Self Made Clothing

I have always enjoyed making my own clothes.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do it much in recent years due to appointments, teaching classes and just generally being busy.

What I loved most was finding my patterns as cheaply as possible, then finding the fabric I need and buying it in bulk, making whatever garment as inexpensively as possible.

However, that is not possible in every case.  I have purchased a pattern at full price, paid full price for fabric and made a prom dress for my daughter and it turned out beautifully.  Fabric is not cheap, neither are patterns.  So finding what will work or look nice is a challenge sometimes.  I like buying "lots" of patterns in my size or my daughter's size on ebay. It is usually very cheap to buy 10 patterns for $4.95 to get that "one" pattern that would normally cost $15.  Yes, I've done that before!  😄

I've made my daughter a robe from polar fleece that I found at a yard sale one year.  She was very warm and cozy and loved the robe.

As for everything else, fabric is becoming very scant at yard sales and thrift stores.  You have to look at sales, coupons, and work hard at getting it inexpensively.

Another method of making one's own clothing is by either crocheting or knitting.  Currently, I am getting some shirt patterns together to knit in the next couple of months.  I want to have a more modest cut of clothing, but comfortable and "flowy" if that is a word.  I've found some free patterns on Ravelry that I'm going to try and I just need to get my yarn together and get started.  I have some summer shirts to both sew as well as knit and/or crochet, then I'll review and decide where to go from there.  In the mean time while I wait to get my yarn gathered, I'm starting another shawl started as a gift.

Hand crafting items has become a thing of the past.  I am trying to keep the craft alive by teaching the next generation these basic skills at one of our homeschool groups.  I would love to continue long past the time when my children graduate, but we'll see.  I'm getting ahead of myself.  Needless to say, I have quite a few skirts, shirts and shawls to make this year.  We'll see how many I can accomplish by Christmas 2017.  I know what you're thinking...and of course I'll post pictures!  😊

And with that I will bid all of you adieu for 2016.  My next post will be in 2017, so I'll "see" all of you next year!  LOL

Have a Blessed Day!

In Christ,

Finding a New Normal, for Now

The semblance of organization and order in my home right now is severely lacking.  At least that's what it feels like to me.  I struggle with having enough time to get things done before my leg starts hurting again and I need to get on the heating pad.  I struggle to remind my kids to get their chores done.  I struggle to find a sense of normalcy through all this change.

I would love to have unlimited time and energy to finish filing all those receipts that I've put by the wayside because simply getting on to the floor takes so much effort, then there is the getting back up.  I can't use my knees to prop myself up to get up, so I get creative to get up off the floor.  I'm getting pretty good at it too, but I'll spare you the details.  LOL

I slowly work on filing receipts in their proper places, including the shredder if need be.  I sit in my office chair, crouching down to get the receipts off the box on the floor and put it on the chair in front of me.  I sit for about a half an hour filing as much as I can, then I get up, take laundry from the bedroom and walk around the house, get laundry going and find my heating pad.  I go for a walk with Ginger and come back to sit with the heating pad on my leg.  This is the way things go 4 times each day.  But I'm usually doing something different each time. LOL

Then there is the times when we go to our home school groups, church, and any other errands.  If we're going to be 45 minutes to an hour away from home, we take the big cooler, 2 pillows, and 2 heating pads to prop my leg up in the van to make sure I follow Dr's orders.

A Christmas present for my Mother.

As I sit in the back seat, I usually knit on this shawl that I'm making for my mother for Christmas.  I have been working on it for a while, a little at a time, so it's taking a while.  I hope to finish it by the end of November so I can get it packaged and sent to her along with a pair of socks that I made a while back out of the same yarn.  I originally made the socks for myself, but when we moved to Georgia, the socks were not being worn due to the heat.  I decided at that time to give them to my Mother to keep her warm in the winter.

They're basic "no frills" socks that I'm sure she'll love.  I was hoping to get some fingerless mitts finished for her too, but I'm afraid I'll miss getting these other two things to her if I try to add those too.  

Right now I'm only allowed to go as far as an hour from home and back either driving or riding in one day.  So, if I have more than that to drive, I have to decide which activity to go to, prioritizing my activities.  Some days are more difficult to decide than others, but I'm definitely finding the need to stay home a welcome reprieve from running so much.  I'm glad 2 out of 3 of my kids have their driver's licenses so they can drive.  What a blessing!

