Swish Heathered Socks

For Tammy.

Argosy Scarf

Lisa's Christmas Present. Yummy Merino/Silk wool. I can't decide if I loved or hated making this scarf. But, my sister LOVES wearing it.

Iced Giraffes Longies

One of my favorite knits to date. This yummy colorway from Nurturing Threads on Blackberry Ridge Merino, made the squishiest and prettiest longies I've seen in a long time. I hope the little guy in the UK they went to gets lots of use out of them!

Fall Harvest Handspun Airy Scarf Stole

I knit this using WONDERFULLY YUMMY Handspun from Lea at Woobies Wool. The yarn is 1/2 Targhee, 1/2 Finn... if I remember correctly. The pattern is adapted from the Airy Scarf in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I knit it to have as a wrap for cool evenings on a tropical vacation to Costa Rica I took in December, but it ended up being a great warmth to me as a wrap/scarf all winter long in cold Nebraska.

Watermelon Longies

Knit for a sweet momma on Soggy Granola. The yarn is BFL from Natural Home Presents. I knit these bottom up and added a flare ruffle on the cuff.

Christmas Bag/Ornaments

Blush Longies

Campfire Set

This set reminded me of a campfire. S'mores longies knit by me and an Owl long sleeved t-shirt sewn by Alison of AhMay Designs made up this set. I ended up offering the set as a semi-custom on my store, with the longies made to order. The set was so soft and squishy, and although not quite girly enough for Jackie, I still had a hard time mailing this set out. I hope the mom on the receiving end, as well as her little guy, love it as much as I did.

Hagrid Set

These longies and slippers were knit for a customer's YYMN slot. "J" was referred to me by Colleen at Spiffy Knits. Thanks Colleen! She ordered Aran BFL from Colleen in her Hagrid colorway and had it mailed to me so I could knit longies and slippers for her son. I love how the set turned out! Colleen's yarn was beautiful, and I think throught he process, "J" was inspired to begin knitting herself. I can't wait to hear how knitting is going for her!

Macintosh Apple

Well, as fall began and started to wear on... Ella was adament on not wearing jeans almost every day! She wanted "pants" like Jackie. I'd not knit her any woolies as she PL'd in August. So, since she had such a long inseam, and didn't need the wool for diapering purposes, I figured she'd just miss out this fall. But, she persisted, so shortly before her birthday, her wool pants were finished. I knit them with Bulky Beaverslide yarn I received from my friend Lea at Woobies Wool in a yarn ball swap. They turned out great! Wonderfully warm and sturdy. I could not be more pleased. And, for the first couple of weeks, the longies were one of the only articles of clothing Ella wanted to wear!

Bart Hat

Bartholomew Thick and Thin Yarn in the Duckbite colorway from Dashing Dachs and the 3IG YOTM club, teamed up with Angelina at Zenstring's Pro Bono Hat Pattern helped me create a winter hat for the girls. I'm so happy with how it turned out. I do plan on using the other half skein of yarn to make one more hat, so the girls can match.

Georgia Peach

OK, so I've been lusting over the Georgia colorway from Zenstring for quite some time. I finally broke down during a recent sale and purchased some on Nirvana Soft Spun Aran. Last Thursday, I cast on for a pair of bottom up longies for Jackie. I intended to test a new crotch method to eliminate any possibility of seaming, as well as a new short row method. Thanks Cece for the idea on the crotch method (months ago... I've been stewing since then about it) and thanks to many who have posted notes about the Yarn Over (no-wrap) short row method. Both techniques have made me a very happy knitter. I may start working all longies bottom up soon, and know I will use the Yarn Over short row method above all others going forward.



Not only did I get to test some new techniques, I finished these longies in record time, and Jackie now has another pair of longies. I think her winter woolie wardrobe is getting pretty complete, but I'm sure I'll continue to knit away for her!

Woodland Fae Socks

My first completed SOCKS!!! WHOOT! I have others (and have had for months) on the needles, but these were done with worsted weight wool on size 4 needles. SUPER quick knit! They're more slipper socks than regular socks, as I've yet to find a pair of my shoes that they'll fit in. However, they keep my feet toasty warm tootling around the house.



I knit them with Zenstring Nirvana Worsted. Heavenly soft and squishy. YUMMY! I'm now addicted to knitting socks. AND, have several holiday orders in from family for slipper socks. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them all done and no one will be disappointed.

Woodland Forest Longies

These longies were knit using Plymouth Outback Wool. A customer requested this yarn in specific, as she'd used some with her older children. So, I was off to find the yarn for her longies. I did end up finding it at an online store, but it was a bit challenging. The color is #965, which I've dubbed Woodland Forest. I love knitting for this momma, as she is super sweet and her son is absolutely ADORABLE! She emailed to see if I knit hats, and so I whipped up a hat to go with the longies too.

