I realized with horror the other day that in the mad rush to finish up all the family’s Christmas gifts amidst the very tiring rollercoaster of my mom’s health issues, I completely neglected to take any photos whatsoever of said gifts before they were turned over to their owners. Frankly, I was just happy to get them done - I ended up leaving my aunt and sister at the hospital a few evenings while I went home to sew presents! I had, of course, planned to get them made much, much earlier in the year, but orders from Wallypop kept me so busy, I just kept putting it off.

So, I have no photos, and I’m really quite sad about that.

I made seasonal/holiday pillowcases for all the adults - Valentine’s Day, Spring, Summer, Independence Day, Fall, Halloween, and Christmas. Though I was really excited about making them, I had some last-minute panic attacks that they all would hate them and/or think that it was a really lame gift. My fears were for naught, though - everyone either did genuinely think they were great, or they’re all really good actors.

The kids all got hoodies, with two exceptions. I made a Hannah Montana hoodie, a Jack Sparrow hoodie, a black hoodie with flame accents, and a Steelers hoodie. My oldest neice is getting Pink Skull pajama pants, and my youngest neice got a matching pink skull cardigan. (OK, I was running out of time and also did not have any small separating zippers, hence the cardigan.)

I really enjoyed making the hoodies, and will probably make myself one in the coming weeks.

I also made Wally some pajama pants, and will be posting pictures of those soon!

Have I mentioned that I’m a knit-a-holic these days? No big projects, only things I can finish the same week I start them. This bag, above, was done without a pattern, and really without any concrete idea of what it would look like until I was nearly done with it. I’m happy with how it came out, though it shrunk up shorter than I anticipated when I felted it. (I mean, I know knitting shrinks more in height than in width, it was just the sheer amount of vertical shrinkage that surprised me on this one.) But I still like how it turned out.

This one is based off of the Magknits Sophie pattern, for a general guide to get me through making the base and starting the sides. This yarn, purchased on clearance at JoAnn as part of a kit, was not my favorite to work with, but it felted nicely and it looks and feels pretty good now. It’s nothing I’d want to cuddle, but it’s not too bad.

I wasn’t sure when I made these whether they’d be Christmas gifts for family, or if I’d list them on Etsy to become Christmas gifts for someone else, but I ended up deciding to list them last night.

I finally have my shop updated with the items from Craft Saturday that didn’t sell at the event. I believe I promised I’d do that on Monday but, hey, it’s only five days later, right?

I have a few things left here that I haven’t listed yet, those might trickle on over the next few weeks.

On a personal note, both my mom and my grandfather have been admitted to the ICU, so I might be posting a bit less frequently for a few weeks.

Sunday and Monday, I spent photographing the items I made for Craft Saturday that didn’t sell at the event so I can list them either on my Etsy store or at Wallypop. Any time the camera comes out, of course, Wally either wants to be behind it, taking pictures, or he wants to be in front of it, getting photographed. Today, he has helped me push the button quite a bit, and he’s also helped model a few items for me.

For example, the Quicken recycled Tshirt tote bag above.

And the cow pouch below, I asked him to sit and hold the pouch in his lap, and he needed to investigate what exactly might be in this pouch. (Unfortunately for him, there was nothing in this one, but it did make me think that these pouches would be perfect for crayons or Hot Wheels or any other small collection of trinkets that a three year old might need.)

I never really understood wrist warmers. They just leave your fingers out there, all cold. But they have always seemed tantalizingly easy. Except I’m not keen enough on using dpns to really want to take on a whole project that uses them. So I decided to never make wrist warmers.

Then it got very cold. My office is unheated. Normally, I just whine about having cold hands all winter. But then I remembered wrist warmers, which suddenly seemed attractive and not so useless.

Like I said before,  I had already cast on and started making just straight wrist warmers, without shaping, when I found Ysolda’s pattern. I love it. I ended up adding another repeat of the “knit to marker, w&t, knit 5 rows” section to make it big enough around - my gauge was different than hers - but I love them.

Yarn: Joann Sensations that I bought on clearance last winter for $1 per skein. woot.
Pattern: Ysolda’s Garter Stitch Mitts.
Time: I knit the second one, start to finish, in under two hours during a very slow craft show on Saturday.

I had fun getting ready for Craft Saturday. I made a bazillion things to take (too many), made myself a coat tree with about $8 worth of materials, made myself a nifty sign, priced and packed up all my stuff. The show was fun, despite the cold (outside and inside - I just couldn’t get warm), the small crowds, and the incredibly dark and dreary surroundings. It was very well-organized - kudos and thanks to Danelle and Joe, who do all the work to put it on. I’ll definitely be back.

I did also learn a lot from my first craft show experience.  I share that here, in the hopes that it helps someone else.

