my new coat...

Hello Bees...since we have no traveling sweaters here, Momma Lulu had time to make an impromptu dog coat. (I've been wearing Grampa's hand-me-downs, which are a bit snug) Basically, you can just lay the old dog coat on the fabric as a pattern, trace around it...stitch stitch...and since we didn't have velcro in the house, a few big buttons from the button jar came in handy. The results were so encouraging, that...ahem! a certain dog sweater (one that Martha Stewart's french bulldogs wear) might also be finished soon...

happy holidays you all... any photos to share?

I Have Two Shawls

I have Lulu's and Beverly's shawls. I finished Lulu's yesterday. The fine weight yarn had me frazzled I couldn't do anything right. Finally something came to me. I hope Lulu will like it as it was certainly added with Love and Perspiration... LOL I will mail Lulu's off since its completed. I will post a pic before I mail.

Kathy's sock monkey sweater

I have no idea why it took so long. Once I got going, I added the elbow patches and made a little felt banana for the pocket. The banana snaps out, because sometimes you feel like a banana and sometimes you don't.

oh did i get the sweetest red monkey sweater in the mail yesterday. it is so darn cute , i will add my magic and get it off again. a very happy week to all of you.

baby magpie

I always imagine our beautiful and romantic Linda as down to earth. I'm not sure why I felt compelled to add teeny tiny bits of "bling" and flecks of red along the edge of her delicate shawl.

what's wrong with me? An occasional surprise of sparkle just makes me smile :)

If it's too Gypsy - like, please feel free to remove these copper colored sequins, I loosely sewed them on with gold thread. in any case, the love from me will stay :)

Linds's Shawl

Linda's shawl is so delicate. I added some delicate knitted flowers to Dawn's vine. Finding the perfect yarn and colorway was my challenge. After much thought I ended up hand painting some sock yarn.



I hope you like it Linda!

this is so perfect. beautiful work. how much fun to wear. you are all the best, linda

Barb's Sweater

I added some vintage orange trim to fancy up the sleeves even more. It's on its way to Pat next. Love, love, love this sweater!

~Beverly

Day late and a dollar short....

that's me. Karen's lovely black shawl has already found its way up north to Linda. But I did add a couple details first.

It's difficult to see, but I added a crochet border to the narrow sides. And a little bug flew off this vintage piece onto the shawl.

Time

It is already October and the cooler air has arrived even in the south-for a couple of days this week before the warm weather returns. Isn't fall beautiful, with all the leaves changing color? It gives me a pep in my step, maybe because I am not sweating or trying to catch my breath in the heavy humid air. It makes walking the dog much easier and even she has more energy and wants to move more quickly. You would think that my crafting would also move along more quickly, but alas that is not the case. Going away for a week on vacation doesn't help either and then I am going where it is hot again. Oh well, when I get back, I know that there will be some beautiful shawls and sweaters waiting for my creative genius. Enjoy the coolness of fall.

uncooperative model

when asked to pose as a wood nymph, Amelia suddenly stopped smiling (until the camera was put down)

Dawn's woodland shawl...

I wondered how to add to Dawn's shawl, just when some leaves sprang to life on Barb's Owl Tree.

Lulu's Sweater

Here is Lulu's shawl. I added an embroidered and beaded rose to the back corner of her shawl.

A Nature of Ideas

Can I just say that I loooovvveee Lori's sweater. I love the camo colored yarn, I love the orange along the button edge, and I love the ispiration sent with the sweater. (Sorry gals, I am not going to ruin the fun for the rest of you, you will just have to wait for the box to arrive.) Here is my addition, a little acorn embroidery on each cuff. This was a fun project :). Cheryl's sweater in in the works and should be finished up this weekend. I ran into a little snag with my idea not being quite large enough, so a trip the copy center is needed. Well off to pick up my monsters from school. xoxox

i love to see all the wonderful handwork

i have nothing to work on at this moment but i wanted to share my 42nd anniversary gift from my hubby. he is very cute!

