Knitsational...or The Evolution of Yarn

Picnic Weather

I treated myself  to a couple of Mother's Day treats this weekend. I found the best picnic basket at an antique store. So nice and roomy! I've been searching for one like this and it was only $10.

And this little  raspberry basket? purse? oddity? Whatever it is, it's super cute! I'm just a sucker for raspberries.

I haven't decided whether or not I'm gonna keep this one, though. I love it but it is terribly impractical and with 2 little ones I rarely get to carry anything smaller than a diaper bag. Though I was thinking that it would look lovely just hanging from a doorknob but then again, the girls would be sure to rip it off and drag it around the house stuffed with toys. Who knows, it could end up a giveaway to one of you. Do you like it?

Oh, and I just had to share this picture of Kaiya. Sometimes I stalk them while they sleep.

The feet! That's the best part. 

Very, Very Busy!

I have been so busy the past week, getting ready for a festival I'm doing on the 17th of this month. It's only gonna be me and another seller from the Catawba Handmade Etsy street team. So I'm working hard to beef up my inventory. I've been working on some new items:

I love these notebooks. And they're so simple to make. A great way for me to work through some scrap fabric . They each have 20 pages of unlined paper.

And more pincushions. I just can't get enough of these! And last night I started on some knitted then felted projects. I'll post some photos of those later. But for now I have to get back to work.

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

I'm so pleased with how this turned out. I'm so tempted to keep it but.... It's available in my shop.

These sweet little pincushions, however, are Christmas gifts. And I still have a little fabric left over. I love this fabric! Anyway, yes, I'm already getting a jumpstart on Christmas since I make all of my gifts. But year after year this takes quite a bit of creativity. And I have a nice long list. So I would love to hear from you some of the gifts you have made, are going to make or handmade gifts you have recieved. Especially for men. Men are hard enough to buy for! So leave me a comment with some of your handmade ideas.

Hello

I'm really just stopping in to say hello . Tait is watching the girls today so that I can get a little work done.I haven't made anything in days. I'm going through withdrawal. So I'm gonna go hole myself up in my little room back there and work with this lovely bundle pictured above. I adore these colors! And I've been saving these gorgeous red buttons for something special. I love red. Not that I know what I'll do with it yet, but fabric this lovely makes anything special. The polka dot fabric is the same I used forDot's dress. I'm so glad I bought extra. Iwas so inspired by all the loveliness that I made a new banner. I could look at this stuff all day. Well, I'm off!

FingerPaints

We had messy fun today. Kaiya loved it but Zoe got mad because I wouldn't let her eat the paint. Still, she had fun smearing it around. Oh, and the kitties ventured out of their hiding place beside the couch today. It was their first trip out. Zoe got a little too excited. It's gonna be  a chore keeping them out of her tight little grasp.

The one in front is Flopsy. The other orange one is Mopsy and my little sis named the darker one Yoshimi. These 3 are girls. There is 1 more girl named Joey and 1 lone boy named Tom Kitten. My husband had said that we could keep the girls. When we saw that we had 4 girls I said "Bet you're regretting that now"! He still says we can keep them. What a man!

A New Lease on Life

I just love the thought of taking something that has lived it's life, served it's purpose and may even be looking at, GASP!, the trash, and giving it a new life. I'll admit it, I'm a trash collector. My family and friends know well enough to bring  it to me. "Do you want to keep this"? And I loving take it in a give it a home amidst all of my other finds until it's day comes. And then I bring it out and breathe new life into it, so to speak. In my opinion, that is crafting in it's highest form. Like these:

I call them I Used to be a Sweater Slippers! I love these! They are so soft.  They used to be a wool sweater then I fulled (felted) them. And now they are one super cosy pair of ladies slippers.  I actually got a few really great ideas about these from some fellow  Etsyers. Hmm, that's a funny word. Anywho, tonight I'm gonna work on a pair that is fully lined and with a  leather bottom,  suede side facing for traction. Another thought from shop owner Sweiky Siggies was to take custom orders using customer's own sweater. Love that idea! So if anyone's interested please let me know. Now go upcycle something!

I Must Share

I'm not finished yet but this is just such a great book that I thought I would share. I'm actually only about 1/4 of the way through but there's really no lead up, it's great from the very start! It's about a 7 yr old girl that begins talking to God. Really talking to God. The media gets ahold of it and her newly divorced mother is trying to protect her. Right now in the book she has developed stigmata. That's always facinating!  I picked it up for .50 at the Salvation Army last week. I've never read this author before but I really like her writing style so I think I'll go to the library when I'm finished and see what else she's got!

Meet Dot!

You wouldn't know it to look at her but this little darling is quite the trouble-maker. I know she looks sweet and innocent but don't be fooled. There I was, happily knitting my little heart out and along comes a warm breeze and I start dreaming of pretty little purses. Ok. That's no biggie. I can do purses. But then on Friday I go the fabric store and this lovely red polka dot print catches my eyes. And just like with yarn, I'm a buy first- be inspired later type of fabric buyer. So after a little contemplation as to the fate of these polka dots, Dot comes whirling in and demands to be made! Oh well, that's all fine and dandy except, Hello! I'm not Knitsational for nothing. I was a little concerned about all the purses that have been parading around my shop lately but she is just too much. Am I taking too many directions? Is my shop getting a little scattered and unharmonious? I'm considering changing my name. Well not my name, of course, but my shop: Knitsational. I mean, isn't that a little too specific? Or should I just follow the straight and narrow and stick with just one thing (EEK)?  Of course with Etsy you can't just change your name, it's an all or nothing type of deal. Which means opening a new shop but I absolutely don't want to carry on with 2 shops. And then, of course, I would have to change my blog name, too, and, oh. It's too much to think about! Blast all these ideas that go romping through my head as though they have nothing else better to do! Please do tell me what you think.

Oh, and Alisa, thank you so much for pointing out my treasury! I didn't see it but was wondering where all the hearts were coming from til I saw your comment. And my mitts sold! Yay!

Going in Circles and Something For Me

I've been doing a little bit of embroidery this weekend. I'm really aweful at it, though I would love to learn. I can do a running stitch, however, though I would be very worried about my sewing abilities if I couldn't pull off a  simple running stitch.

This little bag has been my pet project for the past month. I've only really been crocheting on it when I sit down to nurse one of the girls. But I'm so pleased with how it turned out! I embroidered all the circles on it this morning and sewed it together with the lining this afternoon. And yesterday I made this little cutie.

I really love this one. Those felt flowers are just so cheery! Oh! I almost forgot the "Something for Me".

The Tulip Heist

As it was such a gorgeous day today, the girls played outside while I hung out the laundry. Our backyard is littered with little yellow, weedy flowers so I asked Kaiya to pick go pick some.

Hmmm.... Not little, yellow, weedy flowers. Looks an aweful lot like the tulips that were growing in my mamaw's garden. She lives right behind us..

"They're for you, Mommy"! she says.

I'm finally gonna make a lovely little something for myself.