Christmas project, pt. 2

I found this pattern in Stitch N Bitch: the Happy Hooker. It is crocheted, rather than knitted. I used Peaches n Creme cotton yarn and just bought bamboo handles and a fake flower to pin on. Super cute!

Christmas project, pt. 1

As part of Christmas run, I created this stuffed penguin
called Pasha from knitty.com. I used Vanna's Choice yarn
which was a first. It was similar to Red Heart, but seemed
to split less which is always helpful. Sewing it together was the hard part, because the black on white didn't allow much room for error in seeing the stitches. Not sure if I did it right, but this is close as it was going to get. I thought it turned out pretty well, and the recipient loved it too, which is all that matters.

Rock Band upgrade

If you have ever played the XBOX or Wii game Rock Band, you know how loud those drum sets are! (Seriously, the designers/marketers of this game must have some major hearing loss if they couldn't figure this out during development.) The drummer for my band, The Plural Squirrels-look us up!, was using men's socks rubberbanded to the drum heads to drown out the sound. For months, I was trying to convince him that I could custom make him something that would look better than socks. Finally, I just had to do it and show him. Now we get compliments whereever we go. He is still trying to convince me to mass produce them, but it is just isn't profitable. Maybe as a side project or to buy my own XBOX 360. It is coming....

Craft Weekend 10/08

I couldn't decide what to make for Christmas run since I had done hats in previous years, but with the upcoming Hobblecreek Boutique, I committed to making beanies for sale so I could at least come up with some extra cash. Mostly I made loom knit BSU beanies. Sales were not as I as I'd hoped, but at least I have some inventory now that I can use for future bazaars.

The Next Beanie, 9/20/08

So after I finished the Ugly Beanie, I had a family friend ask me to make her a pink/black beanie. I, of course, started calling it the Raspberry Beret, but did not sing the song. (If you don't know who sings this, shame on you.) I totally scored at Joann's one night and found the yarn of my dreams that I had been searching for for years. I first found it at Wal-Mart, but they discontinued it. I found a couple skeins in with another yarn that was marked $5.99 so I snagged them and took them up to the counter. When I asked the sales rep for a price check, she told me they were $1.00 each.

*angels singing* My friend walked back with me and we pulled every single skein from the shelf and I went home with three garbage bags full of Redheart Symphony. It is 100% acryclic but designed to be a mohair style yarn. So soft! The Raspberry Beret is made with the Ugly Beanie pattern and is composed of Red Heart Symphony (which has been discontinued by Red Heart) in Lt. Rose and Red Heart Super Saver in Black.

The Ugly Beanie 09/08

I have a friend who is wild and crazy when it comes to fashion. He will wear just about anything, especially if it is loud. In fact, the louder the better. So with winter coming on, he asked me if I could make him a beanie. "Sure," I said, "I'm a regular Ian Johnson." He asked me to make it as ugly as possible and said he would pay me for it. Sweet! A commission with which to further my stash! So with what scraps I had and a non-American pattern, I began to make my first beanie. I have had many people tell me that it is in fact NOT an ugly beanie, and that I am far too OCD to be capable of making an ugly beanie. The sad part is, I still have my first beanie in my possession because I have not been able to get in contact with my friend. In the meantime, judge for yourself and feel free to leave comments on how ugly, and at the same time how successful, it is.

The Summer of '08

I had an extremely difficult time being motivated to knit, not to mention, blog over the summer. Yarn just did not entice me. Amazing! I'd heard of such things happening before, but was quite surprised when it actually happened to me. I had this sexy little number I'd knit up from Party Knits. It was a sleeveless shell with picot trim that laced up the back. Even my husband was excited for me to finish it. Alas, it is still in pieces in the bag. I guess you could say I needed a vacation before the pressure of "Christmas Run" started. However.....once September rolled around, the "Ugly Beanie" campaign began.