What is God teaching me through all of this?  In some instances it is easy to see, in others, not so much.  Time will tell what His lessons are for me right now.

What is God teaching you in this season of your life?

Blessings,

Bitten by "the" Bug

This is one of those bugs that shows up in the most unexpected ways.  This morning we stayed home from church because I caught a virus/bug from the Dr's office when I took my youngest son in for his eczema.  The thing started by the next morning with the water works in the form of a runny nose, then proceeded from there giving me what I figured were hot flashes...well...because I've been thrown in to that time of my life due to my surgery last year.  No biggie.  I started the roller coaster ride of feeling good, then needing to sleep, then feeling well enough to make dinner, then mid way through fixing dinner, feeling like I was hitting a wall again and needed to sit down and rest.  Whoa!  This was a FAST acting virus!  My husband started coming down with it on Friday evening and as of Saturday, started with chills.  Considering one of our pastors has a brand new baby, among others in our congregation, we decided it was best to keep this bug home until it worked through our family.

But, that bug is nothing new.  Everyone catches those "bugs."  The type of bug I'm talking about is that of a bent and twisted creative bug.  A little history about me, for those of you who do not know:  I could be sitting somewhere, like this morning, looking at something and thinking, "I need to make something to go with that!"  This morning it was this bag that spurred on my inspiration:

I love the colors, the durability, the style and size of this bag.  I just need it taller to accommodate my tall needles.

So, I decided this morning that after I finish this project:

...and tying off the ends from that one and this one:

I'll begin my newest bag.  It will likely have much of the same colors in it as the one I'm replacing, but be a little bit different.  :0)  I'm going to knit this one instead of crochet.  

This bag was 100% crocheted, including the straps.  I really like the straps, so I may do those in crochet again because they're sturdy and they didn't curl like my knitted purse did. When the handles curl and you put them on your shoulder, they roll off your shoulder.  When I put this bag on my shoulder, the straps don't roll and it stays on my shoulder.  

Disclaimer:  I don't use a pattern for my bags, so each one is vastly different from the next.  I'll be sure to post pictures of my progress.  Perhaps I'll line this one too, just like my purse. 

I'm not looking for another purse, just another bag that I can fit my knitting in to and my Bible for Sundays that won't roll off my shoulder.  LOL  It makes carrying this purse a little awkward and cumbersome.  I thought of crocheting a shoulder pad for this purse around the strap so it would move up and down, but stay on my shoulder.  I don't know how well that would work.  I may still try that and re-felt it, but for now, I'm going to begin thinking of the newest creation while I finish up the last 2 table runners.  :)  

Editing to add that I started casting on!  This is what 100 stitches freshly cast on looks like~

So far I think I'll make a rectangle and start with 10 rows of garter stitch.  I'll see then how it looks with the size and how big I need it.

"Through wisdom is a house builded[sic]; And by understanding it is established; 

And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious 

and pleasant riches." 

(Proverbs 24:3-4) ASV

How are you creatively filling your home with precious and pleasant treasures?

God Bless,

Post Christmas Decorating

We took all of our Christmas decorations down and put them all away a few days ago.  Shortly after seeing the drabness of no color, I decided to grab my knitting needles and some bright aqua cotton yarn and went to work.  I have my fabric ready to get to work on my dining room curtains, completely with bright aqua in it, so it was perfect!

The needles are size 11 Caspian wood needles from knitpicks like the ones you'll find here:

Just click the picture...

I bought one set of these needles in size 11 as a gift to myself for finishing a large project.  They were well worth the money!  I love how the cotton slides so wonderfully off my needles.

I love decorating my house.  This house particularly is quite the blank slate.  The walls in our bedroom will be a light butter cream color with darker accents.  I just need to work on the sticky stuff on the walls with Goo Gone.  I have a couple areas done, now I need to move on and get more done.  Unfortunately, once I come out of our bedroom in the morning, it is very seldom that I return until evening bed time.  I need to be sure to work on our hide away, making sure to situate it and make it beautiful and inviting for me and my love.  I've found some beautiful things to put over the head of our bed, bought them for us for Christmas and now I just need to find a weathered/antiqued board for the shelf.

Once we get our bedroom painted, these will go over our headboard.  I am adding lovely and beautiful things that celebrate our marriage in our hideaway.  Why?  So it will be a peaceful haven and sanctuary from the world for the two of us to find solace.  I hope to finish the bedroom in one month, complete with curtains, paint, clean, neat and tidy furniture (with the help of my husband ;0) ) and moving on to another room.  LOL

I am so excited to get these changes done.  

