Woolies

Sometimes a break from sewing is needed, so I've been dabbling in knitting. It started with mini mittens and now my collection looks like this:

That little yellow mitt is just a hair over two inches.

I was so inspired by the little mittens that I decided to learn how to make usable mittens. I went to the local Sally Ann and bought double ended needles....then I dove in. I miscounted my stitches first thing, but didn't notice until I was halfway through the ribbing (I hate doing ribbing!). I didn't want to re-do, so I fudged it.

Because all of my creativity is about winging it.

I actually did a happy dance last night when this mitten was finished. This morning I cast on the second one. I have no idea who will end up owning this pair because they are too big for my Punk and too small for me. (Anybody on my Christmas list have small hands?)

The dishcloth was just a pattern I made up based on a picture I saw in someone else's blog. I needed a new dishcloth.

And that is where the creative mojo has taken me this week! I'm only dabbling, mind you. Quilting is my first love, but there is something very satisfying about making wearable fuzzies using only a few sticks and some string.

This last shot is my knitting kit. As in, this one box contains every needle, accessory, and piece of wool I own.

Yup. I am not going overboard with the knitting thing. This winter I will conquer socks, too.

New Medium

I thought I would switch gears this afternoon because the Rambo Bright flimsy is FINISHED. I cannot show pictures today because I need help photographing. For those of you who are local, I will be at Johnson's South at 10:30 tomorrow to show it off and to pick out backing and binding. Please come by and see it in person. I will post pictures here as soon as I get home, 'cause I'm so darn excited about this finish.

So what did I do that was new? I dusted off the ol' knitting needles.

Say wha....? I really don't knit. I could never get the right rhythm and I'm very slow. But I just couldn't resist when I read this post at Mari Makes. Tell me this is not the cutest idea - it was enough to inspire me to knit. I made a sweet little pair of mini-mitts. It only took 8 false starts before I could figure out how to do the "knit 1 purl 1" for the ribbing.

I am already planning to make a pair or two each week until Christmas season and then string them up to decorate our tree. I cannot decide what to do with the strings, so I ended up just tucking them inside. Here's a shot for scale:

Three inches! So terribly cute. And I'm so terribly impressed with myself. I may even attempt to knit mitts for my children, providing someone sends me a pattern (hint, hint). In the future, I might switch to a smaller size of needles for the ribbing - it looks a little loose to me.

The Pixie was also very impressed with the tiny mittens. She claimed them for her blue baby. This was taken just before she ran off with them.

Goodbye, sweet mini-mitts.

Busted!

This darling Pixie is given many privileges and usually meets all of my expectations. This morning, however, the crayons were too tempting, the wall too white....

 Caught red-handed while applying crayon to wall, her only excuse was to say, "But I was drawing Pirates!" Because pirates make it okay.....

Yesterday this same Pixie commandeered my design time to request a blanky for her "toddy" bear. She spent an hour pretending to knit before discovering that knitting needles work just as well as drumsticks. Have you ever heard a toddler say "knit one, pearl two?" Hilarious.

I couldn't really say no to her request. I switched to crochet for a couple of days.

My goal is to use up the rest of the homeless pink yarn. It's been living in a plastic box for a couple of years since I downsized my hobbies to just sewing and quilting. If the box empties then I'll have more room for fabric, right?

Because it's all about the fabric.