Naomi's Heart Vest

She's such a cute model!  This is the heart vest that I made (http://www.jeneeandjason.blogspot.com/2012/07/knitting-and-stitches.html).

More From Michigan and Naomi

Here are some more pictures from Michigan.  After seeing grandma's new apartment and hanging out with Naomi for a while, we went to the old fashioned A & W in Bay City. 

We came across this killer bee on our trip home.  It is in Owosso and I asked Jason if he would make me one someday. 

Here are a couple of more cute pictures of Naomi in Michigan.  

And, here she is wearing a hat that I made her and hanging out with her best friend.  

Stitches Midwest 2012

My mom and I went to stitches last week and had a great time.  But, before I get to that, I have to post these adorable pictures of our niece, Naomi.  We saw her in Michigan this past weekend when she was visiting our family and next she is headed to Minnesota to visit Josh's family.  She is wearing a crochet sweater that I made in the first picture, such a cutie!  I'll post more pictures from our trip soon. 

So, last weekend my mom and I went to Stitches Midwest in Schaumburg.  We spent four days knitting, taking classes, and shopping.  It was a lot of fun to be there for a few days and be surrounded by others who also enjoy to knit and crochet.  Here we are knitting at a charity event for families who lost their homes to the tornado in Joplin, Mo last year. 

I took a crochet class and learned a technique to join motifs as you go.  Here is my sample from class: 

I also took a Market Session where I learned double knitting with color. 

The classes we took were taught by authors of knitting/crochet books so we got to meet some designers that we really admire.  I also got to meet Linda Permann at the Craftsy booth in the Market.  That was a nice surprise since I really like her work and I have her books.    

My mom took a sock knitting class and learned how to knit two at a time, toe up, on circular needles. 

This is from a class I took with Melissa Leapman where we learned how to knit a circular sweater/jacket with our stash.  

And, here is the sock that I worked on when I had some free time that weekend.  I finished it tonight so now I will start the second one.  I need to finish up my current projects so I can get started on all of the new projects I have in  mind from Stitches.   

In total, I took three classes and a market session and my mom took three classes.  We also spent many hours shopping and browsing at the market.  Our weekend was packed with lots of knitting/crocheting fun and we're looking forward to going back next year.  

Knitting and Stitches

My latest knitting project is a vest for Naomi.  I can't wait to see how it looks on her. 

Here are some pictures at different stages of knitting the vest.  

I also finished this sock recently.  I need to start the second one, but my mom and I are going to Stiches next week so I started an easier sock to take with me for when I have free time while we're there. 



Koolaid Dyed Yarn

I took a class recently where we learned a way to dye yarn using koolaid.  Then, when my parents visited last month, my dad picked out these colors and we dyed some yarn for my mom to knit.  Here are pictures from the process:

And, here is the finished yarn that we dyed.  This is Lion Brand Sock Ease (fingering weight) dyed with blue ice rasberry lemonade, lemon lime, and lemonade.

This is the yarn that I dyed in class.  The orange is Cascade 220 (worsted weight) dyed with orange and lemonade.  The pink is Cascade 220 Sport dyed with black cherry, cherry, and strawberry.  It was a lot of fun and I am really happy with the way they all turned out.  

Quilt Block of the Month - March

Here are my March quilt blocks for the Craftsy Quilt Block of the Month.  These are my favorite so far.  I have a little catching up to do but, I am having fun trying all of the different types of quilt squares.  

Michigan Weekend

We visited my family over the 4th of July last weekend and here are a couple of pictures from our trip.  It was so hot while we where there, but it cooled down toward the end so we picked blueberries at the local farm.  We picked about 11 lbs and brought a lot of them back to Chicago frozen so we can enjoy them for a while.   

My mom and I also made this quilt while I was there.  It's put together in a different way from most quilts and we learned about this new way of quilting from my mom's friend.  The best part was that we had to draw lines on the quilt top and my mom's friend gave us a pen that erased when we ironed it.  It's a Pilot Frixion pen that you can purchase at an office supply store.  What a great discovery!