FO Friday - 5/18

This week I only had done FO to show off because it's a biggie and the other item I finished is a surprise for someone else.

When I first came across this dress project on Ravelry I fell in love HARD, then I realized that the pattern has yet to be released so I quickly emailed the designer and asked if she needed someone to test her pattern for her and sure enough, she did, YAY ME!  So I ordered some Madelinetosh Sport from Mr. Yarn, which arrived just 2 days later (talk about awesome service), and got started as soon as it arrived.  Five days later, here is the finished dress on the blocking mats!  I can't wait for it to dry so I can stick it on Lippy Lou and get some picture, which I will share next week.

Hope you love it as much as I do!

Dresser Make Over

A few months ago I decided that Lippy Lou needed a new dresser that was taller and not as long so that her and Lynner had more wall space in their room.  When a friend of mine posted about Annie Sloan paints I knew I had to try it out and that it would give me just the look I was going for.  So after searching on Craigslist for weeks and weeks and weeks and sending several emails with no responses (I hate that) I finally had my hubs pick up this little gem!

Isn't it great and only $60!

After he picked up the dresser I took Lippy Lou with me to a local store that carries Annie Sloan to pick out a color she would like and both her and I agreed on Provence, it reminds me a little of Robin's Egg blue.  I also picked up the clear and dark wax to complete the look.

I was so excited that according to all the sites you don't have to pre sand or strip any old paints.  Well unless of course you are me and you pick the one dresser that the paint literally peels off.  There was one little chip and I went to pull on it and, no joke, almost the entire front of the drawer peeled off.  I knew that I couldn't just paint over it if it was loose in this one spot it was likely lose on the entire dresser, and I was right.  We peeled 75% of the paint off with no sanding or stripping.  Pretty sad!  Once we were done peeling I applied Citristrip stripper and let me tell you, I LOVE this stuff.  I had never used it before but have heard good things about it and it's amazing!  And I am not even being paid to say so!  I did a little bit of sanding and was ready to get started on the painting process.

The Annie Sloan paint goes on so smooth and clean.  I was really impressed with how easy it was to use and will be using it again, hopefully in the near future.  It's made me want to repaint everything in my house.  The clear wax was also super easy to use and apply, the dark wax however was a little more tedious because not only do you have to wipe it on but to get the look you want you have to also wipe it off using more clear wax.  It was well with all the elbow greece it took though!  When I got to the last side of the main part of the dresser I did have to enlist the help of my teen to get it done, my arm was just too tired to finish it up!

So without further ado, here's the awesome dresser in it's finished state!

Lippy Lou loves it and couldn't wait to fill it up!  I now want to make a matching shelf to put all those bunnies/bears on so she had more room on her dresser for other fun things she collects.  She loved the drawer pulls and even though I didn't care for them I let her keep them since she loved them so much!

Finished Objects Friday

Ok so it's Saturday and I am posting about Friday's Finished Objects. Guess that's what happens when life gets busy and time gets away from you. So without further ado, I am going to post a few of my latest FO's! At least the ones I am allowed to share, some are still top secret!

Little Cutie!

This adorable little friend was made for a sweet little girl who's sister is in Lynner's dance class.  Every time she sees me knitting she comes up and asks, "What are you sewing today?"!  I love her curiosity for crafty stuff and I decided one day to have her come out to my car and pick out some yarn.  I happened to have my bin of Dancing Dog Dyeworks in the truck because I had met up with a fellow knitter who wanted to see my stash.  She picked out Monster in the Lily Pads and I knit up this adorable cross between Maddox The Mischievous Monster and Olivia The Audacious Monster and completed her with a tutu for the cute little dancer! 

Patterns can be found on Ravelry by clicking the names above!  Tutu is made with tulle tied around ribbon and the ribbon is tied in the back of the monster.

Ravelry Project Page: Bella's Monster

They're Multiplying

These little guys came about because I always like to have something hand knit in the Easter basket.  I needed something quick and easy and this was the ticket!  They are made with Dancing Dog Dyeworks Worsted Peeps Kit.  I knit them up while training for the Breast Cancer 3 Day on the treadmill.  Each 2 hour, 7 mile walk yielded 4 bunnies!  They are stuffed with Cadbury Easter Eggs.  

