Fall Crafts with the Girl Scouts

Hi Knitters,

Last week I hosted The Collector's Girl Scout troop for a fall crafting session. We had three projects to master in about an hour. The main project was to make the turkeys you see above, those are the samples The Collector made. I had done these same turkeys with my older daughter's troop at least five or six years ago. Back then I saw a version of this project either in a Martha Stewart magazine or on her show. I can't remember. I looked on her website but I didn't see anything that resembled this project. So I didn't originate the autumn leaf turkey idea but we definitely made them our own with a bunch of changes from the original.
When teaching or crafting with large groups, I think we had around 10 girls, success is all in the preparation. Ahead of time, I once again, got my trusty glue gun out and glued large cinnamon scented pine cones (the girls loved the scent, bought at JoAnn's) to thin wooden rounds (bought at a local craft shop). Next, I hot glued a tiny pine cone to the large pine cone for the turkey's head. This all had to be done ahead of time.
The preparation photos are at my house but the meeting with the girls was held at a public library where I reserved a big community room. It was perfect with big, long tables, tons of chairs, a bathroom right next door and lots of room for moving about.

Here is a list of what you need to make your own Autumn Leaf Turkeys:

1. fall leaves (we used fake but real leaves would be fantastic only not as lasting)

Note: For the leaves, I found plain leaves but I also found some fantastic leaves that were sprinkled with gold glitter at JoAnn's and the girls loved them!

2. other fall foliage (I bought that long garnish with orange and red strands and tiny berries and I found some red berries that you can see in the first photo)

3. pipe cleaners (red for feet and other fall colors for decoration)

4. small felt squares for the girls to cut on their own (yellow for beak, red for the waddle)

5. google eyes (a crafting must)

6. large pine cones

7. tiny pine cones

8. wood base (purchased at JoAnn's for around 50 cents)

9. craft glue for the girls to use for decorating

10. scissors

11. glue gun for adult set up of pine cones

I set up wax paper bags(love these and you can get them at any grocery), each labeled with their names. In the bags I filled all of the necessary pieces to make their turkey. The leaves and garnishes were spread out on the tables for easy access along with glue and scissors.

Also, in the wax paper bag I put in the makings for Betz's Felt Ball Acorns, one of my favorites. (You can see these acorns and get all links here, plus I did a knitted version here.) This was our next craft after the Autumn Leaf Turkeys.

The Collector had been collecting acorns and acorn tops for a couple of weeks for this project. I had a pretty good supply of felted balls but not a ton. I divvied up 3 felted balls per girl and three acorn tops for gluing. The felted acorns are special in my eyes so they just did a few of those. We had a lot more acorn tops so I bought some fuzzy pom-poms at the craft store and let the girls go to town gluing in the pom-poms in the rest of the tops. They loved it.
Um, just look at that expression and tell me you don't see pride. That's a proud turkey-maker if I've ever seen one. The turkeys took on personalities of their own. Do you see that this turkey has a hair-do? Love it. This girl makes me smile. She helped The Collector gather pine cones and acorns after school one day prior to the meeting.
The Collector helped make all of the samples and prepped and packed all of the materials with me. For a craft meeting you have to bring completed samples, organize the materials, pack the wax paper bags and plan a strategy. She was an all-around joyful crafting helper for the meeting. She is destined to be some kind of teacher or instructor of some sort. She has the knack and she likes doing it.

The best part of the meeting is when the girls are crafting. They have such unguarded conversation. They are looking down and working on their projects and they never stop talking the entire time. It is so fun and funny to listen to them chat. It really is the best part. Crafting brings out personalities in a big way. This troop is full of girls who love to make things. You can just feel the excitement when they walk in the door to a crafting meeting.
This girl is a major maker. She took an art class with The Collector last spring. You can see her acorns, too. Her mom loved the turkeys so much that she wants to use them as place cards at her Thanksgiving table and they are having a large group over. When I saw her a few days later she told me that she had gone out to buy all of the makings for lots more turkeys for her kids to make. It would make for a great table to have a group of these turkeys as a center piece, too.
The girls moved around to different work stations after they completed their turkeys to do the second and third craft projects. It is always good to have a sitting down time and then to allow some movement for the kids.

Another trick I do every time is when we come in to the meeting we all wash hands or use hand-sanitizer, then the girls all sit down to have a snack and a drink. I got an assortment of fresh bagels and strawberry and plain cream cheese. I had the bagel shop slice all of the bagels for me. I gave each bagel a good smear of cream cheese and sandwiched them back together. Next, I quartered each bagel sandwich. This is perfect because then the kids can take a quarter bagel at a time and there isn't as much waste. The bagels were a huge hit, too , and the strawberry cream cheese on the plain bagel was the most popular, fyi.

I use this starting time while they are eating and drinking to give large group instructions on the activities for the day. They are usually quiet and hungry at this time so you can get some good listening time. Plus, when there isn't a lot of extra time you can get two things done at once. The kids eat and I talk and demonstrate. It works really well.

Here is my smart cookie from the knitting meetings last spring. She is even wearing her same hat! She is a good and thorough little crafter and she's very entertaining along the way with a sharp sense of humor. The Collector was in preschool with this one so they go way back.

