A little yarn detour....

So last winter at some point, my sister-in-law posted the link to this slipper pattern and said she wished she could make these.  I took the bait - asked about colors and sizes - and ordered the pattern.  I never did get around to making them last winter, but this fall, I realized that I needed a portable project for lunchtimes at one of my jobs.  These came out, and they've worked out great!

The solid green ones are for my sister-in-law.  The other two pair are for my niece.  By foot measurement, the red/yellow/green ones should have been the right size, but they seemed awfully big (quite possibly user error!).  So I also made the purple/green ones in the smaller size.  (The purple/green variegated yarn was leftover from the slippers that I haven't yet finished for my aunt!)  I figured that even if the smaller size is right, she'll eventually grow into the larger one.

A close-up of my favorite buttons.  I found these at JAF, and I really wish they'd had other colorways to fit my slippers.  These are so cute!

To be honest, these are totally not my style.  The cuffs are way too foofy for me.  But if that's your thing, I can highly recommend the pattern.  It is well-designed and well-written, and it really works up quickly.  I could see myself using it again, if I thought the recipient would like this style.

Dribs and drabs

My sister-in-law likes having matching mother-daughter stuff.  Not sure that she's quite taken it to PJs/loungewear, but hey!  Why not?  :)  I made her a pair of Tigger PJ pants last Christmas (she hasn't gotten them yet - shhhh) when I accidentally cut the wrong size for another friend.  Now I made a matching pair for my niece!  These are from the Kwik Sew Sewing for Toddlers book.

A friend commissioned some special flannel pillowcases for some friends, and I was happy to oblige!  There are two of these, and I hope that the recipients love them as much as she hopes.

And more key fobs!  I think there will be a few more to come - don't think I have any teacher ones left - but these are for a few coworkers and friends.  The short ones are for my boys for stocking gifts - they like putting them on their backpacks as zipper pulls.

Some new PJs

When I made Thing 2 the new Angry Bird Star Wars PJs, I also cut out the regular Angry Bird PJs.  And there they have sat for the last almost two months.  But this weekend, I got them stitched up.  The top is a purchased T-shirt, and I added appliques.

While I was at it, I had also cut out some PJs that were supposed to be for a friend's son's birthday - back in July.  Oops!  I finally finished those up.  They're flannel, so he may still be interested in wearing them before spring.  Hopefully.  These are a flannel from my deep stash - I believe it was part of a Christmas gift about ten years ago!  Glad to finally be using some.

Upcoming gifts

I had the brilliant idea a year or two ago to make infinity scarves as Christmas gifts.  And I tried it out on one scarf, and that's where I left the idea.  (Too many ideas, not enough time.)  So this year, I decided to revisit it.  And I actually made a few already!

This is a woven cotton shirting - I think - that I found at HF.  For something that's not flannel or fleece, it's still fairly soft.  I chose it mainly for the color/print, which is perfect for one of the recipients.  This made 3 scarves, so a total win.  

This fabric is one of the Plaiditude collection at JAF.  It's a brushed cotton, and it's soooo soft!  I wish they had enough left of the other colorways that I liked, because I would buy it all!  This one made 2 scarves.

With each of these, I used scissors instead of my rotary cutter, and I carefully followed the lines of the plaid to cut them.  Normally I'd be all about the rotary cutter and ruler, but my obsession over matching the stripes took over.

I really think the recipients will like these.