Here you can see the patterning on the top of the beret, also the color blocking of the sweater. I found a perfect fabric for the leggings in my stash; I would have preferred a bit of lycra in it; but cotton jersey is good too! I listed the pieces separately on etsy; and have already sent a pair of the leggings out to a customer. I will make more of them!


I found this interesting yarn that is self-striping in shades of lavender... I love how it worked up! The hat is actually a beret with the classic roll at the brim, however shown here pulled down to frame Blythe's face... the better to show the yarn's patterning.
After making the hat, I moved on to a sweater... it ended up more of a "color block" sweater with different colors showing up on each piece. I will post another photo showing the whole outfit momentarily.

A little dolling for a customer in Texas... the Lolita Dress was designed and made to fit her Momoko doll, which is somewhat smaller than Barbie. The dress is adjustible via lacing at the back and also at the front waist with ties. There is an underskirt for extra fullness; and the accessory pieces were too fun to make! I added a bit of bling to several of the pieces.
Now... I need to adjust my pattern to fit Blythe!

Custom dress made for Blythe. Clair poses with the dress prior to shipping standing in front of a stack of fat quarters on my cutting table. Judicious layout of the pattern on the fabric resulted in a little sunflower at the neck. The customer wanted sunflower fabric, but not "heavy with sunflowers".

Busy, busy, busy!

I got a note from flickr admin insisting that I delete all references to my etsy shop... it took me an hour! Not all photos had references, but you have to review each one which takes a bit of time!
The good news is: I will likely be posting more photos here! Yay!

Inspired by the combination of the pink and blue in this little outfit I made recently, I dug around in my stash until I found a yarn that I "knew I had" and made a little beret.

It's a curiosity to me that I get here so seldom! Those who know me know that I love to talk about what I am doing.. I am a notorious interupter.. not that what I have to say at any given time is more important that whoever is talking; it's just that if I don't get it out quickly it may go away! :D

But I am here now with a new knitted beret I made for Blythe. The yarn is vintage, and a French cotton.. slubby and multicolored; a sportweight. It was a great yarn to work with! The hat is available at http://www.ssmartraggs.etsy.com.

I am seriously considering writing up my patterns.. (yes! I actually do take notes while knitting something on the fly!)

:D

Newest Knitting Project

Commissioned by the Juilliard School in NYC; this hat is one of four; each different, but all hats that might have been worn in the 1950's. They are for a production of an opera set in the 1950's.

The blue hat is made from a wonderful 70%wool/30%silk yarn that the school provided. I believe it is a Cascade yarn; bulky.

I made this one with a fair isle pattern; it has a 10-stitch repeat, and is 13 rows with a 5-row pattern above it; separated by a red/blue border of one row.
The yarn has a soft drapiness that called for more of a tassel than a pompom, so that's what I did. I think it was about 80 wraps over a 4" cardboard... tied, and another tight wrap and tie before trimming the bottom edge.
The pattern is one that I made up as I went along; starting on size 10.5 US circular needles for the garter stitch edge, then moving onto size 11 US circular needles for the body. I began decreasing after the fair isle pattern was finished; it didn't interfere with the pattern, but I nearly ran out of the blue yarn!! They picked great colors for this hat; I love how this particular shade of blue really makes the red "pop"!!

I said I would post a photo of the baby pod with the cap... boy! Did it take me a long time!! The pod and cap was sold at the local Holiday Craft Fair. I wasn't sure how it would be received, but customers kept coming over to check it out! The customer who purchased it came back 3 or 4 times before purchasing it. She r-e-a-l-l-y wanted it!
:D