Pats Woodland Vest

I have had Pats vest for more than a few weeks and I apologize to Pat for keeping it so long. I was undergoing some medical testing and let the time slip past. In keeping with Kathy's gorgeous Leaves and Vines I added a Sun Brooch. Its pinned on so it can be added to other outfits if so desired. I pictured the Leaves and Vines growing toward the Sun. On the leaves I added a few Lady Bugs for good luck. Along the bottom of the vest I added Leaf Buttons. They serve as decorative as well as adding some weight to keep the vest even when worn. The buttons are easily removed removed if they are not to Pats liking. The yarn Pat used is soooo soft I must make something for myself with it. I cannot wait to see the finished results. I would be proud to wear this vest myself.

Dawn's Shawl

These little forest friends have joined the owls on Dawn's shawl, and are now on their way to New York City!  Hope you like them Dawn.

A Bit on the Slow Side

I have Lulu's beautiful shawl. I was trying to finish up my swaps before digging into decorating this piece. I know what I am going to do and Monday I will buy the additional supplies I need. I just wanted to drop a line here so that it didn't appear that I have fallen off the face of the earth. Time does seem to move much more quickly than I.

Welcome to my photo free post. I have two sweaters sitting before me today...yes...you read correctly two. First up is Cheryl's sweater which I have decided to add a little applique color to, but since I need to enlarge my design, it will need to be put aside unil Monday. Next up is Lori's sweater upon which I have decided to add a little squirrely delight. I have just finished up the pattern, so today I will be parking my butt on the couch with an iced coffee, a sweater, some yarn/thread and maybe a little fabric. Well I hear the couch and my coffee calling. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Barb, is there a gnome in your home?

My dear friend Kusi came over for breakfast tea and knitting. (Kusi is an amazing knitter who can knit speedily while walking...you should see her work on Ravelry!)

She saw that I was trying to document Barb's lovely sweater... I knit leaves and then stitched them on, adding a couple of pink blooms in alchemy "punk" which is the happiest shade of raspberry ever.

When I was pondering what to add to this nice green garment, I put it on and curled up on the sofa. I tried to imagine that some chilly evening Barb would put it on to go walk the dogs or go out with her hubby, and it would be a fun bright spot to wear... just in case any of the leaves need to be... moved, they would be easy to remove :)


There was a small scuffle over who would be the model, and so in the end, the gnome won.

coming to your home soon, Bev! xo

Dawns Beautiful Shawl

I had the pleasure of working on Dawns shawl. The shawl is huge and so soft and comforting. The color is so warm and I love the fabric she added to the edges. Nice touch Dawn! She put a lot of knitting time into it. I had so many different ideas and visions for this shawl. It was hard to make up my mind on what to do. After checking out Dawns flickr page I came up with the idea of something whimsical.




After knitting a few i-cords I decided to felt them and curve the pieces into a tree trunk and branches. I added knitted owls with new and vintage buttons. I love how it turned out. The pictures don't do it justice. It looks much better in person. I so enjoyed working on it Dawn. I hope you like it!

Lulu's Shawl

A Shawl

A Vintage Touch

A Flower

A Trellis

It has been a delight to work on Lulu's shawl, creating dainty little bibs and bobs for it. I've kept it longer than I should, petting and cuddling it, but now it's on its way to Pat. What an honor to add to this lovely piece!

Simplicity

I had a heck of a time coming up with a design for Linda's shawl. None of my designs seemed to work the way I imagined. Finally, after several days and nights, I found a yarn in my stash that I thought would be a great match, and all of a sudden a simple chain stitch border emerged. I then added a darker blue-grey running stitch to add a pop of color. So for me and this shawl, the focus was on simplicity.

Now for the all the lovelies that have been popping up here....all I can say is WOW!!!! I am just loving all your beautiful work. Great job everyone!!!!

