more handmade holidays...

with the holidays fast upon us, i can't help but wonder if you all are as busy as we are! ;)

we have been crafting up a proverbial storm here lately...

i know that i have been waking up a smidge bit earlier than before & crafting as much as possible...here are some of our recent projects...

(both for christmas gifts & of course, our etsy shop! :)
more rainbow mini mitts! these are great for this time of year & are extremely popular in the a"adult world" as well. our boys each requested a pair for christmas. :) their "power gloves" is a popular nickname.

this pair though, if for the shop...

can you tell that ehren loves modeling them??

a sweet knit pumpkin & leaves... our friend jenny's son dyed the yarn @ one of our 4-H club meetings. she asked me to knit up some fall nature table decorations...aren't they lovely??

i LOVE this photo... i will have to knit up another pumpkin soon as the boys want one for our nature table as well. :)

a countless scarf...knit from a gorgeous alpaca yarn that i had been saving for something special...

this gorgeous scarf is amazing in it's versatility...it is a scarf, a cowl, a moebius, a headband, & whatever else you can think of!

this was going to be for me, but then it became something else.

if you have been following our blog lately, you know that we lost a dear friend recently. i began knitting this scarf the day after we heard the news & thought of nothing aside from him that next morning. i thought about his family & the amazing people that they are & all that they have done for us & our family, i thought about how a mother should never have to cope with the loss of her son, i thought about the war & what he died for, i though about their family & how i couldn't imagine what they must be going though...i thought about the love they have for each other & how extremely close they all are to one another...

and as i knit the scarf took on a whole new meaning for me. the white, representing the innocence lost, each stitch representing another memory that they have to cherish from their (too short) time together...each stitch was filled with thoughts of kade, his family & their loss, but also with thoughts of love & healing & of good times shared.

i think it is only right that this scarf go to his mother, brandy...i have heard of "prayer shawls" and i think that this rightly deserves a place in that category.

for one of evyn's christmas presents, i knit her up a couple of calorimetries...

these are super cute & quick to knit...a good way to use up those last niblets of yarn in your stash...;)

aydin has been working on his christmas list as well...he made this super cool origami star for papa.

lots of custom order in the shop for these sweet baby gift sets...

a gorgeous & reversible dress up/birthday crown for the shop...

happy holiday crafting...xoxo.

a dear one lost...

this past weekend, dear friends lost a son, brother, grandson, nephew & husband in kade warriner, just 19 years old. he was shot & killed in afghanistan.he was mentioned on our local news here.
please keep his family in your thoughts & prayers...xoxo.

more handmade holiday crafting...

you might have noticed that we haven't been posting much of late...we are so very busy crafting for the holidays!

in truth, i began my holiday crafting back in july...with bits & projects here & there, but now with 38 days until christmas & still 20(!) projects on the to-do list, we are certainly kicking things up a notch!:)

the children, too, have made their lists of what they will be making for us mamas & papas as well as for each other & their aunt samantha...so, we'll begin posting their "handmade holiday gifts" as well. ;)

yes, indeed, we are quite the lot of busy bees...but would nay of us really have it any other way?? (now honest now...;)




my first cowl...planning on making quite a few of these, in various designs & colors for the lovely sisters-in-laws (x4! :) & possibly mother in law as well, shhhhh...don't tell. ;)


this one is a darkside cowl, from ravelry.com ...

i like it, but will make it just a smidge bit shorter next time...5/6 in , instead of the called for 7". super toasty...great for biking & running, which a lot of the in-laws do...not to mention extremely fissionable! ;)

infant mittens for the shop, from "a children's year". it was odd to be knitting on two needles again, as most of my projects lately have been on dpn. :)

3" cuff, keeps mittens on, for sure! love these! but too small for evyn, so into the shop they go.

the hunt for evyn's toddler mittens has ended, with these, the "holy grail of toddler mittens"!

