Scarves

I've been making hand-made gifts recently and finished two scarves - a knitted scarf for my brother-in-law and a crocheted scarf for my sister.

I'm presently working on a crocheted jacket for myself. I hope to finish it before spring ends!

I discovered a shop that was selling all kinds of yarn for $1.99 each and I sort of went crazy so I have my hands full with knitted or crocheted projects lined up.

Crochet Cast-On

I started a big project recently - knitting myself a coat - finally - from a book I bought three years ago. I expect to work on it over the next few months. It involves A LOT of knitting, so in between I am going to knit a scarf for my brother-in-law, crochet a cap for my sister, and crochet a scarf for another sister.

Anyway, knitting the coat introduced me to another way of casting on - the crochet cast-on, which I am loving that I will use it when I start knitting the scarf for my brother-in-law. I actually started crocheting a scarf for him, but while doing the Ladder stitch portion of the scarf, I lost two stitches along the way. This is something I have to constantly work on when crocheting. I don't have time to work and rip out the project constantly since I have to finish the scarf before his birthday next month, so I am going to knit him a scarf instead using this Farrow Rib pattern.

Handmade Christmas

Remember this?


I never got to do the shoulderette nor the neckwarmer. I ended up with these two scarves. One went to my mother-in-law, while the other one was shipped to New York for my sister.

It wasn't a totally hand-made Christmas as planned, but I was able to make five items.

A Gentle Hand Massage

Here's a nice feature from Melanie Falick's Weekend Knitting: 50 Unique Projects and Ideas.

It's easy to get so motivated by progress on a knitting project - especially on a week-end when you have a large chunk of free time - that you don't want to stop even though your hands are feeling tired or sore, or your neck, shoulders, or another part of your body are tight. To soothe the hands and relax, take frequent breaks and give yourself a gentle hand massage. These reflexology techniques were shared with me by Karen Cornell-Froehner, a massage therapist in Dutchess County, New York.

• Remove all jewelry from hands or wrists before starting.
• To relax the neck and shoulders, shake the hands gently with hands in front of you, then above your head, then out to the side. Finish by handing your hands down at your sides as you continue to shake them. Do this a few times.
• Cradle one hand inside the other. Using the thumb of the hand that is doing the cradling, begin to make small circular motions at the base of the thumb (the fat pad area) and into the web between the thumb and index finger. Work across the base of the finger pads, then toward the wrist down along the pinky-finger side of the hand. Repeat a few times on both hands.
• Repeat the hand-shaking sequence.
• Using your knuckles, massage the opposing hand up and down from the palm, into the wrist area, up to your elbow. You will begin to feel a tingling sensation run up your arms. Massage each hand and arm once. This relaxes the shoulder girdle, the rib cage area, lungs/chest and heart.
• Cradle one hand in the other again. Using the thumb of the hand that is doing the cradling, massage just under the bottom knuckle joints on the palm side of the other hand (this is the diaphragm line, starting at the thumb and moving gently but firmly to the pinky. Repeat a few times, then change to the other hand.
• Rest one elbow on a desk or table. Intertwine your fingers into each other and begin to gently flex and extend the hand with the elbow on the surface. Repeat four times. Then rotate the hand gently in a circular motion. Rotate to the right eight times, then repeat to the left. Repeat with the other elbow on the desk or table. This stretches the tendons of the arm.
• Repeat the hand-shaking sequence.
• Sweep the knuckles of your index and middle fingers down and up the palm of the other hand, working all the way to the edges of the hand, then up the arm. Repeat with the other hand.
• With a closed fist, using the heel of the hand, hit the base of the thumb several times. This will soften this thick tissue area. This aids in lower back issues.
• Finally, sweep your fingertips back and forth across the palms of the opposing hand (sweeping any tension away). Drop your hands to your sides and shake from side to side.

Fingerless Gloves

One more project is done. I started with the Hand/Wrist Warmers pattern, but got stuck when I got to the thumb opening part. I could not understand the instructions. I tried to get help on the internet, but couldn't find an answer so I ended up looking for another pattern. I discovered Joelle Hoverson's blog, Purl Bee, and liked the Greenaway Fingerless Glove pattern. I had to start all over again, but am happy with the way the gloves turned out.

Now, on the the next project on the list - a scarf.

Magic Loop Knitting

While working on the fingerless gloves, I re-discovered Magic Loop knitting, which uses one circular needle for knitting small diameter projects in the round. This technique is a lot less cumbersome than using double-pointed needles, especially if you're knitting on the bus.

Books

For the past few months, our table was full of cookbooks, but since I embarked on my handmade Christmas project, the cookbooks have been replaced with crochet and knitting books.