Wishes...

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving spent with the ones that you love.

XoXo, Julia

Today was spent...

 

Sewing.... two more dolls for a little 9 month old girl that I know.

 Baking and drinking....and baking and drinking some more.

Painting...they're finally dry enough.

Watching....birds fill their bellies from our feeders.

It was a lovely day.

Busy, but lovely.


And who would complain for that?

Pattern writing and sharing....

So, I've been trying my hand at writing some knitting patterns.  Not too difficult, just some hats, but man do they knit up into some precious hats for little ones.  First up was the little hat above that I knitted up for a certain special little boy. I spent a few hours this week trying to type the pattern for it to share in Laura and my shop.  It was a lot tougher than I anticipated (which surprised me) and I became determined to make the process easier, if it was something that I really wanted to master.  So I decided to come up with another one, this time for a little girl.

So, it's done.  And I love it even more than the first one. A little gift for my wonderful friend Bre.  Her little girl is due in February and I can't wait to hold her in my arm.

I tell you, these babies are popping up everywhere!

So, I am sharing the pattern here.

Enjoy!

**************************************************
Eyelet Earflap Pixie Hat

This pattern is mostly knitting, but there is crochet used in the earflaps.  Don't be intimidated though, it's SUPER EASY!

Needles: 10 1/2 dpns.

Yarn: A light bulky.  I used Tweed Stripes by Lion Brand

Stitches:

Knitting :
Stockinette (knitting every row)
K2TOG ( Knit 2 stitches together)
K (knit)
YO ( yarn over )
SSK ( Slip slip knit)
K2 ( knit 2)

Crochet :
Single crochet (SC)
Chain ( C )

Pattern:
Cast on 15 stitches onto each of 3 dpns for a total of 45 stitches.

Place stitch marker and join into a round.

Knit in stockinette until piece measures 1.5 inches high.

Now, the next 4 rows will make up the very slight eyelet design.

Eyelet Pattern:
Round 1: * K1, YO, SSK, K2, K2TOG,YO, repeat from * for entire round.
Round 2: Knit for entire row.
Round 3: * K2, YO, SSK, K2TOG, YO, K1
Round 4: Knit for entire row.

Shaping the top by decreasing:

Round 1: * K8, K2tog, repeat from * for entire row.
Round 2: Knit for entire row
Round3:  Knit for entire row
Round4: * K7, K2tog, repeat from * for entire row
Round5: Knit for entire row
Round6: Knit for entire row
Round7: * K6, K2tog, repeat from * for entire row
Round8: Knit for entire row
Round9: Knit for entire row

Repeat this pattern of decreasing every third row until you are left with 3 stitches. 

Cast off and weave in tail.

If you want a baby hat without earflaps, you can stop right here.

For the earflaps you will use some basic crochet stitches.

Find the center of the side of the hat by measuring across the hat from left to right.  The hat should measure 6 1/2 inches across, so the center of the hat is between the 2 and 4 1/2 inch mark.

Your ear flap will start at the 2 and end at the 4 1/2 inch mark.

To make the ear flap, simply, single crochet into nine stitches across the brim of the hat starting at the 2 and end at the 4 1/2 inch mark.
Chain one at the end of each of the rows to allow for the turning of your work to start the next row.
Single crochet 2 more rows.
Now the ear flap will begin to resemble a triangle by decreasing each of the following 2 rows by 3 stitches each.

Decrease them symmetrically until you are left with one stitch at the top of the ear flap triangle.

From this stitch at the apex of the triangle, you will crochet a chain to make the hat tie.

It will resemble a braid and should measure 9 inches long.  Knot at end.

Weave in the initial tail from the start of the earflap at the brim of the hat.

Repeat on the opposite side to make a symmetrical earflap.

And there you have it!

******************************************************************

Happy knitting!

And if you're over on Ravelry, It's posted as a pattern there in case that you want to cast it on!

XoXo, Julia

This Moment...

