Halloween Cross Stitch Pillow

Its been a long time since Christmas but I said I would post an update the Halloween Cross Stitch Pillow. The first picture is of my Aunt and I after she opened her present on Christmas. 

I finshed a second one recently as a present for my mom.  Its fun to make presents for gifts, but its hard to stay focused on such a long detailed project when you make two!

Return of the Princess Leia Hat

First on the list of projects to finish, the princess Leia hat!

Modeled by the adorable Abigail Leia.  Yes, that is her middle name!

I did not have good jedi skills when it came to this project or I would have finished this project right away.  Its not a hard knit at all.  I think I wasn't sure how I would sew on the buns.  As soon as I started to work on sewing them together it went fairly quickly.  I first sewed the i-cord together to make the each bun then I attached the bun to the hat. 

UFOs and ADD

I have knitting ADD.  With all the yarn I have and wonderful world wide web of free knitting patterns, I am always looking to start a new project.  Problem is I forget to finish the old project first.  Below is my 'list of things to do'.  Hopefully this blog post will keep me motivated to finish these projects before starting anything new.

1. Princess Leia hat

 Yup, I started this one about a year ago and all I have to do is sew on the 'buns'.

2. Halloween Cross Stitch.  Originally I wanted to make one for my mom and one for my aunt for Christmas.  I gave one to my aunt on Christmas and this second one I was going to give to my mom for her birthday.....her birthday was in January.

3. Yellow Vintage Sweater.  According to my ravelry records, I started this sweater back in 2008. All I need to do is sew on the buttons however I have been thinking about sewing on a ribbon just like in by Gum, by Golly's tutorial here. I would probably sew the ribbon on the inside to give the sweater more structure.  Any suggestions?

4. Winter Hat by Woolly Wormhead. Looks like I just have a few more rows left.

5. Crochet top from Stitch n' Bitch Happy Hooker. I started this one back in 2007 on a long plane ride and all I need to do is sew on the sleeves. I hope it will still fit. 

6. Another Vintage patterned sweater. Although this was a quick knit I think I haven't finished because its a little large.  Still, all I need to do is sew on the buttons. I picked the color to match my little roses dress.

7. I have one fingerless glove and the yarn to knit a second. I should be able to finish this during a movie. This free pattern came from knitty.com and the pattern is called Fetching.

8. Vintage Men's sweater vest. This was going to be my brother's Christmas present a few years ago.  He lived in Minnesota at the time.  Think he will still wear it in California?

9.  Vintage...

9. ...well you have to believe me that under the cats are 2 pieces of a Vintage lace top. I have the front and back completed and have to finish the sleeves and the tie on the front.

I'll keep you updated and post the projects (and a few vintage patterns) as I finish my list.  Thanks to Layla and Stewie for modeling my projects.

Viking Helmet and Metal!

A friend at work asked me to knit him a viking hat last year.  In exchange he burned me some metal music to listen to.  While camping last October I decided this hat would be fun to wear while camping.  Then the History Channel show Vikings started.  It was destiny that I make this hat!  Thor pounded his hammer as I clacked my knitting needles.

Here is my final result as I drink to the Norse gods and celebrate my Norwegian Heritage!

Thanks to Knit for Your Life for posting this free pattern!

1920s Style

The Great Gatsby and a new season of Boardwalk Empire are inspiring me to go roaring 20s.  As I started looking for patterns I found I wasn't the only one. Miss Crayola Creepy has started The Great Gatsby Sewing Challenge.  I'm a bit late so I don't think I will finish by the deadline but I am still inspired to create my own 1920s dress. I will definitely have time to finish before the next season of Boardwalk Empire premiers.

I've found the following vintage knitting patterns that would be fun.

Beaded Knit Scarf

Summerland Sweater on Ravely

1920s dresses seem to be harder to find.  There are a lot of reproduction patterns for other decades but it looks like most patterns come in the typical flapper costume or actual vintage patterns.  Miss Crayola Creepy has a blog post about finding 1920s patterns online.  I think I am going to choose one of the following patterns for purchase from Mrs. Depew Vintage on etsy.  She has some cute patterns from other decades as well.

Tiered One-Piece Dress Pattern

Straight-Line Tunic Pattern

I'll keep you posted on which pattern (or patterns) I choose. Have you found any cute 1920s patterns?

An Unexpected Knitting Journey

Went to see the Hobbit today and I loved it.  I noticed those dwarves really like to wear hand knits.  Here are some of pictures I've found with some dwarf originals.

Oin

I love his cabled gloves and how the pearls look like armor. Also my favorite hand knit from the movie.

Ori and his cabled cowl.

His gloves already have their ravelry page and I'm sure his vest from is soon to come.  Below is a better picture of both his gloves and vest.

Bofer and his two toned scarf.

Bombur and some more fingerless gloves.

I've never been one for writing my own patterns but it sure would be neat to make these into a book of hand knits from middle earth book. I think I need to make an attempt at Oin's gloves at least. 

Did you notice any other hand knits I missed? Which are your favorite?

Photos found on IMBD The Hobbit.

Baby Hats!

For Christmas I received Welcoming Home Baby the Handcrafted Way from my boyfriend.  He knew I'd been making baby blankets and hats for friends who've been expecting.  I've decided to start out with a couple hats.  The pattern calls for size 17 double pointed so I should be able to knit them up pretty quick.  Which is perfect because a work friend is expecting in early January.  The sweet dreams hat also looks like a great way to use some of my hand spun yarn!