Pin Cushion Swap

I signed up for the pin cushion swap hosted by sewSpun in the first week of August.  I got a really cool book about making your own pin cushions last Christmas, so I was happy to finally be able to use it!  

I discovered that I had enough do-dads in my sewing stash to make one of the patterns in the book that I liked. 

I learned some embroidery stitches, like the satin stitch (or applique stitch?)...

... and the whip stitch for adding the ribbon side.

And here is the finished product, Ta Da!  My first hand-made pin cushion!  I really like how it turned out, and I hope that my swap partner likes it too.  

Here is the lovely pin cushion that I just received in the mail from my partner.  The colors don't show up well in the picture, but it is a blue and brown flower pattern on the top, with a matching brown bottom.  She also included some cute buttons (which also don't show well in the picture, sorry) and a bunch of flower-topped pins. 

I love it!  Thank you Stephanie!

Even more birthday booty!

I got an extra special treat in the mail a couple days ago - a belated birthday package from my good friend Lori!  Whoo hoo!  Lori said she needed to wait for some etsy items to ship to her in Maine before she could send it, but that's OK, it just prolongs the the birthday season!  One of the cool etsy items is the pretty brown and blue project bag from cheekyredhead's shop.  It's the perfect size for a small knitting project like socks or fingerless gloves.  Also in this picture, though barely visible because I just couldn't manage to get a better shot of them, are a set of beaded stitch markers from Akamaiknitter's shop Opalescence.  This set has green crystals and a mermaid charm.  Click the link to her etsy shop to actually see some of her beautiful work.

Here is a closer shot of the yarn in the package.  This is some of Lori's handspun "blueberry patch" yarn.  It is 360 yards of an alpaca/silk/merino blend that is totally soft and yummy!  I'm thinking I want to make some fingerless gloves with it to take full advantage of the softness, and so it will be fully visible to the world.  I don't think she's selling any of this one in her shop, I think she's saving the rest for herself.  So, neener neener!  

I also got three new books!  A Yarn Harlot book, a book about sewing your own retro style aprons, and a book of patterns for cute little felt creatures.  That means more projects for my ridiculously long queue!  

One last item that didn't make it into a picture was a moose-shaped maple syrup sucker - for a little taste of Maine!

Also birthday booty, but not my own, is this farmer's market bag I made for Danell.  I used the Elisa's nest tote pattern that I used for my own bag last month, but I altered it to be knit in the round.  Knitting it this way made it go much faster than the first one.  Danell's party was last night, so she's all set to use her new bag at the farmer's market this weekend! 

a couple swaps

I've been signing up for swaps right and left this past month.  I think I've signed up for five different swaps so far!  The first one I signed up for was the Starbucks and Yarn swap I found on Ravelry.  One of the knitting-related goodies that went into that package was this set of coasters, or "mug rugs," as the swap organizers call them.  They are knit with fingering weight yarn using the Drip Coaster pattern by Karrie Weaver.  I left off the fringe that was included in the pattern, because I think they look better without it.  This package also included some handspun alpaca yarn made by my friend Storm (from her own alpaca).  And some of the shrinky dink stitch markers I made. 

My next swap project was for the Handmade Soap and Washcloth swap - also on Ravelry.  I knit this cotton washcloth using the Reverse-Bloom Flower washcloth pattern from Weekend Knitting.  I also sent some of the soap that we made at Cheryl's house this summer.  

I'll get more pictures of swap projects up soon.

On an unrelated note, I finished this hat awhile ago, but forgot to take a picture of it or post it on Ravelry.  It's the Felted Cloche by Sara Morris.  I bought this pattern, and the baby alpaca yarn at Knit Purl in Portland when I was visiting my friend Susan this winter.  It is soooo soft!  Carmen thinks it makes her look like her current favorite literary heroine Maisie Dobbs.