Super funky chunky VEST

First I made another one of those funky bags with leftover yarn:




I love how all those little pockets look, outside and inside (okay, so it just looks like a black hole, but really, there are two pockets on the inside!):




No pockets on the back. The overall color theme on this one is more green-brown tones, whereas the previous bag was brighter colors.



When I realized that these bags don't even make a dent in my leftover yarn stash, I tried to come up with a "bigger" project and decided to make a vest:



I really like all the weird color and texture combinations. It was a fun process, knitting and picking the next yarn or yarn combination.



However, the vest came out not just funky, but also really chunky :( and is not very flattering to wear. At least not for someone who "needs" flattering :). It's warm, though.

My husband really likes it and thinks I should add it to my "stash" and sell all that stuff at a booth next holiday season. He even wants to "man" the booth :).




It was great actually using up a lot of yarn. Oh, by the way, our foster dogs also helped with that. I woke up one morning to a huge yarn mess in the living room. They had had a ball over night. Fortunately for me, no work in progress was destroyed. Unfortunately for my daughter, she was not as lucky :( ...

Anyway, here is the "left over" leftover stash:


This does, of course, not include the stash of "new" yarns. Yarns are like books. It's hard to resist them in the store, but once you have them at home, they keep staring at you...

Anyway, next project: another pair of socks. Basic stand-by: toe-up. Yarn: Patons Stretch Socks, Mineral:



Three-stitch, two-row pattern:
Row 1: k, k, p
Row 2: k, p, k
repeat


I knit a lot during the bus commute to work. And socks are easy to take along...

Confessions of a Sporadic Knitter...

I can't believe I have not posted anything since March. I have a lot of different excuses.

Let's see...

Excuse # 1:

Somehow, knitting, in my old German mind, is for cold days, long winters. And since I live in Texas, I have a hard time getting the knitting needles out in the summer.

So, at least I made some summer fare. Technically, not knitting, but at least some form of handy-craft. Flip-flops for all the summer visitors (Alicia modeling a pair):




Or...

Excuse # 2:

I have been working longer hours here and there and had less time for knitting...

But you can always use some shopping bags (and they also make great gifts - one of them was for my lovely friend Jane):







Okay, so technically, those were not knit, either. Maybe crocheting is for summer and knitting for winter?

Or...

Excuse # 3:

First, we had summer house guests, and now we have an exchange student from Germany (a permanent house guest for a year), and I have just been too busy. Here is another one of my lame excuses (the excuse is lame, not Theresa!!!) as we pick her up from the airport:



Which brings us to...

Excuse #4:

What with all the rearranging we had to do to accommodate the extra people in the house...

Or, how about...

Excuse #5:

We have been fostering puppies and dogs...

Here are Inuit, Tammy, and Penelope:



And this is our current foster dog, Woody:



Or...


Excuse #...

Oh well, enough with the excuses.

As you can see, I actually have been working on the occasional project (as you can see me sitting and knitting with my daughter):



I actually have been knitting, or crocheting, or whatever. I just have been really bad about posting. And I have an excuse for that, too:

FACEBOOK!!

But to catch you up, here are the other things I have been working on:

I crocheted a small cell phone holder for around the neck, because I have a wireless blue-tooth (is that redundant?) headset that doesn't reach if I hold the phone in my hand or have it in a pocket or purse. And I listen to music on my cell phone, so I need a good connection.

I finished another little baby blanket (squares are knit, border crochet) with the remainder of the yarn I had for my co-worker's baby blanket. This one will be for Karen:



Of course, with the obligatory lady bug!!!



A little baby/toddler hoodie. I have another one (much smaller) in the works, but am not sure if that one will ever get finished :). You know how that goes... But here is the one that did get done:



With pocket, of course :)




And remember, I had all those different kinds of Sugar'n Cream from all kinds of different projects.

I crocheted a little hat for a very old doll (almost as old as I am):



And I little iPod cozy with lipstick holder:



I tried to use all the remains up with this pillow cover:



It was also a nice chance to try out all kinds of different patterns.




I also made another attempt at felting:





As you can see, lots of little projects. But nothing really earth-shattering. Just lacking the right motivation (and time). But, Austin temperatures are finally below 100 degrees and maybe the slightly cooler and more pleasant ambient climate will help me to take a closer look at my stash...

Sugar and Spice, ahem, Sugar'n Cream...

I love Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn. It is so versatile, comes in an endless number of different colors and color-combinations, is easy to work with, and is inexpensive. I had already made all kinds of little things with that cotton yarn, like these cute little soap sacks for the shower:





Or this little cell phone (or i-pod) "hoodie":


I have also made a baby blanket and matching hat and socks for my friend Cissy and her baby girl Ayla a while back:



I had some of the orange-pink-yellow left and wanted to crochet another easy market bag similar to these I had already whipped up at some other time (also with Lily yarn):



But in the end, it didn't turn into a market bag, but rather a totally improvised, cute little backpack, which immediately found a new owner in Jenna, my friend Malinda's little 6yo daughter.


As always, my daughter the ever patient model...


And to show my appreciation to the model, I made this little lip balm holder for her:


...which she promptly attached to the belt of her robe (but which also fits around her wrist or could be attached to a key chain).


I still have a whole big bag full of Sugar'n Cream in all kinds of different colors. Oh, the possibilities...

Presents, felted and non-felted or: I felt your presents 2

Like I said before, everybody got homemade gifts from our house this year. Here are a few samples...

• socks for my daughter

• a jewelry frame for my daughter

• socks for my husband

• a purse (can also be a pillow case) for my friend Wanda

• a felted bowl-set for my friend Ria

• a felted bag for Mary

• a grocery bag for Susan

• a scarf for Carol

• a scarf for Dey

• I had made a similar scarf for Chris a few weeks ago for her birthday

• and more...
• and, most importantly, lots of cookies changed hands
  

Everybody was very kind and pretended to appreciate the gifts :).

Merry Christmas!