Newly completed Christmas projects.

Lil' Chrissy the Christmas Bunny.

Just finished my newest addition to the gift  pile - Lil' Chrissy the Christmas bunny, the original pattern is the Fuzzy mittens fuzzy lamb but I have modified the coloured sections and the ears to create a cute lil bunny and complete with a berry red beanie with reindeer antlers. I can't believe how well it turned out in the end even though I initially under stuffed it and had to unpick seams and do it again it looks just perfect for my littlest christmas giftee!

On other news I also completed the knitting part of the Commanders Cabled Purse, for Ant's Commander Pierre. It still needs a strap, buttons and Lining but looks so gorgeous already! I used the "DROPS Bag with Cable Pattern in eskimo" pattern, mine turned out smaller than the original design as I used smaller needles and thinner yarn, it however is the perfect size going out with the girls bag, it's big enough for the essentials but not so bulky as to be a pain to tote a long on a Saturday night.

Winter in the Woods cont.

                               Here are some pics of the final process and completed product.





Sizing up to the orignial.



The beanie has a full soft fleecey lining.

Winter in the Woods.

Ok so who doesn't love cute ear flapped beanies? well I absolutely adore them and awhile back I decided to try my hand at designing my own original Nordic/Icelandic style beanie and it looked something like this.

It's amazing warm and snug with its polar fleece lining and adorably slouchy from the outside. Orignially I just called it my slouchy earflapped beanie but since I had to recreate it and redesign on less chunky yarn and smaller needles.

Winter in the woods reborn - the snowflake flaps are still the same the border is slightly different, the reindeers smaller due to the gauge but I have modified the tree so hopefully it will provide the length needed for the slouchiness. This time I am using 100% Pure merino 8ply wool on 4.00mm needles (1 set dpn, 1 circular), I made the flaps and cast ons for the front and back panels on the dpns and joined it all on the circular which creates a seamless look. Here are some photos I took of the progress so far.

Knitting in a round with all sides attached.

The flaps have a total of 25sts each, you cast on 10 and increase 2sts every knit row for 6 rows then 3sts (2 on edges and 1 in middle) on the 7th increase row.

The back edge is 32sts and the front edge is 33sts.

You should have a total of 115sts. 

 

                      





Mittens for christmas.

Well last year for christmas it was all about scarves so this year I decided to get more creative and make some cute Fair Isle inspired mittens for those chilly northern winters. Right now in Aus its coming into summer so you're probably thinking "what the heck??", they are for my new extended family :) back in Idaho. Needless to say I'm glad I finally have a reason to knit some mittens - yippee!
       Here are the patterns I used;

                                               

    Ruba'iyat Mittens by Heather Desserud

 

White Witch Mitts by Laura Rintala

I just love the white witch mitts, even though I completely changed the colours you still get that gradation from light to dark with the brown, purple and blue which make them so pretty with that simple classic snowflake design. Both patterns use a last thought thumb so there is no hassle making a gusset and is just pretty much knitted in a tube. I do everything on a circular needle with the magic loop method - I always get amazing results using it cos you don't get obvious seams from where you transfered from needle to needle, plus I can easily slip it on my hand. :)

My next project is a beanie for my man, he originally wanted one that I made a while back - its a scandinavian inspired design with reindeers and a snowflake made of chunky acrylic (I detest acrylic but this one has a really nice soft feel) Moda Vera Shiver. Bad news was they don't stock it anymore :( so I'm back to the drawing board to redesign and knit a similar one with smaller needles and 100% Aussie merino wool. Only the best for my sweet Funkin Pie!

One more sleep til Tuesday.

Tomorrow is my big day and my bags packed with a few exceptions of last minute throw ins, I'm finally departing on my big trip. An overnight rendezvous with my amazing boyfriend (or should I say "fiance" hehe Funkin you silly boy!) in LA then off to Boise Idaho to meet the fam and friends. Will post pics ASAP!

Taking the leap of faith.

Lately my life has been anything but peachy keen and the added stress of tackling more hurdles head on is insane. Til last night when I made the last minute decision to go back home with my man, sometimes the most complicated decisions are the simplest ones. So here I go taking the plunge, Ant's mams is booking the flight morning her time and I leave on Tuesday - 4 days away! This is probably the most spontaneous thing I've ever done but the most exciting and i can't wait to rendezvous with Anthony in L.A and hopefully suprise my parents too. Then it's hello Idaho, very very anxious about meeting his friends and family but I can't wait either.

Notebook Cosy.

I'm off overseas for a week and it suddenly dawns on me that I don't have anything to carry my new hp notebook in. When I bought it the guy asked if I needed any accessories, I just assumed my old laptop's bag would be adequate and it would've been if it had been able to fit in it. So I've made a cute, bright and colourful "cosy" for my notebook, fits amazingly and has padding to soften and bumps that might occur on my travels. I used the scraps from my dress to make this so it is a patchwork design, and matches my dress too!