Crafts

And the honor goes to…a pair of socks! My feet are toasty warm tonight! Let’s see, I cast on the first sock on the 3rd, and finished the second sock on the 8th. I’m not 100% happy with the fit – they’re a bit loose – but maybe they’ll shrink a tiny bit in the wash? I cast on 52 stitches for these – if I use the same yarn/needles again I think I’d try 48 stitches, and make them about 4 rows shorter before I start the heel. Then again, if they shrink in the wash, they might be perfect as is.

Assuming they hold up well, I’ll definitely use this yarn again. It’s Knitpicks Parade, and the color is Forest. They’re at least as comfy and warm as fingering weight yarn, but knit up quite a bit faster. You certainly can’t beat the price: $6 for a pair of socks. (Yes, I know, you can buy socks cheaper than that for less work, but that’s not the point – and if you think store-bought socks are better you haven’t worn handknit ones!)

In honor of today being the twelfth day of Christmas, I’m (finally) showing off all of the things that I made. There’s still one outstanding gift, but it’s for Carrie and I’m sure she’ll be thrilled even if she gets it next month. There’s actually no reason for it to still not be done except that I’m a little burned out from all the frantic Christmas crafting. Plus, I’m working on my socks.

I’m already planning what I’m going to make for people next Christmas, so that I can start next month.

I’m sort of ashamed to admit this, because in the course of cleaning my craft room – and I’ve barely scratched the surface yet – I’ve discovered 4 socks sitting on needles (or stitch holders, since I apparently stole the needles for other projects – probably other socks). And I’m talking about 4 separate socks, all the first sock of the pair.

But I’ve started a new pair of socks. For me! These seem like they might not be doomed to failure, because instead of 7-8 stitches/inch the yarn is a bit thicker and knitting up at about 5.5 stitches/inch, on slightly bigger needles, and they’re going really fast. Seriously, I cast on last night and have maybe knit for two hours between then and now, and I’m ready to turn the heel on the first one already.

Only thing is, based on the state of the socks already stuck in my craft room, I don’t abandon them until I hit the ribbing on the leg (I knit them toe-up). Ribbing is one of those things that I just can’t force myself to like. It’s the necessary evil on the edges of sweaters…and the legs of socks. But I’m determined this time. These are lovely green socks, and they’re going to look marvelous when they’re done, so done they will be – and quickly, before I lose any and all motivation.

And maybe, if I finish these, I can tackle all the other socks waiting so patiently in my craft room? (We won’t even go into the fact that I easily have 8-10 pairs of socks worth of sock yarn tucked in various baskets and drawers in there… Someday I should catalog all of my yarn. It might shame me into actually using it.)

I’m trying very hard to go into the new year without owing anyone a gift – meaning that the unfinished Christmas gifts need to get done in the next couple of days, as well as a quilt that I pieced for Sammy but never actually got around to quilting. I suppose one of these years I should resolve to not have any unfinished projects at all by the end of the year, but that seems like an impossible goal. Plus, there’s an old superstition that you should always have something on your needles (for knitting, I’m sure there’s similar things for other crafts) or you’ll have bad luck. So maybe I’ll settle for having an organized craft room with just a few unfinished things.

On a similar note, my great-grandmother always said that however your house is going into the new year is how it will be for the rest of the year, so I’m trying to also at least get the “public” areas of the house and our bedrooms extra clean. The craft room…well, maybe if the rest of the house stays clean next year I can make it a goal to get the craft room organized for the following year. :)

Here’s a funny story…

Christmas Eve, at my Grandparents’ house, we were all sitting around eating my mom’s birthday cake:

(Didn’t it come out wonderfully? I’m so proud of my very first all-on-my-own fancy cake! (Although, to be perfectly honest, Lisa made half of the flowers. But the rest was all on my own!))

OK, back to the topic at hand! My mom and my aunt were talking about some of the old crafts they used to do, including weaving. My mom has a huge floor loom and my aunt has a table loom – both have gone unused for many years. Anyway, at some point in the conversation I mentioned to my dad about how, someday, I’d love to have a small loom to play with. He got this funny smirk on his face, and I figured he probably thought I needed another hobby like I need a hole in my head.

Fast forward to the next morning – a.k.a. Christmas.

Guess what was wrapped up under their tree?

A (used, of course, but that makes it more special) Leclerc Dorothy table loom! It’s an older model, with a 15″ weaving area, and it has four shafts. As of right this minute it’s warped (that only took about forever) and ready to go. Tomorrow I get to weave something! (I would be right now except that the loom is still in my parents’ living room, since I’ve needed to ask my mom for help just about every five minutes.)

I’m all awash in the possibilities of this new craft. What can I weave in 15″? Scarves, placemats, doll blankets? What else?

Carrie’s Christmas dress is only a bodice with one sleeve so far, but I think I can get it done before the end of the week. I’m waiting for a crucial piece of one project to arrive, but I think I can finish it in time anyway. I’ve run into a snag on a different project, but I think I can work around it. I’m starting to get tired of knitting yet a different project, but I think I can force my way through it. I haven’t started the two biggest projects, but I think I can finish them quickly enough.

I think I can.

Otherwise, lots of people are getting IOU’s for Christmas.

There are only 24 crafting days left until Christmas, and I’m making a significant portion of our gifts to people this year. My gift list reads like the Twelve Days of Christmas song, in fact. Most things are at least started, but there are a couple of notable projects which aren’t yet. I’ve run into some snags with some of the projects as well.

Plus, I’m making Carrie’s Christmas dress – which I have yet to cut out the pattern pieces for, let alone actually pin and cut out the fabric. Mind you, this is the dress she will be wearing for the Christmas card photos. (At least the design for the cards is done, I just need to take the picture. Oh, and sew the dress.)

This all came about from a desire to simplify the holidays. Um. Right. Not exactly sure what I was thinking there. But “simple” is about as far along the other end of the spectrum as I could get right now. And we won’t even go into the fact that we’re celebrating a little early with some of our family, so there really aren’t 24 days left at all…

Carrie got a largish Snoopy doll for her birthday, along with his own set of pajamas. The pajamas are royal blue with white paw prints, and are a rather thick knit fabric – like a very soft, light sweatshirt material. And there’s a hat, too, which Carrie loves to try to put on her own head. She absolutely adores Snoopy in his pajamas, and frequently carries the hat around with her, if not the whole dog. So I thought I could make her a set of matching pajamas (with a hat, of course) if only I could find similar fabric. Right. I can’t even find the same weight knit fabric at JoAnn’s, in any color or pattern, let alone something that coordinates.

I imagine this must exist somewhere, I just need to find it. Look out internet, here I come… (I wonder if the company that made the Snoopy pajamas would sell me some remnants? Of course, shipping might be kind of pricey, since I can’t imagine they were made in the USA…)

I totally blew my October challenge goals. The only one I managed to finish was the small birthday gift, which I just realized I never even took a picture of! (It was a cute little pink scarf for my 6-year-old niece.)

Now we’re on to the holiday challenge, though, and this one I really can’t ignore. I have (if I’m counting right, I think I’m missing one or two) 19 different projects – ranging from dishcloths to quilts – to make before, let’s say, December 15th. I think I have to be totally insane. But at least there’s no birthday party to interfere with the crafting insanity. (Just birthday party thank you notes that still need to be written!)