Marmalade Baby!

My Little One's Coming Home Outfit

2012-01-02T19:46:00.004-07:00

Blue Monkey's With Ears

2012-01-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Monster Set

2011-12-19T11:06:00.002-07:00

Yes, this is a repeat of Owie's monster outfit... but who can blame the mama for wanting it? It's ADORABLE if I do say so myself, and I do :D I need to get to work on a set for my little newbie. Made from Cleckheaton Country 8ply washable wool. After machine washing it, it didn't even look like I'd done anything to it at all. It was absolutely perfect, and nice and soft. It's listed as DK weight, but it's really more of a light worsted. I'm definitely gonna have to revisit this yarn for future washables.

Owl Longies with Linen Stitch Cuffs

2011-12-19T11:05:00.001-07:00

Owl Skirty Revisited

2011-12-19T11:03:00.002-07:00

Fish Hat

2011-12-19T11:02:00.002-07:00

Adorable Livvy!

2011-12-14T10:22:00.002-07:00

This is my niece Livvy in an adorable outfit I made her... I sure hope my new baby is HALF as cute as she is! And just so everyone is properly impressed, she's not even 7 months old, and is already crawling and sitting up by herself! My sister says she's even starting to pull herself up! She's in big trouble if you ask me. Livvy is very petite also. Most of her clothes that fit are still 0-3 months. Love this bitty girl!

Fall Capris

2011-10-19T14:31:00.000-06:00

Old McDonald Had A Farm....

2011-10-13T17:55:00.003-06:00

E I E I OOOOOOO :) I love these. I'm gonna have to make a pair for my newbie.

This wonderful mama sent me a couple of pics of her little lady wearing these :D Apparently every time she puts them on, she has to point out the animals and make their noises. I LOVE IT! :D

Under The Sea

2011-10-06T18:28:00.002-06:00

Baby Monkey

2011-10-03T16:29:00.003-06:00

This is my niece modeling the little footies I made to bring my newbie home in in January. I think they're adorable :D As is my gorgeous little niece.

Hearts and Stars Skirted Longies

2011-08-23T14:40:00.000-06:00

These are made with my very favorite yarn, and I'm so pleased with how they turned out! The pinks and green go together like a dream. I really hope I get to see pics of these on their intended!

The Blanket and The Mouse

2011-08-23T14:22:00.002-06:00

This little mouse and blanket is made of some of the softest, nicest yarn I've ever worked with. It's a blend of cotton and cashmere, so it has GORGEOUS stitch definition, and is luxuriously soft. It's called Aimee, by Louisa Harding. This is actually the second project I've made with this yarn, but I forgot to get pictures of the first one, which was a beautiful double knit lap blanket. The woman I made these for sent me the yarn, and I think I'm in love with this woman. Not really. I'm in love with my husband, but she keeps sending me boxes of this incredible yarn (all different kinds, for all different kinds of projects) and leaves me a lot of leeway to design what she wants. I've made her a couple of soakers, and now we're working on some home accessories for her house. I'm really enjoying her projects! It's nice to take a break from soakers for a bit and do something challenging and different. Wait 'til you see the bedspread I'm making her! Watch out!

Teresa, I'm so glad you found me. I'm so happy to be working with you! I hope you love this little blankie and mouse as much as I enjoyed making them!

Curtain

2011-08-23T14:20:00.003-06:00

This is another project for my dear Teresa. This is a curtain for her kitchen door window. It's in simple stockinette, knit on size 15 needles. The yarn is so beautiful it didn't even need a pattern. I believe the yarn is cotton and nylon. It's hand dyed and very pretty and fun to work with, though it tangles like a mother! I think it would make a gorgeous scarf or shawl. Maybe I'll use the leftovers for a scarf... it's so pretty and actually very soft. Here is the yarn we used, Canela by Ester Bitran.

More Girly Sock Monkey Longies

2011-07-11T15:06:00.003-06:00

This is of course inspired by the Cutest Thing I've Ever Made. These are only NOT the cutest thing I've ever made because the other ones were newborn and these are toddler sized. I hope I can get the mama to send me action shots. The monkey pants are SO much cuter on than just posing on a table.

Hello Kitty Revisited

2011-07-11T15:04:00.002-06:00

Every time I've worked on these, the theme from Hello Kitty goes through my head and I say "Hello, Kitty" in my head to myself :)

I LOVE the colors on this. They remind me of rainbow sherbet, which at the moment is one of my favorite pregnancy cravings. Sooooooo yummy! I'm gonna have to text my hubby and make him bring some home tonight. I can't wait to see if the mama will send me some action shots of this one!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-06-22T16:15:00.005-06:00

I'll definitely be making a pair of these for my newbie due in January. Girl or boy, it'll be PERFECT! Thanks for the inspiration mama!

Woody and Jessie

2011-06-02T10:27:00.005-06:00

This has been a super fun project! Things have been going very slow for me. I just can't seem to stay well for more than a few days at a time, and it's really put a pinch on my creativity. However, I'm still here, still kickin' and hopefully with the new drugs I will be able to get on top of everything and put some more cute stuff up here!

This mama has a boy and a girl, ages 2 and 3, and of course they're huge Toy Story fans, as are my boys, so this is so perfect for them! I can't wait to see action shots of these. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they came out. I hope the mama does too!

I also made booties to go with the Woody pants.

Introducing Livvy!

2011-05-20T08:52:00.003-06:00

This is my beautiful new niece! She was born just yesterday and I guess my sister had to try on her going home outfit to make sure it would fit since she was just a little smaller than expected; 6lbs 15oz and 18" long. I think she's so sweet! And has the most perfect mouth a baby's ever had. Of course, I made the ladybug skirty :)

Spring is HERE!!

2011-03-15T16:11:00.004-06:00

I cannot express how much I hate winter, and how much I LOVE SPRING!!! So I was pretty excited when my sister needed a shower gift and said I could do whatever I want to do. My tulips started pushing through the soil last week, so this is what I did. I love it! It's in Berroco Ultra Alpaca except for the yellow which is Di'Ve Zenith merino wool.

Owie's Monkey Pants!

2011-03-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

My sister Michelle has been bugging me about these for MONTHS. Since I only reserve Sundays for knitting for family and friends, it took much longer than my projects normally do after they get on the needles. I'm so very pleased with how they came out, and I'm so happy they went to my sweet nephew so I can visit them all the time!! :) Thanks for the inspiration Shelly!! You inspired me to make some of the cutest longies on the planet! And yes, they're made with my very favorite Berroco Ultra Alpaca, the DK version.

And because he's mine and he's SO DARN CUTE, here's Lucas modeling Owie's pants. He LOVED them and didn't want to take them off!

My Favorite Super Hero!!!

2011-02-25T14:37:00.000-07:00

Anson LOVES to pretend. He loves to be other people. He's hardly ever himself! He loves to be Woody and make Lucas be Buzz. He loves to be Spiderman, Mr. Incredible, and even Maxwell Smart! (yes... he LOVES the old TV series Get Smart which we have on DVD. He borrows Daddy's suit coats and shoes and stomps around calling Lucas either 99 or Chief and talking into his shoe!) But of course, he loves being Superman most of all. He used to want to go to school dressed in his Superman costume, which of course I didn't want him to do. I let him take it in his back pack a couple of times, but he always came home in it so that wasn't working. Finally I decided to make him an acceptable alternative. I'm extremely pleased with how it came out, and so is he :). It's knit in Cascade 220 sport weight,which is a very nice and inexpensive wool that's held up to the abuse of a 5 year old and his 3 year old brother, and it's very comfortable to wear, or so he tells me. It's so gratifying to make something for my own son. He's totally my super hero.

