I Can Haz Trilobite?

While the Yarn Harlot and hundreds (thousands maybe?) of other knitters are making French Press Felted Slippers for Christmas gifts this year, I find myself taking a road less traveled. Much less traveled--in fact, not even a road, perhaps not quite even a path.



Pattern: Knit Trilobite, by Madeleine Poirier, a free pattern available at GrumbleKnits and on Ravelry
Yarns: Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Redwood Mix, and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Hush
Needles: US 3/3.25mm dpns

Stuffed with fiberfill and catnip, they make great cat toys. And with or without the catnip, they're a quick, unique gift for that person who has everything. Think about it--the words "What, another Knit Trilobite?" are probably not often spoken on Christmas Day. Or any day, for that matter.



They're not hard, but you do have to graft the head after you've stuffed the trilobite. Even if you don't make one, check out the pattern just for the fun directions, which include my favorite knitting instructions ever: "Antenna (make 2)."

I made one for Ida, and one for my sister's cat, Tiger. Ida, sad to say, would not hold still for a good photo. This is the best I could do:



These are the last of my knitted holiday gifts. Only one more sewing project to go!

Bunny and Snake

OK, show of hands: How many of you reading this still have gifts to finish making? Yeah, I thought so. Me too.

Some of my gifts this year are from the book Zakka Sewing. According to the book, "Zakka is a Japanese word that means 'household goods' and encompasses everything from placemats and tea towels to baskets and tote bags." The projects in Zakka Sewing range from the sweet (embroidered linen Mary Jane slippers) to the whimsical (a felt squirrel tea cozy) to the truly elegant (embroidered placemats).

One of the cutest is the bunny pencil case, which I made for Sofia, the niece of one of my coworkers. Sofia's in third grade and hangs out in our office most days after school. She's always drawing, making things, coming up with imaginative stories and ideas--in other words, a real artist and the kind of child who appreciates all things handmade.







Pattern: Bunny Pencil Case, from Zakka Sewing, designed by fumi

I don't do a lot of sewing and only have two sewing books; the other is Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. She's a Swedish designer with a fresh and uncluttered aesthetic. Her projects are right up my alley because they really are simple. Inspired by Simple Sewing, today I took care of the draft coming in my kitchen window by making a draft snake:







I followed the book's instructions with only one change--since my fabrics were lightweight, I added a layer of cotton batting on the inside, to improve the snake's draft-busting power. What a delightful way to use up fabric scraps--and inexpensive, too! The whole thing cost a few bucks, at most--I filled it with rice bought on sale for only $1.

OK, time to make a cup of coffee and get back to work on Christmas presents. Good luck with all of yours--and stay warm!

Early Winter and an Early Gift

It's not officially winter yet, but it's sure acting like it here in New England. My condo parking lot looked like this the other day:


This morning when I ventured out, it was only 22F! Brrr. Time to pull out the LL Bean silk long underwear, and start piling on the scarves and sweaters. Here's today's cold-weather matchup:


That's my recently completed Margot and Norah Gaughan's Triangle Scarf, from Knitting Nature.

It's been awhile since I made the Triangle Scarf, but it's still one of my favorites. I get lots of compliments on it, and I always explain that it features Sierpinski triangles. (I feel so smart to know what they are--kind of--though actually I'd never heard of them until I made the scarf.)

In other news, I finished and mailed off my mom's Christmas present. When she got it, she emailed to ask if it was OK to open it before Christmas. I wrote back that I thought she was old enough to decide when to open her presents. To which she replied: "Smarty pants." And then she did open it (I knew she would).



Pattern: Little Flower Doily, from BadCat Designs
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in Linen Gray
Needles: 2.25mm dpns and 16-inch circular

Very easy pattern, very quick--and best of all, Mom likes it. For those who love lace before-and-after photos, here you go:





The doily blocked out to about 12 inches in diameter. If I'd gone up a needle size, it might have come out a little bigger, but I'm happy with it as is. Hempathy's a wonderful yarn--very supple for a cotton blend. Can't wait to use it again.

Please Disappear!

I might be way behind the times on this--I haven't done any embroidery since high school, I think--but the coolest thing I've discovered recently (craftwise) is a disappearing ink pen. You can draw or trace designs onto your fabric, and after a while the ink disappears. This is something I would have saved Dum Dum wrappers for when I was a kid, but now you can walk right into Jo-Ann's and buy one.



As the instructions on the pen warn, you should "please try with a waste cloth" to be sure it will work OK on your fabric. Also, "please take off a cap with hands" (as opposed to your mouth). Such polite instructions!

So yeah, I'm sewing and embroidering some Christmas presents this year. I don't think this photo gives away much, though.

Marvelous Margot

The minute I saw this pullover I knew I wanted to make it, and I knew the Inca Gold in my stash would be just right. Now that it's done, I'm really glad I followed my impulses.



Pattern: Margot, by Linden Heflin, from the fall 2009 Knitty
Yarn: Berroco Inca Gold; colorway Verde Oliva
Needles: US4 circ and dpns
Modifications: I added length in the body and sleeves, did slightly less waist shaping than the pattern called for, and knit the sleeve cuffs to 2 inches rather than 1.5.







The Inca Gold was a joy to knit. It is soft in the skein, but even more so after blocking--it relaxes and develops a very satisfying drape.

It does grow a bit in length and width after hitting water, so be sure to knit a swatch and take note of the difference between the before and after dimensions. Without a swatch to guide me as to how the fabric would behave after blocking, I might not have gotten the fit and length I wanted.

All in all, a very happy knitting experience. Thanks, Linden, for a terrific pattern! I know I'll be wearing this sweater for years to come.

Mittens for Little Hands

In between working on Christmas gifts and personal knitting projects, I've finished a couple pairs of children's mittens using odds and ends of yarn. They're for Project Nepal, which is collecting socks, mittens, hats, and even pullovers for children in Nepal.



I used Elizabeth Durand's basic pattern for children's mittens and found it very easy to follow. I have to admit, I'm really not a big fan of mittens. Every now and then I see a pattern I feel I just have to make. But then I never do ... I guess because I like fingerless mitts and gloves a lot better than mittens. Still, I'm glad I made these.



One nice thing about Project Nepal is that the deadline is January 25. So if you want to contribute but you're swamped with gift knitting, you can wait until after the holidays to cast on.



In other news, my Margot (above) is blocked and drying! I hope to share some finished photos soon. It was a pleasant project that made for excellent movie knitting. As soon as the ends were woven in, I immediately cast on for another top-down sweater, one I've had my eyes on for a while:



Pattern: Tea Leaves Cardigan by Melissa Barre
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers; colorway Alki Beach
Needles: US5 and US6 circs

I love that ruched yoke. The recommended yarn--Madelinetosh tosh merino--comes in beautiful colors. Really, really beautiful. Unfortunately, it falls outside my price range at the moment, so I subbed a lovely discontinued color of Cascade 220 Heathers that I got on closeout at WEBS. It may not be the world's poshest or softest yarn, but it's a good, reliable "old standby." And I won't complain about getting a sweater's worth of wool for $30!