WIPW: Week 19

This week's WIPW blog is going to be short and sweet, as I spent most of my time this week devoted to my Luigi WIP.

Well....Good news...I finished 2 more xmas projects from last week! FO=Luigi, and Ami secret swap. Bad news=I have decided to scrap my dolly project for my little cousin :( I have simply just run out of time. I plan on making the gift for her for her birthday, tho, so all is not lost. Now on to the FO's:

XMAS GIFT #6: (FO....finally!)

LUIGI













I stayed up until around 4:30am to finish (well, mostly finish...he still needs his suspender buttons) the Luigi FO which has been haunting me for over a month now.

....and here he is: (I still have the buttons to sew on the front of his suspenders, and plan to do so today)

Luigi!!!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Luigi side view

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Luigi Back view

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I am pleased that he came out as well as he did! I originally had plans to make his counterpart, Mario, so the dynamic duo could be opened together, but I simply ran out of time before xmas. Stay tuned in the coming months, however, as I will make Mario soon!
 
 
XMAS GIFT #13:

Super secret Ami Swap project

I am sad to say that I can't post pics of this one here, until the package is received in the mail. Stay tuned until after XMAS when I make the big reveal. I will say that the swap was a ton-o-fun and I am super excited about what I created!

My goal for this week is to finish the last of my crocheted XMAS gift, and here are the details:

XMAS GIFT #11:












I plan on making a set of xmas ornaments for one of my grandmothers, Nana. She really enjoyed the dove ornamenent I made for her for her bday, so I figured I would make her a few more. Maybe it can be a yearly ritual to make a new ornament each year! That might be fun. I am thinking I  might make her a Snowman ornament (using the snowman head from my FO in this blog.) and an angel ornament for sure!

XMAS GIFT #12:
This is a gift that I have had on my to do list for a while now. I have a good friend, Robert, who was an Eastern Orthodox priest. He wears a skull cap daily. It is similar to a Yarmulke of the jewish faith, but it a bit larger, yet smaller than a beanie hat. I have a bit longer to make this project since christmas is after the 1st of January in his faith.

Good luck to all of you out there who are in crunch time to finish up those WIP's before XMAS! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

....

Thanks for reading! See you next week :)

12 days of Handmade Holiday Giveaways: Day 7 featuring Yarn Harvest!!

So I love to blog about special yarn/craft/crochet/knitting giveaways from others blogs! I think these giveaways are not only a good way to receive AWESOME handmade gifts, but they are also a wonderful outlet to connect with other crafters, and local businesses! So, I was SUPER excited when I came across this giveaway on the blog Think Liz and that the giveaway was from Yarn Harvest. For those who may not know about the company, here is a bit about them:

Yarn Harvest is an eco-friendly yarn company located right here in Austin, TX (my hometown :)) that specializes in taking second-hand sweaters and frogging them, "to make new, affordable, high-quality yarn products." Super awesome right? This eco-friendly company is truly inovative, and is taking green steps for our environment. According to their website,  "Every year, thousands of pounds of sweaters are discarded. Some get donated to charity; the rest end up in landfills across the U.S." Never thought about it, right? I for one am glad that Yarn Harvest has. Here is a mission statement of sorts from their site:

"Here at Yarn Harvest, we pride ourselves on our environmentally friendly status. We're also a pretty creative bunch, and by combining the two, we've found a way that gives those old sweaters a second chance. Through Yarn Harvest yarns — proudly produced in Central Texas — we offer you the chance to turn this yarn into your own, new creations."

So, needless to say I am proud that Yarn Harvest is stationed in my home town, and that Liz of Think Liz, was thoughtful enough to include their product as a giveaway on her blog.

Here are the details of the contest from Think Liz:

"Here are the two beautiful hanks of yarn – itching to be turned into something new!"




Yarn Harvest giveaway yarn

 So here are the details of entering the contest. Make sure you hop on over to Think Liz' blog and do this! I already have ;)

"So how do you enter for Day 7? Three different ways:

1. Leave me a comment and tell me what you would do with this yarn – gift it away, make a scarf, you know, something along those lines.
2. Reblog the giveaway and leave me a separate comment with the link.
3. Subscribe to my blog via RSS Reader or e-mail and leave me another separate comment saying you subscribed (top left corner of the blog) or tell me that you already subscribe.

What are you waiting for? Enter now because this giveaway will end on Monday, December 13th at 10pm. This item will only be shipped to a winner within the US."

WIPW: Week 18

Man....I was reaaaaalllllly hoping I would have more XMAS gifts finished to show this week, but alas...I only finished two, and not my Luigi :( Now it is crunch time. It is only a few weeks until XMAS, and I still have 4 gifts to complete!!! Argh! That means I have to finish two this week, and start/finishtwo next week! I am sure I can do it! Now on to the good stuff!

XMAS GIFT #6: (WIP...cont)
LUIGI


Even though I did not complete the Luigi project I have been working on, I did make further progress. Here are a few pictures, and some side notes of the work I did complete this week.











