Birthday Gift...

Yeah... I can post this now.  Made the coolest gift for Lisa's birthday (http://www.lisaellisdesigns.com/).  I was quite pleased with myself, even though I made a few mistakes it turned out really good and it was a big hit.  What is it?  It's a custom made, just for Lisa, tote bag with pictures of her knitting designs.  I thought it would be the perfect tote for her to take out in the field.  Here are a few pictures... what do you think?

This was a really fun project.  Will there be more to come?  The jury is still out on that one.

Picture this...

One blank canvas, one new paint brush, new paint, new ribbon, new rub-on words, fun pictures of the kids = my newest project:

Another project I worked on this weekend was a first.  I bought this project for Hailey but she didn't think she could do it.  It's supposed to be a felt penguin... I tried :)  Hailey wanted a fedora so that is what's supposed to be on his head.  I think it turned out OK for a first attempt.  It was kind of fun rolling the wool and poking it with a needle.  Good project for relieving stress or taking out your frustrations :)  How often can you poke something repeatedly with a needle and end up with a cute little project?  This may become my new stress reliever!!

These projects come packaged with everything you need to make an animal (even two or three).  I bought mine at Allyn Knit Shop (http://www.allynknitandspin.com/).  They are called WoolPets and they have a bunch to chose from.  Check it out... it's an easy project for anyone and you don't need to know how to knit.

Prairie Boots...

I finally sewed the buttons on Hailey's new slippers.  They were supposed to be for Christmas but I didn't get them done.  They will now be a "just because" gift for her since her birthday isn't until August and who wants slippers in August right?  The first picture is the folded, short boot version where I added peace buttons.

The second picture is the tall boot style where I added soccer buttons.  That way she has two different buttons of some of her favorite things.

I just love these slippers... they are so cute.  I used a washable wool since they are for a 10 year old.  The pattern can be found at http://www.cocoknits.com/knit/garments/accessories/prairieboots.html.  My next pair will be for myself out of Lamb's Pride wool.  I like the shorter version for myself so I will probably only put one set of buttons on.  I'm really not sure how they would feel with buttons up against your skin when wearing the tall version.  I'll have to wait and see what Hailey thinks when she wears them.

This was a fun pattern... you start out knitting the sole and picking up stitches and working your way up.  I really enjoyed them and can't wait to make my next pair.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  What's my 2011 story going to be? 

I've started chapter 1...

1.  Eating healthier for the sake of my kids.

2.  Surround myself with positive people and "dump" those who bring me down.

3.  Make time for myself this year and not feel guilty about it.

4.  Finally get organized, starting with one room at a time.

5.  Block, block, block!

What is your story going to be?

Happy Holidays...

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My new art work, from Tracy Fisher Arts http://www.tfisherart.com/, sums it up for me.  Looking forward to spending time with family.  I hope you all have a joyuous holiday season!!  See you next year!!

I love how she did the packages under the tree with all our names, including little Diego.

Santa Sack...

I can finally post a fun project I was working on for my knitting group (gave them away today).  I found these cute handmade ornaments (made in the good old USA) at A Good Yarn Shop in Port Orchard.

Now, I didn't want to put these ornaments in just a plain old gift bag so I went onto Ravelry to see if I could find a cute little gift bag to make.  I really didn't see anything I liked so I hit the caffeine and put my wee little brain to work.  I'm not really a designer but hey you have to start somewhere right?  I made up these adorable Santa gift sacks with some really pretty Lamb's Pride yarn.  This yarn is so nice to work with and I love how it knits up.  I dug deep into container after container of yarn in my garage and finally found some white fun fur, made my way through the maze in my craft room to find some ties and jingle bells and sat down to see what I could do.  Each bag is a little different, I had to experiment with the number of stitches, increases and decreases to make it turn out like the pattern in my head.  In the end I am happy with the results and I think everyone liked them.  I'll have to put these on my Christmas list for 2011.

Busy, busy, busy...

I'm keeping myself so busy these days I just haven't had time to blog.  I'm working away on last minute Christmas gifts and I'm still not sure who is getting what.  I made these fun santa hats which I thought about selling at the bazaar at my kids school but, as usual, my kids confiscated them.  I just love them!!

The middle picture is Hailey demonstrating how her marshmallow shooters work.  I'm so proud of my kids for making and selling out their stock at the bazaar.  They were so excited to get some "fun" money, not so excited about paying for their expenses out of their profits though.  What a great lesson!!