FO Friday: Hottie Cozy

So I was reading My Life In Stitches by Rachel Herron. I was toward the end, sitting in my bed and my toes were freezing. Lo! The final chapter was about such a problem, which was solved by a hot water bottle- known in the Herron household as a "hottie". There was even a Hottie Cozy pattern! And HEY! I have wool that I have no idea what to do with!! I bought a water bottle and I started knitting. It was a perfect project for long hours in the hospital waiting room while my aunt was in the ICU. Mostly mindless knitting in the round with just one little cable to keep you aware of what you're doing. Awesome.

Rav'd.

FO Friday: Waves of Love

This is an OOOOOOOLD WIP. I started it at a family craft rave Thanksgiving weekend 2010! I don't know why those sleeves were too much for me, but I got to them and just stopped. I finally decided to rip the sleeves and do them in solid black. It worked out well.

I gifted it to my so handsome cousin, Ameer, who turned one year old. These were the school colors of my alma mater.... since Ameer's daddy & I went to the same high school, this was perfect!

Rav'd

FO Friday: Pookie

My dear Ravelry friend Michelle sent me the Pookie pattern with one stipulation: she wanted one of her own. :) Her wish is my command.

How cute is that little hat? I love him. Michelle has named him Hank and he seems very happy in his new home.

Jelly Roll Race Quilt!

I broke in my sewing machine!

I've been obsessed with this pin for a few weeks. It seemed easy enough- buy a Jelly Roll (precut quilting pieces measuring 2.5" by 44"), sew ends together to make a long strip, fold strip in half & sew down the long edge, repeat fold/sew a few times & voila! Quilt top!

I headed to Fabric.com in search of a Jelly Roll that would make a good quilt for the soldier. I'm headed up north to visit him in a couple weeks and needed a housewarming present. He's very encouraging of me & my crafty ways. Plus, his mom is a seamstress, so a quick quilt seems like a great idea. I searched and fell in love with Bali Pops Blueberry.

I got it a couple days ago and in the few hours I wasn't at the hospital visiting my aunt, I made this:

Not too shabby! Now I just need to get some batting & backing fabric from Joann's tomorrow. I thought about doing a "frame" kinda thing around it to make it bigger, but it's a pretty decent size so I think it's fine. Not like Queen size, but a good wrap-around-yourself-on-the-couch size. 

Yay! What have you been making lately? Any quilt finishing tips for me?

Yarn Along: Nipple-y Hat

Joining Ginny again!

I just finished reading Rachael Herron's group of essays, A Life in Stitches. I. Loved. It. Rachael is funny, smart, lovely and her stories are inspiring and heartbreaking. I was so into it that as she spoke of different knits she's made, I ran to Ravelry to stalk her project page and see for myself what she made. When she talked about wrapping her arm around her ailing mother I sobbed uncontrollably. It was beautiful.

Now that hat.... It might look done and, yes, technically it is since I've bound off. The yarn is "Orange" by Pierrot Yarns in the Pink/Beige colorway. I didn't actually pick the color. This came in a surprise value pack I bought a couple years ago. I'm really hating the beige in there. 

Plus.... there's this:

The beige with the pink i-cord... am I the only one who thinks that looks a little nipple-y? No likey. So I'm thinking I'm going to try over-dying with Kool-Aid. I've never actually done this, so if anyone has any tips, I'd be very happy!

What are you working on this week?

Yarn Along: Vite Cowl

Yarning Along with Ginny

I fell in love with Vite Cowl but, of course, I'm on a stash down and didn't have any super bulky yarn, so I had to improvise. I'm holding THREE skeins of Knit Picks City Tweed DK together. The yarn is soft but not too fluffy. Holding it three together makes for a nice squishy cowl so I'm really happy. I also felt pretty awesome bringing home size 13 needles. I even found 14 inch ones because the 10 inchers seemed out of proportion and those kind of things bother me. This led to an interesting conversation with my father.

Dad: "What on earth?!"
Me: "They're very large knitting needles."
Dad: "For knitting very large things?"
Me: "Well.... for knitting with very thick yarn. Or... you know... to prepare myself for the zombie apocalypse."
Dad: "Oh. Are they silver?"
Me: "You're thinking of vampires."
Dad: "I thought vampires were a wooden stake through the heart."
Me: "They are... but also silver bullets. I think zombies you just cut off the head or something."
Dad: "Cut off the head? Wouldn't they just be headless zombies chasing you around anyway?"
Me: "Hmmm... maybe."
Dad: "Well maybe they won't chase you because you knitted them a very warm hat with your gigantic vampire killing needles."
Me: "Yes. Of course."

The First Book Of Modern Knitting has nothing to do with the cowl nor zombies. I really love the Azalea Design and plan to make a baby blanket out of it. It's one of those projects I plan to hold on to for my sister's first... or maybe my first... or in this particular case I might also be willing to give it up as a baptism present should anyone pick me to be a godmother. In any case, I keep reading through it, loving all the designs and contemplating my stash to see if there's something I can use to make it now or if I'll treat myself post-stash down to the perfect yarn for it. We shall see.

What's on your needles today?

FO Friday: Another Hippo

Last Wednesday I showed you a WIP. Unlike a few other ones, this one actually got finished!

Behold, The Creepy Hippo Hat of Love

The eyes look a little weird and bugged out, but I'm hoping it looks cute ON the baby. :) I finished it last week but still haven't managed to get to the post office and mail it off. Momma's studying for the BAR, so it's not likely I'll see her to give it in person anytime soon. But maybe the small surprise to warm her little one's head might give her a happy break from torts and... um... sidebars? Sorry... all my lawyering knowledge has been gleaned from How I Met Your Mother and the OJ Simpson murder trial.

It has, of course, been Rav'd.