Tag: christmas

Rocquaine/Gifts

emilyWools1 Comment

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I made the Rocquaine sweater (rav link) from PomPom Quarterly’s Fall 2016 collection. I wanted to make something a little out of my comfort zone– it has a semi-cropped fit, and I had never made a gansey before. It seemed like a great learning project. This went very quickly, and I love how BT’s Arbor knits up, very spongy and light. I haven’t knit with BT yarns before, but it seems like this is a heavier yarn for them than the rest! I will have to give Shelter a try soon.

I messed up a little bit on the front gansey panel, I didn’t start the rig and furrow motif soon enough, so it starts a little late. Its very unnoticeable, though, so I am okay with it. I like the texture so much!

rocquaine_sweater_6rocquaine_sweater_4rocquaine_sweater_3Jacob is killin’ it with the photos!

On another note, I made my mom and sister some mitered-corner Essex linen napkins for Christmas. After making 16 napkins, I have discovered a trick to help make a more professional finish. At first, after sewing the miters and pressing, I had so much excess fabric in the middle of each side, and couldn’t figure out where I went wrong. After going back to double-check my measurements, I found that pressing from the middle of each side before pressing the corners made a huge difference and eliminated the excess ease. I think the miters can be deceiving when pressing them first, and they can throw a lot of slack to the long sides instead of sucking some up themselves. After adopting this method, sewing the hem became a breeze. Anyway, totally recommend these napkins, I love them and the fabric is perfect for an everyday napkin. I might make some more for me!

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Bonus: Jacob snapped a pic of the silver dollar patch after some rain. I love how moody this is.silver_dollar

festive us.

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our house is getting festive. we have some minimal lights so far, along with fake wreaths on the railings, and a “real” wreath i doctored up from bare to ribbon-ed and beaded.

and then one day at work i found some garlands in the trash room. 3 lighted 10ish foot strands, and one unlit one. i cant tell you how excited i was when i found them! i wrapped the banister to the second floor with the lighted garland, and then created my own little ditty with the unlit one for over the dining room fireplace.

and here is our tree! post lights, pre ornaments:

… and then the final tree!

pre-december buzz.

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i meant to make curtains for our entryway to the living room last year, but i didn’t get around to it in time, so this year i made it a priority to keep out the drafts before winter arrived. the entrance to our living room is right by our front door, so it gets really drafty when its cold out. i’ve had a bolt of “vintagey” marines fabric from the thrift store sitting around for years. i got the whole thing for $10, i couldn’t pass it up. a few weeks ago it occurred to me that they would make really neat curtains. i got some red backing fabric and corner weights at joanns. i totally recommend getting weights, i LOVE the results, they hang so nicely. we finally installed the hold-backs this weekend, so its picture time!

my fiddlehead mittens are almost half-done. i got some orange yarn to line them, so they will be extra warm! i love love love the blue sky alpacas yarns, they are so soft and nice to knit with. im getting pretty speedy with two-stranded knitting– i started the second mitten last night. i want to do the colorwork first, then block them, and then knit in the liner.

i planted the paperwhite bulbs i bought in california. i cant believe how easy they are to “plant” and how wonderful the payoff is of watching them grow and bloom! all you do is stick the bulb in a container with rocks and fill the water to cover half the bulb, and watch the magic. 

also, christmas is getting into full swing here, i started christmas cookies. jacob’s special request were buckeyes, he’s already put a big dent in them, so i think ill have to make more before our christmas party.

here’s our tree! we haven’t decorated yet, so heres the raw thing: