felted wool animals

I'd been saving up some old wool sweaters for just this very thing...felting them (washing and drying on hot) and making this cute little wooly lamb I'd seen awhile back in one of my holiday Martha magazines.  This year was finally the year to try it out and I have to say that I love sewing up old sweaters.  It's really fun!  They don't look like much as you're going, but once you turn them right-side out at the very end, its like magic!!!  After I made my first periwinkle cable knit lamb, I altered the pattern to try to make a little deer just by switching up the tail and ears. (That pattern could still use some tweaking!)  Then I added some french knots made out of yarn to the deer and a tiny hand knitted scarf to the lamb.  With lots of babies in our family and friends having babies, I can't wait to make up more of these cute little creatures to have on hand for gifts.  I have so many more ideas and sweaters waiting to be sewn!  Happy crafting!  :)

making lately...

 Last week I finished up a pair of large (about 3" tall) custom birdy wedding cake toppers for a wedding this Saturday.  And before that, a tiny knitted pouch for a sweet little niece of mine who recently turned 7.  Its almost coin purse-sized, but I managed to find a little tin of Hello Kitty lip gloss to tuck inside.  

While my LillyBonBon shop has been dormant all summer, I'm still trying to squeeze in some creating here and there when I have a moment.  In this busy time of life, it feels so good and calming to continue to make things with my hands when I have a chance.  So what's next?  I have soo many ideas, just need more time!

tiny cardigan...

As I talked about in a previous post, I finished my knitted cardigan for our soon-to-arrive baby! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It is so tiny & soft & cozy! I love the book this pattern came from and only wish my hands weren't so bad so I could knit a matching hat and/or socks with the remaining yarn. Unfortunately, in these last few weeks of pregnancy I've been having trouble with numbness/carpal tunnel syndrome which has rendered me pretty useless now when it comes to doing what I love...using my hands to create things. It is forcing me to take things easier though which I guess is a good thing! Typing is right up there with knitting in the "things I probably shouldn't be doing" category so blogging is pretty much out for now too, I guess. Hoping this baby comes soon and my hands return to normal as well!

little handmade gifts

Springtime always brings many birthdays and such for me. This year, I decided to give a few handmade touches to some of my gifts. Here're a few recent ones...

This little knitted birdy, made using the same pattern I followed for my bird mobile, was modified a bit into a lady-like sachet by incorporating lavendar into the fill as well.

Another little crafty gift with a springtime touch, a paper butterfly garland.

Pretty simple to put together, this garland was constructed using a punch, pretty papers in pale pinks, greens, creams, and my sewing machine. I wrapped it around sturdy pieces of cardstock glued and stitched together with other little embellishments.

And lastly, little wool felt zipper pouches that I had seen the tutorial for on this fun, inspiring blog last year. They are rather addicting to make, being that you can use up little bits and things to embellish each one however you'd like. I used random colored zippers I'd found at my local thrift shop, vintage seambinding to top off the zipper pulls, and wool felt scraps that I had on hand. To embellish them I used buttons, fabric, flowers, and a bit of embroidery.

They are so fun to make in fact that I think I'll have to make a few more... Now that I've finished my big (little baby) sweater project! (Photos of that to come soon, hopefully!)
Happy crafting! ~L

knitted bird mobile...

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'd been working on a knitted bird mobile. We finally hung it up last week when we were putting the finishing touches on the baby's room. It is so exciting and fun to put together a completely new room, for someone you have yet to meet! Very crazy... But back to the mobile...I'm perhaps not totally done or satisfied with it...but for now I am. I just used whatever yarns I had on hand and couldn't make it distinctly boy or girlish so it just is what it is for now! Sometimes things turn out better than others...I got the idea for this mobile when last year (before Christmas I think) I came across this adorable pattern for knitted birdy ornaments. Instead of ornaments I thought they'd be cute to make a bunch for a mobile! I wrapped two wooden dowels with yarn (like branches) and added my own made-up pattern for knitted leaves at the end of each. The hardest part? Figuring out how to get everything just so in order for it to hang properly. That's why I'm not touching it for awhile! But if we have a girl, I can imagine adding some ribbons/flowers around the birdy necks, maybe changing out some of the birds to be more girl or boy-oriented, softer colors...hmm?...we'll see!

"by-the-book" knitting...

I thought I had hung up my knitting needles for awhile, especially after knitting several pairs of booties/socks and making a knitted mobile (photos still to come, once it's finally hung!). I thought I was good on knitting for quite awhile...But then the other day the urge to knit something totally different, natural, really special for the baby hit me big time. So I knew this called for a trip to our little local yarn shop...where yesterday, I spent a good chunk of time perusing knitting books, feeling all the pretty yarns, and asking oodles of questions. I wanted to do things "by the book" for once, literally. Once I found just the kind of knitting book I'd had in mind...something not too complex, with simple & lovely designs, many patterns of which I'd like to try (not just 1 or 2 as in some books), and not to mention just plain gorgeous photos to look at...then I began to search for some very nice natural yarns that the book called for. This is where the lady working there came in so handy again, helping me to find the right weight & types of yarn for the projects. (She also happened to be knitting a pair of socks ~2 socks!!!~at the same time on a circular needle...I was impressed! and felt awful for having to keep interrupting her because I know how it is when I knit...but of course she was kind and said that she only works on projects at work that are simple for her where she can easily be interrupted...doubly impressed then!) Usually I don't pay any attention to gauges or specific kinds of yarns a project may call for...I just wing it, using what I like or happen to have on hand, and see what happens!

