it's the most busiest time of the year!

If you are my mother, stop reading!! Right now!

This month has absolutely flown by. Between closing my show and crafting for the holidays, I haven't had a free minute. Chris and I did, however, make it to the 60's Twister Christmas party, and dressed the part:

My dress is vintage, and I think I am officially, completely obsessed with sheer sleeves. I think this dress might make another appearance on Christmas. If you couldn't guess, neither of us actually played Twister, due to injuries sustained earlier in the day from taking down the set from our play. So consider us dressed as the "chaperons" of the party. 

photo by Emily Hoskins

Last night I finished my mother's Christmas sweater vest! I knit this sucker in just under a week, and I'm pretty proud, considering I didn't have much free time.

Excuse the poor "blocking" picture. The dreary weather makes for some sad pictures. But it's done, and I'll do a full break down of the pattern soon.

Still left to do - buy a few more small things, make a few small things, and wrap EVERYTHING. Wish me luck! 

on the Doctor and felt...

If you are my sister, do not look below! Don't do it!

I have a confession: I like geek television shows. Anything sci-fi or fantasy, I love it. I'll save you the list for now and just say that Chris and I are currently watching Season 2 of Doctor Who on Netflix. Thanks to my habit of watching nerdy TV while knitting or sewing, my coffee table has been turned into making-central:

I've been doing pretty well on the gloves. Hopefully I'll finish those up this weekend and then tackle the sweaters. In between that, I've been making felt ornaments for some etsy orders, and doing a few other present type projects.

Do you see those little felt roses up there? Those were discarded from a project (just didn't work), and now I'm thinking of turning them into a little brooch. It's a little bit holiday, but also could be worn year round. I'll keep you updated on that. 

So back to Doctor Who. I'm watching it for the first time, and I have to say, there is a lot of yelling and screaming. It's a very loud show. It seems like every episode has a crowd scene where a large amount of people are attacked and have to run screaming while guns are being fired. And for that reason, I think it will never be one of my favorite shows. I like my panic a little more creative. 

Traverse City - The Gift

Ok, finally a bit of crafting. For wedding gifts in general, I like to do something handmade, especially for my friends. Most of my friends know that I am a crafty lady,  and I think they appreciate the special gifts, like this memento I embroidered for my friend's wedding in January. 

So for Brooke & Michael's wedding, I knew I wanted to make them something, and I decided on washcloths. They're a bit nicer than store bought, but still useful for a new couple. Now, Brooke is primarily Chris' friend from college, although she and I have become good friends. So when I told Chris that I thought knit washcloths would be a good idea, he immediately said "I want to  help!"

Yes, this man is dreamy. A dreamy- knitting - man. So I refreshed his basic knitting skills, and we made four washcloths total. Let me tell you - he is a damn fine knitter. 

My washcloths:

The pattern is this basic feather & fan pattern.

And Chris' washcloths:

Very nice! A basic garter stitch cloth, which I finished and crocheted that little loop at the end. 

For that loop - just take the last loop on the row after casting off, and crochet about 8 chains. Crochet through the row below the cast off row and weave in. 

Check out that motel room carpet!

We supplemented the washcloths with some fancy dish soap, hand soap and surface cleaner from Target. All wrapped up in a bamboo bowl, it makes for a nice presentation. I attached little tags to our washcloths telling Brooke & Mike that we had both knit the washcloths.

The couple that knits together... 

Holiday Making, Part 3

Sewing!

To start us off, a cute little reindeer ornament friend:

This is based on a pattern I came across awhile ago for a felt lamb. It is tiny - about 3" tall. The horns are made of wire and painted brown. It was gifted to my boyfriend's parents.

My sister in law is very fond of requesting gifts. For her daughter, my two year old niece, she sent me a picture of a felt lunch. (No source! I'm sorry! If anyone recognizes this, please link me.) The lunch that I made for my niece turned out very well. A sandwich, bag of chips and a cupcake.

After making the piece of lettuce and tomato for the sandwich, I was inspired to make...

A felt BLT!

This is actually a magnet set. Five little magnets - two pieces of toast, tomato, lettuce and bacon. Because of the magnets, they stick together like a sandwich. This was gifted to my best friend. I plan to make a few more for the selling soon.

I also made some pins using this tutorial. A great way to use up some extra fabric scraps. I used a glue gun. Much faster, and I really loved the results. These were gifted to my friends and sister in law. Very cute!

In the past few weeks I've found quite a few awesome things on Craigslist and at thrifts stores, so I'll show you those soon!

Holiday Making, Part 2

Knitting/Yarn!

A few projects to share in a category I shall call "Yarn."

First up, a little yarn project that was inspired by a plethora of wreaths.

Please excuse the terrible picture. Dark wood, dark hallway, etc. Mine is a bit simpler than a lot of wreaths out there, but I like it. Also I had a little felt reindeer to put on it, but it felt excessive.

Next, a little commission from a friend for his sister as a Christmas present. Say that three times fast.

This is a pattern I made up. Raveled here.

For my sister's graduation, I put together a little granny square afghan, made out of random balls of yarn. I had quite a few different weights of yarn in colors that I thought went together well, so I used them together in a stash-busting afghan, a la this.

Last and most challenging, I made two mini Swallowtail shawls. I used modifications from MOONSTITCHES to make them a bit smaller. They were gifted to my great aunt and her sister, my grandmother. Yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts, "Socks that Rock." In October I knit a lace shrug for a friend's wedding. Ever since then, I have been excited about knitting lace. It's much more interesting knitting.

Ok, only one more installment of holiday projects - I promise. It'll be worth it! There are lots of cute things to come!

Byyyyeeeee!