Very Special Things

These are some cute felted boxes that I whipped up this week. And when I say "whipped up", I mean it! These are a very fast knit and in my not-so-humble opinion make great gifts. As a matter of fact, I made one for Sister and she's taken it to work already. Of course I made it to match her living room, but it would look nice in her office too.

Now, the pattern is called "Very Special Things" by Wendy Wonnacott (the beloved Zib of the Knittyboard) and is available at The Garter Belt.

The largest box is made from Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in avocado and red. The middle box is WOTA in evergreen and I think some leftover Brown Sheep Nature Spun in snow. The third box is Reynolds Light Lopi in Berry Heather and the end of a small skein of handspun I picked up at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival.

I did a couple of things different from the original pattern, but then what else is new? For starters, I reinforced my boxes not with cardboard but with plastic canvas. I cut the pieces to fit and sewed them into shape with yarn, and then I tacked the box itself to the canvas for added stability before lining it. And I did a fitted lining which requires some seaming, as opposed to the folded corner method that Zib uses. And I tacked the corners of the lining into the corners of the box so that the lining wouldn't shift around. All the linings I chose are 100% cotton.

I love these!

In Other News:

The Bug lost her second tooth! Actually second and third because the two were fused together with only one root between them. She currently has two teeth already coming in behind them, and in a very crooked way. It will take a bit of math to figure out how many pair of mittens I'll have to sell to pay for braces.

I got the yard and porch all cleaned up and the garbage men are taking my junk away in giant loads every week. The shed is looking good, the woodshed is almost there too. And I priced porch railings over the weekend, which unless my math is way off should come in less than 200 bucks. So good news there!

Choir practice started up a couple of weeks ago and Jeanne said I can start cantoring anytime I want. Whenever there's a week that rolls around with music I feel comfortable with I just let the cantor on duty know that I'm joining her (or him) and I'll sing with them that week. Then I'll be put on to cantor solo starting with the Advent schedule. I haven't picked a week yet, though. Don't rush me.

The weeks are getting busier and busier or at least it seems. I'll have to start thinking about Christmas shopping soon.

*poops faints*