So this time I feel a little more "grown-up" in my knitting. Which is kind of exciting... I'm starting to work on this classic cardigan (above) for baby, using this delicious, cream colored, pima cotton/silk yarn that feels so nice to work with. Wish me luck!

P.S. This reminds me... I've received some lovely handmade knitted and crocheted baby gifts...I'll have to put them all together in a post soon!

knitted socks...

Lately I've been knitting little tiny things...like these baby socks/booties (in the most neutral of colors, of course). For the brown pair (left), I followed this pattern and for the other pairs, I loosely followed this pattern (also done here first).

I like experimenting with different sized needles and different yarns to see how they turn out. The middle pair is oh soo tiny and a bit odd in color because they were made with some leftover striping yarn that I had used to make these below...

If I were smart, I would have started knitting tiny socks like those above first, before attempting to knit a pair of socks for myself. I finally finished this pair a month or so ago, after a good year (and then some) of working on them here & there. They were tedious to make, but they fit perfectly...and after all that work, I'm just thankful for that!

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P.S. Speaking of The Purl Bee, check out their latest post of so many pretty Spring projects to make!

raspberry pink...

...baby booties for a precious new niece!

These were fairly quick to knit and I very loosely followed this cute pattern from The Purl Bee.
Much easier than the pair of socks I'm still trying to finish for myself. It is sooo cold here today, if only I could knit a pair of cozy booties like this for myself! ;)

a different sort of Christmas {+ some BIG news!}

{mum's windowsill...lined with some sweet, vintage-y things}

{many of the little ones playing a game with a couple of the uncles}
{a package for my brother and sister-in-law...my tag says "Wishing you a very Merry (vintage) Christmas!"...Oddly enough we both gave each other vintage things for Christmas...I'll have to take a photo of what they gave us later...so incredibly cute that it deserves its own post!}
{knitted fingerless mittens I made for my mother-in-law}

{baking Pecan Mandelbrot, similar to biscotti, which turned out to be quite a hit}

{I found the recipe in my Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook, also available online here}

{packaging the Pecan Mandelbrot...you really can't go wrong with a Martha recipe & Martha packaging supplies!}
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Another Christmas season has past, but before I file this one away in my memory, a few photos of scenes from my Christmas spent with family, some things I made for gifts, and some other ponderings on this recent holiday...

It really was a bit of a different Christmas season for me this year. To start with, we decided not to get a tree. The first time we didn’t get a tree in 8 years of marriage. Which felt a little odd to us at first. We felt like we were letting Pappy (our favorite tree-seller man) down just a bit. Also, Hub and I decided not to exchange gifts with each other either (although he cheated on this little pact quite a bit!). I also (gasp!) didn’t send out any Christmas cards this year. Now, I may be sounding a bit bah-humbug at this point…but there is something to be said for trying to simplify an already crazy, stressful time of year. I truly think one of the main reasons we really skipped the tree as well as exchanging gifts this year was the blessing of some very special news…we will be having our first baby in June! A true miracle and blessing which pretty much makes everything else pale in comparison right now. Lugging out the tree decorations and spending money on material things neither of us really need seemed a bit, well, less than exciting compared to our very exciting news this year. All I really want to think about is what this baby will be like, what things I could knit for the baby, how we should decorate the nursery, and give my body some rest from this stressful season for a year. However I did bake a couple batches of Christmas cookies. And I did put up my favorite little vintage village along with decorating the mantel and a few other special touches to make the house feel a bit Christmas-y. And I even attempted to make caramels again this year. My first attempt at them last Christmas had gone so well. They were delicious! This year, however, different story. For some reason I had 2 caramel recipes…one in a magazine and one printed out from the Internet. The printed out one was folded in half and stuck in the magazine by the other recipe. Hmm…which one did I use last year? I couldn’t recall for certain but I was pretty sure it had to be the printed out one that used about half of the ingredients as the other one. But the magazine recipe had far more detailed instructions. So, in my (pregnant) mind, I logically thought, I’ll use the ingredients from the printed out recipe but follow the magazine’s instructions! Brilliant, right!? Not right. After about 8 minutes of boiling the ingredients on high heat, I started to smell a bit of a burnt, marshmallow sort of smell. OH no! I had completely ruined the caramels! The pan was entirely burnt on the bottom and the burnt bits were mixing in with the bubbling caramel mixture. I still threw in the vanilla extract at the end, hoping that might magically rectify the situation...somehow. Hub came into the kitchen at that time and I told him what I had done. I’m pretty sure he made a couple “blonde jokes” and asked what I was thinking. Who follows the ingredients from one recipe but the instructions from a different one? Who does that sort of thing? A pregnant woman is all I can guess. I don't know? It seemed so logical at the time.