Unfortunately he hasn't let me take his picture in it yet! So here's his cousin Jack, who's not nearly as camera shy.

Candy Shoppe!

2011-02-25T13:59:00.003-07:00

These are the softest, squishiest, most hug-able pair of longies I've ever made. After I bound them off, I carried them around over my shoulder for a while just because they're so soft!!! Unfortunately, the yarn they're made out of (well... the light pink and yellow anyway, which is the softest yarn EVER,especially in terms of squishiness) is discontinued, so it'll get harder and harder to find. It's 100% Merino wool, but is shrink resistant. It'll still felt if you REALLY try HARD, but for the most part it's washing machine safe. I washed and dried a swatch of it with my towels to see what would happen, and it did shrink just a little bit... after washing AND drying on hot. Weirdly, the stitches didn't felt, just the yarn, so there was perfect stitch definition,but the yarn itself was felted. I'd love to work with it again.

And seriously, how cute are these!

The mama I made these for was having a really hard time visualizing the colors together so I decided to knit a mini pair of longies to show what some of the colors would look like together. As you can see, they look NOTHING like the finished product, but they're still really cute, so I decided to finish them off and offer them to the mama as a pair of doll pants :). We tried them on Anson's Buzz Lightyear and they fit like a dream!

Addy also decided she wanted to model these ones, and they're just about a perfect fit, except the rise is kinda short on her. She's such a petite little thing. I totally lub her.

Boy Monster Hat

2011-02-10T16:24:00.002-07:00

This is the big brother of the girlie monster hat. Unfortunately big brother had a horrible cold and wouldn't cooperate for a picture. I should have gotten one of this on my nephew Jack. He wanted to keep it SO BAD. I know what to do for him for Christmas now!

Girly Monster Hat

2011-02-07T19:20:00.001-07:00

Look! Isn't she about the cutest thing EVER?!?! Thanks to Lauren for letting me borrow this adorable pic of her baby in this hat :) Yeah... gotta get me a girl! Only I'm pretty darn sure I'll never have one with those pretty brown eyes.

Ella the Elephant BLOOMERS :)

2011-02-07T15:47:00.003-07:00

Hoot-Hoot Skirty

2011-01-30T13:37:00.007-07:00

This was inspired by this hat. The more I look at it, the more I like it. It's made from washable yarns as the mama who ordered this uses AIO's and pockets (cloth diapers that don't need a cover) and didn't want to have to worry about accidentally putting it in the washer or dryer. The main colors are in Berroco Vintage, which is about 40% wool, and the rest acrylic and nylon I think. It's VERY soft, and even though the label says to lay flat to dry, I put a swatch through the dryer and it came out just beautiful. The other colors are a variety of superwash wools from Karabella, Tahki, and Dale of Norway.

Addy decided she wanted to model for me today and didn't care that these are too small! She really likes the little flowers....

Owlie BLOOMERS!

2011-01-24T09:33:00.006-07:00

K.. now I have a new favorite. I can't wait until I get pics from my brother of these on my niece. They're SO CUTE! I love the bloomer style! I used this pattern. Yes, I could have made up my own, but I thought it would be kinda fun to learn some new techniques, and this one has a different crotch than I've worked before which I quite like. I'll definitely be using it again. The bloomers are knit in Berroco Ultra Alpaca with Plymouth Superwash Merino (blue) and Cascade 220 (green) trim. So soft and pretty! I really need a girl I think.

If you don't have a ravelry account, you should get one! I don't know if you can view that link without an account, but it's FREE and totally worth it if you're into knitting/crochet, even if you're only into shopping for it.

Here's our gorgeous little Rosie. It doesn't show off the bloomers all that well... but MAN is she cute or WHAT?! :) I totally have the most charming nieces in the world.

Sushi and Elmo

2011-01-18T19:22:00.004-07:00

These sushi longies turned out TOTALLY different from what I thought they would. Just goes to show, sometimes things really do have a life of their own. They were going to have just a row of sushi on the bum, but then I came across some really cute cartoon sushi, and I couldn't resist the inspiration! These made me giggle as I was making them :). They're made from mostly Berroco Ultra Alpaca, but the green, orange, black and white are either Cascade 220 or Plymouth Galway

.Is there really anything to say about Elmo? Every kid who's seen them so far has wanted to wear them. Both of my boys took turns "trying them on" and my niece wouldn't take them off. She really likes longies. I went to my sister's to have her take some pictures for me and Addy modeled my peace sign longies, but really, as soon as I walked in the door she only had eyes for Elmo. The white outside the black does NOT show as much in real life.

Peace!

2011-01-11T00:09:00.008-07:00

I actually love these so much that I really don't want to send them off. Just the colors make me want to keep them! The peace sign is knit in bulky Gaia in the Talulah colorway by Lollytree Yarns. I only had a little scrap of it that Mrs Lollytree sent me along with some adorable stitch markers and some white Cestari that I used to make the Hello Kitty shorties. I love this colorway so much that I really MUST get some for my own use. Seriously, I think I need a hat and scarf for myself out of it. Not only is the colorway scrumptious, the yarn is so soft and squishy!

I started the legs with totally different colors and decided I didn't like it at all. They needed to match the Talulah better. So I ripped them out and went through my scraps again and tried to match the colors as closely as possible. The burgundy color is one I dyed myself and apparently didn't set it well enough because it bled on the blue and yellow (curses!). I tried to get it out, hoping my trick from the Lost in the Woods longies would work, but alas, that was a one time deal. In the process of trying to get out the dye transfer, the longies felted a little so I was afraid that changing those few stripes would be impossible and I'd have to knit them all over again. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. It's pretty hard to tell which stripes I re-knit now unless you know what you're looking for, and that' s just fine with me!

For the stripes on the legs, I used a random stripe generator on Biscuits and Jam.com. Coolest knitting tool EVER.

Details of remaining color transfer. GRR!!! Must remember to lanolize with vinegar.

Here's the little girl who ended up with them. I wanna squish her cheeks. I seriously gotta get me a little gir!!!

Ella the Elephant

2011-01-10T23:53:00.007-07:00

This is an extremely popular fabric, and very hard to find. Just trying to find decent PICTURES to try to copy it was very difficult. I'm very pleased with how they turned out, and I hope the mama is too.

Cutest thing I've EVER MADE!

2011-01-10T23:29:00.003-07:00

Yes... this is definitely the cutest thing I've ever made. I think the monkeys will remain my favorite forever. This one was made holding three strands of lace weight alpaca together. The marled brown is actually 2 different browns and a natural. This is one of those that I'm sad to see go. However, I'm pretty sure I have enough of the yarn left to make myself one... if I ever have another baby and if that baby happens to be a girl. *Sigh* Making baby stuff sure makes for baby hunger.

Girly Sock Monkey's

2010-12-02T07:32:00.003-07:00

Owl on a Branch

2010-10-29T18:00:00.001-06:00

Itty Bitty Sock Monkey

2010-10-20T20:10:00.003-06:00

K... so this is probably the CUTEST THING I'VE EVER MADE but only because it's so tiny! I made it for a good friend of my sister's for her newborn boy out of DK Ultra Alpaca and even I was afraid it would be too small. You really do forget how tiny newborns are! They fit him perfectly, but not for long! I'm really hoping to get a picture of him in them before he outgrows them to post on here... there's just nothing like a newborn :).

