Finished the Hats

I finally finished knitting the hats for the family Christmas "Dirty Santa" gift giving. And am I ever sick of knitting hats!! I thought I needed nine, but counted again and realized I only needed eight. That's great because I don't think I could have knit another hat.

Also made a hat called Moochie for Chloe to match her new snow suit. The only problem is she takes off any hat put on her head immediately. Should be an interesting winter for her mom and dad. What's that famous quote? "A parent's revenge is grandchildren. :)

I have now started knitting some monsters for Christmas gifts. I think they will knit up very quickly. Will post photos when completed.

Hedgie needs a baby

I taught my niece Kelli to knit and then took her to a yarn shop in Grand Blanc. She fell in love with the knitted hedgehogs they had on display. She signed up for a knitting class so she could learn from a true professional knitter and then be able to make herself a hedgehog. Alas, it wasn't that easy!! She studied the pattern and decided she definitely wasn't ready to make Hedgie. Kelli gave me the pattern and I told her I would make it for a Christmas present. But don't you think Hedgie really needs a baby hedgehog or two. She was definitely easy to knit, but you did need some knitting experience. I think everyone in my family will want one!!

Finished Objects

Well, Chloe didn't turn out too badly. Her head is big, but you don't notice it as much with the hair on. I hope to make more dresses for her wardrobe. The Quincy hat was a "wash". It is really big. I washed it, hoping it  would shrink some, but I think it got even bigger.
Also, have been busy making hats for Christmas gifts. My plan is to make nine, one for each male guest at our family Christmas get together. Then, we will do something like a Dutch Auction (or Dirty Santa) where you don't end up with the original gift you were given. If I am really ambitious, I will make scarves for the women and play the same game. We'll see, Christmas is still a long way off though.

Also, completed the Clover scarf. This is a scarf made from two colors. They gray part is wound around your neck and the pink sections will hang down. It was a pretty easy and quick scarf to make. Am currently working on my first shawl. It is also going quickly. Will post a photo when I have finished.

Seriously??

I have been working on Chloe, the doll on the front cover that goes along with Spud the sheep. The two brown blobs on the right are what I have knitted so far. The large brown blob is the body and the smaller brown blob is the head. Seriously?? Look how big the head is compared to the body. I do have to cover the top with hair, but am I going to have a doll that will tip over because her head is so big???? We'll see! I decided while knitting Chloe that I needed to also be working on something pretty. So I started (and finished) the Quincy hat. I loved knitting the hat because you knit an I-Cord on each side. I've never done that before. The yarn is beautiful and soft. But, alas, I don't like the hat. It's sort of big. Supposedly a man can wear this hat as well. I know Ron would never wear it! I guess I will just have to give it to the Coat Giveaway program at our church. My projects this week will be to: 1. Finish the Chloe doll 2. Continue to work on the Chicory scarf I started (again because I needed to work on something besides brown blobs!).

A Tribute

I would like to write a post in tribute to my mother who passed away one year ago this week. My love of knitting and creating in general I have realized this past year was passed down to me from my mother. This past year I have remembered that my mom was always doing something creative. She was always trying out a new "craft" of some kind, whether it involved ribbon, yarn, or even making a new recipe. Over the years I also have done many different types of crafts: cross-stitching, basket-weaving, scrapbooking, making books, knitting, baking, etc. (Yes, I consider baking crafty, especially when trying out new recipes). Now that I am knitting almost exclusively, it helps me to remember my mom. Everytime I pick up my needles to work on a project, I can remember my mom teaching me how to knit when I was a child. She always made me undo my knitting when we discovered a mistake. I hated that and everytime I have to do it today I can still hear her saying, "If you are going to do it, you have to do it right."

Another thing my mother passed down to me is my love of vintage items and antiques. The photo above shows my newest interest: vintage potholders. Yes, I am now collecting old potholders!! I saw an idea in a magazine showing these displayed on a wall. I already had four vintage potholders and purchased two more at an antique store in Cheyboygan, Michigan, while on vacation. The blue/orange potholder on the right was given to me from a woman I walk with a few times a week. She said it was from the 1920's. Luckily, these will be a fairly inexpensive thing to collect. My mom loved antiques and was always going to antique auctions and stores. So happily, I have many daily reminders of my mom. Thanks mom for teaching me to be creative.

I finished Jerry the Musical Monkey from Rebeccan Danger's Knitted Monsters patterns in time for Chloe's

birthday party on Sunday. She loved it and reached for it as soon as she saw it. He was very easy to make. I had intended to make one for each child at the party, but I found out there would be 9 children!! I do think I will make 2 more though for my niece Jordan and nephew Ethan to give as Christmas gifts.

I have started working on the doll named "Chloe" that goes along with Spud the sheep (see previous post). Also, because I needed something simple to work on while I have my garage sale this week, I started the "Quincy" hat. It is all knit to begin with, so I can work on it between customers.

FO's (Finished Objects)

Hurrah! I have some finished objects to show. I finally finished the pair of socks I started on June 6th. Yeah!! The pattern is called Spiral Galaxy and is from the Socks a la Carte book. I also finished Chloe's sweater vest in time for her first birthday party this Sunday. It is called "In Threes" and it was a very quick knit. I made it in four days. I love the little pink elephant buttons that I sewed on. The third thing I have finished is the felted diaper bag for when Lynn gets pregnant. Still working on the baby afghan, making about one square per week. Right now I am working on a knitted toy monkey I decided at the last minute to make for Chloe's birthday. Then I will make two dishclothes for a birthday luncheon I am going to for a walking buddy.