Crafting Update and Harbour Surfboards Board Swap Meet

Today we had a wonderful morning visiting some friends at craft boutique (I got some FABULOUS earrings from Magnitudes by Sandra Robertson). After that, we headed over to the Harbour Surfboards Board Swap Meet and watched Cameron and friends jam!  Aleksa had a great time and I posted a video of her rocking out to daddy’s band (by rocking out I mean both dancing and playing with rocks…hehe).

As far as crafting goes, I’ve finally gotten my etsy shop up and running for some bicycle accessories and I’m trying to add something new in there once a week.  I hope to be doing the craft fair thing by the holidays!  I’m also fueling my fabric addiction by making fabric flowers for headbands as well as bike basket decorations.  I’m having lots of fun!  I’m knitting an adorable matinee jacket for my niece’s birthday.  I’m pretty sure it’s gonna turn out way to big for her but at least she’ll have something adorable to look forward to

Aleksa’s First Chrismas Stocking

So I decided that I want to make Aleksa a stocking for her first Christmas.  And I want it to be a super complicated fair isle design and I want it to have her name knit into it.  This was just a thought floating around in my brain until I browsed through the new edition of Interweave’s Knit Gifts Winter 2012 Edition and I saw the Snow Bird Stocking by Kristen Spurkland.  I couldn’t believe how beautiful and amazing it was…I had to make it.  I’m currently about halfway through and I’m pretty excited about how it’s coming out.  I’m hoping to finish it before Wednesday when we are having our family portraits taken so that I can have one of her with it. Hopefully this stocking will be something she has forever!!

One side note: making a fair isle chart for letters is HARD! I did it wrong the first time and wasted a days worth of work! The letters have to be upside down and backwards…ugh.  Here’s a link to my project on ravelry: Aleksa’s Stocking.

 

Etsy Shop Update and Current Projects

Well today I finally updated my Etsy shop.  I’ve been really focusing on making more things to sell lately and I finally got a few things together so that I could get my shop started again.  I think I’m going to make it my goal this time to add a new item every week to Etsy.  So far, I’ve added some baby booties and some headbands.  Click here to go to my shop!

As for new projects, I finally found the perfect project for my Knitpicks Sugarbunny yarn that I got for Christmas last year.  It’s the Matinee Jacket from Hadley Fierlinger’s book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.  Here’s the link to my project: Matinee Jacket.  So far, I am done with all of the little pieces, I just need to start the yoke which links them all together.

I’ve been sewing quite a bit lately in addition to knitting.  I’ve got a few more basket liners that I’ve made for Cameron’s shop and I’m working on a prototype for a simple tool roll that will be available at his shop soon.  I’m working on a dress for myself as well, but that seems to be going very slowly.  I notice that the more I sew, the faster and more efficient I get at it.  I hope that I’ll be able to take a sewing class one day because I feel like I would dramatically improve my sizing skills for garments if I had a little bit more help.  It is my goal with just about everything that I make to make it not look homemade.

Hello World

I haven’t posted in a while so I wanted to give a little shout out.  Things have been great lately!  Life is basically centered around Aleksa and her whims these days but it’s all good.  People keep telling me this will be over before I know it and I sure believe them.  I can’t believe how fast she’s grown in just a few months.

I’m currently getting ready to start up school and work again next month, but I’ll be taking it slow, only a few days a week to start.  2 of my 3 classes will be online this semester too so I should be able to stay home with the little one and get my coursework done at the same time.

I’ve been working on lots of projects lately, and I’ve surprisingly gotten a lot done since little Aleksa arrived.  I’ll have to post pictures later, (I haven’t even updated these to my ravelry yet) but I’ve made a little sweater and a few other little things.  I’ve found that I can sew a lot of cool things for baby’s so I’ve been really into that lately.  I’ve also been sewing some bicycle basket liners for Cameron’s shop.

I can’t believe that I’m nearing the end of summer already.  This summer has DEFINITELY been a lot different than last summer.  I’m excited for what’s ahead!

