Happy Belated Holidays!

I have way too many unfinished projects, but the one project that I was able to finish was a simple crocheted scarf for hubby. He likes darker colors and he hates scarfs that "roll up" so I decided to crochet rather than knit a scarf for him. It was extremely simple- I just did stripes in single, half and double crochet.

Not only was it quick, but I feel as though it barely used up any yarn! I also made the scarf incredibly long because he likes to double the scarf and pull the ends through the loop rather than just wrapping it around his neck. He measured it and the final length of the scarf was around 8 feet!!

Because it is winter break (and I am NOT taking classes for once) I am trying to design a knitted sweater. It will be knit from the top down, use raglan increases, and not be too form fitting. I am thinking more of a kimono meets cardigan for the fit of the sweater. I also did 12 row stripe pattern because working in stockknit stitch is enough to make a person's brain turn to mush! I am actually almost done with the main body (minus the button bands that will need to be picked up and knitted on the front). So, more pictures will be to follow. As some of you may have guessed, I am using Simply Soft Eco for the yarn. While I love the yarn and the idea of reusing bottles, I am really missing using some other fibers (mainly wool and soy).

And my last item in this post is a work in progress for needlepoint. I think it is really neat how the images in needlepoint evolve and I thought I would take pictures of it every so often to see how this progresses. This will be one needlepoint in a series of three that will become living room pillows for the couch.

Sorry about the darkness of the pictures but the sun has been a no-show for quite a while.

Well, I hope that everyone had an amazing holiday and happy crafting!

What I should be doing is my finals.

So, I still have finals to do, study for, papers to write and presentations to do but hey- why not pick up yet another hobby? Still not much knitting going over because of time constraints and I like seeing my projects get done. While hanging out with my mother I got a hold of some embroidery floss and a book on counted cross stitch. I also decided that trying a cute and easy pattern wasn't the most appealing option so I went for a flower that is really really pretty and uses way too many colors. While doing this I learned a few things:
- using white thread on off-white fabric is stupid
- Counted cross stitch doesn't take as long as one may think
- It is much more relaxing than I thought
- there is counting involved, this doesn't get too difficult until you realize that it is impossible to count white stitches on an off white background

- the fabric that comes in those cheap little kits kinda sucks

Other fun things include almost being done with a baby blanket (shown with the baby booties) and I am unsure how big to make a baby blanket because I am unsure how big babies are. Anyhow, only a few more motifs, a border and some flowers and I will be done! I am hoping that this will be done after this weekend.

I am really excited to see how the mother and father react to the gifts. I have been keeping track of how many plastic bottles are being used for this baby set and I have counted up almost 6 bottles. Kinda neat that a baby can be an excuse to help.

Lastly, I am waiting for a directory of crochet stitches to get delivered to my doorstep so I can make a last minute scarf for my husband as a surprise. I already got a nice olive green color yarn for the scarf, and had come up with a knitting pattern but unfortunately I don't have the time for knitting.

Good luck to all other students who are trying to get A's in classes, not lose their mind over projects, and are trying to figure out their thesis!