pin this!

Sometimes, you wake up in the morning, and you think, 'Today, I want to make that huge crochet push-pin.' So you do.

Made using this free pattern.

Modifications: I used magic ring to start, and my staggered increase (and decrease) rounds. Naturally, I couldn't have stood myself if I'd had to make up separate parts and sew them together, so this was made all in one piece, from the top of the head, to the tip of the pin.
Wasn't even fiddly to do it that way.
(For decreases that are practically invisible, I use this technique.) I end off, at that pin-point, with my nice finish.

Yarns: Vanna Baby in Little Boy Blue, Vanna in Silver Blue

BUNNY SLIPPERS!

(I had to wait to post this until my brother received the package)

I MADE BUNNY SLIPPERS!

I love them. I wish I had a pair. I want to make more.

They are knitted and fulled/felted/shrunk in a hot water wash.

They took practically no time at all to make, and they are so easy.

Pattern is Hopsalots. Yarn is Wool Pak New Zealand 8-ply. I bought the yarn together with the pattern from Paradise Fibers (one of my favorite online yarn shops).

Christmas Stockings

I had a dilemma. I didn't want to send my missionary son his same Christmas stocking that he grew up with (what if he lost it? left it behind?) and I also didn't want to get him one of those basic red & white numbers from the dollar store (huge, and, kinda dumb, really). Not to mention, what is he supposed to do with it between now and next Christmas? Or would I have to come up with another one next year? What to do? I mulled it over for quite a while. Days, in fact. I was coming up on the day I had to mail his package, and I still had nothing.

And then, it hit me. I was planning on making him some fleece socks anyway, and I realized that I could put a fur cuff on the top, with a hanging loop, and just make it so he could remove these when Christmas was over.

I used black fleece (he's not much for color) and sewed up the socks as usual. (I use a pattern from Green Pepper, 527, which has all the sizes, child to adult. It says slippers, but I make them without folding down the cuff - I just leave it.)

I then took some strips of white fleece/fur (very silky, soft - no idea where or when I got it), about 4" wide and about 1/2" longer than the circumference of the top of the socks. Sewed the short ends together, rights sides facing, then folded it over the long way, wrong sides together, and sewed all around, making this into a cuff. I had some leftover pieces from his PJ top, in black knit, which I cut into skinny strips (about 1" wide) and pulled them to make them roll up into strings, to use for hanging loops. Sewed that onto the inside of the cuff, making sure it was totally secure.

Once I had the cuffs ready, I put my sewing machine on the longest basting stitch, and sewed them onto the tops of the stockings. Easy to remove the stitching later, so they could be socks, but in the meantime, they'd make a cute Christmas stocking.

I put in instructions for him, on how to remove the cuffs, and filled up both stockings with the usual Christmas stocking contents. (Doing the cuff on just one didn't seem right.)

After I'd mailed everything off, and was showing off the pictures and telling everyone how creative I was, it occurred to me that my boy was just the sort of kid to wear them as-is, without taking off the furry cuff.

Turns out, I was right.

Finished Objects 2012

• Moose applique towel (s)
• PJ pants for Twin2 (s)
• Pajamas for John (s)
• soft & twee baby mitts (k) (gifted)
• 2 skinny scarflettes (c)
• Pink & Red Unicorn (c) (gifted)
• 2 owls green & cozy (k) (gifted)
• 12 Christmas Ornaments (painted & modpodged)
• 2 Cabled Mug Hugs (k) (gifted)
• Black Fleece Christmas Socks for Twin1 (s)
• PJ's for Twin1 (s)
• Shrug (k)
• Hello, Handsome! baby sweater (k)
• she asked for it! mitts (k)
• socks for John (k)
• googlie-eye garland
• 7 festive pillow cases (s) (gifted)
• knitted eyeball for Twin1
• 2 pr flannel pj pants (s) (gifted)
• candy corn baby sweater (k)
• 2 more gratis grass (k)
• 2 Woodins & Log home (k)
• seconds baby sweater (k)
• coffee-filter wreath
• chocolate baby sweater (k)
• 14 scully stitch markers (gifted)
• earrings for moi & mom
• slice o' cherry pie (c)
• Fetching Koigu (k)
• punkin' boy mini pillow (x)
• happy haunting mini-pillow (x)
• spudknit
• amethyst ribbon socks (k) (gifted)
• mon petit cabbage (c)
• Jaywalkers for ME (k)
• Black Ops Socks for Twin1 (k)
• Squirrel for Pearl (k)
• Beaded Baby Socks (c) (gifted)
• Braaains (c)
• 2 BBQ towels (s) (gifted)
• Halloween stitchery pillow (s)
• Fleece blanket & pillow case for Twin1 (s)
• Silky Robe for Twin1 (s)
• pajamas for Twin1 (s)
• 3pr baby anklets (k) (gifted)
• 1 asparagus spear (c)
• 1 peanut (c)
• Slider (c)
• knock a girl down! mitts (k) (gifted)
• fortune cookie (c)
• Coal Dust Socks (k)
• pence jug for Aleks (k)
• ice cream sammich (c)
• 2 raspberries (c)
• twee bunny (k) (gifted)
• 1 egg in shell (c) (gifted)
• lemming (c) (gifted)
• Mission Impossible Socks (k)
• 1 green beaded stitch-marker/pendant
• 4 pr pink cupcake earrings (3 gifted)
• Pink & Purple Dead Fish Hat (k) (gifted)
• darned my first sock
• 7 pairs fleece socks (s) (gifted)
• cowboy baby booties (s) (gifted)
• red sky socks (k)
• sweet potato cowl (k)
• 2 diapees & wipees cases (s) (gifted)
• cupcake earrings (for sis)
• mock-mercury glass earrings
• earrings in pink (disassembled)
• resized spider ring (for mom)
• repaired jingly purse (for mom)
• Nemo Dead Fish Hat (k) (gifted)
• Lemon Drop Socks (k)

