Crafty Christmas

Such a lovely Christmas.  I tried to rest and recuperate, I really did.  I didn't put out nearly half of our decorations, but the house looked festive.  I didn't go into cooking overload as I usually do, and everyone was still well-fed (thanks to my all my sweet friends who brought us meals for two weeks!)  And while I didn't get something sewn or knitted for everyone, I did get several projects done.  I made 7 duct tape wallets and 7 fun fur scarves for my friends in kindergarten, and a few other easy projects:

These Peace, Love, Christmas burlap pillows are a variation of the Scrabble pillows I made earlier in the summer (you can see the steps here).  Easy freezer paper stenciling, then I sewed them up, wrong sides together and left about 2 inches all around for a fringe.

Will's requested grey hat  (isn't he cute?)  This is just a simple cable, knit up with Lion Brand Jiffy and size 7 needles.  No pattern to direct you to -- I just sort of made it up on the fly.

Gap scarves (and you get to see all my kids -- isn't the Schlitz beer t-shirt so Christmasy?)  I really love this pattern, and want to get another one of these started ASAP (maybe for myself!).  Maggie's was knit up with 2 skeins of Loops and Threads bulky yarn  from Michael's in mushroom (sort of a camel color) and Sarah's (sorry, I didn't get a picture of hers) was 2 skeins of cream-colored Lion Brand Wool-ease Thick and Quick.  These were knit up on #13 circulars -- you cast on 130, join, then knit in a seed stitch until the scarf is as wide as you want (I think the pattern says 15", but I stopped at about 8").  This is a great pattern for knitting while recuperating in front of the TV, as the pattern is simple and easy to correct.

Not-for-TV-watching knitting:  a Christmas stocking for my friend, Ashley.  This is my 4th Cascade stocking (pattern here).  Ashley recently graduated from the University of Louisville, so I used a variation of the cardinal found in Colorwork Creations (beautiful book!)  I also learned the Latvian braid for the top of the stocking;  I think I have my lesson for our next Knit Night -- it's an easy technique that really adds some snap to the edges of knitted work.  After some trial and error, I found that the best thing to line these stocking with is t-shirt material; I found a red-striped shirt at Goodwill which made a perfect lining for this one.  I have another stocking in the works for her mom -- pictures soon!

If you've read this blog for long, you know that I inherited several fruitcake tins of buttons from my mom.  I sewed a bunch of them on this pillow for my niece, Taylor, and once again, I think I have just as many buttons as I started with!

And if you've read this blog recently, you know of my addiction to pinterest.  Several months ago, I pinned some adorable Harry Potter stylized pillows; my niece, Carly (who is addicted as well) commented that she  loved them and "knew what she wanted for Christmas" so I had to make them for her.  I couldn't locate a pattern (the pin was from a tumblr site, which I find a little difficult to navigate) so I just studied the picture and came up with these:

I started with a rectangle of cream flannel, strip pieced the scarves from gold and maroon cotton, and added the robes with black flannel.  Harry's hair is the same black, while Ron's is a piece of an orange sweater; Hermione's hair is a piece of a brown velvet jacket I found at Goodwill.  I did a little machine quilting in her hair to make it look wavy.  Eye buttons from mom's collection and a little embroidery.

I have a crafty goal for 2012:  socks.  I know, they have defeated (ha - an unintended play on words!) me before, but this year, I am going to conquer them, even if I have to drive all the way to Alabama for a lesson.

Peace.