Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Doable/Not Doable?

It's December 1, that venerated day when all dedicated crafters/knitters/sewists review their to-do lists and have a wee moment of panic. Here's my list this year:

- one sweater
- one sock
- one pair felted clogs
- a bottle of raspberry liqueur
- 5 stuffed animals
- 6 pairs of pajama pants.

I'm knitting a Norwegian-style sweater for my sister. I have a picture and I've designed a pattern to be very similar though not identical. I don't know yet if my pattern is going to work in real life, that's the "fun"part about not buying patterns.
Status: I've knit the plain part of the body and sleeves and am about to embark on the colorwork section.
Priority: High. I'm pretty confident I'm going to finish on time, but last Christmas this sister got parts of a sweater for her gift, so I really want this to not be the Christmas project that falls through the cracks this year.

Several months ago, I knit a sock.It was a nice sock, I knit a little pattern of chevrons down the front and back to add some interest and keep me awake while I was knitting it. Unfortunately, after I finished it I lost the ball of yarn for the other sock, so the first sock has languished in the stash basket since then. Last night I finally caved and bought another ball of yarn, which means I'm due to find the lost ball in about 45 minutes.
Status: First sock is knit except for sewing the toe, the second is but a gleam in the eye.
Priority: Medium. These are worsted weight socks, so they'll knit up in a couple of evenings once I get the yarn and track down the right size knitting needles.

'Stache requested a pair of felted clogs for Christmas. I'm using this pattern, which I've knit for myself. These clogs were great. I loved them dearly and wore them to pieces, which took about 2 years which is not a bad lifespan for knit footwear.
Status: I have the yarn and I need to buy the pattern because I've forgotten the password to my pdf. Le sigh.
Priority: Low. 'Stache requested these pretty late in the game and I've already warned him he might be getting half an unfelted clog on Christmas Day.

I'm making raspberry liqueur using this recipe.
Status: The raspberry liqueur just needs to age for a while. I also need to buy some little bottles. Turns out its tricky to find bottles that won't break a stocking when they're full, but still hold a decent amount of liqueur.

I am making 5 stuffed animals from the Menagerie Pattern. These have been really fun and have come together pretty quickly. I've been mostly sewing them assembly-line style, with some slight hiccups for not having any pink fleece for the cat ears. Also for sewing the penguin's head completely wrong twice in a row.
Status: three stuffies are just waiting for their stuffing and pellets to arrive. The cat is a couple steps behind and the penguin needs to be seam-ripped again and the head resewn. Then it's just stuffing and finishing.
Priority: High. This is a major part of the kid's Christmas and kids are less understanding of receiving a half-finished gift.

I want to sew my kids and the kids in our small group pajama pants for Epiphany. Pajama pants are fun and quick to sew, and flannel patterns are just the cutest, although we'll be doing different patterns for boys and girls this year. Gender-neutral flannel patterns is a seriously under-served market.
Status: still need to buy fabric, have the pattern.
Priority: Medium. The due date for these is after Christmas, so there's a little more breathing room. I think this year I'll have some size duplicates, so I won't have to cut them all out separately, which will help.



Right now, this seems like a really doable list. The trouble is to keep myself from adding to it. There's a blanket for Munchkin, a little sweater, a scarf, and a much-needed hat for me that really want to be knit. Must! Resist!

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