The Handmade Dress

I have been wanting pretty stitch markers since I started knitting, but it was one of those things that I didn't really "need", so  I never bought. I thought a few times that I could make some but I didn't have the stuff on hand so I would still have to buy something. Last night while I was knitting along, thinking about how much I would like to have a pretty little dangle where it was time to change from knit to purl, I got an idea! I had some earrings in my jewelry box that my sensitive ears wouldn't let me wear!  A little twist on the part that goes through your ear with a pair of needle nose pliers, and here they are. Knitting eye candy. Why does it please me so to be knitting along and see a pretty little marker there? It really does make my project more fun. Have you ever made your own stitch markers? Tell us how you made yours! Or link us up to your blog or flickr and show us! xo, Sam

I'm still in decorating mode here, and this morning I remembered a wall hanging that I made a few years back. This was the first filet crochet that I ever made and it has been folded and put away all this time because I wasn't happy with the font or something (I can't even remember now). I think I may use it on a pillow in my bedroom. Finding this got me thinking, I think I want to make another one that says "Caffee" for the living room.... ...but in these colors! And I think I want a more folksy font too with folksy flower designs around the edges! I'll just add that to the list of things that I want to do around here. :) Like the couch slipcover that hasn't even been started.... I'm going to blame that on these chubby little legs that have to be squished, and those sweet cheeks that have to be kissed, and that downy hair that has to be sniffed, and......*Love* Happy Saturday friends! xo, Sam

...at the end of the tunnel! Yes! We woke up this morning and nobody had a fever!!! I do believe we are on the road to recovery people! Maddie still has a touch of croup, but it looks like we are finally on the other side of this hateful flu. We were sick all through Christmas, but the kids still seemed to have a good time despite feeling yucky. Luckily Molly and Tim were over the worst of it by then and Maddie was just starting to get sick so it worked out better than I thought it would. There have been quite a few things going on around here besides the flu, thank goodness! Just before we got sick I bought the first edition of the Craftsanity magazine , and I'm so glad I did. I was in need of a good hand project to make for Christmas gifts since what I had planned kinda bombed at the last minute. I bought the PDF version (only $ 3.99!) since I was in a hurry to get something started, and I was very impressed! If you enjoy to knit, crochet, sew or embroider I think ...

Little Claire has some booties to match her blanket now! Yesterday I started on these cute little crochet booties that I found on Ravelry . (I bought the pattern here . If you go to her shop, look around, there's all kinds of cute things there!) They really came together fast and the pattern was well written. I don't normally follow patterns well because I like to put my spin on things, but yesterday was one of those lazy sort of days when I just wanted to follow a pattern and not have to think about it. The pattern calls for two soles, one is gray and one is pink. I think the two soles give the bootie a real shoe feel, because it holds it's shape nicely. I may crochet a pink pair too (with a gray sole), and I think I'll try just one sole this time and see how it goes. I don't mind it being softer and more like a bootie, especially in the size 0. I still haven't started on the Little Silas booties yet because I've been waiting on a kni...

This is the "filled in" version of the original granny square baby blanket which is very lacy. I love this pattern because the result is a nice warm blanket with a beautiful mitered look. The pattern is also great for beginners because it is so easy that you can have it memorized by the end of this tutorial. To achieve the striped look in the blankets above, you will just need to follow this tutorial and change thread colors every two rounds. For the blankets above and in this tutorial, I used a US size G crochet hook with cotton sport weight yarn. Here we go! (Click on any picture below for a closer look.) Chain 6.   Slip stitch to beginning chain to form a loop. Chain 3, this counts as your first double crochet. Work 2 double crochet through loop. Chain 2. Work 3 double crochets through the loop. Work the pattern - chain 2 and 3 double crochet - until you have four sets in the loop. Slip stitch to the top of chain ...

So, I changed my mind about the girl blanket. For some reason the purple was just throwing me off, so I started another one with pink, gray, and natural......then my crazy pregnant brain kicked into overdrive and I thought about changing patterns, changing colors.....You get the idea. I finally decided to stick with what I had because I was obviously just going crazy and clearly incapable of making a rational decision. (That's not like me at all. I'm usually fearless when it comes to making decisions with colors or patterns!)  Then I went to the store, sticking with my decision, to get more natural yarn.....and they didn't have it anymore! So I got to change my mind again, but it couldn't be helped. I got the new "natural" that they were selling (which is really off-white if you ask me) and when I got home I changed the order of the colors up just a bit and now the phycotic pregnant woman is happy. Very happy in fact! Now I'm thinking of makin...

....the first bit of "making" for Baby Caffee! Until about two days ago, I was so unmotivated to make anything for this baby. I can't explain it well, but it's almost like I didn't believe I was really having a baby. For weeks I've felt this baby kicking and moving around, and still somehow my heart wouldn't let me believe that it was real. I guess this old heart has been knocked around so much for the last few years that I was experiencing some kind of built-in defense mechanism. But then Tuesday night I had this really vivid dream about crocheting something for a baby, my baby . I crocheted all night long in that dream, and when I woke up yesterday morning the motivation to make something for this little one was finally there! It's funny that crocheting was what I was doing in my dream, when that was the very thing I used to keep my hands busy in the past when my heart was broken....crazy. I decided on a blanket, and it didn't tak...

This was so much fun!!! I got to do whatever I wanted to three awesome pairs of shoes without any pressure at all, I didn't buy them so the money issue didn't hold me back, Bron only said "lets see what else you can do" and left it at that (which was so cool, because I felt free creatively to make something that I would like for me and not feel like I needed to please the people who gave them to me), and I basically had everything I needed here. In the beginning my sporty Mary Jane looked like this.... ....then I cut a hole in the top. I hope they don't mind! I looked over at Ben as soon as I made the first cut and said "I totally just cut up a new pair of Sanuks!" LOL! From the first moment I knew I wanted this pair to either be a Mary Jane or look like a Mary Jane, so I put my pattern drafting skills to use in a whole new way, and drafted a curvy strap to cover up what I didn't want to see. I LOVED this pink surfer girl fabric...

...here in my nest. After the last post, about crocheting to keep my hands busy, I just kept on going... For days that's all I did. I just sat here in my nest and followed the patterns in this book (ISBN 4-391-62017-0). I didn't stray from the patterns at all like I usually tend to do...I didn't want to think about it that much...I just wanted something to do to ease the pain. So here I sit, 11 doilies, 2 four leaf clovers, a basket liner, and two pin cushions later.... and feeling just a little bit better. I've been so depressed and discouraged this week, but I feel myself slowly moving out of it....one stitch at a time... Eventually I did make these pin cushions by just using the center of the doily pattern, not much imagination needed there, but it is an improvement. I hope I will be back to my old self soon, with more good days than bad days, until then I'll be here in my nest....stitching, praying, healing, and holding my sweet babi...

I've went back to my first love, crochet, to keep my hands busy through these hard days. There is something so healing in that quiet rhythm. I'm not sure what I will do with these yet, maybe frame them, I don't know.... What's important now is that I just keep going. One stitch at a time... ...then I'll be alright soon, I know I will...I wonder how many women before me have used a form of hand stitching to heal a broken heart....