Whoopsie!

I didn’t mean to fall off the face of the planet, it just happened. Among other things, I recently purchased my first Mac, and I haven't quite got the hang of iPhoto yet. Photographic proof of some of the things I've finished up recently:

I've got quite the backlog to show you, starting with my Rocky Mountain Sunshine Afghan.

Please see my Ravelry project page for more information on the specifics. I adore it. Love it beyond all reason. Would save it from a burning building. The yarn is delicious (Michigan-based Shepherd's Wool) and the colors are perfect. I think the red edging really helps to bring it all together and keep it feeling fresh and modern.

My dad had a birthday, and I made him some socks. He adores his handknit socks. Frequently when I call him, he'll find a way to work into the conversation that he's wearing socks I made him. He has a serious attachment to these pair from a while back, so I figured it was time he got a new pair.

These are the Gentleman's Half Hose from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. This book is my absolute favorite source for socks in general and men's socks in particular. I used Lang Jawoll superwash with size 0 needles. They were excellently received and immediately modeled by my dad. Knitting men's socks can be quite the slog - their feet are just so big! - and I find I never know for sure if they're going to fit properly. These are perfect.

My sister-in-law also had a birthday. I decided to make good use of the the fabric scraps I've been collecting at an enormous rate since I got my machine last year and make a patchwork scarf. And then I decided that I loved the end result so much that I made one for myself! These patchwork scarves sew up in an evening, with very little thought required.

I apologize for the blurry photo, and for the sans-makeup-Sunday-is-for-homework look I'm sporting.

Anyway, the only materials I bought for this project were 1.5 yards of quilting flannel in that putty grey that is so popular right now. I used it for the backing. While I don't love the color in general, I wanted a flannel back for snuggliness and I wanted something that would go with the overall color scheme (black, white, light grey, yellow, purple, red) without matching anything in particular. If you're looking to do something similar, just Google "patchwork scarf" to see what I used as inspiration. I interspersed long strips and short strips, laying them out in a manner that pleased me. I pieced the scraps with 1/4 inch seams and sewed the front and back right sides together with 1/2 inch seams. Then I just clipped the corners, turned, pressed, and topstitched. The flannel yardage I bought was enough for 2 scarves with a seam in the middle of the length. The scarf is 8 inches wide and about 84 inches long. It is long enough to wrap once and have long ends or to double and pull the end through, if that's your preferred method. I really like that the fabric has enough body to stand on its own in front of your mouth and nose so you can really snuggle down in the face of winter wind. Also, it takes a lot fewer scraps than you might imagine, so if you're looking for a quick and cheap holiday gift, you could consider this.

In other news, I spilled 16oz of hot coffee on myself on Friday in front of (among others) a certain male that I am crushing. All 16oz of coffee. I was wearing my Ravelympic vest. The whole situation was very Meg Cabot, and definitely the sort of thing that happens to me more often than not. Luckily, the vest has a lot of patterning, so the fact that I wasn’t able to remove all of the coffee is not noticeable to anyone but me.

My ego, sadly, has not recovered.