Cartwheels Dress

Next on my list of dresses from Olivia's Someday book is the cartwheel dress!  A perfect dress for playing in the yard or whatever adventure Olivia wants to pursue.  Her little sister is getting a matching dress, but it's not quite finished yet.

For this one, I splurged and took a trip to the fabric store to buy fabric.  I think I found some pieces that do the dress justice.

 And here it is!

I think she likes it! :)  After finishing the dress, I realized that my attempts to make it simple by designing it with a boat neck and no fasteners at the neck made it slide down one shoulder or the other when she was wearing it, so I will have to do something to fix that.  Her little sister's will have buttons at the shoulders so the neck can be smaller on hers.

This colorful and inspirational book can be purchased here:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/someday-eileen-spinelli/1006566310?ean=9780803729414

Olivia's Someday Dress

My 2 1/2 year old, Olivia, loves books, but there is one book that really seems to inspire her and always gets her asking "Can I do that too, someday?"

(You can buy the book here!)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/someday-eileen-spinelli/1006566310?ean=9780803729414

Someday is a book with an inspiring message and gorgeous, colorful illustrations, but I always catch myself looking at the clothes the little girl is wearing and wishing Olivia and Regan could have such beautiful outfits to wear when they do cartwheels in the backyard or dig for change in the sofa cushions.

I decided I'd try my best to recreate some of the gorgeous outfits created by Rosie Winstead starting with the outfit the adorable heroine wears when she has tea with the president.
You can see more of Rosie Winstead's work here:
http://www.rosiewinstead.com

I picked up three items at the thrift store to recreate the look: an XL man's dress shirt, a skinny brown belt, and a pair of green cotton capri pants.  I think I was pretty successful, considering I had a 1 and 2 1/2 year-old along and I had to shop quickly before everyone got too bored.

And here is Olivia in her outfit.  I crocheted the collar- mostly because it was easier than cutting and sewing one.  I used the front button plackets of the shirt as the buttons up the back, so I didn't need to sew any buttons or button holes on the dress.  The jacket's buttons are the same buttons that were on the pants when I bought them and I think they work great for the jacket!  I almost considered using the fronts of the pants with the sewn-on pockets and button flaps as the sleeves, but I thought it would make it look too military or casual and I wanted this to be fancy enough to be worn when meeting the president!  It needs a few finishing touches before it's totally done- a little ribbon to hang down at the neck of the dress, some loops to keep the belt in place, but even before it's finished, she loves it.

Here is the hat I created for her while she and her sister took a nap today.  I really wanted to felt a hat, but I couldn't find any wool yarn in the right color, so I went for organic cotton instead and crocheted a newsboy-ish cloche and added the flower, ribbon, and feathers.  She is modeling it for me right after she woke up from her nap.  After I took this photo, I added a second feather which will be in the final photos I take of everything together.

And here it is!  The whole ensemble... :)

There are plenty of other cute outfits in the book... I have already started on a couple more. : )

 One last shot of the outfit with the book to compare it to. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Is it really 2010 already? Christmas and New Year's are over and there's finally a little time to decompress. Mark and I went to see Leap Year tonight- going to a movie in the theater (on opening night, no less) is something we rarely do, but we thought it would be fun. If you like predictable romantic comedies, you'll love it. That's all I'll say about it. (That and I have the best husband in the universe for sitting through movies I know he doesn't want to see just to make me happy!)

My brother Todd's 40th birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and this reminder of his aging is making me feel old! Looking forward to the party where we'll be able to celebrate together.

I've got a new etsy site with a limited amount of inventory, but gorgeous stuff (if I do say myself!) Check out TinaBobnickDesigns.etsy.com when you get a chance. Right now, you'll find a fantastic array of hand-knit leg warmers. Soon to be added are beautiful ruffled wristwarmers and wonderful cable-knit headbands, too. I just need to get Mark in the mood to take pictures of me modeling everything. : )

Upcoming Crochet Class at Darn. Knit. {Anyway}!

