A Very Crafty Christmas

Crafty because I made most of my gifts (and actually finished them) and because I got crafty stuff for presents. Despite my best efforts, I still had to sew up the little notebook I made for my dad on Christmas morning before he woke up, but considering some of my past Christmas fiascos--last year everyone got presents still on the needles--that was nothing. So the Victorian women had it right; handmade Christmas gifts should be started no later than July. We'll see how it goes this summer in the middle of two intense graduate classes.

I think I've shown you all the presents I gave away (except for a couple, which I forgot to take pictures of before I sent them off--maybe I can convince the recipients to take pictures for me), so here's what I got:

• The Stitch'n Bitch Page-a-Day calendar from my brother
• The Daring Book for Girls from Bethie (This book is amazing--I've already learned how to do the whistle with your two pinkies. I only wish I had it when I was younger, although I got similar stuff from a variety of other books. Amy has a great review of it here)
• Knitting Vintage Socks, a back issue of Interweave Knits, the Tree Sweater and Rusted Root pattern by Zephyr Style, Cookie A.'s German Stockings pattern, and the Blue Sky Alpacas Crochet Sweater pattern, from my parents via Kpixie
  

From left to right:

• Mama Llama hand-dyed Merino Tencel
• Black Pearl Yarns DK Cashmere
• A set of casein DPNS, US Size 2 (I'm really curious about these, and they are very inexpensive--I'll let you know how they are)
• Three skeins of Hemp for Knitting AllHemp3, to become the crocheted market bag from Crochet Me (the book, which I highly recommend)
• Again, all from my parents and bought from KPixie

From left to right:

• Two skeins Claudia Handpaints Fingering Weight Merino in colorway "Toast," to become the Friday Harbor Socks in Knitting on the Road
• One skein of Shetland Cobweb yarn (Beth's response to this was "You really are crazy, aren't you?")
• One skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in Snow, the yarn called for in the Crochet Sweater pattern above that I am absolutely desperate to make. I decided to get one skein so I could have an easier time finding a suitable subsitute yarn (the Suri Merino is $16 a skein) and thinking I could just make a hat out of this skein, but I have touched it and it is delicious and I must have this yarn for my sweater. I think. I'm going to swatch and see how it is in crocheted form and remind myself that there is no way I can afford this yarn for an entire sweater. (Also from my parents, also from Kpixie)
  
  

• On top, the crocheted and embroidered house purse kit from Make Make
• The Sushi coin purse kit from Pick Up Sticks (also from my parents and from Kpixie)

It's a good thing I have a break from school to get some serious crafting done!

The killer icicles outside my window

"Those icicles have been know to kill people!" -Ralphie's mother in A Christmas Story



Hope you all had a great holiday, and my belated present to you is on its way: the Owl Cable scarf, which would match the Owl Cable hat perfectly (that was my inspiration). It was a birthday present for my aunt, who loves owls, and unfortunately I forgot to take a picture. I'll see if I can't get her to send me one.

Time to get knitting!

Deck the Halls (or your friends)

I can't write much because I'm in the middle of trying to finish several presents, but I don't have much to show yet anyway. I've either already posted it or the presents are for friends who read the blog.

I gave this to my friend Susan on Tuesday:


Pattern: "One Night Glam" from Stitch'n Bitch: The Happy Hooker
Materials: 26 gauge wire, less than half a tube of mixed beads I've had for awhile, two clasps
Hook: US K/10.5
Modifications: Added several more beads to both pieces than was recommended; made both pieces longer (I probably didn't have gauge).




This pattern was so quick and easy. I made both during the Martha Stewart Show. Yesterday Susan called to tell me that she saw necklaces just like this in a store for $65!
And wonderful woman that she is, Susan gave me a skein Malabrigo worsted (also known as my drug of choice) in a gorgeous teal. I'll post pictures with the rest of my presents later.


All right, back to the workshop! It's just like me to get started in July and still be scrambling at the last minute...

Going Local

I finally got to give Bethie her birthday present, so I can show you:

What started out as the "Classy Cabled Clutch" from 101 One Skein Wonders turned into...not a clutch. This is what happens when you don't swatch, folks. Luckily I am flexible and it turned out so long.

I've decided that one of my New Year's Resolutions is to shop locally. I always kinda sorta try to, but now I'm really going to make an effort to do so. The money you spend on a local business stays in the community and makes it more the type of place I want to live, and the financial and environmental price of gas is making me think carefully about what I buy and where it comes from. I already apply it to food and specialty purchases, but I realized I kind of ignore that when it comes to yarn. So:

• I'm going to do my best to buy yarn locally (I'm defining "local" as New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and upstate New York--New England is small, area-wise). Not just locally, but from small farms and businesses. This shouldn't be too hard or stressful, since we have so many great places in the area--like Green Mountain Spinnery, Halcyon Yarns, Webs, and Harrisville Designs. There are also my local favorites: The Elegant Ewe, Pearl's Yarn Shop, The Yarn and Fiber Company, and The Fiber Studio; and the Wool Tour (in October) and the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival (in May).
• I'm starting with my Christmas list over at KPixie (they are located in Massachusetts)
• I'm allowing myself one KnitPicks order at some point in the year (I am a poor graduate student, after all)
• I'm going to make a renewed effort to do the most local shopping of all--in the stash, which is getting cumbersome and a little embarrassing

So who's with me?

