Posted on 12/01/2021 6:42:31 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
About 2, maybe 3 now, years ago, we found a lady who cuts hair in her home ... she’s pretty good at cutting, too. It is SO nice to not have to go to a hair salon, either something like Great Clips or another salon where the prices are outrageous. My dad has even started going with me/mom to let her cut his hair .... she treats him like ‘gold’.
So if we have an appointment in December (have one this Friday), I always take her a little something to show we appreciate her. I’ve given her Jalapeno Pepper Jelly before - she loved it. I think I gave her homemade vanilla last year. This year, I still have some fingerless/texting mitts so I asked her what her top 2 favorite colors are ... she “looks” like a blue or purple sort to me & I have those on hand, already knitted. What came back as the answer to my question was turquoise, black & she added a third color ... pink! Drats - no turquoise. I don’t do black (it’s like knitting/crocheting blindfolded), and the pink I have is mixed with beige & I don’t see her liking that combo so much.
This morning, I was at Hobby Lobby at 9 am when they opened for turquoise yarn (plus some more pink buttons for the horse blankets ... decided to make both the same with button/buckle colors). Fortunately, the lines weren’t too long when I checked out.
Now I’m engaging in a Mitten Meditation. Knitting mittens has a very calming effect on me and I could use a little calm right now. I must say, the turquoise is very pretty - I think she’ll like the mitts.
My Hobby Lobby has the SLOWEST check-out lines ever. Wish they would put in self-checks!
I got together the Christmas gifts for the neighbors and I think I’ll add a set of dishcloths to each, now that you’ve mentioned gifting the gloves to your hair cutter! Thanks!
Would you believe that by 10:30 pm I had a turuoise pair of mittens knitted? I’m getting kind of speedy .... this was the 44th pair I’ve done this year, so all the formerly hard/tricky parts aren’t slowing me down much any more. I ran in the ends this morning & the mitts are tagged, wrapped & in a gift bag, ready to go.
I got pink buckles on both horse blankets this morning, then washed the blankets. They are currently on the horses, drying. This should help ‘shape’ the blankets a bit & get things like the neckline smoothed out. Once the blankets dry (it’s going to take a couple of days - there’s only so much water you can get out of them), then I can work on the “belt” that goes around the belly to hold the blanket on a bit better. I think I need a belt ... maybe not once the blankets dry.
The big, bulky stocking is dry ... I put a box fan on it. I just was in the shop fixing a little wooden piece to help hold the “hanger” (found some suede leather that matches in the jewelry section!) on with some support so the stitches don’t stretch. I’ll post some pics when it’s all done. I’ve arranged a rendezvous with my niece at the funeral Saturday to give her the stocking.
Thanks for mentioning dishcloths ... I have a couple of knitted patterns & I was going to throw in one as part of gifts for friends (getting jelly, ghee).
I was at HL at 9 yesterday when they opened ... by the time I got what I needed & looked around (15-20 minutes), the lines were 4-6 people deep already. The time before that, midday, the lines must have been at least 15 people deep - no joke. I started up a conversation with some folks in line ... by the time we got up to the cashier, they knew what my projects were & I knew about theirs! :-)
All is coming together nicely thus far! Sounds like you’re making good progress as well.
From website:
These are worked up with RedHeartYarn Supersaver and the decorated versions are paired with a 50 light pack (battery operated) set that I picked up at JoAnn.
The toppers are repurposed Christmas jewelry and Voila! The options here are endless so work them up and show me your take! See the link in bio for all the info!
Bobble Stitch Christmas Tree Trio – Free Crochet Pattern
Finished measurements:
Large: 10in tall
Medium: 8in tall
Small 6in tall
Those Christmas Trees are very creative!
I can’t find (the exact) pattern for those chicken hot pads, except to buy from thru Ravelry - and that ain’t gonna happen, so the search continues.
Cannot WAIT to see the horses when finished. They make me wish I was a little girl again! But, if I live long enough and get as nutty as my Dad and Grandma were - I WILL be, LOL!
I finally figured out how to do the “belts” to hold the blankets on ..... pretty simple idea so the girls can easily take them on/off (two large flower buttons), just need to ‘git er done’!
Funeral at 1:00 (SIL’s dad) so I won’t be able to work on anything until late afternoon.
