Category: itty bitty toys

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Knitting Update- Blankets and Spinning

Olof

As you can see on my to do list today is write a blog post and I realized that for being a blog with knitting in the title I have had very few posts about knitting lately. I have been busy the last 2 months designing things and making very large changes to my home and family for the better. But as I finished my last design project (having a giveaway tomorrow), I started revisiting some of my unfinished projects.

I have been spinning the fiber I got from The Wacky Windmill and finally plied it yesterday to make my first ball of plied yarn! Then I started spinning some more on my Turkish drop spindle. I have plenty of roving left to make more. Can’t wait to knit something with it.

I then had a ball wound up of odds and ends and in the spirit of not wasting yarn I crotchet it on to my odds and ends blanket. For this blanket I don’t care about the weight of the yarn. All I do is tie the ends together and then with a large crotchet hook, I just single crotchet it on. I love watching this blanket come together because each strand reminds me of one project or another.

Finished another block of the Miter Cross Blanket and started another. I have now finished 7 blocks and only have 3 more left to make before putting it together. The colored blocks are all made from leftover yarn from when I knit the Princess and the Pea while I was knitting through the Itty-Bitty Toys book by Susan B Anderson. It’s Lambs Pride worsted and the outside is Cascade Ecological wool.  I’m trying not to have to purchase anything to finish this blanket but I might need to unravel a vest that doesn’t fit well to use the yarn to finish this blanket. Have any of you ever done that? I’ve been thinking about that a bit lately. Unraveling and re-purposing yarn from projects I no longer love.

What do you have on your needles these days?
Be Sweet, itty bitty toys, yarn giveaway

New Sponsor! Be Sweet!

Olof

I know it’s been a while since I posted but this post I have truly looked forward to writing.
There are not very many companies out there that make a quality product and make sure that the product helps those in need. I am honored to have one of my toys sponsored by Be Sweet which is one of those companies. I hope you go over to their site and look at all this company does and makes. Be Sweet not only makes eco-friendly yarn but helps women in Africa by providing job training, giving the women a skill with their job and, as if that isn’t enough,  donates money to the local schools in the woman’s area.

 
These are some of the lovely ladies that work this amazing yarn.

Nadine Curtis is the owner and was nice enough to sponsor the yarn for the Sisters reversible toy from  Itty-Bitty Toys by Susan B Anderson. When I found out that the yarn was on it’s way I got very excited and then when it arrived in the mail I actually jumped for joy, when I opened the envelope, so my boys got all excited as well. We all did a little dance and ooed and awed over the yarn then I cut off tiny bits of it so that the boys could touch and feel it. They are not old enough to understand that what they are feeling is fibers all the way from Africa made by the most amazing African ladies but I know and they can feel my excitement and think it is pretty special themselves.
I received 4 skeins to use in making the toy. The colors are Natural, Navy, Tangerine, and Lime Green.

and I made this with it.

As you can see, I did not use the lime green color but I promise to use it for good. I was inspired by this company to pay it forward and I have started knitting hats for the preemies at my local NICU. The reversible doll is also going to be given to the hospital to a child that needs a friend (or 2) to help him or her through a hard time. You can read more about this in this blog post where I have put up a free pattern.

The braids were made with left over yarn from other projects.

The sisters is a fun easy toy and I followed the pattern exactly except for the arms. It would have been to much work to stuff them after I knit them so I stuffed the hand part as I was closing them up and then I just left the upper arms unstuffed.

Working with this yarn is AMAZING! I can’t stop petting these tinny little preemie hats I’m making with the left over yarn. It is made of organic cotton and bamboo. It’s a little thick and thin but not to extreme. The yarn can be easy to split if you are not paying attention because you are reading a book or watching TV but this yarn is so dreamy that it deserves all of your attention. Knowing that the yarn is organic and that the dyes are low impact makes it even better. I wish I could work with this yarn all the time. It would make a great infant blanket. It is even machine washable!

 
Here is a photo of the beautiful Nadine Curtis, who was amazing enough to donate the yarn for this toy and one skein of the Bambino Taffy In the Coco color for a giveaway! Yes you read me right. I’m sure you have seen these at your local yarn store. Now you get to try if you are lucky!

Nadine was nice enough to answer a quick web interview for me to tell us more about this amazing company and it was such a delight to e-mail back and fourth with her about this sponsorship.