The third craft we did was to make Icicles. I've done pipe cleaner Icicles with kindergarten classes all the way through 5th graders. I loved the reaction of the girls when I showed them the icicles. There were gasps and oohs and aahs. This is a simple project with hardly any prep work. I found sparkly pipe cleaners and cut them into 4-5 inch pieces. I bent one end to hold the beads on the pipe cleaner. I bought all kinds of clear plastic beads in different shapes and sizes, even star shaped ones.

The girls simply slide the beads on in any order they choose and leave enough of the pipe cleaner exposed at the end to make a hook. We hang these all over our Christmas tree but I like them because they are just winter/snow/ice themed and not a religious holiday theme. We have a good mix of backgrounds in our group and I always strive to be inclusive of everyone with the projects we do. This is a great project and the girls could not get enough of making the icicles. They even took extra pipe cleaners and beads with them to make more at home.
Icicle making in progress. Love how they stand so close to each other.
Cute as a button. Can't you just feel her joy in her crafting? She is a sweet soul through and through. Check out the pipe cleaner swirl on that turkey.
Aren't they cute? I can't get over it. Chat and chuckle.
This one loves crafting, lots of excitement from her.
We had some smaller pine cones that The Collector gathered from a park up the street and some girls made some pine cone art with those as well. The pine cone on the left looked like a fall bouquet from the top view. This sweetheart completed a knitted hat last spring that was donated to charity. She is a good little knitter.
Here's the whole group. I made them whisper "turkey" when I took the photo. They thought that was funny. There are two girls missing from the group, one left early and one couldn't make it, she is coming over today after school for a private turkey/acorn/icicle session. Should be fun.

There are several girls I didn't get good individual photos of and I apologize for that if they are looking at this post. Next time I will!

There you have it! Maybe some of you can use these ideas for some fun fall crafting with your kids or scout troops this fall.

Have a good weekend, Knitters.

best, susie

Molly's Mittens & Matching Hat!

Hi Knitters,

My son recently asked me to knit a pair of mittens for his friend, Molly. I gladly obliged. I had a bunch of colors in the Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky in a bin in my basement from last year. I had plans to design some mittens in this yarn and I never got around to it. I had knitted my son a pair of green and white mittens in this yarn last year and he loves them.
Here is some information you might like to know for Molly's Mittens:

Size: To fit an average-size woman’s or older child’s hands. The length of the hand and thumb can be varied to fit a variety of sizes. The yarn stretches and softens with wear so a tighter fit at first is a good thing.

Finished hand circumference, measured around the knuckles on the hand, to fit 7 to 8 inches.

Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky (85% Wool, 15% Alpaca; 108 yards/100grams), 1 skein each in Stone Blue #38 and Natural #01

Needles: US size 10 double pointed needles, set of four OR size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 3 ½ stitches per inch in stockinette stitch and 6 rounds per inch

Materials:

2 stitch markers

Scrap yarn

Ruler or tape measure

Yarn needle

Scissors

The mittens would be great in one colorway for a solid mitt or striped throughout! There are so many color choices for this yarn and it is only $4.99 for a ball. You could make some fantastic mittens for gifts and save a penny or two while you're at it.

The pattern is available for purchase for $3.00 in my pattern shop.

Click here to purchase the pattern for Molly's Mittens!
So this morning I was looking at the left over yarn from Molly's Mittens and I wondered if I could get a good size hat out of the rest. Well, sure enough I could! This means there is another pattern available for you. You don't need to buy any more Berkshire Bulky to make this hat and the mittens combined. One skein of each color will do the trick for both projects. Talk about a great value.

I used a US size 10 sixteen inch circular needle and a set of four US size 10 double-pointed needles to whip up Molly's Matching Hat.
This hat is sized to fit an average adult woman's head or a medium to large child's head. The circumference of the finished hat is 20 inches and will stretch to accommodate up to a 22 inch head. The yarn stretches and softens slightly with wear so a tighter fit to start with is a good thing.
Since the hat was an add on I am only charging $2.00 for Molly's Matching Hat pattern!

Click here to purchase Molly's Matching Hat pattern!

Now if you purchase both Molly's Mittens and Molly's Matching Hat together I will send you both patterns for only $4.00.

Click here to purchase both Molly's Mittens and Molly's Matching Hat for a discounted combined price!

Please remember if you order a pattern from my shop that I personally send out all of my pattern orders. If there is a slight delay in getting your pattern please be patient. I try to be as efficient as possible.

I think I covered everything.

Thanks, Knitters.

best, susie

Catching Up

Edited to add: I just made these mittens available in my shop right now! Click here for information. I will do a full post on the back story tomorrow.

Hi Knitters,

I have such a backlog of things I want to share with you. The photo above is my latest pattern for my pattern shop. It is all set to go, I just have to get it up and available for purchase on my shop. Maybe even later today or tomorrow. I've had the yarn to design these for at least a year so it feels good to get them done.

