Holiday Handmade Crusade :: November Theme!

Warm and Toasty!

Alright Holiday Crusaders, we are getting down to the line, and for many of us two things are becoming a precious commodity: TIME and WARMTH! Use this month to whip up some warmth inspiring gifts for those on your list. Think scarves, hats, mittens, blankets. All of these projects are quick and easy and will keep your friends and family warm and toasty!

Live in a warm climate? No worries...take some of these ideas and translate them into lighter, cooler fare. For example, instead of a wool knit scarf, make a silk dyed scarf.

And remember, my themes are just here for inspiration. Want to enter something else? Be my guest :)

Entries to be eligible for a raffle prize are due on November 30th by midnight EST

***

This month I'm ahead of the game with a little hat I whipped up for my nephew. My favorite teddy bear, Pookie, was kind enough to model for me...

Tassels


Earflaps


Pom-pom!


Hat!


I can't *WAIT* to slip this on Aaron's cute head! I've never put a pom-pom on anything, and I think I might be in love with the cuteness!

Just for fun, how would you interpret the theme 'warm and toasty'?

Gloom and Doom (and Garlands and Knitting)

It has happened...first cold of the year, and it's a doozy! The aches and croaky voice started in on me yesterday at work and by this morning I had a fever, headache and a nose running like a faucet. Yippee!

To make today extra enjoyable it is gloomy and rainy here in Boston. Later in the afternoon, the already icky weather morphed into this:



SNOW! I couldn't believe it! Normally I would be the first to cheer for a first snow but a) It's October and b) It's crappy wet snow, not fluffy Christmas happiness inducing tra-la-la snow!

GRR, so that's my gloom and doom report for the day. Let's lighten things up a bit shall we?

After seeing many, many examples on blogs and Flickr, earlier this week I made a scrap paper garland for myself.



It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself! Bettie Page is hiding up there too!



I'm also back on the Holiday Handmade Crusade bandwagon. I'm ashamed to say that I've been a very lazy Craftastic Christmas Crusader in the past few months. Late with themes, late with prizes, but it's October people and it's time for me to get movin'! My October theme is Hearth and Home. Let me explain:

During autumn and harvest time, I get decidedly nest-y. I think something about my personality makes me want to prepare our little home and make it as comfortable as possible as we transition to spending more time indoors. So, therefore, I declare October's theme Hearth and Home. Make something that will spruce up someone on your gift list's home. This time of year is great for finding wreath making materials, or perhaps you could sew a pillow or create a beautiful piece of art. Anything to make a home more cozy! The sky is the the limit!

I've been working on multiple wash cloths for this very theme:



I'm going to purchase locally made bars of soap, wrap them in the wash cloths and tie them up with some scrap fabric. These will go to some of the ladies in my family. Hopefully they will appreciate a little hand made goodness to brighten up their bathrooms. I have three out of five done and luckily these knit up fast.

Have any of you been doing some holiday crafting in advance? I'd love to hear about it :)

Alright folks, back to guzzling tea, blowing my nose and sleeping. REPEAT.

Jaywalker Socks

I was going to show these off yesterday, but I learned an important lesson. Never take blog photos at 7:00 AM, before rushing to work. I *thought* the photo was fine, but when I went to upload in the evening I found it to be blurry and crappy. Unacceptable for rockin' socks such as my new finished pair of Jaywalkers...



Knitterly Details:

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina (rav link)
Size: Small, I wear a size 7 US women's shoe
Needles: Size 1 US / 2.25mm
Yarn: Red Heart Ltd. Heart&Sole in colorway 3960 "Spring Stripe", roughly 1.5 skeins

The verdict a) It's very difficult to take nice pictures of your feet!



b) I have very white legs



c) I LOVE THESE SOCKS!



Detail:



If you try this pattern, which I would recommend, I would say this. The small is SMALL. Usually my socks end up a little loose-n-floppin'. These are very snug, and hug my ankles. If your feet are above a U.S. women's 7, then I would size up for sure!

I got second sock syndrome on these puppies big time, finishing the first in about a week in July and not finishing the second until now! HA! I'm glad that I persisted though, I'm happy with the result. What do you think?

Pseudo Shibori Scarf - Finito!

I finished my Pseudo Shibori from Boutique Knits (rav) about two weeks ago.



I really love it! I only had one skein of beautiful hand spun yarn to devote to this project, so I didn't exactly get to the "pseudo-shibori" part. Once you finish knitting the length of the scarf, you instructed to ruche it, and knit asymmetrical tabs along it, to give the appearance of a felted garment. I ran out of yarn well before that!

