Matt's Gift!

This year I drew my nephew Matt's name for the Christmas exchange. Good fortune, for certain. Matt was staying in Eagles Mere with my parents when Mom had her surgery this fall so I got to spend alot of time with Matt - knitting and talking about how to refashion and reuse all kinds of things - including wool sweaters! Matt is a great guy but he does have one rather unique behavior - he sleeps on the floor - - with no matt (no pun intended) -- only on a wool blanket -- that's it!

So I knew that on Christmas eve Matt would unwrap a refashioned, felted wool sweater blanket. So here are the photos of my gift to Matt. I am pretty certain that he loves it as the blanket travels with him everywhere and is between him and the hard wooden floor every night! I HEART MATT!

Piles and piles of old, used, moth-eaten wool sweaters. Some donated from friends, some my old beloved friends, and some that Matt gave me! Washed in a pillow case in hot water and dried either in the dryer or on the clothes line.

Sixty 9 X 9 inch squares were cut from the body and sleeves of about 20 felted sweaters.



The most tedious task was deciding the positioning of the squares - my type A personality came back to haunt me! Like it really matters - right? Wrong (you other type A's get it, right?). I backed the quilt with a soft blue velour. So cozy!

....and what is Lauren doing with her cousin's gift??? Her time in Nica has made her a fair weather bird!

Merry Christmas to all and to Matt a good night!

XXOO

I Knit....

...and I like!

I picked up the needles and yarn while Mom was recuperating from surgery. I was terrible at first. How do you tell the difference between a knit and purl? How do you pick up a dropped stitch? And I had alot of them! So I decided that the first 4 projects would be felted! Oh what a forgiving craft! So I knitted and felted a hat and three bags!
The hat was my first project - thanks to the ladies in the Danville, Pa knitting circle who shared their love of knitting, their expertise, and their stories with me while I worried about my mom!

I am first and foremost a sewist so getting to line the bags was icing on the cake!! Here with a great grey windowpane Dupioni silk.


And these two with batiks...


And then my BS (beloved spouse) asked if I could knit him "old school" golf club covers for Christmas! Gawd - like I can say no? No - to a Christmas present? No - implying I can't do it? Hell, No!!! So, after a long month of starts and stops, misses and groans.....

FORE!!!!!!
A giant Rastafarian pom pom!

A labor of love! Old school! He was very forgiving!