FOR SALE Jack-O-Lantern Longies and Matching Hat

2010-10-20T15:57:00.005-06:00

Someone please buy this!!

Lanolized and ready to wear! Size 3-6 months, measures Rise: 16", Waist: 16", Inseam: 7". Asking $65, but will take offers!

Cityscape FINSHED!

2010-10-20T13:39:00.004-06:00

Lost in the Woods FINISHED!

2010-10-20T13:36:00.005-06:00

These started out as a beautiful pair of longies, lovingly embroidered. And then I washed them. The yarn I embroidered with is 100% wool but not a brand I knit with. It's an embroidery wool that comes in tiny skeins so you don't have to buy a whole bunch of yarn you're never going to use up. I had no idea it wasn't colorfast! I have a picture somewhere of the stain that happened on the front of the pants, but I'm not sure I want to post it. It was a very traumatic thing for me. There was a huge shadow of a tree on the front from having been turned inside out during lanolizing. It looked like a big pooh stain! SOOOO not pretty! I was sure they were completely ruined!

I got a lot of advice from other mamas on how to get the stain out, and I tried the most popular suggestion, which was to wash it in Dawn dish detergent. So I did, but I think I used too much and couldn't get all the soap out! Actually, I washed it several times in the Dawn, but still wasn't happy with the stain removal process. Finally, I figured there wasn't much more I could do to ruin them, so I put them in my front load washer on gentle and just ran it through the cycle to get the Dawn out. IT WORKED! sort of. The stain came out almost completely (you have to look REALLY close and know what you're looking for) but they had felted a little bit! Now I was afraid it wouldn't fit the girl it was made for! I still haven't seen pics of it on, so I'm just taking the mama's word for it that it does indeed fit. I stretched it and stretched it to make it fit the measurements the mama gave me and finally succeeded. But I was still really nervous about it. I decided to try it on my 2 year old niece to see how it would look, and whadyaknow! It totally fit! She's probably a little smaller than the girl it's intended for. My niece is VERY petite, but it fit her so well that I wasn't afraid it wouldn't fit the intended anymore so I sent it out, and mama says she's happy with it, so that's the happy ending of the near tragedy of the Lost in the Woods longies. I'm still very traumatized by it.

Yay! They really DO fit! Mama Jennifer just posted these pics for me. I swear, her little girls (she's got three) are about the cutest little munchkins I've ever seen! I'm gonna have to start making her stuff just so her little girls can model them for me! Check it out!

And yes, mama did have that hoodie made to match by this mama here. So freakin' cute! Now I need a girl... or maybe just to spend more time with and make more stuff for my nieces... yeah... that's it lol!

Owl in a Tree WIP

2010-10-19T09:41:00.005-06:00

I need the mama's input on these. I'm pretty sure about them, but not 100%. There will be an owl on the long branch on the bum and the waist is an encased drawstring. I kinda feel like the design should maybe be longer, but at the same time, I really don't want to undo it... I LOVE the colors though. The moon is a silvery baby llama yarn that I picked up and I thought it would make a great moon because it's kinda fuzzy so it looks like it's glowing :). Of course, when I got home from the yarn shop, I remember that I have plenty of silvery alpaca/wool blend that would have developed some fuzz and been very pretty and saved me $8, but hey, you live and learn. Feedback is welcome and invited! Thanks!

UPDATE:

YAY! They're DONE! Sometimes it's just so satisfying to say that. They just need an i-cord and to be blocked. HALLELUJAH!!

Please forgive the crappy phone pics. I'll take better ones once they're blocked.

Halloween Longies and Pumpkin Hat WIP

2010-10-19T09:37:00.003-06:00

The longies are done, but I ran out of orange and haven't finished the hat. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that my local yarn shop has the right color in stock! The hat will eventually have a stem and leaves on it :).

VROOOM! Longies... or Retro Cars... but I like VROOOM! :)

2010-10-17T14:11:00.002-06:00

This was going to be another pair of owls, but then the mama did her own owls that were SO CUTE, so I offered to do something else. I added orange and cars to match the shirt she found the same day we were talking about it and I LOVE THEM! I loved them before I gave them to the mama, but on her baby they're beyond adorable. My big boy has red hair and blue eyes... this little guy totally reminds me of him! Such a cutie!

Cityscape WIP, Update

2010-09-29T09:35:00.008-06:00

I've been promising this mama pictures of this FOREVER, and somehow I just haven't been able to get with my sister/photographer to get good pictures of it, so here are some crappy pics I took. I so missed out on the photography talent in my family. Hopefully I can get together with my sister later today or tomorrow and get some GOOD pictures of this one! I really really love how it turned out :)

My sister is magnificent. See post above for finished product! :)

Curly Purly Soaker

2010-09-27T14:49:00.002-06:00

This is just a little Curly Purly soaker I made for a mama in need :)

Monkey Costume Part 1

2010-09-27T14:17:00.005-06:00

This is going to be a sock monkey Halloween costume and I love it. The yarn is so squishy and thick! It's Plymouth Earth Homestead 100% eco wool, which means it's not dyed and it's not treated with chemicals. I would have expected it to be full of twigs but it's totally not! I think I only got 2 little bits of grass the entire time I was knitting the pants! Texture wise, it's a lot like Cestari. It's kinda cottony and doesn't have a ton of stretch. I'm thinking it'll hold up about like Cestari also, but I like it MUCH better than Cestari. I'm thinking I'm going to have to send some to a dyer... or maybe even dip my toes into the world of colorway dyeing because if this yarn holds up the way I think it will, it'll be something I'll want to use on my next little one... when one comes along :).

I love making monkey pants! This one will have a detachable tail AND detachable eyes so they can be worn as regular sock monkey pants or the whole costume. I can't wait to get this all done and see it on the little guy it's made for! He lives close so I might actually get to see this one in person! YAY! :)

Here's the whole costume together on the little guy it was made for :)

Lost in the Woods WIP

2010-09-13T00:04:00.003-06:00

These still need all the embroidery work done, but I'm already loving how they're coming out. The pictures aren't good. It's hard to get good lighting late at night, but the blue of these longies is SO PRETTY! And I totally love how the cuffs came out. Hope the mama agrees!

Superman longies

2010-09-10T12:19:00.003-06:00

I have to admit, the entire time I was working on these, the Superman theme was running through my head. The.Entire.Time. Doesn't help that my 4 year old sings it all the time also :).

I LOVE this blue! I think it might be discontinued, which makes me sad because it's SO PRETTY!!!

I did a new hem on this one. I really like how it came out. I increased about an inch from the end in every stitch, and then double knit for an inch and bound off with a needle bind off. I know, knitting jargon. What it boils down to is a very nice top down hem WITH NO GRAFTING :). Now I need to figure out how to do the picot edge like that.

I went over to a good friend's house the other day and brought this with me. She'd wanted me to make a cat costume for her 2 year old, but when she saw it, she decided she needed a Superman and a Wonder Woman soaker for her 2 year old twins! I'm very pleased with how this came out. I'll get better pics up after I've blocked it and put a drawstring in. That's the hard part... deciding on a drawstring color. I'm going to have to make 3 for this one I think.

Monster longies WIP

2010-09-02T19:25:00.004-06:00

I found this AWESOME random stripe generator. I think I'll have to use it again :). These are baby alpaca... soooooooooooo soft!