There  is the interview.

Who is the mastermind behind Be Sweet yarns and how did the company get it´s start?

I am the owner, Nadine Curtis, and decided to start a range of hand knitting yarns made from fibers that I was working with for our South African accessories range.  I had the opportunity to live in South Africa for a couple of years and fell in love with innovative craft products coupled with production by people in empowering job creation programs. 
Who is your yarn artist and where does s/he get his/her inspiration?
We work with many groups and artisans to produce our complete range.  The inspirations come from many places.  Our new Bambino Taffy was inspired by developing further our “self striping” “all in one” yarns but with a cotton based fiber.  Also we wanted to make it look cute and sweet so we packaged like a piece of taffy candy – hence the name.
What inspired you to give back to people in need?
Why not?  Living in South Africa it’s easy to feel drawn to helping others that are less fortunate.  There is a lot of poverty and I believed that I could find a way to do my little part to help others there. 
With giving back, how do you choose the programs that you give to from all the different programs out there?
The school that we give donations to is based in the small community where our mohair group is located and the children and education of that community is in need.  We want to help give opportunities to the children of our artisans.  The Bright Start program was started by my friend Sally Whitford and her mother Sharon who are dynamic women and also believe that giving youngsters the opportunity to learn is where changing and uplifting a community begins.
Is there anything new and exciting that you are working on now that you would like to share with us?
Yes yes yes!  We have new colors and patterns coming out for Spring 2011 including a new Magic Ball color called Blossoms, Misty Lakes, and Antique.  Also two new Bambino Taffy colors — French Revolution and Candy Sprinkles.

Next fall we will be launching a new simplicity line with some really fun and unique fiber combinations in gorgeous colors with elegant patterns to support.  

Thank you so much Nadine. You are an inspiration to us all.

I hope all my readers treat themselves and make a difference by buying some Be Sweet yarn this season. You know you deserve a treat!


OK here are the rules of what you need to do to win this amazing yarn.




You have 4 chances to win if you follow the rules.

Here are the rules:
1. Go to the website and find what your favorite yarn and color is. Come back and leave a comment with contact info.
2. Become a follower or sign up for my feed via e-mail at the bottom of the page then come back and leave a comment with contact info
3. Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this site and then come back and leave your twitter id or become a follower on twitter @OlofDrofn.
4. Put up a blog post about this giveaway and come back with the link to it and contact info.
 Remember that you have to come back and comment for each entry but if you forgot to put contact info then your entry is invalid. If you forgot to add something please delete your first entry before you enter your correction.  I’m sorry, but you have to live in North America or know someone in North America that is willing to receive this and send it to you, to be eligible to win this prize.
Giveaway will be open til Sunday the 19th of December 2010 at midnight.  Winner will be announced on the following Monday. 

1001 books, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys

Itty-Bitty Update and Knitting Fever Sponsor.

Olof

Since the giveaway I have finished knitting the Frog and the Turtle from Itty-Bitty Toys and started the sisters and that is about all I have done.

The Frog and the Turtle were sponsored by Knitting Fever. Susie with Knitting Fever was nice enough to send me the yarn to make this toy. They were made with Ella Rae Classic Wool . Knitting Fever has so many amazing colors in this yarn. It is a classic wool so it’s not super soft but softer than many other classic wools. It knits up evenly and makes a nice fabric. It would knit up great as a blanket or an outer sweater. The lighter green is a heather and I LOVE the color. 

 
The Sisters are knitted with an amazing yarn and I can’t wait to finish them and do the giveaway that comes it them. You all will be very excited as well when you find out. Anybody want to guess.

Everybody but me have been sick here at my house. One bad, bad cold. So I have had no free time to knit. Too tired. I’ve been wiping noses and of course since M is so little the cold made him gag and usually this happened in the middle of the night so I had to clean up vomit as well. Oh the beauty of motherhood.

I did manage to read a book though. I read Sh*t My Dad Says. It was so funny and I will be doing a separate post as a review of that book. I don’t think I have read anything that funny and great in a long time. I also finished up Candide by Voltaire and I’m working on Through the Looking-Glass. Candide was interesting and makes you think a little. A bit odd when I first started reading but very readable once I got into it. Through the Looking-Glass is a bit hard for me to read. It is so random but I want to finish it. Nothing is keeping me interested though except that I know I should finish it to know the story.