What I ended up with is a scarf that is much shorter than I usually knit. However, because of the pattern being knit on the bias, I can manipulate it into many cool cowl looks. In short, I dig it!

In other news:

* Thank you for all of the comments about the apartment! I am loving my new home, and I can't wait to show you more of it.

* The sweater that I'm wearing in the photo above is another find from my birthday thrifting spree. I've really be into stripey sweaters lately. It's a J. Crew men's sweater, and it's 95% cotton 5% cashmere, which makes it lovely and soft. $5!

* I attended Boston Ballet's Night of the Stars, our opening night gala, on Saturday night. It was amazing fun - and I got to watch Alina Cojocaru and Johann Kobberg from the Royal Ballet in London. What a treat!

Purple Works in Progress

Apparently, the yarn shopping gods have decided that purple is my new favorite color.

When I was on vacation at Silver Bay, I started knitting a wild pair of Jaywalker socks (Rav) with Heart&Sole in Spring Stripe by Red Heart. I've just passed the gusset on my second sock, so these little babies are well on their way to being done.



Purple has also popped up in another one of my WIPs.

For the first time ever, my Stitch n' Bitch group is doing a knit-a-long. We are all making the Pseudo Shibori Scarf (Rav) from Boutique Knits by Laura Irwin.

I needed to pick out some new yarn for this project, so I visited my trusty source, Riverslea Farm . There I fell in love with this:



Hand spun, hand dyed, Border-Leicester/Alpaca blend. Drooly-drooly-drool.

Here's a detail shot of the scarf in progress:



I'm smitten with those little bits of blue and pink that peek out from the purple. The scarf is knit in a six-row repeat that shapes the garment on the bias. I am super excited to rock this with my green/grey polka dotted coat in the winter!

Are you working on anything fun, dear readers?

Christmas in July - Crafty Crusader All-Star Interview: OneRedBoot

Throughout the past six months of the Holiday Handmade Crusade, a few of the crusaders have gone above and beyond to reach their personal holiday crafting goals. They have done this by crafting objects en masse or working on long-term projects. I am hereby referring to these folks with the honorable title of "Crafty Crusader All-Stars." Our second Crafty Crusader All-Star is Craftster user OneRedBoot. OneRedBoot's crusade has been all about socks, socks and MORE socks. Let's learn more about her below, shall we?

***



What is your real name?

Karen G.

Where are you from?

I’m from Oklahoma and Texas, but have lived in North Carolina for the past five years.

How old are you?

I’m turning 33 at the end of this month!

How did you come up with your username?

There’s a character in Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys who is described as “compulsively clad in red cowboy boots.” I always felt a certain affinity with her! I wear my red cowboy boots so often, there is always one lone red boot lying on the floor somewhere around the house.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a grad student in art history. I’m writing my dissertation on contemporary art and religion. When the semester starts at the end of August, I’ll have been in grad school for 7 years. I’m ready to finish this book!



Do you have any favorite craft(s)?

I love the process of knitting, and I love the products of sewing, especially dressmaking and garment sewing. With the combination of knitting and sewing, I’ve made almost my whole wardrobe for the past few seasons (with the exception of a few thrifted or sustainably-dyed items). I recently snagged some amazing wool suitings in a swap on Craftster and am really excited to use some of my collection of vintage patterns to make some cute winter dresses and this amazing 1930s Katherine Hepburn jacket from Eva Dress.

How many years have you been knitting?

My mom taught me to knit one semester in college when I got mono and had to drop out of school. Come to think of it, illness seems to really motivate me in fiber-related crafts...I taught myself to knit about five years ago, when an auto-immune illness knocked me on my ass! Since I learned from a book, it actually took me a year to realize that I was twisting my stitches in basic stockinette stitch!

My grandmother was a prolific knitter—I had all the electric blue cotton vests with hearts that I needed in the 80s! When she died, I received all of her crochet hooks, huge amounts of 1970s superwash wool, and a beat-up but very sturdy ironing board, all of which I am still using today. A wonderful, practical inheritance, if you ask me.

How many pairs of socks have you made during the Holiday Handmade Crusade?

So far I’ve finished 15 pairs of socks. Pair #16 is on the needles right now. Before this January, I had only ever made two pairs of socks. My decision to give socks as gifts for friends and family this Christmas was partly a challenge to myself to learn how to do it really well, and partly a way of economizing by using my stash.