Ravelry Project Page: They're Multiplying

Elsie's Dress

I first saw this dress pinned on Pinterest and knew I just had to make one!  But the problem was I don't have any babies to make a dress for.  So when I repined the dress I put a note that said " I need one of my friends to have a baby girl!" to which one of my friends replied "me me me, I have a baby girl :o)".  And so it began I told her I would LOVE to knit her little one a dress and we began picking colors and sizes and I began knitting.  Because I knew my friend had a love for handmade and has been taught to love and care for them I knew she would give the dress a great home.  Moral of this story is, comment on pins, you might end up with something fun!  

Ravelry Project Page: Elsie's Cassia

That's it for this weeks version of FO Friday, stay tuned for next week when I hope to bring you more FO's.  Please keep in mind these won't always be from the current week.  Seems like lately I am knitting a lot of stuff that has to be kept a secret so I will be showing off stuff I have knit over the past few months that I haven't blogged about before!  

Happy Knitting!

T-Shirts for the Love of Knitting

A few months ago I made myself a shirt to show off my love of knitting and shared them with a couple of the groups on Ravelry.  A few other knitters asked how they could get their hands on one and I soon began making and selling them to raise funds for my Boston Breast Cancer 3 Day walk in July.  These shirts can be made in a variety of colors and I have 3 inks to print them with including: black, hot pink and silver.

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt the information is below....


Shirts will be $25 (s-XL) or $30 for (2XL and up) (includes shipping) and 100% of every sale will be donated to my walk.

Hoodies are $35 (x-XL) or $40 for (2XL and up)

Size Charts

I can do crew neck and V-neck in shirts, although colors are limited in Men's v-neck sizes. I can also do children's sizes if needed, just ask for price. To request a preorder please leave a comment here or send me an email at littlelippyewe (at) hotmail (dot) com.

I'm back...with a few new pattern designs by ME!

Lets see, where to begin! A lot has been happening around the house of Mommie of 4 Munchkins. I have been super busy taking the kids to and fro and being crafty in many, many ways! Training for the Breast Cancer 3 Day and also to be a volunteer doula at a local hospital have also been filling my schedule. But the thing that has me most excited right now is my strong desire to design knitting patterns. I set a goal for myself this year to design and write 12 knitting patterns, one per month, and so far I am keeping with it and am even a little ahead of schedule. Here are the first 4 for the year in no particular order! I will be blogging about each pattern over the next few weeks as an intro for each. My next pattern will be out around May 12th and by far it is the one I am most proud of and am excited to share it with you all! If you are interested in learning more about my patterns or have purchased them and want to ask questions please visit my group on Ravelry at Little Lippy Ewe Designs.

Linsay Rocks!!

Taralyn Cowl

Be Aware

100% of the pattern prices goes to the Breast Cancer 3 Day!

Lillian Claire

So tell me, what have you been knitting up???  Starting Friday I am going to show you what I have been working on each week, with Finish Objects Friday ;)  I have a lot to show off since I haven't been blogging for months!  

If Heaven wasn't so far away....

Every time I hear the song "If Heaven Wasn't so Far Away" by Justin Moore I can't help but to think how I would change the words to fit my story, so I thought I would share a few with you and ask that you share some with me ;)

....I'd pack up my kids and go for the day, Introduce Joe to his Nana
....I'd find GG June and give her a big hug
....I'd meet my grandpa's and sit with them listening to their stories all day long.
....I'd sit at a table with Jesus and his disciples and listen to them tell stories of my loved ones past and present.
....I'd find Mammy and Papa Dale and smile when he calls me dimples.
....I'd sit and knit with my Grandma Violet and ask that she crochet her dolls for my girls.

So tell me what you would do if you could make a day trip to Heaven.....

Here's the song if you want to hear it ;)

Making the most of the gym..

When we arrived here in Cali I knew one of the first things I wanted to do was join the YMCA. I wanted a place to take the kids to the pool, a place for me to work out, and bonus is that it has a daycare that I can take The Fish to for two hours a day while I work out. At first I wasn't using up the full two hours because well, I needed to get back into shape. It just so happens that our gym requires you to carry a gym towel with you at all times. Well the crafty person in me was getting bored with my plain jane hand towels so I decided to get creative and here is what I came up with.