More Baptism Longies

For a wonderful momma on HC. I was able to knit these using Organic Merino wool, which I LOVE! I ran into a slight problem when almost finished with a dropped and incorrectly picked up stitch near the waist band. I had a heart attack, tried to fix it, and had a couple more heart attacks. It really was not a noticable flaw, but one I knew existed. So, I emailed the momma with some suggestions on what could be done (we were working under a deadline.) All worked out well, and the little guy looked adorable on his baptism day.

Florry

Before coming up with my verdict on Lindon Merino, I decided to crochet it. I started these longies before the Rory longies were washed and blocked. I quickly decided that I enjoyed crocheting it. It worked up quickly on a 5.0mm hook, and the longies are uber cottony soft and stretchy! The are working perfectly for Jackie!

US Mystery Girls

A collaboration with Alison at AhMay Designs. She sewed this gorgeous shirt, and I knit up longies to match. We had a bit of trouble with the yarn we orginally had picked matching, so instead, I double stranded Butternut (orange) and Rhubarb (pink) Merino Style together for the perfect match. It's hard to capture in photography, but the tween look matches the shirt perfectly! I trimmed in 2 strands of Cranberry Merino Style.



The set was to be sold in my store, but sat in stock too long, and now belongs to Jackie!

Bubblegum Machine Longies

Another custom..... Bubblegum on Blackberry Ridge Merino, dyed by Brad at Wooly Wonders by Nada. You can't go wrong with this yarn. I enjoyed the colorway as it worked up! The only issue with this project was starting out with turqoise for the coordinating trim! It didn't dawn on me that boys couldn't wear Frost Blue (Knit Picks Merino Style) as "Frost" really was turqoise, until I had an inch or so of the body complete... then it became clear to me. So, I had to rip back and rework with a grey trim. Them momma and I were pleased with the results though.

Rory Longies

Fabulous little Rory Lonies made for sweet Evelyn! Annie, once again, was a pleasure to work with. Although, I have to admit, she is becoming a formidable knitter herself, so I was a bit nervous knitting for her again. She claims to love the longies though! WOOOSH!



They were knit using Lindon Merino from Three Irish Girls in the Rory colorway. I used a crochet shell trim on the legs. I'm never crazy about working with Lindon, even though I love the yarn. It does not have as much stretch to it as I like, so makes my hands tire. Plus, before washing, the stitch definition does not look great. But, after the longies were complete, washed, and blocked, I remembered why I love Lindon so much. SO SO cottony soft, warm, squishy and wonderful! And, the yarn blooms for great stitch definition! It's like after washing, the longies were a different garment than before washing.

Yukon x 2

These 2 pair of longies were made for Cora! With the notion that her momma would pick one pair and I would sell the other in my store. The yarn on both is from Knit Picks. On the tweed looking pair, it is Yukon Memories Sock Yarn double-stranded with Knit Picks Merino Style Fog. The other pair is Yukon Wool of the Andes Bulky. The same colorway, but different yarns so different looks! I really like how both worked up! Kelly picked the Memories/tweed pair for Cora and I've seen them in action a few times. Super soft and snuggly!

Natural Stallion Set

A co-op purchase from a SG momma for her newborn due in January. I made these longies and hat using Natural Colored Stallion Organic Merino Yarn. This is the yummiest yarn EVER to knit. It is like butter on the needles. I just can't quit petting this yarn when I work with it! It is the BEST BEST BEST!

Dryad Longies

A friend of mine ordered these longies for her new babe due in December. The yarn is Zenstring Nirvana Worsted in the Dryad colorway. It was a treat to work with. I love this yarn! The longies are so soft and snuggly! I can't wait to see them on the new little babe. Maybe I'll even get a chance to get one small little cuddle!

Cotton Candy and Chocolate

2 pair of crocheted longies for a new baby girl. The first pair (sized newborn) was supposed to be a small, but I didn't follow my hunch that I was making the legs too narrow. So, they were NB, not small. Off I went to make the small pair! The momma decided to purchase the newborn pair as well. I was able to see a newborn pic with her wearing them, and it warmed my heart!

Pumpkin Outfit

I made this outfit for a special little boy on a diapering board that I spend some time on. His momma is the sweetest, and he caused some worry before being born. Now, from what I hear though, he is a sweet as can be, and is loving his little outfit!

