Happy New Year

Happy New Years Eve!  We woke up to bitter cold temperatures today. No worries. I had my Labradoodle blanket. This is the view of my lap. 

We (Zach and I) took the doggies for a walk at the river. It was a gorgeous bright and sunny cold morning walk. On the ground, there was super dry, light snow that looked like a blend of sugar and diamond glitter. It felt more like walking in sand on the beach than walking in snow.  The water in the river was slushy and frozen in some places and there was a beautiful mist hovering over the river and river banks in some places. Sandy was not too keen on the cold weather. She started to shake so I wrapped her in my fleece jacket and we took turns carrying her for awhile. 

 

When we got home. Brutus still had some spunk left in him. He played in the cul de sac with Zach. It was hilarious to watch Brutus chasing and pouncing on a slippery football in the ice and snow. 

It's nice to be toasty and warm in the house now. I am looking forward to a quiet New Years Eve with a little sock knitting. I doubt I'll stay up until midnight. 

Wishing you and yours a safe and happy new year. 

An Afternoon of Sewing

Wine Bottle Bags 

Today I got to do a little sewing ... just because I wanted to. It was nice to not HAVE to sew pillows today. ETSY orders have slowed a bit which is a welcome break.  I looked through my book to find a project I'd like to try and I made the "Wine Lovers' Special".  There are lots of other projects in this book I'd like to make. 

It was fun pairing coordinating fabrics for the outside and the lining. I have lots of black ribbon and black fabric with white polka dots and it goes with lots of other fabrics so I used the black fabric to line both bags. 

On the knitting front... I am working on some mittens out of great self-striping sock yarn. Here's a sneak peek!

Gift Exchange Socks

Patons Kroy Socks FX

I made these socks in record time. For the past several years, my co-worker, Mrs. W and I have had a gift exchange. She paints ceramics for me and I knit for her.  She loves purple.

I've been rather busy filling pillow orders the past several weeks so I was scrambling Christmas Eve to finish these socks.  I really like how they turned out. I made them mismatched on purpose. I used new needles for these socks. They are made of carbon fiber. I'll have to share more about them another time.

 

I made the socks on 2.75 mm needles and I started the socks by casting in 52 stitches. They are cozy and thick. 

Christmas Rush

Etsy Madness!

November and the first part of December have kept me BUSY!  This was the haul I took to the post office today.  Texas, New York, Oregon, California, Arizona, and even the United Kingdom. These boxes are filled with dog bone shaped neck pillows, but I was ticked to also sell two knitted hats and two Christmas stockings recently. 

The down side of selling handmade goods on Etsy is that the stream of orders keep from other crafty pursuits. I did make another Christmas tree skirt the other day (Christmas tree skirt #3), but I need to press and steam it a bit more before I can take some photos. 

Tomorrow I am teaching a class at my local knit shop, the Yarn Shop at Words of Life. We are making miniature sweater ornaments and hangers.  I think I have three ladies signed up for the class. I am bringing Carrot Ginger Spice cookies (the vegan version) and orange juice for refreshments. I hope it's a fun class for everyone!  Oh! The photo reminds me... I also made up a little pattern for a little hat. 

Here is the pattern link for the Tee-Tiny Raglan Sweater we are making (Click HERE).

 

Would you like to make a little rolled brim hat to match, also?  Here's the pattern:

 

Rolled Brim Hat to

Match your Mini-Sweater Ornament

US Size 2 (2.75 mm needles)

Fingering or Sock weight yarn

Cast on 20 stitches and join to knit in the round, being careful to not to twist the stitches.

For the brim and body of the hat:

Knit 10 rounds

Decrease rounds:

(K3, k2tog) 4 times [16 stitches remain].

Knit 1 round even.

(K2, k2tog) 4 times [12 stiches remain].

Knit 1 round even.

(K1, k2tog) 4 times [8 stitches remain].

(K2tog) 4 times [4 stitches remain].

Cut yarn, leaving a tail about 6 inches long.  Thread yarn on a needle and bring needle and yarn through the 4 remaining stitches.  Pull snuggly, weave in loose ends.  The brim of the hat should roll up slightly. 

