Santa's Reindeer - My first Freebie for you

I can feel the spirit of Christmas right around the corner. So I decided to create a free pattern of one of Santa's reindeers.

So here is my very first pattern designs. It's based on free silhouette pictures that I found online.
It is for personal use only, do not sell the pattern or share it. If you like to tell a friend please direct them to my blog to download the pattern.

 

Boots reborn as ankle boots

As the Autumn aproaches I went through my boots and other fall shoes. I came across these black boots. I haven't had a heart to throw them away even though shafts are really ragged. I already put them in the trash pile when I started to think what if...

I took a closer look at the boots and saw there is a seam on a perfect hight to make them ankle boots! So let the upcycling begin.

Boots before

Shafts looking really bad

First I cut the shafts off being very careful not to cut the lining. I cut the zipper and the lining shorter.

The I trimmed the lining and zipper about 1cm above the seam. I secured the lining and zipper with pins...

... and started sewing by hand. I broke one needle since I started with too thin needle. :)

This is how the boots look after I was done. I really like them. They have a couple of wears left in them now. :)

Happy Autum!

Wish Upon a Star Christening gift

My aunt was watching pictures of my cross stitched projects and loved them. She asked if I could stitch a Christening gift for her son's little daughter. I said yes and showed her a couple of charts and she picked Lili of the Valley's chart "Wish Upon a Star".

The little ballerina in the chart has a blond hair but I changed the colours to brown since the little girl has a lot of long brown hair. :) The colours I used were DMC 3031, 3862 ja 3864. A long time ago I bought a DMC colour map book and it was very helpful in finding the right colours. It has real threads on it so you can see exactly what the colours look like.

I finished the stitching as a small pillow and found the perfect polka dot fabric for the backround. I also attached a lace ribbon to the sides.

I'll stitch her name on this when I go and see her. I didn't know it since in Finland the name is not usually announced before the Christening.

My handy tool for changing the colours.:)

  

I stitched some during Easter...

I have been stitching a lot during the Easter. I finished three projects I had started earlier.

This on I finished last night. Pattern is "Un tour dans mon Sac" by CMon Monde. I love how this turned out on the purple fabric. I used Atalie's Onyx instead the Gentle Art's Onyx that was called for in the pattern.

This one I finished on 6th of April. I love Vincent Van Gogh's art so this Cloudsfactory's Mini Artist Galleries - Vincent Van Gogh was a had-to-get pattern. So cute!

The Hop to it!-bunny from The Cross Stitcher magazine's issue 290 got it's last stitches on 5th of April.

I need to make something with these. I guess the Van Gogh will be framed but no idea what I do with the other two. Good ideas are welcomed. :)

Cute bunny exchange

The World of Cross Stitching magazine had Bebunni calendar last autumn. We had a cross stitch meeting and this calendar caused a sudden EEK!BUNNIES!CUTE! screams in several people. And I also had to get it. :) Outi and I then decided to have a private cute bunny exchange.

I stitched this bicycle riding bunny Outi chose. I attached it to this case which has a glass on its door. She can use it to store jewelry, letters or other treasures.

Hidden in the case: bunny poop and bunny tails (aka chocolate raisins and marshmallows) and other surprises. :)

I also sew her a reversible bunny appliquéd bag.

I got this awesome appron from Outi! I absolutely love it! The bunny I chose is stitched on the pocket. There was also a japanese bunny tablecloth, yarn, cute bunny buttons and a muffin tin.

The clock is ticking and skull from my head

I have been cross stitching but most of them have been secret projects so no pics earlier.

I took part in a Birthday exchange last year. Due to my new work and 500km move to a new city I did not have the time or the energy to fulfill my commitments. :( So, I have been making amends this year. First one I made is a birthday present to Mia. I saw this clock design in the newest Cross Stitcher (issue 289) and was so motivated that I stitched and finished it in two days. I finished this on 8th of February. I changed the colour from blue to red and used an old clock mechanism. I just cut the hands to a right lenght.

"Mia´s teatime"

I also made one small side project to cheer my friend up. I made her a keyring. The skull is from my head (pun intended ;)) and the blackwork pattern is from an old freebie print I have.

"Skull from my own head"

Today I finished a "travel project" I've had for years. Lizzie Kate´s "Christmas is forever" almost got finished during the Christmas time but the light blue thread ran out. I have a light blue thread for a secret project and I thought maybe it will be ok. It was exactly the right yarn so off I went and finished! I haven't decided what this will be.

Sunny early spring days to all!