I'll post better pics later after they're blocked. Crappy lighting in my living room and it's stormy outside.

Pony Birthday longies

2010-08-27T10:04:00.004-06:00

This is turning out very pretty. I LOVE the colors! Enjoy mama!

UPDATE: This one is all but finished and I LOVE IT! I'm usually not a character lover, but the colors are so cute on this and when we tried it on my next door neighbor, well, the pictures speak for themselves. There is still a tiny bit of finish work to do, and I'll get better pictures tomorrow, but yeah, I totally love this.

Boy Owlies

2010-08-26T14:10:00.005-06:00

These are my very favorite longies that I've made so far. I'm totally not kidding, I would make 100 pair of these! I think I've said before that things are getting harder and harder to send off, but this one was the hardest. My favorite yarn, and they turned out SO INCREDIBLY CUTE!! Sunnybunny, you're one lucky mama, and if you ever want to get rid of them, I'll trade you back!! :)

Ribbies

2010-08-24T06:49:00.006-06:00

I made these at the request of the mama. She found a soaker that's supposed to fit from about 8lbs to about 35 lbs. I was skeptical. So I tried it on my 39lbs 3 year old. You can see the results! I think I'm gonna have to frame that pic of him folding his arms. He's just too cute! The girlie above him is my beloved Princess Addy, my sister's little girl. She weighs about 20 lbs less than Lucas and the soaker fits her like a dream too! We make cute kids in our family :).

I have a cottage license for this one, so I'm authorized to make and sell as many of them as I want. I can tell you one thing, I'll definitely be making at least one for my next baby!

The leg warmers are so she can use them when the weather gets cold. My kids are really into Wallace and Gromit right now. In Wallace and Gromit, Wallace gets dumped down a hole in the morning when he gets up, right into his pants, and then he has a machine that slides his sleeves on (which aren't attached to a shirt, apparently) and then plunks a sweater over his head. Anson, my older boy, LOVES dress ups, and he's decided that these leg warmers are his "sleeves". It's heartbreaking to have to send them off! I might just have to make him a pair... sneak a few hours away from knitting for others and knit for my sweet little boy. He also needs a green sweater vest, and Lucas needs a dog costume and I think we're set for Halloween! :)

Beach Theme Longies

2010-08-19T15:39:00.003-06:00

I love these. That's all I need to say. Yeah.

La Petite Krott

2010-08-14T08:51:00.004-06:00

I normally don't do stuff like this, but sometimes, genius needs a shout out. I bought a pattern from Suzanne of La Petite Krott and when I needed a copy re-sent, after contacting her, I followed a link to her blog and found this BRILLIANT thing! I wish I'd thought of it. Copy and pasted from her blog:

I also started some NB cabled longies to list in my shop. As I was knitting these, I was trying to decide on something creative to add.

So I can up with these....

Attached socks!! I remember how my daughter's feet were always so cold at the hospital...because her socks kept getting kicked off. Well, these will solve that issue. They are footies with cuffs, making them look like longies and socks, but these socks will not be going anywhere! These are on hold for a bit now, as I work on some customs.

Some customs coming up will be a NB romper (modified from the Ian Romper pattern). These will have 4 buttons at the chest, and no gusset button band. They will also be winterized with long sleeves and long legs! This will be knit with my "Lagoon" colorway:

Brilliant!

The Giving Tree

2010-08-12T15:41:00.004-06:00

What is there to say about this one? Lots actually! I tried a new way of making the waistband, with a picot edge on top and a drawstring threaded through a tunnel instead of through eyelets. I totally love the look. I'll definitely have to try it again!

I actually knitted this one twice. The first time, it was too narrow, so I pulled it most of the way out, at which point I realized that I'd misplaced my pattern, so I had to draw it again. Curse. Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to knit. I'm not entirely satisfied with the girl, but I guess I just have to keep trying to accept that yarn is not as easy to sketch with as a pencil, and it's just not going to work exactly how I want it to. I'm thinking of trying needle felting sometime soon to see if I can get the detail I want.

I was going to add an apple on the bum, but the skirt is long enough that no one would ever see it, so why do it? :). I'm thinking maybe I'll still add it before I send it off... we'll see.

The darker green on this is Berroco Ultra Alpaca, again, my favorite yarn. The color is discontinued but I found a place that has at least a bag of it (bags usually come with 10 skeins) and since I've already used it for two (make that three if you count the hat on the gnome I just did) soakers, so it might be worth it to try to stock up. My pocketbook will have to give it some thought.

Gnome Longies

2010-08-11T09:30:00.005-06:00

These have been more fun than anticipated... I guess I'm sort of getting good at this stuff! I totally love how these turned out. I'm starting to really love the stuff I do. It's getting harder and harder to send stuff out!

Grateful Dead Detachable Skirty Longies

2010-07-26T18:57:00.001-06:00

Grateful Dead Dancing Bear WIP

2010-07-18T18:44:00.005-06:00

I'm totally trippin' on these :). Love the colors, love the design, can't wait to finish them!

SCUBA longies

2010-07-17T22:41:00.004-06:00

I'm not loving working on these. I'm so not an embroiderist. (Is that even a word?) But I'm totally loving how they're coming out. Much cuter than I'd feared. I'm sorry this has taken so long mama! Our house has been CRAZY for the last little bit. And even though I'm usually very please with the results, I'm always intimidated by an embroidery project. Guess I just need to get over that!

The front of these has the little girlie scuba diver, and the back has the little crab on the bum. I'm still "doodling" on the back. I find it's much like doodling with a pencil, except it's more frustrating when I don't like it (not easily erased) and not as easy to create what I envision. You know, I'd probably be smart to actually doodle things out on paper before I embroider them... but somehow it never works out that way. *sigh*

Just got some action shots from the mama. What a cute girl! I love getting pics of kids wearing my stuff. They make even better models than my nieces and nephews!

Owlie Longies

2010-07-10T16:38:00.003-06:00

Call me crazy, but I think I like these even more than the owl skirty. I don't know what it is... maybe it's the extra stripes and polka dots... maybe it's that the polka dots are getting slightly easier, but I really REALLY like how these turned out. Also, I was smart and charted the owls instead of winging it. I didn't have the fabric handy so I got they eyes wrong on the little owls, but they're still cute, and I think look better than the first ones. I might actually get to like making this one!

These are made with my favorite yarn, Berroco Ultra Alpaca as the main color and also the brown. If I'd waited a couple more days to start them, I would have had the perfect green too, but I wasn't sure it would be perfect, and I had close enough on hand. The green is Cascade 220 superwash. Not quite as beautiful and soft as the others, but still very nice.

The hot pink is my new most favorite yarn EVER! It's Aurora 8 by Karabella. It's SO SOFT! It's an 8 ply, 100% merino wool but the way it's spun it feels like cashmere, only not fuzzy. It's also non-felting, but not superwash. I suspect it wouldn't even pill. I got no fuzz off it at all, even when I had to pull out some of the embroidery. That usually gets fuzz off of any yarn. SO PRETTY!!! It's almost as soft as the alpaca blend, but springier and has a beautiful sheen. If it wasn't so expensive, I'd want to make ALL my soakers out of it. Unfortunately, it's almost twice as much as the alpaca. I guess that's why they call them "luxury"... not everyone can afford them.

Saturday Morning Project

2010-07-03T10:42:00.003-06:00

I have a million things on my to-do list, not to mention my wait list on Etsy, but sometimes, I have to take a break for one of my favorite people.

