Merry Christmas etc. :)

In this house the holiday is practically over. People are going back to work tomorrow and I have biology to do. Looking forward to studying again :) Think I've forgotten to mention that I've actually been admitted into a college math & physics course this spring, which will give me the credits I need to apply for biology at the university :) So happy that I got in, I was so sure I wouldn't. Over 200 applicants and less than 80 available places. So from Monday the 10th I will be busy busy busy with math and stuff. Hope I'll do better than I did on my own this fall! Didn't even get past the first chapter in my math book :/

So did you get anything fancy for Christmas? I'm very pleased with my loot :) Mostly practical stuff like kitchen utensils and new trunks (our old ones are seriously falling apart and won't survive another trip), but I got two macrame bracelet kits + a gift certificate for the craft store. Can't wait to go shopping next week! I think there will be lots of new beads :D

From my mother I got a convertible cowl/hoodie thingy which I've used a lot these last days because it's freezing cold outside. It's really nice and warm around my neck (I never wear scarves because I feel they choke me) and I like it a lot. Problem is, though, that a few days before Christmas I just started crocheting one! Hmm... I just fell in love with the yarn and the colors and it's so cold around here I had to make something, but now I'm not sure what to do about it. I guess I can always use two of them :) Here's what I have so far, I think it's about half done:

Well, enough with the ranting. Hope you all are having/have had a nice weekend! Enjoy next weekend as well, and have a happy new year if I don't post any more this year :)

Potholders galore!

I've been very busy lately, because one day I suddenly decided to make something for everyone in my family for Christmas! Potholders seemed like a good idea and I had some cool yarn I wanted to try, so I started making loads of them... The first I made really big, because I only wanted to make one:

I didn't realize until it was half done that my choice of yarn was a bit off. The yarn does not take heat (no ironing) and needs to be hand washed. Great. So I got some ordinary cotton yarn and made a padding for the back. I think it'll work, I just need to inform the recipient... The pattern is found HERE.

I already had the yarn for a second potholder, so I decided to do the same with that one. The back is padded with darker brown yarn, as I couldn't find an exact match:

The pattern is the same as the first one, but I ran out of time and had to make it one round smaller. Don't think the recipient will mind, though :)

I found some other brand of fancy yarn I wanted to try, so I made two pairs of small potholders from this pattern. The yarn has something called 'milk fibers' in it (whatever that is), and can only be washed on 30 degrees C. Hmpf! So I made cotton backings for these potholders as well, beige for the gray/beige ones and black for the orange/purple ones:

Finally I used some of the leftover cotton and made up an apple wedge potholder for my grandmother:

It's very simple; just a circle with the last round done in apple skin color. The pits were crocheted separately and sewn on before I folded the thing in half and sewed along the green edge. Tada :)

I had to rush these because I had to get them shipped in the mail before December 16th. I made it (barely), so now I've been relaxing for a few days with a project for myself, which I'll blog about later :) I still have a few Christmas presents to finish, though, but they don't have to be wrapped until Christmas Eve! Heh :p

Christmas Dudes x 2!

I am so happy to have not one, but TWO new patterns to share with you! The past two weeks I've been working very hard on some Cute Little Dudes patterns for the holiday, and last night they were both finally done and listed both on Ravelry and on Etsy. Here are all the Dudes together:

Set one is Santa, Reindeer & Snowman; set two is Angel, Gingerbread man & Gnome. Most of these Dudes are a little different from the other sets I've made as I've never done humans/humanoids before. It was fun! More animals to come later, though :)

In terms of difficulty these Dudes are not more complicated than the rest, but some of them do have a lot of details. The angel's hair can be a bit tricky if you're not used to putting hair on dolls, but I've explained things as best I can and I hope it makes sense :)

I wanted to have the patterns up by December 1st (which is today already - yikes!), and I did! Very pleased with myself for that :) Now, however, I kind of have a little problem. I should be finishing up two new Bugs (really not that much left to do), but I seem to be stuck in Dude mood... It's been so long since last time that I want to make more right away! What to do, what to do...