I will do a full write up with more information when the the pattern is ready to go. I am pretty excited about these simple and super fast mittens, knitted on size 10 double-pointed needles. I think you'll love them for your holiday/winter knitting projects. You could make a million pairs in a jiffy. The pattern is called, Molly's Mittens. Look for it soon...
I need to tell you that Alana Dakos (Did you listen to her 3 year old daughter here? It's only about 30 seconds long.) is hosting a giveaway for a signed (by me:) copy of Itty-Bitty Toys. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post to enter. That's it. She is leaving the contest open until November 1st! Now hop on over and enter so you don't miss out. I'd love to send you a book.

The wonderful Guido Stein, released his latest podcast episode #71 for It's a Purl Man, where he interviewed me about Itty-Bitty Toys and Spud & Chloë. It is a great chat. I love the way he cares for the sound quality and his interviewing style can't be beat. I am a big fan. This is about a 30 minute interview. Click here to listen or go to itunes to download it there, if you are interested, of course. This is one of my most favorite interviews to date. Thanks for having me, Guido.
Here is my beloved, cute sister in our last quilting class. Did I tell you that we made matching fall-themed quilts? I may have but there you go. We sat across from each other on two large tables pushed together. It was really fun. I made sure to include the incredible quilt behind her so you could get a glimpse of it. Stitcher's Crossing has the most amazing quilts sprinkled throughout the shop.
We took the class at Stitcher's Crossing, which I know I have mentioned before, and I'll say it again, this is a fantastic quilt/yarn shop that is a must see if you are in town. My lovely (and tall:) instructor, Anne Smith, did a beautiful job of guiding our beginning group of quilters and sewers. All eight students walked away with huge amounts of new knowledge, confidence and a mostly completed quilt. That's pretty good.

The binding on my quilt in the photo wasn't done but now my quilt is completely finished. I hand stitched the binding on right after the last class and tossed it in the washer and dryer (per directions) to soften it up. Now The Collector is wrapping her baby up in it and my older kids are using it as a lap quilt to snuggle with on the couch. It makes me feel so good. In fact, I can't even believe I sewed that quilt at all. Amazing.

Check out Anne's website here. Her daughter did all of the design work for the site. Anne offers quilting services, too. She is very talented. As a teacher, she did the best job of making everyone feel good and at ease by telling us about her mistakes and how she has made every mistake in the book and how there is nothing that can't be fixed. Anne has been teaching quilting for about 15 years and you can tell that she is a seasoned teacher. That's the best. She offered in-class ripping out services and would walk around with her seam ripper at the ready to help:)

It was a great time and I plan to squeeze in a couple more of her classes in the future (my fingers are crossed that I'll have time). I learned an incredible amount of information in a short few weeks. Plus, it was just good and simple practice for me. Everyone needs lots of that. I highly recommend taking this class if you are in the area. Thanks to Anne for a fun time and for helping me on my sewing journey! I love to sew and stitch.

Like I said, I have so much more to tell you. I hosted The Collector's girl scout troop for some fall crafting last week and we had a bountiful session. I have lots of fun photos to share of the wonderful girl scouts coming up. You may want to steal a couple of the crafts I did with them for your own kids.

I will get that mitten pattern up shortly. I will see if I can do it or whether my son will have to help me out or maybe I will just have him do it for me!

Have a good Monday, Knitters.

best, susie

Egg to Bird Knitted by Alana Dakos!

Hi Knitters,

Oh my goodness! I am so excited about all of this. Alana Dakos, of the Never Not Knitting podcast and blog fame, interviewed me for her show last week and the show is now up. Click here for the show and show notes. This interview was a fun one to do, there is a lot of silliness.

She knitted up, in about a day or so, the Egg to Blue Bird reversible project from my new book, Itty-Bitty Toys, out of the spectacular organic cotton/wool blend, O-Wool. This is the yarn I used in the book as well. While you look at Alana's gorgeous photos of the reversible Egg to Blue Bird project in the book, you just have to listen to Alana's three-year-old daughter talking about her new toy. It is incredibly sweet and cute! Click to play this short audio of her daughter here:

Hatching....
into a tiny blue bird.
Alana has the most amazing photography on her blog. You have to see it to believe it.
That is one cute little girl. Her eyes twinkle. I can feel her zest for life just by looking.
You can see that there is a tiny nest for the egg or bird to sit in as well.

To see the first project knit up from the book and then displayed in such a phenomenal way has been great fun for me. Further more, to give me permission to share all of your talent with my readers is a great favor.

Thank you, Alana!

best, susie

Let me get my glue gun...

Hi Knitters,

I thought you might think this is as goofy as I do. On last Saturday night we had somewhere between 20 to 30 people over to take photographs of their kids before the homecoming dance. We had appetizers and soft drinks and tons of photos were taken. It was fun.

One girl's wrist corsage fell apart just minutes after she slipped it on. There were six tiny white roses and five of them fell off, pretty disappointing. One of the roses was lost for good. While the other four roses were being gathered up I noticed there was a corsage crisis in the making. All of sudden I felt a bunch of eyes looking at me! Yeah, let's ask the knitter, she can fix it.

My first attempt was to pin the roses back onto the base of the corsage. That was a disaster. The other moms were talking about Super Glue as an option. I may have had Super Glue at some point but after all of the renovation turmoil I have no idea where it might be. Then the glue gun option came up. I knew I had a glue gun in my basement somewhere. I ran downstairs and started digging in bins. I was feeling some serious corsage repair pressure.