THE SIDEBURNS:

'Luigi' sideburns

  



 
 
 
 
 
 



THE HAT:

'Luigi' Hat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  


 
 
THE HAT LOGO:

'Luigi' Hat Logo

 
 
The original pattern called for cutting the 'L' out of green felt. I still have not gotten completely comfortable with cutting small pieces of felt, so I opted for using 3D puffy paint to create the 'L' on the circle for the hat logo.
 
 
 
 
 



 
THE HAIR:

'Luigi' Hair

The hair piece is to be attached to the back of the head at the base of the hat, so it appears that the hair is peeking out from the bottom of the hat.









THE HEAD WITH FACIAL DETAILS:

'Luigi' head with facial details

Once again, the pattern called for cutting small pieces of felt for the eye embellishments. I did cut the white ovals out of felt, but then used 3D paint to add the eye details on top of the white of the eye. I think it turned out just as well.











THE HEAD WITH EARS, HAT, AND SIDEBURNS ATTACHED:

'Luigi' Head complete

Now I just need to assemble the head, body, legs, and arms, and then...."It's a L-U-I-G-I!!!"

XMAS GIFT #9: (FO)
SNOWMAN















I am proud to say that I did finish my Snowman this past week. I think he turned out adorable!

THE BODY:

Snowman body

THE HEAD WITH FACIAL DETAILS:

Snowman with facial details

THE HAT:

Snowman Hat

THE ARMS (2):

Snowman Arms

THE SCARF:

Snowman Scarf

THE SCARF POMS:


Snowman Scarf 'poms'

....and now for the FO!

Snowman!

....
And now for a list of my upcoming projects!:

XMAS GIFT #10:














I plan on making a little baby doll for my cousin Katrina. She just turned 2 years old and she just loves taking care of her babies. If I have time I plan on making a 2nd Hello Kitty purse to go with the baby doll.

XMAS GIFT #11:













I plan on making a set of xmas ornaments for one of my grandmother Nana. She really enjoyed the dove ornamenent I made for her for her bday, so I figured I would make her a few more. Maybe it can be a yearly ritual to make a new ornament each year! That might be fun. I am thinking I  might make her a Snowman ornament (using the snowman head from my FO in this blog.) and an angel ornament for sure!

XMAS GIFT #12:

This is a gift that I have had on my to do list for a while now. I have a good friend, Robert, who was an Eastern Orthodox priest. He wears a skull cap daily. It is similar to a Yarmulke of the jewish faith, but it a bit larger, yet smaller than a beanie hat. I have a bit longer to make this project since christmas is after the 1st of January in his faith.

XMAS GIFT #13:

I can't talk about this one on my blog, since it is super duper secret....tee hee....and just in case a certain someone is reading ;)


Thanks for reading! Now....back to crocheting!!!
 

WIPW: Week 17

Well this week has been a bit busy, so I havent had a ton of time to work on my ever-growing Xmas gift lists, but I did have a bit of time last nite to at least get a few things done....WHEW!!!

1st things 1st:

XMAS GIFT #3: (FO)
HELLO KITTY PURSE














I am proud to say that I FINALLY finished the Hello Kitty purse I have been blogging about the last coupla weeks! It was a challenging project for me because it incorporated a little bit of sewing, including snap attachments and purse lining. I have never practiced much with sewing, my only experience comes from a bit of knowledge in cross-stitch! I am proud to say, that while it is far from perfect, it turned out OK, and now I am a "tad" more comfortable with stitching by hand.

Here is a pic of the lining and snap attached leading up to the FO:

Lining and snap button detail for inside of Hello Kitty Purse

...and the FO!

Hello Kitty Purse: FO

 I also was able to finish a few more components for my Luigi (from the famous SuperMario Bros) Ami. I really wanted to be able to finish this project up this week, but there wasn't enough time. Next week I should be able to finish up the last few components (1 leg, the hat, and the hair/sideburns) and assemble the Ami!!

XMAS GIFT #6: (WIP...cont)
LUIGI

THE LEG:


Luigi Leg

THE SHOE:


Luigi Shoe

THE LEG WITH SHOE ATTACHED:


Luigi Leg with Shoe attached

THE SUSPENDERS:


Luigi Suspenders












THE ARMS/GLOVES:


Luigi Arms/Gloves















XMAS GIFT #9: (WIP)

SNOWMAN

I decided on making a little snowman Ami for one of my grandmothers for Xmas as well. Christmas is a big holiday in my family and my grandmother never skimps on the holiday decorations. This little snowman will be perfect for a table centerpiece or just to place on the mantle. I think she will like it. I started this late late last night, so I was only able to complete the head with the safety eyes attached, minus the facial details. I am once again using I am using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Glitter yarn in White/Multi for the scarf project. It is a perfect holiday yarn with that touch of glitter/shimmer!















THE HEAD:

Snowman Ami

 







 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Well...that about wraps it up for me this week. I am glad I accomplished finishing the Hello Kitty purse! It is going to be a great gift for my lil cuz! Hopefully next week I will have a Luigi and a Snowman FO!!!
 
Thanks for reading!!