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Soule Mama 

Those trees are STILL drying.

Have a wonderful weekend.

XO, Jules

Knitting along...

In the last 2 weeks I have knitted 2 baby hats, and am in the process of knitting a third.  I am a very immediate gratification kind of knitter.  I need to start it...work on it for a bit, and be done with it.  Case in point is my sweater that I started a while back ( you know...July!)  It still sits in a fabric bag on it's needles.  A few extra inches added here and there, but still...nowhere near done. 

I just don't have the patience for it.  

It's like books.  I get bored quickly and I usually have 3 books going at any given time.

Which brings me to today's photo.  

The lovely Ginny of Small Things has come up with a weekly Yarn Along and I have been playing along. 

Any excuse to knit and read, I tell ya.

Right now, I am re-reading Garden Spells. I scored it at a library lawn sale for a quarter a few years ago.  It's kind of an off book...kind of quirky, but fun.  Each page is filled with magic and whimsy, the sort with gardens and enchanted trees and apothecary. It is a quick read and not too hard to get drawn into.

On my needles is the current baby hat.  A pattern that I am coming up with in my head as I go (sharing for sure, once I am done.) The yarn is Tweed Stripes by Lion Brand in the colorway Orchid (doesn't that sound dreamy?).   It is lovely yarn and it knits up in such wonderful patterns.

It is left over from the set of Toasts that I made back in July.  The pattern for those is by Leslie Friend and they are super easy. 
(pattern here)

I am going to try to finish the hat today, and then I will be tackling the laundry that seemed to multiply by the hundreds in my absence, while I was at work the past few days.

I tell you...It never ends.

So, I encourage you all to take a photo of whatever it is that you are knitting and reading... and stop by Ginny's space to share.

XO, Julia

A day of clay...

Today, Eben and I decided to open a package of clay that I had gotten in Vermont.  We have played around with other types, modeling clay specifically...but today we ventured into the world of DAS clay. We covered the table with a contractor garbage bag and went crazy making little figures and shapes to go on all of our window sills in anticipation of Christmas.

I don't really know what this stuff is made of, but I'm pretty sure that it has some sort of paper in it.   It reminded me a LOT of that paper pulp that I did the plantable paper with.  When I cut out shapes with it, there was a rough edge that I had to smooth down with a sponge. But all in all, it is pretty easy to use and very pliable.  It is non toxic and air-drying, which I appreciate....seeing how I don't own a kiln.  It is much cheaper than Sculpey, which is oven dry, and it IS paintable.  A big brick of it was only $6. 

Eben took the task of making snowman personally and made each ball of the body VERY seriously. And he assembled them with even more precision. 

While he did that, I was working on my own project.  You see, I found these ridiculously precious clay houses, called petitehouses on etsy by Jessica Jane.  Each one is just so sweet and..... well, as you can guess, I became pretty well obsessed with figuring out how they were made.

The first one was pretty much a big lump with lines drawn in for the layers.  I did too much smoothing of the clay as I attached the petals and they all lumped together.

My second attempt went much better and I was able to place each layer without smooshing them together. Granted, it did not turn put anywhere near as perfectly as the one I was modeling it after, but in the end I was pretty happy with how close that I came to the one in my mind's eye.

I ended up making 2 more different types of trees and another snowman with a hat, as well as finishing the trunk of the tree for my own little petitehouse.

They are all drying overnight and I can't wait to paint them tomorrow.  I forgot what fun it is to play with clay.  I will certainly share how they turn out once I paint them.

I hope that you are all having a great weekend.

XO, Julia

And the Winner is...

Thank you all so much for your sweet words and blessings for Laura.  I know that this baby will be as wonderful and sweet as the nephew that she already granted me with. 

The winner is...

Katherine: Congratulations and welcome back. we've missed you! would love to win this precious baby- wish I had the energy to sew one for my sweet 2 year old, but we are expecting number 2 any day now and it's all I can do to keep up with her and make sure we're all fed and healthy.... Again, so glad to see you back in this space.