the fit evyn, now 20 months old, but are seen here on our almost 4 year old. :)

aside from christmas crafting, sammi & i have been busy trying to stock up the shop as well. here is a gorgeous winter crown, we just finished up. sized to fit a 6 month old up to a 2/3 yr old.

bonus, it's reversible! ... an ice king/queen perhaps??

this sweet crown is perfect for your young princess, but doubles as a headband!

simply gorgeous!

more knit cats, using a pattern from "the children's year". sammi set up this photo shoot...i love it !

to cute, no?? (also in the shop :)

more gnomes, one of our signature items. this lot is made from plant-dyed wool from mamajude (also on etsy)

felt food...eggs, sunny side up. muy delicioso! (another photo shoot compliments of sammi )

mini-mitts! these are knit in the same way as the oodles of adult/children's mitts that i have made, but sized to fit a 3/4-6/7 year old. this pair was knit as a christmas gift for a friend's 5 yr old...he LOVES rainbows. who doesn't, really?? ;)

hmmm...an uncooperative photo...

the yarn is plant-dyed, from mamjude (on etsy), brown sheep, worsted weight...

on the needles?? a green pair of merino mitts for one of orin's teacher, a toddler-metry for miss evyn...& ???

a final project recently completed by sammi...pot holders. made of 100% upcycled materials, entirely hand sewn & gorgeous!!

she made one set for us to keep & we listed one in the shop as well. it already on hold...not bad for a newbie crafter! i love having her here for a million reasons, one of which is...an early morning coffee chatting, crafting buddy! kudos to sister love!! xoxo

her original design...adds pop to any kitchen. cotton, linen & thick terry lining. don't worry, more in the works. :)

these too would make lovely christmas gifts...thinking of nicking her idea & making a pair in the same colorway for lance's mom. ;)

she, too, loves lime green, black & white...xoxo for now...happy holiday crafting to one & all!!!

oh, one last photos of ev's christmas mittens...

(blogspot isn't letting me re-arrange photos for some reason, so please do excuse the jumblyness of this post...)

handmade lovelies...

aydin made this super cool wizard hat to go with his halloween costume!


he drew the template himself, needle felted on the moon & star & then sewed it all up. very impressive...no??

much ado about mittens... this has been a hard one...these two are my second & third attempt at "the perfect toddler mitten". this pattern, had two sizing options...one for wider mittens (top left) & one for a slimmer fitting mitten (top right). however, neither seemed to fit evyn "right".

after knitting the first one, i decided that 1) the cuff was much too short to even stay on a toddler, but even after elongated the cuff, the second mitten just didn't fit right either. there is room to grow, which i like, but the cuff sits on here hand, vs resting below her wrist.

so...back to the drawing board. this go round, i am trying the "toddler mittens on a string" pattern. these are sized for a 12month old, so i am modifying this pattern from the get go...using #6 dpns & aran weight yarn vs #5 needles & dk weight. i am also knitting a 3" cuff right off the bat.

hopefully this will conclude my search, as the weather is getting a bit chilly here & evyn really is needing some mittens to keep her little niblet fingers warm.

i heard that we might even have snow in our weekend forecast!?! :)

rainbow legwarmers for ev... & my *free* pattern (listed on ravelry.com)

these we super fun to make & easy, to boot!

sammi & i took evyn out into the yard & did a great photo shoot with her...it was really quite fun! here are some of our favorites...

she's already good @ posing! (hoping this is a good thing...;)

i LOVE this one!

also very cute...

i finally got around to knitting myself a little something...

a lovely felicity, handspun cotton...gorgeous variegation! it will do nicely to hide my fro' (as i am once AGAIN growing my hair out!)

i do wish it was just a wee bit more slouchy...but other than that, i LOVE it!

and finally...

another lovely upcycled wool garland...this one in rainbow! i want to make a super long one of these for our christmas tree. though we'll need to stock up on sweaters first...:)

until next week...xoxo.