Instant Gratification - Knitted Sushi

Earlier this month I was a little burned out from all my Christmas knitting (that didn't get done in time for Christmas) and needed some instant gratification. I had bought a Knitting Pattern-a-Day calender; the patterns for January 5'th and 6'th were for sushi. The pictures aren't the greatest, but I haven't had time to re-photograph them. The sushi knit up very quickly. Beware - knitting sushi can be addicting.
I was worried that I wouldn't like very many of the patterns in the calendar, but so far I've been happy with most of them.
Sarah

Penguin Awareness Day

I'm starting to run out of Health Awareness Ribbons, so I thought Penguin Awareness Day would be cute.
A cute penguin movie is Happy Feet, and March of the Penguins is an interesting documentary.
ehow has several suggestins for ways to celebrate on January 20.
Have Fun!
~Sarah

Tatted Trees

These were some quick and easy gifts for people who have everything else. The thread is DMC Pearl Cotton, (art. 115) size 5, color 699. One skein made 4 trees, and there is enough left for 2 or 3 more. To keep the thread from tangling, I cut it in half and wound 2 shuttles with it.
The pattern is from the Big Book of Tatting. It has a couple of mistakes, like nearly every pattern in the book, but as you can see, I figured it out.
~Sarah

Another Easy Triangle Shawl

Yes, I made another one. You might be starting to think that I like the pattern. I made this one for the lady I babysit for. The yarn is Lion Brand's Homespun, and the shade is Fiesta. It's not a self-striping yarn, but it striped beautifully. The front picture wouldn't come out, so I laid it on a towel to show off the stripes.
~Sarah

Knitted Backpacks

I knit these for my cousins in California. It made more sense to knit the same item three times rather than racking my brain for individual gifts. The pattern is from AnnyPurls; the main reason I chose it was the number of ways the bag could be varied. They were very easy to knit. I used Vanna's Choice yarn for the bags and a combination of Vanna's Choice and Wool-Ease for the pockets and puppets. Overall it was a very easy pattern to follow, and I would definitely knit it again. I saw an idea on Ravelry to needle felt an initial instead of making the pockets, so I might wind up making one for myself. For some reason my bags turned out larger than they were supposed to, so if you make the pattern, measure your bag before you cut the lining fabric!

This was the first one I made, and I misread the pattern, making the stripes wider than called for. I think it makes the bag a little more grown-up.

The pocket on this one was the most difficult part of the pattern. It was a cabled piece and it took me a few tries to get it right.









The only trouble I had with this was that the sails seemed out of proportion with the boat, but it turned out just fine.








Here's a closeup of the finger puppets. They were easy enough to knit, but embroidering the features nearly drove me batty. If I made the pattern again, I would either substitute something for the puppets, or find an easier puppet pattern.

~Sarah

New Year's Resolutions

*Image borrowed from ehow.com*
Last year's resolutions didn't go very well. Maybe I'll do better this year.

1. Last year I resolved to lose the Last Five Pounds and wound up gaining nine. At the beginning of December I started doing weight watchers and lost seven pounds. This year I resolve to keep up with weight watchers achieve my goal weight.
2. Start Christmas presents earlier. I did get them started early last year, just not early enough.
   
3. Write blog posts twice a week.
   
4. Make a scrapbook of FO's

Sarah