Everything has been a whirlwind since Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I made quite a bit of handmade goodies over the past couple of months. I tried to make as many Christmas gifts for my side of the family as possible (because they just eat up that sort of thing) and a few things on my hubby's side too. I think, if I remember correctly (and that is a big, "think") the total of handmade items was the following: a quilt for my mother, a quilt for Scott (unfortunately, it still isn't finished- argh), an insulated lunch bag for my sister, and some tapestry purses/totes for my two sister-in-laws and my niece. Everybody else got store bought or gift cards. I did give my other sister a disk of my favorite knitted hat pattern and the circular needles to complete it with (I think that counts as handmade- well, urrrr, sort of).
Speaking of knitting, I have become obsessed. I am still a beginner, (well, maybe an advanced beginner) and I do have a couple of hats under my belt at this point. Add a few scarves to that total too. I started trying to teach myself over a year ago and I guess I've done pretty well up until this point. I'm thankful there are tons of helpful videos out there in cyber world that help when I'm totally lost on a project! I have a few books that have helped too.
I'm constantly finding myself waiting anxiously for those 40% off one item coupons that Hobby Lobby puts out sometimes. Hey, those things can take a bite out of the price of a skein of yarn people. Take a kiddo with you and they can use a coupon too. (That's my little secret to economizing....)
We've had plenty of "knitting" weather too. Our little area of the south recently got 8 inches of fluffy, white stuff. Believe me, it was probably the most exciting event our area will have witnessed for quite sometime. The roads were sheets of ice for almost a week. Four wheelers raced up and down our highway at nighttime (which was a little irritating), schools were canceled, and of all things, I needed to go to the grocery store about 4 days into the icy lock down- geesh. We made it through though.....
During the storm, our tree dude, Melvin, got a makeover courtesy of yours truly. Our white stuff is gone and we are cautiously awaiting another round of white stuff. After all, it's only January- eeeek!
I had a customer that had asked if I could make a fabric bunny. I tried 4 different times to get the head right and this little guy is the result (the last try too- I'm giving up!!). My son's friend named him Boozle. Boozle is a gender neutral name, I think, so if someone buys him (or her), they will be happy to decide if this particular bunny is a he or a she. Boozle will soon be for sale in the South Carolina Etsy Street Team shop. You can click on over if you want to see if he (or she) has arrived yet.
Remember the title of this post? I mentioned sewing Daleks. I'm not going into a long spill about it, but Daleks are bad guys on the longest running science fiction show, Dr. Who. My husband (and several of the kids) are obsessed with anything Dr. Who. I started Scott a quilt a long time ago and I tried (I really, really, really did try) to get the quilt done before Christmas. I didn't make it but at least a nice looking Dalek was the result.
This is the Tardis panel (what Dr. Who travels in) and the finished Dalek panel. The fabrics shown in the photo are so perfect in matching how the show begins. I bought them a long time ago when our local Walmart closed it's fabric department and had everything 50% off. They have been waiting patiently in my fabric stash up until the day I pulled them out and got to work.
This quilt is the one I finished for my mother. I didn't get to machine quilt it quite like I had wanted (I did the bare minimum) but my mother loved it anyway so it was worth it.
This is my latest little project that takes up all of my extra time. I bought a sock knitting book (Knitting Socks by Ann Budd). I don't know how I've managed to get as far as I have and I wonder if I will ever get a second, matching sock done but I'm going forward with it.
This is my yarn that I chose (Hobby Lobby- 40% off!!) It is a wool, mohair mix and the color changes gradually to a grayish blue to a deep blue so it is interesting. All I can say, is I'm going to have some strange looking knitted socks. (That is if I ever finish the first one and make a second one!)
I found this really neat pattern on how to knit fingerless gloves. It is wonderful because it has step by step with pictures! You can find the pattern on instructables.com. It's the "How to knit close fitting fingerless gloves" pattern.
I knitted mine out of some (very hairy) yarn that my sister brought back from Scotland. I love them and they were a good beginning project for me. I'm planning on making more in the future.I'm hoping to start back having some tutorials for all sorts of projects soon, so be sure to check back with me.