Most of the yarns I’ve used for my socks have come from bartering on Craftster and Ravelry over the past year. I also found 4 pounds of apricot-colored wool at a thrift store, and I enlisted the help of my friend lapoli (on Craftster) to dye it royal blue and brown—perfect for men’s socks! Bartering and thrifting for sock yarn has meant that I’ve had to be pretty flexible: I’ve made socks with weights from fingering to worsted, and used needles from size 2 to size 6. Working with so many different variables has helped me to really understand the ideas behind sock construction.

I only have a few more pairs left to go! But I’m still planning to participate in the Holiday Handmade Crusade when they are completed…I still have to finish my Christmas cards (made of recycled holiday cards from last year), embroider some dish towels, and work on an as-yet-to-be-decided large knitted item for Mr. Boot, among other things.

What has been your favorite part about participating in the Holiday Handmade Crusade?

I love the motivation of habit. That’s how I’m writing my dissertation—I write every weekday—and how I get any long-term project done. Getting into the habit of working on something ensures its completion! I work on socks for a half hour or so most evenings after dinner, while Mr. Boot plays Mario Kart on the Wii. I keep a stack of completed socks in my craft room, and toward the end of every month, I take pictures and post them in the thread on Craftster. It’s a great way to keep track of what I’m doing.

Also, fellow Crusaders have helped me through various gift-related existential crises. When I was growing up, gift-giving was really fraught—a thoughtful gift was a sign of love (of course), but on the other hand, a gift that didn’t go over well or didn’t please the recipient would lead my mother to analyze and re-hash the relationship for hours. Even though I’ve renounced that kind of high-anxiety attitude, I do sometimes worry…I mean, I think hand-knit socks are a luxury, but who knows? Anyway, Geek+Nerd has created a great place for talking about these kinds of concerns—which can really derail your productivity! It’s been super helpful for me.

I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone packages their gifts and how happy we’ll all be in December when we are free to enjoy the holidays!!!



Lastly, but *MOST* importantly, what is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Peanut butter chocolate. Mmmmm…

***

Thanks for the interview, OneRedBoot! If YOU would like to learn more about the Holiday Handmade Crusade, visit this post. Otherwise, join me for more Christmas in July goodness tomorrow!

Coming Out of the Crafty Slumps

When trying to crawl out of the crafty slumps aka crafty overload, start by taking small steps...



Tiny, manageable and DONE! Triumph!

Matt's Skull Cuff :: A Love Story

About three years ago I knit "The Bead Goes On Cuff" (rav) from Stitch n' Bitch Nation for Matt's birthday. I made it to protect his wrist. You see, Mr. G+N is a punk bassist. He strums so fast when he plays, that without some kind of protective garment, he gets horrible blisters on his wrist.

He loved it, and proceeded to wear it every. single. day.

Three years later, this is what it looks like:





The skull's poor face is mangled beyond recognition, the shine on the beads is worn completely away, and it is little more than a tangled ball of yarn that hangs from my hubby's wrist every day...

A week before Valentine's Day, Mr. G+N started recording a new album with his band, and he said to me "I wore another cuff at practice yesterday to make sure I could play with something else in the studio, but I'm bringing the old one just in case." His voice was mildly frantic like that of a child who has lost a favorite stuffed animal or security blanket, but still trying to play it cool!

I knew immediately what Matt was getting for Valentine's Day. Not original, but I knew that he would love it.

Shiny and new, here's cuff #2:



For comparison, old vs. new:



He loved it! However, do you think he's throwing out the old one? Absolutely not. The new one is only going to be worn for shows and special occasions, the raggy old one is still going to be draping off of his wrist like a crusty pirate bracelet!

Sigh. I can't lie, I think that his attachment to knitwear is a little cute.

<3

Mittens 2.0

Today was a nice day off.

My friends Allison and (her sister) Rhi-Rhi came over for a coffee date in the morning. Then later in the afternoon my mum came over to knit with me for a bit. That was great, because the increasingly annoying symptoms of this stupid cold keep making it difficult for me to function at a high level. Stockinette knitting and tea guzzling seem to be the extent of my abilities today.

I'm off to bed!


P.S. Thank you for all of your well wishes about the new job! I'm just ecstatic!

Random Amazingness

The last few days have been either very bad or very good.

Here's the bad:

- I returned to work on Monday to find that my (very loved) manager had resigned the day before. This was surrounded by lots of uproar and tension, that has carried throughout the week.

- The plague that infected my family over the holidays has finally settled upon me. I thought I could escape, but, alas, I could not. My body is so achy right now it's crazy.

The good:

I'm feeling terribly yucky, but I have an amazing new shawl to cuddle in!



