May I present.....

my first huge success of 2009 (and I don't mean because the sweater itself is large!).

Knit of Berocco Comfort Worsted Weight in fire engine red, it's sized to fit a dog 31" from base of neck to tail. It took nearly 4 full skeins of yarn.

It's all done in a simple rib, beginning with the collar in the round. There is a cute little hole at the base of the collar section to accommodate a leash. Then the rest is knit flat, though with lots of increases and decreases. The belly panel is knit on one side of the flat piece, and buttons around the dog.

Thanks to Terri Lee Royea, whose free pattern on Ravelry I adapted for this sweater.

Stitches is over. . . :(

Well, Stitches East has come and gone. Did you go? How was your experience?

Two friends, Yarn Mama and a new knitter, and I all went down to Baltimore on Friday. It was a good time. The weather cooperated and permitted a walk to Inner Harbor for dinner, as well as a quick look around again on Saturday afternoon.

Yarn Mama and I both took classes on Friday afternoon. She took a class on swatching (the EVIL 5-letter word!). My class, Introduction to Brioche, was very interesting. While I was thoroughly confused at first, I was able to do the stitch in the end. I was even able to utilize two colors to make the pattern look very different. The instructor, Nancy Marchant, really knows her stuff. She has a wonderful website which she shared with us to help as we continue working with the brioche stitch and it's many variations: briochestitch.com. I will definitely be starting a project with this fun stitch, and exploring her website soon!

Then we entered the MarketPlace --- the large room full of lots of yarn and yarn-y stuff!! I purchased a gorgeous skein of Tess yarn called Twinkle Toes ... a surprise to knit up for my mom, who for some reason nicknamed me "twinkle toes" a few years back (I think cuz I'm a bit clumsy). Also picked up a nice heathered grey skein of Cascade superwash for a hat I've been commissioned to knit -- an old-fashioned stocking hat.

Really, Stitches was just as good as last year in terms of variety, selection, etc. So why am I not oozing post-Stitches excitement? Well, this year I had a strict budget -- for my business and for my personal stash. The skeins I mentioned above... that's all I bought (plus a silicon de-pet-furring roller). Oh yes, I fondled and oogled, and scored a few sample knitting and crocheting mags, but I didn't get to just run amuck and buy wily-nily as I did last year. It kinda sapped a little of the fun out of the experience. *sigh* Guess I'll save up for wily-nily spending next year, hopefully my first year at Rhinebeck!

On cooler weather and current projects

Jacket weather took me by surprise -- being pre-occupied makes you much less aware of your surroundings until shivering sets in! But this morning felt so crisp and fresh..... It makes me want to cuddle into a warm sweater and sit on my balcony and knit. I'm thinking a nice soft blanket. I don't have a pattern in mind yet, and most likely I won't select one but just knit as I feel, perhaps some random striping. I have nearly 2000 yards of lovely soft wool in ice blue and chocolate brown. A surprising color combination, but they are beautiful together!

Some projects other than the blanket I feel coming on are pending first:

• As the holidays are fast approaching (ack! where does time go again?!?), I will be working to stuff and "dress" some knitted snow men and snow women. I'll also be making sure to have a wide selection of warm and cozy scarves and hats for the winter months. Some will be posted soon to my website (I hope!).
• Another important current project is a dog blankie. I received an order last week for a custom "quilted" blanket for a dog, and just bought fabric for it last night. The request involved chocolate brown and rust fabrics -- the rust has tiny ivory dog bones printed all over!
• Finally, I will be sewing together some more paperback book covers/carriers. I still have some cut and ready to go, but had been waiting until after a few craft shows to actually assemble them. Now it's time -- stock is getting low and there are more shows on the way! The covers make great stocking stuffers, but we'll discuss cute stocking stuffer ideas a little later on.

NEW!! Hand-crafted wooden yarn swifts

A while back, I asked my dad to create for me my own yarn swift. I have lots of lovely skeins of yarn and my hand was getting tired winding them into balls. So.... my dad (who is an engineering genius and loves tinkering with projects like that) managed to come up with a great yarn swift!

