1. Sweater bangles for Meg
I saw a link to this Ravelry project on Pinterest ages ago and loved it. Searched high and low for suitable bangles to knit around and finally found some (had to pay a bit more than I'd hoped, but not too bad in the end). I knit some tubes with simple stitch patterns and grafted the edges together around the bangles. The seed stitch version was too tight; next time I'd use a smaller gauge of yarn.
2. Sweater-to-scarf for Meg and toque for me
I got a nice 100% merino wool sweater for a steal from Banana Republic last year... But boyfriends don't know about not putting certain things in the dryer.
Sigh. Once dry, it might have fit a child, but certainly didn't fit me. I got out the scissors, plugged in the sewing machine, and turned it into two new things: an infinity scarf for Meg and a toque for me. I tooled around a bit with some white thread on the scarf to give it a bit of visual interest. It turned out quite skinny, and I'm not sure if she'll wear it, but at least it's not a dead sweater sitting in my sewing box reminding me of how I can't use it anymore.
I made the scarf first, then couldn't resist doing something with the ribbed edges and leftover chunks, so I made a somewhat slouchy hat. It's quite warm, despite being thin. I imagine this is both because it's mostly felted and because it actually covers my ears.
3. Cardigan for Baby Liam
Left over yarn from Brad's Catan blanket turned into a little sweater for baby Liam. The front panels button on, so if he makes a mess on one, it can be buttoned off and switched out easily!
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| Pattern: Presto Chango |
I'd never heard the word 'pidge' before making this, apparently it is a particular scarf made by a particular designer that a whole bunch of other designers went on and re-created. Wherever it came from, it's just a short scarf that buttons around the neck. Simple, quick knit, in a soft llama-blend to cater to mum's wool sensitivity.
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| Pattern Cap'n Crunch |
Boyfriend's dad has been joking about old man slippers forever, so I made him some for Christmas. I really enjoyed the pattern, the way just a few decrease stitches pull the entire shape together. Fun, quick, easy.
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| Pattern: Non-felted Slippers |
6. Mitts for Barb
I couldn't really make something for boyfriend's dad without making something for his mom, so I made her some pretty mittens in a nice squishy wine colour. My mom (and hand model) was jealous.
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| Pattern: Karin |
7. Octopus Mitts for Clover
Originally these were for Clover's brother Wolf, who turned five recently. They were, of course, far too small for him, so I promised him a different pair. They fit his little sister perfectly though, with a bit of room to grow. Cute and quick pattern, but the yarn was bad bad bad. Splitty pilly icky, but at least it's soft and superwash.
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| Pattern: Octopus Mittens |
8. Toque for me!
And I finally got around to making something out of the yarn I bought in Kelowna- a warm cable toque. I used every last scrap of the skein on it. In the end it's not as polished-looking as I'd have liked, since those cables pull quite tightly in places and the brim doesn't flow naturally into the pattern, but it's super warm and fits comfortably.
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| Pattern: Hineri Hat |
These snowflakes have been developing on different blogs for the past few years. They're awesome and also awesomely difficult! I tried armed with ordinary scissors, a tiny rotary cutter and a box-cutter sized exacto-knife. Not a lot of precision. My results:
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| The successes: a scout trooper, Vader, a storm trooper, and Yoda, who probably looks so depressed because I cut off a few of his ears. |
I also tried Admiral Ackbar. He was an utter failure, so I didn't even attempt 3P0... too many curved lines that had to be cut with the rather imprecise box-cutter. The designs with more scissor-able details and straighter lines were definitely the easiest to do.
All in all the holidays were good. I got a fancy DSLR camera (with which I took some of the pictures above) and a bunch of new knitting supplies (blocking mats, wires, and pins! Hooray!).
I am left now with the following things on the queue:
- Owly mittens for a five-year-old I know to replace the too-small octopi
- Sweater and mitts for a newborn due in February
- Sweater for me! (boyfriend's mum gave me a gift certificate to my favourite local yarn store for Christmas!)
- Sweater for boyfriend?
- Add some length to boyfriend's Artoo Detoque (it doesn't cover his ears enough and is quite thin; he asked if I could make it so he can fold the brim up for double-thickness.)
- Legwarmers for mom and Meg (we all have matching boots, and they both want leg warmers to go with them. Sigh.)
That's not so bad, is it?
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