Marsbarn Designs...

Those things that get done when I should probably be doing something else.

When Big E and I had our fabulous 28 hour vacation in January, I bought yarn and needles for a baby bonnet project I'd seen on Sew Liberated.

 

It was one of those projects that called to me.

It said, "You shall find the perfect, soft, luscious red yarn and you will make me."

And I said, "Well, I don't  have anything else going on, so why the heck not?"

What is unusual about this (talking projects is part of my daily norm) is that I actually knit that puppy up without getting unduly distracted by any passing shiny objects.  I even made progress on my "Real" projects.

 

The yarn is a cotton/bamboo mix, that is supposed to be machine washable. It's soft and squishy, and that beautiful color of red that my camera absolutely refuses to photograph well.  I phoned in the gauge swatch, so the final hat is larger than it ought to be.  I didn't have a size appropriate model, so I used a stand in.

 I can only hope the recipient's trunk is set off half so well.

Hat-trick

So here it is. The last of my trio of chapeau. My hat-trick is complete.

This is Sweetheart G's crocheted cloche, made following the same pattern as Little e's. (Oh I love a project that can be completed in an evening and loved so tremendously.)  

I used a "hand painted" style washable wool made by Cascade.  I love the colors.  Sweet G loves the hat, and looks lovely in it, but I am not in love with the pattern.  It is a bit too bucket-y and not quite cloche-y enough.  It has a habit of poofing up on Sweet G's noggin, instead of setting flush.  If I make more of these, I'll have to play more with the increases or just find a better method.  

Still, one evenings effort inspiring so much joy is a pretty sweet deal. (She's been wearing it so non-stop that I haven't had a chance to weave in the ends, thus the trailing bit of yarn.)

Chapeau ala Jimbo

My father in law has always been fascinated by spinning and weaving.  One of his "when I retire" plans was to take the time and learn.  He's been retired about a year, and just before Christmas he handed me his first three balls of hand spun yarn with a request to make him a hat.

So I present to you a chapeau made from Papa Js own spindle spun yarn.

The hat is warm, thick, and snuggily soft.

I finished this up last week (before the sweater makin' bug bit), and as I worked  I constantly marveled that this was the first yarn he'd ever spun. It was lovely stuff to work with!

Addendum to yesterday's post

I guess a direct link to the actual sweater might be nice.

The sweater I was talking about yesterday is Amelia from Knitty.

with friends like these...

I have this friend.

She knits sweaters 

at the speed that I make dice bags.

Seriously.

She is like a knitting goddess.

She makes it look so easy, and rewarding, and... oh...

she makes me want to knit sweaters.

But.

Sweaters scare me.

Buying more than one skein of yarn in a single color scares me.

Buying more than a half dozen skeins of yarn terrifies me.

Really.

What if one arm ends up longer than the other?

Or if it makes me look like a marshmallow, 

a giant mint marshmallow?

Or I never make the sweater and the yarn sits there and mocks me until my adult children find it and make snide comments about how totally out of date the color is... 

It is an awesome responsibility.  

And then my friend posted 

about her current project;

a sweater that's not boring and not too difficult

a sweater that will suit many different bodies

(probably even mine)

a sweater using an inexpensive yarn I know and am not intimidated by.

It is a Gateway Sweater, 

sure to lead to other more expensive, dangerous sweaters.

Do I need to mention that the girls and I just returned from a lovely walk to the yarn store?

Because not all of my time has been spent sewing.

Ever done this?

Buy pattern while on vacation.

Buy yarn,

not the yarn recommended by pattern because that yarn only has yucky colors.

Make a point of not buying crochet hook for project, because you are sure you have that size at home and you've now decided to economize (after buying yarn and pattern).

Get back to the hotel and realize that you can't work on the knitting project you brought because your 4th double pointed needle was mysteriously left at home.

Curse yourself for not buying the $4 crochet hook.

Spend the rest of the evening listlessly flipping through the hotel cable channels.

Get home and realize, no you don't have that size hook after all.

Curse yourself further for not buying the $4 hook.

Decide that the yarn you bought is actually skinnier than the recommended yarn, so you decide to wing it with a smaller hook you have on hand.

Whip the hat up in an evening, and then impatiently wait for morning to come to see if the hat will fit smallest child, or if more cursing will be necessary before going to the store to buy the correct sized hook.

BUT huzzah! The hat fits!  Smallest child LOVES it, and whooosh the hat soars out into the world to live a happy, colorful life...

 

Science of being Little e

Little e wore her leg warmers today. They survived outdoor play, including tree climbing without unwanted slumping! (They are the same length, despite appearances otherwise.) A pair for Sweetheart G is currently on the needles.

Last night the topic of molecules came up during dinner. After a very brief explanation (they are the teeny, tiny bits that make up everything around you), Little e grasped the general idea... with some desire to test it out.

Little e: What about the table?
h.: Yes the table is made of molecules.
Little e: My shirt?
h.: Yes.
Little e: This plate? This spoon? The napkin?
h.: Yes, yes, yes.
A pause for the dramatic effect of the 5 year old....
Little e:What about my BUTT??
h.: Yes dear, your butt is made from molecules as well.
Little e: Oh... Okay.

bits of this and that

The girls don't have school tomorrow. Its the second of those teacher planning/ inservice days this month. I worked in the yard planting bulbs for the spring, and spent twenty minutes pulling out grass around one of our blueberries. The leg warmers are done, and I've been sewing away on the crowns (25 done, 10ish? in progress). I am going to skip Ugly Betty tonight and continue to work on my project pile. Right now I am contemplating apple cider versus hot chocolate. Oh, and I picked up something wet and yucky on the knee of my jeans while planting the crocus bulbs (its not poop but it might be in the worm/slug area of yuck).

Hey, I DO still knit!

Little e wears dresses. In a pinch (like its laundry time and there's no other choice), she'll wear a skirt, but I'll get an earful about how a dress would really be better. She has nightmares about having to wear pants (without a dress on top).
As the weather continues to cool, I thought some legwarmers might be a nice addition to this one sided wardrobe. These are made from Cascade Fixation, and have been a cinch to make up. The knit is spongy and soft, and should wash up well. If these wear as well as I hope, I could well be making a selection of them for the girl. As a bonus, they fit me perfectly as arm warmers, so if she doesn't like them I can keep them for me! Pretty much a win-win, I'd say.

Cunning, eh?

Whatcha doing?

What's that?

Oh, wait.. is that one of those gadgets you buy, tuck away for an incubation period, and then pull out for crafty chaos.. I mean goodness?

That's one of those things Clover makes.. you know the spendy neat-o things with the great engineering, but lousy directions... Clover's a Japanese company, so you know it's got to be cool. Except.. wait.. that's not a... good lord woman! That's a pom-pom maker!

Gah! What in the world are you going to do with that?! No. Don't point that thing at me! Pom-poms are dangerous! They are kin to dust bunnies, polyester leisure suits, and.. oh wait. What's That?!

You made a Jayne hat. With earflaps and a pom-pom on top. What? You're thinking about making them for everyone on your Christmas list? Aaaahh! Nothing is safe...