I struck it rich. I actually found three glue guns. Don't ask.

I ran up the stairs to the party clutching my glue gun and extra glue sticks. My statement when I emerged was, "That was nothing short of a miracle!" That drew some laughter. I started gluing the corsage together and when I looked up I realized that several parents were taking my picture while I was trying to piece the corsage back together. Why on earth?

I managed to fix the corsage and it looked pretty darn good, close to perfect.

When one of the parents sent photos of the kids at the gathering to me (and other parents) today there were photos of me with my glue gun included. I couldn't believe it. That's not right.

The dad did tell me later that they used the photos of me with my glue gun at the florist to show how the corsage fell apart and had to be repaired. They got a full refund!

Glad to be of service.

best, susie

With Seeds, Please

Hi Knitters,

I could not get over the adorable photos and kind email I received yesterday. With permission, I am sharing both with you:

Susan,

I had the opportunity to knit three watermelon hats for my daughter and my friend's two little girls. When I was done, I had this idea for a photograph. I thought you might want to see it. The hats are so cute and the girls look so cute wearing them. Thanks again for all of your amazing hats. It would be such a treat to have another one of your books on new hats!!

Sincerely
Rhonda Gibson
Stony Plain, Alberta Canada
Well, Rhonda, seeing your sweet, cute girls makes me want to do another hat book! Thank you for sharing with me. It made my day!
The Watermelon Hat is my free pattern and you can click here to get the pattern!

You can click here for the Ravelry link for the Watermelon Hat.

The yarn is Spud & Chloë Sweater in Watermelon, Grass, Ice Cream with a dash of Rootbeer. How yummy is that?

On another note, I would like several yards in each of these fabrics. Please? (Or even a yard or two in a couple colorways would be great:)

My sister and I have one more quilt class to go. It was funny because they added another class after we signed up meaning we thought there were three sessions and there are four. I am glad we found out! I need to work on my quilt today for a bit.

We are almost done with the quilt and I will share that with you when it is complete. I am doing well in the class and I am enjoying it very much. I find that when I am working at home by myself on my quilt I start making things up and the precision flies out the door. That's probably not good. I need to stay on track. The Collector is waiting for my quilt to use for her baby. That will be fun to see.

Have a great Sunday, dear Knitters. I will be back soon and thanks again to Rhonda!

best, susie

Apple Hat Free For You!

Hi Knitters,

How is everyone? It feels so good to be here today. I have another free pattern out today and it is the perfect match for the Apple Washcloth. The Apple Hat!!! Think of the yummy little sets you could make. Plus, both patterns are free. It's a great fall duo for the deliciously sweet babies in your life.
You can find all of the details and downloadable pdf pattern right on Spud says.... Hop on over and check it all out. I now have 9 free patterns available over there.
The top has a different decrease sequence that I am excited about. It is very simple and clean looking. Let me know if you like this decrease better than the usual sequence that I have used in the past. It has a different look for sure.

Here is the ravelry link for the Apple Hat.

Here is the ravelry link for the Apple Washcloth.

I have a few more fun links for you to check out:

A new free pattern for old-school dishtowels! Super cool.

I got Quilting for Peace for my birthday last week! Love it!

I love this clever baby hat, the Aviatrix hat. It's a free pattern.

I just discovered Brett Bara's blog, The Manhattan Craft Room. It's cool.

Have a great weekend, Knitters. I'll be back next with a good look at Itty-Bitty Toys. Surprisingly, it was released about a month early and is now available for purchase. The fun thing is that the book was released on my birthday. What a gift!

best, susie

Apple Washcloth Free Pattern

Hi Knitters,

Here is the free pattern for the Apple Washcloth. I am just posting it here on the blog and you can feel free to copy and paste into your word program to print or print it directly from the blog if you so desire. Later when Knit & Crochet posts the Apple Washcloth pattern I will put that link up on the sidebar of my blog under "free patterns" for your easy access, too. Have fun!

Apple Washcloth

Original Pattern by, Susan B. Anderson

Finished measurements: 7 ¼ inches tall by 6 ¼ inches wide

Yarn: Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille (100% combed cotton; 50 grams/98 yards)

Red Apple: 1 skein in Lacquer Red #9784 and a small amount of Fern #2342

Green Apple: 1 skein in Fern #2342 and a small amount of Christmas Green #517

Optional: small amount of Cocoa #516 for stem (The stem can also be done in the same green used for the leaf.)

*Note: Any worsted weight cotton will work for this pattern

Needles: US size 6 needles or size to obtain gauge

Optional: 4mm crochet hook (for optional slip stitch edging only)

Tools:

Scissors

Ruler or tape measure

Yarn needle

Stitch holder or scrap yarn

Gauge: 4 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch

Abbreviations:

k knit

k2tog knit 2 stitches together

ssk slip 2 stitches separately as if to knit, knit the 2 slipped stitches together through the back loops

kfb knit into the front and back of the same stitch

Apple:

With Red cast on 20 stitches.

Row 1: k1, kfb, knit to the last 2 stitches, kfb, k1

Row 2: knit

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until there are 32 stitches.

