Andrea Wan

I came across the really great illustrator Andrea Wan.  Above are my favorites.

Rival Sweater

I don't know about you, but in order to avoid spending money when I see something I want, I tell myself, "I could make that, I shouldn't buy it", even though I probably couldn't/won't.  It's the frugal Midwesterner in me.  A double-edged sword I must say!  While at my highest functioning eye/hand coordination I could maybe make a few of the things I say I could(/should), but the fact is I usually don't really want to/"get around to it".  Well this time I hope to gain a cool sweater and the satisfaction of not buying something because I made it, although I still had to buy the yarn which on sale was about half the cost of this American Apparel cable sweater (this usually never happens by the way).

Granny says "Always make a gauge swatch you! Tsk Tsk!"

A little sketch

The Rival American Apparel Sweater

Thrumb Mittens

A little late on this post, but I made these thrumb mittens for a friend this season.  I always struggle a little with home-knit mittens.  They're always fun to make, but never really make the cut on those super disgustingly cold days up here.  Thrumbing is a really great way to make knit mittens warmer and often more oven-mitt like (only if you like that sort of thing!).   I used this pattern over at Yarn Forward.  See below too for a quick cheesy video to illustrate how you make the thrumb.  It's pretty easy and the possibilities for color combos is endless.  Next year, I plan to make some in striped thrumb colors.  One tip, don't use too fluffy of a thrumb yarn if you don't want gigantic oven mitts.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year folks!  I took last week off for the holiday and worked on a few projects.  Mostly, I watched movies and visited with family, but I did manage to draw and crochet a little.  One of my goals for 2012 is to add more to the illustrated side of ReRae.  I hope to create more black crochet illustrations like the below and photograph them for art prints and cards.  Check back for more updates.