Knitting and other projects

I have actually done a large amount of knitting...since before Christmas, and some projects have lingered afterwards. I am finally getting into knitting what I started learning to knit for in the first place...SOCKS! Although before Christmas, I made several gifts, but neglected to take pictures of any except one...yikes. There were 2 scarves, a ruffled cowl, and a hat. One of the scarves is pictured below. They were all pretty much very quick knits-1 or 2 skeins on large needles. 

I also practiced knitting my first pair of socks for myself, but have no picture to show. They turned out very well, and so I went on to making a pair for Leah. They are sized exactly so she doesn't have much room to grow, so next pair will have a little more wiggle room. I am using the book "Socks from the Toe Up" which I've read is the easiest way to knit socks-get the toe out of the way first. Anyways, there are many variations, and everyone in my family wants a pair, so I ordered lots of sock weight yarn from my favorite yarn store, Knit Picks.

Naturally, now I need a place to store my ever-growing stash of yarn. I though some fabric bins were in order. I found a great tutorial from Like Mother Like Daughter's blog, measured for size where I wanted the bins to fit, found some leftover matching material from my ottoman slipcover, and they were a breeze to stitch up. The hardest part was making the pattern (which really wasn't that hard).

 I did learn a few things for future reference. When making large bins (mine are 11x 11 x 7) I need to use a stiff interfacing. The first one I made did not-only the batting as per the instructions, and it flopped completely down. So I machine quilted the sides vertically, which added SOME stiffness, but really it needed more as you can see. Still too floppy for me.

 In the second one I sewed some super stiff interfacing to the lining before sewing together and it improved the stiffness quite a bit. 

 Either way, they hold my yarn quite well, and coordinate with my living room! I may make some in smaller sizes, which I expect will stand up a little better on their own.