butterick 4790. my second attempt. this one fits much better than the last. plus the fabric is super-comfy. it's for xmas dya, because every girl deserves a new dress for xmas.

more on the alterations and pattern comments at the blog.

its jess hutch's bunny pattern, knit in brown polar fleece-type yarn. a christmas present for the best friend. and my first knitted toy, i think (can't remember for sure).
for more details and a fantastic finishing tip that i invented myself (as far as i can tell), as ever, http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com/2006/11/lucky-rabbit-and-tips-for-finishing.html

i drew a template, cut two out of felt, free-hand embroidered one side and stitched 'em together, stuffing with polyfill as i went. i am soooooo pleased with how they look. well, i only have one finished but i love it. it was pretty heavily 'inspired' by chika mori's chrissy decorations (but i like mine better ). chika's are here: http://www.anthropologie.com/jump.jsp?itemID=13072&itemType=PRODUCT&iSubCat=1780&iMainCat=1779
i used running stitch and backstitch, and lazy daisy stitch that went a bit messy. i also made sucessful french knots for the first time in my life! i remember trying to do them when i was a kid and getting soooooo frustrated. the eye is a slightly off french knot, a stitch i claim to have invented myself. when i pulled the thread through, the knot didn't tighten up properly, leaving two little loops of thread. so i made three other little stitches to pin the loops down in a ring shape. i call it... um.... donut stitch!

here's birdie number two, in polka-dot felt.


i don't like the pale green bits, so i'm going to unpick them, add some more dark green stars. because the bird reminds me oh-so-vaguely of a swallow, i want to do a sailor jerry one next, with an anchor and some nautical stars (though they might be a bit hard).

more christmas birdies posted at my blog now. a kind-of atomic boom polka dot birdie (well, that was the idea behind it), a starry one and a tropical one. good fun.
http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-birdies.html

okay, not exactly original or recent. i know there's a squillion others floating about on craftster but i still wanted to post, because it's the only thing ive finished in a while.

in 8ply (DK) black, machine washable merino. for a friend who has begged for fingerless mitts forever. they knit up in a mere three days, and were my first cabled knit (well, once i knit up a gauge swatch, made up some cables as i went along, though 'yep! i can cable!' and threw the swatch in a corner).

pattern modifications at the blog.

i made this as a commission for a friend. she's a wee bit goth *cough*understatement*cough* and loves getting her gothy friends black babywear. except that it doesn't exist. so she gets me to knit it.

jacket was based on the pea pod baby set that's a free download at interweave knits, but uh... it changed a little. if people think it has changed sufficiently i'm happy to post a pattern/ my alterations. but i wasn't sure. well, it's a free pattern, so posting alterations is fine, but i'm still hestitant to call this 'my' pattern.

was my first shot at baby clothes. seems a little big (though it's the correct finished size according to the instructions), but then i don't know kids/ their sizes, so *shrug*

why is it called the reds under the bed jacket? bad sense of humour and a spot of australian history. explanations at the blog.

i had to order my pattern from overseas, because it isn't available in australia yet.



more *hilarious* anecdotes about the trials and tribulations caused by my mediocre sewing skills on the blog: http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com

i looooove giftwrapping. i originally got my current student job (in a bookstore) because they employed me as a giftwrapper over xmas then decided to keep me on. and at xmas i still get lumped with the wrapping, coz i'm the best at it

this year i have plain brown paper from Ikea, and ribbon (10c a metre on clearance sale! i bought i whole roll!) i like the fabric ribbons because people tend to keep and reuse them, which is less wasteful.

here are some older bits and pieces:


box from ikea, random bit of black cord, shoe charm (girl loves shoes)


red gingham fabric (because i'd run out of sticky tape, and fabric canbe held closed with a bow).


beautiful silver and red sari fabric. might use some of this for xmas presents also.

my 'invisible stripe' scarf, out of mango moon mohair.
more pictures, details and a 'pattern' (it's not exactly complex) on the blog:

http://lupinbunny.blogspot.com

it's a nice, quick, dead easy, knit-while-doing-something-else pattern. and the end product looks more complex than it is to knit. perfect for xmas pressies, i think

i posted in the wrong gallery! oops. so, here. i moved it.
so! my package arrived today! it was there when i got home from uni early (i had a terrible, terrible afternoon that warranted skipping my classes), so it was so very much appreciated. no sign of having been opened by customs, though apparently they did do *something* with it (it was held up there for a while).
without further ado: the Mysterious Box

Filled with candy:

There was milk duds (yay!) and candy corn and three musketeers mini-bars and hersheys and babe ruths (mongst others). i felt like i was in a babysitter's club book! (spot where my knowledge of US candy comes from ). also some crazy halloween candy (since we don't do halloween) and some black and orange lip gloss. did you know it actually makes your lips black arcadian_green? oh, also there was chocolate coated sunflower seeds which sound YUM. i love edible seeds, and chocolate. both together is great.


my fab craft supplies (well i'm not going to DRINK the kool-aid, am i?) Arcadian_green picked out that great yarn (lion brand thick'n'quick and yarn bee mosaic) even though she doesn't knit/ crochet!


and here's some tourist-y stuff. postcards with sunflowers and tornados. a little book of photos of kansas, a tourist brochure, and absolutely FAB kansas flour bag (i will put my limited sewing skills to use to make it into a little tote/ purse thing) and a corn-shaped packet of corn-muffin mix, which i like very much. and a pencil from wichita state uni.

PS: i bet the candy corn got through even though it has honey because there was no label on the package saying the ingredients

thanks so much arcadian_green!

so! my package arrived today! it was there when i got home from uni early (i had a terrible, terrible afternoon that warranted skipping my classes), so it was so very much appreciated. no sign of having been opened by customs, though apparently they did do *something* with it (it was held up there for a while).
without further ado: the Mysterious Box

Filled with candy:

There was milk duds (yay!) and candy corn and three musketeers mini-bars and hersheys and babe ruths (mongst others). i felt like i was in a babysitter's club book! (spot where my knowledge of US candy comes from ). also some crazy halloween candy (since we don't do halloween) and some black and orange lip gloss. did you know it actually makes your lips black arcadian_green? oh, also there was chocolate coated sunflower seeds which sound YUM. i love edible seeds, and chocolate. both together is great.


my fab craft supplies (well i'm not going to DRINK the kool-aid, am i?) Arcadian_green picked out that great yarn (lion brand thick'n'quick and yarn bee mosaic) even though she doesn't knit/ crochet!


and here's some tourist-y stuff. postcards with sunflowers and tornados. a little book of photos of kansas, a tourist brochure, and absolutely FAB kansas flour bag (i will put my limited sewing skills to use to make it into a little tote/ purse thing) and a corn-shaped packet of corn-muffin mix, which i like very much. and a pencil from wichita state uni.

PS: i bet the candy corn got through even though it has honey because there was no label on the package saying the ingredients

thanks so much arcadian_green!