For the wee niece and her 18-inch doll. Butterick has an easy dress pattern that looked rather versatile (i.e. may be worn as a summer frock, and possibly thru the cooler autumn months with leggings and a long sleeve tee...and the buttons may be adjusted as the kid grows). As luck would have it, I found a similar dress pattern in doll-sized proportions!!
Dress for S (the girl)
Dress for S (the doll)
Both dresses!
Coral Reef - BFL, Silk, Merino/Border Leicester
Faded Denim - Mystery Wool
Blush Blooms - Merino
Dark Lichens - Merino 
Deepwoods - Domestic Long Wool
River - Domestic Long Wool
Birdie Butler - Bristol board, scrapbook papers, embossing powder, pigment ink.
Sew Somthing! - Bristol board, vintage pattern, tape measure, thread, buttons, pigment ink, chalk ink.
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Cicles - Bristol board, scrapbook papers, text, pigment ink, pencil.
Make A Wish - Bristol board, scrapbook paper, pen, pigment ink.
From what looks like a bunch of leftover yarns (well, actually, it's handspun from bits of leftover fiber scraps)...
Into another colourful, quirky, happy skein of yarn!!! 
For a while now, I've been entertaining the thought of spinning a wonderfully quirky skein of yarn which embodies everything I love about the diversity of fibers. Last week, a swap buddy put out a request for bits of handspun fibers for her weaving project. I took all my leftover handpun and joined the ends to form one coherent skein for her to work from.
On the spindle, the colours were vivacious in spite of being haphazardly thrown together in the mix of things. There were strands of DK weight as well as lace weight, and textures ranged from smooth to nubby.
Once skeined, I marvelled at the cohesiveness of the yarn. 
There will be many more quirky handspuns in the near future! The happy muddy of colours and textures makes me smile :0)
Stopped by my favourite rubber stamp shop this morning to sign up for a card making class and also because they were having their 2nd annual garage sale! I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, but the following items caught my eye...
Four mini frame stamps to use with my inchies!
Fluffy sheep stamp for making yarn/fiber tags!
Matchbox sewing kit stamp for, erm, making sewing kits!
Mice galore (hate the real life rodents but these were too darn cute!)
Winnie the Pooh stamp because I <3 the bear...
When outside temps are in the mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit range, well that is not a clever idea. But meh, it was a long holiday weekend and I had the desire to colour the stash of mill ends I discovered while looking for, erm, something else in my craftroom.
Eeyore's Fur - 2.75 oz
My Sweet Valentine - 2.95 oz
Carribean Paradise - 2.95 oz
Squash Medley - 3.05 oz
Fighting Irish - 2.75 oz
Swamp Monster - 2.90 oz
Hyacinth's Spilled Blood - 2.80 oz
Melon Berry Sorbet - 3.05 oz
I'm taking a break from fiber and fabric! While sorting through my stash of rubber stamps to decide what needs to go and what gets to stay, I ended up raiding my paper stash to make some note cards.
Yep, another patchwork project. This adorable doggie was made with this pattern by Denyse Schmidt. It was fun to see the patchwork take on the form of the doggie as I assembled it. If I put this in my swap shop, I think I might have to make another one for me!!
Side A
Side B
Kendall is great for spinning larger quantities of yarn, but I prefer using hand spindles for spinning yarn from art batts, luxury fiber blends, and for take-along projects when I travel. After learning how to use a top whorl spindle at the fiber festival, I've been a wee bit obsessed with hand spindles.
I picked up the babe spindle for its versatility (the double whorls may be positioned to make it a top, mid or bottom whorl spindle) and in a crunch, I could take it apart when I travel!
The other type of spindle I've been wanting to try out is the Turkish spindle. I found a basic one on Etsy and I'm pretty pleased with its construction and functionality. The advantage of the Turkish spindle is its portability (nifty three piece construction) and the added bonus of having a center pull ball of roving at the end of spinning. I really like this design and will have to pick up a better one soon!
While reading up on various types of spindles, I came across several cool homemade spindles and decided I should have a go at it. Yep. Made two spindles...one top whorl and the other, a bottom whorl.
The top whorl spindle has a carved stone whorl which gives it a nice weight. The initial test shows that it's relatively well-balanced and spins pretty easily/continuously. Can't wait to spin some yarn with it! 
And I adore the details on this wooden bottom whorl spindle! I found the round wooden disk at a local shop and all I had to to was drill a hole in the middle of it to accomodate the shaft.
I'll be on the lookout for more materials that may be adapted to serve as whorls for hand spindles!
While cutting out squares for the patchwork drawstring pouches, I got carried away and ended up with huge stacks of fabric squares. Oh boy. Hence I have been trying to figure out what else I can make with the squares. Voila. Pot holders! I pieced them like I would for the patchwork drawstring pouches, quilted them on multiple layers of cotton batting, and raided my stash of bias binding to finish the edges. The colours are so bright and cheerful...I think they will help make cooking/baking less of a chore!
I've been meaning to experiment with non-food grade acid dyes. While I've certainly been happy to colour my fiber with Kool-Aid and Wilton dyes, my jars of Jacquard dyes have been gathering dust. An impulse purchase of professional acid dyes from Dharma, Cushing and Country Classics was the motivation I needed to move my dyeing operations from the kitchen sink to the laundry room. Using the non-food grade acid dyes, I was able to produce much more vibrant hues and depth with the dyed fiber. I like the results, and already have plans for another day of dyeing!
Hocus Pocus - 1 oz silk with noils
All That Is Good - 1 oz silk with noils
Peter Pan - 2.1 oz domestic wool
Singing The Blues - 1.85 oz BFL
Viva La Verde - 4 oz merino
Spice Things Up - 4 oz merino
Sweeping The Clouds Away - 2.8 oz mill ends