Work in progress

I have one leg warmer left to make for Fin. This yarn was given to me a long time ago and I'm not sure what it is. I do know that it is at least part Alpaca, very soft!! Should be comfy against Fin's legs.


Some Christmas presents in the making....


Another Fin baby item!! Diaper cover #1. Pattern by Vanilla from Raverly!! I love this pattern! It is well written and super easy to follow!!!

The dye!!

The skein on the left (the darker one) had been previously dyed with yellow dock, but I found the color to be a bit drab. (I don't think I did it quite right because I have seen nice yellow dock color before) The skein on the right was white when it went into the dye pot.


The littlest piece of fleece was done as a tester while I was cooking the lichen and it came out supper bright!!! I was kind of expecting it all to be this bright but I guess I need more dye stuff for that to happen. All in all I am happy with the colors.
Note: I mordanted the yarn with Alum and cream of tartar, the fleece is unmordanted.

My camera doesn't do the colors justice....:(

While the baby sleeps...

...Mama rummages through her dye stuff and finds a bag of lichen that she harvested when they first moved to Klamath Falls, not knowing if it had any dye in it...

Mama cooks the lichen on the stove stirring it occasionally and filling the house with the smell of the woods!!! Yummy!!!

and the results I'll show tomorrow!!!!

Emelina Models a Crown

Last week when my little niece was here visiting I tried on these crowns I had made. She wasn't the stillest model out there but she was about the cutest!!! The crowns fit her well and I could tell that they would stretch to fit bigger children!! I am excited at how beautiful they turned out.

A knitting project complete

I started this hat before Fin was born and am so excited to have it finished. I had to get some help figuring out how to sew it up in back. I couldn't make heads or tails of the directions. I got the pattern from Raverly and it was one of the hardest patterns I have ever done, and it's not perfect... I would like to do another one out of wool. I just purchased some lovely Merino wool that I might try out. I used 100% silk dyed which I dyed with onion skins!! I really like the color, I deep yellow with hints of green and brown!

I am hoping to take up a more consistent approach to my blog entries.... so stay posted for more updates!

Fourmile Lake

 

Brandon, Finley and I went up to Fourmile Lake with a friend and his two dogs plus the one he was watching for the week! It was a gorgeous afternoon! This was Fin's first trip up to the mountains!

Finley's first bath

Here is a picture of Finley having his first real water bath. He loved it!!!
We are loving being parents! Fin is doing great and now that we are over a bout of thrush things are a lot better!


Here is a little sweater that I knit up before Fin was born, he should be able to wear it soon. (plus it is way too hot to be wearing sweaters these days! I knit it out of a nice soft organic cotton by Sublime. I lovely yarn.

Needle Felted Play Scape

One evening last week while Brandon was working late I got inspired to do some needle felting. I have never made anything this big before. It was so much fun!!! I don't think that it is quite done yet but close. I played with it with a four year old and she loved it, so at least I know it "works". Now I need to make some animals and gnomes to go with it. Maybe a fire pit would be nice too. I originally wanted to make a tree or stump of some sort so that may be added as well. Needle felting is so much fun. I love the freedom of creating a piece like this, you can let your imagination and intuition take you!

Felt Food

Over the last few weeks I've been slowly filling an order for a friend for felt food for her son!!! And I have finally finished with it! I am satisfied with it and hope that they love it and get good use out of it! It is so fun to learn how to make new things! That is one of the best things about making crafts is trying new things!


I look forward to making more fruit and veggies for my nieces and our own baby!!!!

Garden is Alive!!!

With the arrival of spring our garden has come alive!! The flax flowers are in full bloom. They are the sweet blue ones all of the yard. The iris have bloomed much better than last year and the poppies that I transplanted from school last spring have multiplied and bloomed! I love this time of year when the earth wakes up and says "YES"!
Hope you are having a wonderful spring!

