belle epoque

I’m still here! I haven’t had the other baby super early or anything, I’ve been knitting obsessively. It must be an hormonal thing– I just can’t stop. I have a painstakingly made Waldorf rag doll finished for HMB and she is totally nakey because I just keep knitting and don’t make time to sew her tiny little clothes.

Anyway, I’ll show you what I’ve got– first what I’ve made for Twosie (second baby), the adorable Stella Pixie Hat from Vintage Knits

and Saartje’s Bootees to match

And of course HMB couldn’t be left out of the knitting action and got a little vest

Which she modeled for me while saying “cheese”, though it looks like she is growling

I’m still obsessively knitting– nearly finished with a somewhat full complement of vegetables from Amigurumi Knits for HMB’s Christmas gift. I’ve just got the garlic left to go… I’ll show you those guys when they’re done, and then hopefully I’ll be able to dress the poor cold rag doll and show her off too.

This one has been popping up all over the crafty interwebs, and I was so excited to get my hot little hands on it!

Hand-Stitched Felt by Kata Golda.

These projects are all so charming and simple. I think they would be terrific not only as gifts for children (and grown-ups who appreciate the sweet), but also as first sewing projects for a child who is ready to hold a needle and thread. They are all the more darling for any mistakes or imperfections, and utterly satisfying and frustration-free to stitch together. I made three of the sweet finger puppets that are featured on the book jacket

They took almost no time to make–just a few snips and a few stitches, then instant gratification! I’ll also be making a little “bed” for them so I can roll them up together and pop them in HMB’s stocking for Christmas…

As promised, another look at a great craft book you might either like for a gift, or use to make gifts for people on your holiday list! Knowing that I’ve been on a bit of a knitting bender, my lovely friend Natalie passed along Amigurumi Knits by Hansi Singh

I’ve been impressed and intimidated by amigurumi crochet– it is all adorable but I’m sure it would drive me totally insane to try to do it (see my previous post regarding an inability to figure out where a round begins or exactly where to stick my hook in the last one). The knits in this book, on the other hand, were instantly appealing. I love working with double pointed needles, and the photographs that illustrate the various techniques for increases, bind-offs, cast-ons etc used in these projects are FANTASTIC. The author also did a great job knowing which steps of the projects to illustrate with a photograph, which in my opinion can really make or break a craft book– often things that make sense if someone shows them to you make no sense at all written in words. This book does a great job of showing you what you need to see when words alone aren’t enough.

How do I know this? I made her adorable knitted tomato and found it utterly addictive

I did not have the right type of yarn for the stem and leaves, so I ended up with a slightly wacky variety of heirloom tomato, but I just love it. You can’t really tell in 2-D how truly tomato-shaped it is, and how fun it is to squeeze. I plan to make a whole vegetable basket for HMB for Christmas with the other totally cute veggie patterns– an eggplant, peapod, carrot, cucumber and head of garlic! And perhaps a child-sized crocheted market bag to carry them in if I have the time.

Not knowing much about amigurumi, I’m not sure if its origins are in children’s toys or purely adult love of kawaii, but the author’s bio suggests that she started her knit amigurumi as toys for her son. Every project in this book would make a terrific child’s toy. I know the title Cool Knitted Toys probably wouldn’t appeal as much to childless crafters as Amigurumi does, though! But I have the sense that some of the projects in this book would please one of the hardest child demographics– the precocious and clever tween boy. Vis:

A jackelope, giant squid or loch ness monster? Definitely cool enough to display openly in your room, and perhaps secretly cuddle when no one is looking…

Craft books are often at the top of my Christmas wish list. I’ve been spoiled enough to have several lovely ones put into my hot little hands lately, so I figured I’d do a series of posts about them, in case you need a little something to add to your holiday list! I always like to actually complete a project from a book before posting about it, since that is the best way to gauge how really good the book is, but if I tried to do that I think I’d never get all the posts up before the holidays, so some will be with-project and some will be without.

The first one I want to tell you about is one I have been dying to get my hands on. A lovely friend passed along a copy of Linda’s beautiful book Crochet Adorned, and I jumped right in.

Crochet is another one of those things that I learned at my mother’s knee when I was small and home sick from school. Despite years of practice, I can never really remember all the different stitches or where exactly to join a round with a slip stitch. So I was very grateful that Linda’s book does not assume prior knowledge, but gently and thoroughly explains all you’ll need to know to do the projects — with excellent illustrations besides. The instructions and stitch charts for each project are very easy to read, and in addition to the beautiful projects, she includes an amazing compendium of patterns at the back of the book. I’m particularly intrigued by the daffodil pattern, and if I had the right weight and colors of crochet cotton I would make a teeny weeny one to put on a hair clip for HMB (which would be immediately pulled out and tossed, but it is the thought that counts, yes?).

Anyway, since I did want to do a project before posting, but also wanted to post right away, I chose a small but lovely one– the Dainty Earrings. I did not use the crochet cotton called for by the pattern, as I was in a rush and grabbed what I had, but was so happy with the outcome nonetheless! And so quick–the crocheted part was completed in the 30 minutes between my waking up and HMB calling me to come get her this morning.

They are like glittery snowflakes, and I adore them. I did spray them with stiffener once I was done, as I think the larger thread makes them floppier than they would have been if I’d used the specified thread.

I am itching to try some of the more advanced projects, and as I’ve *already* begun to think about my post-baby wardrobe (SO tired of wearing either maternity/nursing clothes, which I’ve calculated I’ll be in/have been in for at least 3 years before I’m done), I think I might just go ahead and get started on the Floral Motif Yoke Top, which I’ve wanted to make since Linda posted her original version at least a year or two before the book ever came out!

Anyway, if you haven’t already added it to your wish list, I wholeheartedly recommend this one. Even if you don’t think you are a crochet sort of person, this is just the book to really inspire you to give it a go!

In addition to knitting as a great activity to do while lounging in bed and watching trashy TV, I do adore embroidery. It was one of the first crafts I learned from my mom when I was home sick from school as a child. She bought me beautiful little flower samplers from Woolworth’s (oh how I miss Woolworth’s, source of all my early craft supplies!) and taught me the satin stitch, split stitch and french knot so I could spend hours stitching away. I’m planning to make sure I have plenty of patterns transferred onto fabric or dish towels before the new baby comes, so I’ll have lots of projects I can just pick up and work on despite my machine-sewing space being otherwise engaged. Many of those patterns will be Hillary Lang’s wonderful Stitchettes, which I was always quick to snap up as soon as they came out so I wouldn’t miss any. I most recently finished her Quilting Bee Stitchette, with the vague notion of painting an embroidery hoop in a nice turquoise to use as a frame for hanging it on the wall.

Lucky for anyone who did miss a few Stitchettes, Hillary has just made them all available as PDFs!

I’m sorry to be posting this so much later than I heard about it, but I’ve been on a knitting binge– as it is a craft I can do while I lie in bed, watching shows on Hulu or Netflix while HMB naps (I’m a lazy sort of pregnant lady). Anyway, the wonderful folks over at Melanie Falick Books are offering a TON of really great patterns from their beautiful books *for free* over on their website. Go check it out! Some of my very favorite craft books are from this publisher(promise, I don’t work for them!), and the patterns they’re offering for free are great, for sewing, knitting, hand printing and more. I’ve already made this one with a few changes

and I’m working on this one. I actually own Vintage Baby Knits and couldn’t recommend it more–the patterns are charming and at the least the ones I’ve tried are cleverly constructed and pretty quick and easy for patterns that call for small yarns and needles. And I’m *not* a great, patient or detail-oriented knitter.