Tag: Christmas

The Christmas Project Curse

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I swear, there has to be some sort of curse that falls on a project as soon as you decide it needs to be finished on or for Christmas. A project that would normally take a week ends up a taking four, or anything that can possibly go wrong will.

I was reading Cassy’s post about her husband’s sweater she wanted to finish on Christmas and all that had gone wrong and that made me think of all the projects I set out to create for Christmas. One of which is currently resting beside me, still on the needles, because two balls of yarn arrived a week after Christmas. But that’s a story for next week.

This Christmas I had to scrap one project, barely scraped two others together, and gave an IOU on the aforementioned one still on the needles. I only had one present ready a week in advance, and that was because it was one I was supposed to have made last year.

So, perhaps this year I won’t make it a goal to get any specific project done for Christmas. Maybe it’s best to just start projects with a goal to finish eventually, but not a goal to be Christmas presents.

Charting and Ripping

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Well, not that kind of ripping. Except maybe a little. Charting increases can get a little frustrating.

Don’t let this picture fool you, either. Ive gotten to, and past, that point at least three times by now. I stopped counting how many times I had to redo it. I keep getting to a certain point and having to rip the whole thing out and start over because I get off in the stitches and can’t figure out where.

This is going to be a Christmas present, so on one hand I have time and on the other I don’t. Once I get done with the crown increases it’s just simple knits and purls. It’s this crown that’s giving me the problem now.

NaBloPoMo November 2014

Wrapping Up 2013

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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.)