A little of this and that

The crafty gifts continued to come in last weekend - check out this adorable sheepy yarn bowl that my step kids gave me for my birthday. It is adorable, and so are they :) We'd spent last weekend together in San Antonio, Texas, at a family wedding. It was a really fun weekend and good to have that time together.

With some of my big work projects going live this last week I've been able to pick up the knitting needles again. First I pulled this hexagon blanket out of the WIP pile. According to my ravelry notes, I started this one back in 2009. Yikes! Its amazing to me that it has been 'in progress' for that amount of time (where 'in progress' primarily means sat on a shelf and awaiting some attention!) I'd also finished the first pink pop sock, and now onto the next... about to turn the heel and then on the home stretch. Really pleased with these. Look how lusciously soft this yarn looks all knit up. Yesterday I was also playing around with some liberty fabric squares. I am thinking of making these into a cushion cover. Loving the pinks and purples. And last but not least, I received this thank you card in the mail for the Bertie's Blanket sock yarn blanket. Thank you again for all your help with these hospice blankets. The recipient was Porter Hospice in Littleton, Colorado.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely long weekend. Mine started with a day trip down to Colorado Springs, visiting Garden of the Gods and taking a ride up Pike's Peak on the Cog Railroad. For the rest of the weekend I am taking it easy and I'm thinking that also means craft time :)

Wishing you a great weekend,
Sam xxx

Feel good projects

Instant gratification has been the name of the game over here.
One of my (many) quirks is that I like to feel productive, or that I have achieved something each day. If that isn't happening elsewhere then I look to my crafts to meet that need... and it has been meeting that need these last few weeks, with a stream of small, instant gratification, feel-good projects:





First up is a fabric storage bucket that is perfect for a knitted sock project, or other small portable project. This bucket uses some cute bunting fabric that I picked up on my last trip to the UK, together with the hot pink mochi dot linen fabric for the inside. I followed the instructions for the small fabric bin from the birch blog. The only mod was using batting instead of interfacing. I highly recommend this project if you are looking for some super cute storage bins.



Next up, Joe asked if I would make a something to carry his glasses in, instead of the bulky hard case. I had to dig around for some manly fabric from my stash, and I think the brown and olive Kaffe Fassett fabrics fit the bill. No real pattern on these - just a simple pouch that I quilted to add a little protection. I love how this has a wood grain vibe to it.





The next few items are for an end of season soccer celebration. There are these lovely headbands using the directions from alice and lois. These are ridiculously simple to make, and extremely comfortable to wear. We made a batch for the soccer girls using a selection of fun fabric scraps.



I also received some amazing crafty goodies from my brother and sister for my birthday last week: These fabulous sock knitting needles from my brother (who has coined them the 'Ferrari of knitting needles'). I hope to take them for a spin this weekend.



And my sister sent me this gorgeous bundle of Liberty fabrics. Droool! So as my Uncle often told me: Cast your bread upon the water and it will be returned tenfold. That certainly seems to be the case this week.

Wishing you all a happy mother's day. Love, Sam xxx