Tree Hugger Set

These little shorties were begging to be a set. I really wanted them to be a "boy" set, but it just wasn't in the cards. lol When they knit up so nicely, but short, they really wanted a little swing top. So they went on a shopping trip with me to Target. This little brown top matches the darkest brown flecks in the shorties, so it was a match made in heaven.

Since my personal theme for this April stocking is ~Earthy~ I thought that they really needed an earthy applique. The idea for a little tree came about, well honestly, becuase the trunk of the tree was *all* the wool left over from doing the shorties. ;) So, what can be made from a rectangle? A tree trunk of course! On to the top of the tree!

I just love the texture of felted wool. Kind of gives the texture of bark and leaves. Do you see how the bark runs vertically and the leaves run horizontally? Planned! ;)

While I've got oodles of pictures...just want to point out how much I love this britches pattern. Melanie's Adorabubble Britches pattern gives such a nice bootie area. Love the fit!

Santa ~ Recycled!

Well, after removing the white cuff, and backing out a bit, we now have adorable, ruffle edged capris!

They are super cute, and would be just adorable with a little picnic top. Or maybe a ladybug top. Or...hang on, they're red and black! They'd go with almost anything. I'm a big believer that red is the new black. So red and black together? That's really black! ;) lol

Only problem with these capris? I can't get a decent picture to save my life! I'll keep trying. lol

Remember these? Another Recycle!

These "Santa Baby" britches were stocked in November with a Santa hat.

No one wanted a Santa baby. lol I was never really happy with the hat, so it got frogged. Now these pants will be recreated! They're not going to be completely frogged out like the shorties below were...but they're up for a change! Stay tuned! ;)

Recycled Shorties are Complete!

Can you even tell the difference? lol At first glance, I couldn't either. ;)

However, when you take a close look, they are different. They now are a smaller size because I've knit them on size 6 needles. This small needle size ensures a nice bulletproof wool cover without having to be felted. They've got a nice big gansey gusset (which means there is more gusset in the rear) and ample short row space in the back for a cloth fanny. The ribbed leg on these are *very* short. One inch from the end of the gusset to bind off, so they're really a soaker/short.
Now I'm working on the tee shirt to make this a set. It's going to be pretty special! I'm very excited. Stay tuned!

More R's ~ Reduce & Reuse

Here's a first attempt at reducing waste...in the form of a reusable market bag!

I am in *LOVE* with this bag. The airy, open weave stretches so much to accomidate lots of goodies! Be on the lookout for more of these! ;)

The 3 R's ~ Recycle

I decided for the next stocking of my store on The Whole Shebang that I was going to challenge myself to have all my items relate to the theme ~ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

So, here's a try at recycle. ;) It will be interesting to see how it goes! Stay tuned! :)

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I got these little shorties for Trevor last summer. Sadly, they never fit him correctly and therefore were added to the stack and ignored. They've never been used. How sad for a pair of wool shorts. :(

So...I decided to "frog" them. Yes, I unraveled them to just a wound up strand of yarn. It's amazing that this length of yarn had previously been a little pair of shorts, don't you think?

Here's a close up on the swift...see all the little bumps and kinks? That's because they've been knit up for such a long time. lol It will relax when they have a bath. ;)
Just for fun, I put the yarn into a hank. It kind of looks like a novelty yarn with all the ripples! Don't mind the off color ties in there...I just grabbed them from a waste ball of yarn to tie this up for it's bath.
So, now this yarn is soaking in my very favoirite wool wash of all time, Spiced Orange from Ewe Need It. When the kiddos go to bed, I'll take it out and hang it to dry. Tomorrow may be the day it's cast on...we'll see.

Oh, and I know this is single ply purewool...any stabs at the colorway? I could have sworn it was Sandano, but I don't think so anymore. ;)