Final Christmas gift unveiling post

It's about time, right?

First, a confession. I did it, I didn't mean to, but... I wrapped unfinished knit gifts and gifted them. It's a terrible thing to do. But not as terrible as waiting until a whole month after Christmas before finishing them and sending them off. Oops.
But they're done, so here they are. First, a cowl made for Erin.






Flora Cowl (rav)
Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss in Pumpkin and Kroy Sock Yarn in White
I used the (slightly modified) pattern from the Flora Hat and double knit a cowl instead. There were some serious issues in the end because the two yarns I used were slightly different gauges. So, after some snipping and measuring and reknitting, I managed to get it to stop looking stupid. I really like how this came out. But. I don't really like double knitting, it's a pain.

The second wrapped unfinished gift was Anna's Noro Stripe Scarf (rav):





Pattern: Noro Striped Scarf from brooklyntweed
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden in... I'm too lazy to go figure out the colorways right now. (Sorry.)
Like most people, I heart this pattern and I heart Noro Silk Garden. That's all there is to say.

So, after too long, both of these gifts are in the mail. Merry late Christmas, Anna and Erin.

I have many projects on the needles right now. I finished a sweater in about a week a while back that is blocking as we speak. Pictures when it's dry.

I spent Friday night dyeing some sock yarn with Kool-aid. (Ahem, yes, that is what the cool kids do on Friday night.)



And it came out beautiful.



I'm halfway through the first sock already. It's awesome.

And I have some Jaywalkers going in Kroy Kool Stripes. I'm not in love with this yarn, but oh well.


And that's my knitting world right now.

Christmas Gift Extravaganza. Part 2

And now the second part of this series.

First up, the white hourglass sweater (rav) I made for Anna:





Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from LMKG
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Ecru
This is a fabulous pattern, and fairly easy to adapt to different gauges, sizes, etc. We had measured her about a year ago, so it ended up fitting her well.

And also for Anna, a pair of felted clogs (rav) in the colors she requested, grey and green:




Pattern: Felted Clogs by Bev Galeskas
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool

You really can't go wrong with this pattern.

There was also another pair of clogs gifted this year:



These were for my stepdad, Rick, who is a big Steelers fan (you might remember the Steelers cozy?). Unfortunately the yellow got lost during felting, so they ended up being just black and white. And the black loves to pick up lint. So, oh well. I think he still liked them. They fit, at the very least...

Tired of blogging now. More next time.

Goodbye, 2008.

Happy New Year, everyone. 2008 wasn't a particularly great year (although I did finish my degree--I guess that was great, if anticlimactic). Lots of knitting was done though. Here's an (incomplete) collection of 2008 knitting projects.



I will return to revealing handmade Christmas gifts next post.

Christmas Gift Extravaganza. Part 1

Well, the holidays are over, folks. So it's back to the grind (ugh). But it does mean that I can finally reveal all of the handmade gifts I gave out this year. It's quite a list, so I am going to have to do it in several posts. Here we go, in no particular order.


Felted Bowls (raveled here) from One Skein using Patons Classic Merino Wool, which I will now declare is the best yarn for felting, hands down.
These were a quick project and turned out great. Gifted to my Dad and his wife. Immediately adopted by their cat.


Next up, felted iPhone cozies (also in Patons Merino):


Raveled here with details on the pattern.
These were also gifts to my dad and his wife. Immediately adopted by their iPhones. (PS That's my new iPhone modeling the second cozy that I got for Christmas from T. Hurray! Don't worry, I didn't break it already. That crack is just in the cover.)

I made a quick sweater (rav) for T's sister's dog using this pattern, modeled here by our cat. He was not happy with this arrangement and would not stand still (thus the blurry picture).


I must admit, I used to be one of those people who mocked sweaters for animals. Not anymore. Look out, everyone's pets. There are many more where this came from. (Yarn: Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends. Love.)

And to wrap up this post, here's the February Lady Sweater I decided to make for my mom at the last minute. This pattern totally rocks.



I heart the buttons.

Used Cascade 220 in Burgundy. Raveled here.

That concludes the first part of this series. Stay tuned for more gift unveiling.