Frankly

Frankly, I have a lot on my plate right now, so this one will be short!

Frankly, the Frank Shawl is the right pattern for my souvenir yarn from Amsterdam with a little special treat from Shady Grove Alpacas The Eleven lace weight held double. Winning combo! 

This shawl been a nice way to reduce screen time in those short moments where I just need something mindless to do. Or those long moments where I am chaperoning a class trip to Kings Island. Miles of garter stitch to the rescue!

More fun non-knitting news soon! Happy Spring Knitting!

Winning No Sewing Awards

Well, there won't be many close-ups of my newly made iPad bag. I used this pattern, but made a few poor material choices. I had some black jeans material left from another project, which ended up making all the layers very thick. The color is also somewhat boring and lackluster. In addition, the cushioning and interfacing inner layers were also the thickest and most stiff available. My sewing machine was seriously groaning, not to mention that it was difficult achieve a straight seam on the finishing round. I ended up breaking three sewing machine needles.. ouch...

I added some pockets to store items that might scratch the screen. Represented are my school's colors: black and gold. Unfortunately you can't see the colors peek out because the bag is so stiff. An appliqué on the outside might make the whole thing more interesting.

All looted up. This project took me 8+ hours to finish... My initial hope was 3 hours. The time spent is worth the organization though, so no regrets.

Ready for business with my projector remote, voice amplifier, power cord, and iPad pen. I'll probably add some other classroom items for easy access.

On the whole, the bag is working out very well, and I feel a lot safer using the iPad now that I have a safe storage compartment at my hip. After all, the school district was nice enough to supply it, so I may as well take care of it-without dropping it or stepping on it any more... (oooops, don't tell!)

The goldenrods are so pretty right now, and I am amazed by the diverse bug life in the blooms. Hope you are enjoying the wonderful Fall weather. Till next time!

Surprise Gift Bags

In addition to Nephew #1, my parents also celebrate their birthdays in March. I whipped up another reversible gift bag for the occasion. For a March birthday we have a display of yummy cherries.


For Christmas, sparkly gingerbread men are the feature. My mother was eyeing this fabric with great interest at Christmas when I wrapped something else in it, and was sad when I immediately reused it for another gift. So, I thought it would a perfect part of her birthday present. I'm sure it was a nice surprise to peek inside the gift bag and see a favorite pattern.


The second bag is in use for the second time already, this time with spring flowers on the outside. Here are the two birthday bags, stuffed with gardening supplies and chocolate, just like their recipients asked for!


I have two wonderful friends who enjoy wine A LOT! In October during Fall Break, I picked up some wine at Hermes Winery in Sandusky, OH, for them.


I wanted to make the gift extra special and searched online for a wine bag pattern. This beautiful pattern and tutorial came up: http://www.berninausa.com/webautor-data/529/WineTote.pdf


Sadly, one my lovely friends recently lost her dog to an illness. This was the third dog she lost within a year. Condolences of a special sort were in order.


My other friend is constantly doing me huge favors and is a great musical partner as well. I definitely owe her a token of appreciation. This fits the bill nicely.


Finally, it always amazes me how much time it takes for finished crafts to materialize! Fortunately, the process is usually as rewarding as the product, though there were a few incidents that demanded the use of a seam ripper on these projects...


Here's a toast to awesome family and friends!

Christmas Pre-Reveal

I am tired of seeing bags and bags of Christmas wrapping paper go into the trash on Christmas morning, and so I decided to begin taking action.

Presenting, recyclable and reversible gift bags!

These three presents are headed to the Missouri niece and nephews:


Close-ups of the nephew's bags:
Bag A


Bag B


The view inside of the bags:


And the bags in reverse: perfect for upcoming birthdays!


Close-ups of the bags in reverse:
Bag A


Bag B


I also experimented with reversible wrapping paper, this gift for my niece:




As Christmas drew close and time ran out, I just used the two gingerbread cloths like regular wrapping paper. I did manage a third bag.




Will these few gift bags reduce the paper at this Christmas? Not by much, but I hope that throughout the next few years we will have more recycle bags and less waste.

Now that I have pre-revealed the gift wrap, I must confess that I did not knit a single gift item for Christmas... I think that the scarves below will become late presents for some friends who still need a token of appreciation. I am hoping for a more inspired knitting year this coming 2011.

Until then, enjoy the 12 days of Christmas!