Crochet Crowd tutorial/stitch chart
Note: Mikey has worked out how many stitches you need for the different sizes you might want to do - from twin up to king waterbed.
Oh, VERY pretty! Thank you!
I’m watching a tutorial this morning on a wrap I want to make from Fiber Flux:
Happy Birthday Wrap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIjYwkuDyDk
I checked it out - love the color gradients. I’ve alsays wanted to make something out of “It’s a Wrap” - this looks like a great project!
It’s coming together easily. If I like how it turns out, I will use up my stash of those ‘cake’ yarns and make them for our local Agrace Hospice.
Love ‘stash busters’ ... my fingerless/texting mittens have gotten rid of SO many small balls of leftover yarn from projects. I knitted pair #45 for this year the other night (after the turquoise mitts for hairdresser) - used up another small ball ... what is left over is the size of a large marble and I can throw that amount of yarn away without any guilt.
I finished all the crochet/buttons work on the horse blankets yesterday so they are 100% done ..... HAPPY DANCE has been happening (while I watched the Green Bay game last night - LOL!).
Mom is going shopping in a while so I’ll have the kitchen to myself .... horse baths will be happening (need the big sink). Once they’re all cleaned up & blanketed again, I’ll take pictures. I am super happy with the way everything has turned out. :-)
For those that do not know, I bought these (large!) plastic horses for $1.00 each at a yard sale October 16th. I figured I'd clean them up, crochet horse blankets for them & gift them for Christmas to my great-nieces, ages 3 & 5. Having had horses, I know what horse blankets look like so that made coming up with the blankets a bit easier - no pattern, so it was a lot of measuring & trial/error.
The blankets are done in "waistcoat" stitch which makes a dense, durable 'fabric'. The horses are slick, so the blankets needed a "belt" ... little hands have trouble with closures, but their mom said they were ok with buttons so there is only 1 button to undo & the belt comes off. The chest buckles work, but are so tiny they're unworkable for little hands so the blankets come off over the horses' heads.
Cleanup was a tough job - took lots of hours & much scrubbing. Crayon, blue paint, some brown lacquer type stains, white paint .... tried some milder cleaners, but had to resort to Greased Lightning cleaner & a Magic Eraser plus lots of elbow grease. Manes/tails were washed in baby shampoo & blown out with a hair dryer.
Here are some pics - the white horse (left) I call 'Arab' because the head & neck remind me of an Arabian. The horse on the right has "Palomino" stamped on the inside of one leg, so I call that one "Pal".
The Arab & Pal after their 'baths' & shampoo/blow drys ... looking pretty spiffy!
Sporting their new crochet blankets ... Arab in Lavender & Pal in Purple. The girls say purple is their favorite color with pink a close second.
Button details - the one on the left is a working button, the one on the right for decoration. Love the little buckles - they do a good job holding the blanket fronts together across the chest. I did buttons/buckles in pink on both blankets since both girls like purple/pink.
If you really are interested in seeing just how dirty these horses were & how they cleaned up, you can check out the following links. They were both "well loved" and filthy. Manes/tails almost felt a little 'sticky' (yuck!). Pal is the most beat up - lots of scratches, but after getting off the white paint & other stuff, he's more than presentable. I'm really pleased with the way both of them turned out. As a side note, I found a Pal on eBay ... description was "used & dirty" & the tack it came with was broken ... priced at $69 ... I think I got a deal for my $1.00!
Oh, the horses are gorgeous! Those little girls are going to squeal with delight when they receive them.
You did a wonderful job - but we would expect no less! :)
Hmmmm .... I think (trying to envision it) your ‘light green’ scenario will lighten up the whole afghan somewhat. I think it’s worth a try. Bias alert: I’m a fan of light green!
To hide the horses, I have 2 of the extra large gift sacks that I can pull over the horses. The cool thing is I found some that have wild animals - raccoons, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, etc. .... the girls love the outdoors so they'll know all the animals (mom has a degree in Wildlife Science).
LINK TO THE TEXILE ARTS RESOURCE AREA LOCATED BEGINNING AT POST 100 IN THE NOVEMBER TEXTILE ARTS THREAD!
Photo Credit Julian Mora: Handspun Yarns And Vegtable Dyes Photo Credit Paul Hanaoka Library of Yarns and Supplies
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