My mom knit this for me for Christmas. Isn't it beautiful?



The shawl pin is by Leslie Wind



:::

I received an unexpected gift at my Stitch n' Bitch the other day. My second mom, Betty, pulled these cute little embellished gloves out of her bag...



I said that I liked them, and Betty gave them to me just like that. I couldn't believe it! I love them, Betty, thank you!

:::

I finished my first Christmas craft of the year, in spirit for the Holiday Handmade Crusade, a little ornament...



Mini-Mittens! I love this little pattern, I can't wait to make more.

:::

Major thrift score - I found a hutch on Craiglist for $20. I'm picking it up on Sunday!

:::

AND for the biggest news of all...

I'VE BEEN OFFERED A JOB AT BOSTON BALLET!!!

In a few weeks I'll begin working for BB's outreach department, teaching an after school program for middle school aged girls. I could not be more thrilled. Not only is it a great job, with a superb company, I get free tickets to the ballet and get to take classes for free. My heart is just dancing right now!

Today I'm thankful for the very good outweighing the very bad! What are you thankful for today?

*CHRISTMAS SPOILER ALERT FOR MATT - DO NOT READ*

Tubey :: Finished

This took me over a month to complete on size 0 needles, but it was totally worth it. I'm obsessed with how fine the gauge is.



The heel makes me happy.



Ta-da!



Raveled

I hope my hubby loves them. Of course I made them out of necessity, and he went and bought twelve pairs of socks whilst these were in the making. Oh well!

:::

On a side note, today is Liam's third birthday. I feel sad, but not overwhelmingly so like I used to. I still miss him every day.

:::

Today I feel thankful for all that there is to be happy for in my life. The scent of vanilla filling my kitchen. Warmth. The lingering taste of good coffee. This space to write about it all. Thank you. What are you thankful for today?

Winter Preparations, Autumn Celebrations + Readymade Giveaway!

See, I have been crafty!



These socks were lovingly knit to, from and during many of my husband's shows and also during breaks at work. I never tire of making and wearing sturdy, farm wool winter socks. The pink and brown wool was hiding in my stash. I'm trying to be really prudent about using what I have when it comes to craft supplies, so I was happy to stash bust with this easy little project.

Autumn, like spring, is such a season of expectation for me. As a New Englander, I feel the urge to prepare for hibernation, knit warm socks, freeze produce, drink a glass of red wine.

Yesterday I received my latest issue of Readymade Magazine with a surprise little perk. I have one free gift subscription to give away, and I've chosen to give it away to one of you, dear readers!.

Do you have winter preparations that you're making right now? Are you celebrating autumn in a special way? Do you have something to be thankful for today? Share your thoughts with me, by 10/14/08 at 12midnight EST, in the comments below! Tuesday, October 14th, I will choose one of you, at random, for the subscription. Remember friends, I need a way to get in touch with you, should you win - so if you are leaving an anonymous comment, please direct me with some way to contact you!

Today I am grateful for all of the comment love I've been receiving lately. Especially some very sweet anonymous comments. Hello anonymous readers! Thank you for being so nice! What are you thankful for today?

The Last Few Days...In List Form

Dear Sweet Blog, Oh summer has been so fun, and there is so much to share, but I've been so busy enjoying it all that I haven't been able to give all of these topics proper posts! So here it is, in bite-sized list form...Cheers, Sarah.



1) I'm working on my first garment for myself, the Juliet from Zephyr Style. Knitting this with Knit Picks Andean Silk in Barn Red. This yarn is heaven! So far, so good.



2) Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary was this past Tuesday! It involved: Sleeping late, breakfast at Betty's Kitchen, bathing suit shopping (ugh), new CDs, Duffy and She and Him, (Verdict: The latter is better than the former, but I knew that before I purchased them), gourmet chocolatey, marshmallowy, caramelly goodness, Boylan's soda, amazing new vintage store in Portsmouth, (more on this later), Somerville, getting lost, arriving at Magpie just as it closed, Diesel Cafe, old school photobooth, crepes, kisses and one more day of love love loving this awesome man that is my husband!



3) Enjoying, and sharing, the taste of good, *mostly* local food: Amazing hot milk sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream, finished off the frozen corn from last year in a smoked salmon corn chowder, Amy's Mail Order Banana Bread recipe, fresh peas and did I mention the strawberries? I can't get enough.



