I'm done! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm DONE!  [Happy Dance]

I finally finishedmy submission for Julia Bobbin's Mad Men Dress Challenge III.  She's published "The Big Reveal" on her site.  I'm stunned by all the amazing dresses. There are some really talented seamstresses out there!  

I finally finished my dress last night. Still have some odd bugs to work out (can't zip it myself!), but I'm so thankful Julia hosted this so I could push myself.  This is Colette Patterns Lily #1020. Fabric is batik quilting cotton with a rayon velvet ribbon. 

My earrings were made by my mom with skulls, crystals, and yarn I handspun and made into pompons or what I call "Dingleballs!"

                          What can you do with dingleballs?!?!

Well, I'm cultivating a Pinterest board just for you.  It has a few great ideas for knitting & sewing patterns along with some crafty things like flowers and garland.  Pop on over and check it out!  

Once you've used your kit, just about all of the yarns I sell will be perfect for making dingleballs.  I'm spinning up some new colors for an update later this month to inspire your muse. :) 

Yes, I do make up my own lyrics to songs. It's a family tradition. I was singing about dingleballs to the tune of Jinglebells. Kinda fun, huh? Yeah, I thought so. 

I've been saving this bag of yarn scraps for ages. On 4th of July, I blogged about making potholders from my leftover dreadlocks making days (see pics below) and knitting project scraps. That project wasn't enough to satisfy. Besides, I had lots of different colored scraps.  I needed a way to pull all the colors together.  And they weren't really colors that I typically worked with. I'm a bright and bold color girl normally.  But these colors were soft, muted and nature toned.  I do love those colors and enjoy working with them, but they're not usually my first grab from the yarn or fiber basket.  

Then, my mom found this color work style, ready-to-wear, sweater with some crazy long fringe all round it. When I say long fringe, I mean long... 4". I looked at her like, "Uh, what do you want to wear this for?"  She said, "Dingleballs!"  Oh. my. goodness. That woman is amazing. The sweater was perfect and already had holes in it, from the fringe, that would be perfect for tying on a few dingleballs.  
So I took the sweater home and dug through my bag o scrappy goodness. Wonder of wonders, all these leftovers that didn't have a purpose or a project all of a sudden fit the sweater perfectly.  Various shades of blues & purples (dusty to royal), tans and browns, and a variety of olive greens including a few forest green. I even used some of the fringe (it had polyester in it though, ick!) to make itsy bitsy dingleballs. 

I made dingleballs using the tool from my kits.  But, I wanted to have big and small dingleballs. I thought that would give the sweater some character.  I do love the wee kit tool, but, the tools aren't offered in any size smaller than 3/4 inch.  I recently learned on Pinterest how to make a dingleball using a fork.  Using a fork doesn't give the same uniformity that the pom pom tool does. but the dingleballs are still super cute!  Below are a few photos of the finished sweater. I think it would be adorable with a belt and a fun olive colored skirt instead of my amy butler tunic. ;)

Last year I launched 2 handspun yarn kits, only available at shows.  I'm now offering a limited quantity of kits in some very fun colorways. I started making kits because I often want a project, but don't have the time to commit to anything major.  Plus, with everything else going on in our lives, I think we all appreciate a little instant satisfaction (I know I do).  

The kits will be going up in the Etsy shop this week. Look for an shop status updates on the Facebook page or sign up for my newsletter to get an email as soon as the store is updated. 

The first kit is for a magical toad. It's magical because it reminds me of the frogs and toads you see or read about in Harry Potter. I love magical things, stories about wizards and witches and other wonderfully fantastical things.  Well, with a name that comes from the story of Camelot, how could you not love magical things? Can you guess the queen I'm named after? But I digress... 

One day I discovered Brigitte Read's amigurumi style crochet toys.  I fell in love. She designed projects that were small, fun, and had lots of character or were a great base that allowed me to give them further character.  It's her amazing pattern (used with her permission of course) that supports the handspun yarn I create for this cute little "Toads!!" kit. I think you'll find her patterns easy to understand and the little toady fun to create. Though, they do need names once they are finished. Send me a photo and your toad's name and I will post him here. I love to see finished projects and loved toys!

The second kit I currently offer is D.I.Y. Dingleballs.  These are also known as pom poms to the the misinformed. Why call 'em dingleballs? Well, I am a bit of a clown and I love funny things. To some, the name may bring about nasty bits and icky thoughts. But, to me, they are like the pom pom trim seen adorning the top-edge of the windows in a VW Bus just dingle dangling away, bobbling along, as the vehicle hits bumps in the road.  Dingleball makes me think of dancing. I love trim that dances.  It's a ball that dingles and so... dingleballs. They also make me think of big fat cherries ripe on the tree. There are so many fun, happy visuals to imagine, so get your minds out of the gutter. ;)

This pom pom maker in this kit is fabulous. When I first ordered them for kits, I was in the middle of a big knitting project and needed a mental and hand-resting brake.  So, I sat down and made like 50 dingleballs in a single Saturday afternoon. I could barely tear myself away from them. I was floored by how much fun it was to watch them evolve into these gorgeous spheres. I'd made many dingleballs before with lots of other tricks, tools, etc. but none compared to this one. Then, after practicing on commercially spun yarn, I "bit the bullet" and dared to cut my handspun. OH it was scary let me tell you. But it was glorifying.  Never have I seen such amazing color than when using the handspun I had spun up specially for dingleballs. I was in awe. My mouth began to water. And on I went to make more, and more, and more, and ... well, you get the idea. 

Then, I observed that many indie knit designers were creating scarves with knit or crocheted pom pom like trims. Oh God, the thought of having to knit all that trim makes my eyes roll into the back of my head. Too much work! It's beautiful, but not something I like to spend my time doing. So I made kits that would allow a knitter to work up a simple scarf or shawl, then adorn the edge with dingleballs. You'd get the same happy dancing effect like in the VW Bus, but you could wear it everywhere.  After I created the kits, I discovered more and more ideas and uses for dingleballs. I will be sharing another post that will show off the sweater my mom & I trimmed with dingleballs. It's gorgeous and super fun (and comfortable) to wear.