Finish Friday - Andrea - Knitted Sweater

Just barely getting this in on Friday in Idaho!  No new submissions for this week, so you get another one of my finishes!  This isn't technically a Holiday item, because it was a birthday gift for my daughter's 10th birthday.  But her birthday happens to be in December, so it's close enough.

This fall she asked me to make some legwarmers for her friend's birthday, and when she was looking through my stash for the perfect yarn color, she fell in love with this jade green (Pagoda, Caron's Simply Soft).  I immediately knew I wanted to make something for her with it.

So I found instructions for this top-down raglan - it's custom-fit, so it requires a bit of math the first time you make something.  I bought another skein of the jade, and decided to add some white stripes to make sure I'd have enough and here it is:

This picture was taken at night, plus she's decided she doesn't like having her picture taken, so there was some wrestling involved to get this shot!  This is the first garment I've knitted, and I'm really pleased with the result.  You can't see the bottom, but the striping repeats in the ribbing.  I'm planning to use the instructions to make a sweater set for myself for work.

I had just a little bit of jade left over, so I decided to crochet a beret for her as well.  She pulls it down like a ski hat, because she's 10.  But she loves the sweater!

Finish Friday - Christmas Ornaments - December 14, 2012

I stitched these ornament sets a couple of years ago for a giveaway.  The top set is a blackwork snowflake theme - a "humbug", a little diamond-shaped ornie edged with Klosters, and a beaded snowflake that I made about 6 years ago.  The bottom set was a candy cane theme - a spiral-rope candy ring and a Hardanger cushion ornament.  There was supposed to be a humbug with this one, but I cut too close to the edge and the stitches started pulling out. :(  So I gave away the snowflakes and now the candy ones hang on my tree every year!
If you have an ornament finish to share, be sure to fill out the submission form!  I'm also looking for winter scenes for the month of January.

Finish Friday on Google+

Some of you may not know this about me, but I've worked in social media for almost 2 years.  Google+ is Google's way of combining what people search for with how they communicate.  They've recently added Communities (which are like Facebook Groups), and there are a very limited number of fiber arts communities!  So I added one called Finish Friday, which will allow for discussions of the various forms of fiber arts, as well as a section to ask for help with finishes, or to share tutorials.  We could even do events or hangouts (video chats) as a group!

I hope this will help us reach other stitchers who would be interested in sharing with us!

If you're on Google+ and you'd like to join this discussion group, click here - I have it set to "request to join" to make prevent spam. :)

If you're not on Google+, it's easy and free to join.  The site will walk you through it, but if you have any questions feel free to ask me, too!

Finish Friday - Yuana - December 7, 2012

Hello again, everyone!  Today's finish comes from Yuana in Amman!  Here's her story behind this piece:

"Its a cross stitch of a javanese wedding couple, white aida 14ct, dmc threads, size 37 x 21 cm. I bought the kit in Jakarta in 2003, I wasnt committed enough and when I miscalculated the batik skirt I decided to stop. When I went to Indonesia for holiday in the end of last year, I found it in my old bedroom. I decided to brought it back to Syria and finally when we moved to Amman in Feb 2012 I corrected it a little and finished it, finally after more than 9 years :) I decided to give it as a gift for my bestfriend back in Indonesia, I added her name and her husband, together with their wedding date :)"

You can read more about this piece in the post on Yuana's blog.  I encourage you to read this post, as it also describes how she and her family moved very quickly from Syria, and this piece was something she tucked in the one bag she took.  It's a beautiful story, and you have to scroll down to see her friend's wedding picture - so similar to the cross stitch kit she purchased 6 years before the wedding!

And the picture:

2013 Finishes Themes!

I'm very pleased to announce the themes for 2013 - you may still submit finishes that do not fit these themes, but priority will be given to theme-related projects.  Also, if I feel your finish fits a theme coming later in the year, I may delay featuring yours until that time.  That said, I love having multiple finishes to show each Friday, so even if your finish does not match a theme, that doesn't mean it won't be chosen!  And most of these themes are very broad for a reason. ;)

January - Winter Scenes

February - Valentine's Day - hearts, love sayings, wedding samplers

March - Theme 1 - Crochet finishes (March is National Crochet Month)

March - Theme 2 - Green finishes - green as the dominant color, shamrocks, celtic knotwork (any color)

April - Easter/Spring

May - Mother - gifts made for mother, sayings about motherhood

June - Garden

July - Summer Fun

August - Scissor Fobs

September - HAED

October - Halloween

November - Food

December - Ornaments

There is now a place on the form that shows the upcoming themes!  I love when I figure out how to do things!

We're still looking for Christmas themed finishes for December 2013 - ornaments, decor and gifts.  Fill out the form on the Get Featured page to, well, get featured!

Liebster Award!

Thanks to Shaunterria of ca11i0pe.blogspot.com for giving Finish Friday the Liebster Award!  Here's how it works:

Liebster is a German word meaning dearest, favorite or beloved. Liebster Awards are given by bloggers to other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help newer bloggers gain wider recognition. 

1. Choose 5 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.

2. Show thanks to the blogger who awarded the Liebster to you by linking back to their blog. 

3.  Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving awards to, with links to their sites, and comment on their blog to let them know that you have given them the award.

The hard part for me is always choosing the blogs to give to - especially because most of you have already received.  I'll do my best:

1.  Less Bitching More Stitching - the first post I saw here was a knitted "brain hat". You have to go see it.
2. It's All About Cross Stitch - she designed a birth announcement sampler of 2 football helmets.  In pink. Love it.  And she's an HAED lover like me!
3. Clydeside Stitching - a beautiful blog by a devoted mom (mum) who completes some great cross stitch pieces
4. Shelly from Craftgirl78 - I've been following her on Twitter for a while.  I can't believe she has less than 200 followers.  Go follow her!
5. My Cross Stitch Blog - how can you NOT follow a blog with a name like that?  This blogger has serious start-itis and a love for HAED!

Congrats to these bloggers!  Maybe some of them will join us here, and show off some of there finishes? *fingers crossed*