Aren't they cute?? My friend Alicia sent me a set a while back with a knitting swap package and I LOVE them. I use the ones she made in my kitchen, but these will be great for the gym. Just a set of bar mop towels (100% cotton) with some fabric scraps sewn on to add cuteness! And because I just couldn't stop there, I also made a flax seed heat pad for the body aches after the gym!



So now when I am burning 1000 calories a day I will do it in style...or at least my towel will have style!

This week I'm Loving.....

PINTEREST!!!

If you haven't started pinning you need to check it out. We have had so many yummy foods that we found here, seen so many great organizing tips and loads of other crafty stuff too!

Like last week's fantastic dinner of Brown Sugar Basalmic Glazed Pork Tenderloin



And this weeks backyard chalkboard.





And lets not forget the amazing Pumpkin Latte Syrup.

And tonight we have these Honey Roasted Potatoes on the grill (we do ours in tin foil packs so we don't heat the house up!

Seriously if you haven't check this out you really should, but be warned, it's addictive.

Lippy Lou's Sourpatch

So I have done a lot of knitting this summer but not a log of blogging about said knits so I thought I would start with my latest favorite! I fell in love with the Sourpatch pattern by Corrina Ferguson when I saw it on the Petite Purls blog. I had been pondering what colors and fibers I would use to make it for some time when along came a forum post about some Dancing Dog Dyeworks mini skeins that someone had placed a special order for. The MOMENT I saw the yarn I was in love and I knew just what I wanted it for, Sourpatch of course. So I contacted Michelle over at DDD and she was up for the job!

I knew with packing the house, packing for the trip and the end of the school year looming, I would not be able to start knitting this up until well after we started our vacation to Alaska, but I also knew I wanted the yarn ready to go so I could work on it while on vacation. Michelle had it dyed up and shipped to me before I left and I got it caked and in my knitting bag ready for the road. And yes I did this well before my clothes were packed. Who needs clothes when you have your iPad full of patterns, yarn and needles right?

So after a near disaster with my first attempt at Gramps, (I made a couple of dumb mistakes and the sleeves were WAY too small on me) I decided to put it aside for awhile and get to work on the Sourpatch. It was just a joy to knit up and watch it come to life. The stripes were so easy, much more so than I had thought by looking at the pattern. For a sweater for a tween this took no time at all, I expected it to take way longer and ended up flying through it! I just love how it turned out and Lippy Lou would have worn it everyday for a week that first week if I would have let her. The proudest moment however, took place this week. Lippy Lou proudly wore her handknit sweater for her school pictures! My heart about jump out of my chest with pride. Gotta love it when your handknits are treasured! Especially by lippy tweens!

Long time no bloggy....

Yes, yes, I know, I know....long time no bloggy. I am hoping that now that we have FINALLY moved and are starting to settle in at our new house in our new duty station I will have more time to blog about all that we are doing!

The first week of July our family set off on a LONG but FUN adventure. Because the hubs gets some time off between duty stations we took the opportunity to spend time with his family up in Alaska. We drove the 2300+ miles from Washington State up to Alaska in just 3 short, or rather long, days. For sleeping in the car the first night and camping the second night the 4 kids did remarkably well, as did the dog. We left mid morning on a Friday and arrived late, late Sunday night. Everyone was VERY glad to be settled in!

We are lucky enough to have family in Alaska that loves us and allows us to share their space for extended periods of time. Hubs got to get much needed fishing time in with friends, the kids got to spend much needed time with cousins and I got in some much needed knitting time and R&R. I think that each and every one of us left Alaska with our reserves charged and ready to start our new adventure in a new town.

Our trip back from Alaska was just as short, taking only 3 days to get back down to Washington, this time sleeping in the van both nights due to rain. Our gracious friends let us crash their house Sunday night and we headed to Oregon on Monday to visit with more family and pick up our cat, George, from my dad who was babysitting while we traveled. Tuesday it was time to travel again, this time to the Hubs' best friend's house. The big kids and I took off Wednesday morning to head towards San Diego, leaving The Fish behind with Hubs and the pets. We traveled 6 hours on Wednesday and 6 hours on Thursday making it more peaceful and less stressful for me traveling alone. Thursday the kids and I arrived, got the keys to our new rental and ate In 'n' Out Burger for the second day in a row, boy did we miss that! Friday morning the movers arrived with our household goods and we were good to go!

