How the USM saved Christmas!

I'd like to thank my USM (Ultimate Sweater Machine) for saving Christmas 2011. When November rolled around, I had virtually no Christmas knitting done. I have 13 people to knit for...what was I thinking? I had procrastinated till fall to start the "Sweater Vest of DOOM" (aka my dad's 3X vest with dk weight yarn). My mom had given me a bag of yarn & a pattern to magically turn into a poncho for her...but what about everyone else?

First, I started with some flip-top mittens...but, of course I didn't like any of the patterns I found so I had to write my own. This was already taking too long... Plus, I can't use wool for half the people so I still needed more ideas.

Finally, one day I looked at my mountain of partial skeins of various acrylics from past presents for my nephews & kids. I knew what I had to do...striped scarves!

So, the kids got some ninja/superhero/ski mask type hats that were done on the USM too. And then I had to make some striped wool scarves to go with the flip-top mittens I made. And MIL got a scarf from us last year...so I made some dishcloths for her instead.

PHEW!

That was 9 scarves, 4 hats, 4 dishclothes, and one HUMONGOUS sweater vest! All done on my USM :D Using convention circular needles, I knit 3 pairs of gloves, one hat, my mother's poncho and dh's socks...I'm finally on the cuffs now...yes, I know it's already January ;)

Here's a pic of a mitten/scarf combo.


The kids (2 nephews & my 2 munchkins) loved their ninja/superhero accessories. Her scarf is around her neck & hanging down her back...like a cape ;)


Can't forget the dishcloths ;)


And the largest garment I have ever knitted FIT my dad!
This vest could be a whole 'nother blog post...so I'll link my project page instead: Dad's Vest



I'm so glad the holidays are over now :D

Selfish Knitting & Ravelympics

Wow! It's been AGES since I wrote something here. At least I can be rest assured that there aren't throngs of people who have been chomping at the bit to know what I've been up to :)LOL

Anyway...since we last met our "hero"
(term used EXTREMELY lightly :)

I've started dyeing with professional acid dyes and had great response in my etsy shop.


I got a spinning wheel...a used Ashford Traveller, single drive, single treadle.


We had another handmade Christmas this year...which meant I was knitting for other people for MONTHS.


And now I finally have knitted something for ME...my first sweater! To top it off, I "competed" in the 2nd Ravelympics and have received my first "medal" for finishing my sweater.


I mentioned to dh last night that my wrists needed a break so I wasn't ready to start my second Ravelympics project yet. He said, "I guess knitting isn't an endurance event." I said, "Yes it is...but I was sprinting." I knit my sweater in 8 days! If you don't knit, trust me...that's fast :)LOL


Pattern: Amused by Jordana Paige (with mods to collar & for cardigan)
Yarn: 6.5 skeins of Cascade 220 in "dark plum"
More notes on my Raverly project page.
I ♥ Ravelry

A Handmade Christmas...

It' s no surprise that money was tight last year...and it doesn't look to improve in 2009.

So last September, I set out to hand knit the majority of the Christmas presents we gave out this year. My original idea was to make felted wool slippers for everyone that I could hand dye with Kool Aid...cuz I LOVE doing that so much! Unfortunately, some recipients preferred non-wool items due to wool sensitivities. So I had to get creative :)

Here's what I ended up making this year:

The largest one was this scrap-ghan for my aunt.

This was something I had big plans for...several years ago. But had since put it away and lost interest. When my aunt requested a lap blanket instead of a "foot item" I thought it would be perfect! Especially since it's acrylic & she was the one I knew ahead of time would not want wool. I just had to make a few squares to complete the "pattern" and weave in the zillions of ends = DONE!

Another one that did not take much time was this pair of socks for my mom.

These were originally for me. I thought they were great...except that when I test wore them I ended up with horrible indents from the constriction :( These were the second pair of socks I ever made. Because my first pair had been so loose, I had intentionally tightened up on the gauge and had calculated a 10% negative ease to try to get a better fitting pair of socks. If I had only done one of these adjustments...I might have been able to wear them. However, I measured them & it seemed like they'd be a perfect fit for mom. This way I wouldn't have to frog 'em...after all that work...YAY!

Next was the the felted slippers using the Fuzzy Feet pattern from Knitty. I had at least 3 pairs I wanted to make. I had some issues with running out of yarn, mis-measured feet & scouring the internet for discontinued yarn for FIL. I also had read that some people had worn holes thru the bottoms pretty quickly...I did NOT want that to happen so I scoured ebay for some decent leather to use as slipper bottoms. Results? Four pairs of slippers (only one of which I dyed...after felting...the burgundy ones).


Then there were acrylic slippers for the nephews (improvised)...and had to make one for dd too. I chose nylon yarn for the cuffs so I could do some more Kool Aid dyeing. They both started out as silver/gray...



Then it was HUG scarves for the BIL & SIL visiting from Montana...got to do more dyeing for them too :)

Yes, SIL arranged her scarf like that on purpose :) LOL

Also made some cotton wash cloths for the kiddos with the first letter of their names knitted in a garter stitch relief pattern. I'll spare you pics of those wash cloths...but I will add one of a double-side spa-cloth I made for the other SIL that has cotton chenille on one side (another improvised pattern).



And let's not forget the soap bars with knitted sweaters on them :)LOL I used this pattern as a starting point, but really just made it up as I went along...super easy!



For my brother it was a Shrek pillow...cuz let's face it, he's an ogre and proud of it!


I surprised dh by making him a log tote (sewn, not knit) while theoretically taking too long to make pillow shams for the in-laws...the shams were a bit too small :(


Didn't save these for Christmas day but ds got a couple of knit items in December too. A pair of awesome BFL longies & a pair of wool mittens (improvised).


DD also got another hand knit item. She wanted "ear muffs" after she saw my headband/ear warmers. So I knit up something similar for her.

I will probably end up sitting down and making her a hat with ear flaps as a more practical solution.

And finally, the one project I was secretly afraid of cuz they were gonna be so HUGE...my dad's birthday socks made with the yarn I dyed here.


Well, that's all the projects I finished. Yes, I'm still working on one...a scarf for dh. It won't be a surprise but he knows how much I don't enjoy making it...yet I keep going cuz he likes it & I love him :) I'm ~10" from being done so it'll probably take me another week since I only work on it for about an hour a day.