• Do a trial run. I taped off a booth in my dining room, set up my table, did some arranging and rearranging. But I did forget that I’d have a lamp, and I also had already packed away some of my items, so when I arrived to set up at my actual location on Saturday, things were a bit different. I mean, it wasn’t a tragedy, but I wish I’d done a full-scale trial run.
• Bring a buddy. I didn’t have a buddy for this event. I mean, Randy has to stay home with Wally. My mom can’t be out in the snow. My friends all have small children and are understandably reluctant to leave their families on a weekend. So I was all on my own for the afternoon. Got a little boring. I couldn’t really get up.
• Bring a project. Not only was I able to knit to pass the time in between visitors (it was really really slow at times), but many visitors commented favorably on the knitting. I also found that people were likely to stay and browse longer if I merely looked up, said hi, made a comment about whatever they happened to be looking at, and then went back to my knitting. I was available if they needed me, but not staring at them. This also meshes well with how I like to shop. If the booth owner ignores me, I’m more likely to stay and browse than if they’re just staring at me while I check out their stuff.
• Less is more. I had waaay too much stuff. I was actually just being optimistic. I left many things packed away, but I wanted to bring them in case I sold through the stuff I set out originally. ha ha. But still. way. too. much.
• Labels and signs are important. The things I had labeled (I made little tent signs with a short description and the price of similar items that were grouped together) were the things that got looked at. The things that didn’t have signs did not get looked at.
• Provide a logical progression through the booth. I lacked that, but many other booths had a good logical progression. I’ll have to fine-tune my set-up for the next time.
• If you bring a mannequin, be sure to bring some clothes for her. I have never forgotten a shirt for Miss Inflatable, but I did this time, and she looked a little inappropriate. I was embarassed for her.

I did make money. I made back my booth fee as well as the cost of the materials for the coat tree, plus some. I think it was a success. I’ve taken note of what sold and what didn’t and am already planning some changes for next time.

Those of you who came out - thanks for braving the weather and the bad forecast! Those of you who didn’t - maybe we’ll see you in March??

• What is your favorite family holiday tradition?

Hands-down, it’s staying home on Christmas. The year my dad died (just before Christmas 1999), we decided to end the hassle of traveling to see family at Christmas (besides, my own family had just disinvited me from their holiday gathering). We made plans to stay home, just the two of us, and relax and do nothing that day. My mom called it “awful;” we called it “wonderful.” The weather had been horribly cold, but warmed up on Christmas Day, and we went for a lovely walk through our snow-drenched neighborhood. We have stayed home, just our family, ever since. We typically eat sticky rolls in the morning, watch lots of A Christmas Story on TBS, and play games.

• Have you started any new traditions with your family that you didn’t practice growing up?

The above-mentioned staying home. It seems that all of my growing-up traditions were based on the facts of life when one is a pastor’s family. Our whole schedule around the holidays was so strictly dictated by the constraints of church needs. Now that I’ve got my own family, our own holiday traditions are much more relaxed.

One thing we do, and hope to do more of as the kidlet grows up, is move our nativity set around as appropriate. The maji aren’t on the scene until Epiphany, Jesus isn’t in the manger until Christmas Day, Mary and Joseph aren’t there right now, either. We move things a bit every few days.

• What do you love most about the holiday season?

Hm. Randy having time off from work, having lots of relaxed family time.

• What do you like least about the holiday season?

Large family gatherings with lots of noise and commotion. Going anywhere near any retail establishment.

• Anyone close to your heart that you’ll be missing this year?

We miss my dad as always.

• What is your favorite holiday food?

OK, this is weird, I know, but OJ with ginger ale. I drink it only at Christmas and for New Year celebrations. (And when pregnant.)

• Do you have a great recipe to share?

I could share our family’s recipe for sweet rolls, but then I’d have to kill you.

My earlier self-doubt about the wrist warmer has been resolved, and I bow to Ysolda’s pattern-making abilities - this really is a clever little warmer! I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow and start on the other one next week.

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Yes, I sometimes think I’m quite smart. I had finally decided that I did actually need a pair of fingerless gloves, after all. All summer, I looked at various pairs knit by various knitters, and thought “why would anyone want fingerless gloves?” Then it got cold out, lol, and my basement (which is where I work) is unheated. And my hands got cold. And while fingerless gloves won’t solve everything - those fingers will still be uncovered - I bet that the gloves will be nice.

So after looking at a few patterns I found via Google, I decided to try something new and knit them the long way (so, not around, but so the rows run parallel to the arm), back and forth, in either garter stitch or in a modified stockinette that I used on a scarf I made last year. I had the first one about 75% completed when I took a break to surf some crafting blogs.

Surfing, surfing, surfing…and found this.  Apparently, I am not so clever after all! Or, at least, not uniquely clever. Her pattern is so much better than what I was doing, with the short-row shaping, that I just ripped mine out and started over.

I’m about 25% into the first one now, and I have to say, I’m having trouble visualizing the end result based on what I have in my hands. Here’s hoping that I’m just lacking vision right now, and not that I messed something up in the first few rows that have doomed the project entirely.