A day late and a dollar short...

Well, at least a day late... and I'm sorry for that. But I hope that you all had a very happy healthy and fun Christmas!! May the blessings of the season touch you and your loved ones for the year to come.

Yes, you can knit with bamboo

Yarn made from 100% bamboo is really rather nice to work with. I discovered this after a custom order was placed for a bamboo hat and scarf set. The recipient is allergic to wool, and the buyer wasn't thrilled with the thought of acrylic. So I recommended bamboo (I knew it was soft, but had never actually knit anything with it) because it won't get heavy when wet like cotton.

I really enjoyed making this set. The yarn (Bernat Bamboo -- part of their new Natural Blends yarn collection) doesn't split, and doesn't seem to shed. It does shred a little at the very ends when being threaded into a tapestry needle (for weaving in all the ends). But otherwise it was a dream. My mom, who helped out by making the hat, loved it as well. It is definitely easy on the hands. And sooo soft, with a nice sheen to it.

My only complaint about this yarn right now is the limited color selection. So far I've only found 6 colors: baby blue, cream, beige (those three were used in this set), pink, lemon, and pale sage.

Here is the finished scarf and hat:

It's snowing...

How cool! I was working in my little room upstairs, and had to take out the camera because..... there are fat puffy white flakes falling from the sky!

Perfectly fitting, since this morning I was working on some snowpeople. Thanks to my mom (who knits snowperson bodies and then gets really creative doing the hats and scarves), I have a whole slew of snowpeople to assemble and stuff! This particular group is headed to the Vulcan's Rest in Chesapeake City, MD, where some of my handcrafted items are being displayed for sale. The one wearing a green & brown hat is a bit different. Knit in yarn slightly shaded with pinks & lavenders, this snowperson looks like the sun is glistening off of her snowy body.












If you'd like one of my snowpeople to brighten your home and heart (they are guaranteed not to melt!!), click here to order on my website. You can also purchase in person at either the Vulcan's Rest Fibers, Chesapeake City, MD, or the Mansion House Christmas Shoppe, Bear, DE.

This BIGGEST wreath ever!

At least as far as wreaths that I've made goes. I just completed a custom order wreath for a person who has a large living room and high ceilings. The request was for a Christmas wreath ..... 30" in diameter!

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, and wanted to share.

Before....

(I was tempted to count how many pinecones it takes to make a wreath this large, and then decided I just didn't want to know!)







and

After...
What I'm not happy with are the pics. Unfortunately, the wreath is too big for me to get good pics because it won't fit on my door nor available wall space. The light coming in from the window is glaring a bit and washing out the gold/white bow, but I guess you can kinda see what the wreath looks like. Wish I were a better photographer...