Playing Catch Up-FO overload

I have been totally slacking on this blog thing!  The end of October/half of November is always busy for me.  The church I belong to has a basket social each year in Mid-November and I am on the committee.  A couple of weeks before we usually have a meeting or two to go over last minute details, then we set up and on the day of the event I am typically there for 15 hours.  It's so much fun though and I won big this year!  One of the ladies on the committee donated a Game of Thrones basket.  It has a Winter is Coming pillow (the reverse side shows the Stark emblem), a season 3 soundtrack, a book that shows behind the scenes of the show, a chip bowl and cup set, a puzzle and a deck of cards.  I was the lucky winner of that basket!  I also won a Penn State themed basket and an Easter basket.

Aside from the basket social, I have been doing A LOT of knitting.  

I was involved in a Halloween swap in the Susan Claudino Designs group on Ravelry.  My partner loves Harry Potter so I customized the Wild Things pattern to make him look like Dobby.  I knit him a wee sock so he can show the world that he is a free elf.

I did a KAL with some Ravelry friends.  We were all excited for the season premiere of The Walking Dead, so we were planning projects using Desert Vista Dyeworks, If They Kill Rick.  I made myself a pair of vanilla socks.  I was supposed to wait for the premiere to cast on, but I couldn't help myself and started early.

If They Kill Rick socks-yarn is Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso, colorway:  If They Kill Rick

After the socks were done, I wanted another mindless project.  I cast on a Sockhead hat using The Cyborg's Craft Room, Softwear in Joan Collins Blazer.

Sockhead in Joan Collins Blazer

The Susan Claudino Designs group had another swap.  This one was a snowball fight.  We were put in teams of 3, all living relatively close to each other.  One person starts it off, sends a Snowball Buddy ornament to person 2.  Once received, person 2 asks person 3 which they would prefer and mails to them.  When they receive theirs, person 3 sends an ornament to person 1.  I made the owl for person 2.

Snowball Buddies owl

One of the baskets this year at the basket social had a vintage cradle, handcrafted by a committee member's grandfather.  My mom knit a beautiful blanket to place inside the cradle and I knit an elephant to go along with the set.

Elijah by Ysolda Teague

My final FO for this post is a cowl.  The Indie Design Gift-a-Long is going on.  One of our local knitter friends is a designer participating in the GAL.  I needed a gift for my boyfriend's mother for Christmas so I decided to participate.  I knit the Glowing Embers cowl by Simone Kereit.  I was a little intimidated with the pattern when I first looked at it, but once I started it was simple.  I love the way it turned out and have enough yarn left over to make another one, reversing the colors.

Glowing Embers by Simone Kereit-yarn:  Cascade 220 superwash

A woman at church asked if I would knit her a purple octopus that matched her quilt in her guest room.  I whipped up the body of this little guy with no pattern and used this pattern for the legs.  I held the yarn double, using worsted weight yarn and she asked for the eyes to be embroidered on.  

Octavius the Octo in Loops & Threads Solids

I knit a teeny dog sweater for my now ex-boyfriend's dog.  Since my boss has a Shih tzu, I am hoping this sweater will fit her dog.

The pattern is  Dog Sweater for Small Dogs.  The only mods made were the arms.  I didn't quite understand the pattern so I worked the arms like an afterthought heel and went back and picked up stitches where I felt the arms should go.

My last FO to share right now is a pair of Christmas socks.  This is my 13th pair of the year and I used Dancing Dog Dyeworks Twist sock in Holly Jolly with Linsay Pink for the cuffs/heels/toes

Socks on a Plane in DDD-Holly Jolly

What have you been up to, Jen?

That is a lot of FOs Jess!  October and November were really busy for me too.  In the beginning of November we hosted Journal Club at my house.  This is where the residents and faculty in the Emergency Medicine program get together to discuss research articles about different topics in medicine. It is nice for them to go to a house rather than the hospital, and this year we have a big enough house to host. There were over 50 (yes 50) people at my house.  It was loud and fun! 

 It is hard to see but my living room is full of people right now! The day after that we traveled to Orlando! We wanted to visit some friends who moved there this summer, see the expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter (squee!) and visit John's grandparents.

Magic Kingdom, Main Street - so warm and nice out!

Got to ride the Hogwarts Express!

Dragon on top of Gringott's bank- randomly shoots fire

Seen in Knockturn Alley

Now these would be useful for Christmas gifts

 After Orlando we headed to St. Petersburg and saw a Chihuly exhibit.  It was beautiful, much smaller than the gardens in Seattle, but still neat to see

Now I can finally share my knitting! I finished the shawl for my sister in law. It is huge, warm, soft and I am sad to see it leave. This would be lovely to have in the winter time.

Next up I made a few ornaments for our year long swap. They were the last pieces that I needed to make!

Snowball buddy by Susan Claudino - modified to make it a snowman; Penguin Popper by Jill Arnusch

For DADA this month we were tasked to make an item designed by a fellow House Cupper so I chose to make this adorable monster bookmark by Cristel Brooks aka bellymonster

Monster Corner Bookmark

I finished up the socks I was making with my MDSW Miss Babs yarn. These Charade socks are warm, but the colors make me think of spring, which is nice in the winter time.

Next I knit up another Hermione Hearts Ron hat. The first was for my mother in law, and this is also a Christmas present. It is knit up in Mirasol Yarn Nuna, a super soft, silk, wool and bamboo blend.

I knit some Hufflepuff socks too this month! Jess says they are Steeler's socks and I am ok with that too. Jess got me this yarn as a gift, it is Alina Shea Creations Sunrises in the colorway "Hufflepride."  I love this pattern for self-striping yarns. I am not a big fan of afterthought heels, and this pattern makes the stripes look good enough to just keep going.  This is my 5th (I think) pair of Vanilla Latte Socks.

Lastly (phew!) I have my Smittens garland that I can hang on the mantle in our new house. These mittens are small, and take much longer than I thought they would. I think it is because they are small they are more fiddly.  

Hope everyone has a great rest of the holiday weekend!