Ornament Fail (and Redemption!) and Giveaway Day Winners

Every year my knitting group gets together for a handmade ornament swap and this year I though I'd combine my swap-ornament making with kid-crafting and make some cornstarch dough ornaments inspired by these.

The dough was easy enough to make (though the cornstarch gives it a sickly sweet smell) and it was easy enough to roll out, but my attempts at yarn embossing were awful and LMC's insistence at playing with all the dough (not just her half) meant I had to keep rolling it out over and over again, which I just don't think it was designed to do. So in the end, I had some brittle dough, a lot of ornaments missing a limb and a few with a rather prickly texture. Nothing suitable for gifting.

But, because they were no longer "precious" it meant that LMC and her dad could go to town painting them all and now I think they're the most beautiful smudgy mud-colored things I've ever seen - missing legs and all.

All of this is to say, it was a valuable lesson in managing my expectations. Of course she's going to want to the play with the salt dough like her play dough. Of course things are going to break. But you know what? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter a jot because LMC had a great time poking and painting and hanging them up on the bottom of the tree.

So while I did have to come up with another plan for my swap ornament, I'd say all in all, it was a success.

Speaking of success - thanks to the 136 (!) of you who entered the giveaway and a very warm welcome to any of you who are staying around as new readers!

The winners chosen via random number generator are commenters Liz (#129) for the subtle kit, Rachel (#10) for the spicy kit, and Magda (#109) for the gift certificate. Congrats -I've sent you all an email about claiming your prize.

I'm down to the wire on my holiday crafting, with one toddler sweater on the blocking board and three more handmade projects in various stages, but the good news is come Friday, I've got two weeks off - one to finish everything and one to recooperate!

Giveaway Day (and some last minute knit gift ideas)

It's giveaway day on Sew Mama Sew and being in the Christmas spirit, I thought I'd participate this year by offering two Maian Shawl kits!

Each of the kits contains enough lace weight yarn to complete the shawl, a Maian pattern, a drawstring-project bag sewn by me, and a $10 gift certificate to my Ravelry store. The "Subtle" kit features Quince & Co's Piper in Avocet as seen in the pattern sample and a dogs in galoshes project bag (note: the Piper yarn comes with hand-written tags because it came to me without any). The "Spicy" kit features two skeins of Malabrigo lace in Glazed Carrot and a fox project bag.

As an added bonus, I'm offering a third $10 gift certificate!

But wait, there's more! I'm offering 20% off any pattern in my Ravelry store for your last-minute crafting (or gifting) needs with the code STILLTIME.

To enter, leave a comment below telling me your most (or least!) successful holiday craft project. I just had a bust yesterday trying to make a bunch of (now limbless) cornstarch dough ornaments, but my husband is still wearing the the sweater I knit him back in 2009! Also let me know if you have a subtle/spicy preference!

Entries accepted until December 12 at 5 p.m. PST

As for the gift certificates/discounts - here's a few ideas from my self-published archive that can made in the next 16 days or less:

From left to right:

Row 1: Bradac, Zoetrope, Krona Tam 

Row 2: Shoots & Ladders Cowl, Bob & Wave Cowl, Domenic Duck

Row 3: Zienna Zebra, Fisherman's Wife Beret (Free), Heartrose Cardigan

All Ready for Advent

I finished my homemade calendar just in time for the start of Advent today!

When I was a kid we had an Advent calendar with little numbered doors that my mom would put candies in. In truth, I can't really remember what it looked like, butt I do remember the fun of hunting for the right door to open for the day. As an adult, we've purchased the crummy $1 chocolate ones with the smiling Christmas mushroom, but I wanted to do something a little more for this year.

I have big dreams of making a beautiful quilted or embroidered or felt calendar for use year after year, but it time-wise, it just wasn't happening this year and I wanted to make sure LMC had something to open on December 1st.

After scouring Pinterest, this project seemed a little more my speed. So I painted some toilet tubes, bought a Toob of farm animals* and some tissue paper and was off to the races. In reality, this was a three nap project, one for shopping; one for cutting, painting and gluing tubes; and one for assembly of the little gifts and activities (about a 50/50 split).