I currently have two sweaters awaiting some embroidery, so back to the old grindstone for me.....lol....

Bev's Shawl is Blooming!

It took me awhile to get started on this shawl. I hope that you like it Bev. Everyone has done such a creative and unique job so far. It was scary being the first to do the stitching.

Bev's Shawl

 
I promised a picture of Bev's shawl before my creativity appears on it, so here it is. A beautiful Pashmina.

lori i love your sweater

i hope you like the squirrel lori. i love the whole look. being a pacific nw girl that grew up in a little logging town this is perfect ! i would love to see the leaf as a merit badge. what do you all think?

Monkey business

I'm told that Kathy's sweater originally had a border full of flowers but by the time Karen worked her magic a playful parade of monkeys appeared instead. My fashion consultant and aspiring starlet, sock monkey Vivian, felt it needed a wonky pocket to stash important things for Noah like banana candy...and her phone number. I added a tiny red heel inspired sock on a blocker as a zipper pull.

Down, Vivie...you're embarrassing yourself.

A rose by any other name

It's not often we get to plant a garden in wool...in this case a friendship garden at Karen's request. Her lovely black shawl was waiting to be embellished, but how to start? I decided to add a soft icord flourish to both ends, some mohair and linen leaves and a Lush felted rose that I am hereby naming The Brooklyn Irish Rose.

The shawl is a nice size so what I've added isn't as overwhelming as it looks in this picture. I so hope you like it, Karen.

Quilt Block Inspiration

Hey Ladies,

I just found a great source of 12.5" x 12.5" quilt block patterns: Anna Maria Horner's Rainbow Around the Block., designed to help families affected by the floods in Tennessee.  I'm planning to contribute a couple of blocks to the cause.  There are currently two patterns available, with more to come.  You are all so creative and make up your own blocks, but I'm incredibly mathematically challenged these days, and they take the guesswork out to create a block that's the perfect size for our little project.

Enjoy!

(Dawn, here's a peak of one of your blocks...)

Sneak Peak for Barb

Barb's sweater arrived safely and has been hanging around with the me and the babes.  She sent a gorgeous dark green Edwardian looking number, which I thought deserved some elegant (hopefully you think so Barb:) touches.  Next stop: the Big Apple!

Bee sister projects

howdy! a little peek for B...

As you can see, a beehive is a-growing on B's sweater... we'll see who is coming outta there, soon!

I'm not sure why, but I decided it would be fun to cut a bunch of tiny squares (instead of strips) for the second block, duh...and oh no...it's soooo Willy Wonka (shhh don't tell her- maybe I will send it to Linda to help me outta this ditch) the gorgeous knitted socks were made by the lovely Lori- don't you love how cheerful they are? We had such a fun time together- I hadn't laughed this hard for a very long time... Thank you dear. I hope someday I can return your kindness.

Close to take-off!

Lori's woodsy number has acquired elbow patches as her first request.

insiration

i just wanted to share with you what inspired me tonight. these are oregon salmon berries. we find them in july in the woods by our home. i wait patiently every year for these little gems. i hope you enjoy the picture.

why do we all love, love, love this project.

we could not find more fun then working on a new project. i look forward to each one that comes my way. i do get a little distracted though! i was thinking about upcomming projects and was thinking of yarn, then floss and threads entered my mind. still i guess my mind was not being on task because alas no yarn but lots of crosstitch fabric. do you think this could be useful too? i think maybe.

keeping embroidery threads neat?

B. included two packages of the loveliest Renaissance wool threads to use on her sweater. As I went to grab my scissors, I spied the ball winder, and- I had a caveman brainstorm. (I'm sure everyone else figured this out years ago...)
Instead of my usual, painstaking and clumsy windup by hand, I opened and gently stretched the skein over half of the swift...and spun it like a regular skein of yarn onto the ballwinder. ta dah! I avoided any tangles that way. It's a neat ball of thread now.

