Shamrock crowns at HumbleLuna!

Hello friends, I just wanted to mention that there are some new fun shamrock crowns in my Etsy Shop just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

There is still time to get them shipped in time. Stop in and take a look.

Thank you!

HumbleLuna

Some recent crafty things

 My camera is dead,poor little thing.

 After three great years it has decided to call it quits. So I am left anxious and camera less at the moment until my replacement(30$bucks on Ebay!) gets here. I figure this would be a good time to go back into my photo archives and show, or show off I guess, some of my recent knitting and crafty projects.

Fist is a sweater I finished for Nalah back in November. The pattern is the Ribbed Baby Jacket by Debbie Bliss. I made one for Sollie back a few years ago too, you can see it here. It took me forever to get this on her and try and get a good photo in this dark winter lighting. They are pretty funny:

 Just after Thanksgiving I noticed a magazine while waiting in the checkout line and couldn't resist the cute mushroom ornaments on the cover. I just love all things mushroom! I don't splurge on magazines very often but this one was a good investment, so many cute ideas. I ended up making almost a dozen of the mushrooms ornaments for an ornament exchange, for a few friends, and my son's Kindergarten teachers. They were so quick and fun to make. I love little portable hand sewing projects I can work on anywhere. The birds were also in the magazine although I altered the pattern slightly by adding wings, they were gifts for friends but I hope to make one for us to keep on our tree next year.

 

Solomon asked for a yellow scarf for his Birthday, so sweet, how could I not? So I made a bright yellow scarf in seed stitch. I loved working with this yarn(Malabrigo chunky) so much. It was so bright and happy, a sunshine happy color for my sweet little guy. The color and stitch makes me think of a honeycomb or bright flowers and bumble bee's with pollen on their legs it also reminds me of way over buttered popcorn.  The purchase of this yarn was just as delightful as the yarn itself. I stopped by a local yarn shop in the morning when I was running quick errand by myself(this so rarely happens). The yarn shop has a resident poodle that looks like a tiny sheep with tight white curls of fur who loves to be held, so lucky me I got to carry him around while I shopped for yarn. It was pretty great. It is no secret I have been wanting a dog for the last 10 years and I have got to get my dog fix where ever I can. Now I can get my yarn fix and my dog fix at the same place! So fun!

 

I have one more finished knitting project but haven't taken photos of it yet so I will have to wait to share that one when my camera gets here.

What have you been making? I would love to see,please feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Yarn along: Teacher's gifts and a sock and a half...

 

Joining along with Ginny this week for the Yarn Along.

 I made a few more knit cacti as  thank you gifts for Solomon's preschool teachers. Yesterday was his last day of preschool. Bittersweet, but he will be back at the same school at the end of the summer for camp. I am so excited for because the camp is called box city and they plan and  build an entire city out of large cardboard boxes. If you only knew how much this little guy likes boxes, fort building is a daily event. So is tripping over them when trying to get from one room to another. Thanks Grandma Joan for making that happen for him!

This time I used super chunky yarn and size 10 dpn's so that the cactus would fit the bigger pots that I had on hand. Sollie ended up painting four pots because both sisters accidentally broke one when they were on the porch sitting out to dry. He was a really good sport about it and just kept painting one pot after another.I think they turned out cute. They were much bigger than the others I made back at Christmas time, they stood about 6 inches tall. You can find the super quick and easy pattern here.

 

Well I have made very little progress on my socks. When I have a little time to knit late at night when the wee ones are in bed the dark yarn and the tiny needles are just too hard to see so it has been slow going, a few rows here and there at nap time or waiting for water to boil for dinner. No rush, it is beyond wool sock weather anyway.

I am still reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. I am about halfway through. I have a huge pile of novels to read for summer(thank you thrift store) so I better get a move on. Lately when I read at night my eyes cross instantly from exhaustion. Might have something to do with having three kids and a husband who works out of state. I have been fantasizing of a summer getaway, just me, a cabin near water, and a good book.....sigh. In my dreams.

A Mama Blessing Felt Tapestry

This picture is before felting. The colors are better shown here, bright and beautiful.


After felting.

A few weekends ago a few of my dear friends came over for a felting Mama blessing party. We got the idea from the summer 2011 issue of Living Crafts magazine to make a wet felted tapestry for the new baby on the way.
I was joking with my friends about what their husbands were thinking when they left their homes with bubble wrap and spray bottles and huge bags of roving in every color imaginable...."Your going to what kind of party?"