Hug Your Mug

I wanted something handmade to send off to my brother in Chi-town, but I knew it would be foolish to try anything larger than a scarf. Or, for that matter, anything even as large as a scarf, since most of my knitting/sewing time needs to be designated to creating warm things for my missionary son, currently wintering in Maryland.
I compromised, and decided on something small but useful.

A little knitted hug for a mug.

I used this pattern, but kinda couldn't figure out what was supposed to be happening after you make the buttonhole. I think she forgot to finish the instructions for the rest of that row (61), because it just leaves off. I figured you should work the buttonhole across the center three stitches, and then complete the row with k3, p1, p2tog, k1. That's what I did, anyway (sort of - I just did a simple yo buttonhole - k1, yo, k2tog). After that, I was really confused, because her picture looks like she did seed stitch for the rest, but her instructions have you start the next row with purl, when I would have thought knit, and she does that again a couple rows later. I didn't do what she said, because it seemed wrong. Since it didn't turn out looking quite like hers, I can't say I figured out what it should have been. Maybe her instructions were right.

In any case, I decided later that I quite liked how the beginning end looks, the way it flares, so, if I make another (which I probably will), I fully intend to make the opposite end look the same, instead of decreasing.

Yarn is Filo by Roberts Craft in Denim (discontinued), and it took so very little, of what was a very small skein to begin with, that I think this might be the pattern I look to when I feel the need to do something useful with my leftovers.

Christmas PJ's

Know what? I just figured out how come it's okay for some stores to have their Christmas stuff out on the shelves a couple months early. It's for those of us that have a relative/loved one far from home. I mean, how can we give, say, our missionary son, a piece of home, if those particular Christmas tradition-type items aren't in the stores when it's time to send our packages? So, in a way, I'm grateful you can buy candy canes and chocolate oranges in October.

My boy isn't overseas, but I still had to ship his package out before December had hardly begun. This meant I had to get busy and get his usual Christmas pajamas sewn up.

I had the fabric. I had measurements (taken before he left). I just needed to make the time to get them cut out and sewn. When I finally forced myself to get it all out, I discovered the fabric was just a smidge shorter than what I needed for his tall self. I mulled it over, and finally decided I'd add a strip of plain black flannel to the bottoms of each leg instead of hemming them. It works.

For the top, I dug up some random remnants of black knit, and more of white knit, and figured out which pieces would work. I ended up cutting the sleeves (in white) on the cross-grain, again due to a shortage of fabric length. Lucky for me, both knits I used were 2-way stretch.

I like how the whole thing came together, in the end. I sure hope he's happy with them, too.

(He'd better be! I even gave him pockets this year! I almost never do pockets.)

The Dumb-Dead

You've heard of the un-dead. Now, meet the dumb-dead:

I cannot stop singing this song - it's just so catchy and cute!

Also, upon watching this for the first time, I wanted to start making up a bunch of plushies!

Think about it - simple shapes (actually, a lot of them start out sort of Twinkie shaped, so, there's that) and just enough detail - sounds like a fun project to me!

Which one is your favorite?