Today she got a little German shepherd figure and wanted to start punching in all the other days. So I guess you could say it's a hit. So much so that we had to hide the calendar until tomorrow. ;)

Do you do Advent calendars or wreaths?

* Though they're a perfect fit for this calendar, technically, the Toob figures aren't recommended for under 3-years old.  LMC has had some similarly-sized dinosaurs for a while that she loves and hasn't managed to choke on or eat, but use your best judgement for your own household.

Second Snow

On Friday we had our second snow of the season (the first being a dusting the weekend after Halloween), but it now being mid-November, this one is the true harbinger of winter.

We've shifted our clocks back, I've pulled out my sweaters, and generally speaking, the first snow comes right around Thanksgiving, so it's all in good timing. We're acclimating LMC to snowpants and boots and mittens (which are tiny and adorable), and planning on more indoor time.

My most recent take on the Geranium dress, made out of some lightweight shot cotton, is mostly inappropriate for the weather, but I bought the fabric back on vacation and cut it out months ago and we can always layer, right? In any case, I cut it long in the hopes that it'll still fit come warmer days, which are now very far away for Maine. I've got a second dress cut out in the same fabric for her still-nudist doll, which I hope to have done by Christmas.  Because there's nothing like November to kick-start a slightly dormant crafting bug.

Do you have any Christmas crafting plans in the works?

Stocking Progress

I've finished all the cross-stitching (excepting the name, which I'm saving for last) and have moved on to outlining. With 50 days until Christmas, it's starting to look as if I might actually be able to finish the stocking in time for this year.

Of course Mr. Cleaver, being the reasonable one (and knowing me all too well), has encouraged me to banish the thought from my mind instead of giving myself some crazy deadline.

He's probably right, butfor now, I think I'll keep stitching along and call it come December 10th or so.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

I love costumes. It's the theatre kid in me. But to my surprise, LMC was excited to wear hers too. The first thing she said the morning when I got her from her crib was "ears" because she wanted to put on her headband. Gotta love it - and I think she looks pretty stinkin' adorable.

Mr. Cleaver and LMC painted the pumpkins together on Wednesday. The tempura paint is starting to peel a little, but I think they'll make it through the night.

We're planning to eat pizza and hand out candy, we get 80-100 kids a year. We're holding off on treat or treating for at least another year.

Hope your Halloween is fun and fabulous!

• Olivia Dress: McCall's M6913, View B with D collar. All Kona cottons from JoAnn's.
• Pig Ears: Improvised by me. Wool Felt from Z Fabrics.
• Striped Leggings: Target
• Tintin outfit: Goodwill and Mr. Cleaver's closet

Making Monsters!

Inspired by Pinterest, and in need of some Halloween decorations, Little Miss Cleaver and I got crafty this weekend and jointly made some little monsters to jazz up the jadeite shelf in the dining room.

As a wee toddler, there's a limit to LMC's crafting skills, but I couldn't have made these guys without her, and I'll admit to having way too much fun making these myself.

To make some monsters of your own you'll need a few simple supplies:

• Toilet paper and/or paper towel cardboard tubes
• Finger or tempura/poster paints
• Googly eyes
• Hole Punch
• Pipe Cleaners
• Black makers
• Big sheet of paper
• Finger-painting Toddler

First, let your toddler go wild with finger painting on the big sheet of paper. When it's good and goopy, take the tubes and roll across the finger paint for a fabulously mottled effect. If you have older kids (or are an adult), you can paint the tubes directly, but the finger-painting method is a lot more messy and fun!

Once the paint is dry, try to discern your monster's personality. Are they scary or silly? Does it need multiple eyes? Does the top need to be smushed down into horns? Is there a smear or crease that would make a particularly good eyebrow or mouth?

Alternatively, let the toddler put stick-on googly eyes wherever they'd like and go from there. LMC preferred to put them on her chairs and clothes, so I had to improvise. Use the black marker to draw on eyebrows, teeth, scars, etc.

Using the hole punch, make a few armholes and thread a pipe cleaner through and bend into arms or legs.

