Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Something to be Thankful for...

Beyond my health and well being:

Family, friends, creativity, and freedom to express that creativity.

Speaking of expressing...

Here is a set of thanksgiving cards that I designed and put together in the hopes that they'd get sent out before thanksgiving week...guess not.......

This is made using a green pre-cut rectangle of green from the Joann's "Stack of Scraps". This stamped with a random stamp I picked up from Goodwill (You can find it on ebay here)

The center is stamped with a Joann's Dollar stamp picked up from our local store, as well at the Thank You from the Fiskars Baby Shower stamp set. The red strip is a scarp from a card-stock set from Wal-mart. The blue and yellow toned squares are also from the "stack of scraps".

Another moment of creative expression is my holiday cards, these will only be sent out to family who will be out of town, or not close enough to visit on Christmas...

This is created with some plain white cardstock from Wal-mart (found in the office section) The dark red, dark blue and light blue cardstock is from Joann's, Core-dinations textured cardstock. The stripe paper in the ornament is from a patterned paper pack from Walmart, a Colorbok set.

The ornament is cut at 2 in from the "tag" setting on New Arrivals Cartridge.

The inside is mostly blank, with the word "Celebrate" stamped in simple black.

I am also working out a set of knitted, crocheted, and woven coffee cozies. These are all Christmas gifts.

Also, I am in the process of knitting up another simple loomed cowl.

Last year, I made this one:






this is made on the large yellow loom from the Knifty Knitter set, just a simple e-wrap knit tube. I knit until it is either 2 ft, or I run out of yarn.

Will put up pics of the cowl in a couple of days. When I finish it.

Also, I found a scarf at a local grocery store, it was a large gauge crochet scarf in Velvetspun lavender. I unravled it, and am making a garter stitch scarflet...


Again, picks when it is finished.

Monday, November 15, 2010

The Great Garter Head Hugger Knitting Recipe

I told you I'd post it, and so here it is:










This is knit using size 13 straight needles, but you could use circulars. I chose Lion Brand Hometown USA in Sante Fe Tweed, any super bulky yarn would work.

Cast on 6 stitches


Row 1-2: knit across

Row 3: knit 3, yo, knit to end, (this row has created your button hole)

Row 4-5: knit to end

Row 6-7: knit 2, m1 (use your preferred method of increase), knit to end

Row 8-12: knit to end

Row 13-14: repeat row 6

Row 15-18: knit across

Row 19-20: repeat row 6

Row 21-31: knit across

Row 32-33: knit 2, k2tog, knit to end

row 34-38: knit across

Row 39-40: knit 2, k2tog, knit across

Row 41-44: knit across

Row 45-46: Knit 2, K2tog, knit across

Row 47-49: knit across

Row 50: Cast off

Finishing: Attach a button to the headband at the cast-off end to use for securing the ends together.

Embellish with whatever, buttons, flowers, pins, leaves, or leave it plain...whatever!

Ravel it here!

I wanna see pictures, so please let me know where I can see your progress!




Finishes, and Baby Showers

I have an endless list of holiday knitting, but woke up this morning from a dream about knitting designs...

But that is for a later moment. For now, I need to update you on some finishes, some gifts I have been waiting to blog about until they were given, and some decent weather to photograph some of my finishes from last month.

So, here is all is!

We will start off with Fynn and his baby shower gifts. My friend Taylor is expecting her first child. She and her fiancee are a very non-orthodox couple. They requested that nothing be "typical baby". The nursery theme is pirates, and the baby shower was themed Jungle.

That got me thinking, every new parent I know has a blanket that they really like to put on their baby's crib or to wrap them up in when they are running about town with their little one. I wanted the blanket I made for them to be a representation of their personality as much as a gift for the baby.

Here you have it:

Yep, that is right, those are pirate skulls on a hand embroidered baby quilt...I wish I could have gotten better pics of that, but the pic I got of the skulls up close were a bit too blurry to save.

I also gave with this set, a handmade card (should have gotten pics of that too), as well as a granny square blanket crocheted out of Joann Sensations Rainbow Boucle in Blue (self striping) and a matching hat, as well as a couple of outfits, and I will be taking washcloths and burp cloths to her in the hospital when she has baby Fynn, I didn't finish making them before the shower.

Next, I have been trying to get some photos of some of the finishes I have done, the main one being the climbing shells scarf that I did over a month ago.

With school and the weather being so annoying, I couldn't get anything decent.

This was my first attempt:





Not so great, right?

How about this one?



I decided to try something, I decided to go into the bathroom, turned on the light, used the mirror to see my digital screen and used the auto setting on my camera... That way, your camera isnt fighting the light facing you, it is only using that light.

 Next thing I wanted to show... I have seen those adorable ear warmer headbands that have fun buttons or cute flowers offset to one side or the other, they wrap under your hair and cover your ears for those cold mornings, and frosty nights walking the dogs or heading to school.


Here is my rendition:  The Head-hugger!










Really simple garter stitch with big needles and super bulky yarn... I will post a recipe for this design in my next separate post...


You will also be able to find it on Ravlery. It is SUPER warm, and I got so many compliments today at school.

I am about half way through my diagonal garter baby blanket with eyelet border, but didn't get photos yet, and I think I might do another version of the Back-2-School with Flair scarf in Lion Brand Homespun, also, I may have found an adequate yarn replacement for the suggested, but discontinued Moda Dea Dream I used on the original for this pattern...