Christmas Tree Skirt #2

I made a second Christmas tree skirt this week. This one came together a little easier. These are not difficult sewing; they are just a bit cumbersome due to their large size.  The tree skirts I am making are pre-printed panels from Daisy Kingdom.  I am just adding a backing.  I have learned I have to leave my craft room in search of a larger floor space in order to spread the skirt out on the floor and actually have sufficient room to crawl around the tree skirt in order to pin it to the backing.  The backing on this tree skirt is dark blue which matches the sky on the top of the tree skirt.

After Thanksgiving dinner, napping, and football watching, Zach and I decorated our Christmas tree Thursday night.  He asked me about the "thing to go under the tree".  I actually had a tree skirt that I threw away two years ago. Last year I had to use a pale blue flannel bed sheet to go under the tree since I never got around to making a tree skirt last year. This year, I told Zach to go look on my cutting table in my craft room and I said he could pick which of the two tree skirts he thought we should keep and put under our tree.

I was really happy he picked this one.  It looks great under our tree.

Teddy Bear Tree Skirt

Denium and Teddy Bear Christmas Tree Skirt

A sweet little tree skirt. This is a pre-printed panel from Daisy Kingdom. I sure like it; I got it from my Mom's stash of fabric. I bought a coordinating red fabric for the backing. I love how it turned out.  I have some others to make. Stay tuned!  

Contrast

What a difference a few weeks makes. I did not capture the exact same angle, but this is pretty darn close. 

Winter is upon us. 

Wine Bottle Cozy #2

 

Baby, it's cold outside!  So cold I had to knit another Wine Bottle Cozy. After all, Cabernet Sauvignon is no good chilled; it's best served at room temperature.  

 

This time, I knit my bottle cozy in Berroco Comfort Worsted Weight.  This cozy turned out a tad smaller than the last bottle cozy since this yarn is a bit finer than the aran weight Bernat Mosaic yarn I used previously.  I used US Size 8 needles for both cozies.  The red and white cozy is a bit shorter.  I am not sure if I like it best if the bottle cozy covers the entire bottle or if some of bottle top peeks out.  I suppose it's a matter of personal preference.  I think both look nice.   The good thing about this project is that the bottle cozy is ribbed so it really hugs the curves of the bottle, so if the bottle cozy is a little too big or a little too small, it still works!

 

Time to knit something else.  There are some small appliances in my kitchen which may be getting cold.  Maybe the toaster needs a cozy?

Wine Bottle Cozy

Wine Bottle Cozy

I am so tickled. I had this idea for a knit wine bottle cozy and it worked. The yarn in this project is Bernat Mossic. The purple color in the yarn got me to thinking about wine but it turns out the colorway for this yarn is called "Ninja". 

The very bottom of the cozy is actually a crocheted circle. When the bottom was done, I changed to knitting double pointed needles and picked up and knit stitches around the edge of the circle.  Here, I'll show you...

I created eyelet holes near the top and made a draw string out of I-cord. I am really happy with how it turned out. Sadly  the Bernat Mosaic yarn has been discontinued. My yarn shop has a similar yarn by Cascade Yarns called "Souk" which also changes colors slowly, just like the Mosaic.  Right now I am trying out the pattern in Berroco Comfort worsted weight. Mosaic and Souk are both Aran weight which I think is a bit thicker than worsted weight. 

We had a very snowy Veterans Day in Colorado. Good knitting weather. 

Seriously Chunky Cowls

These cowls are SERIOULSY CHUNKY!

The pale blue cowl is knit on US Size 15 (10 mm needles). I held four strands of Queensland Collection Bamboo Cotton together while knitting.

 

The oat colored cowl is knit on US Size 19 (15 mm needles). I held four strands of Berroco Weekend (acrylic/cotton blend) together while knitting.

I added these cowls to my Etsy shop in the Hand Knit Items section.  I enjoy making the pillows I sell on Etsy but would love to make and sell more hand knit items.

Happy Knitting!

Table Runner: Boo!

