Bread is now a craft

I am hooked on a super-easy bread recipe that requires very little work, but turns out really tasty, pretty bread, or so I think. I've given baked loaves to friends as a holiday gift, and most people are super happy to receive it, and one person even called to say it tasted good! Heck, I'd be happy to get some good bread any day of the week!

Matt's Hat

I have started knitting things for people when they buy the yarn. This week it was Matt's hat.

I really liked working the wave pattern. The original pattern had peace signs worked in purl stitches on the ears, but he wanted a Z for his last name. I may be regretting saying I'll knit for people soon. I already have yarn for a set of fuzzy mittens.

Margy's scarf

I finally gave Margy her scarf, and she seems to like it. I love the stitch pattern - it's called cross stitch in Deirdre's 101 Designers book, but I couldn't find it anywhere else. I'm including a close-up, so you too can admire the clever pattern.

Bench Cover

In order to convince people that this is a bench where they can take off their winter boots, and not a table they aren't allowed to use, I made a cushion out of fabric and batting from my fabric stash.

Sometimes I worry that I'm turning into Mary Engelbreit, with all the pattern mixing. But I hate that couch, so I refuse to take it into consideration when decorating, even for things that touch it.

Ugly Hat

I had a snow day today, so instead of doing things I should be doing, like cleaning, I decided to make a hat. It's from the most recent issue of Creative Knitting. I saw the pattern and thought that it looked hideous, but really warm. I hadn't worked on cables in a while, and I'd never worked with bobbles before, so I thought I'd give it a try. It is more formed than any other hat I've made, and is really warm. It also helped me clean out my stash of bulky acrylic yarn. In the magazine they knit it out of a neutral khakish color, I had some extra navy lying around so I went with that. I'm glad I went with that, as it is much better looking than the bland sample in the magazine.

2008 calendars

This is the second year I've done these. And as Sarah requested a refill and this is a Wilson version, I don't think I'm ruining any surprises. They're month at a glance calendars, with special days highlighted. If you take a slimline cd case and crank the lid around (so it's like an easel) these fit in the display side. I don't have one at home or I'd show you. Everything is done in Photoshop Elements, and then I have them printed as 5x7s. A little trimming and they're good to go. It makes a nice present for godparents.

Awesome Leaf Hat

I just finished a new hat. It may be the most difficult thing I've made. I even did a freaking swatch. It's wool and a little itchy, but it seems pretty warm considering that it is a little lacy.

Ugly but Functional Craft

Here are the boot rugs I made for our side door, which is where we come in in the winter with all our stuff on, but is just landing on the stairs. I crocheted them out of strips of fleece, which I cut in a way that I learned from Claire's Big Hooks book. You cut a strip down one side, but stop about an inch before the edge of the fabric. Then you start the next strip from the edge, but don't go all the way to the edge at the end. It makes one long strip with no sewing or knotting. Sure, there are corners sticking out in places, but I like to just shove them back in.

They aint pretty, but they catch all the melting snow and sand and salt, and are machine washable. They feel lovely to stand on, and Deirdre has suggested a big rug for in front of the sink, to fully enjoy the squishy.

Oh Baby!

My friends Sarah and Jeff welcomed a beautiful baby girl earlier this week. I made some fuzzy pink booties to celebrate their arrival. They are from book Last Minuted Knitted Gifts. The book lists them as an under two hour project, but they took me about 4 hours.

Christmas cards

I don't know if you can call these a craft, technically. All I did was stamp and glue - almost all of the cutting was done for me. At any rate, I had forgotten how much I enjoy stamping. I need to make an effort to do that more often. And cards are pretty quick, once you have an idea in your head.

Look! I Felted!

Thanks to Sarah, I decided to create a felted pirate-pattern tote bag. Here's the pattern: http://www.helloyarn.com/bigskulltote.htm

As you can see from the photo, I cooked it a little too long in the washer and now it's about the size of a lunch sack.

I don't know that I'll try intarsia again; I had a hard time leaving enough slack off-color yarn. This project was not only my first felting and intarsia, but also my first i-cord. I don't think that I did that right AT ALL.

Plus, you should see how I totally screwed up the pirate pattern. I brought it in to the office to show off and someone asked me about my pac-man tote bag. Not good.

Next time 'round I should be supervised!

Socks

I've started making socks, but I think I need larger needles. I followed the advice of the knitting store lady and went one size down from the pattern recommendation. They seem a bit small. Should I frog them and start over with larger needles?

Bust-ish Grocery Bag Bag

It's crocheted from cut-up plastic grocery bags, similar to the pattern in Bust last Christmas. Thanks to Deirdre for the pattern. It's actually quite strong, and feels neato.

I just finished this last night, and I can't decide if it's too ugly to give to Lori for Christmas. So please tell me. Then I'll give it to someone in Chris's family, who shall remain nameless, but subscribes to the "look! It's homemade! therefore it's nice" school of thought. I think it's a cool concept, but it may not have translated into cool object.

Welcome

As we all like to craft, I thought it would be fun to create a blog to share what we are working on. We can post pictures and craft ideas, as well as ask questions. It is also a great place to plan craft retreats, should we decide we want to rent a cabin for a few days and work on crafts.

I've only invited the people that I know are crafty, so feel free to pass this on to anyone I've missed.