Knitspiration - Knitception

I really had to stare at this gorgeous photo when it came across my tumblr feed:

There is so much to love

I love looking at pictures without context because it always makes me contemplate how it was made, which I think is a good mental exercise. And fun. It's fun. 

Imagine my surprise when it turns out that rather than being knit and knit again (inception style, WE MUST GO DEEPER!) it's actually a super thick crazy yarn offered by Berroco!? 

You can find both the yarn and the pattern with a quick Google search. 

Color me surprised... Well played, Berroco, well played. 

New yarns!

I love getting packages in the mail!

Just nabbed some Classic Elite Yarns Kumara to make a Boneyard Shawl for Val, and some discontinued colors of Berroco Weekend that I couldn't pass up. Surely a baby knit...it is so soft!

FO: Update - that wedding shawl...

Remember that wedding shawl that took me forever to finish? (Thanks, Quinn)

I can FINALLY close the door on this one!

What was a simple project became constantly waylaid by obstacle after obstacle, such as...

• The yarn originally ordered went on a 2 month production delay. My LYS didn't tell me this, so when I called after a month and a half of wondering where my yarn was (!) and they let me know, I had to expedite an order online and stew over misappropriated $$
• Morning sickness. 'Nuff said.
• Button dilemma...I bought four different sets before finally getting the right size. Where do you guys go for buttons? There is a serious lack in my area, and this isn't something I like to buy online..
• Life. Funny how it keeps getting in the way.

After hanging on to this for the better part of this year (sorry L! It's just SO SOFT!) I finally sucked it up and sent it off. I am so incredibly happy with the final product and actually pretty glad I took my time with it. Rushing is never really my style, but considering the importance of the occasion for this gift I definitely wanted to do it right.

Winding for fun and productivity!

Finally got a ball winder!

I was hoping to get one as a Christmas gift, but considering all the knitting projects I needed to get underway it really made more sense to get it beforehand. My husband told me to 'JUST ORDER IT ALREADY!' so I got the Lacis ball winder and am really happy with it.

I didn't get a swift, however.

I figured that could come as a gift later, and as they are more expensive I really wanted to take time to find the *right* one. In the meantime, I cajoled my son and husband to help me with some winding, and it was really quite fun!

Heck, he didn't even need yarn to have fun!

We improvised the role of the swift with strong arms and quick rotating. It was a neat challenge to get it right, and even my husband got a kick out of seeing the balls get shaped.

Seven wound in the amount of time it takes me to do one by hand!

Believing in Christmas Crafts

To continue the tradition of adding to our home holiday decorations, this year I decided to make a skirt for our Christmas tree. Our old one got destroyed by the new pup last year and I still have scads of felt and festive fabric - so it was a no brainer.

Naturally, Reed figured there was no way I was going to get this done in any amount of reasonable time. So I struck him a deal - give me a day to get this underway and if I fail, he can go buy one.

Happy to say...I did it! Sort of. I got the fabric out and planned it, but didn't get it started until day 2 and finished until maybe day 5. But by then he was a believer and I'm glad - because I was able to customize it with things that are more important to us.

Like Batman!

Since I still don't have a ton of spare time I decided that this will be an ongoing on project. I got the basics down this year, and fully plan on embellishing more next year...and the next...etc. Eventually I'm hoping for a big, Christmas clusterf*ck. :)

Here are some more pictures of what I managed to get together for this year!

Trees on a tree skirt? How very...meta...

Domo-kun throwing snowballs

Ninja hiding among the gifts!

Holiday Quickie

One star-half, waiting for its mate!

Lots going on these days, but little time to write! Hope everyone is having a great holiday season and finding moments to get crafty. My favorite kinds of gifts to give and receive are things that stimulate your mind (like books) or fill your belly (like ozone soup) or demonstrate someone's love with thoughtfulness (like a handmade gift).

I've been knitting up a bunch of star ornaments thanks to a free pattern put out by WEBS. They are a breeze to make and a nice addition to any special package.

In addition to being the perfect use for all my pretty yarn leftovers, they are fun and a great non-invasive holiday knit gift. I try to make ornaments every year and what with the new baby I didn't think I was going to have time this month - so thanks to Vally Yarns!



Here's one of my previous ornaments:







 (I did a crab theme that year for some reason. This one was mermaid inspired for my brother-in-law.)

They also make great gift toppers.

Happy holidays to you!