Wedding Album Gift

Here is my most recent album creation. I made it for two good friends who were married this summer. The color choices reflect the wedding colors. It turned out really well.

It holds 12 4" x 6" photos. Most of my albums are made approximately 6" x 9" with a 1.5" - 2" spine width. Each page will hold one or two 4" x 6" photos. It depends on whether you choose to put photos on the fronts and backs of pages, or just on the front.

Sear-Sucker Blazer Finished

Well, after 3 months and tons of patience I finally finished the sear-sucker blazer that I intended to be a birthday gift for Jim. This whole project was pretty difficult, but overall I am pleased with the final outcome. Jim wore it out to an office summer party and received lots of compliments (and a couple of order requests for me). It's heavier that I expected, but I'm not sure how I could have fixed that, unless I used a very thin fabric for the lining, or didn't line it at all. Anyhow, I will try to get a pic of Jim actually wearing it, but for now . . . here it is:

Photo Album

Our friends AV and Sonia came out for a visit in July. As part of a belated wedding gift I crafted a photo album for them. Below are the pics.

Jim and I picked out the fabrics together. Initially the idea was to have them swapped, with the stripes on the spine and the pattern on the cover. When we got home we thought it would look better this way.


I used brown for the interior.


I believe the album had 10 or 12 pages. It is approximately 9" wide by 6" tall and 1.5" thick. The pages are meant to hold 4" x 6" photos.

Mom's Sweater

My mom sent me a pic of her in the sweater I made for Mother's Day. It looks great! She loves it, too. She said she likes the softness of the yarn and the fact that it is cotton. That way she can wear it all summer to stay warm in the evenings, but not too warm. This is by far the best piece I've knitted to date.

New projects

I've got a couple of projects that I am working on right now. The first is a sear sucker blazer for my husband. I started this one a month and half ago with the intention of finishing it as a birthday gift (his b-day is May 7). Well, that didn't happen, so now I am working on finishing it before summer is here and gone :) Just kidding, I hope to finish it up in the next couple of weeks. I have never made a blazer before and I don't know if I would do it again. The hardest part by far was the collar and it is in no way perfect. I am planning on doing a top stitch close the the edge as a finishing touch in hopes that it will mask some of the imperfections. Right now I am working on getting the sleeves on. Jim tried it on today and it looks like it will fit pretty good . . . thank God! I don't know if I would know how to fix it if it didn't fit. Here are some pics:

Full view as is, one sleeve pinned in place.


Close view of the collar.
There is some puckering at the corner seam and I don't know what I did wrong. If I ever decide to do a blazer or anything with a collar again I think I would practice a few times before.


Close up view of one front pocket.These actually turned out pretty good and weren't too difficult.


Close up of the chest and "welt" pocket. This one was tricky. I don't know if the pattern had a typo or if I read it wrong, but I had to redo this one because the first time it was backwards.



The second project I just started yesterday. It is a super cute baby shrug. The pattern is from the Fall 2007 issue of KnitSimple. I'm kind of winging it as I didn't check my gauge that closely and am using a different type of yarn. It's not that different, but you never know. I'm trying to work through my stash. Not sure yet who will be on the receiving end of this one. I'm thinking of making a little dress to go along with it. It is kind of a blah color, but if I use a bright colored ribbon for the tie I think it could be super cute. Make a dress with pinks and browns? We'll see. It's an easy K3, P3 rib pattern. Here's my progress, I hope to finish it up this week:

Mother's Day Present

I haven't posted that much lately, mostly because I haven't had that many projects going on. This one I made for my Mom for Mother's Day. I finished it in February. I started it in January because I was worried I might not finish it. Having never made a full sized, adult sweater before I was unsure how quickly I would be able to finish it and if I would have any issues with the yarn or pattern, etc. Needless to say, it was super easy and actually really fun to make. The pattern is from Knitscene Winter '07/Spring '08 issue. I had wanted to make it in blue, but my local yarn shop didn't have enough yarn in a blue color, so I went with purple. I love that there were no seams. Personally, seaming a sweater is my least favorite part. If I can do one without having to do any seaming I'm a happy knitter. I love the seed stitch border and the ribbon accent is so fun. I got the ribbon from the site suggested in the pattern: lesbonribbon.com. I asked my Mom to send me a picture of her in it. Once she does I'll post it so you can see it on her. Until then, here are a couple of pictures of the finished piece. I will have to dig through my stash for the yarn that I used. It's cotton and I believe hand-dyed. I got it a shop here in Bozeman called Stix.

