New Projects

I am always itching for my new project!!! Unfortunately I have 50 unfinished projects calling my name, but that doesn't stop me from starting new ones. One of those 50 unfinished projects was the sweater that I just finished, so I figure that I finish one, start 5 :-) It's an illness, I know... their are a lot of terms for the condition that I suffer from, craftaholic being probably the best. The 1st step in any 12 step program is admitting that you have a problem... I have no problem admitting that I have this problem. But unlike most people in the 12 step program, I don't want to quit! I should however check in once a month here. :-) So here is a photo-list of some of the new projects on my TO DO list :-) (click on pics for sources.)

Knitting:
Jewelry:

Sewing: I recently made a duct tape dress form of myself. I have yet to make the apparatus to permanently affix it to, so right now it is just an empty shell. But once I have the stand, I will stuff it and hang it so I can start making custom clothing and be able to hem and whatnot.

(for a gift):

And I just bought this pattern and some Amy Butler fabric, because I need another bag/purse/tote like I need a hole in my head!

That's about half of what is really on my mental craft agenda. Maybe I will get some of these things done?!?!?! All I have to do is commit :-)

Oh and my girl, Erin, has just started her very own blog... a must check out/follow. She said that she is going to have a monthly give away!!!!!

The Sweater

I just finished my 1st "sweater". It isn't really a sweater, more like a knitted shirt. The pattern is called "Mini Dress" from this book.
I originally started to knit this in August and knitted the entire front. I got a little burnt out and a bit discouraged because it seemed really big. So I have had the yarn and the front of the shirt sitting in my "half done" project pile since then. I came across it when I was cleaning last week and I started itching to work on it. So I got it out and looked at it and sure enough it was even bigger than it was last year... mostly because I lost the rest of the baby weight that I had gained during my last pregnancy. So after a few minutes of deliberation, I decided to rip it all out and start over. I know completely shocking... I put in all that work to just let it go to waste. But I finally decided that if I am going to put that much work into knitting something, then I am going to want it to fit and I am going to want to wear it after I am done. Not only that, it is a good exercise in patience :-) So, the 1st try was a large and it was so big that I decided to knit a small and I am REALLY glad that I did!

The only complicated part of this pattern is that the colors are knitted in intarsia, which means that I change colors while knitting. Not really complicated, but it definitely can be frustrating since I was working constantly with 5 balls of yarn. It was knit in stockinette stitch, so the rest of it was really easy. I had to sew up the side seams, which is not my favorite thing to do, but luckily the patterns has you pick up and knit on the sleeves, instead of knitting them separately and sewing them on. Anyway, I am really happy with how it turned out! I do wish that it was a bit more fitted... especially around the waist. I think if I were to re make this, I would make it a little tighter around the waist. I think because of the fact that it is knitted and long, it really pulls on the piece and gives me more of a rectangular shape. However, I am still really happy with it!

Yarning

I am ALIVE... I promise!! hahahaha. Man, I have been busy. Christmas wiped me out this year. I finally got my Christmas cards done and sent and then the true holiday season hit. I didn't have a lot that I was working on, but it still flew by. Then just after Christmas, I had a bunch of projects to start and finish and they are now done and in the hands of their rightful owners :-) and now I finally have some extra time to make my much over due post!!! :-) I am probably going to have to break this up into several since I have a lot to share. So 'yarning' 1st.

Here are a series of accessories that I knitted as late Christmas presents for 2 of my cousins and their families. All together I knitted 8 hats, 2 pairs of fingerless gloves and a head band. I planned on knitting more gloves but my husband informed me that men don't wear the fingerless type :-) So instead of a hat and gloves, I knitted the boys 2 hats... in colors to hopefully match anything and everything. (I am posting all of these on Ravelry, so check that out for yarn and pattern info). Here is a set that I knitted for my cousin. The hat was super easy, knitted from the top down. It was also knitted longer than most hats so that there was a brim to roll up. The fingerless mittens were very easy knitted and in the round. I picked out a self striping yarn (Duo) in a variety of pinks and it was a bit too 'bubblegum' so I used one strand of it held together with a strand of a burgundy color (Vintage Wool) when I knitted, and it turned out perfect!!

This next one was knitted for my other cousin's wife. She has bangs so instead of a hat, I knitted her a head band to keep her ears warm, which I think she might also appreciate since she likes to ski. The fingerless gloves here were also really easy and knitted in the round.
For the boys I knitted them the following 2 hats. Basically a 2x2 rib pattern knitted in the round. The decreases were a little different than a basic hat, so that the ribs stayed intact until the last possible minute. Although I had a pattern that I used for the decreases, I had to alter the size based on the yarn. I picked out 2 SUPER chunky yarns, one more so than the other, so I had to use a different amount of stitches to obtain the right size. I used the same size needle for both and they look great. (oh and thanks to my BFF, Bradley for modeling the hats... my husband would have never gone for that!!)
I also knitted a hat for my son. We saw this monster hat on Ravelry (available on this website) and instantly my son loved it.I am way too cheap to buy the pattern so I just made it up. I changed it up a little and think the changes made it look cuter.
I also crocheted these ornaments for everyone. They were SUPER simple and easy to make, and best of all it was a free pattern (called Fancy Ornament) from lionbrand.com. Luckily I downloaded it after the corrections were made for the pattern and I didn't run into any problems. The best part was that I didn't have to tuck in any ends!!! I don't think that I am alone in that, I really dislike weaving in the ends of the yarn after I am done knitting/crocheting a project. In fact that is my very least favorite part. And on this ornament, the end of the yarn created at the beginning, I tucked into the stuffing so that it was hidden and when I was finished, I took a needle and guided the ends through the middle of the ornament and up through the top to use it as the hanger. It couldn't have been more perfect!!!! I used some fiberfill to stuff them as well as some yarn scraps left over from the above hats and mittens.I also crocheted a lingerie bag for my friend, Emily's, birthday. So far I only have progress pics because I failed to get any after it was completed/before I gave it to her. So... thankfully she is taking some for me to post. Here are the progress pictures.
My next post is going to be exclusively jewelry so be on the lookout for that. Right now I am working on nothing but cleaning my house and hopefully some fun projects after that. Here are some things that I am inspired by/thinking of making (Click on pictures for sources):

