So my favorite new mom is not the only one I have been making gifts for. Her little boy, my nephew, has a blanket in the works. Only a few inches left to go! Why are the last few inches of a long knitting project so hard?

For the last few days I have been working on lots of quick projects while trying to finish some projects up.

First I had to make a toy before I went nuts and destroyed the sweater I have been working on. Still working out the pattern but these little guys are fun to make.

And Blake, the hubbie, wanted a case for his DS. So I tried my hand at case making. Took 3 tries for me to come up with something I like, above is a too tight case that is about a half inch to short. My case is coming soon, after I get new needles for my sewing machine… I kind of broke 3.

Oh and ends… lots of ends. I am almost done weaving them all end and then all that is left is sewing the arms on, 4 more ends to weave in and the sweater is done.

Why the hurry to finish everything? I have a commission for a new Kitsune. This one will be a little different than my last one. Looking forward to revisiting my old work.

I have 28 rows left. Body rows too. And that is just the knitting not the sewing the arms on and weaving in the 1000s of ends. Stupid distractions making me take almost a week off.

I live in Georgia and I often joke with people that I have never seen a “real” snow. Only a few times in my life have I seen snow that does not melt away with a single footprint. Because of this snow has always seemed a magical thing to me. So when I saw snow come up as a topic in the Holiday Softie Awards I was immediately draw to it. If I can’t have real snow here I thought it would be fun to make a little sprite that brings snow.

This little guy was probably my most challenging piece construction wise to date. When I was drafting the pattern for him I forgot some basic math. I had in my head that the circumference of a circle was TTr² instead of dTT. Stubbornly I cut the pieces even though I knew it is not look right and I even went so far as to sew them together. Looking at that huge head and tinny legs and body I had to admit defeat. A quick glance at wikipedia and a slap on the head later and I was fixing the pattern. See kids, math is important. It helps you make softies.

After remembering middle, possibly elementary, school math. I was ready to roll. First I made the body, legs and arms, saving the head to later. I wanted the feet to be crocheted but I had to fumble how to do it. I did not want to have a sewn line running horizontally across the arms and legs because that would destroy the bell sleeve look I was going for. So I ended up having to make the crocheted sections fit under the already sewn arms. It would have been much simpler the other way around. Then a quick running stitch along the top edges before attaching the arms and legs and it was all good.

As a final touch I painted the eyes of my little guy blue. I used Testor paints, the kind you use in models. Worked great. I like how the blue eyes are much softer than the classic black safety eyes.

Been working on and off again for almost a month on this little guy for the Holiday Softie Awards. Not happy with the photography yet so I hope to have “real” pictures soon.

I know I am not the only one to carry a small travel project wherever I go. But sometimes it can feel like it when you are the only one crocheting or knitting in public. Most of the time you get a lot of stares and people asking you “how do you do that?” But that is to be expected. I know this so I do not take out my project unless I am prepared for this.

But crafting during my lunch break is another matter. I always worry about showing people at work that there are things that I would rather be doing than working. Lucky me, my supervisor does not seem to mind if I work on my crafts during my lunch break. In fact she often ask about what I am working on. I still do not feel comfortable whipping my projects out in the break room, but a quiet lunch by myself in a small conference room with a crochet project is just what I need some days.

Anyone else crafting during their lunch breaks?

I have so much finishing work left to do before these guys are ready for Plush You. It is kind of fun to see all the blobs heaped together though.