Hot Water Bottle Cozy

Just when you thought we sisters had given up crafting, the need for some extra comfort has saved our dwindling creativity.

Autumn is approaching, and along with it comes much colder camping.  My sweetie swears that a hot water bottle in my sleeping bag will keep me toasty (I hope he's right).  Snuggling up to a hot hunk of rubber wasn't too enticing, so I went through my remnants, pulled out a pair of US 15s, and got to work.  

I made this by trial and error, so there's not much of a pattern to post.  I believe I did k, p2, k2, p2, cable 6, p2, k2, p2, k1 on each side, and continued until it was long enough.  Cute, huh?  And so snuggly.

The Hat Machine is at it Again

Did I mention I've been a hat machine lately?  This one (sorry for the poor photography) was originally intended for my nephew.  But before I had even woven in the ends, someone (whom I cherish absolutely) eyed it with desire and I just couldn't say no.  Isn't that the ultimate compliment, when the product of your labor and creativity is desired?

It turned out nice and rustic-looking, and if you look closely, you can see a sprinkling of wood shavings that attest to its usefulness already.  Apparently it was just the thing for a woodworker.
And don't worry, my nephew did end up getting a hat.

Remnants = Stripes!

A simple, stripey hat for my little brother using wool remnants left over from my Christmas projects.  Casted on 75 sts on my US8 AddiTurbos and went at it.  K3 P2 ribbing for the brim, and then on to easy straight stitching.  To decrease the crown I K2tog 5 times per round, alternating with straight-st every other round.  And there you have it.  I've been a bit of a hat machine lately. 

Homemade Organic Instant Pancake Mix

My sweetie and I love pancakes, and I have to admit, I make a really
great batch of pancakes. It takes a lot of work though, between all the
ingredients and melting the butter, blah blah blah. Well, actually,
it's not THAT much work. But I recently had access to some instant
pancake mix and I "Just Added Water!" How simple is that?! I made the
mistake of looking at the ingredients, though, and was disappointed. I
knew there had to be a way to make a simple organic pancake mix (and
leave out all that sugar!).

I did some searching online and found this recipe. I tested it a few
times and made some modifications--most significant of which is to
decrease the portion of wheat flour--I found they were just too dense as
it was written. I also added powdered eggs--my goal is to make these as
simple as possible! Finally, I significantly decreased the sugar. All of my ingredients are certified organic--we're so lucky to have all this healthy stuff, in bulk, downtown at the local Food Co-Op. 

After some more testing, I was happy with the mixture, and made a huge
batch, scooping it into quart sized canning jars for my sibs for
Christmas. Cut up some squares of cloth (an old curtain from Goodwill)
with my pinking shears, and whipped up a little label in MS Word with
some fancy clipart. Voila! A pretty cute, healthy, and very cheap
Christmas gift.

Sketches and Skulls

Photo of Skulls

 I always thought I was bad at realistic drawings... Until I took a drawing class. We've been drawing skulls from different viewpoints and mediums for the last few weeks and here are some of my best works.

Black and White Charcoal Drawing

Gesture Sketch with Charcoal

Pen and Ink Drawing

One-Page Comic (Framed!)

I've been doodling a lot more than usual lately, I blame it on my drawing and design classes that a) force me to, and b) give me the confidence to. I've been talking about making comics for a few years now, I even keep a notebook of comic strip ideas. However, I never actually drew them. I have this notebook filled with characters and plots and events and no doodles to back them up! That's all about to change. In the last two weeks I have been in comic heaven, I started by drawing homemade postcards of funny memories with friends and sent them off to the Northwest where they were well received. Next, I created this short, one-page comic for my friend Meri. Then I framed it. Boom! Instant, one-of-a-kind, sentimental gift that's so cheap, you don't even need a reason to give. Check out Meri's amazing blog here.

Wrap Cardigan

 My friend Jeannie had this beautiful wrap cardigan--it was exactly the type of sweater I'd been wanting to make for myself, and had yet to find a pattern for it.  I was desperate--you know how you know there is something you want to make, but just can't find someone who's designed it?  That's how it was.

So I borrowed it from her and laid it out.  I measured it, and decided what sort of alterations I'd like to make.  I bought some yarn, about 10 skeins of Cascade Yarns 220.  I measured out my guage on size US 8 needles, and then I did some algebra to figure out how often to decrease and increase.  Then I started.

It's basically one back panel, two large triangular side panels, and two sleeves.  It was monotonous.  I think for each side panel I cast on 90 sts.  It hits me mid-thigh, and that took a lot of knitting, a lot of time, a lot of note-taking, and a LOT of tally marks.  But my figures didn't let me down, and I am thrilled with the results.  You can bet I won't be throwing this one in the washing machine any time soon.

I love this sweater.  I wear it all the time.  It's the first thing I pull on when I wake up in the morning, or when I get home from work.  I wear it out over leggings or jeans.  Super warmy.  Who needs to pay a heating bill now?

I knitted a belt for it, and I also sewed some buttons on the side--I'm still deciding on my favorite closure.  I love the way it drapes around; it's very snuggly.

Thanks to my sis Jess who came over today to take some pictures of the sweater for the blog.  Happy Thanksgiving!