Make-it-Monday: felting sweaters

 Remember that ponytail hat that was accidently felted and now actually fits my head but doesn't cover my ears? My mother suggested that I find a wool sweater, felt it, cut off pieces and stitch them on as ear flaps and viola, I'd still have a hat without sacrificing the hard work I put into it (or having to knit ear flaps and fuss with gauge and felting them, too). So I dropped into my local Goodwill yesterday and discovered two things:

A. Goodwill [okay, some of them, most importantly this one] has implemented a student discount, YAY!

B. November is the worst time to look for wool sweaters!

This was literally the only wool sweater in the place. Which is cool, since the hat is red, and there's red in this sweater. But it's size small. Meh. It will work. But it's still an awful lot of sweater for some ear flaps... So I'm planning on turning it into a bag.

Self looked at it and said, "But that still leaves this goofy hood", and self said, "But you have a Kindle Fire that could use a cute, cozy felted sweater to match the cute, cozy felted sweater bag..." If I still had an iPod, I could make an iPod cozy for some real matchy, matchy, matchy-ness. But no more iPod. :( Sad, sad day. 

I'll be using this as a rough guide for making the bag out of what's left of this tiny, tiny sweater. It's from Women's Day, from 2005, and I'm really liking the leather straps on the solid, red cabled affair kinda in the middle. So now I'm on the lookout for a belt or something. 

Of course I'm hopeless at planning ahead, so I didn't take a picture before I dropped it in the hot water wash with my sheets and towels today. But it's in the toasty dryer with them right now, so maybe it'll get even felty-er... and smaller... one can hope. Which will make for a really tiny bag. Details. 

scarf season

Yes, it's October, and that means it's scarf and sweater season. Sort of. I'm trying to get a jump on my Christmas presents this year, so I'm starting early - as if October is early - with my knitting. Idealy, I'll have two guys scarves, several pair of mittens, and two hats - a fish and a pink frosted cupcake. Ambitious? Maybe a little much. I have several quilts that need to be finished. A baby blanket by February, an aniversary throw by next November, another anniversary quilt by August in two years, and to top it off, quilt a throwish sized Window pane by Easter. And to complicate things, I started a stash buster. Which I prefer working on above all else due to it's ease of construction. And then Halloween is coming! Do I make the Regency dress, or do I hold off and pull from my closet and borrow from others for something else?

And I still need to apply for school. And find a more steady form of employment.


Scarves.
right.
I finished a corded cable scarf in Lion Brand's Wool Ease, Oxford Grey, for a guy in my small group who was very enthusiastic about scarf wearing in winter. I was working on it at a petit bon fire in his back yard, with intentions of giving it to someone else that I'm rather... uhm... More-Fond-Of. But I wasn't even sure if  More-Fond-Of would even wear a scarf. Or that I was happy with the pattern enough to give it to More-Fond-Of. So thrice-cord cabled scarf in Oxford Grey goes to small group fellow for Christmas. Which will probably work out, because I'm also not sure if I want to single out More-Fond-Of with this gift.

I just cast on for More-Fond-Of, also a cabled creation, but with more of an aran bent. It's comprised of sand tracks, which I'm hoping will look more like a braided cord of three strands, and a Tree of Life in the middle. Which I also hope turns out. At least as being obvious what it is. I don't remember the name of the color. It's a heathered denim sort of blue 100% merino wool made by Patton's. I'm hoping the dye lot still exists, because if the Oxford Grey is any indication, I'm going to need a second skein. In any event, I'm cautiously optimistic about this project. And if it turns out that More-Fond-Of isn't a scarf wearing kind of person, I do know several other people that would love a hand knit, 100% merino wool scarf.

And on a side note, I started the binding on the Ocean Waves. One short side is done o_0. Three to go. I keep telling myself how worth it the project will be when [finally] finished.