A Fiberish May May 17, 2013

Being a student at a university inevitably means my April and May months are always the busiest out of the year.  Not only is the semester wrapping up, but the entire academic year.  In December, there is still enthusiasm and excitement for the holidays.  May comes around and I am just plain tired!  But now I am ready to slow down (a little) and enjoy the summer time.  Here are just a few of the fiberish projects I have managed to complete in the past month.

 

Slipped Stitch Rib Socks – my first finished pair of 2013!

 

Gill’s Rock – a design by Paula of the Knitting Pipeline Podcast

 

 

Unplanned Peacock Merino – 220 yards

Headed to a scrapbooking crop tonight where I plan to make cards and enjoy good company!

Little One Card April 29, 2013

If you have spent any time around in me the past year, you know my life is full of babies.  From spending time at baby showers, in delivery rooms, and knitting for babies, it has been a baby filled year.  My favorite part is watching the families in my life transition through each stage.  So this month I pulled out one of my favorite 6″ by 6″ paper pads called “Bitty Baby Blessings” from Papertrey Ink.  I recently took the “Pattern Play” class over at Online Card Classes, so I pulled the design and techniques from the “Welcome Baby” card by Kristina Werner on Day 5.  I really like the look of the quilted paper piecing.  A nice, crisp card to welcome any little one into the world!

 

 

 

Now it is time to gear up for graduation and wedding season around here!  Looking forward to having more time this summer to create up in the craft room.

Celebrate May Cards April 22, 2013

This month for the Queen Bee swap I pulled out the Graphic 45 “A Place in Time” paper pad again.  This is the same line from the cards I made in February.  I just love the images and how quickly I can use them on cards.  I paired the May images with dark green and purple paper.  Some ribbon and embossing from the Cuttlebug and I was set.

 

Looking forward to May – hopefully a less busy month around here filled with beautiful weather!

DIY Cheese April 8, 2013

In one of my random Etsy browsing sessions, I came across a miniature Do it Yourself Cheese Kit.  The cuteness of the package had me especially intrigued.  So I snatched it up and decided to try making cheese for myself.  I have been pretty unsuccessful with making my own (good tasting) yogurt.  I have a yogurt maker and I still cannot seem to perfect it.  I expected my first cheese-making experience to be similar.  But I followed the directions and made a masterpiece!  It ended up tasting like a hard mozzarella cheese, if I had to describe it.  I cannot wait to experiment more with cheese making.  There is something very magical about adding the citric acid to the milk.  And so very easy.  If you have tried it yourself, I would love to hear your advice for future attempts!

 

First Quarter Stash Report April 1, 2013

One of my resolutions this year was to keep track of three stashes – fabric, yarn, and fiber.  This is my third year tracking fabric, second year tracking yarn, and first year tracking fiber.  The goal is always to use more than I buy and the first quarter has been a great start for 2013.

Fabric Update:

Used Year to Date: 0 yards (once I create my t-shirt quilt, I will count those as yards used, but it is in progress currently)
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Destashed Year to Date:  0 yards

Yarn Update:

Knit Year to Date:  2,678 yards

Traded/Sold/Gave Away Year to Date:  1,388 yards

Purchased Year to Date: 1,682 yards

Acquired for Free to Date:  0 yards

Net Destashed for 2013:  2,384  yards

Fiber Update:

Ounces Spun Year to Date:  78 ounces

Purchased Year to Date:  34 ounces

Yards Spun Year to Date:  3,294 yards

Net Destashed for 2013:  44 ounces (2.75 pounds)

Sharing some of the beautiful fiber I have spun recently!

Wee Ones Bunny March 30, 2013

Happy Easter to all of you!  I have a related project to share with you today.  Since this is my goddaughter’s first Easter, I thought I would knit her a little bunny rabbit.  You may remember some of the other bunny themed objects I have created – the bunny nugget, the bunny hat for the baby shower, and the bunny stocking.  Yep, all for the same little girl.  This was my first time making a stuffed animal, so I followed the seamless pattern from Susan B. Anderson.  She has a Craftsy class called “Wee Ones” where you can make a rabbit, a hippo, or an elephant from the same pattern.  Watching the videos really helped me throughout the process and I have more details on my project page.  I am in no hurry to knit another stuffed animal – they are pretty finicky little projects, even when they are seamless.  But the photos make it all worth it…

 

 

 

My goddaughter wearing a sweater I knit for her and smiling about her new Easter bunny.

 

 

Miss Teagen Sue Bazzill Birthday Cards March 17, 2013

This month I participated in another Bazzill Card Swap using the Miss Teagen Sue paper line.  These papers are beautiful shades of pinks.  I wanted to use multiple papers on my card design, so I relied on an oldie but goodie.  Remember when I made the masculine cards last summer?  I recreated that look here for girly, birthday cards.  The original idea was from Nancy Riley’s blog.  I avoided using extra embellishments on this version that would make it thick, so these will be perfect for mailing.

 

 

 

Lots of fun to make.  And since I made them at a crop last weekend, here is a photo of my workspace.  After working at Archiver’s, the assembly line method always seems more efficient.

I felt inspired to make a few different cards with the scraps.  Something simple to send for a future occasion.  And this photo highlights that I lined all of the envelopes for the cards.  Very simple to do with a sheet of 6″ by 6″ paper!

Soon I will receive ten cards back from Bazzill from other crafters.  All of my posts have been about cardmaking lately, but I have been knitting and spinning as usual.  I even worked on my t-shirt quilt last weekend at the crop.  But no finished products to show yet.  Maybe next time!