For Sunshine’s  8th birthday a few days ago, she requested a Mermaid party.  We were recently on the coast and visited the Aquarium which I think is where her inspiration came from.  With this theme to run with, I had a lot of fun preparing for it with a seahorse pinata and mermaid tattoos and even a pin-the-fin-on-the-mermaid game!  Secretly, I was knitting a mermaid tail for her beloved doll that I made her a few years ago.  You can see the evidence of all the loving “Rosie” gets…she is quite stained and floppy and tattered…and still sooo loved!  It makes me laugh that once I was worried that my little girl wasn’t going to be a dolly kind of kid, unlike me (and maybe still am!).  But much to my delight, when Sunshine turned four or five she suddenly liked all things dolly.  Phewf!  Because really, making dolly knits and sewing little bitty clothes is sort of addictive in an instant gratification kind of way.

I remember that my friend Nicole had made two of these tails a while back for her girls.  But it was late at night and I couldn’t seem to find her ravelry notes anywhere.  Despite the timing and a newborn babe in her arms, Nicole graciously emailed me the info I needed and I cast on for the tail within minutes.  With all the hiding and covert knitting I managed, this mermaid tail took a few weeks to make, but it didn’t matter to my girl…she is delighted by Rosie’s transformation.

And as promised, a shop update :

Rainbow Chard

Hatchling

Wild Cherry

This yarn dyeing is so much fun!  I thoroughly enjoy the whole process, from the sheep to shearing to spinning to dyeing to knitted garment.  It is so satisfying to source out beautiful colour combinations happening right in our own gardens and farmyards.  Today, I have listed four new colourways as well as the popular Nettles.  For now, I am offering two different sock yarn weights and one Dk weight, but I’m working on some silky wool blends that are so luxurious.  This fall, I hope to have listed my very own sheep’s wool that a mill has spun into yarn…Farm Fresh Fibre!  (And do please feel free to contact me if you have a special dye request or have something in mind!)

Thank you for your support as you help share in my woolly obsessions!

*Ravelry notes on the Mermaid tail here

*Joining Ginny and friends for the Yarn Along here

*Wool Maiden shop update here and website here