They are mostly based on designs by Judy's Colors, but since she charges $82 for a kit and does not sell the patterns separately, I was forced to improvise. Using an online chart maker, designs from Judy and some Scandanavian mitten patterns, along with alphabet charts from this blog, I made my own stocking pattern.
I made Walker's first, using his favorite green as the main color. For the yarn, I used Knit Picks Swish DK, a very soft merino yarn. I figured since we're going to be using these for a long time, I could splurge a little.
I really love the way the trees turned out. They look great in white on the green.
I was not as happy with the way his name turned out. "Walker" was just too long for the space provided. I probably could have gone with a different script look, but I really liked this font. Oh well!
For mine, I used MY favorite color as the main color and made it kind of the opposite of Walker's. Where he has snowflakes, I have trees and vice versa. I really like my snowflakes, but am not as happy with the way my foot turned out. I should probably have just striped it the way I did Walker's. It wouldn't look so uneven.
That said, I love love love the way my name turned out. "Allie" was just the right length for the space provided and I think it looks great!
I finished them both just in time for our trip to GA so we were able to use them on our first Christmas morning as a married couple.
This was also my first Christmas away from my family, ever. I was a little worried about how I would handle it at first, but I had a really good time in GA. Walker's family tried very hard to make me feel welcome and at home there. I am very lucky in the in-law department. I had a truly blessed Christmas with them.One quick afterthought: It's been getting very cold here in Maine in the last month or so, what with all the snow and everything. I decided that I didn't like the hat I made for myself last year, so I frogged it and used the yarn to make another Jacques Cousteau hat for myself.
It fits me much better than the previous one did, which is importand to keep the snow away from my little ears! It's also made of my favorite material, alpaca and silk, so it's super soft!
It fits me much better than the previous one did, which is importand to keep the snow away from my little ears! It's also made of my favorite material, alpaca and silk, so it's super soft!Since I'm all done with Christmas knitting now, I am starting to think about opening an Etsy shop to market my skills. I've been reading a lot about it and many of the people say that it's a lot of work to get your name out there and make a living. I don't know how much energy I'm willing to expend tweeting and the like to get an Etsy shop going, so for now I'm going to work on making an inventory and then seeing how far word of mouth can go. I'll let you all know how that progresses and when/if I make my grand opening! I guess can be one of my New Year's resolutions: try to market my knitting skills to make a little side cash. Wish me luck!
-Allie
1 comment:
Those stockings are GORGEOUS. I really like how your Christmas presents turned out, too! I'll be sure to advertise your Etsy shop to everyone I know, so good luck setting it up, Mrs. Matthews!! :)
PS. You're lucky in the in-laws department, but I think your in-laws are also very lucky in the daughter-in-law department!
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