Etsy!

I finally got around to listing my stuff on Etsy again, so if you're interested, check them out! You'll find listings for these items:

 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or email me! I'm also currently working on a blue baby bunny hat, so if you're interested, let me know. 

Fall Activities

I'm home for fall break until Tuesday and so far it has been a productive and restful time.  On Friday I headed to Uconn to visit with Luke.  I got to hike in the Uconn forest, which was very fun.  The next afternoon I drove the rest of the way home and didn't accomplish much, although I did finish another baby hat!

It's not the best picture, but oh well.
Today has been a fun one.  We went cranberry picking on Papermill road.



I think cranberry picking is Chrissy's new favorite activity.



Rob's extra large hand with beautiful cranberries!

We also got to carve pumpkins today!  We sorted the pumpkin seeds and momma is baking them right now.

Surprisingly, I didn't carve the rabbit pumpkin.  From left to right: mine, Rob's, and Chrissy's.  Mine looks a lot better in person....

Today, Rob and I also tried to cut glass bottles. In the past we cut them with cotton thread, nail polish remover, a flame, and ice water, but the edges were always very ragged and required a lot of sanding.  Today we tried to do an initial cut with a glass cutter, then slowly poured boiling water, and then immediately ran it under cold water until it cracked.  We were unsuccessful with the green heineken bottles, but Rob had luck with the glass coke bottle.  He even used it as a glass for dinner tonight.

And last but not least, I've been spending some quality time with the adorable Sunny.

Baby Hats and Cows

My newest project has been baby hats! They are a super quick project and I'm hoping to start my etsy back up with them soon (in the meantime, send me an email if you're interested in them!).

A couple of weekends ago, I visited Luke and one of the highlights was seeing cute little cows like this one.

The end of the summer, the start of the fall.

Before the first week of school I had a last hurrah up in Vermont.  I spent my time relaxing by the water, finishing up mom's needlepoint belt, and taking pictures of Sunny.

Now for the needlepoint, all I have to do is send it to a guy who will turn it into a belt!

I'm back at school now and enjoying the warm weather while it lasts!  

my room at school.

a lot of time was spent hanging up my pictures. here's one piece of my wall. the jewelry box in the bottom right frustrates me in this picture but i was too lazy to move it out of the way.

wiley boy is happy to be back at school.

Looking Back on the Long Trail

I'm back at school now and even though this semester is flying by so fast, I find myself thinking about my summer adventures.  Summer 2014 was filled with so much from thru-hiking the Long Trail with Luke, spending weekends in VT, attending the Newport Folk Festival, going to Alaska, hiking Katahdin, some more backpacking and lots more.

In the spirit of the Long Trail, I made this keychain.  I made Luke a couple as well.  I put a piece of birch bark (from the LT) at the bottom of the cap,  and then filled it with epoxy.  I let it dry and then drilled a hole through it, going from the cap down into the epoxy.  Ever since this craft success, I've been saving bottle caps for more key chains and possibly some earrings.

Over the summer I started a postcard collection and have been trying to collect them wherever I go and I asked friends to send me a postcard when they went somewhere new and exciting.  The last great postcard I received was sent to me by mom the first week I was back at school.  It was such a lovely surprise and I remember what the day was like and what I was feeling when I crossed the exact same spot when hiking the LT.  

Smugglers Notch ~1940's

We woke up that morning to foggy weather.  We hiked Mt. Mansfield with rolling clouds around us and had the view poking in and out of sight.  On the way down Mt. Mansfield, the weather was clearing and we met up with Adam (a friend we made on the trail).    By the time we got to Smugglers Notch, the fog had completely cleared.  It was a great day and it was nice catching up with Adam, whom we hadn't seen for the last two days.  We ended the day at the beautiful Sterling Pond lean to.  

The bathrooms were luxurious in Smugglers Notch before our ascent up to Sterling Pond

Here are a few of the many favorite pictures of the trip.

happy.

perfection.

indescribable.  

Spring is coming!

Despite the warmer weather that has been presenting itself lately, Colby's campus still has snow piles scattered around.  I can't complain though because the weather is warm and spring like - my favorite!  I'm trusting that the rain that we are supposed to get on Friday will take care of the remaining snow on the ground once and for all, so I am not too worried.

I recently finished another pair of fingerless mittens. It was a birthday present for Lexi, and I'm happy with how they came out.  The pattern can be found on ravelry.

Thanks for reading and just like always, please feel free to comment or send me an email if you would like!