None of us had very much experience in wet felting and it felt like we were pretty much just winging it, but it turned out really great. It was a wonderful collaboration of materials and ideas and friendship that I will always cherish and remember. I plan to frame it in a large embroidery hoop and hang it on the wall where the new baby will be able to see and enjoy it.

It was so nice to get together for a few hours kid free, with some crafting some tea and cupcakes and of course best of all, uninterrupted conversation which is so very hard to come by when our children are always around.
I am so thankful for my fiber loving friends. We are already talking about making more in the near future, preferably in the warm sunshine......outdoors....... with margaritas ;)

Birthday Sewing...

'
My friend's daughter had her Birthday party yesterday and I was struggling up to the last minute with what to make for her. I wanted to make her something cute to wear but also wanted her to have something fun too, so here is what I came up with: a pig mask(her mama tells me she is into pigs) and a fun skirt. I had the fabric sitting around untouched from the summer months and it just screams Portland (put a bird on it). I have been itching to make something girly and colorful lately. The mask is made from eco- felt with a bit of elastic for the strap, fun and super easy to make.
I had plans this summer to add an entire collection of fun funky skirts to my Etsy shop, but never felt well enough to do it. Hopefully by the next skirt season I will have them added to my shop. Although it always seems to be skirt season in Portland, people just wear pants under them:)
By the way I am still squeezing my 7 1/2 month pregnant belly into my regular pants, zipped even, although it is getting quite uncomfortable so I plan to make myself a few skirts for my last few months of pregnancy. ..oh maybe some new legwarmers too.....if only I weren't so tired.

Happy Birthday Sweet Ben!

I am so very thankful for my wonderful husband. He is my best friend and a loving Papa to our children. He is a hard worker and is very patient. He has been so helpful during this difficult pregnancy, he never complained when he took on my half of the load as well as his own. I love him so.
He isn't a big Birthday guy, he doesn't want to make a big deal out of his Birthday or to do anything out of the ordinary. But it is a little hard for me cause I love making Birthdays special for the people I love. My kids Birthdays are my favorite days of the year and I love making a big deal out of it.
But Ben is happy with a homemade chocolate cherry cake(that I make every year) and a hand knit hat, usually blue, his favorite color. He wears his handmade hat like his wedding ring as soon as he gets it and doesn't take it off until he loses it or the next summer comes along. See, he likes to wear my handmade hats, I am so lucky:)
This year I searched the Flock and Fiber Festival(see previous post) for the perfect yarn but everything in his color was super itchy and not good for a hat. So after being at the festival all morning I visited a Portland yarn shop in our neighborhood and found the perfect most luciouse yarn, very soft and a gorgeous blue. It is called Road to China and is made from camel,baby alpaca, cashmere, and silk. A real treat to knit with and I even have enough left over to make a pair of newborn socks:) But I am sure Ben could care less about the fancy yarn and would be perfectly happy with cheap oily acrylic yarn, but I've got to sneak the special treatment somehow, he deserves it:)

(hat pattern is the"Regular Guy Beanie" by Chuck Wright)
I am sure the hat will look a lot better on Ben, but I haven't given to him yet;)

Twining trees....

I wanted to share a finished knitted project I made earlier in the summer. Ben and I went to the Redwoods to celebrate our 10th anniversary this year. Afterward I made this tree wall hanging to remember out trip (this was before I found our about our little souvenir coming in February:)
I found the pattern on Ravelry and noticed that several other people used this as wedding gifts making blankets and pillows. It is pretty symbolic of two lives becoming one, and fit perfect with our Redwood tree theme. I thought the pillows were really cool and may make them in the future but I decided just to make a single panel and weaved it over a branch to hang it on the wall above our bed. It was my first time reading a pattern chart, I did okay but made a few mistakes, it was easy to lose track of where I was, especially when knitting around children.
The yarn is Patons wool and much darker brown than the photos show.

Felt baby ball...

I wanted to share the felt baby ball I made from The Children's Year book by Cooper, Fynes-Clinton and Rowling. This was part of the Craftalong for June, I believe. It came to mind when I was thinking of a gift to make my dear friend's daughter for her first birthday. It was fun to make and I plan to make more. Both of my kids want one now too:)

Handmade Easter

What could that be hiding in the grass?

Felted Easter baskets of course. I winged them, made from stash wool. Crocus colors, although I haven't seen a crocus since February.

The handles haven't stayed up since they dried, but no worries. Our kitty Lola getting in on the action.