4) Dim photos here, it's been rainy in New England, rubbish for blogging! Thrift scores: All the Fire King was bought at a yard sale across the street from my house for the grand total of a dollar. I couldn't believe it! The bake ware pattern is "Blue Heaven." The type case I picked up on the curb, also down the street. A little wash and a few staples to the back and it will be good as new. It will be gussied up a la Ali Edwards soon.

5) I have a bicycle! Which I haven't been able to photograph/ride because of all this darn rain! She's a beauty! Vintage, blue, basket on the front, headlight, larger basket rack on the back. I'm in love! And also a little wonky with my riding skills! I've been pining for a bicycle, specifically a Cape Cod Blue Amsterdam. I'm so close to the grocery store, bank, post office, etc, that it is ridiculous to take the car to those places, especially with the ever rising price of gas! If I get a ton of use out of this bike, then I'd consider looking into an upgrade, but this was a much more affordable starter bike. Pictures soon - so cute!

That is all for now...except if everyone could send me some good job karma that would be awesome. Figuring out my employment situation beyond this summer has not been going so well. I'm off for a little more knitting therapy!

Chipping away at the almighty gifts-to-make list...

Hello! Quickie post today - my latest finished object:



Aside from that, I've been busy with lots of lying on the beach with my hubby. Tough life, eh?

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine as much as I have been! Cheers!

Bits and Bobs of Random Goodness

Let's catch up, shall we...

:: Knitting ::

Knitting is definitely my gateway drug *cough* craft addiction which has opened my world to all of the crafty goodness that currently occupies my life...and the majority of my apartment! I have recently re-fallen in love with knitting because of the amazingly awesome, though slightly sinister time-killing, Ravelry. I'm a little obsessed...

I finished the Broadripple Socks,



And last night I started the Umbilical Cord Hat from the first SnB book at 11:00pm...and finished in a crazed knitting stupor roughly around 3:00am!



The hat is one of a few I'll be making for the upcoming baby showers in my life. I'm might do a little embroidery embellishment on them, we'll see.

:: Christmas Gifts ::

Speaking of baby gifts, I finished another teddy bear! Two down, one to go! This one is wonky and a little asymmetrical. I like him - Matt thinks he's ungiftable. I think Matt's silly! What do you think?



:: Shopping ::

I've made some fun Etsy purchases in the last few days. First off, I bought a golfer window decal for my dad for Father's Day. Secondly, and not to be missed, my sensational artist blog friend, Flossy-P, has made some of her works available in form of a super affordable post card! I was able to purchase two of my all time favorites, String Theory and the set Looking for Love/Sometime Soon. Very exciting, indeed.

:: Cooking ::

Still with me? I made the Asparagus and Morel Bread Pudding sans the morels from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Very tasty, and it made a TON! Oh my, has it been more than a week since I've sung the praises of this book?! If you haven't read it, please do. It will likely change your life, give the warm fuzzies, make you feel like you can change the fate of the planet by doing your little bit.

Made the Rhubarb Crisp from Slow Food by Alice Waters again. Came out scrumptious, again. **EDIT** I just popped over to my mum's blog and she's posted a delicious looking recipe for Rhubarb Bread. I'll have to give that one a go!

So that's what I've been up to - how about all of you? Having a productive week?

Until next time, cheers!

Broadripple Socks :: WIP

These are knit from the glorious aforementioned Tashi that we picked up at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. They are shaping up to be much, much easier than my first socks, and it leaves me hopeful that I can whip up a dozen pairs of hand made socks in less than a decade.



The pattern I'm using is Broadripple Socks from the summer Knitty, 2003. I messed up the cuff on the first sock, but it's a mistake I celebrate, because I actually like it better than what the pattern calls for. Instead of purling between the cuff rows, I continued to do the pattern over and over and it created a cute wavy edge.



I managed to do the kitchener's stitch for the first time ever, to finish off the toe, and I'm in love with how neat and clean it is!



Now I have to not let the second sock syndrome take over so that I can sport these around town!

P.S. If you are visiting my blog, you'll notice that I've decided to display only one post up per day on the main page. This is so my mom won't go crazy trying to read my blog and avoid seeing her Christmas present at the same time! Mom: If you missed a few older posts, just look at the sidebar to the right and you'll see my previous post titles and archives. You know which one not to look at ;)

Skully Fake Isle - Complete!

My skully fake isle is done!









What I learned:

* I hate circular needles, so I made the large size of this on double pointed needles. I don't recommend doing this! The tension caused the design to be difficult to block, and fit a little snugly across the forehead area.

* The large size is LARGE, if I were to make this again for myself I would probably make the regular size.

Hopefully my hubby likes it! I think it will be a good snow-boarding hat. What do you think?