Tomorrow I will do doing a review and giveaway of the yarn I used to make the hippo so stay tuned.

What do you have on your needles?

art journaling, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, update

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

I have been very busy these last few days.

 
We are still art journaling. O loves paint! I love his art!

 
M has been sick and just wanted to be held but I tried to get as much done on the needles as possible. Mom has been a God send.

 
I finished the hippo. Will go into the details when I do the yarn giveaway with this one.

 
Finally finished the Cedar Leaf Shawlette. I did some modifications. I cast on fewer stitches because I didn´t have a long enough tail to do the cast on and since I was doing this for the 3rd time I was not going to pull it and cast on again so I just added the stitches in the second row. Then there were a fewer garterstitch rows by 2. Then I had 2 fewer short rows and then I finally had enough yarn to finish. I still need to block it and then I will say what I think about it. Right now I´m just happy that I´m done for the 3rd time.

 
I finished the Big Montana Tunic and now it needs to be blocked. I enjoyed the knit using double Cascade Ecological. It was cheep at 30 dollars for all the yarn I needed for this.

 
This is the Icelandic Sweater Vetur that I was making for hubby but he didn´t like the wool so that I am know knitting it for me.

 
Working right along on my Tea Leaf Cardigan with my own hand dyed yarn.

 
Then now I am trying something new for me which is the White Witch Mitts 2 at a time using the magic loop method. It´s a mess but a learning experience. It´s getting colder here and I´m going to start to need them on my walk to O´s preschool 3 mornings a week.
boys, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, knitting, sweater

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

This week has been interesting. Sorry for the delay in my itty-bitty update. I have been busy with the long weekend and 2 kids with colds. Don’t worry I do have some yarn goodness to show you. I haven’t been lazy on that front.

This is how my princess and the pea is coming alone. Slow but coming along. I’ve finished half the mattresses now. I do need to buy the stuffing for them though. My knitting through the Itty-Bitty Toys book is coming right a long.

My Shalom is almost finished. I’m finishing the last sleeve and then I just need to weave in ends and sew on buttons. I made half sleeves because I tend to push sleeves up to my elbows. I guess it’s my get to work attitude. The Cascade Ecological Wool works very well for this project and I only used less then half of the second skein for the sleeves.It doesn’t hurt that each skein is less than 15 dollars and if you made the Shalom with out modification then you would only need one.

I made this in less than 2 days. It’s Milo. An Australian design that I found on Ravelry. It’s made with CotLin from Knit Picks which makes it warm but not too warm and it’s machine washable. A big plus when knitting for newborns. It’s for my neighbor down the street. She is having a little girl in October. I’ll be making some for my boys in wool and with out the OXOX on it to keep them warm this winter. I love that this can be made into a vest for boys or girls or a little frock for little girls. It’s easy to knit so if you are not experianced it is OK all you have to know is how to kit, purl and do a backwards loop cast on to make this. It will be my go to pattern for new babies for now.

I also started on a little hat for that little girl with scraps of yarn that I had laying a round. It’s Kilkenny from Wee Woolly Toppers. This one hurt my hands a little as soon as I got to the ribbing at the top. Very cute though. I liked the patterns in the book well enough to buy it. I’ll be making hats for my boys out of it this fall. I’m going to make the Cuba for M and the Tubey for O.

I still have a lot of UFOs (unfinished objects) laying around. I still need to finish my Tea Leaf Cardi, my Cedar Leaf Shawlette,  my Citron, My Vetur Lopi sweater, and my French Press Slippers.  Need to get myself organized and finish these UFOs before they finish me. Hopefully by next week I will have at least 3 of my UFOs finished. That would be my Shalom, princess and the pea, and my French Press Slippers.

Last night we shot the video to show how to do the navajo plying method while knitting to help people with using it in my cowl pattern. and hopefully I will have a working video by the end of the week and the pattern for sale both here and on Ravelry.

The URL is changing to this site from icelandicgardener.blogspot.com to knittingwitholof.com I thought it better suited. 

Here are some shots of my boys being boys.

Yes, my 7 month old drives cars around the house and watches *cat* TV out the back door. O is playing on a piece of paper his Aunt Sabrina made with him the last time they saw each other. My husband took these amazing photos of our most important people in our lives.

Designing, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, winner

Itty Bitty Update and Winner of Yarn!

