Award Board

I thought I'd show everyone what Abby and I made this summer for Abby's ribbons and newspaper clippings. We started out with a piece of foam core, a small piece of cotton fabric that Abby chose, some ribbon from the clearance bin, and white craft glue. Oh, and two little painted wooden shapes (they were Abby's idea). The fabric is held on with a line of glue on the back and the ribbon is simply cut, overlapped, and glued on the front. The wire in the ribbon helped keep things neat and tidy across the board, but honestly, I didn't even realize it was wired until we got home. I'm not real impressed with my photography skills on this one - I just couldn't seem to make it look straight in the photos the way it is in reality.
Abby loves that she has a special place to show off her ribbons and clippings and I'm glad she isn't taping things to the wall!

Reclaimed Shirt Pillow

I know its been a while since I've posted but I made a quick project tonight that I love. Lately, thanks to our DV-R service, I've been watching Martha Stewart Crafts while I fold laundry. Martha did a project in episode 127 which involved making pillow covers out of men's button-up shirts.

So when I found this shirt at the thrift store, I knew what I wanted to make. I made a cover for the small pillow I sleep with: (its hard to photograph pinhead-sized houndstooth fabric and pearly snaps - click to see bigger, better shots)

The snaps make it a cinch to remove the cover for laundering. And I'm thinking the snapping pockets will be handy for keeping a few tissues and a chapstick handy. (I should clarify that I do not rest my head on this pillow. It is strictly for cuddling, a habit I got into when I had my first c-section.)

I'm also thinking that the buttons could become the back of the pillow if using decorative fabric for the front. I have some Christmas angel fabric that I was planning to make into pillows for the mother-in-law. Using shirts for the backs will make them look so much better and be much more functional.

It's genius of Martha to use the pre-existing plackets to make the cover washable. No zippers to set in, no velcro to trap pet hair, no blind stitching a pillow into its cover. Just cut two squares, sew them on all four sides, turn right side out, and you're done! Topstitching is a nice touch and its easy to add a flanged edge.

First Socks

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before, but I had one goal in mind when I learned to knit: socks. I don't like crocheted socks so that left knitting. Thus I set out to learn to knit and, of course, got sidetracked by other projects along the way. I also discovered that I really like knitting.

Pattern: Easy Toddler Socks by Karen Caron at Needles and Wool
Dates: September 2007
Yarn: Moda Dea Sassy Stripes (100% Acrylic)
Color: 6997 Lucky
Needles: Set of 5 size 1 vintage aluminum DPNs
Finished size: fits Abby’s size 11 foot
Modifications: none
Lessons learned: These were my first socks so I learned everything here: turning the heel, picking up gusset stitches, and kitchener stitching the toe closed. I used the Toe Grafting: Kitchener 101 section of The Sock Knitter's Companion: Step-by-Step Help by Clara H. Parkes at Knitter's Review to help with the Kitchener stitch.
Comments: I know acrylic isn't normally the greatest choice for socks but there was no way I was going to shell out the money for nicer yarn. The acrylic is just fine for a first pair of socks being given to a 5-year old.

The only reason I was able to complete these socks was thanks to the generosity of a fellow knitter on Ravelry. I didn’t have enough yarn to finish the toe of the second sock so I posted a message asking if anyone had any scraps. Someone did and sent me the yarn as a gift. Knitters are wonderful!

First Mittens

An extremely wonderful friend of mine gave me this yarn and this pattern for Christmas last year. I put off doing the project for a while, largely because I was afraid of how nice the yarn was. But I finally got the courage and am pretty happy with the result. They seem a little different in size in the picture but don't seem that way in real life. I'm blaming my non-existent photography skills.

Pattern: Easy Hats & Mittens (AC-20) by Bev Galeskas at Fiber Trends

Dates: August 2007

Yarn: NORO Kochoran (50% Wool, 30% Angora, 20% Silk)

Color: 1

Needles: size 7 & 9 bamboo DPNs

Finished size: pattern says women’s medium and they fit me

Modifications: none (I'm not one to modify a pattern the first time out)

Lessons learned: This was my first set of mittens. Although the Ribbons Baby Blanket used DPNs for the center, this was the most I had used DPNs to date. There is a thumb gusset in these and I had to leave the thumb stitches on waste yarn until ready to knit them, something I had never done before.
Comments: I hope no one is surprised about the fact that this is a Fiber Trends pattern. I really love these! The colors and the color variations in these are amazing as well!

I swear I haven't gotten lost!

I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I have posted anything. I've actually been knitting like crazy but then not getting the project posted. At a minimum, I knit every day while waiting at the high school for Abby's bus. You'd think my posting problem was related to the house construction, but actually its a Ravelry problem. I've gotten so distracted by everything to be found that I often sit up late without realizing how much time is passing. But I've got a few drafts worked up and should have a flurry of posting activity coming up.