Pressies for the in-laws

Now that Christmas is over I can finally share the last presents with you. I would also like to take this opportunity to invite you all over to Grey Duckling to take part in my first ever giveaway. In the autumn I made a few bobbin lace flower brooches and I am giving one of them away as an extra New Years present to one lucky person. You just have to comment on the post on Grey Duckling to take part in the giveaway.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you all a crafty New Year.
Eddie


Bunch of knitted flowers for my sister-in-law made using Ingrid's recipe for knitted flowers on Historic Crafts.


Novel bag for my sister-in-law using this tutorial from Grey Duckling that I adapted from the book 'playing with books'!


Decoupaged drawing onto the bottom of a bowl for my sister-in-law



Basketweave scarf for my father-in-law using this pattern that I talked about on 'Roued is...'.


Another decoupage bowl!


Mug cozy for my mother-in-law made with the Dixie Norton's pattern on Ravelry.


Garden markers for my mother-in-law. I have posted a tutorial on Grey Duckling on how to make these.

Presents for the parents

I gave my parents their presents when they visited this weekend so now I can share them with you all without fear that they might discover and the surprise being ruined.
The Ctr-Alt-Del pillows were for my father. They can go on the sofabed in his office and he can use them when he takes his nap.
I made them out of recycled jumpers and I think they turned out pretty good. He sure seemed to like them.


Another present for my father was this small bowl he can use for a bit of a snack when he is watching a film. I did the drawing myself and glued it to the bottom of the glass bowl from the outside. I then varnished the bottom for a nice finish.



My mother received these recycled spoon garden markers. I have earlier talked about how I made them in this tutorial over on Grey Duckling.


Finally, for my mother too I made this scarf using the very simple but effective basketweaving stitch that I have previously talked about on 'Roued is...' I made one of these for my father for his birthday and when my mother saw it she asked for one too!


Eddie from Grey Duckling

Mittens For My Mom

My mom asked me for a set of these a year ago...better late than never? At least by now she's forgotten all about it, and now they can be a surprise!

I used this free pattern on Ravelry, and they worked up more quickly than I expected. Yay!

I liked the pattern overall, but I added five or six rows to the thumbs. Maybe I have unusually long digits, but the thumbs as directed by the pattern seemed REALLY short.

Oh, well. Long or short, my mom will have warm digits this winter.

Vintage-Look Christmas Mittens

Although I've had really good intentions about doing crafty christmas gifts, this might be the only one I get done! That's OK though, because I feel super satisfied about getting these ones done.

I originally decided to make them after seeing the yarn Amazing by Lion Brand, specifically the Ruby colorway to be careful not to pick a skein where the colors are muddied. Love it, although you have Unfortunately, I started them in September and didn't finish them until the day after Thanksgiving, due to problems with the pattern (which you can get for free on Ravelry). Having never knit mittens before, I didn't realize that the lengths given for where to start the thumb, and the total length were all wrong for a normal adult-size hand.

So, besides fixing some mistakes on my own I had to  re-do the first mitten several times. Frustration mounted, but I persisted. Of course, I was an expert by the time I got to the second one, and now I can't wait until I have free time to make my own pair, maybe with a fleur-de-lis designed into the top. The best part is they have a nice, rustic, vintage look to them, which will be made even more so when the mitten clips I ordered are delivered.

 

All in all, they're an A+ pair of mittens and if you're an intermediate knitter, they're make a quick (well, it would still take me about 2 weeks to make another pair) and easy gift.

Finished scarves

I have really been enjoying seeing what everyone else has been making and am feeling inspired. I made the bunting above as a birthday present last week but added it here as a Christmas present idea. I used up a load of scraps to do it, and some old shirts!

I have finished three ( two red, one green) of the scarves I initially posted about. They are easy and quick to knit. There is a loop on each side of the scarf to push the ends through and initially the dividing stitches for this was tricky but I've got the knack now! The pattern is here

Magnum Ear-warmer Tutorial

Hi again crafty ladies! Today's SNOW inspired me to knit this. Here is a super easy tutorial for last minute gifts. And another reason why I love Cascade Magnum yarn!!

1. Measure your noggin. Mine is 21.5 inches.

This yarn makes me think of cotton candy!! Its so light and soft for how thick it is.

2. Do some math: Make a quick gauge of your yarn. Mine (with magnum and size US19 needles) was 2 stitches/inch.

3. Do more math: 21.5" - 3" (for negative ease) = 18.5
18.5" x 2sts/inch = 37.

You're working in the round....

4. Cast on. You want your sts to be even numbered, so I cast on 38.

5. Knit 1, purl 1. Repeat, repeat. Thats all you're doin'.

Easy and fast.

6. It is probably a good idea to keep track of where each round begins....

7. I cast off after 3 inches.

8. Weave in the tail. It is a little wonky here because the stitches are so huge, but fear not! Just pull it a little bit when you sew in the tail.

Warm ears.

9. Ready for winter! Or wrapping paper! I have little patience for blocking. It really looks great if you don't bother.

OK that is all,
Renee.

