sunday's stitches

sunday's stitches: a moment to slow down and savor whatever your stitching on

See my progress from week to week on past sunday's stitches.

christmas catch-up

One last thing I finished on Christmas eve, just in time to wear that night! Three pairs of pajamas for the kiddo, using the same pattern I used to make her school pants. That's now eight different pairs of pants I've made with that pattern--I've definitely got my money's worth!

merry christmas to me!

I finished Omena yesterday! And I love it, despite the grumpy look on my face above (heh). I think next time I'll try making the armholes a bit smaller. This'll be a great layer, but as you can see by my short sleeves, not necessary today! We're in the 70s and on the lookout for severe weather. Yay.

Pattern: Omena (link to my Ravelry project page)
Yarn: Universal Yarn Classic Shades (colorway: Neon Lime Surprise, used ALL of four skeins)
Needles: Size 9s
Mods: None! Thought I would want the larger size, but it is plenty long in the smaller version!

Today I'm linking up with Tammy's Stitch-Along Wednesday, Ginny for Yarn Along, and Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On.

love your library, vol. 30

I picked my Riverbank back up to see if I could squeak another "Love Your Library" finish in for the year, and in a moment of knitting ADD, cast on for a Foolproof cowl as well. The Foolproof most definitely won't be done until 2016, but it's nice to have finally started a pattern I've been wanting to knit all year long!  Next Tuesday I'll post an end-of-the-year challenge wrap up taking a look back at how successful this challenge was for me this year!

christmas bow wreath tutorial

Remember when I mentioned last week that it looked like Christmas had exploded in our house? Well, it's still pretty much all over the place. Several years ago I made some cheap dollar store Christmas ornament wreaths (see tutorial here) that I loved, but have eventually worn out over the years. I've always admired Christmas bow wreaths and thought it would be a fitting replacement. So out came the glue gun!

This project was pretty straight forward. I kept the paper adhesive tags on the back of each bow, using them as my spot to put the hot glue. Then I slowly attached them on a wreath form, leaving the interior and exterior edges for last.

To make a loop to hang the wreath from, I wrapped some wire-edged ribbon I already had on hand around the wreath form and made a loop when tying it closed. Then I covered the ribbon with bows.

Ta da! Cheerful and catches the light nicely above my mantel!

sunday's stitches

sunday's stitches: a moment to slow down and savor whatever your stitching on

 This is my fourth ornament made since Thanksgiving!

 See my progress from week to week on past sunday's stitches.

something selfish

Sometimes when you're in the middle of a lot of gift projects, you just have to make something for yourself too. This is the omena vest, which is hard to photograph while still on the needles. It's basically a circle vest, and I'm using a color changing yarn (Universal Yarns Classic Shades in Neon Lime Surprise). What looks like navy blue in this photo is really more of a dark purple. I'm zipping along on this one! Fun and relaxing, my kind of holiday (selfish) knitting project.

under the sea

I finished the mermaid tail! And in plenty of time for Christmas delivery! Phew. This was fun and surprisingly easy--really perfect for a newbie crochet project!

Project: Bulky and Quick Mermaid Tail by MJs Off the Hook Designs (link to my Ravelry page)
Hook: P/Q (15 mm) and M/N (9 mm)
Yarn: two strands of Red Heart Super Saver in bon bon print (used just under six skeins) held with one strand of Red Heart Classic in grenadine (three skeins); bottom fin, two strands of  Red Heart Super Saver in Pretty 'n Pink (one skein) held together.
Mods: None, other than using three strands of worsted instead of the yarn called for in the pattern. I switched to the smaller hook for the fin!

christmas candy sleighs and snowman "soup"

Okay, I need to 'fess up. I've always wanted to make these candy sleighs. For years I've seen them all over the web, but it felt silly to go to that much effort to only destroy your work to eat the candy! But this year I finally had the perfect excuse--classroom party goody bags!

As you can see, I used a Kit Kat bar as the base to attach two regular size candy cane runners to. Then I used double-sided mounting tape to attach three fun size Twix bars and then finished the pyramid with Hersey's sampler bars. A teeny tiny chocolate santa is wedged in last. I used tape to assemble it all together.
 

Candy is an essential component of any goody bag, but I thought something to drink would be good too. Then I saw tutorials for "snowman soup" on Pinterest and used that to inspire these snowman cocoa cups. Sharpie drawn on nose and mouth, and googly eyes! That's it! Then stick in a pack of cocoa mix and mini candy cane into the cup, and package together with a clear treat bag. Done.

Last but not least, we had to assemble the bags. We kept it simple, using plain 'ol lunch bags. I prettied them up by trimming the top edge with a scalloped scissors and then using a hole punch to make holes to tie grosgrain ribbon through. My daughter decorated the trees using a set of foam stickers we found at Hobby Lobby. Simple but cute!

christmas teacher bouquets!

Right now it looks like Christmas exploded in my house. We are decorated to the max, and then add to that Christmas ornament making, teacher presents, and classroom party gift bags! Yup, total explosion! Today I'm going to share what is starting to become a tradition for me--making a "bouquet" of flowers using dry erase markers (and this year, Elmer's glue bottles!). Super fun and unique for sure. (also relatively quick to pull together too, for anyone looking for last minute teacher present ideas!)

What you'll need:
1. One large pack of dry erase markers (or highlighters, Sharpies, anything you know your teacher uses!). This bouquet used a 12 pack of dry erase markers and a 8 pack of Sharpies. It looked pretty full with just the dry erase markers alone though!
2. A "vase." Last year I used an oversized mug, this year I used a popcorn tub container I found at Walmart.
3. Two sheets of tissue paper.
4. A disc of floral foam.
5. Floral arrangement picks.
6. Assorted colors of felt in floral colors.

Let's get started!
Step 1: Cut a square shaped piece of felt for your leaf layer.

Step 2: Fold the square in half and cut a slit large enough for your marker to fit through.

Step 3: For the leaf layer, I cut random jagged edges around. Then repeat Steps 1 & 2 to create the flower, but this time cutting petal like rounded shapes instead. My flowers are not perfect at all--I just eyeball it, and it turns out pretty cute once the whole thing is put together.

Step 4: Assemble the "flower" by slipping the flower onto your marker, followed by the leaf layer. Ta da! Cute, huh?

Step 5: Attach your disc of floral arrangement foam to the bottom of your "vase" using double-sided tape.

 

Step 6: Attach a floral pick to each flower, then insert into floral foam base.

 

Step 7: After you've filled your vase, slip tissue paper into the gaps around the edges.

Alternative version! This one I made for the teacher's assistant using Elmer's glue, since kindergartners aren't good at limiting glue usage and they are in constant need of more glue!

Have fun with it! I'm sure you could do this with a variety of school supplies.

sunday's stitches

sunday's stitches: a moment to slow down and savor whatever your stitching on

 

 See my progress from week to week on past sunday's stitches.