Hacky Sack - Christmas Ball

These hacky-sacks were made following the Christmas Ball pattern from ATERGCrochet on Etsy.

I made a modification in round 9 - instead of doing separately and then seaming together, I simply treated it like the join, working single-crochets through both pieces of fabric.

These took only an hour or two to work up, which was a great relief after some of the longer projects!

Kristine

First, I made Kristine's from Brava scraps. She said she liked fall colors, so this is the one I made for her. It was completed in August.

Ravelry Project: Kristine

Whitsun

Whitsun's was next, and he said he liked Black and White, as well as red, so this was a perfect decision for him. I finished it in September.

Ravelry Project: Whitsun

Heidi

Heidi's was created in September, when she said she liked blue and white.

Ravelry Project: Heidi

Extra7

This extra one was finished in September, using Brava scraps.

Ravelry Project: E7

Vladimir the Aggilator

Meet Vladimir the Aggilator.  Vladimir the Aggilator has a buddy named Rob, who happens to be a good friend of mine.  Vlad takes Rob everywhere he goes and they always have crazy adventures and take pictures together.  It's a delight to see.

Recently, Vladimir had a sad day, in which he fell and broke his leg.  Like a good friend, Rob gave him immediate medical attention, and he is back on his feet and doing well once again, but I decided a get-well gift was in order, and so I knit Vladimir the Aggilator a get well sweater.

I hope he likes his gift (and more importantly, I'm glad it fits!).  Below, I'll write a quick synopsis of the technique I used.  Since it's probably not an exact pattern anyone would ever want to repeat, I'll write it more as a concept, explaining how I created it, in hopes that others could recreate the process.

1. Find your measurements.  I knew that I wanted the end result to be about 8cm in circumference and 4.5cm tall (2.5cm to be below the armholes, 1cm for the armholes, and 1cm above the armholes).  I also knew that I wanted the "back" section to be slightly larger than the "front" section, as far as armhole placement, so I approximated 4.5cm on the back, 2.5cm on the front, and .5cm for each arm hole.  I used these measurements to place my buttonholes and armholes.
2. Cast On and Knit the First Rows.  Using the Channel Island Cast On, I cast on 44 stitches (about 9.5), and throughout the entire body, I knit in a P1K1 rib, following the Cast on ridges.  I chose to do this because the ribbing would give if my measurements were wrong, and the extra 1.5cm could be used for a buttonband.
3. Make a Button Hole. On the fifth row, I k2tog over the 5th and 6th to last stitches, and on the sixth row, I knit 5 stitches and then did a yarn over, making a button hole for my 1cm buttons.  Work 4 more rows.
4. Bind off for Armholes.  On the fifth row after the button hole, work 10 stitches, cast off 2, work 20 stitches, cast off 2, work 10 stitches.  Work the next 4 rows only in the section before the bound off stitches.
5. Create and finish Armholes.  Using the other end of the yarn, attach and work 4 rows across the section between the armholes.  Cut and repeat with the final section.  
6. Create the second Button Hole.  Return to original working yarn, which should still be attached, and work across, casting on 2 stitches over each armhole.  On this row, you should k2tog for the second button hole, and on the following row, yo.
7. Finish Body.  Work 4 more rows and bind off.
8. Make Sleeves.  Pick up 10 stitches around armhole and work in stockinette stitch for 4 rows.  Bind off.  Repeat for second armhole.
9. Finishing.  Weave in ends and attach buttons.

Ravelry Project

(For those of you wondering, yes, I used scraps, so this was a Cold Sheep project, and yes, that's the same Rob I made the cowl for, which he happens to be wearing!)

Doesn't he look so happy in his sweater of love?  <3

Flower Girl Cootie Catchers

I posted a few weeks ago about how I decided to knit shawls for my beautiful bridesmaids.  It seemed like the perfect answer.

And then I realized that I would have to knit the gifts for the entire bridal party.

What in the world would I knit the groomsmen?  The musicians?  What about the flower girls!?

I'll eventually post about all of those, but for now, I'd like to share what I found for my flower girls:

Crocheted Cootie Catchers!

Ellie's Cootie Catcher

No, it wasn't technically knitting, but it was the same idea, and I'm sure my girls wouldn't mind.  You see, I had three flower girls.  My cousin Grace, age 9, and her sister Ella, age 5, as well as Randall's cousin Ellie, age 3.  They were all adorable, but trying to find something they all could like?!  A hassle.  And then I found this.

They were super easy to make, though I've never been very good at seaming, and I asked each girl what her favorite colors were in order to personalize it.  I also made my own version of the insets with those pretty color-waves in Microsoft word, so that each girl had a combination of each color she asked for.  I'm really happy with how they turned out in general.

Thoughts?  Any other cute flower girl gift ideas?

Ravelry Pattern
Grace's Ravelry Project | Ella's Ravelry Project | Ellie's Ravelry Project

If you liked this post, you might like these ideas:

• Bridesmaid's Shawls
• Musician's Baskets
• Groomsmen