Renee's Crafty Plans

MAGNUM: Fast, soft, chunky goodness.

Hello crafty ladies! I am Renee, who blogs at renee's wardrobe relief. On top of being in the Crafty Christmas Club, I am also a member of the Crafty Slackers Club. BUT, this year I am going to try extra hard! Today I bought some amazing wool to make a skirt for my mom.
I don't know about you guys, but shopping for mom is the hardest thing ever. My mom is hands down the chic-est, most put together woman I know (we are opposites in this regard). This is why I am making her the simple high-waisted skirt from Vogue 8604. In CAMEL. Did you guys hear that camel is the new black? PSHHT. I hate camel on me, but my mom freaking loves it. I am going to make her a cute little belt to go with it. We'll see if she wears it!

Other crafty presents I am planning will probably have a lot to do with Cascade's Magnum yarn. (see top photo) It is the best. The real bummer is the price tag, but you can make a really long scarf in 1 skein. I have also made amazing hats with this.

More craftiness to come very soon! + I have a delicious treat to share with you all in time for thanksgiving!

Brainstorming

Hello all! I'm back and ready to start sewing gifts. (I'll do another baking post soon though, here is a link to my previous coffee cup tutorial). I'll be sewing/crafting gifts for my Mom, Oma, Aunt E, friend Ashley and boyfriend, as well as making smaller gifts for friends and teachers. I always lean towards the (over) ambitious side, so, I give you a list of possible gifts.

-hand knit scarves and hats
-wristlet/clutch purses
-big purses with matching makeup bag/coin purse
-pajamas and robes
-zip hoodie, either handsewn or refashioned
-loose fitting, season friendly cardigan
-homemade jams and cookies
-photos with handmade frames

I have been browsing patterns, here are a few I like based off gift potential and good reviews on PatternReview.com:

McCall's 5534, for the adorable hooded robe

Simplicity 2560, very simple and cute cardigans. My mom would love view A.

Simplicity 2357, views A and B

McCall's 6089, oversized clutch bags with tassels. This one is high on my list because there is lots of room for embellishment and personalization - both of which are important in a gift!

McCall's 6046, two very stylish bag shapes with embellishment options. 

I've had a lot of success with McCall's bag patterns in the past, namely 5599, so I'm leaning more towards the McCalls bag option than the Simplicity one. Ideally I will find and make one of the purses, decide it's a fabulous pattern, and cut out several more. I'd especially like to make coordinating makeup bags to go inside, so I will have more to fill with lovely fresh cut soaps and products from Lush (I work there, so my opinion is biased, but I get a discount :)

I would love input on fabrics, quick construction, or a hoodie pattern recommendation. Knit scarf or hat pattern suggestions would be lovely as well! 

Hit or Miss?

My rather lovely Amy Butler fabric arrived on Friday - thank you Lilly Bella Fabrics.

Love by Amy Butler. Please forgive the terrible photo!

 One of my Gift List had mentioned how much she liked the pencil roll I made for my Mother in Law, saying it would be useful for her roll-ups. Well, I am nothing but obliging so attempted a mini-version.  I have to admit it was not my finest hour and there may have been some swearing as I failed to get the tension right and my machine kept eating thread and fabric. I also had to rip it apart a few times to correct dumb mistakes, but finally I got this, which I can't decide if I like or not.  I may just start again as I have plenty of time and fabric left. Hmmmm.

In other news, I started the cowl for my brother which is going much better:

Hello from Canada

Hello, I'm Susie from Something I Made Earlier. I'm originally from Wales and I'm now living in Saskatchewan. I'm really excited to share my ideas and take a look at what everyone else is doing. I've only just started blogging, but this will be my second handmade Christmas as last year I knitted something for everyone. This was a lot more work than it sounds as I had to have everything posted to the UK by Dec 1st and madly decided to make a lot of mittens and socks. I'm hoping this year will be a lot less stressful as I now own a sewing machine and intend to do a lot of instant gratification gifts. As long as Etsy delivers the fabric on time I will be making:

• Super Simple Scarves for all the ladies on the list. I came across the tutorial from Stitches in Play and it appealed as it is a) quick and b) cheap, using only 1/2 yard of fabric which means I have been able to use some lovely Amy Butler for everyone.
• Socks for The Husband. The rather fabulous pattern is from Penguin Purls and they were originally supposed to be for his birthday in March, but what with one thing and another (I am easily distracted) they are yet to be finished. In this case his short attention span and terrible memory will actually work in my favour as I seriously doubt he has noticed I have been knitting them all year.
• My brother has always been terrible to choose gifts for. Now he lives in Australia and I (to my shame) have used the postal dates as an excuse not to give him anything the last few years. This must change! But what do you make for a man who will be having a summer Christmas? As he's pretty stylish I have decided on a mobius cowl, and I'm hoping to find a nice linen-based yarn to knit up loosely so at least it will be about right for his autumn.
• And then there's the brother-on-law...no idea. Seriously. Fingerless mitts, maybe? But can I get them done in time? Oh, the stress!

Thanks for having me on board, there will be pictures next time I promise!