Confessions...

I have a quick confession to make today...

I LOVE to knit! I know, not a very exciting confession for you guys is it?  It is, however, very exciting for me because knitting is rare for me these days. Being a slow knitter does not help and I have a deadline of March 5th to create the above pattern as a tester in a group on Ravelry.  So I will be posting lots of updates over the next week and a half so I can keep track.

One other exciting thing that I want to announce is the redditgifts gift exchange that I am participating in. It is my first ever and the category is yarn! All you have to do is sign up and you earn a credit which is used to participate in your first exchange and after the exchange is over and you fulfilled your gifting duty you are rewarded with 2 credits, which then get used for more exchanges and so on. Matches for this on get made automatically on March 3rd and we have until March 21st to have our gift sent. You can either buy something from the Reddit Market or wherever. Super excited as it means I get to do some yummy yarn shopping for my giftee and can't wait to see what I get in return. Still time to sign up for some, go check it out! You just need to have a reddit account. To learn more about the gift exchange click here.

Finished Props

Took me a bit to finish the whole set, but only because I think I started the diaper cover pattern that was on the same blog as the booties about 3 times and started my own pattern about 3 times as well before it was coming out the way I wanted. Oh man it was worth it, as this newborn lambie set has me squealing in delight at how cute it is and so did everyone else who had seen it when stopping by my house today. 

Baby Lamb Set

The customer originally ordered just the hat and that hat would be the first time I ever had used the bobble stitch (all the bumps) ever and in hindsight I wish I would have known to pull the hdc after each bobble stitch tighter since that gives the stitch more of a puffy look. Practice makes better though right? And well it certainly does because by time I started the boots and diaper cover I was feelin' like a pro at the stitch.  It still came out great and in the end I have the knowledge to do better next time. 

Baby is not due until the end of March so no baby photos with this set any time super soon, but when I do I hope to have permission to share here and/or on my FB page because this is going to be so adorable on baby! 

Frogging Projects...

I hate when I am trying to wing a pattern and it ends up being all wrong and I have to frog it. For those who don't know what frogging means in the crochet world, it means to rip out rows you have already completed, not always the full project either.

Anyway, last night I thought I was on track when really I wasn't and didn't realize it until being nearly finished. *sigh*  See??

The pair on top is a pair that I made from a pattern called Baby Breeches and are newborn sized...which is what the white pair underneath are supposed to be. I was about 6 or 7 stitches too big and had to frog the whole thing.  Which I did by coming up with the smart idea to use a yarn ball winder and have a nice cake of yarn versus a jumbled mess that would get tangled eventually.

It started out good at first, I was spinning away trying to keep my tension even. But while spinning I had to stop a few times and get a snarl out from the pants part. Which meant I had to stop spinning and that usually results in less than stellar results.

 Then it jammed on me! I hate it when it jams, but that is what I get for trying be in a hurry right? 

So after assessing how bad it was I ended up having to remove the top portion that holds the cake of yarn because there was no wriggling and untwisting it out. I ended up having to cut the yarn and join it and start over.

I think I ended up winding it another time after that because I still was not impressed with the result of my yarn cake.  I was so frustrated and decided to just deal with it. I still have to wind up the remains of the original skein or it will end up being a tangled mess too.

All in all, learn from my mistakes and go SLOW with even tension. The one thing I did wish yarn ball winders had was a locking mechanism for the handle when I stop winding because it usually unravels a few turns and I get more frustrated. 

Red Heart Soft Yarn Giveaway

AllFreeCrochetAfghanPatterns and Red Heart are giving away this yarn prize to one lucky winner! You can enter HERE between February 5, 2014 and February 19, 2014.

Source

I just have to add that this yarn is simply AMAZING! It is so soft and has a pretty sheen to it. It doesn't dry out my hands like the Red Heart Super Saver yarn does, so that is a BIG plus for me. Did I mention how incredibly soft it is??? Believe me, it is!!

Cupcake Hat

In the photo above I used Red Heart Soft in Lavender and think it made this hat perfect in every way! 

Rainbow Skirt

Have you ever bought some yarn with no project(s) in mind just because you couldn't resist it? I often have to walk away from all the pretty yarn while telling myself, "You don't need it." repeatedly and sometimes that doesn't work. Which is what happened in the case of this lovely yarn. I justified this purchase by buying it at a local shop and not a big box store...see? Win win.

Anyway, I bought this yarn awhile back and could not decide what to make with it right away. 

Pretty Rainbow Yarn
Bernat Mosaic Psychedelic 

            I eventually decided to make a newborn skirt out of it...even though I have only boys and no newborn. :p But it was super fun to work up and watch the color changes. Now to write up the pattern for it and publish my FIRST ever pattern! 

Newborn Skirt

Didn't it just turn out adorable!? Now if I only had a model for it.... 

Stay tuned for the FREE pattern!

BIG Changes Happening

Currently in the middle of a blog makeover, so exciting for me! I have quite a few goals that I want to accomplish in 2014 and this is one of them! Some more blog goals I have are: making tutorials and writing patterns for crochet, working on my photog skills for the blog and my products, and gain a fan base.


Not the best photo, but wanted to show my progress on an order for a baby lamb photo prop set...isn't it just turning out super adorable!? Finishing the 2nd bootie and off to get the diaper cover out of the way.

 P.S. This is only ONE of my many WIP's (work in progress) and have SO much on my to-do list, so off I go to work on it!

Thanks for stopping by!

<3 Sommer

Welcome!!

Welcome to my blog! Excited to say that I am working on big changes for my business and hope to gain  great customers along the way, so far so good!

I am currently working on custom orders up until the first or second week of December as the 15th is my oldest son's birthday and I will be preparing for that and Christmas shortly after that, so if you are looking to get an order in I would act now. During my holiday break I plan on writing out all my plans for the beginning of the new year and working on designs. I have all these awesome ideas for so many different items and no time to squeeze in to work on them.

If you are making a larger order, 5-9 items and 10+ items, you will receive a discount, please message me at stylebysommer@gmail.com or through messaging on Facebook to get a quote. At some point I will need to stop taking custom orders and will keep that updated here and on the FB page.

Also currently offering gift wrapping for an additional fee of $10 for up to 3 items per order and $15 for up to 8 items and $20 for anything more. Gift wrapping will include coordinating tissue paper inside of a clothing box with coordinating ribbon wrapped around the outside with a note if you wish to include one and can be shipped either to you or your gift's recipient at your request.

Lastly, next Friday through Sunday my family and I will be busy, busy, busy moving so I won't be around much that weekend. Thanks for stopping by and stayed tuned for more updates!