a transition & recent projects...

things here have been a little bit crazy as ev, our 2 year old (soon to be 3 @ the end of march) is in a bit of a transitional phase.

(translation:  she is no longer napping, of VERY rarely & is thus going to bed earlier & of course, waking up earlier as well).

this is all fine & dandy, except that i have gotten a bit (too?) comfortable to our 'old' rhythm...you know the one where i not only had an few hours each afternoon to sit & *breathe*, but i also i had the early morning hours to my self for crafting & reading & gazing out @ the morning's sunrise & what not.

hmmm...

all in good time a new rhythm will find its way to us...until then, i embrace our quiet mornings together and i try to sneak in a bit of extra "me time"/crafting time in where i can. ;)

here are a few projects that i have managed to complete over the past few weeks...

first up a pair of legwarmers, for my friend kristen...i'll be trading these with her for a special mother's day present for someone special...;)

lance's aunt cricket requested a pair of convertible mitts, ones that would reach up to her elbows.  she lives in michigan so i can imagine that the extra length does well to keep out the bitter cold winds!

for my mother's (now very late) christmas present, i have been working on a pair of convertible gloves.  these have given me a bit of a time...not because the pattern is difficult or anything, but just because hands vary so much.

i knit a 'sampler' mitt according to the pattern...

knit the first mitt according to pattern, but 4” vs the 2.5” called for, perfect! however, realized that the hand potion was much too loose/bulky for my mother’s petite hands.

so, re-knit using size #5 dpns

the ribbing & fingers seem to be perfect, so will stick with #6’s for them…

run down of mods…
ribbing in (k2,p2) knit 4” (vs 2.5” suggested)
knit hand portion & mitten flap w/size us #5 needles mitten flap in plain stock
modifying thumb to include flap as well

*all in all, once i got the first mitt tweaked & re-tweaked, the second one came together rather quickly.

the are very outdoorsy, my parents....kayaking, hiking, long weekend trip to hither & yon in their sportsmobile.  i do hope that these fit the bill, but i of course, sent along a note specifying that if there was ANYthing that she didn't like or needed tweaking, to let me know.  so, we'll see how they hold up in the "real world"

i did fall in love with these while making them & decidedly need to make myself a pair.  so, that is the tricky part...all my mods are in speculation...i like to make things for myself first, use them & then tweak them before gifting (if need be).  with these, we'll just have to wait & hear the reviews.

also, had to post this...

a scanned copy of my mom's hands that she emailed to me so that i could print it out & work the final measurements for her mitts...i LOVE it!  it now hangs on my project board. :)

saturday i took a bit of a *break* from making gifts & made myself a new hat!!  i realized not too long ago that, even though i am constantly knitting something, i hadn't knit something for myself since october 2010.  wowsers!

 figured i deserved a little something too.  so, i set to work on a roaring rainbow (a scrappy lyon hat) as our sweet pup more or less devoured my other favorite winter hat.  it still needs something...deciding between pom poms or tassels for the i-cord ends. 

i also plan on indulging myself with a few other knit lovelies.  i have my eye on both a sweater & a scarf/cowl (this one i am still deciding on).

 

still have one last christmas gift to knit though...

 

oh my gosh!!  i almost forgot the gift i made for my sister!...it is brilliant!!!  ok...i actually made 2, as i needed on as well...

that's right, knitting needles cases.  there are loads of tutorials our there for knitting needles holders/rolls/cases, but in the end this one looked right about perfect for us. 

both used mostly the same fabrics (scraps we found during our last visit to the clearance center).  i had to tweak the measurements here & there, but i had nearly enough of each.  ended up having to use other remnants for the interior pieces, but didn't they turn out lovely??

(please note the *secret* chicken pocket...my favorite part, i must admit)

i let her pick, as this was her (extremely belated) christmas gift.  she aid that all her needles fit in it, so that is perfect!  my straight & dpn's fit, but i still need one more...shorter & with wider pockets for my circulars.

all in good time...

otherwise, we are gearing up for our spring session of homeschool co-op, along with working to get the garden prepped for the early crops.  giving lasagna gardening a go...on that note, i would like to thank my sister & her boyfriend, sam halbert, for their lovely christmas gift...*20* bags of leaves for our garden!!

whoop, whoop!