Nail Polish Flowers

The first day home on spring break, I found a great new craft idea on pinterest - nail polish flowers! When I saw them I didn't really believe that it would work so well, but I still had to try.  I have to say, they work quite well and hopefully this tutorial will be helpful for anyone who wants to try!

The first step is to gather nail polish from your sister who has more than any person could ever need (sorry, Sarah).

Then get some wire and needle nosed pliers.  The wire should probably be a little thicker than 24 gauge so the loops don't get crinkled easily, but not too thick that it is difficult to work with.  Needle nosed pliers may be helpful, but I found myself using only my hands to make the petals.  

The next step is to create the flower shape.  This step is probably the most difficult one.  In order to make the nail polish stick to the wire and create a film, the petals should be small.  But if you would like larger petals, then be sure to make them narrow.  The petal's wire loop should be a fully closed circle, otherwise the nail polish film will pop.  

When you get to the filling-in part, start at one end of the petal and drag the brush to the other side.  If you can not get the film to stay, then keep trying.  If that doesn't work then squish the petal in order to make it narrower.

Let the nail polish dry for a while.  Even if it appears to be dry, it may still be a little tacky.  

Even my ~6'5" brother wanted to join me with this craft and make a couple of these.  Here are some of the first flowers that I made: 

 

Once you get the hang of it, you can make some nice floral arrangements just in time for spring! Hopefully some warmer weather is on it's way so we can see some real flowers blooming outside!

If you have any questions or comments, please be sure to send me an email or comment on this post! Thanks for viewing!!

Too little time

The start of the new semester has really taken off and I simply can't find enough time in the day to do all that I want! The other day when I wanted to relax for a few minutes, I started working on some mittens that I had started a little while back.  I was making up the pattern as I went and after a little while I decided to try them on.  I tried putting them on, and because of my tight knitting and the fact that I was doing a five color zigzag pattern, they were so tight! I got frustrated and decided to take them out.

I wasn't sure what to do next, but then I decided to attempt my first sweater!  My mom got all of the materials ready for me two Christmases ago, so I think it is about time.  This project is a big undertaking for me, but I was sure to make a gauge (since my knitting is always too tight), and now I am on my way to finishing my first sweater!

I realized that I never posted my most recent project.  They were simple striped mittens and the pattern can be found here.

They are also for sale in my Etsy shop.  Other items are still listed there! Please check them out and pass the word along!

It is now time for some pre-bedtime knitting after a long weekend of woodsmen competition and homework! I'll keep you posted on my sweater progress and feel free to comment/contact me for any questions or information!

Thanks for reading!

Jan Plan Projects

Here are pictures of the fingerless mittens that I mentioned in a previous post.  I loved the quick pattern that I found on ravelry.  These are now available in my etsy shop!! 

And here is a picture of the gray pair on the knitting needles.  I had to show off the adorable sheep knitting markers that I received for Christmas!!

 Last January when I was taking my writing course, I decided to make this hat...

I thought that this pattern was found on ravelry, but after some searching I don't know where it is from! Because of my tight knitting (which is more under control now), this hat does not fit an adult.  But if there is a child that would like this hat, please let me know, because I would love to sell it and get it off my hands!!

Past Knitting Projects

This morning with not much to do, I decided I would take some pictures of my past knitted items.  I've always knitted gifts for my family, so now it seems that everyone has a full wardrobe of my knitted creations!
Mom helped me to take pictures and model, but I must say, we are not too good at it!  I think the best model was Sunny...

Sunny was kind enough to model Robert's 2013 Christmas present.  That was a long project.  I got the original pattern from ravelry.  Rob has a large head so I needed to be sure it was going to be big enough for him, which is why I changed the needle size.  I also adjusted the rim of the hat and the pattern because there was one specific part of the pattern that I did not like (I won't go into more detail).  The finished project was quite the large hat, but my great mom sewed in felt and elastic so it would be sure to stay on Rob's head.  

I don't remember when I knitted these next items, but here are some pictures of them anyway!

These two patterns were either from this book or that book.  Both books are definitely good knitting books to check out!

In addition to the two previous mittens, Mom has received this scarf.  It is a zig-zag scarf and the pattern  is found in one of the books that I just mentioned.  

This hat was made for Sarah and it was a great pattern.  I especially like the star that it made on the top of the hat.  Once again this pattern was found in the books that I mentioned.

Now to finish this post, here are some pictures of the best model I know!