Guess what? We have a new biz and a new blog!

Hi all!  So, so very sorry for being away for so very long!  But I have big news!  Hubby and I have begun our new adventure into self employment!  We would happily like to introduce you all to Fiberton Acres Ranch and Manor!

It is here that I will now be posting....alas, while I may occasionally post here, I would like to encourage you all to check us out and follow over at Fiberton.

What is this new biz, you may be asking?  Well, let me tell you! Fiberton Acres is our tiny 'ranch and manor', which is busy year round creating quality goods that you will be proud to own. Our philosophy is to do good for our earth and the people on it, and have fun while doing it. That is why you'll find a mix of yarncrafting goods, as well as farmy, funky, upcycled and nerdy items. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

We have our angora rabbits, our fun little farm, our bright, Central Cali sun, and yarn crafty goods galore!

If you check out our blog, be sure to sign up to receive our email updates!

Thanks from both of us and hope to see you there!

Ash

Little things that make me smile...

Thought I would share with you a few of the little things that have made me smile lately...

Fun colors on my cast iron.  I made up these little handle covers for my cast iron to protect the fingers.  And to look adorable.

Baby goats!  Two of the resident goats at the ranch had themselves some babies.  I can't wait until we have our own goats that have babies!

Exploring the area.  With a little bit of rain (and hopefully a little more this weekend) we have just a little touch of green here.  And it makes for pretty exploring in the sun.  (I am currently wearing a skirt and no shoes.  I am loving it!)

My mom and I down by a naturally occurring spring bed.

Walking with the doggy.

View from our place on a foggy morning.

Pretty views.

Ric and JB at the beach of Morro Bay.

Making fun things from things discarded.  I realized that with my hubby working at a little fabric store, they get rid of a lot of cardboard.  I have begun creating little shelves and stuff from the cardboard bolts and having so much fun with it!

And finally, seeing the cute little creations that Rocketpack Crafts come up with!  How cute are these bows?

And this working clock?

So cute!

Little fun things that have made me smile. :)  Hope they make you smile, too!

Ash

In my free moments...crocheting, knitting, perler beads and a little sewing

The last couple of weeks at work have kicked my behind. (Oops!  I missed last week's Feature Friday!)   But I have been doing small projects whenever a spare moment came up.

Recently, my hubby and his friend have gotten into perler beads.  And I wanted to try it out, so I created a few coasters in a 70's design inspiration.  So far I have....

I think they are fun....(sorry, not the best pics ever...)

I have also been knitting on the bus to and from work.  I am using my new found cabling skills to make myself a laptop sleeve!

This is what I have so far.  I think I will be sharing the pattern once I have completed it, so keep an eye out for that, too!

I also just got some new cast iron cookware, which I am seriously loving.  No going back for me!  But the handles get pretty hot, so I crocheted us a few handle covers out of cotton....

I think they came out cute. :)

And finally, I just started cutting out a dress that I bough material for probably at least 2 years ago!  I am pretty excited for it, and happy to be getting back into sewing more.

I absolutely love the Sew Serendipity book that I have.  And I need to get the new one!  Here is the dress I want to make - mine will be out of the above material - the floral pattern is the main fabric and the pink dotted material will be the accents.

Can't wait to share all the finished products with you soon!

Ash

Feature Fridays and Lazy Daisy Jones...

So sometimes I decide to look at a blog based solely on how cute the name is.  And today that paid off. I was searching for the perfect blog to feature on this week's Feature Friday, and came upon Lazy Daisy Jones.  I mean, that is a pretty adorable name.  And when I clicked it?  Well, happy to report that it is a perfect mix of retro, crochet, craft and fun! 

For example, check out these seriously fun and cute crochet monsters!  Teehee!

And this made me giggle!  Check out her redux of the ol' granny style doll toilet paper cover.  She made it a Scandi Doll.  I think this is so clever!  (And so much less creepy.)

And I am in love with this granny square and the colors....

Ok...I could go on and on about her crochet!  LOVE!  But her vintage finds are just as awesome, and need to be shared, too.  Check out how she refurbished this lamp!

Or how about these awesome vintage wooden hangers that she embellished?

Ok, I have to go look through her blog more now.  Hope you go do the same!

Thanks for sharing, Lazy Daisy Jones!

Ash

Hair bands and bike seats...

I just love yarn carfting!  I love the fact that I can create something fun and functional from a piece of string.  And I love the fact that that piece of string used to be from an animal or in some cases, an old plastic bottle.  I love the process all the way through.

I recently learned how to cable knit, and love it!  (I think I may have said that verbatim in a previous post! hehe)  I have also been loving headbands as of late, so I decided I needed to make myself a new headband with a cable on it.  Super fast and easy, but also really rewarding!

I had fun playing with design and deciding how 'long' the cables should be.  I will try and share my pattern soon.

I also love to crochet, and I definitely better at it than knitting.  I have been doing it a lot longer, for one thing.  So it is fun for me to get inspiration from something and try and duplicate it.  For example, I found this picture on pinterest of a 'bike seat cover' that someone crocheted.  I could not track down the original poster or creator though.

(Source and creator unknown)

Soo....I decided I'd try something like it.  I used a much larger hook and different yarn, but here is my version....

I was recently given a bunch of colorful acrylic yarn, and I thought that it would hold up pretty well to the occasional (or not so occasional here in Eugene) weather.

I love the way it turned out!  I may have to come up with the pattern for this to share, too.

Happy yarn crafting!

Ash

Holiday crafting bonanza!

Well, now that the holidays are over, I can finally share some of the things I made for folks!  There are a few people yet to get their gifts...so...hope this doesn't spoil anything for them...hehe.

One of the things I really had fun with this year was kitchen goodies.  In particular, crocheted dishcloths and hotpads.  I had fun making different styles and colors for each of the people's kitchen color schemes.

Here are actually just a few I made.....

This adorable pattern for the hot pad house can be found here at Lion Brand.

So much fun to create!  I actually probably spent more time on these than I should have, and did not finish some of my other gift to folks.  So, they are getting theirs late, and I will share those with you soon. ;)

Ash

Feature Fridays resume with....Deer Little Fawn!

Bad blogger, Ash!  This is what I have been saying all week.  I missed our last Feature Friday, but am resuming today with another of my favorite blogs, Deer Little Fawn.  Even the name is super sweet!

Deer Little Fawn is, to me, primarily a blog about Beth's craft-scapades, and posting neat things she finds along her everyday life....all very pretty little things.  She is a great artist, and has her own shop, Forest Lodge Illustrations.  

So cute!

She also has some great crochet creations, like these sweet, simple little crochet bracelets.

And how cute is this necklace she embroidered? 

I totally want one!  I just love this idea.

So, go check out her adorable blog.  Thanks, Beth, for sharing!

Ash

Cute little crochet spring purse!

A friend and co-worker had mentioned before Christmas last year that she wanted a purse.  Last weekend, I finally made that happen, and man am I happy with the results!!

First, I found this awesome pattern while searching around on Ravelry.  The creator calls it the Nordstrom Crochet Hobo Bag.

I knew that she wanted something for spring, so I found a pretty purple wool yarn (Patons Classic Wool) and got to work.  I had some super cute fabric to line the bag, and I whipped this up in no time!

I just love it!  I am going to be making myself one of these for sure!

Still wishing I'd taken more pics before handing it over, but check on the pattern for other people's versions. They all come out awesome!

Happy spring!

Ash