Anson, my 4 year old, has a Woody Doll (that we borrowed from a friend and haven't had a chance to give back yet... I'm just gonna have to buy it from the friend... I don't think he's going to agree to give it back to the original owner!) that doesn't have a hat. He's been very creative in substituting other things for a hat. He's used cups, lids, bottle rings, and ring toys. He's so imaginative. But I really felt like it was time for Woody to have a real hat. And I haven't knit or crocheted anything for my boys pretty much since they were born. What a bad momma I am! So this morning, I decided to make Woody a hat. Anson watched over my shoulder the entire time I was making it, taking it to try on at regular intervals. It was very quickly done, and completely improvised, but he seems to be happy with it, so I am too :).

Please ignore the mess. I'm a terrible housekeeper.

Birthday Skirty

2010-06-26T13:09:00.004-06:00

I LOVE this skirty. If the girl I made it for doesn't appreciate it, I'm keeping it until I have a girl! It's lovely lovely alpaca, my favorite color, and really, I don't think there's much I could do to it to make it cuter. If you disagree, well, that's your own choice, but I love it :).

My Dad Is My Hero

2010-06-24T19:25:00.004-06:00

This went to the same mama that ordered the scuba longies. I actually think I like this one better. It was simple to do, and turned out so cute! I wish I could get a model for every soaker I make, but when I can get pics of the actual baby it was made for wearing it, well, that's even better than having a model. Look at the cute tushie on this girl! I gotta stop making baby stuff... it's making me really baby hungry.

Pink Monkey

2010-06-24T19:23:00.003-06:00

More Alpaca Monkey's

2010-06-21T21:48:00.004-06:00

Lovely lovely lovely baby alpaca... sigh :). Fortunately I have enough to make another one, so I can keep on with the lovely lovely yarn :). In fact, I feel like I over-charged this mom. Maybe I'll make her a pair of shorties to compensate. I mean really, I don't know how I dare charge extra for the privilege of working with such a wonderful material.

And yes, I did giggle when I did the eyes. Love the monsters. Love the 100% baby alpaca... love it :).

Horton Longies

2010-06-21T21:46:00.006-06:00

I LOVE these longies. My sister says they're not longies, they're wearable art and I almost have to agree with her :). They took a long time to create, and the thing that took the longest was drawing Horton out on graph paper so I could knit him. It took the better part of an entire day to get it down, and then lots of tweeking to make it right. I'm not entirely happy with how Mayzie Bird turned out (if you haven't, please read Horton Hatches the Egg... it's one of Dr. Seuss's finest!) but I had to content myself in the knowledge that drawing with yarn just isn't the same as drawing with pencil and there are limitations. At least for me. Maybe when I learn a little more about embroidery I'll do better. Check out Horton's ears though! I'm very proud that they actually look like I shaded them in with pencil and not just like I went crazy with yarn and needle.

The cloud on front was an afterthought, so it's duplicate stitched, but I'm very very pleased with how it came out.

Overall, I really must say, this is my best one ever. I almost don't want to send them off (I was going to send them off this evening and then I found a couple of spots that I washed out and now they have to dry again before I send them). I want to keep them for myself! Now I wish we'd taken a pic of Jack running around in them. They're even cuter on! The cutest

thing was Jack trying to look at his own bum while he was wearing them! Yes, they're a hit with the kiddies too :).

I'm afraid that green is discontinued. I really like it for grass.

This post is so random. I'm stopping now.

Monster Shorties

2010-05-28T08:35:00.001-06:00

NY Shorties

2010-05-28T08:33:00.002-06:00

Owen in Monster shorties

2010-05-25T19:23:00.003-06:00

My sister has ONE CUTE KID!! How could anyone not love those curls. He was bound to have 'em. His mommy sure does! He's probably one of the most photogenic kids I've seen in a long long time. She should probably get him into modeling.

And the shorties turned out pretty cute too :)

Owl Skirty

2010-05-17T14:06:00.004-06:00

I don't think this one could have turned out any cuter than it did. The mom sent me a pic of some fabric she was having made into a shirt, and I did my best, and you know, I think it was good enough this time :) I can't wait to see pics of it on the little girlie!

2010-05-13T10:02:00.001-06:00

Look at this beautiful little princess! I love it when moms send me pics of their little ones in my soakers! Especially when they're this gorgeous! (I mean the baby of cours :))

Thanks for the pics Brandi!

Hello Kitty Shorties

2010-05-06T16:33:00.005-06:00

I think these turned out really cute. The colors are beautiful, there's very little pooling, and the design was easy and very cute, if I do say so myself :). However, I have decided that although I see the merits of Cestari Superfine as a soaker yarn, I don't like knitting with it. It's very soft and squishy and thick, which makes for a very good soaker, but instead of being springy and slightly stretchy like most wool yarn, it's very stiff like cotton and very tiring to knit with. Plus, it has LOTS of little twigs and grass and (shudder) brown bits that could only be leftover bits of dingleberries! This is no reflection at all on the dyer, Lollytree Yarns, which are beautifully dyed, and I wouldn't have been able to finish this one without some extra help from the dyer (she sent me some white cestari superfine to make the Hello Kitty face) and I LOVE HER!, but I do not like this yarn. This is the second one I've made and I had my doubts with the first one, but it turned out so cute and I figured the twigs had to be an aberration. Why would people be so crazy about such a poor quality item? But it was not an aberration, and yeah... I would recommend something else. My new mission (or maybe just my continued mission) is to convert the world to alpaca. I love alpaca. Especially when it's blended with wool. Then it has the luxury of super soft, lustrous alpaca, and springy, stretchy, lovely wool. Maybe I can get the Lollytree Yarn girl to dye me some alpaca and convert her! Maybe that's what I'll have to do :).

2010-05-03T13:08:00.003-06:00

I finally managed to get pictures of some new monkey shorties before I sent them out! This really is an amazing feat. I've sent out probably 6 or 7 pairs of monkey shorties without ever getting a good pic before sending it. And they're really cute! Just like the monsters, I love making the sock monkey things. Love them. Love it even more when the mom agrees that a wool/alpaca blend yarn is the only thing that's good enough for her little one! :). Yes, it's made of my very favorite yarn. I made a pair of longies to match... gotta get that pic up here too....

I heart TRADES!

2010-04-26T18:57:00.005-06:00

YAY!!! Someone who wanted something other than black! Now I've got to post this on Etsy so people can see that it's just as cute in something other than black, and MUCH easier for me to knit.

My boys love to play with the girls next door, who just happen to be 4 and 3 just like my boys :). When we're outside I often take my knitting out while I'm watching them play, and the girls think it's really fun to try stuff on that I'm working on. This skirt is sized for about a 3 month old, and it's a real testament to the wonderful properties of knit fabric (and particularly the resilience of wool) that both of those girls tried on this skirt and it looked like a really cute mini on both of them! It may not have fit a diaper underneath, but at least it'll still be usable after potty training! Or during! It could a really cute skirted capri pant for a little girl. They were trying on a monkey skirty yesterday. I'm thinking next time they try stuff on, I'll have to take some pictures. They're really cute.

I traded labels for this skirted longie. I'm quite excited about it. I can't wait until they get here! I've wanted a label for a while so that people remember where they got their soakers from. I love doing trades. Unfortunately, a lot of the people who want to do trades with me don't make things I need or want, and vice versa :(. But when it works, it works great!