Knit Baby Hat Pattern

I recently was looking for a funny pointy hat to make for my baby but I couldn’t find a pattern that I liked all that much, so I decided to create my own.  The results couldn’t have been more fun!  I have had such a good time putting this silly hat on Aleksa and she seems to like it.  It has officially become her hat for when she is cranky and wants to sit outside.  Anyways, the pattern is pretty rough because I just make this as I went along, but here’s the approximate pattern:

Materials: size 9 dpns (need at least 4), super bulky yarn (I used two colors and did stripes)

For newborn, CO 33 sts and divide evenly across 3 dpns (11 sts per needle).  Knit in the round until the had measures 4 inches from CO edge then begin to decrease one (k2tog) at the beginning of each needle.  There should be 3 decreases per decrease round.  For the next five inches, decrease every third or fourth row, depending on how pointy you want this pointy hat to be.  Once you reach another 5 inches (9 inches total from CO edge) you can start doing more decreases (2 per needle) and increasing the amount of rows between each decrease (about 4 or 5)  Once there are only 3 sts left on the needles, pull the yarn tight through the last stitches and tie off .  To make a pom pom, wrap some yarn around your four fingers and tie off.  Cut it off along the top and then attach it to the top of the hat.

Hope this is helpful, comment if you have any questions!!

Etsy Shop: Baby Headbands

Check out the knit flower headbands that I posted today on my Etsy shop.  I’ve been making these since the baby was born to make her look super adorable and now I’m making some to sell too!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/racheleglass

Finished the Matching Dress and Sweater

I finally finished the dress and sweater for baby girl.  I’ve been trying to get better at sewing and this was a great project to get me started again.  It was relatively simple and I took my time (and had to redo about 10 seams  haha).  I knit the matching sweater in about 3 days.  The pattern is called Knit Bolero and it’s from the book Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger.  I LOVE the book and am already planning on making a few other things from it as soon as I finish sewing my diaper bag!

Selling Monsters on Etsy!

Finally posted some monsters in my ETSY shop!  Stoked to finally get this started.  I’m going to start making some headbands and stuff too!  Also, I’ll always have more monsters available to buy at Cameron’s shop: www.mybicyclelongbeach.com

Here’s the link to my etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/racheleglass

Yarnbombing: Quincy Ave. in Long Beach

It always makes me happy when I find yarnbombing, even if it’s just a small thing.  I was walking down the street the other day in my neighborhood and came across this purple tag on a parking meter on Quincy in Belmont Shore.  I was pretty excited and the people I was with didn’t really get it so I explained to them all about yarnbombing and knit graffiti.  After looking at me like I was nuts, they agreed that it’s a cute fuzzy alternative to real graffiti.  I love it!

 

Free Time!

I have had a really busy month, basically ever since the end of November it was crunch time for finals and then right after that it was the holidays.  I ended up not going to see my family for Christmas day so instead I went up there for the week of New Years.  I had a great time and it was wonderful seeing my family, especially my niece Amelia!

One great thing about having a break from school is having the time to relax and do some fun things that I haven’t had a chance to do for a while.  Today, for the first time in a while, I’m making a fun dinner (enchiladas with green sauce) complete with dessert! (pineapple upside down cake).  I figure I should make the best of the time off now because once the baby comes it won’t be the same.  I figure I’ll still have time to cook, just not so uninterrupted…hehe.

On Monday, we went to the Huntington Library and Gardens and had a great time!  I’ve been twice before but it was still wonderful and relaxing to get out and see the gardens.  It was like escaping for the day.  At one point, we looked around and couldn’t see a single building!  Cameron and I took lots of great pictures that day.

As for knitting, I’ve got lots of projects in my queue.  I’m almost done knitting the first thing for my baby girl: Monster Pants!  I know she won’t be able to wear them for a little while, but I couldn’t resist.  Basically everything I’m currently working on is stuff for baby girl (including some awesome baby uggs) or cousin Amelia.  There’s just something really fun about knitting stuff for babies!  I’m still determined to make myself a hat out of the Glimmer yarn that I bought over Thanksgiving break, however, after two foiled attempts at scalloped lace, I might just try another pattern.  I have two more weeks off of school and I’m definitely going to make the most of it!  I finished reading Babyface by Jeanne McDermott and I hope to get a few more fun books read before the wave of school reading for Clinical Methods and Neurology take over.