It's made of wood and sits on a small turntable which spins on steel ball bearings. The eight arms each have several dowel holes drilled into them to make the swift very customizable --- it'll accommodate skeins of yarn from 40" up to 104".


Here is the flyer that I've put together to show the swift and how it adjusts & disassembles. If you're interested in ordering a swift for yourself, you can email me at smilecreationscrafts@verizon.net or visit Stitches with Style in Newark.




* Please be aware that it can take 6-8 weeks for delivery of your swift as each one is created by hand upon receipt of the order.

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:

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...

Distracted by instant gratification

Or something like that. The eyelet shawl, which is finally about halfway done, is feeling like it's the slowest project this side of the Mississippi.

So I'm taking a break... of sorts... with several quicker projects. I cast on for a novelty scarf the other night. I'm going to alternate bright blue/glitter and black sparkly yarns. They are both Anny Blatt, and were part of the yarn gifted to my knitting group a few months back. The most fun thing about this project (so far) is that the light bulb went out while I was knitting, and during the thirty seconds it took for my eyes to adjust, I looked down at my lap and noticed that the scarf was glowing. Turns out the blue Anny Blatt has glow-in-the-dark specks in it (the glowy parts are the ones that look cream/yellowy in the pic). Cool!



Then last night I cast on for a custom shrug in Rhapsodie. I'm really enjoying this yarn. It doesn't split, it's soft, it makes big stitches, and the color variations are quite pretty. I chose a simple basketweave pattern for the shrug ... to make it interesting without detracting from the yarn itself. Got nearly 6" of the shrug knit last night while watching old Friends episodes. Gosh how I miss that show!

Stitches East Homework ..... DONE!

Yup, that's right. I'm celebrating, cuz all my swatches are DONE!! And (this is a bonus), I was able to use leftover yarn pieces for the swatches. I had some acylic on hand, and no idea what I was going to use it for; these swatches were the perfect solution. Now I can leave the swatches knit so that, paired with my notes from class, it'll be like having the class whenever I have a question.

What did I need to swatch? Not all that much, I guess. I needed four different swatches for my first class (Friday morning) called Rolled Endings. I'm looking forward to this class, and learning some cool new ways to cast off projects.
Then I needed one swatch on DPNs for my third class (Saturday morning) called Build a Better Bag. Can't wait to learn some tricks for making bag-shaped bags, and having them be sturdy without felting. Nothing against felting, mind you, just a) haven't done it yet and b) don't want to do it on every bag, obviously.

Now I'm ready to start on a custom shrug request. The recipient simply requested the color (orange) and left the pattern up to me. Oooh, fun! I found the perfect yarn at the LYS sale recently: Plassard Rhapsodie in orange/brown/pumpkin. I can't wait to start on it. Now to my pattern dictionary to find a nice pattern to show off the pretty colors!

Black & White shawl

For all those whose sympathies reached me last week, when I had to frog an entire crochet shawl, I thought I would share the newly completed item.

This time, it is the right length (hooray!) -- about 27" from the top to the bottom point. It hangs just below my waist (and I'm on the tall side at 5' 8"), so I think on the customer it will be perfect!

The customer shared with me that she ordered the shawl for her cruise vacation. The first dinner on board is to be a formal affair, and she wants this shawl to match her little black dress! How exciting!!

The crochet frog visited me this week

And it wasn't pretty!

I received a special order for a black and white version of the shawl (pictured below), due for a black-tie affair at the end of the month. The customer asked if it could be about 4 inches shorter than the one she tried on, since she is slightly vertically challenged.


So I say "no problem!" I have the yarn already, and I had a long trip ahead of me -- a friend was married in NY City on Monday night, and I took the train to avoid traffic. And so, I crocheted the shawl and listened to the sounds of various screaming children on the train. Between train rides and a few hours in Urban Square Park, I managed to finish the shawl.

