A dear friend held a sewing group where everyone attended and made a Christmas table runner. I LOVE how this turned out! It also made a great gift for my little sister who just bought her first house! I'm so happy for her.

This pattern is called "Black Death", but I've done it here in yellow. The yarn I used this time is much thinner than last time so the shawl took on a different shape, but I still love it!




Pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/black-death

I'm really enjoying variations of rainbow projects lately. This shawl was made with 2 balls of yarn. One was grey and the other one was full of those lovely colors.


Pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/nymphalidea

A lonely, somewhat ugly ball of sock yarn is now a hat. 

Blue socks for Katherine. She's still wearing through them as fast as I knit them. I'm getting more darning practice but hoping to find the balance.

I've been wanting to venture more into colorwork with my knitting for a while now. This pattern has been in my queue for so long that I finally forced myself to prioritize it. I've been watching the Netflix Slow TV Knitting night and I LOVE IT!! After seeing all of those great mittens and sweaters I knew it was time to tackle the hat.
I really enjoyed knitting it, although, I need to work on the tension of my floats a bit more. I'd even like to try the mittens at some point but south Florida living doesn't really inspire hats and mittens.






Pattern:
http://cojorado.com/knitting/2014/12/24/pattern-norwegian-star-hat.html

Katherine loves hand knit socks. However, she wears them always when at home. As a result, she wears holes in them. I am not a fan of darning holes, so I decided that making more socks would keep them from wearing out as quickly.

Another pair of socks for Katherine.

A couple of years ago, one of my very favorite designers wrote out the "Our Father" prayer with embellishments in her own handwriting. No computer images, all hand-drawn. She intended it as a quilt, but I hand stitched it as a wall-hanging. I really truly enjoyed stitching this, it has been one of my all-time favorite gifts to give. While visiting this summer, I finally remembered to snap a picture of it.



Pattern:
http://www.craftsy.com/user/1146564/pattern-store
http://www.elefantz.com/

I've been working on this one for a while. The yarn was a Christmas gift. It started with a sample in the yarn shop. Unfortunately, the sample was knitting while holding 2 strands together. The "free" pattern with yarn purchase was so badly and incorrectly written that three balls of yarn wouldn't be enough to make one like it. This pattern, called Wisp turned out just as well with only one ball of yarn, size 8 needles and finishing at just over 6 feet long. I'd really like to do something detailed with the other 2 balls, so I'll have to wait for some special free time...someday.


Pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wisp

The "Spindrift" Shawl. Turned out to be more of a scarf-lette with just one ball of sock yarn. The color was appropriately called "dirty bird" from Holiday Yarns, FlockSock.


Pattern:
http://curioushandmade.com/

Bounce

I have been drooling over this pattern for quite a while. I am so very happy with the results! For some reason that I don't understand, the green/teal comes up quite blue in the photos. This is the larger size, for a crib.



Yarn:
www.knitpicks.com

Pattern:
http://tincanknits.com/pattern-TCK-bounce.html

Another two dozen. This time it is bars of soap. I tried to tint half the batch with Wilton's powder, but it clumped in odd ways.

Mango season! Two dozen jars today.

Val Laird Block of the Month. Block 4.
You are blessed...when you're content with just who you are.

Pattern:
http://val-laird.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/free-block-of-month-wall-quilt-pattern-1.html

Block 3 of the Beatitudes by Val Laird.
You are blessed...when you're kind and merciful.


Pattern:
http://val-laird.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/free-block-of-month-wall-quilt-pattern-1.html

Here is block 2 along with the first. I'll keep re-showing block one to keep the context. Applique is new to me and I'm building confidence with the technique.
 You are blessed...when you're at the end of your rope.


Pattern:
http://val-laird.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/free-block-of-month-wall-quilt-pattern-1.html

I am really enjoying this year's Block-Of-The-Month pattern from Val Laird Designs. She is generously designing the blocks based on the Beatitudes. This is block 1.


