Wait! I'm Not Done Yet!

What to do? The Old Year is slipping further and further away and as much as I want to wish you a Happy New Year, I haven't finished talking about 2007 yet! Ack! I love seeing so many "year in review" posts on all of your crafty blogs and I intend to join in on the fun, I just need to share a few more things so that they too can be reviewed. So I believe I've got three more items to share which means ETA of "Liz Harvatine Shows You All of the Stuff She Made in 2007" is Saturday, January 5. That's not so bad!
Today's gift:

Neck warmer for my Mamacita. The pattern is from Knitty. I used some sort of Merino, I'm sorry I don't know what, but it was very soft and squishy. This baby was pretty fast and fun to make and, I think, an elegant alternative to bulky scarves.

Gift for Who???

I've decided to share a few of the Christmas gifts I'll be making this year, before they are given. The reason for this is that I'm not working right now and hiatus tends to be a time when I can really devote a lot of effort to not only my crafts but also my blog. I like to share with you all! Once the gifts are given, I will be back to work with not so much free time. Also, I'm sad to say that I have serious doubts about the regularity with which most of the people I will be giving gifts to read this blog. You know who you are. Although you're probably not reading this so you don't know that I know you know who you are.
So, completed gift number one:

A very stylish reusable shopping bag. Made from this pattern, this was a fun and easy knit. My one complaint with this pattern was this line: " Use a very stretchy bind off like Lucy Neatby's Modified Conventional bind off [see Lucy's Knitting Essentials DVD volume 1 for a detailed how-to]". Come on! Just teach me a stretchy bind-off, or at least tell me where I can learn one without buying a DVD. I did a search online and ended up using and Elizabeth Zimmerman bind-off that I found here.

I used Tahki Cotton Classic in Linen White instead of the hemp yarn called for in the pattern. I was much too impatient to order anything online.

The handles are gross-grain ribbon with some cotton twill tape as a lining. I sandwiched the edge of the bag between the two and machine stitched them together. I also classed it up a bit by using this pretty ribbon for the draw string, rather than a cord.

Isn't that neat? It folds into itself so you can keep it with you. I dig it and I certainly hope its recipient does as well.

Crafts of Late

Harv and I have had this week off from work. It has been exceedingly pleasant and super relaxing. I've been reading a lot, making some yummy dinners, had tea with some friends at the Huntington and spent a couple of nights camping at Big Bear. I have not done too much crafting however. I very often feel a lot of pressure to be productive make the most of my spare time. When I have two+ months of hiatus I feel lazy and purposeless if I am not sewing every possible moment. I typically like there is no where near enough time to make all of the things I am inspired to make and that can feel kind of stressful. I made a conscious decision this week to just take it easy, do what I felt like doing and try to relax. It actually worked! I feel refreshed and ready to go back to the studio, not disappointed about all of the projects I didn't quite finish.
I did manage to complete a few crafts this past week, crafts that didn't interfere with my lounging and hammocking. First, a table cloth for our outdoor table that always looks very gross and dusty.
Now we can just cover up the yuck! Note the handy slit for fitting around the umbrella.

Second, I finished the bedside rug that I started a long time ago, inspired by the new bed we bought this week.
Stabone really digs the rug.
Lilly digs the new bed. The quilt was made by Harv's mom as a wedding gift.
Speaking of parents, mine are winging their way west as I type this and will be arriving at Chez Us tomorrow morning. With all of the relaxing I've been doing this week, there hasn't been much time for cleaning. Yeeps. That's my night. Hopefully I will be able to whip up a pair of slippers for my Ma as a welcoming gift. I also wanted to make some napkins to match the outdoor tablecloth so we could have an extra classy meal out back while they're here. We'll see.

Mail Call

I've had some wonderful mail lately:
1. My first Moo cards. I am amazed at how nice these are! I highly recommend them. I had my blog address printed on the back so I can direct people who might be interested here without saying "GO TO MY BLOG!" I don't like to talk about blogging or crafting too much with non-bloggers or non-crafters, for fear of being annoying or misunderstood. But some people are interested, so this is a nice gentle way to bring them here.
2. This lovely book! Very very pretty...I started reading last night. Even though I know how to sew I still enjoy reading about how to do things. It's the same with other things too like knitting and animation. I really like thinking about the process.
3. Knitpicks yarn to make this pattern. I'm not sure what I was thinking here. I want this sweater but come on! A sweater out of fingering weight yarn? Am I an idiot? I should finish this in about 5 years. You can see that I started a sleeve. What do you think...is that about .0001% finished? I am committing. I will wear this someday.