Olof

This week I was working on the Princess and the Pea toy. I had finished the doll and part of the blanket last Monday. This week I finished the blanket and started knitting the mattresses. This toy is a lot of knitting and I am wishing that I had a knitting machine for the mattresses. I’m just going to have to make myself knit them.

I’ve also been knitting on the shalom sweater. I’m about 5 inches from finishing the body and moving on to the sleeves. I love how quickly this knits up. I also contacted DellaQ about that project bag that fell apart the first time I closed it. They were nice enough to send me a new one in a color of my choice and it arrived 2 days ago. It´s a lovely red and the Shalom lives in it when I´m not working on it.
I also knit this in 2 evenings.

It is a collared cowl that I will have the pattern written and for sale here and on Ravelry tomorrow. I will also have a giveaway with this pattern and the yarn to make it tomorrow. And so you know, there will be more than one winner. Not the best photos but you sort of get the gist of it. Hubby is going to take some nice ones tonight.

OK now to what most of you have been waiting for,
The winner of last weeks giveaway of 2 skeins of Balance was chosen by random.org  is ………………………..

Lucky number 15!

Rachel said…
OOO some O-Wool! I haven’t used this yet and would LOVE some Lapis and Butterstone. Such pretty colors. So hard to pick.

I will contact you and get your mailing address and if you would like a skein in each color or both skeins in one color. Congratulations!

http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, project, sponsors, Yarn

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

I have jumped on the french press slipper band wagon. There were over 3220 project on Ravelry.com and I had been drooling over them for a while but not wanting to pay 7 dollars for the pattern. Well I finally caved and bought the pattern. I really love it and it’s very easy. Great last min present idea. I used Icelandic Lopi for these and I’m going to have to shave them and they need buttons.

Then I was gifted this pattern.

I got buttons for the Baby Sophisticate so now I can send it to my friend in Iceland. 

I knitted a bit on my Tea Leaf Cardi this week.

It lives in the project bag that I got in the Classic Elite contest but it started coming apart the first time I closed it. Not very impressed.

Here is my toy of the week. It’s the new sock monkey from itty-bitty toys. I still have his legs and feet to make but that will be done by tomorrow for the giveaway.

Then I will start on this sponsor yarn. Anybody guess what I am making with it?

Then I got this yarn from a sponsor in the mail today. Anybody guess what I will be making with it?

Then I got this in the mail the other day. It will not become a toy but I will be doing a review of it and a huge giveaway of it. Anybody guess what yarn it is?

Designing, finger food, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, pool, sick baby

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

I got a little sidetracked this week. I finished the doll and her hat but I ran into a problem with the children´s hat and, well, got sidetracked by my tea leaf cardi. I did get the wrap me up puppies started but not finished so for this month I am a little behind on my itty-bitty knitting.

The doll was a large project though with a lot of knitting. there was the doll, the undies, the dress, and the 2 hats involved in that one so I think it should count as 2-3 projects. She is amazingly cute though and going to a great home on the 28th of this month.

The Wrap me up puppies are started. Well, I have finished the body, ears and two back legs. I haven’t attached the legs yet. It sort of looks like a guinea pig right now.

The Tea Leaf is coming along. It is way to hot to be knitting on this but I really want to finish it so that I can start on the Shalom. I’m really wanting to have some amazing sweaters this fall.
I’ve been told that 2 of my sponsors are sending me yarn for some projects this week so keep posted. I’ll have to really start knitting when I get them there will be some giveaways you guys! I’m super excited.
I think I have a bit of knitting block. You know when you have a deadline on a project but all you can think about is another project. All I can think about right now is designing and knitting these sweaters but I have other things to do. I’m sure as soon as I get this yummy yarn in from my sponsors that I will just melt and knit up a storm in the toy area. What do you do when you have knitter’s block?

My garden got a bit dried up this last week. I forgot to water it since I haven’t had to water since spring because of all the rain we have been having. Well it didn’t rain much for over a week and lets just say my garden was very SAD in the 100+ degree weather. I watered well on Saturday after this amazing harvest but then it rained cats and dogs on Sunday. I’ve started ripping things out but have a ways to go to get my fall plants and seeds in the ground.
This weekend was a bit fun. We got the pool going for O and we just hung out and played.

