Crafty Round-Up!

I don't know if this will be a regular feature or not, but today I want to share some links I've seen lately. There are so many cool craft tutorials on the Web, and lately I've been fascinated by some techniques and projects that are new to me.

1. Click here for a tutorial for using maples leaves to make a bouquet of roses. Ingenious! Someone in one of my Ravelry groups shared this link, and I love it! I don't know that I'll ever make these, but still.... what a cool autumn centerpiece this would make.
2. Sew, Mama, Sew! is a uber-crafty blog that Bloglines recently featured as a fast mover. Now is a great time to stop in there, because they are featuring gift idea tutorials (mostly sewing) all through November. Here are just a handful of the projects they have featured: lunch bags, tote bags, a keychain, wallets, baby blankets and belts. I can't wait to see what else they come up with this month!
3. Karen, of Cotton Spice, is also featuring some gifty ideas, using a variety of craft techniques, on her blog for a couple of weeks. She has some really unique suggestions. Check out the adorable heart bag! And the cable knit headband she designed is so lovely!

In my own Knitting Knews, I finished the shrug yesterday, and have already been wearing it! I had son #2 take some pictures, but he needs some practice framing the shot, so none of them are usable. I'll try to get the hubby to take some good ones later this evening.

One Year Ago.....

Well, I wanted to enter KitKatKnit's Wayback Machine Contest. So I looked in my back blog entries to find out what I was working on one year ago. But I hardly ever posted back then. The closest I found was from late September.

As I check that post, I see that I was knitting my Kool Wool cardigan, but I'm pretty sure that was completed before November.

I was also working on the shrug, which I KNOW was still moving along in November, albeit slo-o-o-wly. I abandoned it shortly after Christmas, I think. Good new though: I should be finishing the shrug in the next couple of days.

I also mentioned some Koigu socks. They were probably still in action one year ago today, but they eventually stalled out, too.

So there you have it. I was working on 2 projects back then, but have not finished either. That's me!

Brrr..........

Well, no furnace wars here. We turned on the heat a while back, but not very high yet. Add to that a cold thingy that has made me borderline feverish. The result? Sweatshirt on, then sweatshirt off. Freezing, then boiling. It's been driving me nuts!

My shoulders and arms are the most likely to be cold. So---time to finish that shrug!

When I abandoned this project (when I saw I wouldn't get it done before last winter was over), the shrug had one lace cuff, and needed another. I had already picked up the stitches for the second cuff, but done no lace knitting yet.

I pulled the project out yesterday, and decided the lace cuff wouldn't work. Take a look, and I think you'll see why:




See how flared that is? Flared? I don't want flared! Flared = air going up there = not warm enough. That would kinda defeat the purpose, hmmm?

Must make a change. The original pattern had a pretty lace cuff, but I am having to adjust gauge for this substituted yarn, and the gauge didn't match the lace repeat numbers. The lace pattern I used instead came from an old booklet of stitch patterns in my collection, and was chosen partly for using the right numbers (I think it's cute, too, but it unfortunately doesn't show up well in the photo). But looking at the cuff now, I see that I should have picked up fewer stitches. And that would require a different lace stitch. Great.

I spent a couple of minutes looking through my collection at lace stitches yesterday. I was thinking of ripping out the picked up stitches on the one sleeve and the entire completed cuff, and starting over by picking up fewer stitches and using a new lace pattern. But I was sitting there freezing, wishing the shrug was done so I could wear it NOW, and that plan sounded like it would take FOREVER.

So, time for Plan B. I'm trying a 2X2 rib, which matches the body ribbing. Not cute or sophisticated, like the original pattern, but fast. And I should be able to get by without picking up new stitches, since the ribbing will pull in a bit. Here's my progress so far:




If this cuff works out, I'll rip back the completed lace cuff, saving the picked up stitches, and be done in no time!

Trick Or Treat!

I finished sewing the costumes for my boys in plenty of time, and they turned out just FANTASTIC!!!!

Here is #1 in his polar fleece lion outfit. I'm amazed that this outfit was in decent shape to be worn on Halloween, since he kept putting it on and crawling all around the house, even before I had finished the sewing! "Hey, kid, there are still pins in that!"














And #2 as a fearless tiger (don't you love that tiger print stretch velour?). Sorry for the fuzziness of the first picture. Unfortunately, it's the only full-length shot I got, because I could only get him to wear his costume for a moment at the church Harvest Party. Since that shot is so blurry, I'm adding the headshot as well. I love, love, love how his makeup and hair turned out!













(As always, click to biggify.)