The Start of Vacation

So the first day of a week of vacation should be one where you sleep until noon and lay on the couch watching TV all day, right? Not in simple eclectic land. I woke this morning dreaming of my flannel stash. That's a perfectly normal sentence. And when I woke up to the cat meowing at me at 645 I was determined I must make flannel pants out f my hot pink peanut butter and jelly sandwhich flannel. Right then. So off I went down the hall to my sewing room. But of course that was the one flannel I hadn't prewashed. While I waited I did get to make some progress on my Olatz shawl. My reward for surviving Christmas crafting.

And the best thing I did while waiting for my flannel to dry in my painfully slow dryer? Using the rockstar Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer I got for Christmas from my parents to start a loaf of bread to go with my turkey leftovers for lunch. It was an existential experience. All my talk of being unsure if I wanted a Kitchenaid because I enjoy the experience of hand kneading? Rubbish.

But now the flannel is dry and the hot pink pbj pants of my dreams shall soon be a reality. To vacation time!

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Christmas Wrap-up

I post a lot about the stuff I make, but I'd like to wrap up Christmas this year with sharing some of those I hand made in love for. (This is a very picture heavy post. Bear with me.)



Layne and his Tucker Teddy

Grandma and her Summer Flies Shawl





Brooke sporting her French Press Slippers





Callie and her Sunset Beret

Brandon and his Hawkeye Pillows



Renee all toasty in her Aspen Mittens

Grandma with her quilt

Dad all perky in his Cambridge Watchcap

Grandpa and his new little buddy, Bramble Owl



Mom definitely not square in her Squared Set

And now, at long last, I get to make something from me.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours

As for me and mine...


We had a day that started with handmade flannel pants under the tree from Santa...

...mimosas...

 

...homemade cinnamon rolls...

...and snuggles (you're never too old for snuggles)...

I know Christmas is about many things. I am thankful for the love of God in sending His son to live and die for us.

But I'm also thankful our celebration includes a day out filled with love of those around as well.

Seeing Squares

Do you have visions of sugarplums dancing in your head? I’m seeing squares. Inside of squares. On top of, under, and beside squares.

My dear mother when asked if she would like anything in particular made for her for Christmas wasn’t sure at first. Until she saw me flipping through my binder of printed off patterns and saw the Sheep & Wool hat. But she didn’t just want the hat. She wanted matching mittens. And a matching scarf. This was four weeks ago. I drew the line at the scarf and told her I’d compromise with a neckwarmer. She wasn’t sure about that, but I think she realized I wasn’t moving on the no scarf boundary. She got to pick her colors (Chestnut Brown and Aquamarine) and I got to find some patterns to base the mittens and neckwarmer off of.

The Hat

Project: Sheep & Wool Hat by Emily Spence  [Rav Link]
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Needle Size: US7 & US8
Ravelry Project Page

Another picture that doesn't want to orient the correct way.

I did make a few adjustments on this. I just couldn’t bring myself to do a double turned over brim like the pattern has. I also used ribbing on the other pieces, so I decided to do seven rows of 1x1 ribbing. While I cast on for the smaller size, I did work an extra fives rows in the square pattern and I added two more rows of solid before starting the decreasing. The hat in the pics looked a little shorter and I wanted to make sure Mom’s ears don’t get cold. And my head is a bit rounder than Mom’s. For me I would have went with the larger size. So don’t judge a project by big head pics.

See my new glasses? And my pic that apparently lived in an alternate time warp of 1976?

The Mittens

Project: Quo Vadis Mittens by SpillyJane
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Needle Size: US5
Ravelry Project Page

I had to take these down two stitches to be able to work the pattern. And I’m thinking I should have went up three stitches instead. They are snug enough on me to make me worry. While I inherited my mom’s long fingers, I’m thinking her hands are a bit narrower than mine. Hoping they are. Praying they are. Please Santa?

These were pretty much blocked into an inch of their lives. Or possibly a millimeter.

I’m thinking I’d like to maybe make these mittens with the original design sometime. I have an alarming stash of wools. Didn’t we all want to felt everything at some time? This pattern has that thumb that makes me nervous though. The one where you make the thumb by knitting in a piece of scrap yarn and removing it. I spend the rest of the mitten eyeing that thinking “What if I did it wrong?”


