It's Getting Cold

     The Mercury has finally dropped...a bit! It doesn't really get cold here in Southern California. At least not by East Coast, Mid West or even Northern California standards. But tonight it is a cool 51 degrees. I wait all year long for it to cool down. As I said in an earlier post, the last three months of the year are my favorite.  Every year I pray that a freak storm system will bring us a dusting of snow, but to my disappointment, nothing. One year it did get close, Malibu Canyon (about 30 minutes from me) got some snow. Well, it was all over the news. Even friends from back east were stunned and called asking what was happening. It was so beautiful. Maybe this year.
     I always wait anxiously for the colder weather so I can pile on the "winter clothes". Scarves, hats/beanies,
ponchos, sweaters, gloves, socks...in cashmere, wool, angora...so nice, so warm. I love layering clothing. So in order to celebrate my love of the cold I wanted to share some pictures of my friend Cheryl's knitting projects. She has been knitting for about a little over a year now and I find that her work is pretty good. I cannot believe that she has gone from novice to this so quickly. I have been knitting for years and I still only do knit-purl-knit-purl...(not that I have taken a class like her) I think she has found her calling. And to top it off, she enjoys it. I don't exactly have the patience it takes to knit the same thing for more than maybe a couple of days. This obviously narrows my choices significantly. I don't think I will be knitting an afghan any time soon. So I say "good for you Cheryl!"
     It all started with a beanie she made me. I just loved it. So I asked her if she would send me some pictures of the other things she has made. Beautiful! Of course she is her own worst critic, feeling that her end product was less superior than expected. I beg to differ my dear friend. I think they are fabulous.
     The pictures of her creations are below. If you are an aspiring knitter you can find patterns for many of these and other projects on many website or blogs. You can also find patterns on Etsy.com but you have to purchase them. Some sites offer free patterns. Good luck and may we all be Domestic Geniuses.

Cheryl wearing one of her creations

My beanie. Love the colors. The combinations of the two blues
and flecks of neutral makes it can be worn with anything...like
 a pair of jeans

Finger-less Gloves
They are all the rage. She made these from the
same yarn as my beanie. I'm still trying to find
 a way to get my hands on them.

Just a simple scarf.

What a great scarf. Simple, beautiful winter
color and cable knit! Need I say more?

     

Halloween Costume

          So about a week ago I made a Halloween costume for my friend Tiana. She is in Roller Derby and they asked everyone to dress up in togas. Well she's not one of those girls that just wraps a sheet around herself. So off to Joanns we went. She wanted a hot pink one (the colors of her team are pink and black). So be it. That fabric was hard to work with (it was that stretchy costume material. It was pretty easy. Straight stitching, two pattern pieces, some elastic, gold rope and decorative ribbon.
         So if anyone wants a simple enough costume this is it. The pattern actually makes four different costumes so it's worth it. We actually hit a 40% of sale on fabric and pattern and $5 off our whole order coupon, so it only cost us $35. That included a the thick gold rope instead of thinner one (so it was more) and thin gold rope that she's going to attach to her shoes and wrap up her legs.  We purchased a bit more of everything in case there were any mistakes (just in case I cut something wrong). It could have cost us a bit less but she was okay with it and most costumes at those Halloween stores are going between $50-$70 or more. And don't forget all the accessories you need, it can add up.

          Apparently everyone loved it. Most wrapped a sheet or fabric around themselves and called it a toga. She was happy that she went all out. Everyone thought she bought it. And I had just a bit of fabric left over for some fabric covered bracelets! If anyone wants the pattern number and company just email me. Below are some pictures of the costume.

Okay, so it was more of a sexy toga...it was kind of short.

We tied some of the thicker rope on the shoulder.
Just a simple tie.

More of that thick rope went to the waist.

As you can see we put some of the decorative ribbon on the bottom. A little "Steam  A Seam"and presto! No sewing on that one. We also made the cuffs above the same way. I used the "Steam A Seam" and ironed it onto some extra thick fabric.

Here we used the thinner gold rope for the shoes and wrapped it around her legs.