I do wish D. and some of you other Bees would please show us the state of your embroidery floss, as well as any other Crafty tips.

Rollin' with the Gnomeys!

What a big sigh of relief I breathed when our dear B.'s freshly handknit sweater arrived this morning. She and I were wondering if the sweater made up an itinerary of it's own...and fly around and around it did. Our miraculous, mysterious postal service decided to see this lovely sweater to its rightful destination after being in limbo for 2 weeks!

We ask no more questions and welcome you... to Roll with your Gnomeys in New York!

PS a little bird peeped that a very special Bee visitor is about to appear soon... keep posted for mischief! Anybody else have news?

my shawl's finally ready to fly...

I knit a simple cream colored shawl, using mostly yarns from my stash. (I treated myself at purl soho, with some beaded tilli thomas for the edge :)

What I wish for, is a monochromatic, wearable artpiece- that your additions will be all in matching creams as well. I am including some leftover balls of cream yarn in my pkg, in hopes that you will knit or crochet flowers, leaves, vines, june bugs, butterflies, spiders, etc then attach them to my shawl. Thanks Bees !!

my picture is not so clear but i used a grosgrain ribbon to do the bands. gigi of knitmoregirls podcast has a lovely tutorial on doing this and also sewing buttons on. she is so excellent in her work and explaining. i wish i had this talent. she a a very talented seamstress as well as a knitter. i hope all of you are having fun.

whew, finally was able to post!

Bbbzzzz little Quilting Break...

hmm who doesn't need a sewing break to clear their mind? (unless their head's already filled with stuffing like mine).

Thanks, B! I received your fabrics to continue our quilting project- and fell in love with all the prints. You have such good style sense in putting things together!

(It will likely be two weeks longer, before I send out my fabrics to you other Bees who wish to keep on!)

very daunting. i have done my work on cheryls sweater and the snipping about made me pass out. as i was told just have a drink or just lie down. i was almost sick with anxiety. but now i feel very good about it. at least we are not signed up to spip at eacg other. have a fun time..

Kathy's Sweater

I have Kathy's sweater and I am soooooo nervous. Being the first to add to the sweater is intimidating me. I have ideas in my head ,now getting them to come to my hands is another thing. I will be spending the Holiday weekend working on it. My shawl is going out to Lori Friday.

is anyone else nervous?

cheryl has a beautiful green sweater we all get to work on. i tried to post a photo of it as i began and now for the interesting part. to snip or not to snip. i have it all ready stabilized so all i need is a glass of wine and lots of nerve. i will try again to post pictures of the befor.

Vest is Traveling

I sent off my vest to Kathy on Monday. I was giving her a few days off from her fun times in Asheville, NC before starting on a new project. I can't wait to see what will be done to it.

Shawl on its Way!

I sent my shawl to Pat earlier in the week, but failed to take a "before" picture! It's a well-loved black pashmina, and in my journal, I shared the story of what it means to me. I'm so excited to see how you all make it even more special.

A friend of mine from my days in Albuquerque sent me a Colcha kit. Colcha is a traditional Spanish/New Mexican embroidery, and I'm excited to work on the kit and apply what I learn to some of the beautiful pieces I'll be embroidering.

It's been a hot few days here in the woods of CT, but Neal and I finally broke down and bought a little air conditioner...which means I will be nice and cool as I craft!

xx,

Beverly

Ready, Freddy!

I loved making this sweater. Just a simple, top down cardigan in Pear Tree wool. It started to have a very camouflage-y, woodland feeling and so I gave it a hunter's orange button band and wood buttons. But then it rested in my closet...unworn, kind of unloved. Until now.

It needs a little more woodland charm, don't you think? It could use elbow patches, a "belongs to" label, maybe a care instructions label...a squirrel or two? I'll leave the rest up to you.

I encourage you to use your imaginations and creativity. I'm going to love what you create.

Ms. Postal Carrier? Can you come by on Saturday?