After two months of homework and finals, a week of Christmas festivities with friends and family, and a week of relaxing with my hubby and our two rug rats, I’m starting to feel ready to welcome in the new year … even if I’m a few days late.
This year’s handmade cadeaux de l'année were Amy Butler “Birdie Slings”. The four pictured below were for my mom, and my three sisters-in-law. There were five total, but the fifth sling was was shipped down south early, thus missing the obligatory Dec. 23rd group pictures.
If you don’t have this pattern already, I recommend getting it – it’s available through Amazon.com and number of other online quilt shops. The bag is so handy, great to use while traveling, stylish, and easy to make all at the same time. It also can be put together in a weekend, which makes it a quick, fun project!
The other handmade Christmas gift this year was a rather large quilt for my grandma, made from Moda’s Glace line – my absolute favorite Moda collection for Christmas 2009. The quilt was made from a single layer cake, along with a ½ yard of a print from the collection for borders and binding, and some fabric I just happened to chance upon that looked like it was MADE to go with this collection. I used a triangular pattern for the body of the quilt – which was frustrating for me since no matter how hard I try, they never line up like they’re supposed to – but all in all, I was pleased with how it turned out. … and Granny? She loved it and even cried a little when I gave it to her. It was just a very small way of saying thanks for all the blankets she’s made us over the years.
Speaking of my Granny, I will be continuing to carry her beautiful hand-knit scarves in my etsy store through the end of the cold weather season. I’ll be uploading the remaining lists this week, but please keep checking back, as she has another shipment she is sending my way in a couple of weeks.
Other than that, crafting at my house has been a little on the slow side. I’m still working on knitting socks. On one of my lunch-time forays to JoAnns, I came across this book:
This book is really great. It has flip pages for different cuffs, bodies, heels, and toes, and you put them together however you like - kind of like the “choose-your-own-adventure” books they had when we were kids.
I officially finished my first PAIR of socks back in October. I’m not the greatest knitter, so I found the project a little frustrating at times and starting the second sock at the right place in the yarn so that the striping stayed the same was a bit of a challenge, but I was so happy to have them finished – and my mom was so happy to receive them as a Christmas gift!
I found my latest sock project on Ravelry.com. My user name is “poplun” if you’d like to find me. The pattern’s name is “Nine-to-Five” and is supposed to yield beautifully cabled socks, as pictured here in the author Nicole Hindes' blog:
However, after finishing the first sock and turning it right-side out, I realized that the stitch I thought was a “knit” stitch is actually what is really called knitting through the back stitch, which makes cables look more like neat little yarn tangles. The finished sock doesn’t look bad … it just doesn’t look like I expected it too. I am going to persevere, however, and finish the second sock still knitting the wrong way, but I’m probably going to hit JoAnn’s big yarn sale this week, to pick up a new color for a pair of socks made the right way.
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