Work even knitting every row until the apple measures 4 ½ inches from the cast on edge.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 two times more. (36 stitches)

Continue knitting every row until the apple measures 5 inches from the cast on edge.

Decrease Rows:

Row 1: k1, ssk, knit to the last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1

Row 2: knit

Repeat rows 1 and 2 two more times. (30 stitches remain)

Top of Apple:

Next row: knit 15 stitches, place remaining 15 stitches on a stitch holder, turn and knit to the end of the row.

Decrease row: k1, ssk, knit to the last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1

Repeat the decrease row every row until there are 7 stitches remaining. Bind off. Cut the yarn and pull the end through the remaining stitch.

Reattach the yarn in the middle and return the 15 stitches on the stitch holder back onto the needle. Knit to the end of the row.

Complete the same as for the first half of the top of the apple.

Stem:

With brown or green, pick up 3 stitches in the dip between the top sections of the apple. Knit every row until the stem measures 1 inch. Bind off. Cut the yarn and pull through the remaining stitch.

Leaf:

With Fern cast on 3 stitches.

Row 1: kfb, knit to last stitch, kfb (5 stitches)

Row 2: knit

Row 3: same as row 1 (7 stitches)

Rows 4-6: knit

Row 7: k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1 (5 stitches remain)

Row 8: knit

Row 9: k1, ssk, k2 (4 stitches remain)

Row 10: knit

Row 11: ssk, k2tog, pass first stitch over the second stitch and off the right needle (1 stitch remains)

Cut the yarn leaving a 6 inch end. Pull the end through the remaining stitch. Place the end on a yarn needle and whipstitch the leaf to the front of the apple at the bottom of the stem. Use the photo as a guide. Pull the end to the wrong side of the leaf and trim.

Optional Crochet Edging:

With the matching apple color and the crochet hook and starting at the left side of the stem, slip stitch around the edge of the apple. End at the right side of the stem. Cut the yarn and pull through the stitch.

Weave in all ends to the wrong side of the apple and trim. If you did the slip stitch edging weave all ends into the wrong side of the edging and trim the ends.

Steam gently with iron and form into desired apple shape and lay flat to dry.

Copyright 2009:

Pattern designed, written and owned by Susan B. Anderson. This pattern is for personal use only and may not be sold, photocopied or copied electronically or distributed in any way without permission from the designer. This pattern may not be sold in knitted form without permission from the designer. Selling the knitted item for charity or fundraising purposes is always welcome.

Apple Time

Hi Knitters,

Hope you all had a good weekend. It sure went fast.

In a couple of days I will be posting the next washcloth pattern. Apple. This pattern will be a little different in that it will be a FREE pattern! I designed this washcloth to be used on an upcoming episode of Knit and Crochet Today, the PBS show. The pattern will also be released on the Knit and Crochet Today website and on the season DVD.

This washcloth is very simple and fast. It measures 7 1/4 inches wide and 6 1/4 inches tall. It will fit your hand just right.

Lots going on! I'll be back soon with the pattern.

best, susie

Never Boring

Hi Knitters,

Well, it's never boring around here. I want to fill you in on a couple of knitting and winning opportunities that have popped up recently.

First off, Braided is my new Spud & Chloë free pattern. Here is the Ravelry link for Braided if you're interested. Enjoy. I am hoping to get an instructional video up about how to make this scarf within a week or so. I'll keep you posted.

Next, the Itty-Bitty Knits group on Ravelry has reached over 1,000 members. In honor of this fantastic group of charity and swap and knitalong knitters and the growing membership I have started a giveaway thread. I talked to my editor, Trent Duffy, at Artisan books and he generously has offered to give away 3 preview copies of Itty-Bitty Toys. That means three winners will be selected!

Click here to enter the Itty-Bitty Toy book giveaway.

You have to be a member to enter the giveaway and I know a lot of you are already members so hop on over and enter. Please feel free to join the group now, too, you are always welcome in the group and then you can enter to win the book. The contest will be open through Oct. 5th.

The members of the Itty-Bitty Knits group are truly helpful, warm and welcoming. Their enthusiasm pulls you in and holds you. Honestly, I never thought I would become involved in a forum but I visit the Itty-Bitty Knits forum every day because it is so endearing and active. I always want to see what is going on there. The group runs constant monthly charity hat knitting that has benefited charity organizations all across the country and beyond. I venture to say at this point hundreds of knitted baby goods have been donated on behalf of the Itty-Bitty Knits group. That's a lot of good going on.

Yesterday, I desperately finished my fourth toy for a photo shoot that is happening today for Spud & Chloë and Blue Sky Alpacas and I mean right now. I literally lost track of the date and then on the news I heard the date being said in the background. I suddenly realized that I had this final toy due in ONE day. I could not believe it. It was only partially completed. I never do that, ever, and I won't ever do that again. It was painful. After hours and hours of straight knitting and detail work I finally finished the toy. At about noon yesterday I raced with my knitted toy wrapped in tissue paper over to FedEx and had it priority over-nighted to Minnesota, directly to the photo shoot location. Phew and double phew. Never again. never.

