.  I marked my “special marker” with a piece of bright yarn so that I could differenciate where my beginning place was. Now K every row for 45 rows. Take a double strand of B, along with A and knit for 5 rows. Bind-off: K 2, bind off first stitch, then K 4 more.  Bind off the second to last stitch.  You should have 4 stitches on your needle.  Transfer those to a stitch holder.  Then bind off across the row until you have 7 stitches left before the next marker.  K 4, bind off second to last stitch, slip 4 stitches onto stitch holder.  Bind off last stitch of row.  Bind off both sides like normal, and bind off opposite side in same fashion. Handles:  Transfer stitches from one stitch holder onto needles again.  Work in stockinette stitch for 60 rows.  Then, transfer stitches on same side of work from holder to another needle.  Use 3 needle bind-off to seam the handle together. Repeat on opposite side. Now, weave in all ends of yarn, place in a zipper pillowcase and felt!  You can find many directions for felting online.  Make sure you block your masterpiece and let it dry completely, which can take a day or two. If you would like to line your creation, feel free!  Makes a great gift for the little girl in your life!