Stocking Stuffers

Here are the felt stockings that I finished over the holiday weekend. For the striped stocking, I used my rotary cutter to cut asymmetrical strips that I sewed together, with the skinny ends all at the same side. I rotated the stocking pattern several ways before finding how I wanted the stripes to go, then I cut it out. The back is just a solid piece of red felt. For the trees stocking, I was going to stitch all the felt pieces on, but decided to use a hot glue gun instead for convenience and time purposes.

In Drunken Argyle news, I bound off for the armholes and am currently shaping one side of the neckline. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Stocking Up

I bought some wool felt from JoAnn's the other night in hopes of making some stockings to hang over the fireplace. Most of my inspiration comes from these Martha Stewart stockings, which my sister made several years ago. I think she even made all the variations listed there. I also like this Jonathan Adler stocking. I got a great grab bag of felt from Alicia that will help with the stocking embellishments and such. I'm getting ready to cut out the pattern now!

Sewing Time

While taking a break from the Drunken Argyle vest this weekend, I managed to go to Uwajimaya and Kinokuniya. Mariko and I were looking for the really cute mini appointment books/calendars, but they didn't have any in stock yet. Instead, we found lots of Hello Kitty merchandise on sale, as well as lots of yummy snacks. I also got these great sewing pattern books by Machiko Kayaki. A trip to the fabric store is in the near future!

The Knitted Wedding

Cast Off, a knitting club based in the UK, staged the very first "Knitted Wedding" where knitters were invited to submit handmade items for the knit art ceremony. Everything is knitted - the bride's dress, wedding cake, champagne bottles, flowers, and last but not least, tiny wool confetti. All knitters and friends were invited to attend the festivities. The knitted desserts look yummy enough to eat. [via Make]

Halfway

Over the weekend, I went clamming on the Washington coast and I had a lot of Drunken knitting time in the car. I am just almost halfway through the front and get to bind off for the armholes of the vest soon. I also managed to weave in all the ends that weren't near the current row of knitting. I'm starting to enjoy working on this project!

Buttoned Up

Here I am introducing the Cutaway! I also included a picture of the square button I used. I finished weaving in all my ends last night and also steamed blocked the ribbed edging so it would lie flat. I love how this sweater turned out. The only modification I made was to slightly increase the length of the sleeves. I would highly recommend the Knitpicks Merino Style. The yarn creates a dense heavy fabric, but it doesn't look thick. This is one cozy sweater!

On the Edge

I finished the front edging on the left front late last night and was able to start the edging on the other side early this morning. When that's completed I just have the short strip of edging to do on the back neckline and I'm ready to seam all the pieces together.

In Arms

The sleeves were finished and blocked on Saturday night. They are ready to be sewn into the cardigan. But first, I must add the ribbed edging. I plan to start that later today. Over the weekend, I headed to the Fabric Depot with Super Eggplant and I got a nice square button for the Cutaway. I hope to be wearing this sweater by the end of the week!

On to Chart 2!

I am happy to say that I finally progressed to chart two of the Drunken Argyle front this weekend. I got into a good groove while watching Sahara and season one of Six Feet Under. There will be lots of ends to weave in, but I don't think I'll mind once the knitting is actually done!