So the next day I got back in the kitchen again and made a new-to-me recipe, Pecan Mandelbrot. A crumbly sort of bread-like cookie, similar to biscotti. This went much better than the caramels... so I think I'll stick with the Mandelbrot next year!

Hope your Christmas season was merry!

xo~L

Knitted "Snowball" Garland {Project 3}

Knitted "Snowball" Garland {Project 3}

I don't know what it is about yarn and knitting projects that always evokes a cozy, warm feeling in me. That must be why I do most of my knitting when it is chilly out! This final project requires some basic knitting skills and just a few moments during some chilly evenings to whip up as many of these little knitted balls (or "snowballs") as you desire. This knitted garland will add a layer of warmth to your home or can be used in many other ways too such as trimming a gift, or giving as a gift!

{gather}

~yarn (any colors of your choosing)

~knitting needles (I used size 8)

~tapestry needle

~scissors

{make}

(Refer to photos above for each step below.)

1. How to knit a ball: Row 1 - Cast on 3 stitches. Row 2 - Knit into front and back of the first 2 stitches, knit 1. Row 3 - Purl 5. Row 4 - Knit 3 stitches, knit into front & back of last 2 stitches. Row 5 - Purl 7. Row 6 - Knit 2 together, knit 3, knit 2 together. Row 7 - Purl 5. Row 8 - Knit 2 together, knit 1, knit 2 together. Row 9 - Slip 1 stitch purl-wise, purl 2 together, pass slipped stitch over. Cut yarn (leave approx. 6" tail) and slip tail through last stitch to secure.

2. This is what your knitting piece will look like at this point.

3. Thread the tail onto the tapestry needle and with the wrong side facing you, weave the yarn in and out around the outer edges of the circle until you end up back where you started.

4. Stuff the center of the circle with some scrap yarn to make the ball more full and as you hold it in place, pull on the tail to form the ball.

5. Tie both tails together in a knot to secure the ball.

6. Thread each tail onto the tapestry needle and pull back through the ball and snip off remaining ends to hide.

7. This is what your finished knitted ball will look like.

8. Repeat above steps to create as many "snowballs" as desired for your garland. Then, thread a tapestry needle with yarn and pull through the center of each ball to create the garland, spreading them apart as much as you prefer. Obviously this project can be tailored to whatever color yarns you prefer or string, twine, ribbon to make the garland.

Thanks for joining along in my 2010 series of Christmas projects!

More soon!

~L

good things about winter

Enjoying the beauty of the first big snow of the season... The snow began Saturday morning and was so sticky that it clung to the tree limbs and even the tree trunks, the branches sagging under the heavy weight of white. Normally these thickly coated limbs wouldn't stay this way for long, the snow eventually sliding off and giving way. But even today everything is still cloaked in white. And it is so pretty to look at. Another good thing, feeding the sweet little Chickadees by hand... It's always a bit magical when the first one comes to perch upon my hand, feeling almost weightless...this tiny connection to nature.

Some are hesitant, flitting nearby, while others are bold and happily sit upon my hand.

And the last good thing...more time to stay snug inside, knitting!

Just in time before the snow fell, I finished these cozy gray fingerless gloves.

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Update: Per request, here is the link to the pattern I used for these fingerless gloves. I loosely followed this pattern and made them a bit longer so they'd go up my arm further. It's a pretty quick and simple pattern to follow! :)

shades and thoughts {feeling Fall}

{edges curled...amber Maple leaf}

{my blueberry bushes...now lovely shades of burgundy, bright red, & orange}
{tangle of a Clematis that never bloomed this summer...but is turning a pretty plum purple}{sea of Sedum...my 'Vera Jameson' thriving in the cool weather, the butterflies love it...doesn't this one almost look like it has eyes?}

{lavender Aster...the last of summer's wildflowers}

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Our Maple is beginning to turn. My neighbor plucked an amber-colored leaf from it the other day to show me as she stopped by for a visit. Today, I broke out the space heater. Pulled my gray hood up once or twice. I put the down comforter on the bed last week and stowed away the summer quilt. Spread out the heating blanket on the bed last night. And the knitting frenzy has been in full blown intensity for several weeks now, really whenever my hands are free...another sure sign of the coming cold season. And this activity often coincides with me cozying up near our gas fireplace.

We refuse to turn the heat on just yet. Hub has given me the go-ahead if it is too chilly in the house for me. But for some indiscernible reason we like to wait as long as possible. Like its some sort of odd contest or challenge or something... and September 16th just seems too early. So instead we hold out by using other resources for the time being.
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P.S. Thanks for all your sweet comments regarding my humble curtain. :)