Owl

I just made my first needle felted animal from the book Wool Pets!!! (thanks for the book Sofie)!!! I loved it!! The directions were clear and easy to follow! I can't wait to make the next one. I think I'll make something for my dad. I sat him down with a copy of the book when we went to a yarn shop together over winter break and he really liked it. So after some other projects are finished I think I'll pick something out to make for him.
This little owl went to my friend Ellen who due with her third child. They made an animal mobile for the baby at her baby blessing! I couldn't be there as it was too much traveling to late in my pregnancy!

Apron (that doesn't fit...yet)

I found the pattern to this apron last year some time in a sweet book called "Maryjane's ideabook, cookbook, lifebook, for the farm girl in all of us" by MaryJane Butters. She has a couple of other books published which also have lots of great ideas and are fun to look at. In a spurt of inspiration two weekends ago when my mom was visiting and we were working on some sewing projects I cut out the pattern and pulled a bundle of fabric off the shelf (some fabric that I bought in Syracuse, NY and had thought would make a sweet apron) and cut out the apron. I did as much as I could on the apron then promptly made a sewing lesson, at the local quilting shop, for sewing on binding. I have never sewn on binding with a machine! So this past Tuesday I had my lesson and learned a few techniques and tricks. All week I worked at it a little at a time. I used my seam ripper a lot but finally towards the end started to get the hang of it, I guess practice brings us closer to "perfection". Not that I'm striving to be perfect, I want it to look nice though! So now the apron is done, hand sewn button holes in place and vintage buttons, with bling attached, from my Grandma Cowley's button bin are sewn on and the apron is ready to go (after a gentle washing) but the catch is it doesn't fit me!!! My belly just sticks out too far these days, so this will be something to look forward to wearing after the baby comes. I think it will suit the summer months perfectly!

Little Red Cottage

So I have been thinking of changing the name of my blog to Red Cottage Crafts or Little Red Cottage Crafts or something else, Link Creations lacks a little pizazz or something and doesn't seem quite right. I haven't given this name change a lot of thought but some and am still pondering it. We live in a quite nice cute little red cottage and it seems kind of fitting, but we wont live here forever. I also like the word Morningside for using as a label for my toy creations but have never actually put it to use. Maybe I will soon.

Knitted Horse!!

I recently made two horses like this one. I used Sprout yarn by Classic Elite Yarns. It is 100% organic cotton!! And oh so soft! I enjoyed knitting with, it has a nice kink to it and made a lovely color for a horse. It reminded me of my horse Scooter that I used to ride in high school. So now I have a toy for my baby and Milo has one to play with too! Happy Birthday Milo! (very late, not that you really know:)

My other knitting project in process is a sweater for our baby. I am a bit stuck on it, mentally but hope to make at least a little progress tonight at craft night with the ladies. It is a simple pattern and a sweet sweater, I have never made anything like it, maybe that is why I am hesitating, I don't want to fail... not sure. At the same time I know I can do it and I know that I can get help if I get stuck on the pattern. The joys of being a Libra

Bibs done!

I finally finished the bibs!! Actually I have one left but am waiting to buy some red thread... I put Brandon to work this weekend helping me turn the bibs right side out again after I trimmed them! It's nice to have someone to work with from time to time. I seem to usually do everything by myself!!! These bibs were so fun to make I will probably make some more eventually as it's easy and a good way to use some of those lovely prints from my stash. Plus they make good gifts! I love this simple pattern that I found online!!!
I have really been enjoying sewing lately. There is such satisfaction in sewing! I love how quickly you can complete projects when you use a sewing machine!!!

