Knitted gifts

I finally get to blogging this! I had the idea, for ages, in Canada, that I wanted to knit a hat for each of my nieces and nephews. I didn't get going with it for a while, and then became pregnant, and didn't feel like doing anything crafty after that. However, then September rolled around, the fog lifted and suddenly I was back in a crafting space, so you could say I entered into a flurry of activity to get these hats done before our early Thanksgiving gathering on the 3rd of October! I was really happy with how they turned out, and how unique they all are. I think the kids appreciated that they each had their own hat in a different style. They're not perfect, but I hope they communicated in a small way that I'll miss seeing my nieces and nephews...

Here's Piper modelling them all (left to right, in rows): Mason's hat, Zach's hat, Ty's hat, Rae's hat, Ty's hat again, Makenna's hat, Makenna's hat again, Cassie's hat, and Taelyn's hat.

The recipients.

A shot of all these beautiful kids together...

Tyler.

Rae.

Makenna.

Cassie.

Finally done!

This is the hoodie for our friend Ellen that I was working on for ages (since the end of August, actually!). I was working on it right up until the day before we left the country (December fifth), which, now that I think about it, isn't that bad, for me - just over three months! I'm not a fast knitter. Or maybe I just read too many blogs and don't spend enough time MAKING! It was so last-minute that I finished it at our friends' house. Ellen was watching me sew on the last few clips (the buttons are just for show), and asked who it was for. I said, actually, it's for you! She was pleased about that, which was gratifying. =)

Ellen agreed to pose with it on (also wearing a skirt I made a year or two ago for her...)

...and with the hood on too. Looks warm enough to me. I made a size six-ish, even though she's only four. Can't have her growing out of it too soon, although then her little sister could wear it... Anyway, blah blah, just wanted to document here that: I FINISHED THIS PROJECT!!!!!

Feels good to finally post here again. I am slowly getting on my feet here in Steinbach (Manitoba, Canada). I kind of measure that in terms of how much craft stuff I have! I actually bought a sewing maching, my fist ever, and am looking forward to doing some small sewing/patchwork projects. (Until now I've always borrowed my Mum's.) We hit Michael's, the Spotlight equivalent, and Chapers, the Borders equivalent, yesterday. Bought a few cool books, one on two-colour quilts (the desire to make a red and white quilted bedspread has hit with a vengeance, even though the scale of such a project is scary). Also found Denise Schmidt's Quilt-It kit for ten bucks. Even found Nigella Lawson's 'Feast', which is a totally delectable recipe book - I am in love with it - can't wait to cook some stuff. Bought this gorgeous story for a friend - such a beautiful story, with exquisite illustrations. Made me weepy!

I have also been gathering ideas from various magazines: Blueprint, Canadian House and Home, Canadian Living, and Martha Stewart Living. I've taken to cutting out whatever catches my eye and pasting them into a scrapbook, so I can begin to have a clearer sense of my own aesthetic. I had a conversation with my husband a few days ago about my creativity and my compulsive desire to give gifts to people, during which he made the radical suggestion that I spend this whole year just making things for myself. Wow! Unheard of, for me! I've pretty much decided I will try this, within reason, and after having finished the gifts I have on the go, and not including making cards for friends and family, which I really want to do, given I am far away from them at the moment! Already this idea changed the way I approach creating anything, in really good ways. No doubt I'll wax eloquent about the experience in future posts.

I have been making stuff, in amongst reading and gathering ideas and mulling over creativity: cards with vintage maps and various scrapbook supplies, and two things for my parents - vaguely timed for their 30th wedding anniversary, although I'm late already. Will post about those gifts later. I have ideas for painting flowers pots, and a feature canvas (red and white). I am soooo on a red kick at the moment! Am hoping that I can pull off Moonstitches' gorgeous zakka style owl hanging with thrifted fabrics.

Anyway, that's enough raving on for now! I will post soon about my lovely parcel from Sew, Mama, Sew and the thrift-shop bargains I've been finding. And hey, maybe even more stuff I've been making too! Catchya...

