Who knew...

...I had a cotton 'crop' languishing in the garden?

My little experiment with growing cotton last season ended with (I thought) no actual cotton fiber from the tight, green bolls left on the plants as the weather turned cold. Imagine my surprise when Mr. Minglingyarn was out in the garden cleaning things up in preparation for some early planting and came back with a few opened bolls that were filled with fiber! After removing it from the bolls, taking out the seeds and fluffing it up a bit, it seems none the worse for wear -- hard to imagine after it spent the entire winter out in the elements.

There's not enough of it to actually do anything with -- even if I wanted to, but I think I'll take those seeds and plant them and see what happens this year. At least I know that those pesky woodchucks don't bother eating cotton!

Every Sewing Room...

...needs a sewing mascot -

For reasons that may make sense to those who know me IRL, my obvious choice is a winged monkey. From the quicksilver hook of the talented Christen . Go, take a look -- if you don't see something there to make you smile you just may need a humor transplant!

At the moment he's one of a kind, but if you'd like your own adorable monkey, check out Christen's book "Creepy Cute Crochet" (you'll find an autographed copy in the Etsy shop too).

What???

...you thought there would be a fourth post in four days?? Ha -- go knit something fun -- there's nothing to see here!

Handy Dandy Hook Holder

We've been veering heavily to the sewing side lately -- how about an (almost) crochet drive-by?

OK, OK, I'm just messin' with you -- it's still sewing, but for crochet -- hooks, that is! Sometimes you just need something better for your nifty Etimo hooks than a $1 pencil case from the Mega Retailer that Everyone Loves to Hate. This one is just a prototype -- there are a few little details that need to be tweaked -- but so far it seems to be doing what needs to be done.

All folded up it just takes up 5" x 6.25" of space, so it fits nicely in the knitting/crochet project bag. This one only has 8 usable spaces for hooks (one is kept empty for ease in folding), but since I only have 8 Etimo hooks... I may make one a little wider to hold all my Clover hooks, however the small size of this one has its charms.

Diamonds from the Sea

Two posts in two days? That's unheard of! I really wanted to share a photo of the latest project off the needles though -- Frost Diamonds from the Winter 09 issue of Knitty by Stefanie Japel. Here it's done as a smaller shawlette in Wolle's Color Changing Cotton in the "Seaweed" colorway. Aren't those colors lovely? I'm looking forward to wearing it over a light summer top once those warmer days are here again.

Pay no attention to those two loose ends that haven't been worked in yet -- soon, soon! How about a close up of the stitch pattern?

Top this...

Isn't it about time to start thinking about spring sewing? I'm almost always madly scrambling to get things done in the season I'd like to wear them -- this year I thought I might get a few things done ahead of time. HAH! Still trying to finish up winter sewing, except for this one lonely item -- a light spring topper.

Stats: Kwik Sew pattern 3732 fabric: a herringbone weave solid tan cotton - I think from Gorgeous Fabrics. Even if it was, it's probably long since sold out, but I think it's always worth taking a look over there to see what new goodies Anne has posted! Only minor alterations - shoulders narrowed a bit, and the under bust seam lowered so it would actually be under the bust -- may have gone a bit lower than I really needed. Pattern doesn't call for a lining, but I lined the sleeves with some Ambiance rayon to make it easier to slip on and off. I think I would have been well served to actually line the whole thing -- ah well, maybe I'll try that with my next unlined project. Top button (and buttonhole) left off because I want to wear it with a faux lapel look, i.e. with the top of the front pieces turned and pressed back.

Edited to add -- Nope, it wasn't from Gorgeous Fabrics, but rather from Fabric Mart, and not only that, but it's linen and not cotton -- sheesh. Too much fabric, and no inventory control -- what's a girl to do?