Tag Archives: gifts

Leg Warmers in Process

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My daughter the actor wants a pair of leg warmers for Christmas. I love that she asked me to make them for her! Love it! And so, I got on Ravelry and found several patterns for her to give me an idea of what she had in her mind. This child knows what she wants!

The pattern that she liked is by Drops Designs and can be found here. They’re considered leg warmers or yoga socks. Yoga socks don’t have toes or heels. Leg warmers are over the knee length. So, when I was in New York visiting her (and seeing her show on Broadway) we went to Soho and visited Purl Soho. Oh. My. God! Talk about a little piece of heaven! I didn’t get nearly enough time to browse adequately … and I probably could have spent a couple of hours in the store. The colors, the fibers, the light wood and tea and it was so busy!

The Queen Bee at Purl Soho

I was so enthralled with the shop that I forgot to take photos inside! Sorry!

She picked a Madeline Tosh yarn in two colors and wants me to do the pattern design. (The Drops pattern was in a self-patterning yarn and much more .) The yarn is Madeline Tosh’s Tosh Sport (100% superwash merino wool; 270 yards; 5-6 sts = 1 inch) The colors that she chose are warm mushroom, a lovely neutral that is warm and the color of mushrooms – aptly named. The second color is fig. A deep, rich, reddish-brown that is a lovely contrast with the warm mushroom.

My swatch (yes, I made a swatch for this project!) was perfect! On the money – 26 stitches and 13 rows!

Swatched Stitches!

The yarn is yummy to knit with – and I am moving right along! As I’m knitting and designing at the same time, I am never sure if I’ll love the pattern. But I am pleased with it. The sample shown in the pattern is much more pattern-y so I had to make sure she was liking the direction I was taking. (I texted Kate a picture today for the stamp of approval and she liked it.) This is the picture that I texted to her …

Leg Warmer #1 … is on the needles!

So far, so good! Only about 36 inches left to knit. (Oh, yeah, and did I mention that I still have to knit two Christmas stockings?) Did I tell you before that I love knitting? Well, I do! I just hope that they fit her legs!

Gone Knitting!

A Little Bit of Progress

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Those of you who know me well, know that I like to eat. I also like to bake (can anybody say, “sweet tooth”?) And over the years, it’s become my mother that I see when I walk to the mirror. Now don’t get me wrong, my mother was a lovely woman and I love her a lot. But I never wanted to have her body. SO, I’ve been to see a lovely woman In Portland, Maine who is helping me try to get my hormones into balance with food. Of course, I’m also going to have to move my body up off the knitting couch … but since my feet are finally healed (or healthy for now, anyway), I feel confident that we can start walking and hiking at the very least!

Gaia Shoulder Hug by Anne Carol Gilmour
(A FREE pattern on Ravelry!)

So, tonight’s knitting night again and while we drove to Portland and back, I didn’t knit on the way home. I slept. I’m looking forward to visiting with the “girls” and I hope to finish the last few repeats of my Gaia Shoulder Hug.

Piggy Hat Pink

I think that I will start the commissioned piggie hat next … and it’s going to be sent with matching mittens. (Since they’re for a baby, she’ll need the little stringy thing to go through her jacket so mittens don’t get lost! I) think I can sew/embroider a cloven hoof on the mitten and that will be cute. I’ll try!

Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber “Maine Lobstah” Superwash Sock

 

 

I have finished one Maine Lobstah sock and it’s quite tight. Since this is my handy-dandy go-to pattern for socks, I am a bit surprised but am not going to worry much. On occasion, even Queen Bees make mistakes. I may be using a smaller needle … or maybe was using a bigger, inappropriate needle before. Whatever the reason, if they’re too small, they’ll be a gift for someone in my family with slightly smaller feet than I have at Christmas time. I bought two hanks of the yarn because I loved it so much and the woman said I can probably get three socks out of each hank! Woo-hoo! I love knitting with this yarn. It’s really got a great hand, it’s washable and it’s not “splitty” at all! I also happen to love the colorway that I chose!