A sewing frenzy

With Brandon off in Burns for five weeks I am trying to make the most of my bachelorette days!!! So I have been among other things sewing!!! I snuck off from my parents house with a stash of material that I had left years ago and also some fabric my mom was never going to use!!! What joy!!! A whole new supply of goodies for free!! I also got take my mom's sewing machine which has the zigzag stitch on it. I have my grandma's old machine which is great, a good old solid machine which only goes back and forth. So I took my mom's machine to get tuned up and oiled!!! I think it has been a long..............time since it has been serviced. I am pretty excited to try it out when it comes back, I haven't sewn on it for many years!
Well, I washed all the material that I had absconded with then I had a big fat ironing party, ironing can be sew relaxing, and before I knew it I was cutting a pinning fabric. I ended up pinning two blankets and a burp cloth and cutting out about 10 bibs!!!
The next day I got down to some straight forward sewing and sewed one of the blankets, the burp cloth, a baby towel I had started a while back, and one of the bibs! I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to finishing the rest of the projects. And when I get my mom's machine back I have some old tee shirts cut up to sew into baby pants!!!

Pink Knot Baby for a little girl

 

 

I finally finished one knot doll!!! This is a gift for baby Morin who is due any day!!! I had so much fun making this little baby, knowing she would be going to such a great home and family. I made her bonnet out of a felted sweater and her blanket out of a felted skirt or jacket!!! Fun stuff. Isn't it great making things?!

Grandma's and their babies!

 

I'm finally home and back at it after ten days away!! Brandon and I actually had a vacation together this spring! we had a sweet time visiting friends and family!! We had a tour de bebe!!! from Aurora to Seattle!!! It was great to see everyone and to have some many great connections. It was eye opening to see all these different babies, families and parenting styles, gave us a lot to think about!!!
Spring Break started with a bang this year!!! I got together with friends and family for a baby shower for our baby!!! Sofie and Milo came from Califronai and John (my brother), Jill and Emelina came from Vancouver BC!!! So Sofie's mom (Betsy) and my mom (Patti) were mom's at the same time now they have grandbabies at the same time. It was pretty cool to see them together!!!

Shelves!!!!

This past weekend my older brother came down for a visit and we built some shelves together for my craft/baby room which is in the throes of transformation. And I love the transformation that took place this weekend. We bought some furniture for baby storage from IKEA and Jason and I built these great corner shelves, which, miraculously all my craft supplies fit on, minus a very few very oddly shaped things!!!!




I am loving getting my supplies organized and arranged so that even after the baby comes I can do my work when there is a spare moment and don't have to go hunting for supplies!!!


Have I mentioned that I am glad spring is on it's way??? Well it is!! Last week we were having our second winter and now the Crocus are up and blooming and the Tulips and Daffodils are sticking their heads out of the thawing ground!!!

Plant dyed felt

I got this wool from a friend of mine here in Klamath Falls who raises Border Collies and needs sheep to train his dogs:). So he gives me wool when I want it. It is Coopsworth. Not a very fine wool but a good long fiber, good for beginning spinning... I enjoy working with it. This is from wool that I dyed last summer and carded this fall on my new drum carder, there is a picture in an older post. I made this felt in my bathroom using a big bamboo blind and hot water from the tap and the stove. It was quite fun making it, and not too hard. Although with my pregnant belly it made leaning over the tub a bit uncomfortable and my hips got a little achy. I am thinking that these sheets of felt will turn into some kind of baby toy for my baby!!

Nesting Instincts

 
 
Here are two photos of some projects I made for holiday gifts. The Blueberry pancakes and eggs were for a friend to give to her daughter and the cats were for my parents who are new grandparents! I figured they needed some toys at their house for the grandchildren to play with!!!














This past weekend I took nearly all of my crafting supplies out of the little yellow room (as I call it) and deposited them in the living room to make room for some new furniture to house baby clothing and accoutrement's!!! Wow!! It's pretty exciting to be getting so ready for this baby. My brother Jason is coming down from Portland this weekend to help me build some shelves in "the little yellow room" so I can put all my crafting supplies back in there but with them taking up less space and being more organized.
I am thankful for the nesting instincts that have been settling into me and for the opportunity I have for organizing my house!! Thanks Baby!!