Beach part 2

So...avid readers may be wondering how much I accomplished on my beach trip.
I worked on two projects out of the four. I made a heart dishcloth. and worked more on the big grey blanket.
We were busy playing Rummikub and having fun at the beach!

 Grey blanket with 1 red stripe so far...Knit on circular needles.

 Can you see the hearts? The yarn is a cream/natural color.

Hearts hearts! from this pattern.

I didn't touch the green socks, or start on the embroidery project (which was a good thing).

I am hoping to hand make for Christmas. I do this every year, but this year, I'm really hoping to do it for all my gifts, though possibly Mike will get a present or two that aren't handmade - we'll see if he's lucky.

Also Halloween is swiftly approaching, our party is Saturday. I think my costume is costing $4.99, as I had some of it, bought 1 item, and can borrow some of it too. I also need to make something else for it, and hopefully it will be awesome and funny. It sort of matches Mike's costume, and that will be the funny part. Anyway, pictures later!

Today one of my tasks is to turn the cuff of my sweatshirt. I managed to get bleach on it, so instead of navy, the cuff is pink.

At the beach

I'm taking too many projects to the beach. But I don't care, I know I will get some of it all done, and at least I won't have an excuse, as I'm bringing a knitted blanket project that's super easy to knit, I can knit it while watching movies, or if I need a break from harder projects.

I'm also bringing the green socks project. I started the heel a few days ago. I hope to finish the sock or at least get past the heel.

I'm also bringing this Heart Washcloth pattern and some cotton yarn I had in my stash Red Heart Eco something. It is sort of a natural cream color.  I assume it is a fast project.

Also... an embroidery project... I got awesome vintage State Birds embroidery patterns, and I have yet to use them...so I have a cool thrifted flower pillowcase, and I may put some on there. all the birds are so cool, I may have to eventually make a quilt or something.


I'm excited to post after my trip and show my progress...but it's only 4 days, so we'll see.

PJs

I finished a pair of PJ pants for myself. the pattern was easy... but very wide legged, even after I took them in a little from what the pattern called for. The pattern is   Simplicity 4023 
Instead of making button holes on the waist band for a drawstring, I just used elastic, way easier! I'm really happy with how the pattern turned out, though I hemmed them more that 4 inches.  I'm hoping to make some flannel PJs sometime this winter.

Check out the contrast stitching I did on the hems. Fancy!

Tonight I worked a little more on altering the swimsuit/dress I started this summer. It was too big on me. It fits better now, but I need to shorten the straps, and hem it still. I love the fabric, and I'm excited to swim sometime!

Lala

Today I cut out fabric for some PJ pants. I'm excited to make them, I know pants can be hard, but they are PJs, so it's not like it really matters if they are perfect. I will sew them later this week or next week I hope.

Also... I'm finally much more excited about some socks i have been knitting.  I have been trying to make a pair of socks for my sister for, oh, a year. And somehow the first pattern I tried, i got so confused on it, it was hard to set down and pick it back up again. So, then I came up with another pattern, Twisted which is free on Knitty.com. So i have maybe 3/4 of an olive green sock in that pattern. A few days ago I found another pattern I really liked, Simple Striped Socks, a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn. I started knitting them maybe 2-3 days ago, and they're going so fast. In addition to the olive green, I'm using (I think) Noro sock yarn. I bought the yarn last year, and tried to make socks while I was in Kenya. I finished a black pair for my boyfriend sucessfully, but never finished the first one for me. A few days ago, i took apart that first sock and meanwhile got inspired to put the two yarns together for the striped sock. The colors are a little off in this picture, but i'm finally more excited about the project. I think i will finish the Twisted sock, and either give her mis-matched socks, or make two striped ones if I have enough yarn.

Today I met with my friend Sarah for our first knitting group. It was really fun, I knit on my socks, and she started a turtle... Sheldon.
I look forward to knitting with her again soon!

2 Quick Orange Projects

Today (in probably a half hour) I made a little pumpkin. I'm sure i could have stuffed it better, but I think it is pretty cute! Perfect as a centerpiece on the table. ha.

 Pumpkin Pattern

Also two days ago I started a pincushion. I really liked the pattern, and it seemed easy. It was indeed easy to make. It's made of two crocheted flat pieces that you then stuff and then using yarn wrapped around, it makes the petals! 

 The Pattern!

These would make really fast gifts, say if you needed a gift for a sewer, or even a little girl.

TA DA!!!
PS: i usually don't crochet, but looking at wonderful patterns on ravelry helps me get inspired about everything. Also, I recently had computer issues, and i no longer have Photoshop. so...sorry if the photos aren't cropped or whatever.

Labels

 Labels. lots of labels. I started saving labels when I was making tie skirts with my grandpa and my dad's neckties. After that somehow i started to save more labels, perhaps interested in the "Made In .... " as i became more conscious of where clothes came from.

 I have been sewing the labels i have to red fabric. I'm not exactly sure what it will be. i guess a wall hanging, but i'm not sure. (i generally like useful projects.)

I'm about half done, but i have taken a break for a while. It has been fun to catalog. I have been organizing them by color.

Another form of label I have collected. I'm realizing to have a more organized sewing stash, i need to get rid of things. These may seem small, but I was saving some of these old embroidery labels. I'm not a hoarder (haha) but i do need a craft/sewing room. and as i may have mentioned, i'm trying to organize, get rid of, and not bring in too much more material before i have used things  up. This is partially why i'm blogging again, to hopefully show finished projects, etc.

Knitting Needle Holder

At long last, i have made a knitting needle holder. I had been planning to make one for years... i was looking at patterns a while ago, but never made one. Today while trying to organize my room (an on-going issue i am working on) I decided making a needle holder would help.

so... i started in a few hours ago and i'm soo happy with the result, though i may make a few minor additions. I know i have more needles to add. and the 2nd row is a little too tall, because my double pointed needles are barely peeking out of the pockets. anyway... i love it.

I used fabric from my friend Alissa. she had them as curtains or a bedspread or something. the flowers are vintage, and the stripes are Ikea. I used my sister's sewing machine which has fancy stitches. I love how it turned out.