Unwrapped

Now that the holidays are safely behind us, I can share some of the projects I've been working on - generally in a panic - throughout the past month and a half. As usual, I took on a bit more than I should have between everything else I want/need to do at Christmastime. So I've got to say, I was really proud of myself for getting everything finished and wrapped in time for Christmas.

French Press slippers
I knew right away that I wanted to knit a pair of French Press Slippers for my sister. These are slippers I've been coveting since I first saw them, and I knew they were her style as well. The pieces that make up the slippers are a wonderfully quick knit. The end result is very long and floppy and looks nothing like the photo. Until you throw them in your washing machine and the little felting gnomes come out with their little felting magic to take your weird floppy looking knitted... things and turns them into soft, felty, snuggly slippers. Thank you felting gnomes.

Coffee cuff
This cuff (pattern found here)seemed like a cute way to package a coffee shop gift card for my daughter's preschool teacher. And a nice quick knit too.

Felted clogs
The pattern is so clever. Somehow the entire slipper is one piece, with minimal seaming (much appreciated after all the seaming involved for the French Press Slippers). It was a lot of fun to see these come together. My first knitted gift for my mother in law.

Panda hat
I had gotten a cute panda outfit for my cousin's newborn daughter, but it seemed incomplete. Crochet to the rescue! In two evenings I had a matchy matchy panda hat.

I also made a crocheted wire bracelet for my mom, but completely forgot to photograph it before I gave it to her. Is it odd to ask someone if you can photograph their gift once it's gifted?

I'll have some big (well, big for me) crafty news coming up soon. I'm very excited for the start of the new year and some new projects. Happy 2011!

My first Fair Isle

My son's ever growing head needed a new hat. It seemed that the multitude of 12 to 24 month hats were just too small, and as my daughter's princess and pink obsessions started around 2, the only other options for him in our house involved Belle, Sleeping Beauty and a lot of pink hearts.

Two things you should know: I am cheap. Ok, frugal. I guess that's the nicer word for it. Also, I hate seaming, which is where I am at with my other current projects (which, for now, will remain cloaked in mystery). The powerful combination of these two forces brought me to the Norwegian Star Earflap Hat. It was the hat my son needed, which could be created with yarn I already owned (cheap... err, frugal) and would give me excuse to put down that awful tapestry needle and pick up my knitting needles again. Joy.

I was thrilled with the end result. Until I put it on his head. Too big. Really, comically too big. It fits my daughter, it fits me. It even fits my husband. But my son... well, it's kind of cute when little kids are in too big hats, right?

I got a rock.

Halloween is an interesting time of year. For 364 days out of the year, we tell our kids, strangers are bad. Don't talk to strangers. And for goodness sakes, don't take candy from strangers. Unless it's Halloween. Then, by all means, take their candy. And if they're doling out the full-size candy bars, go home, throw together another costume, go back and take more of their candy.

Last night, I paid my daughter for all of her chocolate candy. After dinner, she dumped out her bag of candy, separated her chocolates from her non-chocolates and presented me with a box filled with Snickers, Milky Ways, Kit Kats, Reese's Cups... pretty much the stuff of my childhood dreams. But she hates all of it. She hates - yes, hates - chocolate. While out trick or treating, she was very polite, dutifully saying thank you no matter what was dropped into her bucket. When she'd come back to me, she'd mutter in this dejected voice, "Chocolate." You would have thought she had just gotten a rock dropped into her bucket instead of bits of chocolatey deliciousness. At least promising her money for each piece of chocolate helped with her disappointment.

As luck would have it, one girl's rock is another girl's baking treasure. Last year I used her discarded Reese's cups for some pretty tasty Peanut Butter Cup Blondies (thanks to that blondie recipe I told you about before). I'm thinking of doing a mix this time around, sort of a candy bowl blondie. I'll let you know how it turns out.