The Dude

I finally finished this ambitious project a few months ago.  I'm happy to report it's gotten a lot of use and even a few compliments. Surprisingly, it actually didn't take as long to knit as I imagined it would, but the complicated colorwork did require extra attention so it wasn't the best project for social knitting. 

The most challenging part of this project was the collar.  It calls for short rows, a new tehnique for me, and I found it really difficult to figure out on my own.  I had to watch several you tube videos and knit a couple of test swatches before I finally understood how to do it. 

I'll leave you with one last shot of Josh doing his best Lebowski.

2011 Wrap-Up

I've been neglecting this space, but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting.  Here's a recap of some of my projects from 2011:

A simple sweater for Mom

And a bag, too...

A blonde ragdoll for my favorite blonde girl

I celebrated "Girls Weekend 3.0" with my favorite girls

And I finally finished my most ambitious knitting project to date.  Pictures and details to follow. Stay tuned!

Can you guess what it is?

A few years ago my godson asked me why I never made anything for him.  I explained while his sisters liked handmade dresses and bags, it was harder to come up with ideas that I thought he would like.  Well, I think I've finally made a handmade gift that is just right for my 15 year old godson  -- Star Wars golf club covers. 

I think they were a hit although, in true 15 year old boy style, he informed me that Leia should have been wearing a gold bikini. 

In case you were concerned, it should be noted that I am a good godmother and a video game was included in the box with the club covers.

If you want to make Star Wars golf club covers for the duffer in your life you can find the pattern here.



Monday Miscellany

Awesome or just odd?

If you are intrigued you can find the recipe for dill macarons with chocolate hazelnut buttercream via the modcloth blog.  If you try them let me know!

In the meantime I'm sticking with the basics

Homemade apple pie.  Yum.

Heirloom

I come from a long line of crafty women and these beautiful garments were knitted by my grandmother.  Sadly, she passed away when I was only three so I don't have a lot of memories of her but I have learned that knitting was a passion of hers.  My aunt had been holding on to these baby clothes but I convinced her let me have them to frame.

This is not the best photo but if you look closely you can see how delicate the stitches are.  I particularly love that she used a feather and fan pattern on the sweater, a favorite of mine (Check out the feather and fan scarf I made for June here).  I'm sorry I never had the chance to learn from her but I'm glad that I have a few pieces of her work to inspire me. 

Knitting in Progress

 

I'm having a lot of fun knitting up this sweater for a movie lover.  If you are a Big Lebowski fan it might look familiar. 

 

The pattern is fittingly called "The Dude" and is available for free on Ravelry.  It's a challenging knit with lots of colorwork but I'm so happy with how it looks so far.  It's such an iconic sweater that I've even had a couple of folks recognize it even though I'm only halfway finished with the back. 

Matinee Idol

In case you can't tell right away, it's an homage to one of my favorite actors.  I was looking for a quick project to use up some stash yarn and I came across this great chart based on this photo of Heath Ledger.

It knit up quickly and I added a few rows of garter stitch around the edge and knit a simple stockinette back for the pillow. I sewed a muslin pillow form for the inside to avoid any stuffing leaks.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to watch “10 Things I Hate About You.”