Find a suitable display/play space and enjoy!

(Keep spare googly eyes on hand for when toddler inevitably rips them off to put on her shirt.)

The Breakwater Pullover

Following on my recent menswear design for Knitscene, I jumped into another menswear-inspired project, the Breakwater Pullover, for the Maine-based Swans Island company.

Swans Island specializes in heirloom blankets and organic yarns, dyed with all-natural dyes. The Breakwater Pullover is part of the All-American Collection, ten designs to highlight their all-new 100% American worsted weight wool yarn. I was pleased to be part of the collection alongside fellow Maine designers Bristol Ivy, Alicia Plummer, and the Swans Island team.

Breakwater was inspired by classic Aran sweaters, but distilled to it's most essential elements. This project is a great introduction to cables, as the center panel keep things interesting, but never overwhelming. The menswear-inspired styling means there's no side-shaping to worry about either (though it'd be easy enough to add if you wanted to). The loose gauge, slouchy fit, and raglan shaping make it a a quick knit and a great weekend sweater. With a size range from 35¾ to 50¾" - this one will work for the men too!

Not sure how to pull off the boyfriend sweater look? I've pulled together some styling inspiration here.

Pattern uses 6 (7, 7, 8, 8) skeins Swans Island All-American Collection, 75% USA Rambouillet wool, 25% USA alpaca; worsted weight (80 gms, 210 yds each) Color Shown: Newport #AAW416

Breakwater is available via Ravelry for $6.00 USD

All photos courtesy of Swans Island.

Making Pie

Not gonna lie, of all the pies I make, apple pies are by far the the most time consuming with all the peeling, coring, chopping and mixing, it probably takes twice as long as a berry pie (even with a peeling machine, which I can't recommend enough!). But all that work? So worth it!

My baking assistant certainly though the ribbons of peel were fun,and the cinnamon and sugar-covered apple-slices were A-OK by her. And truthfully, after eight years of annual apple pie-making, I've got my process down. And so we've already eaten one pie, and have the second in the freezer for later this winter.

Want a video of me walking through the pie-making process? Check! Or the recipe? Check!

Book Illustration:  Time for A Hug by Phillis Gershator, Mim Green, with Illustrations by David Walker, a new favorite in our house.

Interested in Children's books? Me too! As the daughter of a former elementary-school librarian, who currently reads at least 5 new picture books a week (thanks local library!), I've started compiling a list our our household favorites with detailed reviews over on my Pinterest Page.

A Sweater for the Fella

Coming soon to a newsstand near you, the Malaga Pullover in Knitscene - Winter 2014.

Malaga is my first sweater design for men, and I'm pretty proud of the way this one turned out. Inspired by a rather stylish co-worker of mine, Malaga is a simple, wearable raglan that shifts in both color and texture, but is easy to knit the whole way through. The instructions for this bottom-up raglan are written so there's a minimal amount of purling (ribbing and short rows only) - so it's a quick knit too - plenty of time to whip one out before the holidays and it's available in sizes 37¾ (39½, 43¼, 47, 50¾, 54½)" chest circumference (shown in size 39½").

What really makes this pattern work though, is the yarn selection - shown here in Harrisville Designs Shetland. The bottom half is knit holding two strands of the same color fingering weight yarn held together, and swapping one strand for a contrast color and marled effect for the sleeves and yoke. Harrisvile has a ton of wonderful earthy and saturated colors to choose from, and Brooklyn Tweed's Loft would be another beautiful option for folks in the US. I'd recommend picking a dark and a light version of the same color family (i.e. a forest/pale green combo, or light blue/navy) for a similar effect.

While Malaga is the only men's pattern in the issue, there are a ton of other great designs in there. I'm particularly fond of Kiyomi Burgin's Tongshan Sweater and the Haubergeon Sweater by Featured Designer Emma Welford.

To purchase the Malaga pattern, visit your local yarn or book store for the latest Knitscene issue, or purchase a print or digital copy via Interweave.

Want some more men's sweater inspiration? Check out my Pinterest Board!

All Photos © Knitscene/Harper Point