Dropps Tunic … going nowhere! But check out the beautiful Signature needles!

My poor tunic hasn’t budged out of my knitting bag. Oh well! I still love the yarn color and I adore knitting on my first of many pairs of Signature needles (green is US6).

I will be knitting up a Falling Leaves scarf designed by Lucy Neatby with some yarn that I bought at the Maine Fiber Frolic last year (2011). I fell in love with the pattern and have bought it on Ravelry.com with my white bunny blend yarn in mind. Another gift for a friend who is so deserving!

Had a lobster roll for lunch after fasting for a blood test. Not sure what’s for dinner but I’m looking forward to balancing these hormones and seeing myself in the mirror again! A big grocery shop tomorrow!

Gone knitting.

(An aside … bought some new stitch markers and thought you should see the cutest ones … by Lantern Moon, purchased online! They’re buzzing around my Gaia!)

 

 

Big Feet … Big ?

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Slippers socks! Duh!

Before ... ginormous!

I had a pattern ages ago for knitted and felted slippers. I’d made myself and N. each a pair – and I think N. may have gotten more than one pair. I made a pair for N’s youngest one year for Christmas. They’re great! Natural fiber (wool) wicks away sweat but keep feet really warm, too.

After ... drying!

I had a couple of pairs that I had not given to anybody because I had some extra wool sitting around and it’s an easy thing to make and since my pattern uses doubled worsted-weight wool and it’s on pretty big needles so they knit up really quickly. When I opened my Etsy shop, I put the felted slippers (sized to fit me … and, as it turns out, the most popular women’s size) up for sale on my shop. I learned a lesson, too!

I listed two pairs (one blue, one pink) in the same listing but as two items for sale (two pairs of felted slippers). And, miracle of miracles, they’ve both sold … but not without a “problem” … The first person to order bought the blue pair (with green toes) thus leaving the pink pair for the second buyer – who didn’t want pink! Fortunately, the second buyer was happy with a certificate that I printed up to give to her “giftee” and I’ve just knit a custom pair of felted slippers for her. I re-listed the pink slippers and, wonderful news, they’ve sold, too! I guess they’re priced right and they do, indeed, make a great gift!

Today I’m felting the ginormous socks and shaping them. They’ll take a day or two to dry completely so that I can package them and get them in the mail. Whoopee! Felting is always a bit of a science experiment and one that I don’t always enjoy but my head is in the right place and it’s going to be a good day for felting!

But for now, I have to sign off. We have a lunch date and I have errands to run …

Gone running (but not the jogging type! LOL!)

“Fetching”

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I knitted up a pair of “fetching” fingerless mittens today (for a Christmas gift) in a really pretty red merino. I love the way the mittens look in their finished-ness. (No, I haven’t been drinking. I like the word!)

"Fetching"

The pattern is free at Knitty(dot)com and if you click here, you can be magically transported to the pattern.

The cuff is a couple of little cables which makes the fabric really nice and firm but stretchy. It also seems to keep it’s shape and not get all stretched out. The finger end, has another cable and ends with a little bit of a picot edge. A nice touch – makes a nice looking fingerless glove (is it a glove or a mitten?)

I think I’m just an Irish lassie at heart. I absolutely adore cables. I had already knit one fingerless mitten in red and cream with a little design but I didn’t like it. Call me crazy. I am sure that someone will like it and I will likely finish the second mitt and put them up for sale in my shop on Esty. I like to give gifts that I would want myself and the “fetching” gloves, I’d like to have. Although, my hands are a bit too big for these mitts – others fit me better.

Not so Much ...

So, one “fetching” pair is finished and I think I need to make one more … that’ll make a total of 17 1/2 pairs of fingerless mittens that I have knitted in the last few weeks. I’m ever so grateful that my fingers and hands feel as healthy as they do!

Gone to rest my fingers!