The Secret's Out

I finally finished the Secret of the Stole KAL (and only one day after the deadline, too!)



It will never cease to amaze me that you can start with this




and end up with this:

(Why yes, that is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles towel)

The Yarn Harlot has a much more elegant post on lace and the magic of blocking, and since I can't say it any better than she can and I'm in the throes of finals I will send you there (and might I add I am in desperate need of those blocking wires. The thing about stoles is they have two very loooong straight edges. I tried the string method but it didn't work; I think it was because the edges were just too long). I have been making other things, but I have to do a research proposal, a planning document (just as boring as it sounds), and an in-depth annotated bibliography for reference. Unfortunately I don't think any of my professors will accept a hand-knit pair of socks instead (crazy, I know). Next Friday, I promise.

Blogger is being really frustrating. I may be switching to WordPress (don't worry, I'll let you know).

I should also admit that I signed up for the Secret of the Stole II. After my first semester of graduate school, more lace knitting on tiny needles sounds like a piece of cake.

Wish me luck. I'm diving back into the piles of homework. Seeing that light at the end of the tunnel...

Gnome for the Holidays

Who doesn't love a needle-felted gnome, especially one who also resembles Old Saint Nick?



A couple of things I finished during the last couple of weeks and forgot to post:

Pattern: Single Cable Scarf from One Skein
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, 1 skein sage

Source: Patternworks

Needles: Crystal Palace Bamboo straights, US Size 9

Modifications: None

Pattern: Tweed Beret, Interweave Knits Winter 2006 (Size 19"; my head is actually 21" but

this fits great)

Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed, 1 skein

Source: The Elegant Ewe

Needles: Susan Bates 16" circular, US Size 6; Aluminum DPNs, US Size 6

Modifications: None

Finally finished:

Pattern: Clessidra from Knitty Spring 2007
Yarn: KnitPicks Essential, 3 balls burgundy (I ordered four balls, since the yardage is almost the

same as the yarn the designer used, and despite adding a significant amount of stitches to

the calf to make it bigger, I didn't even touch the fourth ball)

Source: KnitPicks

Needles: 2 Addi Turbo 24" circular, US Size 1 (I used the two circular needles method)

Modifications: I added 12 stitches total to the calf to make it larger and then added more decreases to make up for it

I wore them on Thanksgiving and they were very toasty and pretty (if a bit slippery on the hardwood floors--one of the risks of handknit socks and klutzy tendencies)

And in non-knitting news, I present a picture of my made-from-scratch apple pie:

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

And now the holiday countdown begins:

6 Christmas presents to make

5 Final papers

4 clues to knit for the Secret of the Stole

3 weeks of classes
2 presentations
and a partridge in a pear tree

Not to mention I plan on watching Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas every day from now until December 25. Full speed ahead!

Golf and Birdies

"Birdie" is a golf term. If you're really desperate to know what it means click here.
I made these golf club covers for my dad's birthday next weekend. I made him a set of five or six a couple of years ago, in Red Sox and Patriots colors, but he lost a couple of them on the golf course (hey, at least he's using them). These I just made with some scrap yarn I had hanging around.

They knit up really quickly in Lamb's Pride Bulky. The pattern is one I kind of made up, based on my bad experience with the golf club covers from Suss Cousins' Hollywood Knits (I've said it before, I love her designs but I have never knit one of her patterns that I didn't have to change in some way because of gauge or other issues).


Unfortunately, I still feel that my pattern is too close to the original or else I would reprint it for you here. I've been scouring the new wave of men's knitting books that have come out, looking for great guy patterns, and I'm surprised I haven't seen any other golf club covers. As far as I'm concerned, this is one of my most successful guy knitting projects ever (and you don't have to worry about fit!).

Pattern: My own, inspired by the Golf Club Covers from Hollywood Knits
Yarn: Odds and ends of Lamb's Pride Bulky
Source: Probably all from Patternworks
Needles: US Size 10, these ancient aluminum ones I inherited from my mom
Modifications: So many I call it my own pattern



I actually finished the knitting aspect of the Bird Seed Scarf a couple of weeks ago, but several attempts at embroidering the birds on made me very cranky.
It hit me while I was riding the T that I should cut out my sketch of the bird, pin it to the scarf, and stitch around it. So simple, but this was literally the sixth or seventh time I had tried to embroider it. I tried to use the yarn I used for the scarf, but it was picky and stuck to the fabric. I switched to embroidery thread and I really love the effect. I just have to do the other end, and decide whether to do anymore. I kind of like how it looks with just the ends decorated.




