by Sarah

Some actual knitting...

Its not much, but its better than nothing...

Hoping to finish this second sock before its February, since it is a birthday gift from EARLY December.
If I do, its possible i can do some more work on the sleeves of my 5th Central Park Hoodie, also a December/January present.  Apparently that will be ready sometime in the spring for maximum summer wear. (Because angora and wool are SO SUMMERY.)

Speaking of which, December bday friends in MD, I finally decided on what to sew you, so watch out for those presents sometime around valentines day.  (So I'm a little behind this year, oh well.)

New Shower Curtain...

I had a little break over the holidays, and I didnt get much crafting done, but I DID make myself a new shower curtain with fabric I've been holding onto forever.  I love the way it looks!

Now I just need to make myself a beachbag with the little bit of materials I have leftover!

Merry Christmas Eve...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

The dogs and I plan on a nice walk this morning to get out some of our energy for the family party we have planned for tonight.  (Hopefully this will actually take place, no pictures, because I am "pre-blogging" for you.)

We are all ready for Christmas here, becasue the most important of things are all knit up and ready to go to their rightful owners and wait for Santa to fill them:

Pattern: New Ancestral Christmas Stocking from Mason Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines.
Yarn: Various Colors of Cascade 220
I hung them up with my Vintage Christmas Stocking for Comparison, and overall, I like the way they look together.

A couple of project bags...

and a couple of pictures of the beach

Yarn.com...

We took Gavin for his first trip up to Webs last week!  It was a blast for Nean and I, and Gavin didn't mind yarn shopping at all.  I think he knew most of what we were getting was for HIM. 

Above is at the end of our webs time.  He had gotten a little warm (We all had, it was a marathon of shopping.), so his handknit sweater came off.  But below is an action shot of him at the Northampton Brewery beforehand, styling in the sweater!

Christmas Quilt 2011...

I have been SO BUSY crafting and having holiday fun I forgot to post. SORRY!
Here is a picture of this year's christmas gift quilt. 
I guess this is becoming sort of a theme, where i sew up one quilt during the year with christmassy colors but the fabrics aren't actually Christmassy.  As with last year, this one is backed with flannel, so it will be warm and cozy to sit with on the couch.

The pattern is an online quilt-along from Rachel at PS I Quilt.  It's called the Synchronized Squares Quilt Along. The flickr pool for the project is here.  I enjoyed making it (even if I was a little slow), and REALLY enjoyed seeing everyone else's.

Synchronized Squares Quilt Progress

Back in June, I cut out the pieces to participate in the synchronized squares quilt along.
It has taken me a while, but the past couple of weeks, I have worked on them more, and finally gotten them all sewn together. I chained them to save thread, first by halves:

Then two nights ago I completed sewing together the whole squares.  I only managed to square off 6 of them that evening, but I expect to make more progress and lay out the top for sewing together by next week.

I can't wait to see this quilt all put together and washed up (the edges are supposed to fray a little for a cozy look).

Lopi Cardi Done...

I still owe you some modeled shots, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of the completed, sweater.  It has been steam blocked and the buttons are all sewn on.  I can officially report that, post steeking, it fits PERFECTLY, and the steeking wasnt as difficult as I expected. The only thing I would change is, I wish i had done yellow in with the green stripe, as the gray doesnt contrast well.  But not enough to take it out, or duplicate stitch over it. 

And the steeks, both hemmed and leftovers shots:

Tools Tip...

Here's a good tip for all you interchangeable needle owners...
Super glue works great to reset a wooden tip into its base.
Probably DON'T glue it while attached to the cable, as superglue also works EXCELLENT at glueing the tip permanently to the cable when i gets in the threads of the join.
Then you get this:

(I am now in need of a new 60 inch cable, and size 10.5 needle tip.  Luckily, I have some back up cables, and i am knitting the button bands of this sweater on size 9's.  Plus I have decided I like the metal tips better, so I will replace the broken wood one with metal, and avoid future super glue issues.)

Next up:
I either vastly overestimate my personal size, or am unable to do simple math.  Either way, the cardi came out about 6 inches too big, and I STEEKED it!  It worked.  Pictures of the cut off fabric, and hopefully a finished cardi, coming soon.