Crafts for Christmas Gifts

I told myself last year that I was going to give myself a break from making Christmas gifts in 2014 after the sock avalanche of Christmas 2013. You know what? I lied to myself and I ended up making a lot of last minute gifts. My hands didn't appreciate it, but people liked them!

For a bunch of folks I made some quilted pot holders:





I made 16 total pot holders to give for Christmas. My sewing machine started acting up toward the end, so there was some struggling, but I managed to make things work until I could finish these. Ended up finishing the binding by hand, though, because I'm not good at machine binding yet, and that took ages.



And then as a last minute addition to some things for my brothers, I crocheted these washcloths up:



These two cloths were done using the Seeing Squares Dishcloth pattern.



And these two cloths were done using the Three Color Simple Stitch Dishcloth pattern.

Both were made with Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Stone and Lime. They were nice, simple crochet patterns that were quick to get through and look nice. I'm glad I managed to fit them into the few days left before Christmas.


It was nice to do some crocheting. I've been a pretty steady knitter for the past couple of years, but my roots are in crocheting. It was very comfortable slipping back into that mode and I think I'm going to look for some crochet projects to add to my queue.


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Wash Cloths

Yep. I made those.

Now you know where all my time has gone.

Birthdays, Washcloths, and Compulsive Knitting

1. Birthday




Things I Received For My 25th Birthday:

• A Sock Loom in order to, and I quote, "Finish some socks quickly." Apparently, my mother is well aware of the sock yarn and patterns lying huddled throughout my stash.
  
  
• But then, of course, she adds to it with some green sock yarn.
  
  
• Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn
  
  
• Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer. My love for a) bad movies, b) magic/myth movies, and c) animated things is well known. "I saw it in the store and immediately thought of you," Mom laughed. (It was awful and amazing. I'm pretty sure "Crusher" the Magic Hammer was being toted around by a leprechaun, but jock!Heimdall kept calling him a fat elf so I was distracted by the lulz)
  
  
• $20 JoAnn Fabrics gift card. "No idea when you'll ever have the chance to spend that," Dad laughed. It's only got $1.04 left on it.

2. Washcloths


They're lopsided and uneven and ugly, but I like them. Not bad for a first try, I'd say. I have to admit, I was surprised at how easy they were to hem.

3. Compulsive Knitting

I knit four of these cabled curtain ties because I didn't want to stop watching the Iron Man Armored Adventures on Netflix. Yep.

Bonus
I bought this yarn earlier. I don't need it. I don't have space for it. But I wanted it desperately.

It's called "Loki."

10" Rigid Heddle Loom Projects

You know how I got that 10" rigid heddle loom for Christmas?

Built it.

Warped it.

I am now on Project #3.

Here's a look at the first two:





Clearly, that first scarf is my first attempt at weaving at this loom. There's some pretty glaring errors and the weave is all uneven. It's awful. I knew it would be; that's why I used a couple bland-ish, but very contrasting, yarns. There's some pretty bad errors in there that this picture isn't showing.

The second scarf is one I'm much more pleased with. Did that one in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Harmony, which is a variegated/self-striping yarn, which looks fantastic woven. I've worn this one around.

I'm liking this weaving thing. These projects have been really quick compared to my normal craft projects. It's nice.

And now, of course, I'm working on Project #3 now that I've finished a scarf I've been slaving through for the Etsy shop. I'm working on these pile loop wash clothes that the Yarn Harlot featured on her blog a while back.

Here's the first one in the line of four:


Blurry Instagram photo time. I'm trying to post photos of my works in progress more often, but I end up very focused on trying to finish the project. I figure I might be able to let my brain take short breaks for not-great iPod photos.

This wash cloth doesn't look all that great right now, but I figure some of that will even out in a wash and the rest can be chalked up to learning a new skill.


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