Grudge Match: Knit v. Crochet

I wanted to pass along this video I saw at Mason-Dixon Knitting.

Before I watched this, having read what was written about it being a "mockumentary" about the knitting world a la "Spinal Tap", I thought "Yep, this is really going to annoy me." Then I sighed. It is a short student film...these things rarely end well. But surprise surprise, it was really good! I was thoroughly amused and not at all annoyed!
There are three actors in the film, all playing characters that are a little bit over the top but all of their performances are spot on. My only complaint (and I am not alone in this as evidenced by comments on YouTube) is the the crocheter in the film holds up some dishclothes she has made that look suspiciously knit-like. Hmmm...attention to detail people, this counts for 50% of your grade.
In summary, I give this film four stars, a pleasant romp through knit/crochet culture.

You Too Can Make Any Beer Taste Cold!

Quilting away...finishing up the "Empire" quilt and catching up on "Ugly Betty" and "Desperate Housewives" on abc.com. Have you tried watching the shows that they have up there? It is quite enjoyable. I only started watching "Ugly Betty" because I needed some more sewing entertainment and it was just sitting there for free. I have seen every episode but never watched it on tv. Very fun.
In lieu of a finished quilt I thought that I would share the pattern for the Coors Light cozy. It's not so much a pattern as a rough tutorial with the chart that I made.

Cold Tasting Beer Cozy
Use worsted weight yarn, different kinds if necessary, to get the right colors. You need red, black, white, gray(for the silver can) and blue(for the frost brewed liner). Gauge is roughly 18st and 24 rows =4 in, but it doesn't need to be exact.
Using US size 8 needles, cast on 35 stitches with the gray yarn. Don't worry about your cast-on row being a little tighter, it's good if it wraps under the bottom of the can. Knit rows in stockinette stitch. Knit 10 stitches, place a marker, knit first row of chart, place marker and then finish out the row. Follow the chart, working inbetween your markers, to the end and then bind off. Sew the two short ends of the rectangle together to make a tube. Insert cold beer can of your choice. Open beer, drink beer, enjoy how cold your beer tastes and how not cold your hand is.
*Notes on chart: Purple = gray, all other colors = themselves. Disregard all of the pen marks...they mean nothing!
**Note on knitting color work: If you have never knit more than one color like this before do not fret! Here is a great little article the explains the basics!

Birthday Wrap-Up

Some handmade birthday gifts I recieved last week:
First, this lovely afghan knit by my mom. I suggested the color and she chose the pattern because there was a cat laying on the afghan in the picture. That works for me!
She's been on a big knitting kick lately. By big knitting I mean super chunky yarn on huge needles. This is her third afghan in about two months! I love the look of cables and other patterns worked in a big gauge like this.Next, these personallized nesting dolls painted by my friend Melissa! I was so excited to get these. It was so much fun opening them up for the first time. She really did a great job of picking out different themes that I would like. The first three even look like me! The first one is sewing, the second singing, the third holding a bunch of flowers, the fourth is a cute little owl (there are so many adorable, stylized owls and birds out there that I have developed a little obsession) and the last is a little Lillian! This one is by far my favorite. She's wearing a tiny babushka with fish bones all over it! So cute. The good news for those of you who I'm sure are very jealous of these dolls is that you can order your very own personalized set! Here at Melissa's Etsy shop you can order a set and give her all of the information she needs to paint them up for you or someone you think is in need of such a sweet gift.
Mine are great. We had a small game night to celebrate my birthday with a few close friends and the various dolls were employed as mascots and good luck charms. The Lillian was by far the most coveted. I insisted that she stay by me and help my team but Harv kept swiping her when I wasn't looking.