"That seemed quick," I thought to myself. But knowing that a steady rhythm can make things go quickly, I thought nothing of it. After all, it did take all my travel time, and there was a bit of it.

But alas, when I reached home (and was awake enough to compare the new with the prototype), I realized that the black and white shawl is about 16" shorter (not the requested 4")!!!! I can't figure out what on earth I did wrong. I must have just started out with too short a foundation chain, and not noticed, what with all the distracting train noises. So yes, you guessed it, the entire shawl was frogged. I'm not sure which is more annoying.... having to re-do a project that I was sure I finished, or having it take 2 hours to wind the ribbon yarn back onto the spools so it wasn't twisty. :(

Indestructibles

I have a very interesting knitting commission. A friend of ours has a dog which has destroyed every dog toy, including those that are marketed as "indestructible." At dinner tonight, he asked me if I could make something that could stand up to Lola's teeth.

I have two thoughts so far: 1) knit with wool and felt it and 2) knit -- tightly -- with heavy/rough rug yarn. Rug yarn worked for a cat toy, so maybe that's the way to go. I've not tried felting yet, but I was just reading about it in the latest edition of KnitPicks' newsletter and thought perhaps that could work as well. I may try the felting first, simply 'cuz I've got some Lion Wool on hand....

Wreaths... and yarn in the heat

Since it was blazing hot here in DE yesterday, I decided to put away the yarn and work on door wreaths.

I had received a custom order for two wreaths to match some silk house flags, and worked first on finishing those. Here they are, each with the flag they're to match. The wreaths are basically the same (they had to be since they'll both be up at the same time), but the bows are different colors and designs, and placed differently.






Then I thought I'd work on some wreaths that I had planning out awhile back, but never actually assembled. However, despite the heat, the call of yarn was too strong to resist, and I knitted anyway. I spent some time on the raspberry Silky Look bandeau top I've had in the works for awhile and got it nearly done. All that's left now is the finishing (uh-oh!).

I truly seem to work in spurts... I'll prepare a project, but then get bored of all the prep work (or finishing work, as is the case for some knit/crochet) and put it aside until I'm in the mood for it again. *sigh* Is there a 12-step program for procrastination? LOL

Also, I found (or re-found, as I knew of it before, but lost the URL) the blog site for Keet, a fellow local artist like me who has items currently on display at the Curiosity Shoppe. You should check her out if you get a chance -- she makes really nice quilts and whimsical framed mini-quilts.

Countdown to the craft show

Five days til my craft show in Newark, DE. Five days, and quite a bit left to do. Inventory, pricing, signage... I have a lovely long list to organize my week. Can I do it? Of course I can! My mom is coming tomorrow to help with some of it. I think we'll tackle the inventory and pricing first. I hope it warms up later this week, because I'd like to put some finishing touches on the display unit for my wreaths as well.

Speaking of wreaths, I think I promised some pictures of them as a teaser for this weekend. If I didn't, here are some, anyway. Since the wreaths are difficult to ship, I usually just sell them at shows, and don't have any photos of them on my Etsy website. If one catches your fancy, though, and you can't make the show, email me and we'll discuss shipping options.

New Gizmo lets you shop more easily from here!

I love the programmers at Etsy.

Etsy is the mother-site where my shop, Smile Creations Crafts, is hosted. The programmers are forever cooking up cool ideas to help us sell our handcrafted items. Their newest is "Etsy mini," a mini glance at our shop for posting on our web sites or blogs. Mine is to the right, under my logo. Click on any pictured item to go directly to that item on my Etsy site.

Other news:
1) I am making headway on a database to track all my products and supplies. It is turning out to be a complicated task, since I feel like every time I turn around, I remember more info that I should be tracking, but I'm getting there.
2)After my blog rant about "finishing" on Tuesday, I got off my butt and got about finishing. I finished a slew of cute little totes and purses, each with a unique look. And yesterday my mom and dad visited, and with their craft assistance, I completed many colorful paperback book covers for my craft show. Added bonus: anyone who buys a book cover at my booth on March 24th or 25th, gets a complimentary paperback book from me!
3) I finished and delivered the newsboy-style hat to my friend at UPenn, who looks adorable in it! I made a second one while I was at it, to post in my store, and will post a pic here once I take one.

