handknit baby hats

nothing makes me happier than making something from hand, and giving it away. when my dear mother in law told me she was knitting for a charity shop, i asked to help. these baby hats were all a quick knit or crochet, a days work for the set of four - they will be going to some very sweet and special babies out there come winter time, i'm certain!

knit with hand spun super bulky three-ply merino wool yarn- i'm in love with million colored plied yarns right now, spinning it takes eons on my mazurka wheel- and i completely don't mind when it ends up looking like this.

double stranded white acrylic and a pastel blend acrylic with a simple 2x2 rib border; hand knit.

this one is chunky bouclé acrylic filled with soft cool blues and purples knit with a lace rib border; hand knit.

double stranded yellow wool blend and a hand-dyed wool skein; hand crocheted party hat design

puddle ducks for spring!

Mud, rain, ducks, sprouting plants all about. I'm in love with Spring. To commemorate my happiness during this most hopeful of seasons and in tribute to one of my favorite authors, Beatrix Potter, I've designed & created a very cute leetle French puddle duck hand knit toy.


This particular series of ducks are very special! This yarn is a pure 100% cotton bouclé yarn from France - in the softest sweetest spring colors. Each puddle duck averages 12" wingspan, and also 12" from head to webbed toe. I use multiple strands of yarn to knit each duck, then stuff them with more of the same matching yarn... 100% cotton toys make me happy! These techniques allow for each duck to feel like soft terrycloth.

Each duck is a very limited edition, one-of-a-kind hand knit toy with vintage yarns- once each yarn(color) is gone, it is gone. If I cannot meet your first color choice, I will be in touch for a second choice. Every single toy is handmade by me here in Vermont.

So far I've made one color puddle ducks and two-color puddle ducks.
The colors currently available are butter yellow & mint green, or all butter yellow, or all mint green. Contact me if you would like a custom color/size.


My leetle French Puddle Ducks can be bought for $50 each, with shipping included to anywhere in the US. Need yours in time for Easter Basket delivery? Please be sure to order by April 1st so I can whip it up for you in plenty of time.

Color options

Butter Yellow $50.00 Mint green $50.00 Butter yellow & Mint green $50.00

NEW TOY: handknit mermaid art doll

Madame Mermaid is 100% hand knit and felted wool -
Her hair has been hand dyed and hand spun by me on my spinning wheel.
This doll has a lots of hair - I like being sure every doll I make has tons!

This Mermaid art doll comes with a 100% wool, free form crocheted mermaid tail, a 100% wool skirt to match her hair, glass bead bathing top, and a little seaweed boa.


She also has a hand decorated box she travels in - you can check her out in person at Manchester Hot Glass studio & Gallery starting this weekend - or feel free to email me for more details on the Mermaid, or how to get a doll made of your very own!

NEW recycled hand knit rag toys!

They are made up of recycled cotton flannel strips, ripped and tied into yarn, then knit by hand and stuffed with more recycled cotton flannel. Every toy is one of a kind, particularly because I do not use patterns (but I am working on making them up for a knitting pattern book one day!)


I like to think my place is like a garden for the toys, starting out as something entirely new from older times- a place to come to germinate, grow and get ready to go on their next adventure!
These creatures are the bunny rabbit, the birdy duck, and the giraffe.
I'm certain to try out a butterfly next. Also planning to make other scrap fabric yarn toys....
how about 100% recycled silk, or funky upholstery?? yummy.


hit up my shop for more details and lots of photos!

the sunflower handspun beret

From the top down it resembles one, doesn't it? Some in part to the colors, but mainly got its name from the textural pattern of the staggered fishnet lace.



the top part of the hat is fine commercial wool, beautiful heathery browns, flecks of reds - the funky thick and thin green/amber/blue is hand dyed, hand spun yarn. the second it came off my wheel i started knitting with it...this yarn knew exactly what it wanted to be when it grew up...part of a gorgeous little beret!

thick and thin handspun yarn looks amazing used in simple lace patterns with big needles. cozy, funky, but also delicate and pretty. it begs to show off, so i let it!

Want to know more? Email me or visit my online shop, where you can view details sizing, see more pics, buy this exact hat, or custom order one of your own!

writing patterns - giraffe

I have finally begun my pursuit of writing down the knitting patterns for each of my different toys and creatures. So many to write- the task is certainly daunting. I want to be sure to create patterns that allow for the most creative leeway for each knitter, but still give specific details and guidance on the process of making a creature precisely like mine.

First up, my giraffe twiglet. the giraffe is super cute, I have knit it in a variety of sizes, shapes, yarns... each have been successful and unique!
I really thought it would be a simple writeup.

A few realizations:
Writing a giraffe pattern takes WAY longer than knitting one. WAY LONGER.
I was shocked how much I wrote. {4 pages- on a little KNIT creature?}


After dictating it back to myself twice, I updated and fixed the first draft for test knitters. And off it went. Only a few small fixes to start, and the knitters were knitting!