Two items out the door

I've been trying to finish off a few bit and pieces lately. Spent an hour or two one evening with a friend which passed VERY quickly, but I did manage to sew the buttons on to this cardie which I started knitting before Jasper was even conceived! I haven't ever had to do loops for buttons before, and at the moment they're just literally a loop of wool. Dunno how long these will last - is there a proper/better way of creating a loop for a button. (Crochet?) Wouldn't you know it, he's almost too big for it already!

I also finished this (late!) present for a niece. I printed out the face on transfer paper and ironed it on, and then embroidered the text underneath - my first attempt at embroidery, so I'm pretty happy about that. The overall effect, though, makes for a rather quirky gift, not your usual Target or Pumpkin Patch purchase, or should I say Gap and Old Navy purchase, seeing as it will be making its way to Canada as soon as I manage to write a letter to go with it, and make it to the post office! Not sure how the mother of the recipient will take it (and really, that's who baby clothes are for, eh!) but oh well. Sending homemade gifts across the other side of the world is one of the few ways I can physically demonstrate my love... And they know I'm quirky already...

And I have finished one mitten! I remain hopeful that I will complete the second sometime soon, that this won't be a lonely single mitten for the rest of its life! The honeycomb pattern is interesting - makes for quite a thick glove. I haven't attempted any kind of blocking yet... It is also very warm, which is a good thing! I used waste yarn to knit an opening for the thumb hole, and even though I have never knitted a sock/mitten/glove before (the only extremities I've covered are heads), the pattern makes total sense to me. I realise I'm often able to visualise the finished outcome from reading through the pattern, which is helpful.

So yeaahhh, that's been it, lately, attempting to squeeze some crafting in, here and there, handballing my child at social events so I can pick up sticks... Feels bitsy and slow, but that's what I've got to work with at the moment. (Although, to my chagrin, I just discovered Auntie Cookie has two kids and still manages to create a prolific amount of things which are always gorgeous - how DOES she do it?? And what's my excuse going to be now??)

First challenge?

Just came across this on Ric-Rac's blog (which I'm enjoying!)...

the Chocolate Lollipop Yo-Yo Cushion Challenge: to create an original cushion made from the Chocolate Lollipop range of fabrics, and to also incorporate Yo-Yo’s into the design.

A patchwork shop in Ballarat has set it up, and it's tempting to have a go, just to get the creative juices flowing. I find I often feel daunted at the thought of having to come up with something original, but that's mainly cos I just don't do it that often. Once I'm immersed in the creative process, something generally always comes together, and at the very least, being immersed in a creative space is a good place to be, even if nothing tangible emerges. But as I said, I haven't had much practice lately at making something up from scratch, and it's why I think I should enter this challenge, not to mention the bonus 6" square of the Chocolate Lollipop range which you receive "for inspiration and a starting point"!

And hey, I could learn how to make yo-yos! They look cute, and that's another technique for me, even if the cushion never comes together.

On a different note, I finished Pipsy's *pink* scarf yesterday. I was originally going to use two different shades of Noro Silk Garden yarn, but in the end I didn't like how they looked together - one was more subdued than the other, and the combined effect was a scarf that looked rather too brown for a three-year-old! So I ended up using the brighter ball and a pink-mauve-blue rather fluffy yarn that I've had in my stash for ages. SO satisfying to use it up! I enjoyed knitting the scarf (in mistake rib, so slightly more texture than a normal rib), enjoyed the mindlessness of it.

My parents were over in the evening, and after trying to cast on provisionally for a hat for me, and failing, and deciding to find a tute online somewhere sometime, I pulled out more stash yarn (rather ancient, I think!): Little Bo Peep natural yarn - undyed, lanolin left in.I have two different tones, and have had in mind for a while to knit up some mittens for someone for Christmas. (They live in Canada and might actually use them!) So I started on the rib cuff of one of them, on rather loveless plastic needles, which I bought in a rush a couple of weeks ago. If I'd thought about it a bit more, I could have ordered some lovely Brittany birch hardwood ones - *sigh* Next time...

Must hit the sack, even though I find it hard to tear myself away from all the amazing posts listed in my Reader...