I’ve been knitting again after what feels like a long while.
This hat/scarf conglomeration is for Lyra. It is from Knitty’s Toasty Topper pattern, which I adore. I didn’t make the scarf very wide in the hopes that she will allow it to stay tied beneath her chin. She doesn’t have much of a neck yet anyways.
I used some Frog Tree alpaca that my LYS was closing out and it is wonderfully soft and beautifully purple. I only had a tiny bit remaining out of two skeins.
These wee felted mittens are for Lyra too. I used this pattern, in the 4-6 year old size (Lyra is only a year old). They could be felted a bit more but I like where the size is now, they will probably still fit next year. The hat will fit next year too.
This is how they looked before being felted in the washing machine. I’ll crochet a chain between the two soon.
I also managed to finish this Christmas stocking for a friend. It was inspired by a Pottery Barn stocking she likes.
I have so many things left to do. There are only 9 days left until Christmas! 
This half apron has a little pocket tucked into the stripe, it is reversible, and the straps are long enough to tie in front or in back.
The measurements of the front panel pieces are very fat quarter friendly.
I made a stuffed soft shape sorter toy yesterday.
This one is for Lyra.
She digs it.
I also made and listed another sorter.
Update: I made a pattern for this toy! It is available in my shop. 
I finally added buttons to this sweater, just in time for Lyra to wear it in her one year old pictures.
The pattern is Boheme, from Fiddlestick Knitting.
Having portraits taken is a whole lot harder with a mobile baby.
For some reason this baby who usually smiles constantly gave only a few for the photographer. Hmph.
I’ve added a couple of listings to my shop, there are now two styles of Holiday Half Aprons available and a copy of my quilted book.
Field Guide: A Baby’s Reference for Identification of Objects Commonly Encountered Outdoors is my first work to be, um, published.
Fascinating stuff in there, really. Groudbreaking research. A must read! 
I opened an Etsy store!
It isn’t quite all set up yet, but you can see it at http://pecansandies.etsy.com.
Here is one of my offerings, a Holiday Half Apron.
I used fabrics from Moda’s Figgy Pudding line.
The long straps can be tied in front or in back.
Ohai hidden pocket!
I needed more storage for my crafty stuff. Really, really bad. So I renovated an old armoire.
It was sitting in our garage when we moved in. I knew right away that it had potential, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to use it for.
I also wasn’t sure what to do about the missing drawers. Part of the trim around the top was missing too. Not missing: wasp nests and spiders and bird poop. O.o
I cleaned it out really well and then I painted it with eleventy billion coats of Late Tomato red latex paint. I replaced all of the top trim, mitered corners and all. I plan to install a shelf or two on the right side to maximize storage capacity. I may also install my mini ironing board so that it folds down from the inside of the door, but there are more urgent projects to work on first.
I had thought about priming the cabinet first, but I guessed that I might like the effect if the red was darker on the inside squares. And I do! It came out a lovely shade of purple and adds a lot of visual interest.
I attached a skeleton key to serve as a knob for the right side. The other knob was an extra from our kitchen cabinets. I gave the drawer bottoms a coat of PolyAcrylic so that I could be sure they are clean.
The baskets are two deep in there, so there are ten wee baskets total. I have baskets for supplies, yarn, fabric, and WIPs like this one. I’m hoping that having a work in progress or two visible will inspire me to finish one occasionally.
Um, just pretend that those walls are repaired and painted a light straw yellow. And the spindles and step-backs of the stairs are a rich off-white. Oh, and there are baseboards. And outlet covers. Ahhh finished room..
Thanks to amazing basket prices at Lucky Clover Trading Company, I only spent $40 on this project. The baskets were $3 a piece and I bought a quart of red paint. I haven’t even filled all the baskets yet and my craft stuff is all put away. Hooray! 
Lyra got the most amazing toy for her birthday, from my friends. A picture just doesn’t do it justice so I made a very short video to demonstrate the awesomeness.
I’ll make up a little basket of fabric for her to pretend sew on. 
There are a few crafters of “working” wooden sewing machine toys on Etsy. I’m fairly certain that Lyra’s came from Wood Clinic, and I have nothing but praises and tiny squeals of joy for it.
This is one out of a series of Overly Optimistic Dish Towels I have planned.
See, he’s whistling. That’s what that face means. Whistling. Couldn’t you tell?
Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep,
And doesn’t know where to find them.
Leave them alone, and they’ll come home,
Bringing their tails behind them.
Assembling a Little Bo Peep Costume:
Making a Little Bo Peep costume at home isn’t very hard.
You’ll need a crooked cane. Here’s how I made mine:
- Bend a wire coat hanger into a crooked cane shape.
- Cut batting into a long strip, about four inches wide, and wrap it around the hanger as thickly as you’d like. Hot glue the edges down.
- Place the cane on two layers of brown fabric and trace the outline in chalk as two separate pieces, the cane’s head and the straight body. The ribbon will cover the area where these meet.
- Cut around your outline, leaving a small seam allowance. Sew the two layers of fabric together. Turn them right side out.
- Carefully cram the padded hanger into the fabric casing.
- Tie a ribbon in a bow at the place where your fabric pieces meet. Dab a little hot glue on to keep the ribbon in place and your edges hidden.
A circle skirt makes a great poofed skirt for Miss Peep. There are numerous tutorials available, but the gist of it is that you’ll make a fabric doughnut and stick a person in the hole. Hem the outer edge, sew elastic into the inner edge.
You’ll need to acquire a tutu or petticoat to give the skirt a pleasant poof. We used Lyra’s tutu from El.
Little Bo Peep will need a coordinating shirt or sweater of some kind. I knitted this simple sweater out of Lion brand Homespun yarn and I love how the colors turned out.
I altered a bonnet to have a wider brim by sandwiching the old brim between two layers of new brim and sewing.
To finish the look I made a simple apron by cutting out a U shape of white fabric, attaching white ribbon like you would bias tape around the rounded edge, and more white ribbon sewn on the top and tied in back.
Somehow my baby girl will be turning a whole year old this week. She needed a party, and “Monkey” felt like an appropriate theme.
I made invites using a Cricut, rubber stamps, and ribbon.
DP was in charge of hauling balloons home from the flower shop around the corner and locating a couple of boxes of Runts.
This banner is bias tape sewn onto triangles of random prints, haphazardly cut with pinking shears.
See it in action!
I made a birthday hat out of fabric scraps hot glued onto a cone of card stock paper. I used cotton yarn for the pom pom and trim.
DD got her own cake, a monkey based on Martha’s Monkey Cake. He’s a yellow cake with chocolate and cream cheese frosting.
Everyone else got cake sprinkled with banana Runts and sprinkles. And ice cream, of course. For the cakes I used this Rainy Day Yellow Cake recipe. It was a fairly involved recipe but it tastes great.
Quick shout out to spare cake. We barely needed you, but it was good to have you there. You will make fine leftovers. Mmmhmm.
On to the presents..
I sewed a few monkey toys for DD using fabric from Moda’s 5 Funky Monkeys line. This soft ball was made with The Purl Bee’s Fabric Beach Ball pattern.
This is a bean bag toss game..which is a hoot! The bags are filled with different sized items for textural fun: rice, lentils, little navy beans, medium pinto beans, big kidney beans. For the box I used this tutorial.
This patchwork cube was fun to sew. Here’s the tutorial.
See! The inside is invisible. Mind boggling!
So let’s open the presents!
The girl of the day wore an adorable tutu from El.
ZOMG presents!
And then there was singing..
And a whole cake, just for the baby.
Two monkeys enter, only one will leave..
First birthday party success!
