WIP Wednesday #31

I'm happy to say I've actually gotten quite a bit done in the two weeks since my last WIP update! Unfortunately none of it has been the Christmas gifts I hoped to start working on, but hey, progress is progress. Right?

New Projects: Kat was still looking for blocks for her Cheeky Quilt, so I made a couple for her. I didn't sign up the first time I saw her mention it (I just happened to notice that her first request was the same day Coop was born!) because her original October deadline just wasn't going to work out for me, so I was really happy to be able to help after all. I really enjoyed making these scrappy log cabins, and was so happy with how quickly they came together.

Kat mentioned that she likes bird & vintage floral prints, so I combined the two for this first block. Yes, it sounds like an odd pairing, and when I originally pulled the fabrics for it I worried it wouldn't be bright enough, but I love how it turned out.

The second block is truly from my scrap bins, with lots of fun memories. There are the elephants from my last round in the Pretty Little Pouch Swap; dots & monkeys from Coop's quilt; the green fabric from my nursing cover & carseat handle; Denise Schmidt prints from all those origami bags; a couple of my favorite Riley Blake Rainy Days & Mondays prints; and both prints from one of my favorite Keyka Lou City Totes.

Baby Charlie's outfit & football was probably one of my favorite things to work on over the past week.

I started another knit scarf, which I need like a hole in the head, but I absolutely love scarves in the winter. Unfortunately the ones I find in the stores are never long enough, so I have to make my own. Ah shucks.... ;) This is just a bit of a test piece to make sure the checkered pattern I've been wanting to try out for a while would look okay. I absolutely love this bright peacock blue & hopefully I can get some progress made on it this weekend. I'd like to do an ear warmer & possibly hand warmers to match.

I did work on one other secret project, but I'll have to wait to share that one. It's pretty darn cute though, so hopefully I can share it soon!

Ongoing projects: I've changed my mind about the quilting on Coop's quilt. Nothing drastic, I'm still doing the circles, but I've added some straightline quilting as well on the diagonals. The straight lines obviously go a bit quicker than the circles, which is part of the reason I decided to go this route. I also like the idea of mixing things up even more, so now there will be circles, straight lines, and Xs. I do like how it's looking so far, so I think it's a good decision.

I'm finally past the thumbhole on the green ribbed handwarmers. I've got to be honest though, I'm not really feeling these now. I'm really excited about having hand warmers since I'm not overly crazy about gloves, and I absolutely love the color & feel of this yarn, so I guess it's just the design that's not doing it for me. Also, I realized while working on Coop's hat, that for the past two years I've been doing my knit stitch incorrectly, going on the back of the needle instead of the front. This has made my stitches much tighter as well as slower & harder to work. Unfortunately, to finish this project, I really need to continue to do it the incorrect way so it will still look the same. So I have a dilemma, and a few options. Do I finish this one the incorrect way, and make the second the same? Do I finish this one the incorrect way & make the second the correct way, hoping they match close enough? Do I rip this one out now & completely start over the correct way? Or do I just scratch the entire project? I can't decide, but in the meantime, I'm plugging away to at least finish this first one. I can't even think about starting on the second until I either finish & completely tear out this one, and at this point I guess I'd rather finish it & then go from there.

No progress on the crochet blanket, I'm kind of at a stand still on that again. I love both knit & crochet, but I go through phases where I prefer one over the other, and it's definitely knitting lately.

Completed projects: I did finish up Coop's hat, which I'm just over the moon excited about. It is a bit big on him, and I originally planned on making another that fit better, but decided against it. You'll have to excuse the picture quality, I took it on my cell phone, but if you don't laugh, you're dead inside. ;) Seriously, I absolutely crack up every time I see this picture.

The expression on his face & way he's holding his hands get me every time.

And because this kid is just so darn cute, I can't help but share this picture as well. Just look at those eyes, hide your daughters! :)

I hope you all have a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

WIP Wednesday #30

No progress this week on Coop's quilt. So much for my "5 circles a day" plan. I rea;ized today that I've been working on this quilt since about February, so in the end it'll probably take me over a year to finish it up. I guess I'm okay with that as long as I'm done with it before Coop turns one. Here's hoping! :)

Unfortunately I had to pack up the sewing machine this week since all our parents & siblings were visiting for Coop's baptism. I'm still trying to work out a new permanent home for it other than the dining room table. Hubby hasn't complained about it yet, but I know he's not fond of having it there.

Instead I've been working on multiple knit & crochet projects.