Finished sweater.
Detail of neckline.

New t-shirt

It's been a long time. I have been working on projects for gifts and don't want to post them until they have been given . . . so, I have had some fun with a book I got for my birthday. I heard about it from my friend Jill. It's called "Generation T: 108 ways to transform a T-shirt. I added the sleeves, the original project left the shirt sleeveless. I think it turned out okay. I love the hood, and it was super easy to make. I'm hoping to make a few more of the projects, especially a bag and I've got a couple of my own ideas floating around in my head.

Baby Bolero

I've finished my first project from one of the books I got for Christmas. I made the Baby Bolero from One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit and Crochet.I used a yarn I had in my stash that I think is a Wool Ease blend. I had balled it and didn't have the tag anymore. The pattern calls for a different yarn, but I didn't have anything that resembled that so I went with the wool blend. It turned out pretty good. I am still working on the picking up stitches part of doing collars. It's very tricky, I think. So, I'm happy with how this turned out, but would have been a little happier with a better collar. I had to pull it out once and didn't really want to do it again. Here are some pics:

Front view.
Back view.

I know a few women that are due in the spring so I'm pretty sure this one will be a gift. I'm playing with the idea of adding a crocheted flower pin, but I'll need to brush up on my crochet skills, so we'll see.

Exciting freelance projects completed!

These aren't so much crafty projects, but I'm super excited that I've finally finished them. Just today the Comma-Q Architecture web site went LIVE! This project has been going on for over a year, with a change in concept and a total re-design. But, in the end it is totally worth it because I think the final product better suits the office, their work, people and clients. I learned a lot and feel a bit more confident in my web coding skills. They're great clients, very creative and very understanding in terms of my learning curve. Here's a link: www.commaq.com

I also completed another web site design just before the holidays. It turned out well and I think is a much needed improvement from the previous site. More information, more current news and events makes the site more useful for the client and the visitors to the site. Here's a link: www.bpnc-chicago.org

Yay for finished projects!

Sweater ending

I decided not to add anything to the baby cardigan and am off to send it to my good friend Julie for her baby Ian. I'm sure she'll love it and hopefully it will fit him okay. I hope she'll send me a picture of him in it, or I'll get to see him in it soon. My next project is still undecided. . . I just got a few knitting books for Christmas that I'm hoping will help me use up some of my leftover yarn. They are 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders and One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet. Both have some super cute projects in them that I'd like to try. I also picked up the latest issue of Knitscene that has some sweet projects and also features my friend Jill. So, there is much to look forward too . . . I also have purse/bag ideas floating around in my head that I want to try to create . . . so many ideas, so little time. TTFN!

Kind of published

So, we opted out of being included in the printed annual for our GDUSA Award, but Sara Lynn Design is listed on the GDUSA site under American Graphic Design Awards Winners and I've highlighted our name in the screen shot below. My previous employer was also honored, so I highlighted that as well. Not sure yet if I worked on any of the pieces that were chosen. If I find out I did I'll be sure to post them here.

Sweater Finished . . . well, almost . . .

I've finished the cardigan except for the addition of the dump truck. I'm having second thoughts. Mostly because it will take me awhile to do and I'm pressed for time these days. I can't decide if I should put it off and do in after the holidays or give it away as it is. Anyhow, while I decide I thought I'd share a pick of the finished piece as it is now.

Baby Cardigan: Part II

I am almost finished with the cardigan. It's been going pretty well, except for the neckline and button band/buttonhole band. I have never knitted anything that required picking up stitches. I found it really difficult and I think I took out the neck 5 or 6 times before I finally thought it looked okay (not perfect, but functional and fairly decent). I only have the buttonhole band left to do and then just sewing in the ends. I am thinking I would like to stitch something into the back as well. I've never done that before either, but think I could figure it out. My husband suggested a dump truck. I'm still undecided. For now I just want to finish up the knitting part.

Just the buttonhole band left to go!

Any suggestions on what could go on the back? Leave me a comment if you think of something super cool (preferably for a baby boy).

