jewelry makers

I took a brief break from all that knitting last weekend to scrounge around in my beading supplies. I'm not much of a jewelry maker, especially since I'm not much of a jewelry wearer, but lately it seems as if I am acquiring some cute necklaces. I like the way they spice up my usual t-shirt/cardigan uniform. 

I've had this black chain for a while. I love the oblong links. I'm also a collector of vintage lace and linens, so I pulled out this bit of black lace and made a funky necklace (which was surprisingly difficult to photograph). 

 Necklace 

It's lovely and light to wear. I like it just off center, so it feels sort of corsage-like. But I could use some advice from the jewelry makers out there. I like the multiple strands of chain, but they wrapped around themselves throughout the day and twisted into a single chain. Is there a way to keep them separated? Jump rings between the chains? Short lengths of chain running perpendicular? Any suggestions would be welcome. Thank you! 

Okay, it's back to knitting for me now! 

 

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lovely snow

It snowed yesterday, and I knitted and baked and watched Love, Actually. It was just perfect.

The video features a brief cameo appearance from Winston and Bear.

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winter knitter

Despite the temptation to cast on right that very minute, I did not start my hat with the too-small ball of yarn from my stash. I did, however, go out the very next day to get enough yarn to make it. 

 Hat1
Despite all the cables, it was a pretty quick knit, and I think I will make a couple more, actually using stash yarn. This is the Habitat pattern from the always elegant Brooklyn Tweed. The yarn is Berroco Jasper, a nice, soft, squishy merino wool.

I'm making a few knitted gifts this Christmas, and the hat is one, so I'm making good progress. It's been awhile since I've knit anything, but I've realized that I enjoy knitting much more in the winter. So, knitting season is here, and I am embracing it. 

Gift number two was coming along nicely, until I realized that it was much too small for the intended recipient, but it's cute, so maybe a niece will be getting a pair of squirrel mittens too, and I'll have to try again with heavier yarn and bigger needles. 

 Mitten 

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I spent a quiet day, puttering, knitting, sewing and cooking. It was actually very nice. We're taking dinner to my mother-in-laws house today, and then I will have the rest of the weekend to recover from her. I used to try having a good attitude when visiting her, hoping it would rub off, but it never worked, so I think I am going to try having a bad attitude this time, and see what happens. Do you think it will work? 

 Hat2
I really like this hat.  

  

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craft night

I really needed to do something creative that didn't involve a computer. Also, I'm dead tired, so it couldn't be too hard or take too long. So I did the quickest craft ever. I turned my grandmother's charm bracelet that I inherited, into a necklace. The pretty silver, wood-grained ribbon is from Martha Stewart's line at Michael's. I cut two pieces, looped them through the clasps on either end, and trimmed the ends. I'll just tie a square knot in the back to wear it!

 Charm1 

I've always loved this charm bracelet, it's absolutely packed with charms. There are silhouettes of her children, and a few of grandchildren, but then she switched to a gold charm bracelet for that. With seven children and 25 grandchildren, she had enough for a pretty full bracelet of just the silhouettes. It just barely fits my wrist, but it's too jangle-y and heavy for working at a computer all day, so I've rarely worn it. This way I can wear it more often. I think the squirrel and the spinning wheel are my favorite charms.

 Charm2 

Now I'm going to knit. I'm thinking of living on the edge and casting on for a hat. The pattern calls for 120 yards of yarn, but I have a skein that says it's 95 meters. that's a difference of just over 16 yards. Should I risk it? 
 
 

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introducing APPlesauce

To all the iPhone users out there, I created a new little project called APPlesauce. There will be some fun stuff going on over there in the coming weeks, so I hope you'll visit and send your friends. Feel free to steal a button, if you'd like to spread a little link-y love too!

 Button2
 

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