Update

My next real post is coming soon!!! I haven't posted in AGES, for some reason this Christmas season was one of my busiest! Crazy, considering I usually make a ton of gifts and this year I only had one to make :-) I have a few projects to finish up and my next post will be HUGE. Here is a pic of the "felted purse house" that I made as a Christmas present for my niece. She is a year and a half, loved it, and it is just big enough to be an overnight bag if she goes over to her grandma's house :-) I will post more pics and a better how-to description on my next post.

ahhhh

It has been a crazy week! My Christmas cards are finally out and most have been received. They turned out cute this year. And believe it or not, I am already starting to think about what next years will look like. I wish the picture this year was a bit better, but with a 4 year old and a 1 year old, I thought that it was lucky that I got them both smiling in the same picture. Half of the cards I block printed and I was running out of time so I screen printed the rest. Although I liked the block printed image better, the screen prints turned out crisper.My parents were in town a week ago and we exchanged Christmas gifts... so it is safe to now show you my mom's finished projects. This one is the Every Way Wrap from the fall 2009 Interweave Knits magazine. I think it turned out great. I think it is a bit short, but luckily my mom is shorter than I am so hopefully it fits her better.And this is the bracelet that I made her. She gave me a box of old clip on earrings that my grandmother had purchased at an auction years ago. Luckily, since they were mostly earrings, I can make an exact match for myself :-)I was also completely inspired by Elsie Flannigan this month. She made an Anthopologie style necklace that I just LOVED so I made one for myself. The embellishments are old buttons and clip on earrings.And I just couldn't stop there.... so I made this one yesterday. It was a little more asymmetrical and the focal points were off to the sides instead of directly in the middle. I liked it but I ended up changing it and I actually like it way better now.I am currently working on a "neck cuff" not sure what the official title is, maybe a tailless scarf. I have the body done and I am now working on knitting the ruffle which, of course, is taking forever. But I think it will look really nice when it is done. Pics to come. That's all for now... I am only making 1 maybe 2 Christmas gifts, so this season should be pretty smooth sailing :-)

So Cute!

Just a quick post to show the finished baby hat and booties. More info on the pattern found here.And progress on my mom's Christmas gift.

Invites

My baby is going to be 1 year old in a few weeks... I seriously can't believe it. I know that every parent says that, but this time I am really stunned how fast time has flown by. The first year seemed to go by so much slower with my oldest, probably because we didn't really know what we were doing :-) But I am definitely feeling cheated this time around.

So the invitations went out this week. I realized Tuesday night that I am going to have to high-tail it and get these done and sent or nobody is going to show up! Since I was on such a tight deadline, I was unable to make it down to Paper Source, so I got these cards at Archivers. They were a bit more expensive, but I only had to make 10... so no biggie. The folded card is in the color sage (although the scanned image came out very yellow) and I used a smaller flat card for the inside (not pictured) where I hand wrote the text. The color of the flat card is powder blue?, the official name escapes me, but I also got the envelopes in the blue color.

I made a stamp with block printing rubber. With this type of block print, I prefer to use a stamp pad over block printing ink. I don't think the rubber holds up well in the press (especially since mine is an industrial 30ton press) and when doing an image of a person, I think that the stamp pad allows for more precision. And what I mean by that is, when I use my press (even with linoleum) I expect a certain margin of error and I almost welcome it because I think that adds to the charm and authenticity of a block print. But I think that margin of error is too big when printing an image of a specific person and I think that even with the slightest change it could very quickly look like someone else, or definitely not the person depicted.

Here is how it turned out. I am absolutely thrilled and I can't help but smile when I look at it :-)

And I have also been playing with different self- "caricatures". This is the latest one located on the back of the invites: I over stamped my name on this one, but you get the point.
In other crafty news :-) I am still working on a knitting project for my mom. This is the longest knitting project that I have ever undertaken and because of this, I haven't been able to work on a whole lot of other things. However, a friend of mine just had her 2nd child a week or so ago so I am thinking of knitting a hat and booties for her little one. Those are really quick projects so they shouldn't take away too much time from my mom's project. Also, I am working on Halloween costumes... which I better light a fire under my own rear end and get them done!! My oldest is going to be a tornado, per his request. The body of the tornado is complete, I just need to embellish it and it is done. I was thinking about making my baby into a cow, which would work well with the tornado... but I have yet to start on that costume. So the cow idea is slightly up in the air. If I come across something else that is SUPER cute and quicker to make, I might have to switch ideas. But I better stop talking (or rather typing) about doing all of this and get to work! So until I have another spare moment to post again (not likely for another month or so)...... Toodles.

Mermaid

So it is pretty obvious that I LOVE free patterns by now! I was dropping my son off at Pre-K and my niece ran over to the toys and was instantly playing with the dolls. I felt a little guilty because all the toys at my house are geared more toward boys. So I went online to find a quick and easy pattern to make a doll for her. This is the one that I found. I changed the needle size and crocheted more than one strand of yarn so that it would be bigger than the pattern. I like how it turned out, and she seems to like it to :-)

For free pattern click here!