The only thing that was not fun is M has had an ear infection for a week now and we have had to give him meds which in return have given him diaper rash. Makes for a not so happy little man. Oh, and want to add M is 6 months today!!!

Poor little dude is getting his first cereal from his daddy. Most of it just came right back out but he liked the way it tasted.
Well, wish me some knitting right a long vibes so that I stay on schedule. I need to knit up 3 toys this month. Keep me on track.
Oh, and I actually sold my pattern to some people. I’m so excited. I’m a designer!

baby doll, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, knitting

Itty-Bitty Update.

Olof

Ok so I’ve been a bit destracted the last few days with my first design and I have a few questions for my readers. Remember the yarn that inspired me last week? Well I designed my first design with it and came up with this:

It is a iPad case and it is not quite done. I need your opinion. You see the roses? well I have 2 more that I made. Should I put them on? Maybe on the front in the opposite corner to the top or on the other side of the bag? I haven’t sewn in the lining because I needed to take pics of what I did to it. I also wanted to know what you think about the pattern. If I make it available on Ravelry, should I make it free since it is my first pattern or do you guys think that I could charge something small like 30 cents?
I have an idea for another case that you can open like a book. That will be more manly for my hubby. He can’t really be seen with this around town.

I have been working on the Baby doll a little. I’m almost done. Just have some weaving in of ends and the braids to make. Then it is the bouncy ball so that I have something quick to finish by the end of the month and then hopefully I will have yarn from one of the sponsors to make more toys and I will whip it up and have another giveaway!

This weekend I did some mowing and edging. It’s a lot of work even just doing the front yard. with first mowing, then edging and then sweeping everything up of the sidewalk and driveway. I meant to clean up my flowerbeds but it was too hot and I was already a bit burnt from the sun.
My husband was suppose to fix my trellis this weekend but it didn’t happen with company being in town, my in-laws were here, but he did mow the back yard. We have had so much rain this summer that the grass grows super fast. We have to mow every weekend or it gets to the point our mower can’t handle. it.
Needless to say I did not get to cleaning up my veggie garden. I need to pull up some of my plants that I don’t enjoy and anything that is not producing.

giveaway, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, itty bitty toys, knitting, project bags

Itty Bitty Update and Winner of Yarn!

Olof

This week I have been knitting my 30 min a day and also putting time into finding sponsors for the toys I don’t have yarn for yet. This knitting through the book business is starting to get quite expensive. I’ve been in luck and have a few sponsors lined up and will tell you who they are when I knit the toys. Some are sponsoring yarn giveaways as well, so stay tuned for that. I’m very excited about this.

I’ve finished everything but the hat for the baby doll. So this week I made her dress and her bloomers.

I am also knitting the elefante, the free pattern on Susan B Anderson’s site, for my LYS because I am teaching a class on how to make it on the 14th of August. Hoping I get a better turn out than last time. This one is made with Alchemy DK fuchsia and plum. It’s been a fun quick knit. I just have to attach the legs and make the ears and eyes and it’s finished.
Next month I might add a market bag class to the list. I was very inspired by a raveler  to make market bags for x-mas presents this year. Rae Lynne hand dyed yarn is amazing! She is about to open her own etsy shop and I think I just might be one of her first customers to buy this amazing yarn and one of her needle cases.

I also sewed a project bag yesterday. It did turn out a bit long and thin though. But very usable. In it you can see a yarn that I could not resist when I went to my LYS. It’s the Plymouth yarn Kudo. I think I will make my first original pattern out of this and I know exactly what it will look like. I’m so excited about it that it is hard not to just start. But I have to be good and finish what I need to finish. If I get far ahead of my itty-bitty toy knitting then I might give it a go.
The trellis in my garden fell down. It was a mess before but now it’s a complete mess. I tried one of the banana melons but it was not quite ripe. It sort of tasted like a cucumber. I also harvested some of the Futsu squash and I plan to make up a recipe for them.

We have a winner for the yarn and it is #75 picked by Random.org

Anonymous Anonymous said…
What a spunky bundle of yarn! [email protected]

Thank you to everyone that took part in this giveaway. I was very happy to see how many people left a comment and even blogged about the giveaway. Hopefully I will get such a good turn out for future giveaways. Looking forward to reading your future comments.

I do have a question for your guys. Do you like having the knitting and the garden stuff in the same post or should I have separate days for this?