One other exciting thing that has been added to my schedule this week is due to an email I received from Candi Jensen last weekend. Candi is the producer of the PBS show Knit and Crochet Today. She wants to use three of my projects/patterns for the upcoming season of her show. This involves knitting up step-outs for the segment. You know, when they show the project being knit in progress. This means you have to knit up partially completed projects for them to use in the demonstration. When is all of this due in Detroit? Next week. Yeah, taping starts next week.

You are going to benefit from this Knit & Crochet Today endeavor, which I love. I am knitting a new washcloth/dishcloth pattern for the show that will be offered for free on my blog and also on the show's website. (There are tons of free patterns over there and you should take advantage!)

I haven't even started this one yet. (My stomach just sank.) I'll let you know when that's available for the taking.

Besides that, I should be receiving a contract for a new book deal from Artisan Books this week. The next book I am about to start is something new and different and I hope you are going to love it. I do. Artisan (a publishing group for Workman publishing) is the same publisher I have worked with from day one and I can't say enough good things about them. If you are on twitter you should follow Artisan Books for updates and fun and interesting tidbits. Artisan has several new knitting/fiber related books in the works that I am anxious to see. Artisan is also the publisher of Melanie Falick's, Knitting in America, now available in soft cover as America Knits and, Kids Knitting. These are two of the most popular knitting books of all time. It's a good, good publisher for knitters to get familiar with.

Plus, the tour for Itty-Bitty Toys is being set as I write. It will start in mid-November and I am literally going to be all over the country in the upcoming months. I'm very excited about this and I will post more information as soon as everything is confirmed.

Yikes, what time is it? I gotta go!

Oh yeah, I have a quilt class to squeeze in, too. I have to cut my fabric today. I actually thought things would be calm around here at this time when I signed up for this class last summer. Foiled again.

Wish me luck and I wish you luck if you enter the giveaway.

best, susie

Kinda Sorta Fresh Start

Hi Knitters,

It has been one painful process to basically pull everything last thing out of the majority of our house and store it in boxes and bins in the garage, other rooms and the basement. That's not fun. However, the worst part is to reorganize, pitch, donate and determine what to save out of the stuff our family of six has collected over the last 20 years. This is the part that is most difficult for me. At times I am at a complete loss as to what to do with precious items that we really don't have room for but that I can't let go. I am talking about things like artwork, stories and all sorts of creations, photos of sports teams, cherished toys and childhood stuff in general. I don't know if anyone will want any of that in the future but I struggle getting rid of it. It's tough.

On a positive note, I have been finding and rediscovering lots and lots of fun things along the way. For example, the project above is a simple stockinette stitch shawl I started many years ago. It is made with Blue Sky Alpacas sport weight. I should finish this up as it is really lovely and mindless knitting. I think I'll bring it along to a soccer game this afternoon. I have found unfinished mittens, sweaters, scarves, hats and socks. Yes, those are all plural. I just need a little more time in the day. That's all.

The funniest thing about all of the unrest and chaos the house renovation has caused has been putting my old, heavily used (okay, downright junky) stuff back into the fresh and new rooms. It seems right and wrong at the same time, maybe more wrong than right. So it's a kinda, sorta fresh start for our family. What are you going do? I say embrace what you've got, right?

Anyhoo, I have had lots of requests for more photos of the renovation and I will do that. I want to wait until I have things back in place and until the house is actually finished. The kitchen is turning out better than I imagined. I have some tile on order from an awesome Madison tile store called, Tile Art on Monroe Street. The owner focuses on working as green as possible and uses materials produced locally and in the United States. I like that.

The tile I picked for the back splash is going to be so cool. It is stone and the rectangular pieces are long-ish, 6 inches or so and skinny (about 1.5 inches wide). It is in variegated shades of light green called, Ming Green. The grout is going to be a light gray. Yum. The tile will be the finishing touch for the kitchen project. Can't wait for that. Yeah, can't wait. It's like putting the frosting on the cake.

I still have workers at my house everyday from early morning to the late afternoon or beyond. This has been going on since mid-July and there is still much to be done. Progress is being made, sometimes at a snail's pace and sometimes quick as lightening. It just depends on the day. I am ready for it to be completed and to have some serious alone time. Peace and quiet are calling my name. Loudly.
Now, my sister and I started our basic quilting class last week at The Stitcher's Crossing. I am so glad my sister is there with me because she makes me laugh. I need that. The class is three hours long and meets three times total, once a week. My sister was concerned about going for three hours without eating. See, it makes me laugh just writing that. She is a snacker or a grazer, eating little amounts all throughout the day. Me? I just eat something to fill up a bit and then I don't think about eating again for a really long time.

During the class she definitely needed her snack break. She was starting to act a bit drained about mid-class so I actually had to remind her to stop and eat something. She snapped right back into action after her snack time. So funny! She's just like a little kid. We had a good time at our first class and we have a cutting fabric assignment for next week. I'll take some photos to share of our projects once we get going a bit more.

New topic, Alison Stewart-Guinee was kind enough to send me a copy of her new book, Fairy Tale Knits. I was touched that she wanted me to have a copy. Thank you, Alison. The book is adorable and there is a wide variety of projects for kids including lots of sweaters and accessories. Some of them are easy and some are more challenging. There is something for everyone. There are pirates, queens, mermaids and fairies along the way.

