Thursday, February 19, 2009

Off the air

Well, that was an abrupt absence! One minute I am telling you about birthday craftiness, and then I disappear for 3 months. *sigh* I have this personality "flaw". If I feel like I HAVE to do something, I just don't. Not the important stuff. My kids are fed, we have clean things to wear, but when I make myself feel obligated I kind of shut down. So there you are. On the bright side you all got to gaze at my ridiculously handsome husband for 3 months. That's like a giveaway in and of itself!

Anyway, many of you (read:KAREN) have been wanting an update, so here goes.

Birthday

I have a six year old!! I saw this idea on House on Hill Road, and knew it was perfect! I even appliqued a pair of her jeans to match. All the fabric used came from the scrap pile left after I finished piecing her birthday quilt (still not quilted, but coming soon)

Thanksgiving

I had these outfits planned in my mind for months, but never had the time to do them. The night before Thanksgiving it was do or die. I was up until 7 am, but man! My kids were ADORABLE!!! And they still wear those shirts at least once a week. (it is good to be thankful year round)

That is when my sewing mojo wore out, and when work got really demanding. The upside is that I am knitting again. I forgot how much I love to knit. Here are a few of my most recent quick knits.

Gnome hat

This is an adaptation of Hello Yarn's Gnomey Hat. I made one of these for a friend's baby and Eve fell in love. How could I say no. The pattern is sized for a newborn, but it was pretty easy to size up. Aurora has ordered one in red. Awesome!

Something for me

I bought this great hand painted alpaca yarn in Florida, and really wanted it to be a hat. Earlier this week I used it to knit up this hat. I love it! (oh and if you look closely you can even get a tiny glimpse of my pink eye. Good times)

So there you are. I don't want to give up this space just yet, but I can't make any promises. (to the entire audience of one that I serve) I do HAVE to get some quilting done, so I will update when I make some progress.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Karen is going to be so happy!

(As am I, even though I've already seen all those pictures. This summer I want to make applique t-shirts and striped skirts!)

Natalie said...

LOL!!! You are awsome...now maybe you can get my blog updated because it has been even longer that I haven't posted. My last post was Halloween. I love you!!!!

Shannon said...

I LOVE to hear from you and I need girls so stinking bad...are you kidding me...I want one of those dresses...I just don't think my boys would be happy if I pulled matching ones out for them to wear! And I have NO COMMENT that you made those in one night!

Anonymous said...

YAY!!! I'm so happy! Thank you for posting!

Kim said...

You so have more than one reader. Don't ever update again, ok? (see if I tell you never to do it then you will do it again soon!)

Scribbit said...

LOVE the gnome hat! And glad you're back!

Lisa R.D. said...

Wow, what crafty goodness you have been creating! I am so envious of your girls Thanksgiving outfits--maybe next year I'll make one for me and for Olivia (would it fly to wear it as a 35 year old?).

Glad to have you back, even for a moment.

Natalie said...

Yay!...a post from Nicole! It's great to read an update. Once again, I love all your recent projects. If only I had an ounce of your talent!

Amanda said...

Wow, those outfits are gorgeous! :D

I came across your blog while googling the Gnomey Hat, and I have a question about your adaption! How many stitches did you increase the pattern by in order to size it up? I'm terrible with maths but need to alter the pattern because I'm knitting it for a baby, but on smaller needles (the recommended size just wasn't working for me). Obviously this will make the hat smaller so I was going to increase the stitches, but I can't figure out the most basic multiple and don't want to screw it up. o_O

Any help would be appreciated! :)

Kristina Strain said...

I love that House on Hill Road idea, too! Someday, when I have a kid...

Kristina
Sweetfern Handmade

Nicole said...

Amanda,

I am not sure if you are still checking this. I don't have any contact info for you!! Here are the changes I made:

I used 10.5 needles and a super bulky yarn. Then I made these changes as well.

Cast on 60 stitches. Join and knit in garter st for 1".
Change to stockinette and knit straight unti piece measures 4" total.

Decrease rounds:

*K10, K2Tog* repeat between *s around
knit 1 row plain
*K9, K2Tog* repeat between *s around
knit 1 row plain
Continue pattern as written.

Ear flaps:

Pick up 14 sts. at hat edge with right side facing.
K4 rows plain, then start decreasing one stitch on
each end of row, 4x.
Decrease 1 stitch at each edge on every row, 3x.
Bind off remaining stitches

Hope that helps!!

Anonymous said...

at 6 the p-s-y isn't ready for c--k but her mouth andarse are, the p-s-y is ready to get felt up, fingered and licked though