Merry Christmas

Believe it or Not I am done with Christmas Presents. And even more shocking then that I have them all wrapped too!!! This has never really happened to me before. I'm a bit bewildered. Now before you think I'm really good, I'm not. When I say I'm done, it means I have something for everyone on my list, even if it wasn't what I originally planned for. (And yes the thought that I've forgotten something has very much occurred to me, but at least I have three days to remember)

This is go great, cause in December's past it's been Christmas eve, family is around and I'm desperately trying to finish up a project while fooling myself that the recipient hasn't really notice what I'm working on. And now I've gotten everything done in time that HOPEFULLY, (for the most part) no one's got a clue.

What this also means is other items get to come up in priority. Tonight, it's reclaiming the guest bedroom before said guest show up. Since the projects are done then the boxes, tools, and fabrics, yarns and "stuff" can get put away.

Also, I have a sugar cookie recipe I want to try out. And because there really isn't any hope for me, I've got some projects/ideas, I want to work on. (I said the guest room gets clear, but my room .. well that's an entirely different story) With that, I have designated the next couple of weeks as "guilt-free" project zone. No projects I HAVE to work on, only those I WANT to work on, ...for the shear fun of creating and only if I feel like it.

Pictures of how well this year's Christmas gift goal went will be posted after Christmas morning. Now I wasn't able to give ALL homemade but I must say I did pretty good considering.

Merry Christmas and good wishes for your holiday.

A New Scarf

Third time's the charm, Right?
I think so!
I would like to introduce you to the current love in my life.
(Silly way to phrase it but golly gee I love this scarf. )

The color was love at first sight, and the feel sealed the deal.
The design had been there in my head since I finished my first knitted scarf.
Last week I had my doubts when I tried casting on.
Thursday was really scary when I alternated between larger needles/hooks, knitting and then crocheting.
And when the yarn broke, oh such growling that ensued. But I was not going to be beat, so with a large crochet hook and a determination to not do anything fancy I began again.
At the end of the evening I had two rows and all I could think was
60's/70's/avocado green/retro
????
(a look I don't really see myself as).
Friday evening brought calm, and then a growing excitement
as I finished and stood up to try it on.
And then there was Saturday when I had a reason to wear it somewhere
(something I didn't do with the other two, they were just finished, admired, photographed and then folded away, while my eyes & mind wondered to the next possibility in the way of scarves, shameless I know)

So from the personal collection of Amy A, I introduce you to:
Long & Skinny
(NO smart alec remarks about how it's the opposite of me: short and ... you know not skinny;)
Now with most scarves, their width folds over while sitting on my shoulders/neck. This double thickness pushes my head forward and I feel like I am always staring at the ground.
What a kink in the neck!
And If I dare wrap the scarf around my neck to keep warm, it makes me claustrophobic and I'm even more "chin to the chest".

Now with Long and Skinny, I can wrap that scarf around me, creating a cowl look. My head stays up straight, unless the winds blowing then everyone is ducking their head. I'm warm, can breath and feel oh so stylish!


For those interested in the Pattern:
(It's really simple and the idea came from here - Laughing Purple Goldfish)
Using a size N crochet hook, chain a LONG chain (measure the length you personally want for yourself - mine almost touched the floor ... standing!!!)
Once you get your length, 1st row: sc in 2nd stitch from hook and sc to end of chain.
2nd row: chain 1, sc to end
repeat until you have the width you want, mine turned out to be 8 rows.
Optional fringe: you can add it after you finish the scarf
OR like me (lazy) : at the end of each row leave a tail before beginning the next row. When you're done, cut the loops, tie together and there you have it.

What's really cool, I only used 1 skein of yarn!!!!
And I got it done before the first Snow Fall (and boy is the snow falling now!)

(FYI: While knitting the first scarf, I had the thought to see if I could get it done before it snowed. So you can image my excitement at getting three done before it snowed.)

It's Done IT's Done IT'S DONE

It's done oh done three months later done but oh so nice you see because it's finally done!

In fact this dress has been done for a whole week. I just haven't posted it cause it wasn't picked up until Saturday, and I figured you would like to see it actually being worn. Sorry about the picture quality. I'm a lousy photographer.

