I need to knit and crochet faster!

So I think I have finally figured out the chainless foundation half double crochet stitch!  I think this has been one of the harder skills that I have learned, mostly because even with the great videos that are out there it is hard to see exactly where the hook is going in those videos.  I am certainly no expert at it, but I think I have a good enough understanding of it.  And if not, by the time I am finished with the 47 stitches that I will need for the flower that I am working on I should have it down pat!

I have been working my way through Christmas presents and my yarn stash.  I am in the middle of two Christmas presents, I finished and gifted one super early, and I have finished a couple of toddler hats in the past two weeks.  It is hard to see a noticeable difference in the amount of yarn I have, but reason tells me that by making these items and giving them away that I am, in fact, working through it!

I need to get myself together enough to get some more pictures taken and up.  With the number of things I am working on or that I have completed recently I have no good excuse for not having pictures!

Wine bottle carriers, finally!

Well, I finished up that batch of wine-bottle carriers!  Super excited!  I have started on some more, I think I have four left to make.

Some of them turned out slightly different than the others, but I think it is a result of the type of yarn.  The light blue one is still taller than all the rest, and perhaps the skinniest, though it is still large enough to fit a bottle of wine into.

I am contemplating on making these and trying to sell them on Etsy.  I need to double check with the woman who wrote the pattern, to make sure that she wont mind my doing that.  In the meantime I am really having tons of fun making them to give away as gifts!

I am also getting farther along on the little shrug that I am making.  I am making it in bright blue.  I don't usually wear blue as I think it brings out some nice dark circles under my eyes, ha!  However, a friend has convinced me to give it a second chance, so I am making this in bright blue, in part because I already had this dk weight yarn that I ended up not using for the project it was purchased for.

                                     
Obviously I haven't gotten really far along on it, but I'm moving in the right direction!  I hope it turns out as cute as the pattern looks, I am excited to get to wear it!

Other than that, I haven't really undertaken anything new.  I do need to start working on the patterns that I have mentioned on here before.  Hhmm, perhaps I will start thinking about that tonight!  Lets see if I can get some creative juices flowing!

I love making progress on projects!

I'm about half way through the last of the 5 wine-bottle carriers that I am making for my girlfriends.  This is a picture of one in progress, three completed but not felted, and then the one that I had completed earlier.

I hope to work on getting these felted tomorrow, though I am not sure that they will be dry enough to give away on Friday afternoon.  We'll have to see!  After this I have 4 more to make - one for me, one for each of my sisters, and one for the woman letting me use her washer all the time!  Haha.  I think I might take a break from them for a day or two before jumping back in.

I have been spending entirely too much time on Ravelry lately and I have about 500 patterns that I would like to make - yet another reason I need to knit faster!  I am starting to get my stash under control - almost everything I have now fits into a basket.  So I need to finish a baby blanket, and keep going on these wine bottle totes and I should be down to a reasonable level.

Once I have these totes done I am going to work on a new pattern for a little lovey.  It is an idea I have had for months now, but I just haven't had the time or the brainpower to put towards it.  When I figure out how I want it and whatnot I will post it on Rav and I will put the link here.

I interviewed for the job that I really want, I wont hear back until next Monday about it, though.  So I am anxiously awaiting word there.  If that happens, after some more basic necessities, I will be able to buy more yarn!  Which, of course, means knitting faster so that I can get to that yarn!

I have already begun brainstorming for Christmas presents, besides the girls.  I still haven't settled completely on which pattern each will receive, but I sure am having fun trying to decide!

Speaking of which, the clutch that I felted in the two tones of brown - I am not completely sure how to get even and straight cuts into each side for the handle.  And on the one that felted really small, can I just sew in a zipper and/or a lining for that?  I have seen some that have a lining but I am having difficulties finding good instructions for it.  Anyone here have a good suggestion on where I might find some of that information?

A quickie

I have been such a slacker in posting, so sorry!

I have begun making wine-bottle totes which I think I am going to give to each of my girlfriends that I am graduating with in a week and a half.  So I have a bunch of work to get done before that.  I have one finished, and I am working on a second.  I will then felt them all and hopefully have some really cute gifts for them.

Other than that I am working on school stuff, working, and trying to find a job.  I have taken some pictures recently, I will try to get them up later today.