fungus among us

Well these are painfully cute. I have been watching a bunch of knitting YouTube while working on my own knitting projects and tis the season for video compilations of cute quick gifts for the holidays. 

These little mushrooms are from a free pattern called Christmas Toadstools (my Ravelry page) that was featured on one of these videos. I'm not much of a "tiny thing" knitter, but given that I have been enjoying the gnomes this year, that may be changing. I made my first one to go with mom's Gnolan, and I wondered how I would like it if I tried a thicker yarn. They turned out so cute! I added some keychain findings to the tops with some embroidery thread (which I hope is sturdy enough) and these will be gifts for my nieces. 

mossy sweater progressing

 Today was a relaxing Saturday full of knitting. I woke up with the intention of finishing up the body of my dad's sweater and ended up spending the whole day knitting (with breaks here and there for domestic life).

It did not take me long to finish up the front of the sweater and bind off the neck and shoulders. I texted this photo to my parents joking that I was going to leave it as a vest ;) It actually looks pretty much like a garment! I'm so pleased. The armhole sections were worrisome as I was working through them since they stretch and hang funny off the needles. 

I popped out to my local yarn store around midday to see if I could get some tiny circumference needles for working up the sleeves because I am kind of tired of dealing with dpns right now. Alas, she did not have my size in stock, but she was very helpful and suggested knitting with two circulars and explained it enough that I could come home and give it a shot. I have never knitted anything this way before and I have to say, it's not too bad! It certainly beats magic loop for me and was a nice break from working on dpns (the gnomes....).

Once the circumference got big enough I switched to just using the short 16-inch circulars that I had in my stash. Not having to switch needles in middle of a round saves a lot of time, but interestingly was a little bit harder on my hands in terms of fatigue. 

It's the end of the day now and I have made it just past the elbow on this first sleeve. It will be interesting to see how my hands feel tomorrow in terms of whether or not another few marathon days are possible to get this sweater potentially finished in time to ship mid December. Hmmmmm.... 

holiday mystery gnome start

This will be my only post about this for the duration of the month (so I don't spoil the surprise), but I wanted to share the beginning of my next gnome... an advent mystery knit along! Sara Schira, the designer of these adorable beings, has had mystery gnomes at various times in the past and this is her latest installment of a holiday/winter gnome. It's my first mystery knit along (and perhaps my first knit along?). We know how much yarn we'll need, how many colors, and what "types" of colors (light, dark, etc) to use but other than that, it's a surprise! There will be daily clues this month to take us through the pattern and reveal, ultimately, a "Gnandad" gnome who has been off on worldly travels. 

I chose colors last night and of course by this morning had changed my mind. I swapped in a more muted navy instead of the brighter blue. We'll see if I stick with that or switch back. Depending how the clues work out, maybe I'll use both! This is a bit out of my comfort zone because I'm such a particular planner, but I am going to enjoy trusting the process and releasing some control here. I am positive that the finished gnome is going to be amazing. 

firefly tote prototype

This weekend I had a hankering to sew. And I wanted to sew a very particular thing - a project bag pattern I bought in March while enjoying the Bay Area Yarn Crawl. I had in mind that I would make this for a friend of mine, and if it didn't turn out I would keep it for myself because we share a love of the same colors and these fabrics are awesome together! (spoiler: it turned out great.)

I had such a fun time auditioning different fabric combinations and settled on the set above. The combination of earthy blues and greens will appeal to my friend, I think, and the gray canvas is a very sturdy option for the bag's main panels. 

The pattern is the Firefly Tote by Noodlehead Designs, and I've had it sitting around, as I said, since March. In a recent (habitual) YouTube binge, I found a video tutorial in three parts where the designer steps through the construction for a sew along she put together. This was a great find, because I was feeling intimidated by the pattern instructions which looked much more complex to me than it actually ended up being. I've said it before - I am a very visual learner. The videos really lowered the activation barrier for me to jump right in and get started. In a couple hours on Saturday night, I got all of the pieces cut and interfaced and the outside pieces assembled. Sunday morning I woke up enthusiastic to finish it up and it took just another couple of hours before breakfast. 

        

I think it turned out great. I really love the color combination, and the canvas was pretty bulky in a couple of seams but overall a great base to work with. For the handles instead of cotton webbing or leather as recommended, I used quilt batting and fabric strips. Webbing or leather would elevate the look a bit more, but I did like the option to add the lining print and colors to the outside. I am also very pleased that I had all of the materials in my stash. I think this is a really classy gift to give and all it cost me was time! (that's crafting math for you...) More of these in my future, for sure. 

mossy sweater reclaimed

I wandered off to work on some other projects, but I have also been making steady progress on this sweater for my dad. After having to frog back nearly the whole thing, the body re-knit pretty quickly and I have worked my way up the back yoke and armhole shaping all the way to the neckline. 

I think it's looking pretty weird at this point. I've taken measurements and all looks proportional and okay, but this is definitely a faith in knitting stage right now. Next up is the front, and then I have two sleeves to tackle. Onward!

Gnolan, finished

Well. This guy's a charmer. I have to say I am very pleased with how he turned out! The colors mom and I picked are bright and whimsical, and those little arms just make me smile. The slightly damp post-rain garden atmosphere felt just like home to him. I could see him puttering around deadheading flowers and getting seeds in the ground for the winter season. He's a fan of the pansies. 

And the mushroom!!! I was watching a bunch of seasonal "small things to knit" videos on YouTube last night and I just had to try out this little mushroom. Together they make SUCH a cute pair. I can't even believe how great they look together. Pretty soon it will be time to box him up and send him off to his new home. Until then I'm going to enjoy him in my kitchen. 

 

mom's gnome in progress

I started this guy in the bright days of August but set it aside until this week. I had just about half of the hat started and left it at the fussiest part. After wrangling an octopus of needles and yarn in ever smaller rounds, the hat was done and topped off with that cute little curlicue. 

The body went pretty quickly after that. There's nothing quite like stripes to keep me going! It's like Pringles. Or popcorn. Just one more.... I am so thankful I attended that workshop back in February where Sara went through the particulars of finishing up all the little details. I learn so much visually that having it done and discussed in person has made it all really stick with me. This is a fun picture of me trying to not drop any of the weighted stuffing as I'm closing up the bottom. 

 

He looks kind of funny without a face! I finished that up this evening, too. The arms have also been made and attached, I'm just hoping for better light tomorrow to take some great photos out in the garden. For now I leave you with a colorful bowling pin.