Black Hood

Back in the early part of last year my sister-in-law asked, politely, if I'd be willing to make a scarf/hat for my brother for his birthday. Since his birthday wasn't until fall and she was willing to pay, I said, sure, I can do that. After looking at prices and materials we decided she would buy good quality yarn and pattern and I would donate my time cuz I love them and they like handmade things and treat them well.




We decided on this pattern that has a hood and an attached scarf....



In a color that can't go wrong with my brother, and can't help but improve his look.



It was a fun knit for me with a slightly different construction and (for those who understand knitting:) an I-cord edge that is knit at the same time as the scarf! So simple, but had never thought of the method.

I had my son pose with it so I'd have a picture of it on someone before I mailed it off. He, being three, was not so impressed.



I did have it finished and mailed before his October birthday, but I did cut it a little close!

Christmas Slippers

This year I made slippers for my girls using a pattern that is not meant to be felted. They seem to prefer this kind of 'sock slipper' more than the clog slippers they have had before. I managed to finish them before christmas and so I wrapped them up, even though each girl had seen me working on them.



I also managed to make a pair of slippers for my husband. I worked on them during the day while he was at work and then hid them each day before he got home. He knew I had bought the yarn, but was under the assumption that I would be making them after Christmas when things were calm. I still need to sew some fabric on to the bottom so they won't be slick, but they did felt to the right size!


And, not to be left out, the Little Tomato was also given slippers for Christmas - not made by me though! Lily had decided to make him some and stepped up the crafting time in order to get them done and under the tree before the big day.



That left me as the only family member without new slippers, but since I have two pairs that both fit and are still in good shape that was quite alright.

Rainbow Shawl

I still had a couple of slippers to finish for Christmas, so of course I pulled out the Rainbow yarn and shawl pattern I wanted to make for one of my girls and started that instead.

I did end up finishing this on the Wednesday *after* christmas, but since Curly didn't know it was for her that was not a problem. She had commented how much she liked it several times while I was making it. I had implied that the finished shawl would be for me.



I wove in the two ends and was planning to block it this week, but she *Really* wanted to wear it January 1st to church, and she seems to like it unblocked, so I don't know if I will. I'll plan to leave it for now. (For those who don't knit lace, blocking is when you would wet the shawl and stretch it out, pinning it to something and let it dry that way. It really helps to finish it off and let you see the pattern and enjoy a flat (rather than chinese noodle looking) shawl.

Christmas Presents

For Christmas I made my mother-in-law a pair of felted slippers in beautiful purple/red variegated wool....

and my sister-in-law had mentioned she'd like an ear-flap hat that didn't have a pompom on top or weird ties - easy enough to skip that step if you are making it. So she got a hat in a nice shade of oatmeal.

Unfortunately in my pre-christmas rush I forgot to take pictures. Oh well, pretend you saw them and they looked so pretty!

Four more Baby Showers

I posted the first of five baby showers I knew were coming and then I dropped off the face of the earth... or of the blog....

Between September and October I made gifts for 4 more showers (and attended three of them, darn allergies).



Each new baby got a blanket and a coordinating bear.



I usually try to make each baby gift unique, and these are... kindof. I did, however, follow the same basic pattern for each in an effort to save my brain (and my time).



I grabbed two random strands of yarn (boucle, homespun, left over teddy bear yarn, etc) and did seed stitch through the blanket. Lovely. It worked up thick and cushy and quickly, with much love and not much thought.



It seems that the yarn I usually like to use to make teddy bears is not available for sale any more. Thanks to ravelry I was able to find a nice bunch of skeins, so for now they will still be made with the traditional yarn, but I might have to look for a replacement soon!


Hopefully more blog posts about my fall and winter will be popping up soon, just not tonight!