Growing Obsession

I did get a bit more than coffee and Simpsons memorabilia for Christmas. One of those things has launched a slight bit of an obsession. I’m talking about the Rainbow Loom.

Here I have four of the bracelets I’ve made so far. Left to right we have the regular bracelet made with two bands in each link, a ladder bracelet, a hexagon bracelet, and the “triple single” bracelet that I made just today. I also have a “hibiscus flower” bracelet, plus I’ve made many bracelets for the rest of the people in the house at the request of the four-year-old who was the first to catch the Rainbow Loom fever at school.

These bracelets are incredibly fun to make. It’s so interesting seeing what you can make just using rubber bands. I think I’m going to work my way through the instructional videos on the Rainbow Loom website. Like I said, making these things has gotten addictive. Perhaps a bracelet of the day on Twitter?

More Minions

But not full-body toys, this time. This one was a request from the minion-obsessed four-year-old.

It’s a minion hat! The minion hat I mentioned working on here, to be exact. It’s made from Knit Picks’ Comfy Worsted in Dandelion, Celestial, Hawk, and White with a black button in the eye and Knit Picks’ Stroll in Midnight in a pom-pom on top for the hair.

It would have taken one day to make, had it not been for having to start over when I had most of the hat made. But, having worked from the already knit hat backwards I was left with the beginning of another hat:

Which will be a surprise for this hat’s recipient’s grandmother. Except I have to put two eyes on it, because it has to be different from this one, of course. By request of the four-year-old himself.

You can find more specific information on everything on the Ravelry project page.

Wrapping Up 2013

It’s completely cliché, but appropriate in this case. That is because I am ending the year with a write-up of my Christmas presents. Ok, not mine (which were approximately 95% coffee-related. I don’t plan on sleeping until 2015 with my new caffeine supply.) but the ones I actually got made.

It never fails, I know Christmas happens at the end of December, yet I always seem to wait until November to start making Christmas presents. I swear one of these years I’m going to start earlier. I make no promises on which year that will be, but one of these years I’m going to do it.

Anyway, on to the presents I managed to finish in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. First up I finished a shawl for one of my grandmothers:

This is also the thing I took the most pictures of:

Thanks to the remote viewfinder app for my camera, I can be my own model:

Next up is a warm little set for a friend, a basket weave hat

and a pair of fingerless mitts.

Here’s how they look on the hand (well, one hand, anyway):

Next up is a cross-stitched iPhone cover for another friend:

Unfortunately, the edges flared out and it became kind of misshapen as you can see in the picture.

Last we have what I’m calling the “Meta Coffee Cup Cozy”

because it is a picture of a coffee mug to go around a morning coffee.

I also gave my other grandmother her half-made scarf with the needle cable still through it and capped at the ends. But I obviously had to take that one back because I am still finishing it. Not bad for starting way too close to Christmas to actually get anything done. Maybe 2014 will be the year I don’t procrastinate on Christmas gifts…

(P.S. – Click on the name of the knitted gifts to go to the Ravelry project page for more information on the item.)