Please email me your address Katherine and I will get this baby in the mail to you.

Jules

The girl with the hoops and needles...

 

I am enjoying embroidery very much. 

Like, a lot.

(Granola recipe here, if you're drooling.)

It was a constant companion with me in the doctor's offices and I was so glad to have found a few vintage embroidery books at the Thrift Store before that we began traveling.  I learned a few tricks from them. 

I am just doing simple stitches and mostly free handing as I go. I have a few blanket squares in progress right now, and I am really looking forward to piecing them all together into a quilt.

 The bag on the right is one that I made for my holding all of my floss and hoops while I was in Vermont.  It's super handy and that floral print of the pocket front was the very last bit of one of my most favorite vintage prints.  

I guess I can always take down the hoop that holds the remainder of it, right?

And in the mail a week or so ago, I got a touching and SUPER generous gift from one of my first blog buddies.  The insanely talented Christina. 

And right away, I got to work finishing a square that I had been working on since September, but needed a few extra details.

OH!!!! And that fabric bundle labeled "bliss", (yea...I know it caught your eyes too!)  I had just the project in mind for all of those gorgeous squares.

It's not finished quite yet, but here is a sneak peak.

 So now...show me what you are working on.  Tell me your own stories of needles and hoops. 

PS!  The giveaway for the Waldorf baby ends tomorrow!

A new baby...and a giveaway

I had you at the baby part, didn't I?

Or was it the giveaway?

Anyway, it doesn't matter....I have to share some news!

I am going to be an Aunt!

Since my wonderful twin Laura has posted the news on her own blog, I felt that she wouldn't mind if I shared it here with all of you. ( Right Laura?!?!?!?)

YES!  There is a new baby on the way.  She is very early in the pregnancy, but things are so far going swimmingly!  Full of morning sickness and the whole rest of what goes with growing a baby.

And even though, I still have no plans of expanding my own brood, I am giddy as a school girl at the thought of sharing this wee one with her.  You see...you will be seeing an awful lot of this new babe here in this space, as I will be watching him/her when Laura is working, just as we have traded off caring for our wonderful boys.

So, in celebration of being an Aunt AGAIN!!!! 

I am having a giveaway!

I have been sewing like crazy, I tend to do this when there are new little ones popping up around me. 
I designed her two days ago and I completed the tutorial last night.

If you want to try your hand at making this simple and sweet baby, the pattern/tutorial is in the shop.  It's a variation of the my ROTH baby, but WAY easier!  WAY!!!

If you want a chance at winning this little Waldorf baby, please become a follower and leave me a comment here.

I will choose a winner on Tuesday morning.

Lots of love, Julia

Home...

Six weeks turned to seven BUT we are finally home.

I am giddy as a school girl.

This post is going to be quick, as I have a little boy and a husband to visit with and a life that I need to get back into a rhythm with, but the important thing is that I am back.

In more ways than one.

I have decided that I am returning to my home here on the web as well.
I have missed you all so.
I have missed sharing the everyday.
I have missed reading about yours.

So, I am home.

I will still be over at We Deserve This with the sweet Heather a few days a week, but as much as I thought that I was finished with this space, I am not.  It is a piece of me and a piece that I am glad to have back.

So, now I share a few photos of things that are making me happy.

Two seagulls that visited with us EVERY night that we went to the bay in Vermont.
I will miss them.

 

A final ferry ride on a chilly day.

Little wooden people that kept me occupied and company while I was in Vermont. ( More on them later.)

A reorganized and purged sewing room where I plan to lock myself away tomorrow.

A hat for a new little one that has single handed-ly renewed my love of knitting.

A new book that I want to make every single project in.

A grinning husband (who I missed dearly) checking out our newly tilled garden.

And of course, two of the most gorgeous little men that I have ever set eyes on. (Photo taken by my twin.)

Lots of love, and thanks for hanging in here with me.

XO, Julia