Olivia's

2010-04-26T18:50:00.010-06:00

This soaker was inspired by this picture. I'm totally AND COMPLETELY in love with it! I'm in love with the little pig, I'm in love with the soaker, the heart and stars, everything! It's even made out of my favorite yarn.

When I have a girl someday, I'm definitely going to make one for myself!

Music Skirty

2010-04-20T14:30:00.006-06:00

This skirty was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be, and believe me, I thought it was going to be a lot of work. Surprisingly, the difficult part was NOT the music around the skirt. I know, right? Totally looks like that took me many many hours to do. In fact, I think it only took 2, maybe 3 to embroider all of it. No, the thing that gave me a massive headache was the cute design on the bum. First I tried to embroider it on, but that was just... not pretty. I really don't understand how people get away with duplicate stitches for large patterns. I can't do it. There must be something I don't know that they do. I'm going to have to consult a master knitter and see if I can learn. It would make my life considerably easier if I could easily duplicate stitch some patterns, like this one. I got it all but finished and decided I needed to redo it, so I had to actually cut off the top part, pull it out, re-knit it with an intarsia pattern, and then sew it back onto the skirt. And that whole process, especially the sewing back on bit (you have to mark REALLY CAREFULLY where center front is on both pieces!) had to be repeated at least twice to get it right. I'm still not completely satisfied, but it's much better than it was before. I think it's acceptable. There's still so much I need to learn about knitting. I learn something new with almost every soaker I make. I wonder if I'll ever get beyond soakers or if this is just what I'm going to knit from here on out? I think I need to make a point of doing something else, just to keep me limber. Maybe I'll start on that vintage crocheted christening dress pattern I got off of ebay a while ago? Who knows, maybe someone I know, (maybe even me!) will have a girl who'll want to use it someday soon.

2010-04-15T16:17:00.003-06:00

I've been featured on another blog! It's so gratifying to be recognized for my work like that. This one is interesting because it's NOT my Sock Monkey Soaker, per usual, it's my Sock Monkey Skirty :). On my niece no less! Isn't she cute?

2010-04-05T15:36:00.001-06:00

Eat your heart out BYU fans! :)

Scrappy Soaker

2010-04-01T14:57:00.008-06:00

I'm thinking maybe I should add these to my repertoire on Etsy? I could get rid of some of my stash that way, and they're fun to make since I'm changing yarns and stitch patterns every few rows. Much more interesting than something that goes on and on in the same color forever. Although, I really haven't made anything like that except the tops I made to go along with some monkey skirties I made for a photographer around Christmas time. My sister has asked whether I get sick of doing stripes. Not really. At least there's some change and it's easy to keep track of progress. You only have to measure one stripe to know how far you've gone, so if you misplace your tape-measure (or your 3 year old absconds with it) halfway into the legs of your latest soaker, you know exactly how long it is, and that's very convenient :)

Easter Skirted Capris

2010-03-31T09:27:00.003-06:00

The scrappies in the next post go with this skirty too. Or at least I hope they do. The mom said she loved them, but I haven't actually seen how they look together. I'll have to see if maybe she'll send me a pic.

I've had MANY compliments on this one. And you know, it wasn't even difficult to make. The hardest part was probably making the wave pattern for the grass. The easiest part? The yarn... ahhhhhhh the yarn :). Yarngasm. Oh yes. The purple is 100% baby alpaca. I'm not sure there's anything softer or more luxurious than baby alpaca, except maybe brushed baby alpaca, which is very fuzzy and wouldn't work for a soaker, so I'll probably never have the chance to work with it. :( Although I might have to buy a ball just to pet when I need some comfort.

I think I did put another butterfly on the bum of this one... I can't remember now. Oh well.

The green yarn is a blend of wool, cashmere and microfiber. I wonder how it would hold up as a soaker? It wasn't quite as nice to knit with as the alpaca, but then nothing is, but it was very very nice. It's a little pricey, but I would definitely like to add it as an option if it works. I'll have to design another soaker for Addy :).

Butterflies & Flowers Skirted Capri

2010-03-26T14:31:00.008-06:00

Before I start complaining, I have to say that I really love how this one turned out. If I had a baby girl, I'd definitely put it on her. And I totally love that I figured out (inspired by a WAY TOO BUSY soaker I saw on Diaperswappers) two color linen stitch as a cuff option. I think it's my favorite looks wise. It just looks cool.

But seriously! The woman asked for a fairy and some butterflies and dragonflies. I couldn't for the life of me come up with a not cutesy fairy for a pair of soakers. You wouldn't think it would be that difficult! I scoured the internet and found lots of good inspiration pics for fairies, and then I dug in. I tried intarsia and fair isle. I tried embroidery. I even tried tracing a pattern on with fabric stabilizer and then embroidering over it. I think I spent quite a bit more money than I made on this one just trying to get the design right. In the end, the fairy proved to be completely elusive and I was left with butterflies and dragonflies, and even though they turned out really cute, they aren't what I'd envisioned, and even though (as I said at first) I totally love the way these turned out, I'm disappointed. I feel like I failed. Maybe I'll do it again in fingering weight yarn and see if I can get that darn fairy to cooperate. With a fine enough guage I could probably find a cross-stitch pattern that would work beautifully. I wonder if I have to go all the way down to fingering weight or if Dk would work? Hmm... sounds like I've got some work to do.... after the 10 orders I have on my waiting list. And the several soakers I owe my sister. And the blanket I owe my other sister. And the pants I promised my 4 year old....

Sock Monkey Skirty - Evolution/Refinement

2010-03-10T19:16:00.012-07:00

The monkey skirty has come a long way from the first time I made it! It looks nothing like the first one now. I started by changing the way I did the waist band and the cord. I now do all my waistbands the same way, but I perfected it on the sock monkey skirty.

Then I bought an Embellish Knit and that completely revolutionized the way I do drawstrings. My sister didn't like the cord on the original. She said it frayed to easily. And well... the lovely little i-cord mill seriously cuts back on time. The next thing I did was change the eyes. The first ones I just embroidered on and didn't really know what I was doing. Then I had the bright idea to crochet little buttons! Way easier and more uniform. It now takes less than 5 minutes to make and sew on a pair of eyes.

After the eyes, I changed the skirt so that now it attaches different. It's been through several iterations, and now I think I've really got it where I like it most, which involves knitting it separately and grafting it on, but I don't mind that. I added a little diamond motif detail at the waist of the skirt (where it attaches) to make it lay flat and have a smoother join so that it doesn't look like an afterthought.

After the eyes and before the skirt, I added ribbing around the legs, which just makes it look much more finished, and keeps prefolds from leaking better.

Last of all (surprisingly) I've FINALLY settled on an absolute formula for the face. It's taken a while to really perfect the placing and construction of the short rows to get the smile and the eye band just right. I think it actually is to the point that I could write a pattern that someone else could make it off of. Maybe when I get sick of making them (not likely) I'll publish the pattern. Maybe. I'm very proud of this one. Mon chef d'oeuvres, one might say.

I just couldn't resist adding this las pic of my niece and nephew wearing matching monkey skirties :).

Skullie's Can They Get Any Cuter?!?!

2010-03-05T18:23:00.005-07:00

Have I ever said how much I love purple? I do. I LOVE purple. I love this purple in particular! If you click on the pics and zoom up close, you can see how the yarn is heathered with bits of turquoise and hot pink. I LOVE it :). And I totally love how these turned out. Okay, so maybe the skullie is getting a little easier to make. I'm still not wild about using black yarn (it's really hard to see what you're doing if you're not in full sunlight) but seriously... they are super cute.

