Skull & Cross bones Longies

Happy Halloween!!! Even though the skull is really cute... it's still not my favorite thing to knit. It doesn't get any faster no matter how many I knit, and I have to do a lot of finish work. I much prefer making the monster and monkey soakers. They're MUCH easier and faster and have a lot less finish work. Maybe I'll have to change the design and see if I can't make it easier on myself.

Leaf Motif Blanket-Hat & Booties Ensemble

I think this is one of the first things I actually knitted. I know... looks pretty complicated, eh? I'm pretty proud of it. I wish I'd gotten more money out of it! At the time I didn't think I'd ever knit another one because it was very time consuming, but I've come a long way and I could probably do it much more quickly and with a better outcome than when I first started this whole knitting-for-profit thing. Maybe I'll have to give it a try?

Oh, and those are the first pair of socks I ever knit. Cute, huh? :)

Super Wash Soaker

I really like the design of this soaker. It's taken from the Curly Purly pattern here: http://www.curlypurly.com/pdf/soaker.pdf. I love the way it fits. I used DK weight yarn on this one, so it's thinner than I usually make them. I made another one from the same pattern in DK ultra alpaca and it can actually be worn under regular pants, making it very practical. I also think the pleats in the waistband are kinda cool. I wish this yarn were cheaper. It's Kole Knit (I think) and it's an Italian self patterning yarn. It has a very nice hand and beautiful drape, but it's about twice as much gram per gram as other yarns, even the ultra alpaca that I love. I loved watching the pattern develop. I'm going to have to learn how to dye this type of yarn myself. I think I've said that before...

Monster Hat

There he is again! My adorable little Owen! Anson is standing behind me saying "Look! It's baby Owen! He's swimming!" (rolls eyes) three year olds :).

Anson loved this hat too. He wants one, and since I made this one too big for Owen (apparently) maybe I'll have to make a few at the same time for my boys and nieces and nephews... I'll have to work on a pink monster :).

Monster Skirted Longies

All I can say about this one is *giggle* :) I can't wait to see pics of this on the little girl it's for!

Detatchable Skirted Longies

What can I say? I'm a complete genious! Actually, I'm not :) I'm rather surprised no one has come up with this idea before me. They probably have, but I haven't seen it. I felt kinda bad when I got this order that someone was spending so much money on something that would be appropriate to wear for such a short time. I wanted to figure out how to make her valuable purchase more usable. And this is what I came up with! A pair beautiful (if I do say so myself) longies with a detachable skirt in the theme she chose! And voila! A work of art!

This was a very labor-intensive project. Color work is tricky, and the more colors you use, the trickier it is. The leaves weren't planned out. I put them in at random as I worked, hoping that there would be a nice way to weave a stem through them :). Guess I got lucky :).

I LOVE the colors BTW. The brown has flecks of both green and orange, and surprisingly the orange matches the orange yarn, even though the yarns are not only different fibers, but from completely different makers! The brown and green are my favorite of all favorite, Berroco Ultra Alpaca, and the orange is my favorite old stand-by, Cascade 220 in-- what else?-- pumpkin orange :).

Sock Monkey Costume

First of all, I've got to say, Owen... my model... is SO FREAKIN' CUTE!!!! :)

Then I have to say... I'm completely spoiled for yarn now. This little outfit is made of 100% alpaca except for the red, which is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. The brown is baby alpaca and is probably the softest fiber I have ever, or will ever work with. I'd pick this one up to work on when I was feeling stressed out or sad because just touching it was like therapy. Any knitter, crocheter, tatter or embroiderer will tell you how cathartic needlework can be, but when you use luxurious fibers like cashmere or alpaca, it moves you into a whole new realm of finger-pricking happiness. I have just a tiny bit of it left, and I'm going to use it to make a hat for Owen, but I'm really going to miss it!

Maybe I should get some laceweight baby alpaca and start on that wedding shawl I've been wanting to attempt? A wedding shawl, for those who aren't knitters, is a lace shawl knit so fine that the entire thing can be threaded through a wedding ring. For most knitters, it's a years-long project... I think maybe if I started it out of baby alpaca yarn, it could give me several years worth of marriage and family saving therapy.

Happy fibers aside, I love how this cute little costume turned out. I surprise myself with my ingenuity sometimes. The tail is detachable. It just snaps through the fabric and leaves no mark whatsoever, which I think is pretty darn cool. I also LOVE the hat!! It's one of those things, like the Monster skirty/longies that just made me giggle while I was making it because it so cute! It was also a big hit with my niece and nephew. Jack, a 2 year old, put it on and went around patting himself ont he head, feeling how soft the yarn was! I made a matching adult hat for the mom who ordered it. The night I made it I was hanging out with one of my best friends, and we kept passing it back and forth, taking turns wearing it :). Now I'm going to need to make one for myself! It's so soft and cozy and warm! If I'm not too busy this Christmas season, I think I'll make several of them and take them up to the hospital children's oncology ward and donate them. My friend's little boy has leukemia and it makes me much more aware of how much things like cute hats are appreciated both by the patient and the family... just to know someone cares.

Oh, and just FYI, for anyone who wants to know, this entire outfit was improvised by me. I used several reference books to figure out technique, but the patterns are uniquely mine, which is very gratifying in and of itself.

Classic Fit or Wide leg???

I've got the cutest little monkey in the world! I now wish I'd had my sister take pics that included his face so everyone can see what a cute baby I made :). The model in these pics is my little boy Lucas. He's quite a character. He doesn't stand still for more than about 5 seconds at a time. I guess that's pretty typical of a 2 year old, but he really is very VERY busy, and pretty hard to catch. I have many more pics of his big brother Anson than I do of him because I can't get him to stand still for long enough for the picture not to be blurry! I think we lucked out getting what we did for this blog!

When I finished the monkey pants, I absolutely had to see how they would look on. I thought they would be too short for Lucas, but obviously, I was wrong! Not only would he not stand still for a pic, he was extremely difficult to catch to get them off of him again!!! He was so funny! He did this funny little dance that made the pant legs swing around and brush his little legs... he was a tiny, tow-headed Elvis. When I finally got them off of Lucas, Anson decided he wanted to try them on too. It was heartbreaking to try to make him understand that he was just too big for them. So now I HAVE to make them for my boys!

I have to say I'm really glad that I figured out how to do wide legs. Not that it was difficult... it's basically just an inside-out or backward gusset. I love the way both fits look, but I think the wide-leg is a little more manly and boogie friendly. I would recommend them if your toddler really loves to dance :)

Monkey Longies - Wide leg red/chocolate brown

Love this. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! I really do think I'm going to have to raise my prices and start making everything out of Ultra Alpaca. It's such a gorgeous yarn! So soft, beautiful colors, gorgeous drape... And yeah, I like the design too, if I do say so myself :).