The Neckwarmer

Project: Thermis Neckwarmer by KrisKnits
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Needle Size: US6
Ravelry Project Page

I cast on for the smaller size. Hence the tightness on me. While I have lost 20 lbs, I don’t think my neck got much skinnier. It should work for Mom, though. I do wish I would have done this differently, though. I should have thought through the whole project when doing my ribbing. I worked the inch of ribbing like the Thermis pattern says. What I didn’t think through was that I had to do multiples of five for the squared pattern. So, when I ended my last set of squares my neckwarmer was getting pretty long and I thought I was pushing it to work the top ribbing as long as I was supposed to, so I think it looks a little off to have the REALLY long bottom ribbing and the REALLY short top. But it is what it is. Life will go on.

An Owl on Memory Lane

I considered not posting this owl since I posted the one I made earlier this year for one of my favorite little guys. And in honesty, I think that first one turned out looking a little better. But this one has it’s own story, so it has it’s own post. Many handmade objects are fortunate enough to have a story that goes with them over time. (Well, many of mine seem to have a story about the ways they drove me crazy in the process!) This little guy was made for my grandpa for this Christmas to honor one of our stories.

As I’ve mentioned, I grew up sending my summers with my family in campgrounds. I’m not sure of my exact age in this story, but I assume 11 or 12 because by age 13 I was spending more time flirting with the boys in the campground than hanging out with my family. But this particular summer night I was bored and begging someone to take me on the “owl walk” the nature center was doing that night. My grandpa agreed. So off we went. I can remember driving up and down the hills to the other side of the campground in my grandpa’s truck, the windows down and the warm air blowing in. When we got to the trail where everyone was meeting it was a bunch of moms and their kids. My grandpa distinctly remembers being one of the few adult males over four feet tall when he tells this story. Together grandpa and I walked. Listening for owls and making memories that can never be replaced. And now, almost twenty years later (wow) he still tells my grandma about that walk every time he hears an owl. Sometimes he’ll even call me and tell me he heard an owl outside of his window last night.

Project: Bramble Owl Softie by Knitwits  [Rav Link]
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool
Needle Size: US8
Ravelry Project Page

And this time I used buttons for eyes instead of the knit eyes. I fully trust Grandpa to not chew them off and choke on them. If you look close you can see the owl seeing me taking a picture of him.

Also,  I’m pretty sure I’m now the crazy lady in the townhouse complex. Which is a hard fought for title around here. Hang out your back door and take pictures of a stuffed owl in the snow on your back step. I promise it will gain you some crazy ground.



Sorry for the side view.I can't get it to turn and these
days I just choose my battles.



Cambridge Watchcap

So my Dad's (very first every knit from me!) hat has been done for over a week now. However, I haven't said anything about it because I wanted to show you how to make the super easy probably insulting your intelligence by giving you directions "wind blocker" (read: man neckwarmer from fleece). Doing the math of the projected finishing of all of my projects, I will be having a project a day done between now and Christmas, so I think I'll save that "tutorial" for after Christmas.

For now, my Daddy-o's first ever knit from me! I've never been sure if he'd wear a handknit or not, but my Mom reassured me if I made him a nice hat he'd wear it to work outside. So, I made him a very warm hat.

Project: Cambridge Watchcap by ever green knits Ravelry Link
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds (One Skein)
Colorway: Charcoal
Needle Size: US10
Project Page

I did make some adjustments. To make this an extra warm Daddy hat I knit this in a bulky weight yarn. The pattern calls for worsted. To do this I cast on 87 stitches and went up to a size 10 needle. I followed the rest of the pattern, but it got a little more iffy when I got to the decreases. I wish I could get into details on what I did there, but I was tired and just made it up half-assed as I went. I was hoping the bulky would make the 10 freaking inches until decreasing go faster. It didn't. What can I say, I'm a beanie kind of girl. The extra knitting for a brim always feels like torture for me.

Poppy

In the middle of all of the Christmas, winter, snowy madness a little girl named Leah is turning one. I have made her brother a hat for each of his two birthdays and a hat for being born and now I made this little girl her first hat. I missed the being born hat, so I'm already a bit behind. Since I have few little girls to craft for in my life, this little girl had to have a little girly hat. Not a hat just made in little girly colors.