I sewed up a little table runner a few weekends ago. I gave it away before I took good photos but this gives you the idea.  I used a cute Halloween print (got it from my Mom... thanks, Mom!).  I pinned the print to some polyester batting and stitched about a half dozen horizontal lines so the runner was "quilted" a bit.  Then I put the quilted piece on top of the black and white polka dot fabric (wrong side up).  The black and white polka dot fabric is both the backing and the binding. I cut the polka dot fabric so that the rectangle was 1 1/2 inches bigger than the quilted piece on all sides.  I started with the long sides first. I folded the polka dot fabric in 3/4 of an inch and pressed it with the iron. Then I folded it in again 3/4 of an inch.  Voila!  Instant binding.  I stitched down the binding after pinning it along the length of the binding. Then I focused on the shorter sides and folded in the binding the same way and then stitched down the short sides just like the long sides. 

 

I wanted to keep this little cutie for myself but I did not think to measure my table space first.  This runner was too big for my dining table.  Placemats and runner did not fit. I gifted the runner to my local knit shop and it looks great on the big square table where folks gather to knit each day.

 

Happy Fall

We've had a glorious fall this year. A few shots from my iPhone.  Above, the sun beginning to set at 5:00 pm on Monday, taken from my driveway. 

Above, the sky was a little gray and dreary on Saturday down at the river. The dogs had a great time. Lots of great sniffs and they got to play with a few other dogs. 

Above, a photo taken from my comfy chair in my back yard. 

Above, a great shot of the Arkansas River. So lucky this spot is less than a five minute drive from my house. 

The doggies and I sure are loving fall this year. I hope you are too!

Charger Cozy

 

This is a silly sort of thing. I was scrolling through Facebook the other day and saw this idea. You basically wrap yarn around your device charger cord (ie. iPhone charger, Nook charger, Kindle charger, etc.) and then single crochet. Start at one and and keep goin' until you get to the other end of the charger cord. I used the yarn I used in my neon socks, which I posted about not too terribly long ago. I had this done in no time at all. It's really rather silly but it does sort of make me smile when I see my rainbow colored iPhone charger. Here are some more inspirational photos:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/460352393134566827/

 

Of course, I had to use this opportunity to also post a photo of Brutus with his sweet face. Best I can recall... in this photo... I was eating a cold piece of pizza and he was hoping I'd share it with him. Hard to resist a face like that!

Tennis

Photo by Brandon Hopper, Canon City Daily Record

Tennis season is done for the year. But it's not just the end of the season, it's the end of high school tennis for our Senior. 

Zach won first place in the Regional Finals in #2 Singles. The first place win was a bit anticlimactic for Zach; the other player had to retire from the match due to an injury. The first and second place winners at Regionals get to go to the State Finals the following week. 

Lucky for us, the Regional and State Tournaments are held in Pueblo, Colorado (less than an hour drive for us). 

Above:  Zach won his first match at the State Finals. Yay. This is one of the coaches (he's also my hudband's dentist). I love seeing Zach smiling... so happy!

Photo above also by Brandon Hopper, Canon City Daily Record. 

Our State Finals were plagued by rain this year. A 6 hour delay on day 1 and a 9 hour delay on day 2. I imagine the coaches had a hard time occupying all those boys. Zach's match on day 2 should have been at 9:00 am, but due to the weather, it started closer to 7:00 pm. 

Zach played a really great match. Probably his best match of the season. He did not win, but he came off the court looking so happy, knowing he played really well. I wrangled his reluctant camera shy coach and captured this great memory. 

Coach Heath, Zach, and Ciach Yadon

I am convinced I'll be a little weepy and a little bleary eyed this entire year. 

Hat Knitting: Alternating Cables Cap

 

Alternating Cables Cap

Knit in Berroco Vintage DK

 

I've been doing a little hat knitting this week.  My local yarn shop has a great selection of Berroco Vintage DK. I was curious to see how this yarn would knit up in my Alternating Cables Cap pattern.  Turned out really nicely and it was a relatively easy and quick knit.  Turns out the hard part was taking a decent "selfie" to show off the hat. 

 

Ummm, this photo is no good. Try again...

 

 

Mmmmm???  Fail!

Okay, keep trying.  Don't get that weird angle where it looks like you have a big 'ol double chin.

Oh, okay.  I can live with this picture.  Hat looks great and I don't look like a total dork.

 

When I originally came up with this hat design, I used Berroco Comfort DK. I love his hat in both Berroco Comfort DK and Berroco Vintage DK.  I think Berroco Vintage DK may just be my new favorite yarn.  I think this colorway is called Lilac and it has a very delicate tweedy quality, with subtle flecks of other colors in the fibers.  LOVE it!