I adore the cover shot. It sets the mood for the book. The book is put together in a fairy tale-like way, of course. The binding and the pages and the feel in general give the feeling of an old-fashioned storybook. Love that.
This is my favorite project in the book. It is a crown hat that you can make with the hat underneath the crown or you can just make the crown part separately. Check out Alison's book if you are feeling like taking a wonderful storybook adventure with your knitting. Congratulations to Alison!

Take care, everyone.

best, susie

Birthday Wishes

Hi Knitters,

My second child turned 16 years-old last weekend. We spent most of the weekend celebrating this milestone with him. It's hard to believe he's mine. He's more fun than anyone I've ever known. He works hard and plays harder.

I simply want to thank him.

It's quite a process to see your babies become older and turn into capable, happy adult-like people. Parenting in general conjures up words in my mind like big-huge love, fun, laughter, excitement, adventure, worry, thrill, pride, hope, future, joy, tears, the hardest work I'll ever know, chaos, noise, silence, contentment... home.

How about you?
I thought you would get a kick out of this sight. The Collector often leaves me in charge of her baby when she is gone at school. This is the view from my chair this morning and lots of mornings. I don't pay much attention usually but today the sight of that baby wrapped up to the chin sitting next to me made me laugh. She just put her baby next to my chair and didn't say a word about it. Love that. Then when she gets home she always asks me how the baby was during the day. I always tell her perfect and that the baby didn't make a peep. The Collector smiles every time.

That's another toy I'm knitting away on in my bag. Knitted toys are coming out of my ears. I never imagined that toy knitting would become a focal point of my design work. It is a happy and welcome development no question.

You can see the (poorly lit) new wood floor in my studio. I'm pretty excited about it. I had a painted sub-floor ever since I ripped out the awful old carpeting from the previous owners many, many years ago. I just made do and I figured anything would be better than stinky old carpet. The trim and the floor boards need to go back in so I have not fully moved back into my tiny little room just yet. Hopefully by the end of the week I can get settled and freshly organized.
It's a dark rainy day here and I don't have my lighting set back up but I am in love with the new paint color in my studio. It is a Sherwin-Williams color called Open Air. It looks like the clearest blue sky you would ever hope to see. Fresh.

I have a few fun links to share:

For all of you dinner cookers like me, here is a list of links for a bunch of tried and true casserole recipes that you will want to keep around. Jaime made every recipe on the list and verifies that each one is delicious. I trust this girl.

Berroco has an incredible pattern booklet available for little girl sweaters. I really like this one.

Eunny Jang, the editor of Interweave Knits, has a new downloadable scarf pattern that I am crazy about. I really want to knit this one up! It's a snowflake fair isle scarf knit in the round with chunky yarn. Gorgeous!

I am starting my quilting class this week. I thought that my house would be finished by now and it's not. I have packed up all of my sewing stuff including my machine. It could be a challenge to find the space to work free of dust and construction workers. I am still excited to take a class and learn new things. I'll just have to do the best I can. I may not get an "A" in the class but I am sure I will absorb a lot of information. My sister is taking the class, too, which makes it all the more worthwhile. I get to spend time with one of my favorite people doing something fun. Good stuff.

I hope you all have a happy and productive day!

best, susie

Knitting Up a Storm. Really.

Hi Knitters,

It may not seem like it from the looks of this blog lately but I assure you that I have been knitting up a storm. Here is a little proof of that. I finished up another big toy project in the middle of the night last night. It is cool and fun and literally cool, if you catch my drift. I couldn't sleep worth a darn last night so I used the time for good at least. I am hoping for better tonight.

You may or may not know this but I have been adding some new knitting videos to my YouTube account. Check it out here if you are interested. I have recently added videos showing the knit stitch, purl stitch and the long tail cast on with binding off coming soon. The funny thing about showing how I do these basic knitting skills is the response. I know that I do things a little differently because I taught myself to knit and I mean I was all by myself. I basically made stuff up.

When someone writes me a note saying that I knit just like they do I wonder if this could be true but it must be. That makes me feel good for some reason. Now, I've never seen anyone purl like me. Since I just posted this video today I am waiting to see if someone says they purl like me. I'll let you know or... maybe it's you? Purling twins.

Different subject. I love the color combinations shown in some glorious skeins of yarn at this spot. Incredible, right? Makes you want to dig in.

Good night, Knitters.

best, susie

Gliding

Hi Knitters,

When we were in Door County we rented this pair of aqua bikes. We had never seen this type of bike/paddle boat before. We all took turns riding for an hour or so and it was really fun. There were single bikes, too. You could go farther and a lot faster and far more comfortably than on a traditional paddle boat. Gliding along.
Here are all four kids on the bikes. I don't know, I just found these interesting, maybe you've known about aqua bikes for awhile and I am behind the times in aqua bikes. Could very well be.

I have been collecting links for you again. There is never-ending crafting inspiration on the internet, we really are lucky. I can't ever get over all of the creative talent out there in the world. I wonder what my life would have been like if when I was growing up all of these crafting resources had been available at my fingertips. I'll never know but I imagine it would have been very different for me. I may have gotten started on my current path a lot earlier in life. It's kind of fun to think about.