To be continued...

God Bless,

The Biggest Blessing

I guess you could say that the biggest blessing in my life currently which has blessed me in years past, but most especially this year has been the concepts I've learned on FLYlady.  Oh!  You don't know about her?  Well let me back up to when I was introduced to her.

With 3 little ones, books, magazines, junk mail, papers, dishes, laundry, cleaning and simply time with my husband was an overwhelming struggle for me.  I'd look at things that needed to be done, start trying to get it done, but quickly became overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of it all.  I'd be full of anxiety and I'd shut down.

I was a part of an email group by the name of "Skinny Moms" when we were talking about organization among one of the many times we talked.  One dear lady mentioned FLYlady and I disregarded her suggestion for a couple months.  I thought to myself, "Just going to a website isn't going to help me."  I continued in the state where things were just overwhelming and tried my best to keep things moving.  I got so overwhelmed and just sat in the middle of the laundry room with piles 3+ feet deep around me, and I cried out to God for help.  After a few minutes of wallowing in self pitty, I got the laundry moving and went to tend to my kids.  I sat down at the computer and my friend who had suggested FLYlady before had sent an email about it (God's timing!).  I finally went to the website and started reading the first page.  My interest was piqued and I kept reading about this timer thing.

Do all that you can in one area in 15 minutes, then move on to the next area.  Do that 

for 3  separate 15 minute intervals, then set the timer one last time for 15 minutes,

 get a drink, put your feet up and relax.  Love yourself enough to bless yourself with

this time.  You've earned it!  Once the timer goes off again, start back at your 

beginning point, then do the rotation again until you've got everything 

done--dishes, cleaning and etc.  

Where to begin, though?  Well, since the kitchen is the heart of the home, she suggested starting by emptying the sink and shining it.  Not just a quick "swish" of everything, but getting the scrubbie, gel bleach scrub and going to town on every nook, crack, and cranny.  She told me/us that we needed to make sure our sinks were shined before going to bed every night.  This is such a simple beginning!  It was so silly and didn't make sense, but I did it anyway.  I did it for 3 days, adding to it each day.

then the towers fell....

Everything stood still.  We were fixated on the news for 2 months, doing just the barest of essentials just in case we heard anything else.

one day in November...

I slowly began shining my sink and doing things 15 minutes at a time.  I knew I needed to gain a semblance of control in our house with 3 young children and a husband to care for.  As the days went by, I was able to branch out because things got a little easier with cleaning and keeping things cared for.  

I started getting my Control Journal together and to this day it has gone through many changes, but the basics remain the same.  I stumbled upon an email in those couple of weeks about a Holiday Planning Journal.  It intrigued me, so I started it.  I planned weeks in advance to buy staples so I could bake cookies with my kids.  I planned for the menus for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but forgot New Years.  The food was purchased way in advance for everything, except for the fresh veggies I needed that I planned to buy a couple days in advance.  I planned gifts to give to my children and family, started writing out Christmas cards mid-November and I've never looked back.  I've changed how I do things over the years, but essentially things are the same.

I begin planning on October 1st now.  I have a grocery list that I add the non-perishable things to each pay period so I'm not inundated with the massive amount of food to buy.  I pick out recipes and do shopping for those items weeks in advance.  I've also set aside one day each week for baking Christmas cookies.  I have in years past, set aside time each night to fill out 5 Christmas cards each night to make sure I have them done by December 1st.  I haven't done this in the past 5 or so years, though.  We've resorted to getting special cards for parents, uncles/aunts, brothers/sisters, nieces/nephews along with gift cards.

What about my plans for 2015?

I am already looking for patterns that I hope to get to make for everyone for Christmas 2015.  I would like to get started in January purchasing things, then in February and March during my recoup time, knitting on those things.  I have grandiose plans, but honestly, those plans could be changed by life happening. (holding my plans loosely)   Between March and the end of September, I plan to pack up everything to be ready to move.  I've already decluttered some of our books to sell and I'm packing up other books that I'd like to keep.  Amazingly, I have 6 boxes set aside to sell and half a box packed.

Once we're settled, I plan to get my Holiday Planning Journal back out, making adjustments as needed, and making different plans for being with family over the holidays--hosting and visiting.

