Hand Knit Stripes Have Arrived...

Pumpkins, raking leaves, Friday night football, steaming homemade soup, hot cocoa with mini marshmallows floating on top... Fall, my favorite season, is here!

There is such comfort in putting on a sweatshirt and your favorite blue jeans and taking a walk soaking up the bright blue sky with warm sunshine illuminating down on a gorgeous palette of changing color.  The colors seem so much more vibrant this time of year! 

These fall colors (some of my favorite) and the cool evenings entice me to sit down with my favorite knitting needles, soft colorful yarns by my side, and knit scarves.  This year I've added a gorgeous line up of vertical stripes using favorite color combinations.  Colors that remind me of something or just make me smile. And, like a bowl of my favorite homemade soup comforts me and warms up my belly on a cool evening - wrapping up in a favorite comfy scarf warms up my soul! 

Perfect as a gift for you, a treasured friend or a special loved one!

HATS ~ HATS ~ HATS

As winter leaves us here in Wisconsin *smile* and spring/summer begins to peak its lovely head with warmer weather, tulips and daffodils emerging from the cold ground and flip flops finding their way to the front of the closet... I realize that, unless you are a friend from "Down Under", hand knit scarves are NOT on your mind.  So, its time to devote my attention fully on my photography props - which I LOVE to design and create! I've been selling my popular "Oodles of Noodles" photo prop blankets with fringe for over a year now and I figure its time to expand.  It started with Fringe Newborn Cocoons and most recently the addition of hand knit soft and textured multicolor hats with fringe pom poms.  The yarns I use are incredible... and just plain FUN ~ Enjoy!  

Felted Wool

The thing I love most about felting is the uncertainty. I hand knit wool pieces that start out obnoxiously large and then I shrink them. Each one taking on a unique shape and style. To me wool yarn has a mind of its own when felted. It takes on a personality. When I make my bowls and wine bottle cozies I never quite know exactly how I will end up using them or what I will try to sell them for until after the felting process is complete. What starts out as a wine cozy may shrink down to a point that its personality is more suited as a bowl to hold candies or paper clips. Or maybe it would look great with a plant placed inside or to hold a little girls precious hair clips.

In addition to the personality of the wool, I love to add various textures to incorporate more depth to my items. The colors and combination possibilities are never ending and no two are ever alike! The many eyelash yarns that are available add some fun and silly to the finished piece and make me smile! They become a conversation piece - a feeling of "I want this, this is really fun... what could I use this for?"

Oodles Of Noodles ~ Ready, Set, Action!

I've written a lot about my "Oodles of Noodles" fringe blankets... this time of year they are my best sellers! But, I never had a photograph of one in action to share. Until now~ Terra Herring Photography from Kansas shared this terrific portrait of one of her little clients. Doesn't she do awesome work? It was such a thrill to see one of my designs/creations at work! ***A huge thank you to Terra of Terra Herring Photography out of Ozawkie, KS for sharing her terrific portrait! If you are in her neck of the woods and need a professional photographer, be sure to check her out!

Oodles Of Noodles ~ Unique Newborn/Baby/Child Photography Props

I hate to admit it... I'm an etsy alchemy junkie! I often scroll through the pages to see what others are looking for in the hopes that I might be offered a custom bid order or find an interesting piece that I can't get out of my mind. It was through such a search that the Oodles Of Noodles Fringe Blanket Photography Prop was born! I saw something similar during my searches through alchemy land and bid to create it. The custom piece was not offered to me but I simply couldn't get it out of my mind! And the rest, as they say, is history! I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out (so much better then the description, if I do say so myself). The blanket color possibilities are endless and being the yarn fanatic that I am, the added fringe just about puts me over the top! I'm in yarn heaven when I go to the yarn shop to pick out colors, textures, patterns, designs to coordinate and compliment. And, it goes without saying that the thought of creating something that will be used to forever capture a special moment in time of someone's precious little one... PRICELESS!

What's On YOUR Knitting Needles?

Yesterday at work a friend asked "So... what are you knitting?" I had to chuckle to myself and thought "On which pair of needles?" You see I never have only one project started. Usually it is at least 3, sometimes 4. Right now I'm working on a sweater for my daughter (it was for Christmas ~ the yarn is annoyingly bothersome) but that is a whole different post! I also have a fall/winter scarf on a pair of needles, a spring/summer scarf on a pair of needles, a new stitch using a fuzzy yarn hot off the needles waiting to have fringe added and a handbag on some circulars! Ohh... and that doesn't even put a dent in all the projects floating around in my brain still to become works of fiber art! So... What are YOU knitting?