So when did it get done? Tuesday night. In fact I had finished my last stitch on the hem when Michelle (Biggest Loser) got up on the scale and blew the other contestants out of the water. So I screamed double loud; 1st for me and 2nd for Michelle.

So LS I hope you like it.
I think you look great, in spite of your photographer.

A New Hat

Just so you don't think I've given up on crochet; this last weekend I whipped up a cute hat. I found the pattern for this "newsboy" cap on Knit and Crochet Today , a T.V show I ran across last Thursday. It is from Season Two; show 201.

I'm not one for the knitted cap look, but I liked the design so much I thought I would give it a try. The flower didn't turn out as big as the one shown on the webpage, which was a good thing. I was a bit skeptical about having that huge a flower so I'm very happy with the size of this one. I also thought their brim was a bit short so I added two more rows to mine.

To jazz it up I attached the two buttons. I really like how they work with the design. The one on top looks just like a button on a regular newsboy cap. Of course when you put it on, it's more of a 1920's Cloche hat, which makes me love it even more.

I did take a couple of pictures with it being worn, but decided not to post them. Sorry the "model" was looking a little scary and I didn't want that to affect your opinion of the hat.

Now all I need a good place to wear it, it's more of an outside cap so wearing it where you're going inside a lot isn't really the best. If we would ever get some snow, sledding would be perfect.

Dress Pictures as Requested

Skirt Attached
Up close
Trim pinned and ready to be sewn - hand sewn that is.

Knitting

My first knitting project

I used a Forest Green wool yarn and size 8 needles.

I bought two skeins of yarn but wanted to only use one. Well I got to the end and the scarf was still too short. So I ended up using 1 1/3 skeins of yarn for this scarf.

Challenge: Learn to knit!!! Hold needles, Hold yarn and get a good tension, cast on stitches, knit stitch, cast off stitches (Officially called bind off stitches ;)
Now my mom did show me how to work a purl stitch, but I figured just getting the above down would be challenge enough.
Instructions: Cast on 27 stitches; Knit stitch until desired length; Bind Off stitches



Optional: Add Tassels if so desired

2nd Knitting Project (Yes, there is another)
Challenge: Use the Purl stitch and learn to read a Pattern

The day before Thanksgiving found me in Hancock Fabrics looking for material. I came across some skeins of yarn in a Clearance bin discounted 30%. What caught my eye was this Olive Suede yarn. I'm not sure how well the picture shows it but it's quite the green and I liked it.

While digging around, I came across a beautiful Navy Cashmere yarn. I couldn't resist, so I bought two skeins of the Olive and two of the Navy. Now to find a pattern. I didn't have to look far for a pattern. It was right there wrapped around the Navy yarn. The label had a model wearing a scarf with a basketweave pattern.
I pulled off the label and looked at the instructions on the back.
Requires 2 balls of yarn (Check)
Instructions: Cast on 20 Stitches (Can do & I liked the idea of a thinner scarf then the last one)
Rows 1, 3, 5: Knit 4 Purl 4 Knit 4 across
Rows 2, 4: Purl 4 Knit 4 Purl 4 across
Repeat until you've got your length
Pretty basic, this was perfect.

As excited as I was about the Olive, I chose to go with the Navy for this scarf.
Now the note book is to demonstrate that this wasn't an easy knit. I'm still learning to distinguish a knit stitch from a purl and rows from each other. So I made a mark every time I finished a row, that way I would know which number of row I was on. Trust me, I had a good start on this scarf before I found the necessity of this tracking system and had to undo 10 rows ( I think it was 10) to get back on track. And after all that, I still don't think it's easy to undo a knitting mistake. Hopefully with practice I'll be better able to recognize where I'm at in a project.
Here's a rather poor picture of the pattern. Sorry if it's hard to see. Just image what a basket weave pattern is and there you have this scarf. This only took me 6 days to complete, only because it was Thanksgiving Break and I wasn't feeling well for Saturday and Sunday. And when all you can do is sit, hand projects like knitting is the perfect thing to work on.
Side Note: This is the first time I worked with cashmere and boy is it nice. So soft it makes regular yarn feel rough in comparison. Just for the heck of it, I googled the cost of cashmere scarves. We talking $40 - $100.
And mine .... try $5.40 TOTAL So cool.....

Now what to do with the Suede yarn?