Finally, My Own Personalized Gift Tags

For years, I have wanted to have my own personalized knitting labels.  They are available on-line from the U.S., but because I live in Canada, they tend to be very expensive, especially once you factor in shipping and customs.  More generic labels are available at my local crafting store but I really wanted something with my name on them.

Recently, I searched Etsy and I found the perfect alternative – a personalized knitting stamp. I ordered mine through Modern Art Stamps on Etsy.  For $10, they will customize a rubber stamp.   Naturally, I chose a ball of yarn with knitting needles for the graphic and added my own text.  Please note, for $10, Modern Art Stamps only sells the rubber part of the stamp.  I mounted my stamp on a clear acrylic block (since I like to see how my stamp is aligned on paper before stamping), although it could just as easily be glued onto a piece of wood.

Now when I give a gift, I can personalize a card with a picture of the finished product and washing instructions.  My first personalized tag was for a Bandana Cowl that I knit using Cascade Ecological wool in a washed out blue.  (Yes, I’m still trying to work through my stash of yarn – but I promise, it is getting smaller!).  It was a very quick project for a cute and functional accessory.  It is the ultimate pattern for a last minute gift (I finished it in two sittings while watching t.v. in the evening).  The bandana cowl is the perfect accessory for spring or fall when you’re just not sure if you need a scarf while you’re on the go.  It’s small enough to scrunch up into a deep pocket, yet warm enough to cut the breeze when out for a walk.  I found the pattern on purlbee.com which is my new favourite website for knitting and sewing patterns.  Their ideas are fashion forward and beautiful.  Best of all, the patterns are listed for free.  So many new ideas!  What to knit next?

Get Your Bootie On!

As I mentioned in my previous post, there seem to be so many more styles of baby booties for girls.  When I found out that a family friend had a baby girl, I just had to make her something ultra-feminine and cute.  SO…  off to Ravelry I went.

I made baby Elaina Rose slippers with cross straps. The pattern (free at Saartje Knits, courtesy of Saartje de Bruijn) called for fingering weight yarn.  I happened to have fingering weight yarn in my stash, but after finishing the first slipper, I thought it would be too small.  How wrong I was!  I had forgotten how small newborns actually are.

I made them again using a combination of Debbie Bliss’ Baby Cashmerino (pink trim) and another baby double knit weight.  They turned out beautifully and the best part was that I knit them up in the morning of my visit.  O.k., I admit that I had to finish sewing on the buttons during the visit, but oh well!  The end result, using the double knit weight yarn, was a size 3 - 6 month slipper.  The pattern was easy and the final product was satisfying.  This will definitely be one of my go to patterns for baby gifts.

My Favourite Things Infinity Scarf: fun with colours!

My New Year's resolution for 2012 was to use up my abundant stash of excess yarn.  I called it Operation Stash Be Gone.  I spent many evenings searching through ravelry.com for free patterns and I came across Jill McGee's My Favourite Things Infinity Scarf.  It was perfect. First, it allowed me to use up odds and ends of worsted yarn that was in my stash.  Second, I got to practice knitting with a variety of colours.  Since the scarf is knit in the round, the carried stitches on the "wrong" side are hidden.  This was a major bonus as the mess of the reverse side makes me twitchy - it's the perfectionist in me.  Finally, it was really fun to make.  

McGee's instructions includes different fair isle patterns to get you started, but the whole point of the scarf is to find your own favourite patterns.  I went back to ravelry and searched for stranded mitten designs.  I also found colour charts on Pinterest and on Google.  I decided to go for an animal motif and included birds, elephants, and even sheep.  What I loved most about this scarf is the way it emerged.  After finishing each section, I got to choose the next colour combinations and pattern.  It truly was exciting!

The scarf took me a couple months to knit - mainly because I was juggling three knitting projects at the same time (oh, and not to mention two small kids and a masters degree).  I was going to keep the scarf for myself but when it was halfway done, my best friend Melana saw it and fell in love with it.  Her birthday was in May so I gifted it to her.  I am planning to make one for myself - hopefully in time for winter.  For my scarf, I'd like to integrate designs that represent some of my favourite travel destinations.  Trickier to visualize but I'll come up with a plan.

     

Winter is Coming...

No, this post has nothing to do with The Game of Thrones.  Although, I do wonder whether or not "Winter is coming" will become the new "You had me at hello" or "Keep calm and carry on" catch phrase.  There is something about August that inspires me to start knitting again.  It happens every year.  Something triggers and I start searching for new patterns for cozy shawls, cowls, scarves, and the like.  This year is no exception.  Why, you ask?  Well, with the onslaught of back to school advertisements and the hint of cooler weather to come, I can't help but think, "Winter is Coming" and what better way to accessorize than with customized knits.

Of late, I have been working on three projects - all scarf-like cowls.  The first, a birthday present for my best friend Melana; the second, a thank-you gift for my friend Karina; and the third, a 40th birthday gift for my friend Vickie.  Of the three, I only finished one on time.  I always underestimate the time it takes to knit a project.  It's terrible, really.  Full disclosure: Vickie turned 40 last December - her gift will be 9 months late!  It will be completed today, I swear!  Granted, last December I had a newborn baby.  Oh, and I should disclose that the yarn I purchased (in her favourite colour, purple) has experienced 3 incarnations.  

In December 2012, I started a chunky double stranded scarf.  About 10 inches in, I got tired of fighting the tension so I pulled it out.  The yarn was speaking to me and it was saying, it wasn't meant to be this kind of scarf.  So, in February, I decided it was destined to become a shawl with a ruffled edge.  I finished the body of the shawl only to realize that it wasn't going to be something that Vickie would wear.  Arghh...  What to do?  

And that's the thing.  When knitting gifts, it's more than the thought that counts.  Why give a knitted gift to someone if it'll likely end up in the bottom of a drawer or in a donation bag to Good Will?  I don't want to be compared to the kooky spinster aunt who gifts matching Christmas sweaters for the entire family!   

My motto is that it's better late than never!  So I have transformed the purple yarn into a striped cowl.  I'm hoping it's something that she can throw on with a light jacket when she's out for walks with her family.  The diagonal stripes give the piece a youthful funkiness.  Best of all, I used the purple yarn and was able to add black worsted yarn that's been in my stash for ages (originally purchased for one of many sweaters that I never completed).  I will include a picture of the finished product in an upcoming post.