Projects Completed in 2011

In order of completion. Click on the text for related blog posts.

Mini Christmas [Ohio] Star Quilt

Turtleneck Hats

Roy G Biv Cowl

Whistler Hat

Boot Cuff Sock

Summit Shawl

Super Scarves

Truffle Tunic

Mug Rug

County Fair Raffle Quilt Block

Making Waves Cardi

Crochet Tablecloth

Circle Socks

Love it, Leaf it Beret

Honey Gloves

Another Honey Cowl

Skully Hat

Subway Hat

Pillow with Fringe

Nutkin Socks

Advent/Christmas Cloth

Red Christmas Slippers

Christmas Mini Quilts and Postcard

Good-bye, 2011!

I am going to do a quick and easy year end summary this year...a slide show:



I hope you enjoy.

If you want any more detailed information about any of these projects, look for the list of 2011 completed projects in the sidebar on the right.

Happy New Year!

One More Christmas Gift

Here's your warning--if you think you may get a gift from me and haven't yet, this post may be a spoiler for you. Consider yourself duly warned

Now, for the rest of you, I would like to share my Honey Gloves. I made them to match a Honey Cowl that I made last year. I based them on a basic glove pattern from Ravelry but started them above the cuff with a provisional cast on.

Once the gloves were finished to the tips of all the fingers, I took what yarn was left and knit the cuffs down from the cast on. To stretch the yarn a little further (because I was going to run short), I did a two-colour version by alternating each row.

The yarn used on the slip stitch row dominates so I used the main colour. For the alternate rows, I used a purple silk with sequins that I had left over from my Sahara. The effect is pretty subtle but it's a nice extra touch.

I think the gloves turned out pretty well. They are short, which makes them ideal for the long winter coat sleeves with no room for bulky gloves half way up to your elbow. They are also thin enough to not make your hands useless while warm enough to make a difference. What I think of as ideal driving gloves. I hope they work for the recipient!!

Project Stats
Started: 7 Sep 11
Finished: 26 Sep 11
Pattern: Basic Glove Pattern by Harry Wells (free)
Materials: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light (Prune Mix), 1.2 skeins ($6.30)

Merry Christmas!

The big day has arrived. I'm glad when Christmas falls on a Sunday because I grew up going to church on Christmas morning and my current church doesn't have services on Christmas morning...except when it's a Sunday. It doesn't feel like Christmas if I don't go to church first thing.

You may recall that I made a cover for our communion table to be used throughout advent.

When we last saw it, it looked something like this:

Each week of advent, another piece was added.

This morning, not only was the final center piece added, but they were all turned around to reveal an appliqued star:

I had to work to make it big enough to make an impact from the front of the sanctuary, but I think it came out ok.

For those of you who want the details, I applied the star with Steam-a-Seam double-sided fusible adhesive and then zig zagged the edges with a variegated rayon thread. (I used purple in the bobbin so the sewing isn't very obvious from the plain side.)

I didn't want to "outline" the edges of the strips so I left them raw. I thought zig zagging there would be too distracting as it goes up the middle of a ray. If the edges start to ravel, I can always zig zag them later.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you have a good day.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Slippers

Still need a Christmas gift? Well, if you have a little car trip ahead of you (where someone else is driving) you may still have time to finish these slippers:

I finished the second one in less than a day, and I don't mean a day where all I did was knit. My best guess would be less than three hours. The socks have a lot going for them as far as speed is concerned: they're worsted weight and short with a fairly simple construction.

I didn't even bother to convert them to toe-up; I just followed the directions. The pattern is a little dense (written in more of a paragraph form than line-by-line), but if you have any experience with socks you shouldn't have any problems.

I made these slippers as a gift and they are a little big on me. I hope the recipient likes them! (I know she likes wearing slippers so it's not a big risk!)

Project Stats
Started: 8 Dec '11
Finished: 18 Dec '11
Pattern: DROPS 125-15 by DROPS Design (free)
Materials: leftovers of Red Heart Super Saver (66 g)

Boxing Day (the other kind)

Ooooo, clothespins...they are so handy for everything. I love them in that way you love totally simple and basic things.

But what am I using them for here? Well, let me tell you...