Project: Poppy (Rav Link) by Justine Turner of justjussi
Yarn: Lion Brand Alpine Wool (Bulky)
Colorway: Vanilla
Size: 1-3 years
Ravelry Project Page

As I'm putting in my links, I must admit I'm getting a little nervous. I printed this pattern off a year or so ago and used this pattern print off to make the hat. At that time it had instructed to use a bulky weight yarn for 1-3 years, but on the updated pattern there is no mention of bulky. Hmmm. Well, I guess we shall see.

I really love this little flapper style hat. It is so girly and fun! And it was an amazingly quick knit. Well, with the bulky it was! I saw her in church last week in head to toe pink, so the pink button seemed to be a good call. The short row shaping to give this hat it's shape is really interesting.

My hat didn't want to take a cute picture standing up. I'm hoping this doens't prove that bulky was a no go. Maybe you should check before making this hat yourself? I'll report back after I've gifted this on Sunday!

This Christmas season I've tried to be sure to put little tags on my handmade items letting the recipients know things like fiber content and care instructions. I understand that handmade can intimidate!

Happy Thursday!

Cynthia's Garden Quilt

Cynthia is my grandma. And she asked for a quilt with roses. While fabric with roses is not really my thing, she is my grandma and I love her, so I made a quilt with roses.

See?

It is a windchill of -14F outside. While our "Blizzard Warning" over the weekend was a bit of an exaggeration as well, I'm still not feeling venturing outside to take pictures, so the view from the ironing board of my sewing room is about as good as this is going to get.

I have no idea what it was about this quilt, but it was determined to push me to the edge and methodically nudge me over. Why? It's only a large block and four-squares, right? How difficult could this be? You've did harder than this, right? This isn't your first time around a quilt block! I know!

Well, somehow I miscalculated the size I should be cutting the blocks. Promise I wasn't quilting hungover again. I did all of the math. Took the seam allowances into consideration.  Even measured twice and cut once. It all added up. Until it didn't.  I didn't figure out this was the issue until after I had ALL of the fabric cut. I know. Really, I wasn't hungover. Or drunk. Apparently just stupid and overconfident. So that was fun. And then as I was cutting the backing I cut INTO the backing. And after I had it all basted I pulled on a loose string. Not a loose string. Pulled a seam out. After it was all basted. Like that sloppy attempt at hand stitching it up? Oh, and I was somehow unconsciously hell-bent on sewing the backing in clumps to each other on the edges. That was fun. All four times.

But step by step we worked through it. Piecing, basting, quilting, and binding.

And in the end it all turned out and the mistakes are barely noticeable. Barely. Really just that ripped out seam. That is one of the things I love about quilting. It can look so damn messy while you're doing it, but in the end when it's all done it just comes together.

Why, what's that one square with the square quilted in the middle unlike all the others? I'm so proud of you for noticing it. I know you did. 

Well, that's a love patch. In no way related to a soul patch. A love patch.

Just a little bit of love to remind my grandma I love her always and forever. You see, the day grandma asked me to make this quilt was the day of my grandpa's funeral. My grandpa died in September of last year from cancer. This is going to sound a bit morbid and I don't mean it to. But, as my grandpa was laying there in the last weeks of his life in that hospital bed all he had on him was this impersonal hospital blankets. And I just kept wishing he could be covered in more love than that. I'm getting all teary just typing this. So when my grandma asked me for a quilt I told her of course. Don't worry, Grandpa. I've got Grandma covered. Literally.

Aspen Mittens

It's a dreary and cold day here in the Midwestern US, but I have another project to put under the Christmas tree! My family has learned to expect handmade for Christmas. I mean I took a pledge and all. This year I did ask my aunt if she would like bought or handmade. You don't want to be that person that when your family realizes you drew their name they go "Aww, crap. Handmade again?" She did say she wouldn't mind a pair of mittens.

To Ravelry I went! I wanted something kind of fancy, so I was looking for a project with a bit of design. However, with the long list and the loudly ticking Christmas clock it needed to not be a fingering weight poke your eyes out with the tiny needles project. I was torn between the ever popular Fiddlehead Mittens or the less known it appeared Aspen mitten pattern. Taking the lining of the Fiddlehead Mittens for what it was: essentially knitting two pairs of mittens on a tight timeline, I went with the Aspen pattern. And I was not disappointed! Forgive the iffy pictures. I missed the one day of sunshine this week while these were still blocking.

