2009 Stragglers

Happy New Year!

I made a lot of things that I couldn't post on my blog because they were gifts (or I forgot to photograph them). So here are more Finished Objects from 2009.


"Turn a Square" hat by Jared Flood. I knit this for Lucas just as the weather turned cool this fall. My first time using Noro! The yarns are Ella Rae Classic and Noro Silk Garden. I had a lot of fun knitting this hat and will probably make another this coming year.



Here is a cross stitch project that I finished at the end of 2008 but did not have framed until fall of this year. I am slow! I forgot that the floss was not colorfast and made the mistake of rinsing it in water before taking it be framed. It drove me kind of crazy but Lucas says it is not that noticeable and I should not stitch it a second time. Considering all of the things I want to stitch but haven't gotten to yet, I suppose he is right. The chart is "Acorn Hill" by Little House Needleworks.


On thing I wanted to learn how to do this year was to knit cables. I finally got a chance to try it out on this scarf I knit for my mom. It's the Cabled Neck Cozy by Kate Lemmers in Misti Alpaca Chunky Solids. I have never knit with this yarn before and it was so soft and wonderful. I will definitely be buying more. I didn't add the buttons called for in the pattern because I didn't have quite enough yarn to reach the desired length. I suggested to my mom that she use one of her brooches to pin it closed.



I finally got up the nerve to knit this little bear by Little Cotton Rabbits. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and I wanted to make a whole collection of them but ran out of time. She was gifted to a lovely lady named Jan, who has been so helpful to me this fall and loves bears.


At some point in the spring, I thought it would be really fun to teach a class on crazy quilting and I decided to try my hand at making a Christmas stocking. This is actually my first finished crazy quilting project and I'm really happy with how it turned out! It was fun to finally work with dupioni silk and beads, vintage buttons and lace. I crocheted the holly in the upper corner and I think that is one of the things I love about crazy quilting--you can draw on a wide range of your knowledge/skills.

It turned out to be such a fun class and we had a great time playing around with different embroidery stitches and poring over books for ideas.


I bought some sweaters at Goodwill last year because I wanted to try felting them and making some of the projects in Betz White's book, Warm Fuzzies. After we moved this summer and actually had our own washer and dryer, I decided it was time to give it a try. The project that most appealed to me was the Christmas stockings--I've seen some of them that she made to sell on her etsy page and they were gorgeous! I decided to make one for my niece, Jennifer, and my nephew, Jacob. The stockings were easy to make and the most difficult thing for me was sewing the cuff in properly so that the correct side was exposed when opened up! I had to resew the cuff on Jacob's stocking three times!




For my nieces, Alysaa and Alexis, I wanted to try another project that had been on my mind since last Christmas. UK lass in the U.S. has a brilliant tutorial for a small fabric house or barn that children can play with and carry their toys in. I made one of each. They were a bit time consuming but worth the effort. I wish I'd had a bit more time to decorate them but it just wasn't possible. There is also a flickr pool if you are looking for more inspiration.








This is also the year I finally made cross stitch Christmas ornaments. These four were gifts for our parents this year at Christmas. Now that Christmas has passed, I would like to make a few for myself! Prairie Schooler is the designer and I believe the chart is called Holiday Homestead.





I have a few more FOs that need to be photographed. Hopefully, I can enlist my "photographer" to help me finish those up soon! I hope you have a wonderful new year!