First of all, remember these? Umm...yeah, me either until I found them again the other day! Unfortunately this is only the first of the two, but thankfully it's almost done so hopefully I can get it finished up & make the other by the time I actually need them.

knit hand warmers

I started this blanket the last few weeks when I was pregnant with Cooper & couldn't sleep more than a few hours at night. Sadly it's for a friend who got the yarn & asked me to make it over a year ago. This is what happens when you tell me "no hurry" & I don't have a deadline people! ;) Honestly, I had the hardest time picking a pattern, and I think this is the third or forth blanket I started, but I'm loving it.

This is the first of two hats I've started for Coop, but I'm probably going to end up pulling it out. I'm just not crazy about it so far & crochet hats seem to stretch less & not fit as well as knit. I do really like the colors though, so may end up doing a knit one with the same yarns.

Here's the second hat, knit instead of crochet. It's slow going - my first time with a circular needle (so much quicker than using four double-ended!), first time using bamboo needles (I realize I definitely prefer aluminum), and it uses some new stitches that took me a bit to wrap my head around. I'm enjoying working on it though & can't wait to share the finished hat (I'm keeping the pattern a secret for now). Hubby is really excited about this one, which is a good motivator to get it done.

I've also got a fun CraftFail to share with you, but that's a story for another day. I will leave you with this though, with the disclaimer that my sister & I get a little goofy when we're around each other. :)

I've also started kind of thinking about Christmas presents, but not enough. I have fabric but no pattern picked out for one gift, and a pattern but no fabric picked out for another. Beyond that I have kind of half a plan for some more gifts, but nothing solid.

Make sure you head over to Freshly Pieced to see what everybody else has been up to this week.

Until next time...

Knitted hand warmers - progress

I haven't worked on these in a while, even though I had grand plans to at least get the first one finished over Christmas. With 14 hours in the car (although I did drive half of it), I should have had more than enough time to finish this one up, but I just didn't feel like it. Right now I'm at the point where I'm just about ready to close up the thumb hole (pattern calls for 1.5" opening, but it didn't seem big enough), then just a couple more inches & it'll be done. Hopefully I can get out of this crafting funk I seem to be in, and start working on these again.

Until next time...

Say hello to America's next top model...

Isn't she beautiful! :)

Nick wasn't willing to model the scarf, and we all know what happens when I take pictures on the surface of the sun...er...in the bathroom. Besides, she's a much cuter model than me.

I finished up this scarf (knit) over the weekend. It's one I started last winter, but it got put aside for other projects. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft Eco, I love this stuff & picked up a ton of it on clearance at one point last year. You can't tell from the picture, but it's got this kind of blueish-purple sheen to it, odd, but really pretty. It was knitted really loose (US 16 needles), so it's fairly light, but still plenty warm. I absolutely love it!

No pictures, but I'm making progress on the hand warmers too. Up to about three inches, and getting much easier & quicker the more I work on it. I'm almost half way to the thumb holes! I'll be bringing it with me when we visit family this weekend, so hopefully I can get quite a bit done in the car & evenings. Who knows, maybe I'll have a completed pair by the time we get back!

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving! I know we have a lot to be thankful for this year, I hope you do as well!

Until next time...

Progress: knitted hand warmers

I didn't get terribly far on the hand warmers this weekend, only about 1.5 inches done on the first one, but it's progress! I'm much slower with knit than crochet, and even slower working with such small needles (US size 3), not to mention four of them!

I did finally get a handle on holding everything while I was working. It's still awkward, but not impossible. Thanks to those of you who let me know it would get easier to handle the further along I got. It's definitely true!

You can see the ribbing better here, and the color is a little more true.

(Our table sure is shiny!)

I'm loving this green & wish the scarf I'm working on were the same color. Maybe I'll have to pick up some more when I get these finished up so I can make a scarf to match. I'll definitely use much bigger needles if I decide to do that!

I think one of the hardest things about these is knowing that even when I get one finished up, I'll still have to do another before I can actually use them! But I'm excited to get them finished, so hopefully it'll continue to be a good motivator.

Until next time...

Can someone please tell me...

How in the world am I supposed to hold four needles at once?!

It seems like I just start to get it handled, and then I'm at the end of the needle I'm working off & it gets awkward again.

Yes, I really should be working on Christmas gifts, but I decided to go ahead & get started on the hand warmers instead. Hopefully I'll have some good progress to report by the end of the day!

Until next time...