The Weather Outside is Frightful

 We are getting rain, snow, ice, freezing rain, wind, just about every form of winter weather. This is extending over a large part of North America. It is a perfect day to stay home and knit!

Bear, my favourite fashion model, has been feeling neglected lately, so I got him to model for me today.

He is ready for whatever the day brings. Of course, teddy bears don't really have necks, so he is wearing the neck warmer as a sweater.

The hat is finished.

The pattern is called Bankhead, and it can be found here. I modified it with a k2p2 rib to match the neckwarmer. The yarn is Brave Stripes by Knit Picks and I made the set with less than 200 gm.

I actually got to do some selfish sewing yesterday (why do we think it is selfish if we make something for ourselves?)

I got a new phone, and it was a tight fit in my current clutch, so I saw a new pattern and thought it was just the right thing.

The bag is called Findlay Phone Wallet by Hold It Right There Designs. I added a crossbody strap since I like my hands free. Just beside Bear's head, you can see that I inserted some of the lining fabric into the strap. The flap is cork fabric from a sample pack I bought from MM Cork.

The bag has card slots in the front phone pocket.

It also has a zippered body, to keep my mask, keys, etc.

The fabric is "Not Ameowsed" by Dear Stella. Do you think anyone will notice that my bag is Christmas fabric, in April?

Two finishes on the same day!

Closer to Ready

I managed to get many things done last week.

I did a lot of baking, which is all gone now.  I filled two boxes and sent them off on Thursday, to points west. 

I made 12 bandanas for my granddogs. I forgot to take a picture before I mailed them but this is what they looked like while in process.

I hemmed them all on my serger, I might do a fancier job if I planned to sell them but the dogs don't care. I kept a couple for Doug. He modeled one for you.

I also finished a pair of mittens to go with the neck warmer from last week.

The hat is currently on the needles.

Over the last 10 weeks or so, a quilt ladies from the church have been in overdrive to produce some Advent banners for the church. It was a monumental project, 10 banners with two for each week of Advent and two for Christmas.

I still go to church virtually but my spy took this picture yesterday. The fabric came from multiple stashes. The other side of the church has the same banners in mirror image. My role in making them was largely putting on a couple of bindings. I think the quilters did an excellent job.

The weather has turned cold, and seems to be here to stay this time. It started to snow, late Thursday and by Saturday morning, we had this.

There is a bird feeder under there somewhere. Emme is disappointed that her friends, the birds, have been hiding.

I guess I need to make some cookies for us, this week. And finish that hat!

Christmas is Coming - Ready or Not

 So I am baking and making, and decorating, and ... I have two deadlines, one to mail stuff across the country and one for those of us who are here. 

The tree is up.

Of course, the bins are not put away, because there are still some things that need to come out.

Emme would like you to know that she helped.

You can see what a great help she was. 

In the evenings, I knit and I managed to make a neck warmer in a couple of evenings of Hallmark movies. Neck warmers have replaced the long scarves of my youth, in the school yards. Safer and less likely to get lost.

I need to work on centering my pictures. Note the festive table covering.

I was asked for the "pattern" so I will share it with you, too. 

I had a 100 gm ball of worsted weight yarn (acrylic so it can go in the washer), and I cast on 88 stitches, loosely, on a 5mm 16" circular needle. I did a K2P2 rib until it looked long enough (about 6") and cast off using a stretchy cast off. The cast off caused the bottom to flare, and I liked it. It is done and it fits over an adult head, so it should fit somebody in early elementary. I used just over 40 gm of yarn, so you can get 2 from the ball. Presto, winter warmth. I suppose it needs a matching hat.

Mosaic Reindeer

 Every now and again, I need to remind myself of skills that I have learned. I was looking for an idea for a door decoration for a dear one with a new apartment. The Passport to Christmas give away came along last month and I saw the perfect pattern. 

Mosaic Reindeer was designed by Kristy of Quiet Play Designs. I starting pulling fabrics from my stash and came up with these.

I used the batiks and sadly put back the poinsettia fabric. After several hours and some frustration (trimming the wrong fabric or sewing the piece of fabric upside down), I finished this.

I think it came out rather well. I did machine tying instead of quilting, since it is not going to be very stressed. This morning, when the sun was out briefly, I found a bunch of jump stitches that I had missed on the back side.

Obviously, the bobbin thread was a good match for the backing fabric. The backing was a fat quarter, again from my stash, of unknown age, that was a perfect match for the front. I even got my poinsettias that I wanted.