Here you go with some top-notch links:

Salty handmade caramels on etsy- I am ordering these for sure. Salt AND caramel? Yes.

Edible Distractions blog - food and fun around the town and her Friday Favorites can't be missed. This is where I bookmark a lot of links.

Posie's simple square patchwork quilt- beyond perfect.

A site I enjoyed looking through-fabric-design-buttons-bags.

A polymer clay craft I want to do with The Collector.

Halloween ghost craft I may do with the Girl Scouts

Sculpy magnets-a must do craft with the kids

The cutest felt needle (sewing) book I've ever seen-can't wait for Abby's book, too.

Elle Decor Goes to Manhattan by Ingrid Abramovitch (one of Artisan Books own:)-a fun read.

Hannah Fettig's adorable knitted auto vest-too good! Get this pattern, Hannah is brilliant.

Knitters hit Brooklyn Heights-unbelievably fun knitting on the streets-wish I was there, be sure to look through the photos. I would go crazy if I saw this somewhere around my city.

Amy Butler's new fabric line called, Love. Well, I l.o.v.e. it. The projects are incredible.

That should keep you busy for awhile if you choose to look. Thank you to all of the fun readers who send me fun links. Keep it coming.

best, susie

Good Stuff

Hi Knitters,

Even before first off, Dawn Perkins please contact me, my email is on the sidebar. Your email address isn't working so I can't send your pattern order to you. It bounces back when I send it out. I hope you see this:) I need an alternate email address.

First off, I have a new free Rabbit pattern available over at Spud says!, the blog I curate for Spud & Chloë. It is already hopping on ravelry, too, if you want to go have a look-see.
Rabbit is meant to be a friend of Ribbit the frog, which is an earlier free pattern I designed. Rabbit has the same tennis ball inside of the body which makes for an added surprise. This would be a cute gift set to make for a baby or child, Rabbit along with the Bunny Hat from Itty-Bitty Hats. You could tie some matching ribbons around the ears on Rabbit and on the hat. That is a gift set I will make for someone someday for sure.
I have a couple links for you today, too. Here is an interesting, moving article from the NY Daily News about knitting. You may enjoy reading this one. I love to see knitting breaking into other venues and reaching out. Good stuff.

Kristin Nicholas is at it again with her awesomeness. Just look at what she made for her sister's wedding shower. Have you ever seen anything better than that? She made these, too, and I can't get over how much I love her stitching. Go Kristin! She has a new colorwork knitting book coming out very soon that I can't wait to get my hands on.

Well, into the weekend we go. My house renovation is still in full swing. In fact, I will be out of my studio for awhile for painting and a new floor. That will be tough because this room has been my "quiet" spot while the chaos has ensued around the house. I've had to completely clear out, which has not been an easy task but it will be good stuff in the end. Boy, you can really get socked into a space, right?

Yesterday I attempted to get Rabbit finished and posted in between three trips to the paint store and constant interruptions from delivery people and the contractor. It really was rough but I did it and that feels like an accomplishment of some small sort.

I'll take what I can get at this point.

Have a good, good weekend everyone.

best, susie

Sweet!

Hi Knitters,

Notice anything new on my bookshelf?
I received a sweet little package late last week straight from Artisan Books, my publisher. When I opened it up I found a brand-spanking-new copy of my next book, Itty-Bitty Toys. That is a moment in time, every time. It feels so good to hold years of hard work all bundled up in a beautiful book. It is difficult to describe.

I love Itty-Bitty Toys and I hope you will, too. The book is being released on November 3rd, 2009.

More to come on the toy projects inside the book and upcoming tour dates soon, very soon!

best, susie

September Pumpkin Knitting

Hi Knitters,

The Collector is so excited and proud. She finished her first pumpkin hat. She wanted me to share it with all of you. She cast on 56 stitches and used Blue Sky Cotton on a size eight 16-inch circular needle. We followed the simple baby cap pattern in Itty-Bitty Hats combined with the lil' pumpkin hat pattern in the same book. I helped a little bit with the top and the leaf.
She has decided to donate her pumpkin treasure to the September knitting charity on the Itty-Bitty Knits group. I requested the address and am sending it off later this week. This is the description of the charity group:

Avis Goodwin Community Health Centers, a non-profit located in Dover and Rochester, New Hampshire. They currently serve 8,000 individuals in comprehensive health care (prenatal, dental, cancer screenings, etc.), the majority of whom are low income.

A description of the specific project our donations will be going to, from the volunteer manager:

Welcome to the World Program: Each baby born through our agency receives a goody bag to welcome them into the world. The bag usually has at least one handcrafted item in it, such as a quilt/afghan, infant sized sweater, hat, booties and in the colder months, thumbless mittens. We deliver between 350 and 425 babies a year. The new moms are so touched that members of the community have made something special for their child to welcome him/her into the world. Most of the moms are low-income, uninsured and some face really tough times, this being one of the few nice new things their infant gets.

Now, the Collector is working on a hot pink bunny hat she wants to donate to this group as well. Maybe some of you will want to join in, too. Everyone is welcome.

Happy Wednesday, Knitters.

best, susie