Monday, March 26, 2012

A Basket Full Of Bunnies

Thought I'd show you a basket full of little bunnies before I take them downtown tomorrow and place them on the shelf at Lulu's Gift Shop where they will be anxiously awaiting new homes. They are in high hopes that Mommy's or Grammy's will buy them to place in Easter baskets for little ones to love on them! I know you've seen them before but I couldn't resist showing them off in their different colored suits all huddled together in the same nest.

I will take a break from blogging the rest of this week. I got a call from a friend in Kentucky last night who wants to come spend the week with me! She will be here this evening so we will fill the days with lots of laughter as we catch up with each other. Hope you all have a great week!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sweet Baby Bunny Hat

I can't get enough bunnies in my life these days! I love bunnies year round. I always have. They're just so darn cute! But in the Springtime, especially as Easter approaches, my days are filled with creating the darling little critters. Every year I make these bunny hats to sell and they are always very popular. This one is on my new Etsy Shop ~ Front Porch Knits. I'll take a few to the local boutique this week also.

I am knitting them out of a lovely blend of pima cotton and silk that is delightfully soft. I love the sheer ribbon bows tied around the ears for the Little Miss. This hat can also be worn by the Little Mr. just as easily by simply removing the bows. And the real kicker? The fluffy pom pom cotton tail in the back!
Happy Bunny Trails To All Of You Today!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Front Porch Knits

This is just a quickie post to let you all know what I've been up to this week. A few years ago I had an Etsy Shop that I closed. Lately I have been really liking the idea of opening one back up. And a few of you have even mentioned it to me not knowing I had done it before. One of you {you know who you are} who knew me from my old blog and my old shop encouraged me to do so again.
So....... I DID IT! Check me out at FRONT PORCH KNITS when you have the time. It's a small start for now. So different from when I opened my first shop with 50 items! But with the progression of my rheumatoid arthritis making me a bit slower than in those days I will just build this one as I can. Plus I still try to stock some things in the gift boutique downtown.
In order to have a picture for this post I popped  my "Little Bunny Foo Foo", as I'm calling it on my Etsy Shop, up at the top for you.
Happy Weekend to You All!
Ta Ta For Now!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Rosie Posies

I am so happy that Spring is finally arriving. Everywhere I look I see little sprigs of crocus and daffodils shooting up, budding and blooming. Ahhh........WONDERFUL!!! The weather is still back and forth this time of year and I like to keep a cardigan close at hand or my favorite denim jacket. But as far as I'm concerned no jacket looks complete without a little foo ~ fooing up! So here's a few picture's of a couple of felted rose pins I made. The larger blue one is knitted and the smaller pinkish one is crocheted.
Hope you like my little flower garden!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Girl Time

Last week my sister, Bridget, surprised me by just walking through my front door. I didn't know she was coming, which never happens. She has spent the last few years living in Milwaukee while her husband goes through a cardiology fellowship. He is at the tail end of his residency and had to work 3 days in a row without coming home last week so he suggested she hop in the car and spend some time with me. I was thrilled! In June they will be coming back here to live. He has already signed a contract for a  job in this area. YAY!!!
Anyway, she is my only sibbling and I am nearly 10 years older than her. So our bond has always been a special one. At her birth she was my live baby doll. She paved the way for me to eventually become a mother of 2 daughters by giving me a little pre~experience! Then when she gave birth to each of her 2 sons I was in labor & delivery with her. I have always been her sister/other mother/best friend. We are very close.
My girls grew up calling her "Aunt Bridgie" then shortened it to "Aunt Bridge" as they got older. Now my granddaughter, Gabby, calls her "Aunt Bridgie" ~  history repeats itself. She loves it. Gabby thinks she hung the moon. They ALWAYS bake cupcakes together.

While she was here we took a trip to the mall one afternoon where Gabby insisted the three of us have our photos taken in one of those booths.  The last time I did this was when Bridget was a little girl and she insisted Mom and I do the same thing with her! Once again ~ history repeats itself.
Gabby decided we should all do something silly for this one. Notice she and I both instinctively stuck out our tongues. Hmmm.....
Hope you all spend some time in the coming days building precious memories with cherished loved ones!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Faberge' Egg Cosies

Being in a Spring state of mind where all things having anything to do with Easter are very appealing to me, I am still working away on little bunny items and egg cosies in between the baby blanket I am crocheting. Also being a big fan of Jane Brocket I purchased her book The Gentle Art of Knitting the very minute it was available.
Nestled amongst the lovely pictures and inspiring prose of this wonderful book are so many gorgeous patterns it's hard to decide where to start. I knew the moment I saw these little egg cosies I would have to get some needles into action on these as Spring approached though! 
I actually made these for my knit night girls and gave one to the girls who came last night. They were thrilled, which made me so happy! I still have two more to give to the ones who couldn't be here this week. I just love the bead work on them. I did each one a bit different and had lots of fun with it. I think they make a pretty little Easter adornment.
After all ~ It's the smallest things that fill your heart!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Can Dinosaur Eggs Become Baby Blankets?

Okay~ so where have I been? Well, actually I can answer that question right off the bat with a big confession: I am the BIGGEST YARN SNOB I know. That being said, I must admit I did not know such a thing as Lion Brand Yarn Pound of Love even existed.... so imagine my surprise....well SHOCK would be more like it....I mean this thing is MONDO!.... when wandering around Walmart a couple of nights ago, looking for crochet thread for my little potholder dresses, I made such a discovery!

Now I knew before I touched it that most likely it was 100% acrylic. Totally NOT my thing. But I just could not resist. So~ tentatively I reached out... and to my great amazement it was pretty darn soft. None of that old fashioned scritchy scratchy ickiness that turned me off all acrylic yarn 25 years ago. Then I read the label which says it will make either a whole baby blanket or a baby layette. Well I have a blanket I've been wanting to crochet so I thought why not give it a try! I will confess right here and now that I stood right there {looked both ways to make sure no one saw me!} and gave a tug on the center pull just to make sure. There's NO WAY I was going to bring that BEAST home and have to fight it from the outside of the skein or rewind it. But like magic it pulled out real easy. Oh! And the real selling point~ it cost $8.27!!! I just might buy this again.

I do have to say however, the cat is uncertain about it. Spying it in all it's glory she immediately jumped on the table. I figured I was in for a fight. This is the same cat I once came home to find in the basement literally wrapped in pure alpaca {acting high as a Georgia Pine, mind you} with the rest of the skein wrapped 3 times around the circle of the upstairs! But she pawed it once, gave it one sniff, looked at me as if to say, "You're kidding me, right?" and took off. She couldn't detect an animal scent therefore she was not one bit impressed by the size. Talk about your snobs!

But this die hard snob was impressed by the size, softness and price therefore I brought it home because I am dying to find out if dinosaur eggs really can become baby blankets. By the time I went to bed last night it was starting to look promising.
Foot Note {or Paw Note}
After publishing this post I stood up, turned around and this is what I found!
Turns out she was just waiting for a wee bit of a blankie to snuggle up with.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

La Petit Dress

Yesterday I posted pictures of my Little Dress Potholder which was actually larger than the pattern meant for it to be due to the yarn I chose. So last night I decided to crochet one using cotton crochet thread in red and ecru for a much more petite one. I LOVE IT! This one is more like the vintage potholders we find when we scour the Antique malls. I took a picture of the two together to show the size difference. I still like my oversized one as well. But I will be making more of the little ones to sell and give as gifts. What cute Mother's Day Gift's they would make! Anyway, just had to give you a peek.

Happy March 1st Everyone!
Spring is just around the corner...
YAY!!!