I added a little skullie on the bum of the longies this time. I thought it would be a cute detail, and make them cuter to wear without the skirt. I had to pull it out a few times before I got it right, and I'm still not sure it's all the way there. However, when my sister saw it, her face lit up and she totally thrilled over how cute it was, so I guess I've succeeded :). Thus begins the love part of my love/hate relationship with my most popular soaker... the Skullie. Who knew that all I needed was some purple?

I heart Dyeing Yarn!

2010-03-05T18:22:00.004-07:00

Have I said before how much I heart dying yarn? I do. I really do :). It all started when I just couldn't find the right pink for these soakers (and these which I made at the same time for the same person) so I decided to dye some myself. I fell in love with the first strand we pulled out of the dye bath, even though it was totally the wrong color.

We (my sister Suzie and I) learned a lot about dying that first time. First of all, with Cushing's Perfection Dyes a little goes A LONG WAY, even with alpaca which doesn't want to hold the color quite as well as wool.

Also, a salad spinner is indispensable in the process of dyeing wool. Maybe you can get away without one if you're dyeing fabric, but with wool, it's really difficult to keep the yarn from turning into a big ugly mess when you're trying to get the water out without one. I guess we could have used the washing machine on the spin cycle, but that would have involved transporting it to the laundry room and it was already complicated enough dyeing yarn with 4 toddlers tripping us up. Running across the house with dripping wool didn't sound very appealing.

We learned that you get very uneven dyeing if you don't get all of the wool into the dye bath at the same time. Alpaca likes to float on top even when it's been soaking for a half an hour. I got some really uneven color the last time I dyed because when I was putting my alpaca yarn in the dye bath, the tongs got tangled in it and I couldn't get it all plunged all the way in at the same time, so some of it came out quite a bit lighter than the rest. I actually ended up liking the effect, and it wasn't very obvious since it was really just an accent color on these.

Next up, we've GOT to learn to dye our own self-patterning yarn! It's TOO FUN!! I don't wonder at all why there are so many yarn dyers out there :).

And here's the finished product. Just beautiful, if I do say so myself.

Monster Shorties

2010-02-26T11:38:00.004-07:00

Tee hee hee!!! Another pair of monsters! I LOVE doing monsters! And I totally love how these turned out. I dyed the darker color myself. It was supposed to be magenta... but somehow it didn't turn out that way. I had some dye that said "grape red" on the label, which I was hoping would turn out wine colored... kinda like the color I ended up with here. What did I get? PURPLE. SCREAMING PURPLE. Which is what I wanted for these shorties. But I lost it. When I went to the shop where I usually buy my dyes, they were out, so I bought one labeled "magenta" thinking it would come out, well, magenta. Nope. Instead I got the wine color I'd wanted before. Go figure. I'm totally in love with this color though, and I think I'm going to have to make Addy some skullies or monsters with it.

Custom T-shirts and Matching Bows!!!

2010-02-26T11:35:00.004-07:00

I did not make this. I just want to make that clear up front. I refuse to take credit for something so cute! The mamma that wanted the funky punky monsters wanted a matching t-shirt. I knew that matching that funky yarn would be impossible to do through pictures, so I contacted a friend of mine who does beautiful work with a sewing machine and asked if she'd be interested. I gave her a couple of ideas and let her loose, and I think this was the absolute perfect compliment to those silly funky monsters! :) She was even nice enough to include a little hair clip, and then she didn't want me to give her all of the money I'd charged for it. She's really too nice to be believed. Miurvy, if you ever see this, I totally heart you.

More Monsters and More Decisions

2010-02-20T13:20:00.002-07:00

I have the hardest time making decisions sometimes. Decisions like, what color to make an eye cord, or how to do eyes, or how to make something usable beyond a season. I've come up with some of my best stuff with my inability to choose, like the detachable skirty. My inability to choose a color for an I-cord is just silly though. Most of the time I end up making more than one so that the mom can decide, which is what I did in this case. All I can say is that I'm grateful for the invention of the Embellish Knit because I really HATE making I-cords, and this makes it so easy. I can turn one out in about 5 minutes, so who cares if I can't make up my mind?

BTW, I TOTALLY LOVE how these monster pants turned out. I mean, I really REALLY love them! I think I'll have to have another baby boy (I have two already, but who wants a girl when there's stuff like THIS to make for boys?!?) just so I can make him a pair of monster longies just like these :).

DK Weight Ultra Alpaca

2010-02-19T10:31:00.004-07:00

Remember how I said I love working with Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn? Well, I've found a way to convince more people to let me make their soakers out of it! All I had to do was find it cheaper so I could make it at the same price that I make regular wool soakers, and that came in the form of a DK weight instead of worsted. I had Suzie try out a little soaker on Addy that I'd made from the DK weight to make sure it wouldn't be too thin for a soaker, but alpaca fibers are so much more water resistant than regular wool that the DK works just as well, but holds up better than the wool. And it's so pretty and soft! My mission to convert the world to alpaca is well underway! (Mwah-ha-ha-ha!!!)

Funky Punky Monsters

2010-02-15T14:15:00.006-07:00

I totally forgot about putting a link to the dyer of this incredible yarn! It's incredibly soft and squishy and fun to work with and the dye job is beautiful! It's from Lollytree Yarn and comes with a cute little beaded stitch marker that I absolutely love.

I love the way the face turned out on this one. The yarn was so busy that I was afraid it wouldn't work, but I think it turned out really cute. Especially the eyelashes. I've been learning so much about embroidery. Who woulda thunk? I never ever expected that I'd be into embroidery, but just making eyelashes makes me think that I need to learn more about yet another needle art.

Don't you love the way the yarn stripes on the legs? Way fun. The mom I made these for just sent me some more yarn from Lollytree (totally in love with the fact that the seller sends along a cute little stitch marker. I know I already mentioned that, but I really really love it. The newest one has a little flying cow on it. SO CUTE!) to make a pair of shorties with Hello Kitty on them. The yarn is ADORABLE in cotton candy colors. I can't wait to dig in!

Owen's Monster Outfit

2010-02-12T15:44:00.005-07:00

Oh cute Owen! It took a long time to finally get this outfit done for you. I'm sorry sweet baby! I need to start putting family on my waiting list so they don't have to wait a year to get something they want.

But isn't he the cutest nephew ever! Okay... so I have several nephews, and they're all incredibly adorable in their own special ways. Owen is just my cutest modeling nephew... because he's the only nephew I've had model stuff... :)

These longies are so much fun to make! These ones are made in acrylic and I thought they would hold up better than they have. I'll have to make him some wool ones when he gets too big for these ones. This particular acrylic is really pilly! I hate that. Shelley (Owen's mommy) still loves them and he wears them about once a week, so I guess that's okay :). I totally love the horns! I wasn't at all sure how they would turn out. I really had no idea what I was doing when I did them, but they're incredibly cute! I've had lots of compliments on them. Maybe I should offer them as an option?

Lucas

2010-02-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

Look at my cute baby!!! I can't believe how grown up he's getting. I still think he should be a model. Looking at him makes my stomach do flip-flops. Yup... I'm in love with my little Boo-boo. Now I've got to make something big enough for Anson to model so I can get pics of him up here too!

Minnie!!!

