It's all in the details...

I have a friend.  Her name is K.  I made her a pretty sweet snood for Christmas 2010, and you can read about it in my very first blog post.  Remember?

My friend has a family, of which I have become a part.  She has two beautiful boys, and one very sweet little girl.  She has a husband who is a pillar in my world, and an extended family who I care deeply for as well.  I have told her before that she is probably my favorite friend, and that I don't care very much if I am or am not hers.  I'm secure enough.

So, as the story goes, her snood was laying around the house, and her super sweet and sassy-pants daughter asked if perhaps I would make her one.  Now, this kid- I have a special place in my heart for her. I recognize that her mother buys her clothes, but given my obsession with pink, purple, fluff and really all things girly; I often imagine myself shrunk down and shopping in her closet.

Really.

I am petite enough.  I have thought very often about shopping in children's clothing stores.  All of the hearts, dots, stars and tulle...I would have a blast.  I would do very well in Tokyo, I suppose, and I hate that when I was in Sydney I was too plump to shop in the Asian shops.  Sigh, but I digress.

So when it came to designing a snood for this little muse, I thought that I should make something I would like, and then size it for a seven year old.

And this is what I came up with...

I had some bamboo/wool blend yarn, and with a size 5 needle, I used just a knit stitch to create this little cutie.  I folded it down, and embellished it with a collection of buttons from Joann's.  I have to say, what an overwhelming and extensive button collection!  I had to restrain myself.  I also happened to have a few rolls of simple ribbon in nearly the same color laying around, so I used my trusty blanket stitch to give it a little something extra.  Really, I love the way it turned out.  Here it is on a roll of toilet paper...

So stinking cute.  Make one!  A half a skein of yarn, some buttons, ribbon, and an afternoon.  I will come up with a pattern soon enough.

Have a beautiful day.  Or night.  Or whatever.

Rachel Bee

5:00 am, You are Sweetness!

I love 5:00 am.  We are a house full of morning people, including my 2 year-old son, who can't stand to know that people are up doing things without him.  My hubs is still sleeping, but he is normally up getting ready for work at a place where he is dedicated to making morning people out of the rest of our little town (fruitless endeavor).

I suppose a question remains, "what is so great about 5:00 am?"  I am not really sure.  I used to work out at this time, but when I had my baby, going to the gym at 5 became one of those really impossible notions.  Now, I suppose I use this hour for the same principle: I use this hour for me.  I set out supplies for baking, finish up a scarf, mop my kitchen floor, read my Bible, take a shower and spend the hour to meticulously do my hair...sometimes, I even choose to sleep.

Last week was a very productive week, finishing off Christmas presents for girlfriends, and baking hundreds of cupcakes for clients.  Here is a one of those projects that I finished...

As my husband informed me, this is a "snood."  I called it a "neck warmer," or a "collar."  I made it for my very favorite friend, out of merino wool.  It is studded with flowers, viciously plucked from a 50% off stem from Hobby Lobby.  I sewed them on with buttons I yanked from an old shirt, sandwiched between some netting I cut from a vintage dress in my closet that desperately needs refurbishing.  The lace detail was from  the shirt that lost its buttons, and the yarn, well...it's just yarn.  A lot had to die to make this "snood," but I love you that much, friend.  And here is what it looks like on...

Ok, I know it is too big, but normally my knitted items are drastically over/undersized.  I know there are ways to avoid this, like patterns and test-squares, but as you will come to know, I am not that kind of girl.  Still pretty though, don't you think?

Hmm?

OK.  That's all for now.  I hope you grow to love my little blog, and I will grow to provide more info on how I produce my projects.

Have a great day, friends!

Rachel Bee.