"Bananafish" soaker

Last spring I bought some Bananafish on BFL by Beemer Knits to make our friends a baby sweater and hat for their baby shower. Here was my blog post about it: http://pumpkin-pie-baby.blogspot.com/2008/03/two-finished-gifts.html

I had only a little bit of the Bananafish left but plenty of trim. So I made this small soaker using the trim as the body of the soaker and Bananafish on the waist and leg cuffs.



It's available to purchase in my store now!

A skirty to help Dressing West turn 1!

A couple of months ago I bought the Juliette skirty and soaker pattern by Over the Moon. I finally had time to make a skirty from the pattern. I made this cute and fun skirty for Dressing West's 1st birthday celebration.



Kate of Dressing West came up with a unique way of celebrating. She's having a directional stocking--North, South, East, and West. When asked which direction I wanted the skirty to be a part of, I chose South. The colors in the skirty remind me of the pastel colored houses one sees in the Carribean and south.

The skirty was knit with "Florry" on Corriedale by Three Irish Girls. It's the first time I've made an elasticized waist and I'm really happy with how it came out.

The skirt will be available to purchase on Saturday, August 23rd at 1pm here: http://hyenacart.com/dressingwest/index.php?c=0&p=42223

"Blooming" longies

I recently got some beautiful dyed Targhee yarn through a Mosaic Moon co-op. I knit these custom longies in her "Blooming" colorway. I really enjoyed knitting with Targhee. The yarn takes up color in an interesting way. The colors aren't as bright as they'd be on merino or BFL, but they're very rich and deep. The yarn itself feels sturdy but soft.

Inspire Yourself to Buy Handmade

Ever since the birth of my second child, I've started making more handmade and buying more handmade too. I used to be a bargain hunter, shopping all the big box stores to find the cheapest prices. I'd buy things just because they were inexpensive. Over time, though, I realized that I was filling my home with lots of things I didn't need. More important, though, I started to wonder at what cost I had bought these things. What was the cost to workers somewhere in the world who had to produce these items so cheaply? What was the cost to our environment of transporting these goods across oceans and continents? What was the cost to our economy since very little is produced in the U.S. anymore?

Don't get me wrong. I still love a bargain. But I value the time and effort it takes to make something. I like making purchases that enable a person to do work they enjoy and that fulfills them. I like to make purchases that help support that person and her or his family.

These are some of the reasons I buy handmade. However, a big inspiration to me are the women in my family. To read more about why I make and buy handmade, read my entry here at www.inspirehandmade.org: Making Connections Between Generations. If you find it inspirational, click on the little star at the bottom of the entry. If you feel inspired, write your own entry too.

Don't forget to sign the pledge to buy handmade.

2 new customs

I've caught the knitting bug recently and have been back in the habit of knitting every day. I've been working on 2 customs recently and am really happy about how they came out.

The first is a pair of longies knit with "Lime Rainbow" on BFL by Midnight Spectrum. It's a size newborn/small for a baby arriving in December.



The second is a medium soaker knit in single ply purewool. I don't know the name of the colorway, but I think it's beautiful. It's perfect for fall: gold, green, blue, purple, and rose.



More custom spots will be available next week on Tuesday, August 5th!

I've really been enjoying the summer--lots of visits to the beach and playing outside--so it's sad that I'm already thinking about the fall. But I'm cleaning out my projects drawer so that I can begin to stock it with new knits for the fall and winter. I'm offering up everything in my projects drawer for huge discounts. I will no longer be offering in stock crocheted longies and soakers anymore, so all of my in stock crochet items are on clearance! The sale starts today at 2pm and continues until they're all gone. Visit my store here: Pumpkin Pie Baby.

Here's a peak at one of today's offerings:

Market bags for little farmer's market shoppers

A customer who ordered a wool play food set from me this week asked if I had any ideas about what to put the foods in. I had thought about this since starting to sell the play food. But this weekend I sat down and worked on a few ideas. I came up with a darling market bag for the fruits and veggies. It's crocheted, stretchy, and the perfect size for little shoppers.





My daughters now want a market bag too for our weekly trips to our farm share. This is our first year participating in a farm share and it's been an adventure for us. We've been introduced to all kinds of new veggies--from kohlrabi to chinese cabbage to beets--and I'm getting reacquainted with my love of cooking. I'm having to search out new recipes for all these veggies. Here are some of my favorites so far.

For kohlrabi, try it roasted with butternut squash: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ROASTED-KOHLRABI-AND-BUTTERNUT-SQUASH-236414
For swiss chard, try this roasted, creamy dish: http://beyondsalmon.blogspot.com/2006/07/technique-of-week-how-to-cook-swiss.html This was so good, I'll forever be buying swiss chard!