key racks January 14, 2009

right now, i am supposed to be finishing my finance homework and studying for tomorrow’s quiz. as you can see… that’s not happening yet. instead, i’m going to show you the last of my Christmas projects (i think!).

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these are key racks, loosely based off of this tutorial from design*sponge. i started with the 5×7 plaque and a sheet of scrapbooking paper, and then i stamped and decoupaged until i was satisfied. i had never done any decoupage or worked with mod podge before, but i really like how these turned out. i love how they are totally different from each other,  just as the friends i made them for are totally different. ^^ definitely a type of project that i would try again.

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mom made this one for me while i was working on the others. i just adore the key on it, too. i will probably hang necklaces on it or something, since i certainly don’t have five sets of keys!!! ^^

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i hope that everyone is staying warm!  have a great week!

back to school (again) January 9, 2009

this was my first week back to school… oh how i wish Christmas break lasted longer! things are insane around here because our gators just won the bcs championship. everyone is honking and screaming as they go by… what a commotion! it’s a good thing that i’m not trying to sleep yet!! : )

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i just got the pictures from the kevat shawl (rav link) that i knit my mom for Christmas with lorna’s laces shepherd worsted. i think that this is one of my  favorite knits. i’ve never knit a lace shawl like that before. i know the pattern isn’t terribly complicated, but i think it looks really good! mom loved it and wears it to church because it is COLD in the pew we sit in. blocking it was crazy, too — that was another new experience!

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this is the lunchbox that i started out with for my dad. i got it free at the southern women’s show. i asked dad if he would want it and he said, “but it’s pink.” i asked, “well, if it wasn’t pink?” he replied, “but it is pink.” as though that couldn’t be changed?

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this is what i ended up with after i recovered the whole thing. the fabric has different travel destinations on it (like paris and  new york) and the pocket is globes. turns out that he really liked it once it was a different color. go figure!

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anyway, i hope everyone has a great weekend! thanks so much for your concern about the surgery i had. i really appreciate that!

december?! January 1, 2009

where the heck did december go? i meant to post three or four times, but got sidetracked doing other things. the month went something like this: knitting, Christmas knitting, final exams, doctors visits, neck surgery, Christmas, visit to the grandparents, time with the boyfriend, happy new year. i seriously can’t believe that i go back to school after a three-week break on sunday. i went to doctors/hospitals ten times in the last two and a half weeks, which is draining, to say the least, but my surgery went really well and my neck is healing up nicely. i almost have my full range of motion back, too. on the knitting front, i finished two projects before starting Christmas knitting, one big project for my mom (i haven’t taken pictures yet), stockings for the local nursing home, and two sets of notecards. i  sewed up a lunchbox for my dad, too, but i think i’ll leave that for next time. also, i got a ball winder for Christmas! it was lots of fun to wind up a few yarns. ^^

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these socks are finally finished! i really liked the yarn and i really liked the pattern, but i had major trouble following through with the second sock. they are the harris tweed socks (rav) knit on size 2 needles with mary jane’s attic superwash given to me by rhoda a while back. i love how bright these socks are and i want to use the rest of this yarn for wristwarmers or something. ^^

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i’m pretty excited about this scarf. it’s a my-so-called-scarf (rav) in misti pima cotton/silk. i know scarves are better in wool, but every single wool i’ve tried has itched my neck (yes, even malabrigo). i need to wash this before i can wear it, but i’m sure hoping the cotton is better on my neck.

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these are the stockings that i made for local nursing home residents this year. the total cost for the project was $1, since i already had nearly all the materials! dad distributed them and said everybody loved them. the project took a while to complete, but it was fun to do and totally worth it. ^^

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these are made using a technique called quilling. i used the tutorial found here at reese dixon. these took me about an hour a piece to complete. they look cooler in person than in the pictures because you can’t really see the glitter here. i made them for a friend who really liked them. ^^

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i used the mochimochi land heart pattern (rav) to make these heart notecards. i made a set in the spring and they were well-received, so i thought that i’d try again. this time, i used interfacing on the undersides of the hearts so that they stayed flat while i sewed them on the card. that made things SO much easier. i think i might like these even better than the originals… ^^ grandma didn’t even realize they were handmade.

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sorry for such a long post!!!! i had so much to show before i forgot. happy new year!!!