Sweet baby Ian

My best friend, Julie had her baby on October 28. My mom was in town last weekend and we went up to visit Julie and meet Ian. He is the sweetest baby! Thought I'd share a couple pictures.

Baby Cardigan

I'm trying the baby sweater again, but this time I'm doing it with a pattern and taking my time. It's hard for me to be patient sometimes, but with this one I want to do it right. I've finished the back and one front side panel. So far it's going well, except for some curling issues, but I figure those will work out when I sew the pieces together. I had the yarn for a different project that didn't go as planned. I'm thinking of adding something to the back when I'm finished, but I haven't decided what yet.

First commissioned photo album

It's been awhile since I posted. October was a hectic, but fun, month. A trip to Vegas, parents in law for a visit and a wedding in California. Lots of fun, but not much time for posting or crafting. Anyhow, before things got too hectic I finished the album below for a friend of mine. She gave it as a gift to a friend for her twin boys 1st birthday. She asked for a "nautical/Cape Cod" type feel. The pictures don't really do it justice (I know I need to work on photographing my work better), but the album was possibly the best one I've made to date, AND it was my first commissioned photo album!

Baby Shower Crafty Fun

My best friend is due in October with her first child. It's a boy and I wanted to help plan a shower for her. She lives in MT as well, just 3 hours away (it is totally crazy that we both ended up in MT. We've been friends for 23 years). I designed an invitation, then wrapped some Hershey's minis in labels with a similar theme. I then decided I'd take the images from the invite and make some onesies. I used inkjet iron-on paper. In my experience these kinds of shirts don't last long, but for a little baby that is probably fine. He won't wear them very long. The shower was this past weekend and it was a ton of fun. She got some really great gifts. That baby will be stylin' :)

The theme for the invite was "rock & roll". Her husband plays the drums and I thought it would be fun to use that as a theme since they're having a boy. I developed the format/design based of a drum illustration I found. I made stickers that said "It's a Boy" to put over the bass drum to hold the invite closed. When opened it said "Let's Rock & Roll" . . . etc. They turned out so well I was thinking they could even work as birth announcements. Just replace the inside center page with a picture of the baby and the name, birthday, etc. info on the side panels.

This picture isn't very good, but I just made labels with the "It's a Boy" and drumset illustration and wrapped them around the minis. I used the full sheet label paper. It works well, although the color is dull due to the matte finish. I don't know if they make a glossy version but if they do it would probably work even better.

I created the designs for the onesies on the computer based off the colors and images from the invite. The only exception was one with a pic of a baby playing the drums. It's a great image. I then printed and ironed on the designs. I also gave her a "My 1st Levis" gift box that had a baby pair of Levis and a Jean jacket in it, along with a pair of socks and a T-shirt. I also gave her a Smartwool baby hat and mitten set in blue and red. Everything coordinated so she can mix and match. I can't wait to see him in everything!

Award Winner

Jim and I designed, printed and assembled our wedding invitations. We also created a booklet for our out-of-town guests so they would know a little about Kalamazoo, where to get a good sandwich or beer, what time to be at the church, etc. We entered the package in a couple design contests and yesterday received a certificate and notification that our design was chosen for the American Graphic Design Awards 2007. This contest is held by GDUSA. Pretty sweet! Only downside/s is they mispelled my maiden name on the certificate and it costs $250 to get it published in their annual. Still pretty sweet though!

Baby Album

A friend of mine had a baby girl at the end of June. I finally finished an album to send as a gift last week. It turned out really well and I love the fabric I found for the cover. It was a remenant at Jo-Ann's. I think it is upolstery fabric. Anyhow, the blue sheen went well with some chocolate brown fabric and ribbon I already had. I also had chocolate brown paper on hand for the interior covers and for the binding. It's a smaller version of the album we made for my parents, but without the window mattes. I put a custom card in the front that states the album was created in celebration of the birth of my friend's daughter. I love giving hand-made gifts. They always feel more personal. And I love making them.

Wedding Album

Jim and I created photo albums for our parents as Thank You gift following our wedding. They turned out really well. We had the photos printed locally and then mounted them in the albums and sent them off. This is the one I created for my folks. The cool thing is that the pages are mattes around the images. We cut them and folded them in half so that it created a kind of envelope. Then we cut out the matte windows, mounted the photos and tied them into the binding. It was a process, but the final result turned out so well I definitely hope to make some more in the future.