Knitting Gifts

The knitted gifts knitted before the real knitting season has started!!

My good friend Jack, just turned 40!! He was the one who turned me on to Dr. Who. I'd never seen an episode until this past summer when we flew out to Virginia and stayed with him! I really loved the show. I like cheesy, goofy, British Sci-Fi. I can't help it. He sent me a bunch of episodes and while I was watching them at night, I knit him this awesome Dr. Who scarf, 16 feet long, for his big 40th! He says he loves it, and it would make Dr. Who jealous!! I found my husband rummaging through his stuff like a mad man. Like a good wife, I asked what he was looking for. His good winter indoor hat. So over the next day, while he tore through all of his clothes, and boxes of only good knows what, looking for his missing hat...I knit him a new hat. Another version of the Koolhass Hat. He's been wearing it everyday since, LOL.

Foot Stools

My loving husband and I have spent the last few winters sitting around the woodstove on our upside down milk crates. I've used old milk crates for absolutely everything, but I felt it was time for something a little more sophisticated....but not more expensive!! Again, recycled sweaters!! I cut pads to fit the top out of an old foam mattress pad thingy. I covered the crate with a linen/tweed fabric, and covered the top with pieces of sweaters I scored from the freebox.

His and her footstools!!

Again, I'm totally happy with how these turned out! Everyone has ooohhed and aahhhed over them. And they're still old milk crates!! LOL, but now they're really very comfortable!

A close up shot of the sweater being sewed onto the top.

My husband isn't always the best at noticing the new touches I add to the yurt, but he noticed these right away and was raving about how great they are and how much better they are with 3 layers of padding!!

Couch Pillows

These are the arm cushions that came with our Futon, which was a handme down gift from my good friend Polli. They had some stains from spilled wine and coffee, so I had set them aside to knit covers for them. They only had to wait about 2 years before they came up to the top of my "to knit" list, LOL. Again, all recycled yarn ripped from found old sweaters. I knit rectangles, seamed them up and then knit circles for the end caps and sewed them on.

I love, love, love how they turned out!!!

So then put them on the futon, but decided I needed more coehsion in my crazy collection of pillows. These are all scored pillows from thriftstores and whatnot that I've covered over time. My Mom was the best at making couch pillows. Her's were always ruffled, and stuffed to perfection. I never did master her technique, but she was inspiring!

So I took a couple of the ugly odd balls and kept going with the yarn! A small one in seed stitch, and a long one with cables.

Now the set is complete!!

Now that's crossed off the list!! What's next??!

Wool Fest 2010: the people

Me and Merce, 7am opening morning of the Taos Wool Festival. The weather was perfect!The weekend as a whole was a huge success. The positive feedback from visitors and patrons was addicting. The atmosphere was jolly and energetic and good!! The vibes were loving! Things sold like crazy, which was so great considering the current economic climate, but people were buying!!!

Merce underneath her Marigold garland made with marigolds from her garden, and her Wire/Wool hanging sculpure.

Me with Dita and Wanashee, Merce's very helpful & beautiful daughters.

The hats were a huge success and the people who came in to buy them were the best!! It was so much fun! I wish I had gotten pictures of them all!

My good and crazy friend Laura!!!

Wool Fest 2010: the booth

And here's our booth!! Merce is "Pure Felt, Vortex Spinning". I'm "In the Wilderness Art". Merce is responsible for this amazing collection of ribbons that adorn our booth!!

Our signature flowers at the door!

Our crazy collection of Art, Crafts, and Yarn!!

So much Wooly Goodness!!!

Wool Fest 2010: Preview

Okay I'm finally ready with Wool Fest Pics!! These are some of the yummies that I made!!

Handwarmers are my biggest seller, so I made lots of crazy ones!

Some with fingers and some without!

And of course the crazy hats!!

Another Meditation Mat

This is another project I finished in time for the Taos Wool Festival!! Done the same as the last one, with a hand felted "window" top, and then filled in with pieces of old sweaters. I laid out quilt batting in the center and put a sturdy backing on it. It is super thick and and heavy. It's everything one could want in a mat to meditate or pray in the winter time, or anytime.

These colors and textures are so exciting together!