Pattern:
http://val-laird.blogspot.com.au/2016/01/free-block-of-month-wall-quilt-pattern-1.html

Before and after shots would be good here. This old ratty dresser wanted to be my new favorite blue. 

Birthday cakes from scratch .

A quick washcloth. A fellow knitter brought a tiny leftover ball from her latest project. Small enough to be thrown away, or whipped into something useful.

 

It seems that fruits and veggies can take a beating, livcing in an RV. A dear friend asked for a smoother ride for her produce. Here is the fruit and veggie hammock. It hangs from the cupboard door handles.

I enjoyed using this beautifully soft yarn with this fun and easy pattern. I love the points along the edge of this shawl.

Pattern
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/black-death

I've been looking at this amazing idea for making 100 inches of bias tape with one 10" square. I didn't think I could do it, so I put it off. Then, I realized I actually needed bias binding for this circular applique mat. It was so much fun! It really worked!


tutorial:
https://blog.colettehq.com/tutorials/continuous-bias-tape-tutorial

It has been a while since I made a shawl. This one was just one ball of a lovely yarn, and had just enough patterning to keep me interested. 

The 5 hour baby sweater. This actually takes more than 5 hours.

Today we made two batches of playdough from my favorite recipe. By the time I snapped this picture, the teal was all used up with only speckles left in the yellow.

Doesn't look like much, but I had to sand the heck out of it and it took four coats of paint. A couple of bucks on Craigslist. There were stickers and leftover reside all over. It is not very practical for use, but it was a fun craft project.

Plymouth yarn company's Seed Stitch Squares blanket. It calls for four balls of yarn doubled. I had just three, but it turned out fine. I used some Cascade Pacific acrylic yarn, doubled and the weight turned out well. I like the size too.

The Marshmallow bonnet from Susan B. Anderson's book, Itty Bitty Hats. I really enjoyed this knit. It is the most seed stitch I've done on one project. I learned that tiny needles and lots of seed stitch takes longer than I thought.

Fresh off the needles. These fit our 11yr old perfectly. I enjoyed this pattern and the yarn was an unlabeled gift.

Building Blocks Baby Blanket by Plymouth Yarns. I did not use the yarn called for in the pattern, so my blanket is significantly smaller than it could be. Car seat or stroller sized. I used a soft aran acrylic by Cascade Yarns- one of my favorite yarn companies! If I ever make this blanket again, which I probably won't, I would double the yarn and use a bulkier weight. I have the Encore 8 Hour Baby Blanket booklet. I like the book, the patterns are easy and I'm likely to knit most of them.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/plymouth-yarn-636-the-encore-8-hour-baby-blanketrevisited/patterns

I really wanted to knit with some rainbow yarn. I found this cheap lion brand at the craft store. The color is called ice cream. What fun it was making a little sweetie this sweater. She loves it!

Mindful Domesticity

 

This wonderful wall quilt was inspired by one of my favorite designers. She released a new redwork hand embroidery block each month last year. I had fun trying to keep up with the handwork. The quilting part has reminded me that I enjoy small quilting projects and I'm a terrible quilter. I used 2 strands of floss throughout. Working with 2 strands gives more control with the tiny details, but also shows flaws better.

 

 

Pattern:

http://www.elefantz.com/

 

 

 

Just a quick sweet lavender drawer sachet. I love this fabric, and I love using small scraps.

I tried making this pair of socks at the same time from 2 different balls of yarn. I used some great 9" HiyaHiya knitting needles for one of them. The tips were a good length and the cable super flexible. For the other sock, I used my standby of 2 circulars.


Pattern:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks

I've wanted to make this bag for a while. I used some leftover, unlabeled wool. The red and yellow felted great. The orange was a different blend and though it did felt, not as well.

Pattern:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/angelas-fabulous-felted-bag

A lone ball of sock yarn will only make one sock. But, it makes a nifty scarf.