FO: More Striped Socks

Yarn: Red Heart Heart & Soles (rav link)
Pattern: Improvised

Another pair of socks. These ones have already been incorporated into my personal knitted sock collection (whereas, most other socks go into the to-be-gifted pile). This yarn is great, super cheap, and the striping keeps me interested. This yarn comes in 50g balls, so you need two balls for a grown-up sized pair of socks. For this pair, I did not attempt to match the striping pattern, I just pulled from the center of the ball and went with it. Interestingly, the striping pattern ended up being reversed for the two socks!

Can you see it? How the stripes going from toe toward heel on the top sock match those going from heel toward toe on the other? I find it amusing.

FO: Skittles Socks

Yarn: Red Heart Heart & Soles
Pattern: Slip Stitch Heel Basic Socks from Socks from the Toe Up (rav link)

Yea for self-striping sock yarn. These socks are so colorful and bright! They reminded me so much of Skittles.

I was pretty happy with this toe-up pattern, though I will need to start my increases for the heel gusset earlier next time. These socks are a bit tight on my ankles.

Nifty gift wrap

I whipped up this little gift bag to wrap a gift in. The fabric was in my stash, and I used a little ribbon that was laying around near my sewing machine. I added a little decorative stitch to add a touch of class. Hehe.

Super easy, you can customize it to whatever size gift you're giving. And re-usable! Yea!

FO: Flower Headband

Yarn: Vanna's Choice

Little sister requested one of those flower headbands that are so popular with the kids these days. I did a bit of Ravelry pattern searching, but ended up improvising this design. For the headband part, I knit a tube (for extra warmth)--32 stitches total. I made it pretty snug on my big noggin, and it fit Tracie's head just right. For the flower I used this little pattern.

I think it was a hit!

Progress report

One of my current projects is this pair of socks, knit in Schoppel-Wolle Ambiente, a lovely self-striping, springy yarn.

Notice how long the repeat is! From the top of the leg cuff to the point indicated by my finger. I was in awe as I was knitting it--I've never knit a pair of socks where the repeat was this long. The yarn is sold in 50g balls, and with a repeat this long, it will be quite challenging to match the two socks...so I'm not even going to try. Hehe.

Also of note in this pair of socks: I'm working a short-row heel over 60% of the stitches. What a difference this makes! Usually I feel like short-row heels are too constrictive over my ankle--but this sock is way better!

All the yarn that was left after knitting the first sock. I was a bit worried there about running out of yarn.

FO: Petal Bib

Pattern: Petal Bib from One Skein (rav link)
Yarn: Lion's Brand Cotton-Ease (left-over from this vest)

This was a great little project! Super cute, didn't use much yarn (I would have weighed it, but alas, it's already on it's way to the recipient). This project would make great practice for people wanting to master short rows. The only thing I didn't like was the I-cord. I really dislike knitting I-cord.

Copycat Hat Update

A while ago, I set out to create a facsimile of a hat I saw on a friend, remember?

The first version was a bit of a flop, but the second one is much better. I've been wearing it a ton and getting lots of compliments on it.

I took advantage of the partially sunny day we're having today to get a shot of it.

FO: Silk Scarf

First FO of 2011, by a nose:

Silk scarf from Small Stash Sewing, one of my many new craft books. Thanks, Tracie, for agreeing to model it for me. If only we could get some natural light up here in January...

This project probably took me about 2.5 hours. Ironing the binding took a while. It's about 84 inches long, and maybe 5 inches wide. I had some trouble getting the color right in the pictures. This blurry one below captured the color best.

FO: Aloha Print PJ Pants

Everyone in the family received aloha print PJ pants for Christmas. The ladies received capri length pants and the guys received knee-length shorts. The fabric was chosen with each recipient in mind at Fabric Mart in Kahului, Maui. I used a pattern from Simplicity, 9330.

FO: Geurnsey-ish Wrap

Inspired by this design, I found a few good stitch patterns and came up with this one. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in Gray Tabby. No modeled shots yet.

FO: Calendar Covers

Another quick Christmas gift--a sewn calendar cover. I traced the outline of the calendar onto some canvas to give the cover some stability.

The inside of the cover has two pockets to insert the front and back cover of the calendar into.

The one pictured above was for my mom. The one pictured below was the prototype, and I'm keeping it.

FO: GU Gear

Sister and brother-in-law are big fans of their alma mater, Gonzaga, and when I saw this fabric on clearance last year, I knew it was destined to become something for them.

So, 4 placemats, 4 napkins, 4 coasters, 2 potholders. The Bernina 930 got a full workout with these projects, and overall, I'm very pleased with the results, although I do wish I'd made the potholders a bit bigger. As it is, they're almost too small to be functional.

FO: Striped Side Cable Socks

Some plain socks, jazzed up a smidge with a small cable on one side of each sock. The yarn is ONLine Supersocke mit Angora. The color combination actually made me a bit nauseated. But Tracie liked it, so they were a Christmas gift for her.

FO: Mystery Socks

Way back when, in October, I finished these great socks. They're the TTL 2010 Mystery Socks. For yarn, I used Dream in Color Smooshy.

I'm actually a bit ambivalent about the pattern itself. And the fit is a bit loose for me. So for now, they're chillin' in the to-be-gifted-someday-in-the-future pile.

FO: Kiddo caps

A quick little project--a couple little hats. I used the Kim's Hats pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, a hat pattern that never disappoints. I used stash yarn left over from a couple other Kim's Hats. I used duplicate stitch for the initials and did my best to fashion some pompoms for the tops.

For added warmth and to make the hats more kid friendly, I lined them with fleece, the sewing in of which took nearly as long as the knitting of the hats. I used thread in the same color as the yarn and whip stitched the fleece to the inside of the hat loosely.

FO: Socks for Skinny Legs

Raj is a big fan of his socks! The fit him perfectly; not a sign of slouch on his chicken legs. The yarn was purchased on our trip to Victoria, BC, a couple months ago from this adorable little shop, on clearance--yea for clearance! It's Estelle Arequipa, a wool-alpaca-nylon blend, a yarn I've never seen before. Given that it was on clearance, I bought another skein in a more girly colorway that I plan to use for myself. :)

I have some pretty thorough notes up on Ravelry for this project.