So, in any case, now that Christmas is drawing nearer, I have seen a (only somewhat related) increase in gift making around here. As I said in my last WIPocalypse post, I've been trying to be better at focusing on single items instead of jumping around too much, and I've actually been able to finish some things! Two of them I can't show just yet, one isn't gift related and will be in the spotlight at a later point (can you guess what it is?), so that leaves us with one finish and to WIPs for right now.
The finish is an ornament for our yearly exchange on deviantArt. The pattern is called 'In The Bleak Mid Winter' and was a freebie by the late Gaynor French of Stichers Anon Cross Stitch Designs. I have a lot of her patterns, both digital and in print, and this one really called to me this year...I was a little worried how the dark colours would work on the dark blue aida (of which I realized a have a LOT more than I thought...cue crazy plans for next year), but I LOVE how all the swirls and snow flakes came out! I underestimated the amount of stitching on this, too...at just over 14 hours, this took me longer than a page of Fire and Ember would have (and it's about the same amount of stitches, too).
I tried something new for the finish...I made cording for only the second time ever (and it came out okay, I guess) and loosely followed this tutorial for a felt mounted ornament. I'm not sure how much I like it...I think it might be better suited for smaller ornaments.
As for WIPs/new starts...grandma asked for another pair of wristwarmers. I'm glad she likes them, plus they knit up quickly (about six hours a pair), so of course I said yes! She even supplied me with the yarn, which is a little special - it's a tiny bit older than me. As in, grandma bought it when she was pregnant with my mum, which was almost sixty years ago (don't tell my mum I said 'almost sixty years'...although it's true!). Yeah. Apparently it's good quality yarn as it is still pretty nice to work with, and I really like the way it looks! I'm almost done with the first glove now.
And then, I started another hat last weekend...I promised a coworker to make him one...two years ago? I'm really bad at keeping promises in a timely manner, but I am almost done with my list of long overdue things now and moving on to more recent ones! I wanted to use the same pattern I had for my other hats, but I couldn't find it, so I'm kind of wining it...plus it's a different yarn. Pure alpaca too, it's SO soft! After the last ones all turned out a little tight and short, I might have ended up making this one a little too wide...hopefully, not too much as of to become a problem, though.
So that's it for this month, but there will be a lot more gift knitting and crocheting going on over the next few months...among other things, I have at least six baby gifts to make (depending if I decide to make something for some of the older siblings as well). I have some really fun things planned, and I'm looking forward to every single one of them ^_^
As a little addendum; there are two more projects I finished this month - a pair of socks for Pamela that I had promised her a long time ago, and since the yarn was so lovely to work with, I also made a pair of wristwarmers from the leftovers:
8 comments:
Such a cute ornament finish Leonore! I love that sweet bunny--so sad to read about Gaynor's death. She fought so bravely...
Six baby gifts--oh, my! You will be busy, but as your hat and wrist warmers show--you are one speedy stitcher :)
Great work this month! Oh wow, I love that your grandma has kept wool for so long! I can why though - it is lovely x
I love the yarn for your grandmother's wrist warmers, and the story behind it!
Thanks for taking part in GG this month. Love the ornie, such a sweet finish. Nice cording too!
Great work on the knitting, there's nothing like home-knitted garments to keep you extra warm in Winter.
I have a coffee table made from the wood my Grandad bought for my Mum's cot. My Nana said she wanted it painted white and Grandad objected "that's a decent bit of Oak, you can have pine if I'm painting over it". Then it lived in his shed for 40some years until I bought a house and he made me a coffee table. I still have it. Still looks lovely.
I like how you have finished the Bleak Mid Winter ornament and the dark blue looks perfect. Also the lovely soft wool for the wristwarmers and great that the yarn is finally being used.
Sweet little ornament!AriadnefromGreece!
Ooo your grandmother's yarn looks great with its slight sparkle. It reminds me of the pompadour yarn for babies. I bet the mitts will be so soft! It's nice to get long-promised projects done and off the mind. I tend to forget about them if I don't start right away..... lol. :x
Delightful projects. You have been busy.
Post a Comment