Introducing...The Wristlet!

Let me start of by saying I really don't like the word "wristlet". Its like scarflette. Kirsten and I decided "clutch" is way cooler. Here they are...


Cute little mini purses just the right size for your phone, keys and a small wallet. I love big bags but I may just have to make myself one of these.

I just joined Eco Etsy, an awesome Etsy street team dedicated to promoting all that is green and good. Look for more recycled packaging from me. There are so many amazing sellers that belong to this group...

Alright my 3 hours of freedom is almost up and I have to run get my kiddos...then run, then run some more :)...

Look Ma I'm in a treasury on Etsy
Thats my cherry skirt at the bottom :)...

Happy Accidents

I just got in a small batch of roving the other day. Its like getting a big roll of natural fabric, a blank palette. I tried dyeing some 3 oz batches a couple different ways. The first one I did regular rainbow dyeing, where you paint the wet roving wrap it in plastic wrap and then steam it. I love this method cause you dont really have to touch the fiber so there's less chance of it felting. I got this...
which spun up in to "Midnight at the Oasis" mmmmm pretty...

Next I tried the hot pour method from the Twisted Sisters Sock book. You heat your roving on the stove with water and a bit of vinegar then pour the colors. It softens the colors but you have to be careful to not poke it too much or it felts. Well what I didn't realize is that some dyes split into different colors...so my well intentioned earthy brown, burgundy and plum mix did this...
What the hell? Where did yellow and green come from?! All I could think of was salamander (not that I don't like salamanders but I was hoping for something a bit more romantic)...
Now here comes the cool part...I snagged some of these from Loop on Etsy... in that collection of fibery goodness I found this beautiful black alpaca and firestar batt. Tons of sparkle and color...So that little tiny batt mixed with my ugly roving gave me thisAll the warm earthiness I could ever want with some sparkle to boot. I love happy endings....

Recycled Mailing bags

I was so excited when i found that Etsy
has videos on YouTube. I love how to videos...I've learned various knitting and spinning techniques. Its pretty exciting.

Here's the latest amazingness I found...
Fusing plastic grocery bags...


This worked out perfect since I never seem to have first class mailing bags or boxes. My first attempt ended up a little melty...
Here's the final one. Looks pretty cool and is stronger and thicker than the PO's tyvek bags. I just sealed the edges with packing tape and voila!

So I finished the hoodie...I tried a new hood design that really wraps around so when its down you get a cool collar effect. Nice and warm too. I put it up on ebay ...

I also added a new pair of pants to my site...

I've been experimenting with block printing a little bit. Here's a great tutorial if anyone is curious....I love her work...Here. For these pants I decided ginkgo, yet again. I really love the shape of the leaves. And I love the idea that ginkgo is said to increase concentration and memory...I could use some of that!

Up next dyeing some fleece! I got this today...Big Fun!!!

French Films and Gratitude

I recently finished an amazing book my best friend got my son for Christmas...

This is an absolutely amazing story and the illustrations are stunning...
It has refers to early french film making by director Georges Melies. He did this beautiful film called The Trip To The Moon....I'm using it as inspiration for my next top....I can't wait to share...

I've been thinking alot about how much I just love my job. I get to stay home with my kids and make stuff and make a little money. I've tried doing "lines" of clothing but I get so bored with it, that it takes away from the thing I love. I know this is the way to streamline and be more efficient but it literally drives me crazy. Jason is always like cut out 10 of such and such and you can whip them out....I've tried and the result always seems less that what I like my end product to be....so my goals are to continue making one-of-a-kind pieces and try to make them cost effective. Its a work in progress.....

Here's some recent work...



Oh I took the plunge and applied to my first festival, Wheatland Music Festival.
Its a juried show so I'm waiting to see if I got in...I'm crossing my fingers...although I may have to reconcile making multiples of things if I want to fill a whole booth!

This blogging thing!

I love blogs...I read them all the time. The whole knitting community is big on blogging so thats usually pretty interesting. What people are doing or working on...I love it...so why is it that I have the hardest time keeping up on my own? I'm going to be better I promise...

To catch up...
This summer was fun. We hung out at home mostly. This was our summer project...

This big beautiful Ash tree in our front yard was being killed by the Emerald Ash Borer. It was hanging precariously over our house. So we had to cut it down...We chipped up all the small stuff for mulch and this is what we did with the bigger pieces....
And thats not nearly all of it...firewood! Yay! So as sad as I was about losing that big beautiful tree, we managed to recycle every bit of it, makes me feel better.








My kiddos both had birthdays so they are now 5 and 8. Big kids.






My little business is still doing well. I was so excited when just last week my mailing list hit 100 members! I've been really loving Etsy lately. I haven't posted anything new there in a while but when i do its always good to me. There's some really amazing artists on there as well. I've started spinning again. I bought these batts from Loop...
Absolutely stunning. I'm deciding what to make out of the yarn I spin....maybe a hat or a scarf to go with the winter coat I'm making myself =)...




I'm trying to blend different fibers without a drum carder or hand cards...just by splitting the rovings...here's some of my latest...

The one on the left is blue face leichester in royal blue, light blue and seafoam green with splices of dark purple bamboo...

On the right is my FAVORITE! Its natural black alpaca with hand-dyed black bamboo with some undyed areas that turned silver. Its so heavy and soooo soft!


In clothing I've been trying some new designs... =). I have a couple new tops made out of hemp jersey that I left the exposed seams from the serger. I love the effect and they turned out really comfortable. The trick is how to make them really unique and not just another jersey top...its a work in progress...
I feel like this blog is so boring...thanks to all who sat through it :). I'll get there...pretty soon I'll be the MASTER BLOGGER!!! Ha, when i remember to write one....
You'll have to excuse my picture placement....I can't seem to get it right!