Winters Wool Raffle

I did a raffle for a Wonter's Worth of Wool starting in July. The winner picked 3 colorways to have custom longies knit up from. Alyssa's Way on Top of the Lamb wool from Over the Moon, Butterflies on Corriedale from TykieKnits, and Heard it through the Grapevine on Corriedale from TykieKnits. Fun, Fun!

YAY! I'm caught up.... mostly....

All right, I'm about ready to finish the Baptismal Longies tonight that I've promised in my previous "soon-to-come" post. So, aside from that post and a post due to Lea to rave for the goodies she sent me in the Fall Yarn Ball SWAP, I'm caught up! YAY!!!!! I'm SO EXCITED!

Happy Knitting!

Baptismal Longies

These longies were knit for a momma looking for a natural Baptism outfit... the ones in the stores did not do much for her. So, when she contacted me to see if I could do white longies for her, I immediatly thought of my friend Sara, who'd done natural colored longies for her son's baptism last year. So I suggested natural, rather than white.

They were knit with 2 ply Montana Targhee from Sweet Grass Wool and were so sweet to knit.

Secret Garden BBR Longies for Jackie

These longies need to be rephotographed at some point, as my camera battery was dying and I did not take time to block them properly before snapping the pic. Anyhow, they were knit using Blackberry Ridge Merino dyed in the Secret Garden Colorway by Brad at WWBN. They started out as shorties for Ella in March/April, but I got caught up in other knitting and did not get them done in time for summer. So, they turned into Jackie's first official pair of longies for Fall of '08. One skein of BBR was *almost* enough for a complete pair of medium/large longies, can you believe it???? I ended up doing the leg cuffs with a couple of different colors of Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks.


Now, we just need some cold weather... and a new pic!

"Footie" Longies

"Footie" Longies you say? What could those be? Well, let me tell you. A customer of mine came to me with a challenge. She wanted newborn longies for her little bean due in November. However, she remembered from her other kiddos that newborns are notorious for kicking off socks. ...so... she asked me to add a foot to the longies, and sent me a link to a snow suit from Lands End that had a flap that did just what she was looking for, and asked if I could duplicate the idea on longies for her babe.



I did my best, and hope that they work well for her. One pair is knit using S'mores Memories Yarn double stranded with Nutmeg and Fog Merino Style from KnitPicks, and the other pair is knit with Aran BFL from WWBN in a custom colorway I had worked up in the spring that I called Orange Skies. They're both so tiny and squishy! I hope the momma likes them!

Black Rainbow Longies

Some more yarn from Lizet! Doesn't BFL from Lizzie's Wonderland just work up in crochet perfectly?!?! These were crocheted on a 4.00 crochet hook, using the Ladybugz MorningGlory Longies pattern. I modified to include a crotch gusset, as well as to accomodate my smaller hook size and gauge. The trim is Garnet Malibrigo. YUMM!!! I LOVE Malibrigo! I must find a reason to work with it some more in the future! Maybe a hat in what is left from the skein used for trim!


I added a ruffle cuff to these to add a bit of "flare" and hope that they are a hit, as they'll be paired up with a shirt from Alison at AhMay Designs for a stocking in September.


If they don't sell, Jackie will make good use of the though!

Newborn Hawaiin Memories Shorties

Some newborn shorties for my friend Bonnie's new baby girl. I found out she had delivered her babe a couple/few? weeks early and that she was a girl! So, I had to set all other knitting aside for 24 hours and whip these shorties up for Adira! They're knit using Hawaiin Memories Sock Yarn double stranded with Merino Style in Rhubarb and Tide Pool. All the yarns are from Knit Picks. Look familiar? I did a similar pair ealier in the summer, but they were Medium/Large sized and the Rhubarb was the trim, rather than the body. Also, those were knit on 6's, and I've found that this combo of yarns works up just as nicely, if not more nicely on 7's. Next, I might try 8's, but I don't know, 7's works pretty well!

Shallow Seas for Fluff Factory

As I'm catching up on my blog entries, I realize, I need to brush up a bit on my html. I must put that on my to do list. But, catching up a month+ of entries is more on my radar at the moment.


I digress... I knit these longies using hand dyed, hand spun yarn donated by Lea at Woobies Woolies. It was a light worsted weight in her Shallow Seas colorway. I have to say, it was my best knitting experience to date. Handspun yarn has no comparison to what I've used so far. Absolulely fantastic!!!!!! She used Targhee fiber, and just did a magnificent job.



I knit the longies on size 7 needles and to a medium/large size that fit Jackie to a "t." I SO wish we could have kept them. But, they were to go into a basket for the Fluff Factory Auction. I mailed them off to Steph at Pattynaps and she added a diaper, and her friend, Julie from LittleBums added a fantastic shirt/dress. The set could not be any cuter. I have to admit, I did bid on the auction!