I bound it by wrapping the backing fabric around to the front. I was reminded of this technique by Sandra of  MMM Quilts. Her tutorial is at the link.

I used the same stitch that I tied the quilt with to stitch down the binding and it went very well.

It is in the mail now, off to the "wet coast" . 

Your trivia for today: In Canada, reindeer are called caribou. The males shed their antlers in the fall, but the females shed theirs in the spring. So my reindeer must be Vixen!

 

Twice in One Week!

 Since I have another finish and I want to drop it off, I thought I would post the pictures.

Another toddler hat, this one with Big Bird, has been created. It will be donated to a winter clothing drive for babies and pre-schoolers in our community. Little people shouldn't be cold. The hat is a kit from Lion Brand, called One Hat Wonder.

Of course, Mudd thinks all pictures should have him in them. So he photobombed the hat.

Emme  was sitting watching the birds until she heard that a trip to the pet food store was planned.

She just wants everyone to know that last time, Somebody forgot to get her favourite food, trout bisque. She says she reallllly needs her favourite, so DO NOT FORGET!

The hibiscus tree has moved into the dining room, now that winter has arrived. It was so happy to be out of the cold that it rewarded us with two flowers.

Now, if Mudd would quit climbing in it.

Pillowcases - A Sort of a Tutorial

 ... Or maybe I should have started with Plan B.

Let's start with the finished project.

My favourite little boy is having a birthday. This year, he is all about Sonic the Hedgehog. While browsing my favourite online fabric store, Funky Monkey, I found this fabric on clearance. To make two pillowcases you need two yards of fabric, that go together, so that was easy. (I might have put some other items into my cart.)

To make two pillowcases I start by cutting 9 inches off the bottom of each piece of fabric. After that things started to go wrong. I tried to add piping to the pillowcase hem but it wasn't cooperating. I should have stopped but instead, I tried to make the best of it. In the end, I got out my stitch ripper, took it all apart and tried a different method.

On to plan B. 

Take the 9" strips of fabric and fold lengthwise in half, wrong sides together, or pretty side out as I tell beginners. Iron the fabric nice and flat and smooth. This will be your hem. Iron the larger pieces flat. This will be the body of the pillowcase.

Set up the serger for a 4 thread overlock stitch. Make sure the tension is even. (that is the longest part of the process.)

Align the hem with the bottom edge of the body, and serge a 1/4" seam.

Iron the seam toward the body of the pillowcase and top stitch on the sewing machine, close to the seam on the body of the case. I use my blind hem foot to make it nice and straight.

Fold the pillowcases, wrong side together, making sure that the hem seams match up . You can trim off the selvedge edges of the fabric at this point, but I just trim them with my serger. Serge the top edge and the side seam. 

TaDa, Two pillowcases in less time than it took me to take the first try apart!

I weave the serge tails into the seams and add a dot of fray check to keep them there.

Kids love these as gifts. His birthday presents are now filling the pillowcases. No waste gift bags. And the Paw Patrol cases from 2 years ago can now be retired.

I have the serger, and I used it a lot when my kids were little. It's funny how I forget to use it now.

Inertia

I don't have much to show for the last couple of weeks. Halloween has come and gone. I again made masks for my neighbourhood friends to wear to school, along with some sweet goodies.

I love this fabric. Baby Yoda was very popular with the recipients. 

I finished some socks.

The colourway was listed as Border Collie but it looks more like Zebra to me.

The Christmas cakes got baked, and are now maturing in the cupboard. Next week, they will be given another shot off rum.

I did some sewing for other people, bindings and labels. I delivered a couple of donated quilts. 

Our favourite little boy came for a sleepover, and stayed for the next day, since it was a PA day for the teachers. 

Mudd got into a tissue box and made it snow in the bathroom. (All paper products are now being stored in places he hasn't found yet.)

Emme would like you to know that she is not getting enough treats for her liking. She also says that healthy snacks are not treats.

I have started my Christmas shopping. I just need to remember where everything has been stored. I am trying to keep my crafting plans down to a minimum. I often plan more than I can possibly finish in November and December. I think all the socks are knit. I have a cowl finished as well. So there is no urgency in the knitting. I have a couple of things to sew yet. 

Meanwhile, our unseasonably warm weather means that the firewood has been laid in, the Christmas lights are up, the snow tires are on the car, and winter can come without a panic. The expectation is that that will likely happen, next week. Perhaps more cowls will be required.