Life's changes are always coming along, throwing us a curve ball, but the biggest blessing has been the daily routines.  I can always tell what throws my day off when the routines are not followed and it makes everything a chaos.  Then when I step back, look around, and realize I need to shine my sink, grab my timer and go, knowing that just 15 minutes will make a big difference.

On a side note, when my daily Bible reading and prayer time has been neglected, I can tell too.  When chaos reins, important things go by the wayside.

As we are an hour from 2015, I'm ringing in the new year watching Duck Dynasty with my family.  Tomorrow morning we'll get up and sand the plaster filled holes in the kitchen, wipe and reapply as needed.  I hope to be able to paint by Saturday.  Needless to say, we've discovered more that needs filled in and we're just taking care of it.  Once this is all done, we'll move on to the next room.  I'm hoping to have all this needful stuff done by the time my surgery comes along.  I'm hoping....  ;)

Have a lovely New Year!

God Bless,

In Which We Have Family & Pets

Earlier this month my brother, his spouse and their children came to visit from Vermont.  We took them to our favorite places, climbed rocks and visited for a long time.  The older cousins had a sleep over and what sleep over isn't complete with ice cream, mint oreos, and all kinds of potato chips?!

My daughter and my niece forged a wonderful new friendship.  What loveliness to behold!  The last time they saw one another, my niece held my daughter who was 5 weeks old!   They've changed just a little bit!

Snuggling with my 2 little nieces and Biscuit.  They absolutely loved him!

My brother and his spouse just trying to find someplace to sit after the cousins' sleep over.

While they were here, I finished the toe of my 2nd sock (just 20 stitches) while listening to the glorious hustle and bustle of little ones in my house again.

Finished in about 10 minutes!  I love the colors.  I have some from each of the 2 skeins leftover and I was thinking of making a small wrap, so we'll see.  If anyone has a suggestion for one, I'd love it! 

And, after the family left, our newest family member, Gus, needed a bath.  He was shivering after his bath, so my daughter wrapped him in a fleece blanket and took a couple pictures of his cute-ness.  :D

And another one...

And my youngest, who is over 6'2" tall, with our kitty whose name is Pickles.  :D

Playing around in the living room. 

Doggie nap time...life must be "ruff."  Whew!

As you can see, we've been busy with family, school (although I didn't mention school above), and pet training.  I love seeing the progress of my kids with their schooling, understanding achieved and them working diligently with the animals to get them trained.  Just today my youngest son make a "Kitty Hotel" underneath my buffet table.  He has put Biscuit and Pickles in there together to sit and "make friends" but I heard some funny kitty and doggie noises of protest in there earlier.  LOL

What a funny boy!

My New Felted Lined Purse

Beginning with leftover variegated wool that I already had on hand.

Almost finished on 11-23-13

What did I do?  How did I do it?

I formulated this purse in my mind before I began casting on stitches for the bottom.  I thought about it for 2 weeks or so, tossing ideas and how I wanted it to be over and over in my mind.  I love my current purse.  It's nice and roomy, holds all the things I need to carry, and it is functional.  So what's wrong with it?  I'm glad you asked!  It's made from plastic and it is starting to crack and peel in places.  I figured I'd better take action and get another one made before this one fell apart.  

Why not buy a 31 or a Miche purse?  I'm beginning to "shy away" from automated manufacturing types of things.  I'm finding that things that are hand made withstand the test of time much better than one made by mechanical methods.  Yes, the store bought purses and things are wonderful and functional for a little while.  But, I've found that felted bags withstand much further wear and tear due to the durability and strength of the materials.

What did I do?  First of all, I made a rectangle of garter stitch for the bottom.  Garter stitch is just knitting, turning, then knitting again.  Very easy, very straight forward.  

Once I made the rectangle big enough for my own liking, I picked up stitches along the sides and joined all of it "in the round" with these needles:

The ones in the packages with the metal ends attach to the cable in the package to the far left.  The larger free standing needles are straight needles.

Once I joined everything, I counted stitches on the long ends and made sure the  numbers matched, then did the same thing with the shorter ends.  If they didn't match, I increased stitches in appropriate places so that it would be even while I knitted those areas.

Once I had everything knitted and all the stitches even on each side, I knitted a couple rows and began increasing every 10 stitches so that the purse would be fuller.  I did this twice with 4 rows of straight knitting between them.  

Once I made it to the end of my variegated yarn, I had to put it down for a couple of days until my new wool order came.  I wanted the yellow to be the more predominate color in the bag, so I striped the bag with that in mind, simply taking artistic license--just because I can.  LOL  

After doing a couple sets of stripes, it was time to drastically decrease and make the top of the bag smaller.  I began by decreasing where the sides of the bag would be and decreased evenly every other row.  