Another realization: It is SO cool to have someone else knit your pattern! Even better is to SEE someone's interpretation of your pattern! I was pretty awestruck, to be honest. Another knitter totally understood and followed how I create! odd concept I know, but so very cool for me.

I have a couple more patterns in progress, nearly set to try out - anybody want to be a knitting guinea pig?
If you have a real confidence in DPN's, you will love these!

Fairy angels


bunny rabbits

spun up unplanned goodness

a little over a week ago, I did a big fiber dyeing day....lots of boiling water, vinegar, colors blending and mixing away...me running from my stove, to kitchen sink, to drying rack - rinse and repeat. fiber dye day is hectic, hot, fast-paced and fun...like kickboxing...fun.

next up, make yarn.
if coloring the fiber is like kickboxing, then spinning yarn is like yoga or meditation. More hands on prepping of fiber - carding, blending and rolling, or pre-drafting to perfect little pencil rovings, ready to be spun up. Every step counts towards the end result. Pedal ready to go...the wheel starts a whirring, and we're off. the methodical sounds and pace really chill me out...focusing on the fiber flowing through both my hands, an attention span is lengthened to new degrees!

i often have ideas as to how the yarns will turn out - i have, after all, picked out the fibers, planned their colorways, drafted and carded the stuff to exactly my desires, and spun to exactly the right tension... but the fiber tells my fingers what to do with it. Thick becomes thin - smooth wants to be funky - the laughable attempt of planning my art births a totally different, more amazing product in the end, every time.

now what to knit?

hat from scratch - from the fiber to your head

This custom handspun lace rib hat was so much fun to make- and it was completely from scratch! Sweet, soft, snug and supercool! So much goes in to making a hand spun hat - I love every single part of the process, each offers me different ways to express my creativity.

Planning a hat from scratch:
I started with three wools - I hand dyed some white wool to teal, raw local unprocessed wool locks dyed to olive- the grey I left natural. I took the three and ran them through my drum carder to blend them up - sort of like making a paint color - the more you blend, the more even your color becomes. I carded(brushed) this batch at least 8 times - I wanted the grey and teal to be very combined, and did not add in the olive locks until the 6th carding or so - to offer some standout between the primary teal grey heathered blend. Once I got that where I wanted it - on to the wheel!

Most fibers that I run through my drum carder are formed into rolags(rolls of fiber) - fun to spin from directly, no other special prepping, which I love. I spun this up quick, I knew I wanted it to be funky - some super thick spots, super thin ones - some nips and noils from the olive wool locks - it needs to have character like its owner :)

Once I had it spun up, I set the yarn's twist in a bath of warm water and lavender, hang out the yarn and let it dry. Time to figure out what I'm knitting with this!

I knew the pattern I wanted to use for the detail edging - a sweet lace rib pattern - practically speaking, it offers give on the head, and if worn as a beret, it holds on. This pattern also offers a feminine detail of a lace pattern between the ribs.
Oh, and double bonus, that hat is completely reversible!

I used big needles to let the yarn show off - each part of the hat has interesting detail, lacy, delicate, but super soft and warm. I wasn't expecting the soft delicate edging that came about, but it is a very pleasant addition, something I plan to recreate very soon for my shop!

NEW snail toy design!

brand spankin new design and pattern! i've been wanting to knit more insect/bug toys, and I'm loving knitting up little worlds for my creatures(see mushroom post, coming soon!) so on that note, take a gander at my brand new knit toy snail!

shes a sweet little slimy one(not REALLY slimy, just softy) super fun, and her hand dyed pink shell can slide right off. There is a leetle hiding spot in her shell for all your treasures!

I'm hoping to create a few more shells, so then every snail can change depending on their mood - there we go, mood shells!

this sweet snaily is natural handspun grey wool, handknit and felted - her shell is hand dyed peruvian wool, handknit and felted.

Currently she is a one of a kind, but if you love her and want a snail of your own, or any toy of mine, email me!

a photo with no camera

I've been mired in gorgeous spun up yarns from the fiber dye day last week - with no camera to show you! so instead of fuming, I made a few more knit toys! I can't wait to show you. There are fairies, a giraffe, a flower(planning for it to be a jeweled brooch!), a mushroom, a butterfly, and a snail with a removable shell(and a special hiding spot too).

Can't wait to show you. Once i get my camera back :)

In the meantime, this is my first fairy design that I worked on last year - it is the model for my new ones!

PS: I'm also working on a cotton/synthetic toy set, for my sweet friends that can't play with my regular dollies and toys....stay tuned.

fiber is to dye for!

the water is heating up, the gloves and dyes are out - I'm so excited to be in the dyepot again! it has been, well....months at least. I cringe to think it has been a year?

i'm avoiding finishing up a knitting pattern, so first up today I'll be dying up bunches of wool - all to spin up yarn to make into dolls and toys - we'll be dying a bit o' green to spin with local Grey Shetland wool and make one sweet heathery handmade hat for my dear j9's head!

I'm thinking spring so hard, I'm seeing all bright colors, and trying out an old South American dyeing method!