The Coldest Tasting Beer

We are a Miller family. Harv has decreed that Miller Lite is our beer of choice and I'm pretty okay with that. There are other beers that I may prefer but they're not light beers and you know, every little bit helps. If I'm going to settle into bed with a six pack there may as well be a lower number of carbs in that six pack than in any other six pack that I could be drinking.
While you can usually find at least a few cans of Miller Lite in our fridge, more often than not there is also some Coors Light. I know, the horror! This is not for us but for our friends, siblings Eric and Jenny Towner, who hail from the land of the Rockies and come over often to play Nintendo, sing karaoke and drink beer. What kind of hosts would we be if we tried to force our light beer onto people who were raised on a different light beer?
You may know that Coors Light is the self-proclaimed "coldest tasting beer". I know, this makes no sense. Nonetheless, one needs something to protect one's hands from that cold, cold aluminum can. And heaven-forbid that "frost-brew liner" should fail, you need a failsafe to keep your precious beer cold! Enter the Coors Light Cozy, Eric's secret Santa gift, made by me. It has the added bonus of disguising a non-cold tasting beer if no Coors is available.
To make the can, figured out my gauge and using this handy tool I printed out some knitter's graph paper. I then taped the graph paper to a Coors Light can and used colored pencils to color in the predominant color of each square. I measured the height and circumference of the can to calculate how many stitches to cast on and how many rows it would be and I was off! I knit it as a rectangle and then sewed the two short sides together. I had planned on putting a bottom on the cozy but because I started at the bottom and I cast on somewhat tightly, it naturally curved around the bottom of the can, making a nice little lip for the can to sit on.

This is one of several Christmas gifts I made and never blogged about...very stinky of me. I think that I may catch up someday. I really want to be a vigilant blogger. I think sharing crafts is always good, regardless when the crafts were completed.

The Beginnings of Romance

Our bedroom has always been the most awful room in any house we've lived in. I have a feeling that we're not alone in this. No one ever sees your bedroom so it's easy to put all of your efforts and moolah into the rest of your house. Ours has always been a dumping ground...not only for messes that we need to quickly hide before company arrives but also for furniture that has no other home. In Connecticut we had a fairly large bedroom with room for a large couch, an arm chair and an entertainment center with no TV, in addition to our regular bedroom furniture. We called it "the place that furniture goes to die."
I've wanted for some time now to whip our bedroom into shape but I had no really plan to motivate me into action. Then I stumbled upon the blog of Alicia Paulson, Posie Gets Cozy. She has so many wonderful pictures of her house, all so sweet and colorful with a feeling of romance throughout. As I was browsing through her archives, it dawned on me: "This should be our bedroom!"
I am very excited about this idea. I don't have a fully formed vision of the room but I think that the nature of this style allows for a sort of piecemeal gathering of items. I'm in no hurry, I'm just excited to be on the right path to a beautiful new room. I also really believe that it's better to slowly fill your home with things that you really love rather than rushing out to fill every possible space with coordinating, soulless knick-knacks.
So with romance in mind we found a few small items at the Rose Bowl flea market last Sunday.
Number one: this amazing vintage hand sewn quilt! I love love love it. I'm not always crazy about traditional quilt patterns but whoever chose these fabrics was some kind of old timey genius! I just love the colors in this quilt. The deeper pinks and reds give it so much vibrancy and life. Very gutsy choices, I think. Plus there are so many great fabrics in there. I wish that I had them to work with. I don't quite know what we'll do with this quilt. It won't be on the bed, don't worry. We need some sort of open quilt storage for this and for the quilts Harv's mom made us (also in perfect romantic colors).
Number two: This sweet pink glass lamp. It doesn't have a shade. I'm thinking of embellishing one with Victorian images of birds or something. I bought two cds of Victorian ephemera on EBay awhile ago that have hundreds of great images.
And last, not from the flea market, two flowered sheets that I bought at an estate sale. From an idea in "Mason-Dixon Knitting" I ripped each sheet into one loooong 1 inch strip and wound them into balls. I am knitting two striped rugs to go on either side of our bed. The book suggests using size 15 needles but I'm using size 19. It's very satisfying. The rugs are all stockinette stitch and they are very squashy. I can't wait to sink my tootsies into one every morning.
I wanted to do a random stripe pattern but I have learned through experience that it is often better to plan out a pattern that looks random than to just wing it and actually be random. I don't think that the human brain can ever be totally random. At least mine can't. It's very difficult to shake all of that logic out. So what I am using randomly generated stripes from this little gadget. If you've never used this try it! It's amazing how fun it is! You can make as many random stripe patterns as you want until you see something that you like! It seems so simple but making different color combinations can be truly mesmerizing.

Happy New Year!

Harv and I returned from our adventure in the East on New Years Eve Eve with no complications! Imagine! We were all set for a laid-back New Years at home.
There was a little of this, a little of that and a yummy meal from one of my new cookbooks. And of course, nothing quite rings in the New Year like knitting a Mason-Dixon "warsh rag"!
Here it is, just waiting to clean up all of the messes we'll make in 2007. Dish cloths are a great small knitting project for so many reasons, I don't know why I have never made one before now. Especially for someone in a climate such as this, where knitting hats and mittens can seem very futile. I hope to make many more of these as part of my ongoing mission to abolish as many disposable paper products from this house as possible.