Some time ago I read someone's blog wherein she described making boxes out of cardstock to organize things in her drawers, etc. I'm sorry I don't have a link. I thought it was in my bookmarks but it's not and I have already spent more time than you would believe looking for it, with no success. :(

Anyway, reading her post planted the idea in my mind. In case you haven't heard, I am in the middle of a kitchen remodel. (By remodel I mean new foundation, new floor, new walls, new layout, new plumbing, new wiring, new cabinets, new lighting, new everything...you get the idea.) Anyway, we are getting very close to the point of putting things into the new kitchen and I will want to keep stuff organized. And I am unhappy with the "one size fits none" sort of options you get for drawer organizers in stores.

So I decided to give her idea a try. I figured it was a pretty low-risk option--easily replaced if it doesn't work out; easily completed if it does.

First things first: evaluate what you need to organize. Here is my old silverware container, which has been sitting on an open shelf in a closet for the last year:

It's ok but too wide for my drawer and doesn't really give enough slots.

I took the new drawer and tried different arrangements with the loose silverware:

From that, I took some measurements and laid out a plan:

The first time I just drew in the boxes, but I would recommend writing in what's going in the box. I don't know how many times I make a plan, don't write it down and then can't remember the plan by the time I get to the end. Maybe you are better than me, but my current policy is to write it all down. (In case you're wondering, "loseables" was the term I made up on the spot for the cutlery that Troy is permitted to take out of the house when he has to eat breakfast on the run. This will hopefully cut down on the number of pieces lost from my set.)

Second, gather up some cardstock:

I started with a number of pudding packages and added bean and peach boxes before I was done. Cereal boxes would be great too. (The pudding box was great because it was the exact width I needed for most of the boxes!)

I cut out very simple boxes like so:

(Cut on the black lines, fold on orange lines, and glue flaps marked with green "x"s.)

I originally had the sides go up the full height of the drawer, but that was way too tall. 1.5" seem to work pretty well.

You can see I used the clothespins to clamp the glue joints while they dried. As I made boxes, I fit them into place. I learned that you need to make the boxes slightly smaller than the exact measurements or they won't all fit.

By the end of the day, I had the drawer filled with divided storage:

The drawers are all full-extend, so we should have no problem reaching the items in the very back.

Here it is filled and put to service:

Only time will tell how the boxes hold up to use. If we really like the layout, Troy could make a more permanent divider out of thin plywood. If we don't like it, it's fairly easy to change at this point.

I know the bright packaging in the boxes may seem distracting or even tacky to some, but I kind of like the straight forward honesty of it. We'll see if the opinion lasts.

Socktoberfest isn't over until the socks are done. (Put down your beer; they're done.)

I have to admit--favourite sock pic yet! :)

Ready for some pictures?

I didn't finish my Soctoberfest socks in October, but that didn't mean I gave up on them. As I recall, I got the first sock done in the month, but then the project sat for a while.

As other projects wrapped up, I set to the second sock and got it done in "no time." Then it took almost as long to get pictures done!

Tip of the day: if you're taking pictures of socks you are wearing and are using a tripod, set up the picture with a spare set of shoes. Then replace them one at a time by the shoe on your foot. I happen to have a 2-sec delay option on my camera and it works great for these situations.

Back to the socks...you may recall that I converted them to toe-up with a short-row toe. The original pattern had a purl ridge on the top where the toe meets the foot because of the way the sock was cast off. I liked the look of it, so I kept it in even though it was completely unnecessary.

I ended with just a couple rows of 1x1 ribbing and an "invisible" cast off:

I would normally do more ribbing, but I wanted to finish the pattern repeat and then I was running out of yarn. And I haven't forgotten that I promised a video on the invisible cast on. I think I'm really close to getting it done. (My poor Hourglass socks...they have been waiting since early June to be finished because I'm going to use them in the video!)

I think the mock cable pattern showed up fine through the colour changes:

I was worried the changing colours would distract (and detract) too much from the pattern. But I think because they were relatively long colour runs, it worked out fine.

You can see that the colour runs did not work out to make matching socks:

but I'm ok with that. (They're termed "fraternal" in the sock world.)

Yes, when I wore these socks for the first time, I wore them with these heels. (But I chickened out by wearing them with long wide pants.) Project Stats
Started: 1 Oct '11
Finished: 26 Nov '11
Pattern: Nutkin by Beth LaPensee (free)
Materials: Lang Yarns Jawoll Magic (colour 84.0063), 1 skein ($20.14)
I know there is a strong tradition of wearing your hand knit socks with heels (especially mules), but I have never felt comfortable with it. But close to finishing these socks it occurred to me that they would look good with these brown heels and then I had to try it.

Mock me if you want; I don't care!! :)