Oh Wow, 2011 Here You Are!

Well hello there everyone! I took a little break there over Christmas, and managed to get quite a bit of sewing done! It was back to school yesterday for my final semester (hurray!) and now I'm trying to get myself back into the routine of school and work; hopefully I'll still be able to fit in lots of sewing and knitting, and I have some exciting projects coming up to share with y'all in 2011. I have a number of handmade things to share with you, but let's restrict this post to just the gifts.

I took my Mum her tree skirt (which I share in my previous post) and she really seemed to love it! It's a bit big since she has a fake Christmas tree but it didn't look too bad. I made my Mum a few presents for Christmas (on top of getting her a few books, a movie, and doing her stocking).

I made these slippers for her using some of the Bliss flannels that Val sent me a few months back. I bought the pattern from Etsy and you can find it here. They were a bit fiddly to make but I think they turned out pretty cute!

I also knitted her her own Honey Cowl using Simplicity by Hikoo for Skacel in Natural Olive. I am really no good at taking pictures of the things I've knit (especially when they're on me) so this is the best picture there is - this is also why I have not shown pictures of the first Honey Cowl I knit for myself or my Autumn.

My Mum collects sock monkeys so I made her this coffee cozy too using fabric by Erin Michael for Moda.

On top of getting Alex a bunch of books, some clothes, and whiskey stones (as well as a t-shirt from Etsy, moleskines, and Yiddish poetry magnets for Hanukkah), I also made him a new tie for Christmas.

Both the blue check (which I think is from Cranston) and the fuchsia bees from Patty Young's Flora & Fauna were prints that Alex mentioned liking so I thought they should definitely go together! I like making Alex ties - they are relatively easy, but have a lot of impact and I love being able to customize the lining material.

Yesterday was our second anniversary and I bought Alex a new digital camera - his was pretty old so he never used it.

I also made him this camera cozy to go along with it - the outer lining is a cotton suiting material and the lining is a brown/black Moda solid which I think was from the Hello Betty line. The closure is a dark brown suede and I set the buttons myself - woohoo, it's always a good time when I get to use a hammer! I actually had to make the cozy twice because the first one was a bit too small and I totally goofed on the construction; I didn't really think it out as well as I should have the first time.

Now let's see, what gifts did I get? Well, my Mum gave my Amy Butler's Style Stitches and the new edition of Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery (technically these were actually belated birthday presents since one of mine had to be returned), Hilary Lang's Wee Wonderfuls and the new Whip Up Mini Quilts book. She also bought me Wives & Daughters and North & South on DVD, a grey cardigan, the Omnigrid ruler grip, and a giant new cutting mat (24x36" - one of the greatest things ever by the way) as well as a bunch of smaller presents like sewing machine needles, chocolate, and rotary blades. The biggest present of all that she got me though was the new iPod Touch 4G - my iPod (which I've had for years and was already used when I got it) gave out a month before Christmas and I probably would gouge my eyes out if I had to work without my podcasts.

For Christmas Alex gave me a really cute set of bird postcards in a tin, a handmade necklace by Marmalade Designs (very similar to this one, but mine is square and the side with the owl only has one owl not two), and this cardigan from Banana Republic...

Heritage Cardigan, Banana Republic

For our anniversary, Alex bought me the Elsa Peretti Color by the Yard bracelet with aquamarine from Tiffany & Co. I have to take it in and have it sized though because I have super-teeny wrists and it's way to big for me. We also went out for dinner and had Indian food - yum!

I'll be back soon with more of the stuff I've been sewing up! I hope you all had a lovely holiday, took some time to relax, and are looking forward to all that you can accomplish in 2011!