I also finished another scarf this week but I forgot to take a picture of it in the craziness that is my Sunday mornings. I only have a few hours to get ready for work and do some chores and knitting, so I never get as much done as I would like. Today was especially bad. I mentioned that I had kind of been in a knitting funk, and I'm not sure that's cleared completely. This morning I felt like The Kid Who Can't Knit (or Sew). The golf club covers knit up pretty quickly but I've been busy and haven't had the time to do the actual knitting, and seaming them up, with all their shaping, is not fun. I finished the second one this morning, finished embroidering the bird you see above, and started a second bird which looked nothing like a bird so it had to be ripped out. Then I tried to work on the Secret of the Stole, but I had to redo the first row of the fourth clue three times. Three times!!! I was almost in tears. I never get like that about knitting.


Anyway, the crankiness continued for awhile (a few too many people cut me off on the way to work) but I had some comfort food for dinner and I've gotten my homework done, so I can look at wool and craft blogs until closing. I also just realized that I have one more row on my second Clessidra and then I can do the heel. Then it's just the foot, which goes very quickly. I only have one class this week, and just one day of my internship, and then it's the holiday--that's something to be grateful for too.

Christmas Presents for Leo

I've been in a little bit of a knitting funk lately. It seemed like things weren't coming out right, or I had to redo everything several times (the hat and booties below are two examples), and I miss knitting with my knitting friends (although I love knitting with my mom and her cross-stitching).

This weekend, although not without some knitting frustration, produced these:



Reindeer hat, from the Yankee Knitter Designs "Pattern Hats"

Size: Children's

Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash Worsted, 2 balls Baby Blue and 1 ball Deep Ocean (Baby Blue was leftover from the sweater, see below)

Source: KnitPicks

Needles: Inox 16" circular, US Size 5

Modifications: I knit the hat in the round instead of flat (subtracting two stitches from the cast-on number, since there would be no seam); I "redesigned" (didn't pay attention to) certain parts of the chart; I did parts in duplicate stitch instead of fair isle; I changed the decreases for the crown; I only did one row of single stitches above the reindeer instead of up to the crown. I also knit the entire thing on size 5 needles instead of switching to size 7 after the hem.




I'm still not thrilled with it because I'm a perfectionist and colorwork almost always has some issues (especially when knit by me). I just need more practice, and I think the hat turned out pretty good (and I won't have to look at it every day so it won't annoy me as much).






Child's Monogram Sweater from Hollywood Knits Style

Size: 4 years (and it came out smaller than I expected; I love Suss Cousins' patterns but I have yet to knit one without any issues--just a warning if you are not in the mood to play around with gauge and other aspects of the pattern)

Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash Worsted, 4 balls (maybe 3) Baby Blue

Source: KnitPicks

Needles: Brittany Birch straight US Size 7, Crystal Palace Bamboo straight US Size 5

Modifications: I did a three-needle bind-off to attach the shoulders instead of seaming; I also made little adjustments here and there that I can't remember. As I said, her patterns are very cool and inspiring, but I always swatch and prepare to fiddle with the pattern (I even write in the book, something I don't usually do).


(I embroidered the "L" by hand. I photocopied and enlarged the letter from the alphabet provided with the pattern, traced it onto tracing paper, added interfacing to the back of the sweater for stability, used the satin stitch (a tutorial can be found here) and just stitched right over the tracing paper. After you stitch, you can just tear away the excess tracing paper. It helps to keep the tracing paper in place with an embroidery hoop. I am shocked at how easy it was and how good it came out).






Fat Baby Booties by Beverly Galeskas, from Interweave Felt

Size: Infant/Newborn. I originally made the toddler size, but after felting they were very large. If you substitute yarn like I did you might want to make a test swatch.

Yarn: Dalegarn Tiur, 1 ball green and 1 ball gold (when I made the toddler size, I just barely got away with one ball of each color with Dalegarn Heilo--there was just a yard or two of the main color left)

Source: The store closing sale at The Yarn and Fiber Shop two years ago

Needles: Susan Bates 24" circular needle, US Size 9; Susan Bates 16" circular needle, US size 8; Susan Bates 16" circular needle, US Size 10.5 (standing in as the bind off needle for a 10.5 DPN)

Modifications: On the first pair (which I will post pictures of soon) I didn't read all of the directions. The second time around I followed everything except the second bootie got turned inside out (before a really crucial point) and I didn't notice until the last step. I felted it anyway. It's on the bottom and not really noticeable--I love felting.





I finished the third clue for the Secret of the Stole KAL. I think they are on clue 6 now. Boo. Although I will have almost two free weeks before Christmas when school and work are done, to work on it; I guess I shouldn't stress about it.


Thanksgiving is almost here! I can't wait to make my pies from scratch, to curl up in front of a roaring fire, to sit and watch the Macy's parade with my knitting...