Hey! Are you looking for something to do after all the holiday chaos is over? I will be teaching a crochet class at darn. knit. {anyway} in Stillwater! Check out their website for details on all their awesome classes. darnknitanyway.com
My class will be for a crochet twirl scarf which is super easy but looks really fabulous! Even if you've never crocheted a stitch, you can learn how to make this scarf! The pattern is very forgiving if you make a mistake and people will think you are a creative genius! The class is two Wednesday nights for two hours starting at 6:00 PM each night. It will be Wednesday, January 27th and Wednesday, February 3rd. It's only $30, and it will be lots of fun, so sign up and we'll make something beautiful together!
The class description says it's for advanced beginners, but I promise, I have lots of patience with real beginners, too! : ) Scarves are great projects for beginners and experts- and who in Minnesota doesn't need a scarf in winter?

Thanks to everyone who came out to my sales this Christmas season. I had tons of fun at each show!

Upcoming Craft Shows

I've been feverishly working every moment I'm not at my "real job" to make lots of fun things for the three craft shows I've got coming up.

First is St. Gen's Gift Expo which will be on Saturday, November 14th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is: 6995 Centerville Road in Centerville, MN. The first 50 people through the door get gift bags filled with lots of fun goodies... and I'm working on something fun to put in there, too, so get there early and you'll see my contribution. There will be a silent auction for baskets donated from each vendor. I'm still trying to decide on something to donate, but I want it to be awesome so my basket gets the highest bids! : )

Next is Thursday, November 19th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Burnsville High School's Senior Campus. I'll only be able to be there till noon, but my wonderful mother will be filling in for me after I have to leave, so my stuff will be there the whole time. That one will have lots of fun crafts and food items along with lunch that can be purchased from the Senior Center.

Then, lastly, I've got something that should be really fun at the Curves in Minneapolis (I have to figure out which location this is going to be, as there are a few that are in Minneapolis and I can't remember if it's Southeast or Southwest.) Anyway, that is from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, December 5th, so that should also be lots of fun.

And I'm also super excited that I'll be at all three of these with my amazingly talented cousin Sara who makes delicious chocolate confections and treats. Her website is illbedippedinchocolate.com and everything she makes is wonderful! : )

So in between making things for sales, I'm trying to fit in all my Christmas gift knitting (which will be pared down from years past, unfortunately!) It's a good thing I have an understanding husband who doesn't mind (too much) if I spend a lot of time knitting... and the cats LOVE when I knit because it means there's a lap available for long periods of time!

darn. knit. {anyway} is OPEN!

Darn Knit Anyway is open for business! I stopped by last Thursday and dropped off all my goodies - handmade stitch marker sets, felted mittens, felted purses, coffee cup cozies, wine bottle sleeves, knitting and sewing themed necklaces, and owl, monkey, and kitty-cat hats. Even before the store's official opening last Friday, customers were coming in and shopping. Everyone that came in said the same thing: "I'm so excited to have a yarn and fabric store in Stillwater!" I feel the same way!
My mom and I went to the shop on Tuesday so she could see it for herself and everything looks wonderful. The shop was buzzing with customers and that was really exciting to see. I hope everything goes great for Aimee and Carly because they are both really sweet and very excited about the shop, too!
Go check out the shop - the address is 423 South Main Street. If you're going East on 36 to get to Stillwater, it's the very first shop on Main Street on the right hand side.

darn. knit. {anyway}

Yay! I am so excited to finally write about this... there is a new yarn and fabric store opening in Stillwater -- hopefully the second weekend in October-- so, SOON! I have been working and working every second I've been home at making lots of fun and beautiful things that I'll be selling on consignment at the shop! Woohoo!
When I went to the shop a couple of weeks ago, Aimee was just having the shelving installed, but it looks like the store is going to be AWESOME! : ) I got to see some of the gorgeous alpaca yarns and I'm knitting a couple of sample items for the store to display- both out of alpaca - and they are both gorgeous. So if you go to the shop, look for the camel-colored cabled legwarmers and a beautiful light blue short-sleeved wrap sweater with a tie- I made those! : )
Here is a link to the shop's website: http://darnknitanyway.com/ and you see she's started to fill her shelves!
So, the next time you're in Stillwater, stop in to the shop and see all the wonderful things being sold in the front of the shop made only by Minnesota and Wisconsin artists (me, especially!) I wish Aimee tons of success with her shop. I know I'll be shopping there! : )
Oh, and just in case you're wondering what kind of things I'll be selling at the store, I'll offer an abbreviated list- just to wet your whistle: beaded stitch markers, knitting and sewing themed necklaces, wine bottle sleeves, animal hats, and felted purses. Check it out soon!