Snow!

The east coast (and I am in Maryland) was just hit with a HUGE snowstorm this weekend.  We’ve finally dug ourselves out and here are the pictures to prove it!

This was around 11 AM on Saturday.  The snow was up to my knees.  It snowed for another 6 hours after that.

 

This used to be our street.

Those were during the snowstorm.  The following pictures were taken today, after it stopped snowing.

Our road hasn’t been plowed yet and we needed to get out (breaking the tv during superbowl weekend is never a good thing) so my husband started shoveling our street.

 

You can see the neighbors at the end of the street finally starting to help out.

Beaker desperately wanted to play frisbee.  Even 2+ feet of snow couldn’t stop him.

Almost there!

See the lady in the left corner shoveling?  Well, that huge pile of snow in the middle of the street was from her driveway (on the right).  Why on earth she thought that would be a good place for it is beyond me.  We made a path around most of it so it’s basically all still there.  I don’t know how she was planning on getting out of her driveway.

That hunk of man meat is my husband.  Yes, his sunglasses say “Sex.”  They used to say “Sexy” but he colored over the “y” with a black marker.  He liked the shape of the glasses but thought that them saying “Sexy” would be too girly.  Yeah, they look much better now.

Finished!

And of course just as we finish, our neighbors drive up the street.  Unfortunately for them, they had to shovel the rest of the way to their house.

Fortunately for us, Best Buy was open and they had a tv that fit our budget and space and now we are just waiting for the game to begin!  I’m a Ravens fan but since they didn’t make it I’m rooting for the Saints!  Go Saints!

Something just for me!

I love to knit but rarely do I make things for myself.  I found a pattern for a lovely cowl and just couldn’t resist.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I LOVE this pattern!  It was so easy!  It was my first foray into cables and I couldn’t have picked a better pattern to learn from.  I also learned how to do a provisional cast on as well as the kitchener stitch to give it an invisible seam.  The casting on was no biggie but the kitchener stitch….not so much.  Actually, I think it turned out ok, I just got my stitches twisted.

 

See?  Well, when I’m wearing it, you won’t see.  I’ll just make sure to keep the seam in back.

Pattern:  Burberry Inspired Cowl Neck Scarf

Source:  A free pattern found here.

Yarn:  Cascade 128 Superwash in Summer Sky 1910

Ravelry link:  here

Quick and easy mitts

I needed a quick and easy Christmas gift for my brother.  I’ve made him hats before so this year I made him some mitts.

This knit up in just a few hours and he seemed to like them.  He’s not much of a talker so I’m not sure….

Pattern:  Those Mitts (I modified the thumb)

Source:  A friend to knit with

Yarn:  Paton’s Classic Wool in Taupe and I lost the other band but it’s a light gray, obviously  :0)

Ravelry link:  here

Felted slippers

I stumbled across these little gems while reading Yarn Harlot. I thought they would make perfect gifts for my mom and my mother in law for Christmas. I had never felted before but thought that it couldn’t be that hard.

The slippers knit up fairly quickly and the felting wasn’t bad either but I think I took them out too soon because they ended up being too big. So the size 7s I made for my mother in law were given to my mom who wears a size 10. It’s ok though….my husband’s side of the family doesn’t really exchange gifts so it worked out.

Pattern: French Press Felted Slippers

Source: French Press Knits blog

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool - I lost the band but it's obviously a light gray

Ravelry Link: here

I do plan on making these again, for myself of course! I have some robin’s egg blue wool and some scarlet red alpaca blend that are begging to be knit. I just can’t decide which color to make….

Happy Birthday Angela!

My friend Angela just turned 30…ok, well she turned 30 last month and I’m just now posting about my gift for her. 

Better late than never, right?  Right.

Pattern:  Toasty

Source:  Found here...it's free! 

Yarn:  A silk/cotton blend from a recycled sweater.

Ravelry link:  here

More custom items

Just before Christmas I finished a few custom items.  Christmastime is always a rushed and hectic time because I always try to bite off more than I can chew.  Even after cutting a few items off my list of things to make I still have a few things that I couldn’t finish in time.

I was able to finish these though:

This little ensemble was made for the same woman who wanted these adorable little shoes:

 

I also made her an outfit for a co-worker who was having a little boy soon.

And finally, a woman who I met at the Butcher’s Hill Flea Market and Craft Fair back in September just had a sweet baby girl and she wanted a custom Boppy pillow cover for herself and her sister. 

I have one more custom item to make, which is a mobile with jungle animals.  I have the fabric picked out and all the materials ready to go, just need some time to make it.

Secret Santa

We do Secret Santa every year at work and I always like to make something for my Secret Santa. I usually put some lotion or a candle in along with it but I personally like homemade gifts so of course, I enjoy giving them as well.

This is what my Secret Santa got this year:

It took a lot of will power to give this away.

Pattern: Sideways Grande Hat from Interweave Knits~Accessories Special Issue 2009

Yarn: Jiffy by Lion Brand in 159 Dark Grey Heather