Mystic Winter longies

Lizet strikes again! A customer of mine has a common love with me for Lizzie's Wonderland BFL yarn, as this was the 3rd item she's purchased with yarn from my gallery that is Lizzie's Wonderland. We must have very similar tastes in colorways, as Lizet's colors just really strike me a good bit of the time.




Anyhow, these longies were crocheted using a 4.0mm crochet hook using the Ladybugz MorningGlory Longies pattern, altered to remove the flare on the leg, and to accomodate my tighter gauge for a cleaner looking, more bulletproof wooly. I could not be more pleased with how the yarn worked itself up in crochet! It seems to me that Lizet's yarns just lend themself so well to crochet, and not all hand-dyes do that. When I finished these up, I was compelled to add a crochet lace trim to the leg cuff. Luckily, my customer was OK with that, as it was not part of our original discussions for the longies. But, the yarn made me do it, and she was OK with that!

Patchouli Skirty

This skirt was born from my need to practice an undersoaker pattern I developed, as well as a skirty style I was developing for a customer. The Watermelon skirty I finished a while back was "final" version from all this practice. However, I did the pieces that needed to be "practiced" then set this skirty down for a month while finishing other knitting/crocheting. I finally was able to pick it back up again and finish it up. So, Ella got a new skirty out of the deal.




The undersoaker and trim yarn is Mulled Wine Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks, while the colorway (isn't it PURTY??!!) is Patchouli from Zenstring on Nirvana Worsted. It was heavenly to work with!


Like I said, the undersoaker and skirty patterns are of my creation. The undersoaker is seamless, and the skirty has a small purl stitch band in the trim color before a slight flare/ruffle, ending with a crochet bind off and crochet lace trim. I really enjoyed making this skirt.


Lea from Woobies Woolies and I are working together to put my undersoaker and skirty notes together to offer a pattern early next year. YAY!

Tierny Longies and Hat - 3IG Lindon Merino

Can I just say, that Lindon Merino from 3IG is FANTASTIC!!!???? A customer of mine emailed me to see if I was beginning to work on longies for the fall yet... "well, yes." Then she looked through my gallery, debated on a couple of colors, and then decided to do a YYMN (your-yarn-my-needle) slot. She liked Tierny from 3IG, but I only had it in Galenas (not the best choice for a toddler.) So, she ordered this fabulous yarn from Sharon and had it mailed directly to me.



I had some Lindon in stock, but had not yet had a chance to work any up... so had only been able to pet it thus far. My gauge swatch was a treat, and then I began knitting. FABULOUS! The yarn is SO full of lanolin, soft, squishy, spongy...just wonderful. I knit the longies on 7's, but think I probably will knit this yarn up on 8's going forward.



A few days after the momma received these longies and hat, she sent me the kindest email and pics of her deer son wearing them. I was so greatful! It's so fun to see my knitting in action!

Lakeside SockKnitters/OneSkein Project Bag

I crocheted this bag, basing my pattern loosely off of a bag in the book "One Skein Wonders." I saw the bag and was inspired to turn it into a sock knitters bag, then realized a knitting friend's birthday was fast approaching, Perfect! Alas, I started on the bag following the pattern and with a different yarn and was just not sold. The bag was too holey, and the colors were not Sara.




So, I backtracked a bit, and thought of how to revamp the pattern, and how to pick a yarn without giving the surprise away. A week or so later (but only a couple of days before Sara's birthday,) I happened to have a nearly finished pair of longies with me at playgroup that I was working with this yarn. Sara commented on how she liked the blues, greens, and browns/tans. Bingo! I had a yarn choice! In the meantime, I'd decided to work the bag in a smaller gauge and different stitch, as well as using a different "in-the-round" crochet method. Thus, the bag began, and Sara received it a bit late, but still close enough to her birthday to still be a birthday present.




After her feedback on the bag (she says she loves it, but...) I now realize that I need to figure out how to make a felted version or a lined version so that needles will not poke out. Other than that, I think it is serving it's purpose.




I can't wait to make my next one!

Rose Garden Crochet Longies

I love Lizzie's Wonderland BFL! Lizet does a beautiful job dyeing and her dye jobs are the most colorfast I've run across thus far. Her BFL is nice and soft (not as soft as WWBN) but still fabulously soft. So, it is always a treat to knit or crochet with her yarns. These crocheted longies were a custom with her Rose Garden Colorway, trimmed with Petal Merino Style. I was so in love with how this colorway worked up for the custom, I had to order more for some longies for Jackie!