What's black, white and red all over?

My partner for the Dresden Dolls swap received yesterday, and says she likes everything. Yay! Now I can show off a little.

First we have the stenciled hoodie:


I made the stencil from this image, which my partner indicated she liked. Doing all the little stripes for the tights was tough! But I am so happy with the way it came out. I want to make one for me.

Here's another pic:


Next up, we have the item that gave me the most trouble, and with which (to be honest) I was the least satisfied.

For some reason, I just couldn't get my act together with the sewing, and the skirt ended up being a lot shorter than I intended. It's not bad, but it's not my favorite thing, either.

I also spun up a quick skein of bulky yarn:

This should end up sort of striping black/white, with a little bit of gray. I am having fun with the bulky yarns lately, trying to remember how to make them.

Although the swap was only meant to be for 3 things, as usual, I had way more ideas than that, and my partner had specifically asked for fingerless mittens, so I knit her some black and white striped ones.


And then crocheted a scarf to go with:


Overall, I am really happy with this stuff. And making the scarf rekindled my love of crochet, plus I have a bunch of that yarn left, so I may make more.

Now I can get to work on my stuffed animal for the Stuffie swap. :)

I saw this fuzzy, sparkly, PINK novelty yarn in the store and felt compelled to buy it, combine it with some other novelty yarns that I had in my stash and make this:





What on earth is wrong with me?

This has been a busy couple of weeks. A family visit, and having to work overtime prevented me from doing as much crafting as I would like. Nevertheless, I completed all the items for my Dresden Dolls Swap, and was able to put that package in the mail today. I am really happy with how most of the things came out (and totally wanted to keep one of them for myself), though there was one item that I was iffy on. Just have to wait to see if my partner likes it, I guess.

I also started work on my August challenge piece for the Big Damn Crafters (our theme this month is "Shindig" and I am doing a yarn inspired by Kaylee's dress.

And then, for some reason, I was in the mood for Halloween. Okay, it could be because I LOVE Halloween, and I had all these quilt squares sitting around in my stash, but in any case, I came up with this little quilted bag:

Mini Jayne Hats

'Cause I have been into making tiny things lately, I whipped up these cute little pins the other night:



Cute, no?

New yarn

I dyed the fiber for this yarn shortly after returning from my trip to Scotland. Originally the colors were chosen to be reminiscent of the Scottish landscape, but that was much more apparent in the roving form than in the finished product. In any case, I am super happy that I spun a bulky yarn. I've been doing mostly DK weight stuff and was worried that I had forgotten how to spin a bulkier yarn, but it came pretty easily and I am super happy with the result.

Check it out:

I call it "Staffa", because the boat ride out to that island was pretty much my favorite part of the whole trip.

Wee Bunny

I received an adorable bunny from my partner in the One Tiny Thing swap. I have actually had this Wee Wonderfuls wee bunny on my list of things to make for a while, but like so many things, haven't gotten around to making one. I just think he is the cutest thing ever:



I mean, look at his little pom pom tail:



And my partner seems to have liked her giraffe. Phew. Swapping can be so stressful sometimes I wonder why I do it, and then I get a package in the mail, and it is so worth it.

I recently completed this cute giraffe and am so in love with making mascots again. I miss having all of my toys at my desk. Am working on a few more mascots at the moment, either to keep for myself, or I am thinking about making them into a mobile...'cause how adorable would that be?

My magnet board was featured in a treasury picked by perkicreations.

Need magnets for your fridge? Check it out!

I am still taking a break from spinning. I can't wait for the weather to really cool off so I can spend some quality time with my wool. I've had autumn on my mind, and that's reflected in my most recent project:




This piece started out as a beach themed magnet board which I got on clearance more than a year ago at the craft store. The frame had a "weathered wood" finish and the magnet board was filled with scenes of lighthouses and the ocean, and it came with a set of seashell shaped magnets.

I took off the decorative glass knobs that lined the bottom of the frame, sanded the crap out of everything, painted the new design, and varnished it for a nice shiny finish. Then I bought some leaf shaped pieces of wood, painted them, and made them into magnets to finish off the piece.