My Sweater is Famous

My sweater was featured on the Craft blog today!

My friend asked if I would knit him a sweater and mentioned that it would be great if it had zombies on it. I searched high and low for a pattern but couldn't find anything that I liked. Always up for a challenge I decided to try my hand at designing one myself.

I found this amazing site which allows you print knitters graph paper which you can use to design your own intarsia charts. Originally I had a different design in mind but I would have had to use a much smaller gauge to accommodate the complexity and I would have been knitting this sweater for the next 3 years. I think the 8 bit zombie was a good compromise and my friend seems to like it too. More details on the pattern are available on my Ravelry page.

I really enjoyed the process of designing the chart and seeing it come together into a finished garment. I think there may be more intarsia in my future.

Oscar Sweater

When I came across this adorable pattern I knew it time to make my first attempst at intarsia. Although the pattern is called "willie" it instantly reminded me of my friend Sara's canine BFF Oscar.

Things started off well enough and I was pleased to discover that the intarsia part was fairly simple. Of course when I got to the yoke construction and attaching the sleeves it was a whole different story. I won't lie, it wasn't pretty and there was much cursing and un-knitting. However, after putting it aside for a time and taking a few deep breaths (and a glass of wine) I was finally able to figure it out and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I went a size up to give her some room to grow. As you can see it's a bit roomy but still cozy enough for a fall afternoon.

For me the ear detail just makes the sweater. It's too cute for words.

Girls Weekend 2.0

I'm a bit late in posting, but I couldn't let the 2nd annual crafty girls' weekend pass without mention. This year we took the show on the road and headed up to a cozy cabin on the lake for some quality crafting time.

There was sewing,

and knitting,

and my favorite fashionista created a new signature style

which we all modeled as we showed off our finished products.

The last weekend of summer cooperated nicely with warm afternoons to practice our synchronized swimming moves in the lake and cool evenings perfect for knitting and gossip by the fire. We were also fortunate enough to have an expert sewist and an expert knitter right next door who were kind enough to offer advice, food and caffeinated beverages.

It looks like girls weekend will continue to be an annual tradition. I'm definitely looking forward to next year!

All photos courtesy of KH & LH

Twin Set

I'm definitely still going through a knitting phase. I can't seem to stop. I made these sweaters for my friend who is expecting twins -- a boy and a girl. The pattern comes from my favorite knitting store in Portland (Maine, of course!) KnitWit.

I don't normally like hearts as a motif but the heart pockets on this sweater are so sweet I couldn't resist.

I chose a neutral color scheme that would work for both a boy and a girl and just left the heart pockets off the boy sweater.

A simple button closure in the back will make it easy to slip these on and off when the weather gets chilly.

This pattern was quick to knit up and easy enough for a beginner. It comes in a good range of sizes and a different color scheme would totally change the look.

Clean Sweep

I love my swiffer. Let's face it two cats make it a necessity. What I don't love is buying swiffer cloths and throwing them away so I decided to make my own.

A quick internet search shows I'm hardly the first person to have this idea. After sifting through many different versions I landed on this tutorial which converts a ballband dishcloth into a swiffer cover (instructions for the ballband dishcloth can be found here). It was fast and easy to knit up and a good way to use up scrap yarn. And I'm happy to report it works just as well as the disposable cloths on cat hair.

Let's Go to the Movies

I've been hesitant to post this project because I haven't been able to get a decent picture. I guess these will just have to do.




My cinephile husband has turned our extra bedroom into his very own movie theater complete with blackout shades, a giant screen framed by red velvet curtains and a popcorn machine. He lovingly refers to it as "Cinema Zyberdiso." In celebration of his movie palace I made this pillow for his captain's chair.

It features vintage movie monster fabric I found on Etsy. I created a logo and embroidered it using glow in the dark thread I ordered from here. Although I wasn't able to get a good photograph of it, I love the glow in the dark thread. It was easy to work with and the effect is just what I was looking for.

Not a fan of competition, Max shows he can glow in the dark too.

Jewelry Box Redux

I came across this lovely tutorial a few weeks ago and was inspired to give my jewelry box a facelift.






While I'm fairly handy with a needle and thread I'm certainly no expert when it comes to spray paint. Fortunately for me I know someone who is. Thanks to her expert guidance (and touch up skills!) it looks exactly how I envisioned it.

The only problem is my new Tiffany blue jewelry box is now fancier than most of the jewelry in it.