Christmas Cowl

For my great aunt. Turned out pretty. :)

Felting Fear

This is a pair of slippers that will be a Christmas gift. They are huge and are meant to be felted, but I am scared to do it. Front loaders are great for laundry, but not great for felting hand knits. They're unpredictable at best. I am trying to talk myself into just doing it. Eek. What if it ruins them?? I guess there's only one way to find out. 

~~LATER~~

I did it and it wasn't so bad. I did about four ten minute cycles on hot and then an extra rinse. They were still a little big, so I threw them in the dryer for twenty minutes. They are still a little big now, so I think I will wash them on cold with some laundry once more to get them perfect. Fears must be conquered.

Drying by the fire (with old sandals and plastic bags inside them for shaping):

All done except the suede soles:

Edit: I just realized that my buttons are placed incorrectly. Whoops. They are supposed to be on the outsides of the shoes. I will fix that after I shrink them a bit more. Guess I ought to look at the photos in my pattern!

Sorry about that...but not really.

It's crunch time, people. I have seven (SEVEN!) half-finished or not-even-begun gifts in the works. Also, two stockings to sew up and embroider names on. Christmas is in T-11 days. Are you wondering if I'll get it done? Well, so am I. 

Sorry, blogworld. You are at the bottom of my list. Talk to you when they're all finished.

Clara's Vesty

I finally finished the vest I started back in July. It kept getting put on hold so I could knit more pressing things and then at the end I just was so SICK of it I couldn't knit it. I could barely look at it. However I can look at it all I want now, because it is done done done. Clara seems to love it. She has an eighties sense of style as it is, so pair this little vest with some leg warmers and a jean skirt and she is golden. I added a couple applique knit hearts for flair. 

Next up is a scarf for the husband. He asked for one--how could I say "no"? It's a cabled scarf in brown, orange, mustard and light gray. More on that later.

freezer paper stencils

Yesterday I co-hosted a baby shower for my friend Becky. I am not a big fan of shower games, so we opted to do a group craft instead. We stenciled onesies, side-snap shirts, and burp cloths. They turned out very cute and I have had a lot of positive feedback on them. I'm going to lay out what I did for anyone interested.

1. Buy freezer paper. This is harder than it sounds. I finally found it at Ace Hardware. Also buy baby clothes you want to stencil. And fabric paints. And brushes. I used little silicon cupcake liners as paint cups.

2. Do an image search for stencil ideas. I would search things like "butterfly silhouette" to get just an outline for a stencil. Once I had all the images I needed, I put them on PowerPoint slides and cut the freezer paper to 8.5" x 11" and printed them. (Note: print on the non-waxy side to prevent smearing.) Next time I will print in a light gray instead of a black. My fingers got pretty dark from working with them.

3. Get out your cutting mat and an X-acto knife and cut out the stencils. Carefully!

4. Iron the waxy side onto your clothing until it sticks. Don't use steam.

5. Paint in a couple light layers, let dry, and say a little prayer for no smudging as you tear your freezer paper off. Ta-da!

I hope that helps someone out there in cyberspace! I always wonder if anyone is actually reading this blog...doesn't really matter; I like talking to myself. 

otto's boots

My next project is a pair of felted boots for each of the kids for Christmas. Starting with Oliver's chunky feet.


I am attempting a completely homemade Christmas for my family this year. Traditionally I get the kids a pair of shoes for Christmas, so this year I am knitting them. The pattern is knitting up quickly. It looks like it will take a lot of seaming, which stinks, as I am not a sewer, I am a knitter! Oh well. I am a bit worried about felting them in my front loader, too. I hope it doesn't take too long.

I scored the boot kit for free at Needlework Unlimited. If you spend an obscene amount of money there, you get $20 in free merchandise, and guess what? I spent that obscene amount and used my $20 on this boot kit. Once finished, they should look like this:


Here's hoping.

more baby goods

For real, my friends are getting knocked up left and right, so there are plenty of opportunities for itty bitty projects. I love them because I have a very limited attention span. I keep contemplating a sweater for myself but I am worried I will give up halfway because I get bored using the same yarn and needles for longer than a week. Still, I think there is an owl sweater that is calling my name...more on that after Christmas. 

I scored this newborn sundress in a clearance section for $5. My friend is having a baby shower on Tuesday and lives in the South. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of summer clothes on the racks these days. Anyway, I was lucky and found this cute dress that was begging for a shrug and I happened to have the right color yarn just waiting for me. The shrug is washable wool, but I figure it will work fine for the chill of the AC on hot days...right? I had to add a little felt and button flower. It's all about accents, I am told.

In other knitting news, the capitan hat is still torturing me. What do I do with it? I might just have to reknit it with smaller needles to see if that makes me happier. I hate giving a gift when I am not 100% sure it is perfect.

Capitan

I finished my great-aunt's Christmas gift. It's a newsboy style hat called El Capitan. I hope she likes it. She requested a similar one that was crocheted in China. Um, hello! I will knit you a better one (and save myself some moolah in the process). Only problem: it is a bit on the large size. I went up a half size on the needles and I guess the yarn must be bulkier than the one called for in the pattern, but the end result is very loose on me. I have a smallish head, so I can only hope she has a largish one. I may sew some elastic on the inner back edge of the hat to tighten it up. That will probably improve the look overall anyway. There will be a matching cabled cowl with matching vintage (looking) brooch buttons. I wish someone would knit me a set!

oh sweet booties

I want to lick them, they are so sweet. Maybe not lick, but you get the point. I think my baby girl set has turned out adorable! I can't wait for the shower to give it to her. Now I just need to order a couple matching cloth diapers and it is done. 

Saartje's booties is a genius pattern. Knit on straight needles, you don't know if it is ever going to look like a bootie until--voila!--suddenly it is one.

Oh, I love them. Squish, squish. 

Berry Hats for Becca

Double post today - whoa. Slow down, Kristy.

I've been meaning to post my berry hat pictures. These turned out cute.