A Sweater for Bella

My sister makes beautiful things out of beautiful yarn. She sent this to Bella a few months ago. It's so very cute and I guess it's better late than never to post something like this. So if anyone is still popping in to see what we do here, we do a lot, we've just been lax in the telling. 

The skirt is the swing set skirt by Oliver & S.  I used a brown gauze for both the skirt and the lining. My sister also sent the boots my youngest son wore 23 years ago, and my nephew wore after that. Unfortunately, they didn't fit Micah but Bella thought they were great. They are too big for her right now but she can have fun with them later.

Bella came over a couple of days later and we were able to get some cute pictures of her and the sweater in action.

I don't know about you but I want to squeeze this girl all the time. 

Welcome spring, how about a giveaway?

Here in Northern California, it is definitely spring weather, it shouldn't be, but it is.  Things are popping out of the ground, blue tulips I cant wait to see, and the trees are getting teeny tiny leaf buds.  It's just a tease but it feels so good.  I asked my sister Corinnea, how 'bout a giveaway on the blog and she said yes! (Corinnea here - I also said I wanted to keep it for myself) So here you go, spring reminds me of purple pansies, and purple tulips, my most favorite flower, and purple iris which remind me of my Mema, and this Holden Shawlette.  Made from Malabrigo sock yarn, the color and feel of it is just so right.

Its just such a "wearable" pretty thing.  Since all of us here at Created Blissfully love all of you out there who follow, we are giving it away to one of you. If you don't follow us yet, would you like to? Either way, just leave a comment on this post about what you love about spring, and my lovely sis will use her magic winner picker generator to see who gets it! Comments will be left open until Saturday morning February 16th and announced on Monday. Please, please make sure you are not a "no reply blogger".

For any knitters out there, you MUST make this, it's the Central Park Hoodie and it is hands down my most fav thing I've made. Such a great pattern, it seriously gets worn all the time.  There is just nothing like a really cool cable sweater....

It has a hood.  Major love.  This one is made from Ella Rae Camelsoft yarn which is super warm and surprisingly soft.  There may be yarn on its way here to make another one for my sis,(Corinnea here - Acck! I can't wait!)(Jess here- AHEM, me too??) and more yarn on my desk for another one for me. My daughter wants one too. She never wants any of my knits, so I know its a keeper.

Now, to wrap up this all yarny post, is this guy, its pretty, but Oh. So. Not. Practical.  Its made from pure alpaca, the center is made of a cria alpaca yarn that I attempted to dye in a range of green, dying yarn is very fun but is also harder than expected, the purple is a pure alpaca that contrasts so well with the green.

It's a crib sized crocheted granny square, and would be so cuddly to wrap a little boo in, you just have to be willing to hand wash and dry flat, which is where the not really practical part comes in. It also reminds me of everything lovely about spring, the colors and the coolness of the air which just begs for a blanket like this.  Now, its time to go see if my tulips leaves have gotten any taller today!

Much Love,

Things to remember..... Comments open until Saturday morning February 16th. One entry per person (any duplicate entry will be removed.) We would love, love, love it if you followed us (click the join this site button on the right side bar) but this is not a requirement. Make sure we have a way to contact you! And PLEASE spread the love and let others know about our giveaway.

Greenpoint Cardigan - The Cashmere Version

For my second go at The Greenpoint Cardigan, I decided to make something for the girl. It's a size 12 months, so a bit too big, but she wanted to model it anyway.... no bribes necessary.... Anyways...
Once upon a time, a lady had a beautiful cashmere sweater.
 Then she shrunk it.

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As I was looking for cardigan appropriate fabrics, I remembered I'd saved this almost too small for anything sweater. There was just enough to get the main body of the cardigan without the neck edge. Buttons would be impossible unless I adding a different fabric and I didn't want to, so I settled for the tie. IF I'd been thinking more clearly the tie could have gone all the way around the neck edge. As it is, this will stretch, but it will be fun while it lasts. I used the sleeve and bottom hems at the sleeve and bottom hems.
 Sometimes I like to keep it simple.

This girl loves to stand up.

 She loves talking to anyone who will look her in the eye.

She loves to laugh.

And drool? Well, it happens a lot!
I love her face.

The Greenpoint Cardigan

The Greenpoint Cardigan - Do you ever have one of those moments when you are looking for a particular something, and then that exact thing practically falls in your lap? This happened to me three weeks ago when Adrianna, one half of the Crafterhours dynamic duo, released her first pattern. Oh. My. Goodness. It is cute. It is adaptable. It is unisex. It is downloadable. You can find it on her new shop website, "Hey June Handmade". I knew exactly what fabric I wanted to use for my first attempt. I've had a Michael Miller clown stripe in brown sitting around for a couple of years. Not a single time did it speak up and say, "make me into this!", til now..... Within two days of downloading the pattern, I had the Greenpoint Cardigan made up, it is that straightforward. Three weeks later, I did the buttonholes and sewed the buttons on.... go me..... Those buttonholes almost didn't happen, my machine and I had a mild disagreement over whether it would make them for me. It actually won, but I'm not going to talk about it. 

I could go on and on about the pattern but I'll post a bunch of photos instead. 

My grandson was my inspiration and model. He was a very good sport, even if he was bribed. 

The boy kills me and I love him so.

 

Buttoned up, it has a nice slim but not tight fit. The raglan sleeve makes for easy movement and this boy moves.

 Micah really got into modeling. He even turned back and forth so we could different views.

 Ahhhh blowing kisses?!

 NOPE! Eating brownies. You can see a bit in his right hand in the photo below.

Unbuttoned the look becomes cool and casual.

And then he was done!

Disclosure: Though this pattern was given to me by the designer the decision to make it, love it, write about it and make it again are entirely my own.

Sweater Refashion

What do you do with a couple of sweaters that you've been hanging onto for a couple of years because the cable is really cute so you can't stand to throw them out??

I save them until inspiration hits (or I run out of room). This time inspiration hit first.

The little Mr. was growing out of his vest. 

He looked very, very cute in his vest. 

I cut away the general shape of the old vest.

Then cut off the neck and sleeve ribbing.

(That weird thing sticking out from under the table is Brinkley's forearm, he likes to lay under the table while we work)

I sewed everything back together, reusing the ribbing around the neck and armholes of the new vest. 

I gave it a little v-neck. I should have made the V a bit deeper but this will last for awhile.

The knit stretches a bit more than I expected but they're good for a couple of wears before Jess has to wash them again to get them back in shape. 

I gotta say, I think he looks incredibly handsome in them. 

I am his gramma though, so maybe I am biased.

He loves to go outside and say hello to the yard. I took these pictures last Sunday. 

See the flowers? 

Yes, it's still that warm here. 

Gramps sat him on the garden wall and he had to get down by himself.

It made him a wee bit angry.

Except for his diaper and socks, I made everything he is wearing in this picture.

It makes me happy.

Or is it just looking at him that makes me happy?

Hmm. Tell me what you think.