Recently in Gifts Category

Isn't it great? I made this for my sister's bridal shower. The pattern, called After Dark Nightie, can be found in the Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures . I used Louet Euroflax in sport weight. It really was a lot of work, but it turned out really well. I hope it will serve her well for many years to come. 

For more bridal shower pictures, follow this link.

This product, advertised on Ravelry and available from Knitwitch, looks like one of those "must-have" products, like square knitting needles, heart-shaped stitch markers, and an electronic row counter.

The store owner, Brittany, writes of the product:

I gotta tell you, I have been using one of these yarn bowls and I'm wondering how I ever did without it! It is wonderful to not have to chase your ball of yarn all over the place AND it keeps the cat from laying on it! My yarn never gets tangled and the bowls are absolutely perfect for putting on the floor board in the car. They hold hand-wound balls wonderfully!

I typically keep each of my WIPs in tote bags (or gift bags if I have several projects going at once) and this works well for most days. I always have a project to take with me to work or to church, the movies, or wherever I know that I might have a minute to pull out my sticks. The yarn bowl wouldn't work for this; but, at home, where I constantly fight to keep the dog hair off of my work, these handy little pieces of pottery might work out well.

Wouldn't it be neat to keep a yarn bowl like this, some needles, and a ball of pretty yarn on your desk at work? Talk about temptation!

Finally, I am getting around to writing about Christmas projects.

These are pictures of two shopping bags that we gave as gifts filled with Italian food items from Claudio's Market in South Philly.

I had a difficult time making these bags because I really couldn't find a pattern that I liked.

I ended up creating a hybrid pattern that used both kntting and crocheting; crocheting for the bottoms and handles and knitting for the sides. Working them this way seemed to give the bottom some stability, and the body of the bag seemed to stretch very well when I used a YO knitting pattern  

This infant sweater pattern, created by one of my favorite needle sisters, The Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl McPhee (SPM), is posted on knitty.com. Although my version of this sweater and SPM's version look totally different, I am very pleased with the final product. The variation proves the undeniable versatility of knitting.

This sweater is a Christmas gift for my almost 9 month niece. Although I did swatch (!!!!) and stick to gauge, I am still worried about it being to large for her, but I think that I'd rather have the garment too big than too small. I can't wait to take her picture in it!

This was mostly done in stockinette stitch with a lot of shaping. Not to difficult, just have to keep track of your rows.

The onIy thing that I don't like about this pattern is the hood. I decided to put a hood on it so that:

#1: I could use up all of my yarn...stash busting and all of that.

#2: To me, a hooded sweater seems to be more of gift that a plain sweater.

The pattern states to make the hood 8 inches long. Because the pattern doesn't call for any shaping of the hood, it turns out looking very much like a Jawa hood. It is very deep. I decided rather than frogging the hood, I'd roll some of the extra under the cap and fasten it down. I think it will work, but I may need to make some modifications after Kate tries on the sweater which she is going to look fabulous in!

This sweater was completed using Paton's Soft and Light Fiesta yarn.

I love making dishcloths! This pattern was designed by Knits by Rachel. I made it for my Secret Pal at work along with the Frankenstein's Monster dishcloth.

I really like the seed stitch background in this pattern. It adds a wonderful texture to the cloth that would make washing dishes a bit more fun. (I hope!)

I used Lily Sugar and Cream in Hot Orange.

This dishcloth, designed by Brileyknits, first caught my eye because it was called "Frankenstein's Monster." As an English teacher, I witness many folks refering, incorrectly, to the monster as Frankenstein. In Mary Shelley's novel, the monster is (sadly) never given a name by his creator. 

Anyhoo, I made this cloth for my Secret Pal at work who is another English teacher, so I thought she might like it.

It worked up quickly. I did block it and play with it pattern while it was damp to get the stitches to pop.

This item was the first one that I ever blocked. I have been trying to avoid that process as long as possible; it sounded so scary to me. DIY's Knitty Gritty inspired me to try blocking, and I must admit that working with this project when it was damp really added to the final product.

I used Lily Sugar and Cream in Hot Green.

The link for this pattern is here.