Christmas Wrap-Up

So it turns out I was a bit over ambitious in my Christmas plans. Apparently I was too busy sunbathing in Baja to knit much. Who knew that working with wool while covered with sunblock, sand and baby slobber would be rather unappealing and tricky? I did get a few projects done, however, and now that we've finished up our third and final gift-giving session, I'm finally at liberty to divulge what ended up getting made.

Among the little knit projects that made it onto (and off!) my needles (Toasty, Thermis, Turn a Square, Star Crossed Slouchy Beret, Fetching, Plum Blossom Mittens, and a seed stitch eternity scarf of my own devising) there was one stand-out pattern. A pattern so quick, simple, and fun that I ended up making seven (!) pairs, two of them finished Christmas morning.  And only one pair was for me. They're the felted slippers from French Press Knits, and they are a little bit of magic.

They start with a few pieces of oddly-shaped knit work


Which, after a little seaming, become grossly over-sized slipper-shaped oddities
 

Which, after felting


and finishing become adorable house slippers!


From start to finish, I can make a pair of these in under two hours, including seaming (and there is a lot of seaming but it's of the "just sew those two pieces together any which way" variety that can be done while your baby is chewing the other end of your work.)  So after making my own pair, I whipped up six more pairs for gift giving.  I gave them out pre-felted with the idea that we'd have a felting party after opening presents on Christmas morning.  



Another lovely feature of this pattern is that they travel well.  They were made in Mexico, finished in California and I'm now wearing them in my sister-in-law's house in Pau, in the southwest of France. They pack well and stand up to getting shoved into a suitcase. And they look great with my new skinny jeans which is handy because, despite being told that all the cool kids are wearing skinny jeans, I've yet to be brave enough to wear them out of the house.

No Peeking!

Two wonderful things happened yesterday: the rain arrived and Finn finally started napping. It was the perfect opportunity to get started on my crafting for Christmas gifting.



I'll mostly be knitting and crocheting this year so I can take advantage of those sleepy nursing sessions to multitask. I've got a lot of recipients on my list, so I've got to start early and focus on small projects, mostly hats and mittens and the like. Here are some links to things I'm considering making (note to family: now's the time to stop reading...)


Toasty from a friend to knit with
Garter stitch + knit in the round = perfect movie watching knitting


Mosey from Knitty
I want these for myself!


Fuzzy Lamb from Lulu


Zippy Wallet by Noodlehead


Give a Hoot from Kelbourne Woolens


Turn a Square by Jared from brooklyntweed


Dinosaur Play Mat from Craftzine
It folds up into a volcano shape for storing.


Star Crossed Slouchy Beret by Strands of Me


Danica from Knitty
I've never tried entrelac and I'm embarrassingly excited about this one.


Mushroom Business Card Holder from Wee Folk Art


Calorimetry from Knitty (once again!)


Fetching from (you guessed it) Knitty



Fabric Dollhouse from UK Lass in US
This reminds me of a wooden version my little sister had.


Chunky Button-Up Neckwarmer by Susan Flockhart Designs


Plum Blossom Mittens from Valley Yarns
Not free, but it's only $1.99 for the pattern



Dainty Earrings by Julie A. Buldoc
Hello stocking stuffers!



Trypdisc Earrings by Tossed Cookies


Jofus and Lally by Vintage Ric-Rac

Plus I've got a few ideas of my own (stay tuned!)  Whew, this is starting to seem a bit overly ambitious...  I better go get crafting!

What are you working on?