And what do you see peeking out of the baskets?

Well, "Bunny Nuggets", of course. Pattern found on Ravelry, designed by Rebecca Danger.

They are just as cute from behind...

Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Handmade Birthday gifts...........

Even thought it was almost a week ago I wanted to share a few handmade gifts I made for Sophie's Birthday. She has been taking Ice skating lessons and needed a bag to carry her skates to and from practice. I made this skate bag from some of my stash fabric. The inside is lined with the same fabric as the ice skate appliques.




No Ice skating outfit is complete without funky leg warmers. She knew about these and planned the colors blue and white, cause blue and white are ice princess colors( I love that,she is still a little girl although she acts like a teenager). The big pocket in the front of the bag is intended for her new legwarmers.







Can you find Sophie?


Now she is all set.

She just joined the track team at her school too so I am going to have to make another bag for her to keep her track stuff in.

I also knit her up a few cute headbands. I couldn't get her to model for me yet so I just snapped a quick photo of them. I found the pattern free on Ravelry.

For Mom's Birthday.....

I made my mom a pair of felted slippers from the Fiber Trends pattern called Felt Ballerina Slippers. I tried to make her a pair for Christmas, but when I felted them they were two very different shapes and sizes. I have tried this pattern three times and the slippers never turn out quit the same size, and when making a pair of something the same size is quite crucial. I put them in a pillow case, and washed them at high heat with low water, and a tad bit of detergent and tossed in a pair of jeans to increase agitation. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Although this pair still has slight differences they are the closest pair by far. Felting is such fun, but also a little nerve wracking, I am never quite sure what will come out in the end.
Happy Birthday Mom! Sorry we didn't win that trip to Hawaii ;) for our big Birthdays this year....let keep trying.

A few knit gifts.....

A sweater for my Dad's dog Cinnamon. I used the pattern from the knitting book Stitch and Bitch. I have made this pattern 4 times and I really quite like the way it looks. I can't wait to make one for our future family dog.
By the way, Cinnamon loved it and didn't want to take it off. When my Dad took it off of him to go out in the rain he tried to get it back on himself, it was pretty funny.

Oh and that reminds me, I tried this sweater on Milo, our cat. And he liked it too! He rolled around in it purring. I took a picture with my phone, but don't know how to get it onto the computer as my phone isn't connected to the internet(shocking, I know).

A new hat for Dad, a yearly ritual.

A hat for my Brother-in-law,"Uncle Q-way". Don't mind the yo-yo action in the background.

I am happy to say I managed to squeeze a few knitted gifts in over the holidays, on time, despite my 50+ pairs of of toddler mittens( btw,did I mentions I am making more?). There would have been another to share but it ended with a felting mishap. Still working on Holiday gifts over here....including re-knitting, and re-felting the gift that malfunctioned.
I will catch up, one of these days.

Knit acorn ornaments

Since the begging of December I have made 30+ pairs of fingerless gloves for toddlers to sell on HumbleLuna and in local stores(all sold btw,whew). This has left very little time to knit anything else, but I did manage to make a few a of these cute acorn ornaments that I found on Ravelry. How cute are they? They are quick and fun, you could knit up several in an hour. I just love quick easy knits like this, they are a great way to use up scrap yarn as it takes a very little amount of yarn to make these. I put them out on our Thanksgiving table in a little bowl and they looked really sweet. I am hoping to make a few more as holiday gifts, and our tree could use a few more too.
I am going to stop knitting the toddler gloves after this next batch of 12 or so as I have a lot of knitted gifts in mind and we are getting awfully close to the holidays now. Plus I have a Birthday boy on the New Year, busy times. I hope to share some more crafted gifts soon.
I have a little boy sick with a stomach bug, so we will be laying low this weekend, watching tons of Holiday movies. I will be knitting like crazy until I get it, and fingers crossed that I don't.
Happy holiday gift making, friends!

Colored pencil roll

I made this colored pencil roll for my friend's little girl who turned 3. I got the idea from Last Minute Quilted and Patchwork gifts by Joelle Hoverson.
I made a few changes to the pattern by making it smaller and adding her name appliqued on the back. This was fun to sew it was easily accomplished in one afternoon. My little guy is really into drawing and painting so I might have to make him one too for his upcoming Birthday.
I just loved the colored pencils I found too(Faber-Castell jumbo Eco Pencils) they are chubby and triangular and have the cutest little animals on them, best of all they are made from 100% reforested wood.