Hellooo?

It's been crickets and tumbleweeds around here for months...I guess Rita and I have both been having kind of a weird year. I just completely stopped crafting at all for a long while, but I picked it back up again this month and finally have a little something to post about. On the left is a pom-pom wreath I made after seeing a few different versions on the Internet. It was lots of fun to make and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm thinking about making really simple pom-pom ornaments for next year. On the upper right is a baby sweater made from a Knit Picks kit; other than spacing the buttons a bit weirdly I'm happy with it. I actually started it way back in the summer; more than anything I'm just glad to be done with it! And on the lower right is a hat made from a WWII pattern; not much to say about that one. Here's hoping I can keep it up in the new year...

Out of hibernation

I have really been awol from blogging this winter...Rita's prolific crafting is really putting me to shame, and reminding me that I'd better get to work on some baby stuff for a niece who's due in June. I spent the month or so after the holidays just working on my growing scrap blanket, which is fun & mindless after the holiday gift-making frenzy. I also knit a pair of knee-high socks for myself and crocheted a scrap baby blanket for my at-work charity crafting group. What else...oh, I also finally finished the cotton throw for my in-laws!

Now I have to shake off the winter lazies and get to work. In the last couple of weeks I knit a couple of chemo hats for a friend of a coworker (which I of course forgot to photograph), and started a scarf for I don't know who, knit a hat also for no one in particular, and started knitting a couple of uteruses (uteri?) for my sister's friend who is a birth care worker. So I'm starting to be productive again but I don't feel very focused - have to nail down some goals and get moving.

Front burner & back burner

There's still one holiday gift I have to finish - I started it on a bit of a whim, but I'm determined to finish this month. It's the cotton throw blanket on the left, and I'm not going to work on anything else while I'm at home, until it's finished. I was going to take it on my holiday plane trips but it was already too bulky to be comfortably portable, so I started a pair of knee socks for myself instead - a much better traveling project. These will stay on the back burner, relegated to subway and lunch-hour knitting, until the blanket (and a batch of charity hats) is finally done.

Almost there

These gifts for the newest niece in the family are the second- and third-last gifts I had to make - just one more left to finish! I made the bear from a cashmere sweater that I'd accidentally machine washed; he is so so soft! I made his face with embroidery floss and knit a tiny scarf to hide his neck seam. The balls are each about 3" in diameter, made with the same yarn I used for the ruffle scarf. I have plenty of these colors left over for another fun kid project or two in the coming year.

So close!

Three more completed gifts! The rainbow scarf is from the book Scarf Style; it's for my goofy (in the best possible way) niece. The hats are for my brothers-in-law; they live in Phoenix, but even the desert gets cold at night, so I made these with cotton to be climate-appropriate. I can't believe how close Christmas is!

And another!

Not a great photo (as usual) but I didn't want to wait till daylight to shoot this and put it into the finished gift trunk - got to keep the momentum going! This is the Thrift Shop Shawl, another Ravelry find. The pattern is so super simple, which is the perfect way to show off this lovely red cashmere yarn that I got for a steal from Smiley's last year (the picture doesn't do this color justice!). And it's so soft! This year's Smiley's Manhattan sale is next week...I may not be able to stop myself from going and looking for more of this yarn.

Another one bites the dust

One more Christmas gift is finished! This is a Debbie Bliss pattern I found through Ravelry - the Ribbed Baby Jacket. The ribbed placket is supposed to be wider but I ran out of yarn; also there's supposed to be a button but I think it's fine without it. I had this crazy yarn to use up; I just started with one colorway, knit until it ran out, then added the other one and knit until that ran out. I love how wild it turned out, and the sister whose daughter it's for tends to like funky stuff for her kids, so I'm hoping it will be a hit.

Weekend update

So this is what I've been up to - I started this vest on July 1 (!) and finally sewed the buttons on yesterday, November 1, but really it sat for long stretches without being worked on, so I should have finished much sooner than that. Anyway, I'm very happy with the finished product - pending the final fitting, on Christmas Day, by the recipient. It's for my Dad, and if you knew my Dad, you'd agreed this is just his style. It's knit with good ol' Patons Wool (with apologies to Mom, who will end up being the one to hand wash it) from a pattern in Men in Knits by Tara Jon Manning. A super simple pattern, with that nice little cable detail; I'm already thinking of doing another one in cotton for Dad's April birthday, since button-up vests are my Dad's favorites but they are getting harder to find in stores. I know I have some taupe Cotton-Ease lying around...