2010-02-11T18:51:00.004-07:00

More Monsters

2010-01-28T15:12:00.004-07:00

Seriously, who would have thought that orange would be so hard to photograph. Curse curse curse, is all I have to say! These monster longies are coming out really cute, and I wanted to send the mom a pic to get approval, but no matter what we do (and we tried for about 2 hours) the orange comes out looking like traffic cone instead of the pretty (GORGEOUS, really, and I don't like orange) kinda muted flame orange that it really is. In real life, these colors are beautiful together. I would dress my kids in it in a heartbeat. I would dress my husband in them. I might even dress myself in them. But on a computer monitor, completely wretched. I'm at a complete loss as to how to show the mom what the color really is. Curse curse curse.

So Tiny & Sweet

2010-01-02T20:24:00.002-07:00

This design still kills me every time! I can't make a pair of monster longies without chuckling softly to myself, especially when I do eyelashes :). This was an exchange with my sister. She needed a shower gift, and she did a little Christmas shopping for me in return.

Treasury

2009-12-27T19:23:00.002-07:00

I love it when I get picked by other Etsy Artisans to be on their treasuries! This has happened quite a few times since I started selling on Etsy, funny thing is, it is the SAME EXACT item that gets featured EVERY SINGLE TIME!

Sock Monkey Forever!

Mine is the first one listed, the sock monkey soaker.

Eyelashes or Eyebrows? That is the Question.

2009-12-04T10:47:00.007-07:00

So, what do you think, brows or lashes???

Alpaca Monster Soaker

2009-11-27T13:45:00.004-07:00

On "what not to crochet" they often post cute things for babies and then remind the people viewing them who are fawning over them that someday they're going to want their children to take care of them, and the children might be less disposed to want to take care of mum and dad if they've dressed the children in cutesy things that might someday embarrass them. I'm pretty sure these monster pants (along with my monkey pants and several other things I've made) would turn up on that list. I say, bring it! I'm highly amused by their website (I've spent hours rolling on the floor of the computer room laughing at some of the stuff that's been posted there) but I have to disagree with their assessment of what will make kids mad when they grow up. I can't think that if my parents had dressed me in monkey or monster pants that I would be embarrassed by it when I grew up. I think I might just see if I could make a pair for myself! In fact, maybe it's time for some adult monster pants!.... or maybe not :). All I know is that my 4 year old wants them to be his. Every time I make a new pair of pants with something silly on the bum, he asks if they're for him and he's very disappointed when they're not. Maybe I'll have to take a little hiatus from making stuff for other people and make some stuff for my own children. Then I can continue to enjoy my own creations by watching the two little people that I love most being happy in them. Hey, maybe I can even make Anson a Spiderman sweater so he'll finally take off the Spiderman pj's he's been wearing for a month now! Hmm... now I've got to go get designing.

Scrappy Longies

2009-11-23T14:35:00.007-07:00

I was very unsure about this project. Not unsure that I could do it of course, but whether it would be cute or not. In fact I wasn't sure I even liked it until I tried it on Princess Addy. Then... well... let's just say I didn't need any more convincing! :)

I have to say that even though I wasn't at all sure it was going to turn out cute, if it was very fun to make! All the different stitches I got to try out, and all the beautiful colors made it something I would really like to offer in my shop.

Detachable Skirt and Longies - Cat

2009-11-23T14:10:00.003-07:00

I LOVE THIS DESIGN!! I can't help myself, I really love it. The only input I got from the purchaser was brown and black with a cat with green eyes in a 2t please. I asked for some clarification, and she said that she trusted my creativity and to do what I wanted. Well! I was a little hesitant to get started on it, and put it off for quite a while. I couldn't picture brown and black together, and I wasn't really excited about coming up with a cat design. I don't really consider myself an artist, and I had a really hard time finding a template I liked. I ended up free-handing this one on my magic knitters' graph paper. It's inspired by a Halloween wallpaper I found where the cat's eyes follow the mouse around the page. Seriously too cute! Of course, I can't find the link now! Curse. The skirt was easy, and adorable and I totally loved it. The pants were a different story. I was going to do a cat face inspired by the Monkey and Monster longies, but I couldn't make it work and had to rip it back several times, and finally decided just to embroider a little cat on the bum. It's free-hand, but really, it's just a couple of ovals and a tail, so not really difficult. What was frustrating was that I put it on the fron when I'd intended to put it on the back, and getting it off the front and onto the back was a real pain.

At any rate, I can't wait to post this as an option in my Etsy shop. It was so fun to make, and I love the design so much that I'm really hoping it'll be more popular than the skullie... which I'm still not a fan of making.

Octopus Longies

2009-11-09T14:43:00.005-07:00

Texas Longhorns

2009-11-06T13:59:00.003-07:00

Leslie's Longies

2009-11-04T15:28:00.003-07:00

This was the funkiest yarn I've ever worked with. It's really spongy and fun! It was full of grass though, so I had to keep a pair of tweezers next to me to pick it out, and I'm sure I still missed some, but it was fun to work with. I may have to try some more! The mom did send the labels with this one, but I don't know if I still have them or not. I'll have to look around.

Marmalade Baby!

My Little One's Coming Home Outfit

Blue Monkey's With Ears

Monster Set

Owl Longies with Linen Stitch Cuffs

Owl Skirty Revisited

Fish Hat

Adorable Livvy!

Fall Capris

Old McDonald Had A Farm....

Under The Sea

Baby Monkey

Hearts and Stars Skirted Longies

The Blanket and The Mouse

Curtain

More Girly Sock Monkey Longies

Hello Kitty Revisited

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Woody and Jessie

Introducing Livvy!

Spring is HERE!!

Owie's Monkey Pants!

My Favorite Super Hero!!!

Candy Shoppe!

Boy Monster Hat

Girly Monster Hat

Ella the Elephant BLOOMERS :)

Hoot-Hoot Skirty

Owlie BLOOMERS!

Sushi and Elmo

Peace!

Ella the Elephant

Cutest thing I've EVER MADE!

Girly Sock Monkey's

Owl on a Branch

Itty Bitty Sock Monkey

***FOR SALE*** Jack-O-Lantern Longies and Matching Hat

Cityscape *FINSHED!*

Lost in the Woods *FINISHED!*

Owl in a Tree WIP

Halloween Longies and Pumpkin Hat WIP

VROOOM! Longies... or Retro Cars... but I like VROOOM! :)

Cityscape WIP, Update

Curly Purly Soaker

Monkey Costume Part 1

Lost in the Woods WIP

Superman longies

Monster longies WIP

Pony Birthday longies

Boy Owlies

Ribbies

Beach Theme Longies

La Petite Krott

The Giving Tree

Gnome Longies

Grateful Dead Detachable Skirty Longies

Grateful Dead Dancing Bear WIP

SCUBA longies

Owlie Longies

Saturday Morning Project

Birthday Skirty

My Dad Is My Hero

Pink Monkey

More Alpaca Monkey's

Horton Longies

Monster Shorties

NY Shorties

Owen in Monster shorties

Owl Skirty

Hello Kitty Shorties

I *heart* TRADES!

Olivia's

Music Skirty

Scrappy Soaker

Easter Skirted Capris

Butterflies & Flowers Skirted Capri

Sock Monkey Skirty - Evolution/Refinement

Skullie's Can They Get Any Cuter?!?!

I *heart* Dyeing Yarn!

Monster Shorties

FOR SALE Jack-O-Lantern Longies and Matching Hat

Cityscape FINSHED!

Lost in the Woods FINISHED!

I heart TRADES!

I heart Dyeing Yarn!