Joining in for the “Yarn Along” over at small things:
My house is buzzing with Christmas activity. Lil One is counting the days. We’re trimming, shopping, baking, wrapping and… knitting and reading. OK, maybe just a little more than knitting & reading, actually. More like knitting, crocheting, sewing, working with leather, dyes and hardware, obsessively watching craftsy class videos, and reading sewing blogs, all for what I hope will be the crown jewel of my 2012 creations: The Ravishing Red Handbag. I answered a question on how I’ve come to learn what I know for a student recently and realized it was the most accurate way I can think of to describe my way of working. Something comes to mind, and no matter what the crafts and skills are that are needed to make my idea a reality, the picture in my head drives me to learn whatever I need to, to complete the project just as I imagined it. So my idea for a leather trimmed, sturdy, crochet fabric, functional and fully lined tote bag has been the focus of my studies, work time, reading and research for a couple of months now. Hey, I didn’t say it was the fastest way to work!
In addition to the main project, I’ve also had the usual ups and downs with yarn shortages (argh!), finding more yarn (yeah!), moth holes (drat!), and successful FO (shazam!) slowly coming to be. Right now I’ve settled in to a long winter’s knit making a plum cardi for myself. It is both blissfully simple to knit, and I have plenty of yarn for. So, in the Christmas spirit, I offer a few pics of the supermodel herself, Lil One, in her very Christmas Red Mulberry Hat and Lil Red Gloves:
She does love to strike a pose. She gladly modeled the duo with her choice of blue clothing, which actually inspired the lining choice for my handbag.
You can see here that the chocolate band is actually just the crochet work rather than a ribbon. I worked it through the back loop only to create a nice surface for the band, and I love the way it came out integrated into the hat.
But my little starlet grew tired of the paparazzi chasing her and gave me the brush off, grabbing the hollywood shades and ‘tude as she strolled by her sports car on “Guistinello Drive”:) .
I hope everyone has a happy, safe and very, Merry Christmas!