Making progress

Holiday gift knitting is coming along fairly well - I have two socks done, their mates are underway, and the brown vest is also past the halfway point! I also finished a last-minute wedding gift, the Plush Throw from Lion Brand, which couldn't be an easier pattern and shouldn't taken so long, but again, I blame Harry. Above you can see Penny testing the blanket for plushness (she deemed it acceptable). I should be starting at least one new gift this weekend now that the bulky blanket is out of the knitting bag.

Too hot to knit

...but I've managed to make a little progress in spite of the ungodly heat. There was a slight change of plans in the BSJ; I decided I didn't like the scratchiness or color pooling of the original yarn, so I switched to this stuff (Gedifra something-or-other) which is not only softer and beautifully stripey, but it's machine washable as well, which I know the baby's mom will appreciate. And on the right, the brown vest continues. I'm almost done with the body of the Tree of Life afghan - I hope to have a ta-da photo of that by August!

Christmas crafting round-up

I had great intentions of debuting all my crafting for the holidays slowly, but since it's practically mid-January, here ya go:

Item #1:
Here is the mysterious item I was hand felting. It is a big bag and it was a name-draw gift for Christmas. I was fairly pleased with the final product. I think it could have felted better in a machine but overall, I was able to keep the felting consistant. The handles were horrific to felt--I didn't think they would ever shrink! I will also confess to attaching the handles on wrong ends so I cut them and attached buttons for a cute little flair.






Item #2:
I decided that bags were going to be the gift of choice this year; they're always needed, super trendy, and customizable. So I made my mother and two sisters their own tote bags. I kind of winged it in terms of a pattern. I learned a lot about the process of adding a liner from the bags when I made the bags for my grandmothers, and I just adapted that pattern for new bags. I'm also starting to not forget to add pockets to the inside! I did, however, forget to make a bag for myself. I think they're so cute but I'm kind of burned out from sewing....maybe I'll make a couple when the outdoor farmer's market starts up again.


And for some non-present related Christmas crafting:

Gifts & gifts

Here are a bunch of scarves I made for my coworkers and our student workers. I think I actually have another one to do, but since they only take about 2 hours to do on size 15 needles, I'm sure I can find time to finish just one more. I hadn't planned on making gifts for my work friends, but this Wool Ease Thick & Quick yarn was on sale and the colors were so pretty, I caved in.


And here are the two-circular socks - not much progress! I've already had to scrap 2 other gift projects due to an overly ambitious knitting program...it's down to these socks and a mystery project (hmmm...), and I'm hoping to mail them both out early next week so I have to pick up my pace!

Guess the insanity!

Here's a picture of what I've been slowly working on this week:


Yes, I am hand felting! It is quite the chore but it's actually working. I couldn't do it all in one shot; my arms got a little tired (eep!). This is another Christmas present and I needed it felted and dried before then but I don't have easy access to a top-loading washer so I'm resorting to this old-fashioned work. Where's the Wonder Washer when I need it? I will most likely have another post when it's all finished so I'll save the details for then.

Good Grief!

I had high hopes of posting something every day of December this year. I seem to have plenty of projects, but not enough time I guess. To kind of catch up, here are three recently finished projects:


First, I made another green A-line skirt. This time, I added pockets, which was fun to think about and plan for. I didn't use a pattern again and I still like the skirt, but I think it flares out a little more than I wanted but I can never tell what it'll look like until I have it all sewed up and by then I'm not tearing it out again. Also, I added a liner but didn't take a picture of it.






Next, I had a request from a friend to knit a Charlie Brown sweater. I didn't think I had to time or desire to knit a whole yellow and black sweater so I compromised and knit a hat instead. I made the pattern all by myself (not too hard, thankfully!) I used my favorite Cascade 220 yarn and followed the Hats that Fit by Nancy Lindberg pattern.




And finally I started my holiday crafting. I feel fairly safe posting what I've worked on so far. I'm making bags for both my grandmas and here's one bag all finished up. I used the Curved Gusset Bag from U-handblog. It sewed up really fast and it was easy even for me. It turned out really well and it's huge! I think it's almost too big.




More tomorrow!