Project: Aspen [Rav Link]
Designer: Jennifer Adams of NuttyIrishmanKnits
Yarn: Cascade Pastaza (50% wool, 50% llama)
Colorways: MC-a green that doesn't really look like any on the colorway chart and I lost the label for
                    CC-Pastaza Paints Colorway 073
Needle Size: US 8
Ravelry Project Page

More of these will be made. Did I mention the yarn was ALREADY in the stash? I know! I'm a lover of the single ply plushy softness of the wool/llama blend that is Pastaza. However, I need to check, but I think the gauge of the Pastaza was a little larger than the pattern called for. I made a size medium.  I've been hoarding single skeins of Pastaza for awhile now. I got a little nervous if I was going to have enough yarn, because that seems to be my streak lately, but I even had a little left over!

The length of these is great! They are long enough to keep the drafts out of your sleeves. I'm considering putting them on here at the office today. It's a tad chilly in here. I'm seeing the potential for that to hinder my office work a bit, however. So I guess I'll just have to stick with the fingerless gloves that live in the desk drawer.

This was the first time I've did a braid on a pair of mittens, or well, anything that wasn't like hair or a tassle. It gave a nice effect and I think really helps to keep the mittens from curling. I'm sure the designer didn't have any of these things in mind and it is all just me. No, really, I don't think that. She seems incredibly knowledgable in the logistics of all of this.

Tomorrow is a day off! I'm taking a vacation day to keep from climbing the walls after being stuck in my office all week, to make some further project on the Santa's elf thing, and also to find my bed under the clothes thrown about my bedroom that need to be put away. So, while today is a twelve hour workday and I have to miss my knitting group tonight (which means I'll lose track of where we are in some insanity and spend like a month catching up), at least I get to look forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Happy weekend!

Sunset Beret

My brothers and I have pretty different love lives. Not different like freaky weird. Because it would just be awkward to blog about not only my freaky love life, but way awkward to blog about my brother's freaky love life. Back slowly away from that topic.I mean we are different from each other.
Me: A few different boyfriends, two significant long term, married my college sweetheart, divorced.
Youngest Brother: Married high school sweet heart at age 20, happily domestic with a toddler and baby on the way.
Middle Brother: A bit of a back and forth kind of guy. Until his latest girlfriend, who he seems rather smitten with and we're not so sure she won't be around for quite a long time.

What does this mean for my knitting? Why in the hell would this impact my knitting? This year I faced the question of to make her a present or not to make her a present? I've never gifted one of middle brother's ladies before. But this year I decided to.

Project: Sunset Beret by Knit-O-Matic (Rav Link)
Yarn: Lion Brand Alpine Wool , 1.25 skeins
Colorway: Black Pepper
Needles: US8 & US 10.5
Size: Small/Medium
Ravelry Project Page

I really had some issues getting good pictures of this hat. Because 1) I have to do the whole self pic thing. 2) I have a hard time getting a good picture of me wearing a hat. Well, a good picture of me period. She will look much better sporting this I'm sure.

While I will admit I'm a bit of a yarn snob, I'm a bit smitten with some of the bulky yarns that have appeared in my local JoAnn store lately. This one included. It's 100% wool roving. I have a thing for roving yarn. I love the stitch definition of any yarn that is single ply, especially 100% wool. This yarn knits up very nice and is incredibly affordable.

This is also a great pattern for a very stylish hat. So stylish that as I was knitting this I thought to myself multiple times "Why don't I just go to Old Navy and buy what I'm sure will be a pretty identical hat." But we all have a good idea of the answer to that question. Not. How. We. Roll.

I also started this hat a few weeks ago. In a discontinued yarn I love. (Debbie Mumm Reminiscence, Carnival colorway)That I ran out of with just a few decrease rows left. Sore subject. But if you have any, talk to me. I have baked goods. Lots of baked goods. And I just need a little.

I'm getting there on the Christmas projects! I'll even have a pair of mittens and a quilt to show you soon!