Apple Turnover Knit Sweater Design

I met Trudy on ETSY. She needed apple buttons for a children's sweater she was designing, and had ordered some of mine. I had no idea at the time that she was such an amazingly talented knitter. 

This is a sneak peek at Trudy's latest design, Apple Turnover. You can find her pattern here, at Raverlry. 

I think I'm in love. I need to learn how to knit, just so I can make this. Really.

See those buttons? Yep, I made them. Pretty exciting, huh?

I was so excited when she sent me the picture, I had to call all my kids in to look at it. 

I asked Trudy if she'd share some information about herself, how she got started in knitting and designing, and a few tips for those of us (ahem...yes, me) who might need a few words of encouragement before taking the plunge into knitting. She was sweet enough to say yes.

Without further ado...here's Trudy!  =]

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, the artsy type who loved to draw and write stories, and wound up majoring in music.

During my freshman year of college, I saw a classmate knitting scarves. I thought it was bizarre yet fascinating. I had a lighter class load my junior year, and despite a lifelong lukewarm feeling towards crafts of any stripe, I inexplicably felt drawn to knitting.

I picked up a beginner's book and taught myself. I thought it would be a passing thing, but it stuck immediately! I made five scarves, followed by a pair of sweatpants, a coat, and a sweater, as I knit off an on over the next three years.

A cross-country move inspired me to start a knitting group in Albuquerque, and the wonderful friends I made there encouraged me to try new things. Kim, aka "The Sock Lady", taught me to knit socks, and I fell in love with sock knitting!

My fiance's job began taking us all over the Midwest, and I had to quit teaching music for a while. I began knitting like a woman obsessed! I also began designing, and released my first three designs on Ravelry at this time.

After becoming a mother in 2010, my children have been a source of constant inspiration for me. I began to get serious about designing in the past year, and have many designs in the works right now. What inspires my designs most are nature, the seasons, my children, and mythological figures. I have many future designs I'm planning based on gods and goddesses from Greek, Roman, and Celtic traditions.

This latest release, Apple Turnover, is the second in my Just Desserts series, a collection of whimsically dessert-themed garments for babies and children from 6 months to 6 years of age. Apple Turnover is a reversible, double knit coat with A-line shaping. The pattern comes with many tips and links to tutorials, as well as basic tips for making it a one-sided coat without double knitting, if you're not quite ready for that yet.

Being a self-employed private music teacher and a hopeful future home schooler, teaching and encouraging new knitter is something I love.

My best advice for those of you just beginning is to jump in with both feet and try the myriad of resources available to us in the Information Age. Be intimidated by nothing. No one is going to die if you mess up your knitting! I made plenty of mistakes when I first began. In fact, my very first practice swatch earned the name "Circular Rhombus".

The wonderful thing about knitting is that it's always one stitch at a time, and every single one gets easier.

Happy knitting!

- Trudy

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Can I do More Than One???

I have a confession. I love food blogs. I don't cook as much as I used to, but I sure do love looking at good food. And collecting recipes. And planning to cook.

Just for the heck of it, I'm going to try posting a few pictures of inspirational goodies...and the plan here is to post more than one picture. Truth be told, I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Did I mention I'm a beginner at all this???

Can I type right here??? Whoo hoo! I don't know if you noticed, but these are NOT cookie pictures. Ceramic buttons. Yep, I make them. Some of my favorites, but sadly, not edible. I really want food right now. I seem to be able to use my pictures but having trouble with internet ones. 

Something about a copyright and please don't touch. Sigh.

The mittens? Honest truth? Because of the green and red, even though my red is a little off in this picture. They are much nicer in person.

But....notice this is picture number two. Let's keep focused on the important things, here. Progress, baby!

And more text here. Another button picture, because that's what I have, they just came out of the kiln this week, and I love them. They're happy buttons, and almost food, so really, I AM getting closer.

 

Finally a FOOD picture. Maybe there's hope for me yet! 

I wish, wish, wish I could remember where I found this one. I LOVE this lady's cookies. Everything she makes is beautiful, inspirational, fun. I'm a die hard sugar cookie fan. Can you tell?

When I find her site again, I'll post a link to it. That'll be my self taught linky lesson.

***EDIT*** I found her! Check out lorisplace on etsy. The link takes you to some of her other flower cookies, but let me tell you, you'll want to see everything she has. They really are spectacular.

This One's Mine! CERAMIC DESIGN

So, I was going to post a really neat link to a wooden sign/wall decoration project, only to realize I have no clue how copyright rules work on here. The idea of getting hauled away and locked up over a picture, well, my over-active imagination saw it all.

With that said, I chickened out for the moment and decided to practice on my own pictures.

This One's Mine! Ceramic Design... is my business in progress.

We, meaning my kids and I, make ceramic buttons and jewelry. The general idea is to create whimsical, fun designs that are just right for that special project, reflect your interests, hobbies, and careers, and showcase the things that you treasure.