I will share a few pictures of our trip with you and hop back on the bloggy train!

4 kids...all smiling....MIRACLE!

The Hubs and I in Whittier

Uncle Bob and Joe, Just a Swingin'

Hatcher Pass

Momma and baby moose, right on the bike path.

And the winner of the PINK quilt is.....

and the amazing thing about the winner is she has nearly the same name as my late mother, Sally Johnston. When I first opened the email from Susan G. Komen saying I had a donation and read her name, Sally Johnson, my heart leapt a little. My mom was just 55 when she passed away after a long battle with many medical issues that started when I was 15 with lung cancer, watching her go through this horrible battle is what gave me the passion to join together with my best friend to do these walks. Each and every step I take in training, fundraising and walking I think of my mom and what things would have been like without this horrible disease.

A special thanks to each and everyone of you who participated in this raffle, together we raised $405 for a cure!!! A HUGE thank you to Heather of Olive and Ollie for sacrificing her time, talents and fabric to make this beautiful quilt, without her none of this would have been possible.

Special hugs to each of you who donated and shared your stories of loss and survival! I will be thinking of all of you as we walk our 60 miles this year.

Save the Tatas, Win a Pretty in Pink Quilt

When I first saw this amazing quilt by Heather Jones of Olive and Ollie I fell in love instantly. I contacted Heather and asked her if she would be willing to create something similar to raffle off to help me raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day. Heather graciously accepted the challenge and has completely outdone herself.

See I told you so!

Isn't the detail just amazing?

And here are some views of the back

If you would like a chance to win Heather's quilt all you have to do is donate $10 to my 3 Day Account and comment below letting me know that you have done so. For each $10 you donate you get 1 raffle ticket for a chance to win a quilt. The raffle will end on 7/21/11 at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen at random and posted on 7/22/11. If I can get one of my children to participate the winner will be chosen via video drawing, if not I will use random.org, so either way it will be completely random!

You all must get over to Heather's Etsy shop and check out all the amazing handmade children's items she has in store! I want one of everything!

It would also be greatly appreciated if you could blog/twitter/facebook about the raffle to help raise funds to save the tatas!!

It's a Bird, It's a plane, it's SUPER boy!

This morning my 3 year old walked up to me with a placemat the rolls up and ties around his neck as a "cape", so what did I do?? I went and made him a real cape of course. Being as that I lost my job a few weeks ago I have extra time to do these things for my kiddos and I LOVE it! I had some Riley Blake fat quarters laying around that I purchased because I loved and never had time to use. Then for the pattern I just kinda winged it. I even made my own bias tape without any directions, other than what my bestie had described to me a while back. So here is the end result!

My first time at applique, and while it is not perfect I think it turned out ok.

Here it is showing the back side too, so it is reversible!!


And after all that I had to bribe the boy to put it on, he decided he doesn't like the Orange "J" goof ball. I am sure he will want to wear it soon though, he is fickle like that.

Gluten Free Friday - Mixed Berry Crisp

I decided this week I would do a gluten free dessert because hey, who doesn't like a good treat once in awhile. My mom used to make us Apple Crisp and Blackberry Crisp all the time growing up and I enjoy making it for my kids too.

Mixed Berry Crisp

(Picture coming soon, it's in the oven)

Ingredients

Topping:

2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick of butter

1 TBS cinnamon

Filling

4-5 cups frozen mixed berries, I used a combo of raspberries, blueberries and marion berries from Costco

2 TBS gluten free all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

Combine the topping ingredients in a bowl cutting in the butter until it is in very small chunks.

Mix berries with flour and sugar and pour into baking dish. I used a deep round dish for mine. Cover with topping and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

I now invite you to link up one of your families favorite gluten free recipes. And please remember to use my button on the bottom of your post so that others can link up as well.

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Click below to link up!