  

A gardigan for my niece

I was shopping with my friend and saw this beautiful pink yarn on sale. Eventhough my goal is to reduce the amount of yarn I have I still bought four skeins (200g). I justified it with a promise to knit them right away. :)

For a while I have been meaning to knit a gardigan for my dear niece. So I already knew in the store that the yarn is going to be a pretty little sweater for her. The yarn is perfect in weight, colour and it is also machine washable.

It took me a few hours rummaging through the internet before I found the perfect pattern, Sunnyside. I knit the "girlie" version of it with the picot edge.

Sunnyside

Yarn: Novita Wool, colour 534, took about 110g of yarn.

Needles: 3,5mm

Still some of that yarn left so I'll be knitting her some socks. :) And maybe a hat too.

New hats and an old shawl

I needed more hats so I made some. :) I finished the first one on 18th of January, I started it last November but for some reason it became a UFO for a while. I wanted a hat that is loose so it doesn't flatten my hair. The pattern is from my head. Here comes: "Pearl"

"Pearl"

Yarn: Garnstudio DROPS Karisma, colour 52, 100g (yarn doubled)

Needles: 6mm

I was in need a very basic black hat. One that doesn't have Toyota or Playstation written on. ;) I stumbled upon a "Snowtracks Cap"-pattern and made my version of it. I made the smallest size and also shortened the pattern since I have a small head and I wanted it to "fit like a glove". Link to the pattern in the name below.

"Snowtracks Cap"

Yarn: Schachenmayer Extra Merino, colour 99 black, 100g (yarn doubled)
Needles: 3,5mm and 4,5mm

In May 2012 I finished crocheting this shawl. I've had it at the office to fight against the air conditioning so I forgot to take a pic. Pattern is from Garnstudion website.

"Frosty Heather Shawl"

Yarn: Garnstudio DROPS Delight, colour 05, 200g

Hook: 3,5mm

And one more pic of my new start. I am knitting a baby sweater for my dear niece. The pattern is Sunnyside (pattern here).  I got this much done last night. Most of the time went to find the perfect pattern for the sweater. :)

Stay warm, winter is here! :)

 

Beauty and the Beast socks

I'm in a Facebook group called Addicted to Sock Knitting. Last year there arised an idea of a sock yarn club but you took all the yarn from your own stash. 12 yarns, one for each month. The Knit-from-stash Sock Club was born and Heatherly Walker was so kind that she will offer 14 patterns for the year 2015. We get the pattern of the month on the last day of previous month via Ravelry.

First pattern is called "The Hornet" (will be on sale in Ravelry in February). I call my socks "Beauty and the Beast" socks since I watched a lot of that romantic police TV-serie while knitting these. :) And the other one is the beauty since it's perfect, the other one has a funky one-row blue stripe on the ankle therefore that one is the beast. Still gorgeous though, like Jay Ryan as the Beast. ;)

Yarn: Schachenmayer/Regia's Stripemania Color, colour:Leaves 6363
These took about 135g of yarn.

Peek-a-boo, guess hoo?

My needles still have the speed. And this time a crochet hook also got part of the action as I finished the "Peak-a-boo, guess hoo?" soft toy on Tuesday.

Materials, as seen before, 50g of Hjertegarn Lima (colour 710) and about 20g of sorted Novita 7 Veljestä yarns. Pattern again the honeycomb and rest from my head. :)

... and mitts to match

Wow, I'm on a roll! :D I wanted mitts to match the Honeycomb Hood that I finished on Saturday. So yesterday I made these. :) I got the idea from the hood and then figured it out as I knitted. Maybe I'll write the pattern if I remember how I made these. ;)

So here comes Honeycomb Mitts by Srinity:

(someone is in need for a manicure...)

Yarn: Hjertegarn Lima, colour 710 (you can see the real colour here better than in the hood pic)
Took about 45-50g of yarn

 

Honeycomb Hood finally finished!

A project that has been marinated for a few years (started on November 2009) is finally finished! Yay! I am a speedy knitter, right? ;)

Pattern: Honeycomb Hood (from Patternfish)
Yarn: Hjertegarn Lima, colour 710
Took 230g of yarn

I made the front edging my way. I wanted a bigger hood part and nicer edge so I picked 40 stitches from the center (1st every other row), knit one row (right side), purl the second. On the first purl round and every row after it I picked one stitch from the side of the scarf and knit/purled it and then turned and continued. I did 14 rounds of plain stitch and 5 rounds of garter stitch to prevent the edge from rolling. Then I bind the stitches off very loosely.