It's a beautiful Saturday

It is! Warm (for a Delaware March, anyway), sunny, clear-skied...... I feel happier than I have in days! Darn the winter blues!

Despite a raging cold, I decided to take advantage of the day, if only for a short while. I donned a jacket, and, armed with paint brush, varnished the desk and chair set that I carefully sanded last weekend. It looks great (if I do say so myself), but it also looks as if I have really thirsty wood. I mean, there are parts that look dry ALREADY, and I know it's not THAT warm. So I think I may have to do another coat next weekend. But I'm getting closer to having all my display furniture ready for the craft show season. Good thing, too, since my first show of this year is just 3 weeks away!

On other news, the newsboy hat is nearly complete. It is only missing a brim, which I plan to finish tomorrow. And I'm also nearly done knitting a little girls' caplet in white ribbon yarn and edged in wonderful fuzzy blue/green yarn. It will be perfect for those upcoming spring days. I'll post pics tomorrow; I'm just not in the mood to drag out my camera today.

Newsboy hat coming along

The newsboy hat is coming along nicely. Many, many thanks to Mrs. reMANGO, one of my Newark knitting buddies who showed me a way to make the cables go easier and faster! Also thanks to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, whose wisdom I only recently discovered in her book, Knitting Rules!: The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks.

As I no longer work with the hat recipient, it is sometimes difficult to find time in our schedules to meet. And I want to ensure that the hat I am knitting will fit properly, no? How to do that without a long drive into Philadelphia? Easy, according to the Yarn Harlot. Simply measure the recipient's hand, from palm base to tip of the middle finger. That measurement should equal the hat, from the brim/edge to the first row of decreases (this assumes, obviously, that you're knitting bottom up, as thankfully I am).

The good news is: the hat fits! Onward, to the brim!

My first cables

I finally got around to beginning the newsboy hat for my friend/former-colleague. I chose to work with the Moda Dea yarn first, since I think it's more of the royal purple she is hoping for.

The brim is done (it's a 1x1 rib for about 1.25"), and I added a strand of clear elastic thread to make it a little more snug. The rest of the hat involves cables, which I haven't done before. I've watched, and been taught, and the concept sounds really simple --- knit a specific number of stitches out of order.

I completed the first cable last night. It was very very slow going (it kinda felt as though it took me just as long to do one cable as it did to knit/purl the three rounds leading up to it!), but I did it! I'm so very proud. I don't know if you can really see the cable in this photo (I'm having a BAD photography day!), but it's there, right next to where the needles cross in the photo below.



Thank you to my UPenn knitting pals, who taught me to cable; heck, who taught me to knit!

Craft Show Displays -- continuing the sprucing process

I was so hungry this morning, I was awake several hours earlier than normal! I hate when my appetite makes it impossible to sleep.

However, that also meant that I got a jump on working on my craft show displays. By lunch, I had already sanded a really cute desk and chair set. It's so tiny, it looks like it should be a child's set, but it's perfect for fitting in a craft show booth. And despite the small profile, the chair is comfortable. Now it's ready to varnish. But it's just too cold outside, even in the garage with the door closed, to do both tasks today. So I'll save that part for next weekend.

With that work out of the way, now I can do the fun stuff -- a few hours knitting up a custom order. A former colleague requested a newsboy-style cap, much like the one pictured below, but in dark royal purple to match her coat. I found two perfect yarns, which means I'll make hers, but then I'll make another for my store, too! The first yarn I found one is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (it's soooo soft! I used it for several scarves before and really really liked the feel.). The other is Moda Dea SuperWash Wool (100% washable means it's warm and cheap to clean. It also knits up to a nice feeling hat).