Best of Knit 2 My Lou Part 1

I've been wanting to make one of those photo montage thingies of of all of my projects from the previous year, but here it is mid February, and while I'm still having a hard time writing "2012" at the bank, most people have adjusted to the change. Instead of doing a "Best of" from 2011, this will be a multi-part All Time Best of since the blog's inception on November 5, 2008.  To keep things nice and easy, today I will blog only about 2008.

My very first blog post was about my first adult sized sweater. I was so proud of this one. Unfortunately the sweater has grown so enormously that it is unwearable. I learned that cheap yarn = disaster.

I fared much better with kool aid yarn dyeing. Before and after!

2008 was also the year of the Great Knit Knack blanket square fiasco. I still get twitchy and punchy when I think about it. My lesson from that experience was that some people are fantastic, while others really, really suck. I sent these squares out-

 and in return received these. I treasure this blanket!

My favorite 2008 project was making an owl sweater for Kaz. Seeing this makes me realize what a big girl she is. I would love to remake this in a larger 2012 version.

Stay tuned for 2009, and don't forget to check out the Wool Junkies podcast. We've got a contest this week!

Anniversary party

Last night was the Stitch n Bitch anniversary party! 8 years of stitchin' and bitchin'. The group always has a grab bag scarf swap the night of the party, so I made a chunky reversible cable cowl to trade. My goal was to make something that would match just about anyone's winter coat.

The bag I picked didn't have a scarf, but instead had hand-stitched paper cards with scarf wearing snowmen! Aren't they fantastic? These were made by my friend Joanna. Look at their belly buttons! She sells her cards here on her Etsy shop.

We had such a great time. Everyone brought food and yarn and scarves.

Members all received a shrinky dink blimp pin too! Akron Stitch n Bitch rules!

Last week I made a Regina hat for a friend's relative under going chemotherapy. Everything about the pattern is superb- it adapts to fit any yarn weight and head size, the construction is clever and interesting, and the finished hat is flattering to everyone! I used less than a skein of LB Cotton Ease to make it. Boo yah!

Granny hexagons

I dove into my stash and pulled out all of my bits and pieces of worsted weight cool tones. Four episodes of Sons of Anarchy later and they are looking fabulous! I used my co pilot's pattern for the hexagon. Right now the eight of them would make a great cowl, but I may decide to continue hooking and piece together a full sized scarf.

As soon as I make up my mind about the hexagons this sweater is getting unraveled. I have been dying to make myself one of these shawls ever since I first saw the pattern. I'm planning on documenting my yarn re purposing methods for an upcoming podcast. Speaking of which, look for a new episode of the Wool Junkies this weekend!

Snowflake ascot

I really love garter stitch. I think it's the ease of knitting without looking and it's stretchy squishy texture. Combine that with short rows and I'm in heaven. This pattern is the Huckleberry Ascot by Kat Coyle.

I jazzed it up a little bit with some sparkly snowflake buttons. The yarn is Patons Classic Wool Merino in the Denim Marl colorway. My other mods include knitting this on size US 8 needles and switching out the knitted bobbles for a crocheted picot edge.

This is the perfect scarf for a day like today's unseasonably warm temperatures (44 degrees F and rain). Kaz made our bird friends a feeder with a pine cone, peanut butter and bird seed. Hopefully the squirrels don't get it first!

Presents revealed and new podcast!

Happy holidays! I am so happy to have finally gifted all of my handmade presents so that I can post pics of them. It's hard to maintain secrecy about these things since most of my family and friends read my blog. 

For my Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie I painted a portrait of their dog Lucy. Here's the photo I worked from. 

She's such a great dog, and my aunt and uncle are hard to buy for, so what better gift than a painting of their baby? 

For my neighbor friend Tracie I embroidered a lucky cat and some sushi. She's a foodie who appreciates handmade gifts. The kanji is supposed to say "happiness" but since I copied it from the internet, it might say something else entirely.

Speaking of potty mouths, this is the finished sampler I made for my Aunt JoAnn. It's a Subversive Crosstitch pattern. I haven't been able to complete the second one I started that rhymes with "cut the duck up" since Kazia can read now. I guess I'll have to save it for Aunt JoAnn's birthday.

I bought this guitar birdhouse from Mad Brain Creations while at Crafty Mart. It's for my cool Uncle Frank who loves to play and make music as well do some great woodworking himself. 

Now for a drumroll...

I have teamed up with my great friend Andrea to create the Wool Junkies podcast! It's us talking about our favorite things, like knitting, crocheting, and dogs. We plan on covering other fun stuff as well and have plenty of exciting ideas up our sleeves. Go give us a listen!

Teacher gifts

I've crossed two more handmade gifts off of my list! When I asked Kazia what she wanted to give her teacher as a present she immediately said mittens and a scarf. Thankfully Kaz also chose bulky weight yarn (it's Lion Brand Tweed Stripes) so I was able to make both the mitts and scarf in only a few days. The mitt pattern can be found for free here. I used almost one entire skein for both mitts by knitting them 2 at a time magic loop.

The scarf is my default scarf pattern Queen Anne's Lace. This pattern is like the Chinese food of scarf patterns- everyone loves it, it's fast and reliable, and I never get tired of it.

Just 3 more handmade gifts to complete and I've still got 2 weeks! It's a Christmas miracle!

Handmade presents

The best gifts are handmade. Just because someone spends hundreds of dollars on Made in China garbage doesn't mean they love you more than the person who used their talent and resourcefulness to create a one of a kind handcrafted present. In fact, I think it means pretty much the opposite. This holiday season I've challenged myself to make or purchase all handmade only gifts. (Full disclosure- I totally chumped out and got Kazia the Barbie Dream townhouse. But that was the only "manufactured" gift we've gotten her. 5 year old girls have ways of making us break the rules, right?)

This post is mostly about handmade gifts I've bought for myself, since many of my blog readers are people who are getting gifts from me and I don't want to ruin the surprise. Last weekend at the Rowdy Indie Craft Fair I found the above felt ornament shaped like Ohio with a heart where Akron is situated. Adorable!

I bartered a custom hat for this gorgeous pillow made by my friend Sara Edwards. (Don't forget- you can still buy my hat pattern to benefit her fight to reunite her with her kidnapped son here.) Sara makes these beautiful pillows out of Turkish rugs. Locals can buy them at Lock 3's Holiday Market. Non locals can send me a message and I will gladly hook you up with Sara to get a pillow.

 

The biggest handmade gift I've gotten for myself is my new tattoo. (Sorry it's upside down. For some reason it's fine when I upload it, but it still gets flipped. But that's they way I view it, so maybe you should too.) These are honeysuckles that I got as a memorial for my mom. Honeysuckles grew at my childhood home, and they represent homesickness. The tattoo was done by Dustin at Good Life Tattoos in Akron. I love it!

My Crafty Mart earnings paid for the tattoo. Check out this cool blog post that I was featured in along with some other Crafty Mart vendors. Another great gift to myself that I will constantly use are Crafty Mart tote bags.

Quite a few custom orders have come from Crafty Mart too! Lots of funny hats like the owl and elf ones. I've still got plenty for sale on my Etsy as well.

Another lucky giftee is getting a crocheted cotton swimming pool bag. These are the best for lugging wet towels around in, I mean, who likes that funky hot wet towel smell that happens in most nylon beach bags? Not me!

My gift making will most likely continue until the last possible second. Kazia wants me to make her teacher a scarf and mitten set. I using this Cascade chunky pattern for the mitts that I'm constructing 2 at a time.I still haven't decided on a quick scarf pattern. Any recommendations for a quick scarf with one skein of chunky yarn?