More simple sewing and more destashing. I love baskets in all shapes and sizes, and lining them with pretty fabrics (44 of 50) makes me happy. It's darn near impossible to get one clear picture of the lined baskets, so I went a smidge overboard! 
The ho ho ho one is for sis, but the other one is perfect for the growing stash of mitts that I've knitted in 2011!
for my mama. She requested a pair of mitts (43 of 50) after seeing the ones I made for Q & S. This pattern has been on my ravelry queue for awhile, so I'm glad I had a reason to knit it! I found some Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino in my stash and thought it was perfect for this project. It's soooo soft and I loved working with it...that is, until I encountered knots in the yarn. 
Yes, more than one knot in a skein. Totally unacceptable, in my opinion, for high end yarns. Ugh. I only ended up using one skein of it (and had approximately 1 yard of yarn left), and I'm not sure what I'll do with the remaining skein. 
Anyhow, I like the finished product. It feels so soft...I hope my mama will be pleased with it.
Simple is good. These dishcloths and barmops (41 of 50) are spiffed up with fabric strips from my stash. The Christmas themed barmops are for my sis, and the rest will be gifts as well! 
This was one of those "Duh!" moments for me. While sorting through my yarn stash (yet again!), I found a skein of yarn that I sorta love. The rich jewel tones of the yarn is what draws me to it...but I can't abide the fun fur yarn that it was plied with! The yarn has been in my stash for a few years (circa mid 2000s when fun fur yarn and their derivatives were trendy).
With the help of my favourite top whorl spindle, I am unplying the yarn so that I can do something (finally!) with the gorgeous lofty yarn!
Here it is, all "unplied" and sitting pretty on the spindle.
And in it's final form - one happy shiny jewel hued ball of yarn ready to be knitted.
Now I'm off to find more "not-so-loved- yarns in my stash with the hopes of making them them more useable/lovable!
I rummaged through my stash of fibers and found more squishy undyed rovings to paint!
Lady Victoria (BFL)
My Backyard (BFL)
Colour Palette (BFL)
Fairy Dust (BFL)
Elves & Pixies (BFL)
Everything But The Spindle (Merino/Silk)
Gemini I & II (Merino/Silk)
Tropical Breeze (Merino)
Kiwi Splash (Merino)
Potion 4 Me (Merino)
Lavender Stalks (Merino)
Started the Lazy Day Lace Shawl using KnitPick's Palette Yarn (100% Peruvian Wool) in Merlot Heather colourway! In my mind, merlot should be more of a deep maroon colour, but this yarn seems to have more deep brown tones to it.
Translates to more experiments with solar dyeing! For this batch I decided to revisit dyeing with Wilton dyes. 
And at ~ 8:30 pm, I had several batches of dyed fibers waiting to be rinsed! Lovely!
But I ended up being distracted and didn't find time to rinse all the batches of fiber. Only got around to these two batches but I like what I see so far!
My sewing mojo is apparently still on hiatus *sigh*
I dug through my yarn stash in search of yarn to play with and found a couple of skeins of Serenity Garden Yarn in the Gems colourway. When I bought this yarn, I didn't have a specific project in mind. The colours were rather pretty and that was reason enough to add them to my stash! This evening, I started on a Baktus Scarf.
It has been a rather mindless knit so far, and I don't think it'll get anymore exciting other than to watch the colours unfold. Sometimes, mindless is good.
I saw this cute hat while checking out the projects in "One-Skein Wonders: 101 Yarn Shop Favorites" and knew I had to knit one (26 of 50). Though I'm not really into wearing hats, I think I might be easily persuaded to wear this! I decided to omit the three i-cord decorative element in the original design because it's, erm, not my style. The yarn is a lovely olive skein of soft spun single ply that I've had in my stash for ages. So glad to finally make something with it!
Made by my mama!!! I've hit a dry spell with sewing, but I'm glad that my mama hasn't. As an enabler, I've been fueling her growing interest in sewing by sending her gobs of fabrics from my stash. Mama's a lean, mean sewing machine...as evidenced by all the bags, pouches, etc. that she has made for me over the past couple of weeks or so. And this is only a fraction (I'm guessing 25%?) of what she has sewn lately. Go, mama, go!
My first pair of mittens (23 of 50)! The pattern is from "One-Skein Wonders: 101 Yarn Shop Favorites" and I used a skein of hand dyed 100% merino yarn in DK weight from my stash. The summery colours should brighten the dreary winter months! 
This huge shopping tote (18 of 50) was made for one of my swap partners. It measures a hefty 20" by 18", with 30" reinforced handles. This is another destashing project of sorts since I've had the fabric in my stash for quite some time. I like the size of this tote, and I think I need to construct a similar one for hauling my library books! 
I think not *sigh* Either I'm incredibly pokey while sewing or I was sloshed (hey, it was only one glass of wine)! It took me closer to 1.5 hours to make the purse based on Jodie Carleton's pattern. I like the shape, long strap and button details (I have a thing for buttons, I guess). The fabric is from my stash, and I can't remember how long I've had it. But the fabric was definitely too awesome to remain unnoticed. Voila! It's now a purse (16 of 50). 
I've been too tired to be productive in the evenings when I get home from work. Much as I would like to sew, knit or play with my paper stash, I lack the concentration to work on crafts that require some sort of planning. Spinning is the exception. It's totally relaxing to watch a couple of movies and spin (which to me, is a mindless activity). My recent handpuns (14 of 50) are all from batts or rovings that I've had in my stash for awhile. Yay! Fiber destashing in the works!!
Water - Domestic Wool, 23 g, Worsted
Peacock Fluff - Alpaca Wool Blend, 24 g, DK
Melon Berry Sorbet - Mill Ends, 52 g, Sport
Veggie Tales - Alpaca Wool Blend, 27 g, Sport
Group photo!
And last but not least, a WIP using the Candy Batts (mill ends and firestar) I received two Christmases ago! I adore the vivid colours and I think I might have to ply this one to make it shine! 
