I’ve been busy!

So the semester is coming to a close, and I have one more paper to finish up before I’m done with my second semester of grad school!  I’m so excited for Christmas break, during which I plan to both knit and crochet like mad.  Hopefully that means more posts coming your way!

I’m hoping it actually gets cold here — today it was around 45 but I’d like it to be colder so that I can model more of my creations in public!  I love showing off what I’ve made not because they’re exceptionally good (because they’re really not), but because I made them and they make me happy.  I’ve already given a bunch of simple crocheted hats to my school friends for Christmas — it’s really gratifying to see others wearing things I made!

I’ve actually got some new things to share today.  First off, my sweet baby pitbull, Zero, models her scarf/bow and her granny square sweater.  The sweater was a spur-of-the-moment creation, and it’s meant more to keep her warm than to be stylish, but I figured I’d share anyway.

I was making her sweater instead of doing the homework on the floor beside her:

And finally, I’ve been working on knitting the HBP Hermione hat (pattern available in the ‘knitting corner’ section), so this is where I am, with the real pic to compare:

 

the Internet is my grandma

Oh my goodness, the Internet is like the most awesome grandma ever because it teaches you EVERYTHING about knitting and crocheting!  I just learned about the magic loop method in knitting, where you can just forget about the double pointed needles (which are so cumbersome to work with) and use a giant circular needle instead for all your tubular projects, even socks!  Why didn’t I find this out before I spent my money on 3 different sets of dpns?!  Check out this tutorial video:

Even with this exciting new discovery, I can’t forget my crocheting!  I’ve got a deadline on a filet crochet baby blanket.  I had to make the chart myself, so it’s not the best looking, but for a small baby blanket, what do you think?

Ok so I’m unsure why it looks so terrible once uploaded, but you get the drift, right?  It’ll be similar to the “Noah” blanket I made and put up a few posts ago.  The grey will be the filled in spaces and the white will be the lacy part.  I started at the bottom and am at the first row that has text blocks in it, so I’m about 1/3 of the way finished.  I need to get crackin’!  (And can you believe I’m getting paid for this?  I know, right?!)  I’ll post pictures once it looks good and is more interesting than just a couple of flowers.

more ornaments

So I’m ornament happy — I made a snowflake one!  The pattern for the snowflake is found here, and I just attached it to another cheap bangle from Wal-Mart!

makin’ some ornaments

I made this tonight out of crochet thread size 10, a 1/B hook, and a bangle that I got in a set in the Wal-Mart jewelry section.  Cheap, pretty, AND homemade, these would be great gifts!  This one was started out as a granny square, then turned into a circle.  Both the square and the circle patterns are on this site, so you can make these yourself!  I’m gonna make some more — they’re so pretty!

filet baby blanket

I made this in a couple of days for a girl at school — she wanted something to give to her new nephew for Christmas!  It’s a little narrow — she wants me to make another one for her niece so I’ll probably add more height to the next one.  In case you can’t tell, it says Noah.  🙂