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meet stu

handmade christmas knitting

While I was trying to wrap up my holiday knitting, I thought it would be cool to teach my daughter how to crochet. We tried finger knitting in the past with no success, but she loves my crochet hooks. I figured if I could get her busy making chains or something, I would have better luck getting my projects finished.

I checked out Kids Learn to Crochet from the library. Have you seen this book? The instructions are labeled with big numbers in circles. My daughter loves numbers almost as much as she loves letters. She sat and counted off the steps for each pattern in the book. Then she asked me to make her a blue Stripey Stu.

What can you do? I made her a Stu for her stocking and took the book back to the library. We’ll try again in a few months.

stash: Thrifted tapestry wool, felt and vintage buttons. Oh, and if you get technical, this is really Big Bert. My daughter just likes the name Stu better.

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holiday knitting revealed!

So it seems like everyone likes their knitted gifts. I’m so glad! I started last January and made good progress up until summer. I finished up after it got cold again. Everything was in the mail and delivered on time. I think this is a record for me!

handmade christmas knitting

These are wrist warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts: ladies’ version. I made a cowl to match using the same spiral rib pattern. The yarn is Patons SWS, which I really love! Michael’s put this on clearance last year right after Christmas and I bought a ton. I have no idea why they stopped carrying it. The colors are so beautiful.

handmade christmas knitting

These are wrist warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts: men’s version with matching cowl in Patons SWS. My brother-in-law asked me if I realized that these were really “in” right now. I told him I had my finger on the pulse of the latest knitting trends!

handmade christmas knitting

Another set of wrist warmers, but I didn’t have enough to make a circular cowl. I had to knit this one flat and add a button. The purple wool was from my stash, so there was no getting more! Luckily it blocked nicely. The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, the only wool that doesn’t itch its recipient.

handmade christmas knitting

Finally, a new hat for my brother — in Virginia Tech colors, of course — and a matching cowl. The hat is Hot Head from Stitch ‘N Bitch and the cowl is a matching 2×2 rib. The yarn is Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Bulky.

project notes: Everything went as planned with these. Next year I’ll be sewing gifts, instead. Guess I better get started soon!

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christmas pajamas

handmade christmas jammies

I was planning to make two pairs of pajamas. Only one pair got finished. When I showed them to my daughter, she said they were very cool, but she didn’t want to wear them to bed. I was a little crushed. Fast forward to today: they’ve been on for over 24 hours and she doesn’t want to take them off. Success?

handmade christmas jammies

The flannel was thrifted from somewhere—I’m starting to lose track of where I get these things! I was planning to use a Simplicity pattern, but didn’t have enough fabric. Instead, I used a pillow case pajama pants tutorial, and it worked out perfectly.

handmade christmas jammies

The top is just a plain t-shirt from Target. I added a little appliqué to help it coordinate with the pants.

handmade christmas jammies

I’m very happy with how these turned out. I’ll be making the other pair this weekend.

project notes: Making a pattern from measurements tutorial from Brandy over at Minivan Life. Very easy to follow. I highly recommend it!

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cheery flower brooch

attic 24 flower brooch pin

Yep, I’m still crafting over here. Now that the holiday pressure is off, I’m doing some fun small projects. Last Spring I became a little obsessed with crochet flowers and I’m at it again. They are so quick to whip up and are a great way to use up odd bits of yarn. I’m thinking these would be nice to send to someone instead of sending actual flowers. They’d last longer and can be pinned to almost anything. They definitely bring good cheer!

stash: Thrifted yarn from my amigurumi stash. Brooch pattern from Attic24.

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what’s better than giving handmade gifts?

Receiving them!

When I pick up my daughter from preschool I always ask about her day. Did you learn a new song? Did you paint? Color? Draw? Did you sit still for story time? For the past few weeks she’s been telling me about her tree. “Today we painted our tree.” “Today we put ornaments on our tree.” “Today we put sparkles on our tree.”

handmade tree ornament

I honestly thought she was making some kind of giant tree painting the way she described it. Imagine my surprise when she came home with this little tree ornament! It was wrapped in a paper bag (or sack as they say in Nebraska)* decorated with holiday stickers. I waited for my husband to come home so we could open it together. It is the most beautiful ornament on our tree.

handmade tree ornament

*When I called it a paper bag, my daughter said, “NO MOM! Mrs. Tisdale said it’s a SACK!”

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fabric beach balls!

fabric beach ball purl soho

These are great balls for playing indoors. I’ve made one for my daughter and a few for her friends. Everyone seems to love them. This one was a bit of a challenge when I realized that I didn’t have a lot of eight-year-old-boy-ish fabric in my stash. I grabbed a few men’s shirt sleeves that I had in my upcycle bin and I really like how the colors and patterns work together.

fabric beach ball purl bee

recycle: Remember all of the pillows I was making with men’s shirts? This was a great way to use the sleeves! Pattern is from the Purl Bee.

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my creative space

crochet apple cozy

Today my creative space is filled with finishing gifts. I can show you this one because I don’t think my daughter’s teachers read the blog. I just took the “apple for teacher” gift a little further and added a cozy. This idea is brilliant for those who throw a piece of fruit in their bag for a snack. The cozy keeps it from getting bruised. I really want to make one for myself, but not until after holiday gifts are finished.

crochet apple cozy

Creative spaces are going on holiday until 2010. Head over to Kirsty’s blog for your end-of-year fix.

pattern notes: I had to add a few rows for it to cover my apple. Adorable Apple Cozy is available as a free ravelry download.

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loving this little zippy wallet

purple zipper wallet

Making this super cute wallet was lots of fun. I tucked in a gift card to Starbucks and sent it off to a friend for her birthday. If you’re thinking this fabric looks familiar, you’re right! I had some bits left over from this bag. It’s the perfect project for those who can’t part with their scraps!

purple zipper wallet

reuse and recycle: Purple fabric from my scrap box. Black fabric from a pair of cotton twill pants. Ring from keyring I never used. Zipper was thrifted.

pattern review: I used Anna’s Zippy Wallet Tutorial and found it very easy to follow. My only modification was to add a keyring. These would make great holiday gifts, don’t you think?