hatty gifts

So I finally got round to delivering all the Christmas gifts that I epically failed to finish and get to the correct recipients before they disappeared for the festive season. The prezzies sat under the Christmas tree for ages then, even more pathetically, just alone on the floor after the decorations had been taken down. Now, at last, I have managed to actually give them to the correct people! So I can put up some piccies.

The top picture is Koolhaas, made from random aran weight merino I picked up at woolfest. I am such a fan of this burnt orange colour. And it was a great pattern, I thought. Simple enough to memorise for bus knitting, but engaging enough to make the commute to work fly by. The resulting hat is pleasingly tactile, and it didn't take long at all.


Neither did this one - it's Into the Valley from Bobbins magazine, designed by the very clever and lovely audreym. It's for blokes, but I am modelling it here on my massive heid and it fits me quite nicely too. Also in some aran weight merino I picked up from the same stall at Woolfest, wound immediately and lost the label for, so I can't tell you where exactly. (Could have been the yarn yard, or the stall next to it!) The pattern is ace, the staghorn cable pattern has that elusive quality of looking quite complicated and skilful whilst actually being mega easy to do.

I do like a woolly hat. Was very difficult to give both of these away! But I feel there will be more hats in the not too distant future...

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happy new year

1. kid & grownup xmas stockings, 2. aestlight warmness, 3. festive socks, 4. chunkystripy hat front view, 5. ladybird mittens, 6. colourful pirate hat 2, 7. Newborn slip stitch hat, 8. dragon hunter, 9. jumper moth damage repair, 10. newborn slip stitch hat, 11. annis shawl nupp detail 3, 12. marina detail 3, 13. two hour toddler trousers, 14. tempest button detail, 15. stripy baby socks, 16. fruity sock toe wiggle, 17. handspun hat, 18. mmmm snug, 19. 'Hunter' baby tank top, 20. medusa side view, 21. bobbins, 22. deep v 3, 23. what's this white cold stuff

It's RubbishReview of the year time again! This is all the stuff I made in 2010. Well, ok, including some stuff for Bobbins that I made in 2009 but only photographed in 2010. And I cheekily put Bobbins in there too, cos I reckon a magazine sort of counts as handmade. Even if I didn't actually sit there writing out all the words with a pen and manually inserting staples, I did faff around in InDesign dragging text boxes around and moving images one pixel to the right for aaaages.

Difficult to summarize a whole year, but looking at the pictures all together I seem to have a bit of a penchant for stripes, lace and colourwork.



The first picture is something I failed to blog about in the slightly hectic run up to Christmas. I think it was Dec 23rd I found some cheap red fabric in the bargain bin of my local fabric shop and got the crazy idea to sew Christmas stockings for everyone. When I was a nipper, my mum, who was a much better seamstress than I, made stockings for all us kids out of fabric leftovers.



I still have mine with its pleasingly 70s patterns - it's the sort of stocking that makes you want to have a fondue party.

Anyway it struck me when I saw the cheap red fabric that Mr Rubbishknitter and Rubbishknitterjunior were stockingless, and this wouldn't do at all. So I bought it, took it home and started work. I bravely ignored the fact that the heating was broken in our kitchen whilst it was about -10 outside and warmed myself with sloe gin as I sewed. What could possibly go wrong?



Fortunately, it was a fairly easy project and I managed to get two stockings done while Mr Rubbish was out and Rubbishknitterjunior was asleep, so I could surprise them both on Christmas eve.



I just basically drew round mine in chalk to get the shape on two pieces of backing fabric (like this Paddington print - how cute is that? thanks to Kate from GreenEyedMonsters again, from her destash sesh!). Then selected some scraps of fabric which were big enough to piece into another stocking shape, and the colours went ok together. This was the bit that took the most time tbh, it's a difficult decision to make, and I changed my mind several times during sewing. I went for some sober, grown up type fabrics for Mr Rubbishknitter, with a little bit of red to cheer it up a little. And the boy got a sort of brown and green theme, with old shirts and fragments of pretty quilting fabric that was a present from audreym (thanks!).

I love the muted christmassyness of this fabric - 'A Partridge in a Pear Tree' from Abakhans bargain bin.

Once I'd pieced it all together, for each stocking, I sewed the two sides together. Then I made a lining out of the red fabric, which was basically just another identical stocking. I attached the lining by sewing around the top, with wrong sides facing outwards. I left a little gap then turned it inside out, pressing and topstitching around the leg opening. I also put in a little hanging loop cut from a ribbon, cos obviously that's a fairly necessary feature for a christmas stocking. I think the results were pretty good - both stocking recipients seemed pleased with my handiwork, for the whole 5 seconds they admired it before diving in for the presents inside.

Anyway, hope all my blog readers enjoyed the festive season. Happy New Year everyone!

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