Now that the gifts have been given, I can do the Christmas gift reveals.
Back in June, before Rusty was even born, Amanda told me that he needed hats for Christmas. She even sent me a link to an Etsy seller who would sell me patterns that she liked. I went ahead and purchased the patterns, even though they were all crochet and I prefer knitted garments. Being busy weaving, I sat on the patterns for months, finally getting the yarn I needed in October.
The first hat I made was a monkey. I don’t have a model of a baby’s head at home, finally settling on a roll of paper towels to approximate the size of Rusty’s head.
It’s nowhere near as cute on the paper towels as it is on Rusty!
I’m really happy with the way this hat fits, if not its crocheted stiffness. And the earflaps will keep him nice and warm.
I didn’t want to crochet 3 hats, so I did some online searches for knitted baby hats. There were so many to choose from I had a hard time making a decision. I settled on a white duck hat with a pattern from P2Designs.
This one is definitely something Rusty will have to grow in to. I’m guessing by the time it fits him it will be the totally wrong season to wear it.
Santa was also bringing Rusty a little sled for Christmas, so I wanted to make him a knitted cap with earflaps for when he went sledding. I liked the concept of the top-down hat,so when I was buying the yarn for the duck’s bill, I bought a coordinating variegated yarn. I added the earflaps, making them from the variegated yarn.
This one fits Rusty perfectly right now, so will barely last the winter, I’m sure.
As you can see, Rusty is a very willing model. This little boy has many hats, and surely didn’t need three more for Christmas, but I enjoyed making them, nonetheless. I also enjoyed learning new knitting techniques – German twisted cast on, Magic Loop knitting, and knitting an I cord.
That’s enough of my knitting for now – stay tuned for more Christmas creativity in a few days.
Your turn: did you give any gifts you made this Christmas?
Hello. My name is Peg and I’m a nag. At this age, much less so than previously, and of course only when I’m right (grin), but still, I’m a nag.
I fear Margaret bears the brunt of my nagging. She puts up with it gracefully, knowing that sometimes she’s in need of nagging.
When I awoke this morning, I was greeted by a beautiful scene Mama Nature had painted overnight, laying down a brand new layer of fresh, wet snow. It outlined every branch. It was still dark so I needed to turn on an outside light to see it.
I called Margaret and made her look out her window, too. Gorgeous, we agreed.
After an hour or so, the sky was a solid gray, the lighting just perfect to make a lovely holiday scene on this Christmas Eve eve. I called Margaret back and told her that she should hang up and get out her drawing paper and pencils. Then I left for my walk with little Red. It was STUNNING outside!
As I walked I realized I gave her the wrong message. Drawing was great, but what she really needed to do was use that brand new digital camera that’s been in a box in her living room since June. There was too much beauty to pass up, and if this wasn’t enough motivation to do it, I didn’t know what would be.
With the two of us at our respective homes so I couldn’t point to things and say, “push this” it took some time for her to figure out how to get the batteries and memory card in, more time to figure out how to snap a photo, and longer to figure out how to look at the pictures she’d taken, but ultimately, we got it done. YAY!! I’m sure she’ll do some experimenting now.
At least I hope she will. It may take more nagging on my part.
I’m heading for the shower now so that I can leave in an hour to celebrate my first family Christmas of the season. So looking forward to it!
It’s pretty common that I’m asked how to wear one of my scarves. I always have one on at shows, and I’m always happy to demonstrate, although I use simple styles. A few months ago my daughter sent me a link to a YouTube video with many variations on a theme. I’ve sent the link to a few of my customers at their request, and thought I ought to post it here, too.
It’s not possible to use all 25 ways with most of my handwoven scarves, since some of the methods she demonstrates are with triangle scarves and mine are all rectangles, but there are plenty of alternatives to try.
I’m busy making Christmas presents, and there will be no reveal before gifts are opened, so my creative endeavors will have to wait a bit to be shared with the world. Stay tuned!
I combine efforts with a group of local artists and crafters to hold a holiday show every December. Each year, our marketing efforts are improved, there’s more going on in town, and the crowds get a little better. This year was the best show ever for me, and for some of the others, too. Our little show is held in a church hall. Here are some pictures of our happy customers and our creative sellers.
Browsing through Meredith's bags
Checking out Kristen's many soaps
Elaine's pottery & Bob's carvings
Margaret's calendars are really funny
Perusing my jewelry
Joan's happy to talk about her needlework
Amazingly, I never shot anyone looking at my weaving, or at Kay’s pottery. How did I miss that?!
So why is it the Snowman Show? This little guy is our logo.
We’re already planning our 2 shows for 2012 – Mother’s Day weekend and the 2nd weekend in December.
On a completely different note – my spacebar is intermittently failing. What a pain! How should I clean it to make it work all the time?
I know, I know, I’ve been away from my blog for weeks. I’m guessing it bothers me more than it bothers my readers, especially since there aren’t thousands of you.
I was weaving as fast as I could in preparation for the Roycroft Winter Festival, and barely had time to take photos of the finished scarves, much less write about them. In between weaving, I was also working feverishly with a score of volunteers to sell, decorate, and distribute 381 wreaths for Pfeiffer Nature Center. So here’s what I got finished in the last weeks before the show.
First I wove up some gorgeous hand painted rayon chenille in a Silver Linings colorway.
On top is a scarf that has the same hand painted yarn for both warp and weft. For the bottom scarf, I used a solid weft in a bluish-grayish color that coordinated perfectly. I sold the one with the solid weft at the show.
Then I wove with another hand painted yarn, this time in an amazingly deep, rich Ocean Waves. I’ve used this colorway before, in a variety of fibers, but this time the dye was darker, deeper, and more luxurious than ever before. The photo doesn’t do it justice.
I sold two of these over the weekend.
Next I had to try a new fiber – bamboo chenille. This was a solid color that the manufacturer called cliff, but I’m calling Sand. I think it will provide the same great wear results as rayon chenille, because I believe that both fibers are created in essentially the same process.
I was surprised that these scarves didn’t attract a lot of attention at the show. I thought their neutrality would be really appealing.
Then I finished up my weaving with another solid color rayon chenille weft, one the manufacturer calls Tangier. From left to right are scarves that use the same weft as warp, a darker solid weft, and a space-dyed weft.
I called the middle one Burnished Copper, and the scarf on the right Fire In The Hills. Again, I was surprised that these scarves didn’t attract more attention over the weekend. Interestingly, my sister (who helps me at many shows) and I had completely different preferences for the scarves. In order, I prefer middle, left, right; she likes right, middle, left. Apparently most folks chose none of the above.
In addition to these scarves, I sold two of the brick cashmere & silk scarves (sorry the photo makes them look more orange than they really are) and one of the dusty rose silks, along with a variety of other scarves. Both of my new rayon chenille shawls (rainbow & gray) jumped off the shelf – I’m sure I could have sold each a few times if I’d had duplicates.
I also sold 4 Victorian Christmas ornaments, including my two most recent creations, and 14 bookmarks – glad I had woven up a 13 the day before set up!
Among other post-show duties, yesterday I made a sterling silver necklace I had an order for — my customer had been waiting patiently for two weeks.
Now I have to buy Christmas gifts, write & send out Christmas cards, and make some more gifts. In between working. And having another show, thankfully small & local, this coming weekend. And trying to eat right, exercise, wash dishes, etc., etc., etc. YOU know how it is! I’ll get back to this as I can, showing you the cool stuff I wove as a demo at the show.