Once I finished the last row of yellow, I decided that I would use dark burgundy and do a ribbing stitch all the way around, binding off and keeping the handle stitches on my cables to work those in a stockinette stitch until the length reached what seemed to be a good amount.  I didn't predetermine this length.  

[Note:  At the time of writing this post, the length of the handles are not completed.  I currently have them almost half way done.  From this point on, the plans for the bag are as follows.]

After casting off, the tails still need to be woven, then the bag felted, and blocked.  11-27-13

After joining the handle with the other side of the bag, I plan to make a flap by picking up stitches along one side and knitting those with a stockinette stitch.  I plan to add a couple cable stitches when I do the flap just to add some interest and artistic flare.  [As you can see in the above picture, I didn't do the cables.  I figured they wouldn't show up very well and I was right.  I decided to continue with a regular stockinette stitch and it worked well.]

Once the bag is done, I'll put it inside a pillow case and wash it with some jeans or heavy bath towels until it reaches the felted stage that I'm looking for.  The more you wash it and agitate the wool, the more the stitches disappear and the material becomes one piece of felted fabric.  At that time, it will be about 1/4"-1/2" thick and very durable.

After the bag reaches that point, I'll lay it on a box the same size as the felted bag.  Not the same size as the prefelted bag because the size will decrease as it felts.  I let it dry for a couple of days in this fashion so that it will take on the shape of the box.

[In this case, because I increased at the bottom to make room for the things I need to carry in my purse, I had to use rubbermaid dishes to push the sides out because I couldn't get a box inside.  The top is more slender so as to keep "prying eyes" out of my purse (in theory).]

A close up of the felting.  The pins that you see sticking up are holding the flap in place after it has been stretched and "blocked" to dry.  

Once the bag is dried, I'm going to take it to Joann Fabrics and try to match material to the colors of the bag as well as get 2 zippers and some thread to make the pockets for the inside.  I'll also pick up some invisible thread for adhering the liner to the felted bag.

This should take another 2 days or so to finish knitting, but it will be 2 weeks before I had to Joann's (planning trips to do more shopping where that store is to save in gas usage.)  with the sewing taking only an afternoon.  I hope to have it done by the 7th of December.  I'll post updated pictures after I'm finished.

In the mean time, here are some other crocheted felted bags I've made:

This one was crocheted with Icelandic Wool.

This one had some Icelandic Wool in it as well.  

  

I'm finding that crocheting wool bags is just as sturdy as knitting, but the stitches are still visible.  The differences between the two are amazing!

The finished product. :)

Knitting Projects Update & More

In this post I mentioned I had some knitting projects I work on while the kids are at their various activities.  The one pictured in the post linked above is a bit more completed than the last picture.

This is the progress that has been made on the winter headband.  It's about half way through the cable & seed stitch sequence.  Once it is done the end you see at the bottom of the picture will have a button on it and the other end, once it is made, will have a button hole for fastening it on to the head.

I go back and forth between working the above pattern which requires a lot of concentration for me, to the one below that is just straight knitting. 

I decided to make myself a felted purse that is lined with compartments.  I ordered more wool from Knitpicks Wool of the Andes yesterday that are solid colors of the above variegated colors.  Mr. G and I went to Erie, PA on Friday night for our date night.  We visited Michael's and Hobby Lobby, but couldn't find the yarn I needed at the price I liked, so ordering from Knitpicks proved to be the best choice.  I could shop the website and find the colors I needed at a wonderful price.

I cannot wait to finish those projects and move on to the next bunch.  I have a couple little 2 year old girl hats to crochet this week for a friend of mine, then it's back to finishing the two above.  

I'll post pictures of the crocheted hats once I get them finished. :0)

I'd like to move on to sweaters for the family, starting with my Mr. G.  I have seen a wonderful pattern from one of the knitting magazines that I subscribe to that I would like to try.  I saw it and then received my Knitpicks catalog and found the tweed yarn that I would need for the project pictured in the catalog.  It was exactly what I was looking for.   I just need to make sure I have the right needles and I'll be ready to work on it.  

The saying is so very true~too many patterns, too little time!  =0) 

What are your hands busy with?

God Bless,

Time

My last post was about my day out with my husband, sans kids, which was about a month ago.  Wow!  I am surprised that it has been a month since I posted! 

In this past month, our lives have taken a bit of a different turn.  All three of our children have joined Civil Air Patrol (CAP).  During that time we've paid for all 3 of them to have FBI clearances done, spent a good portion of a morning with their Commander and Lieutenant to try on not only dress blues, but battle dress uniforms, combat boots and dress shoes that were given to them by their unit; we've kept our eyes out for their physical training shorts (like gym shorts) at Good Will so that they can do PT in the proper attire; and since their feet are bigger than the boots offered at the CAP warehouse, we've purchased 3 pairs of combat boots. 

Why Civil Air Patrol?  

We were agonizing about this decision for quite a long time.  We had considered boy scouts years ago, but something constrained us those years ago.  We believe that God's hand was on that decision, or the constraining of that decision for a reason.  As for CAP, there are a number of reasons we've allowed our young folks to join.  First of all, it helps to reinforce the lessons we have taught all their lives about obedience, respect, helping others, and advancing in one's learning/education. 

Second of all, it helps to promote healthy peer pressure to push young folks to learn and advance because those who are at a higher level than they are, are usually their sergeants or cadet commanders in charge of them.  This positive peer pressure in this light helps these kids to understand the need to stick with those who are going to encourage them to become a better person not just for their sake, but for the sake of the squadron.  

Thirdly, there is a camaraderie that is occurring with the kids that is a good influence on them.  

Last, but not least, the educational opportunities with CAP, after aging out as a cadet, are amazing!  With adults, there are senior member benefits of taking classes online for a variety of areas to not only benefit the squadron, but also for one's own advancement.  This type of schooling is FREE as well as a resume builder.  

Now that I've told you quite a bit not enough about CAP, I'll move right along.  

I am in the process of adjusting to this new bunch of activity in each of our calendars.  I am certain that all of the activity is worth the effort of getting all of us to not only the meetings, but additional activities, youth meetings, choir, young ladies' book club, piano lessons as well as home school co-op days and field trips. I was filling in my perpetual calendar earlier today and when my Mr. G saw it so filled with things to do, he said, "Wow!  This calendar is just too full!"  LOL   

This is my calendar without all the activity:

I love being able to plan my days with this as my guide.  It doesn't matter what is going on, I can look at this calendar, see what week we're on, look to the left and see which room to detail clean.  Along the bottom are the chores for the day.  Along the right side is kitchen chores to do.  I've changed those since I took this picture due mostly to changes in diets and needs for the family, but that is how things need to flow as a family grows and changes.  

Now, I know the question is resting on your tongues/fingers/minds, "What does she do while they are at all these activities?"  Well, I have numerous knitting projects in process.  I am currently making my own wool felted purse that I will line with some lovely and wonderful fabric complete with zipper pockets and pouches. Another project I'm working on is a knitted winter headband that covers the ears for outside play. 

It's about double this size now, but it will be nice and warm for my ears when I go outside in the winter.

 These are things I work on while waiting for my kids.  If it's youth group night, I attend an adult Bible Study while they have youth group.  If we attend a field trip, I usually participate in the activities.  Then we throw doctor visits of all varieties in to the mix as well and there are lots of knitting opportunities.  

I thank God for these learning opportunities for my young folks.  Seeing them now and how much they've grown in their knowledge and walk with the Lord does my heart good.  I am excited to see what the Lord does in their lives.  In the mean time, I perfect my knitting skills to glorify God in every way I can.  

God Bless!

In Christ,

Finished Bolero

In the Spring I decided to make a lovely Victorian Bolero for my daughter.  Forgive me, but I've lost the link and cannot find it.  I promise that when I do find it, I will post it!

This is my first piece of "clothing" that I've ever knitted and finished.  I'd started a grand task of making her a sweater about 5 years ago, but it didn't pan out.  So here I am, making her something cute that I know she'll like.  =0)

This is it with some tails that need to be woven in.  I had lost my needle, so I waited until I could find it before finishing.  =0)

Close up.  For those of you who knit, yes, you're seeing correctly.  I had to undo things half way up and the loops twisted making that lovely line straight across in the middle.  To this day I still don't know how to undo  it when that happens! 

The other side.

All of this was made my hand, sewn together with a needle--no sewing machine.  The yarn would have been sucked up by the feed dogs on my sewing machine and I'd be sitting there in tears.  I figured I'd better take the safe route and sew it all together by hand.  

And she loves it!