Finished at last, Sylvi Evenstar!

That's right! I have finally finished my (sort of) Lord of the Rings-inspired Sylvi. I am so pleased with it. It looks very like I imagined when I was planning it, which is a rarity for me. The photos are not very good - I took them with a self-timer, after my boyfriend reported seeing snakes in the yard (I hate snakes!), and it was really, really hot and bright outside. But, here is me modeling my Sylvi.






If you are familiar with the pattern, you'll notice quite a few changes. The front of the original design was just too plain for me, and I'd been researching Arwen's Chase Dress from LotR (someday I will make it). So, naturally both the edges of the coat and the collar are inspired by that dress. Then I decided that I may as well do the petal sleeves. I also added a bit of waist shaping as I've never had good luck with A-lines (I know they are supposed to be universally flattering but I've never liked anything with an A-line). In retrospect, I probably would have left the A-line as it would have left more room in the back for my flowers and might have even been more flattering, but I'm ok with it as is. I didn't make any large flowers (well I MADE three of them, but I didn't USE any). The back is all small flowers, and the front is a small flower knit with only one strand of yarn. (BTW, this is knit using Wool of the Andes, held double). The trim is Paton's, originally in natural but hand-dyed by me to a silvery-lavender. I added pockets to the sides (although I wish they were deeper). I initially planned to line it, but right now I don't see the need to. I may later. The clasps I originally bought, while very "elven" were too small, so I bought these findings and used jump rings to attach the original clasps onto the findings to make them larger. And of course, I have a love affair with pretty glass buttons, and I used quite a few of them, as centers for my flowers and to hold my petal sleeves together (as those sleeves wouldn't be very practical for a sweater coat otherwise). Obviously the color is less Tolkien-inspired, and actually more What Dreams May Come-inspired, but I think it's still appropriate for the elves.

(Sorry to turn on the word verification, but I was starting to get lots of spam comments. While I loooove to get comments from people, comments from "bots" are quite unwelcome. But real people, please comment although the annoying word verification is now activated!)

Also, I'm going in costume to Mardi Gras next year, I think. I am going to start planning that soon.

Finally, I'm looking to pick up a few new things. I want Anthropologie-esque style but at a more affordable price. Does anyone know of sites offering this? I know of Modcloth.com and, of course, Urbanoutfitters.com. I love handmade items, too, so suggestions for your own shops are welcome! (and I don't mind paying more if I am supporting local/handmade businesses). Of course, I'm not skinny enough to pull off most trendy styles right now, but I like things that are romantic and flattering, with a hint of faerie.

Now I've got to get back to studying for Forensics. I'll post again fairly soon, I hope, and discuss projects, books, and Jim Henson's wonderful "The Storyteller" which you should see if you have Netflix streaming. Also hoping to finish up my first real portrait ever (a self-portrait) soon, and I'll be posting that. Someday I'll figure out how to make this blog prettier, too. Won't that be wonderful and lovely?

XOXOXO,
Crystal Nicole

FO: Eiffel Flower Painting

I finished a painting yesterday - one for myself(!) this time. This is a painting I just dubbed "Eiffel Flower" because "flower" rhymes with "tower." It's done on 16x20" canvas with acrylics (sadly, cheap craft paints because that's really all I can afford), spray paint, and a fine-line purple Sharpie. The idea of this painting came to me as I decided I wanted to do a painting of the Eiffel tower, but I did not want it to be just a normal painting. I wanted a different angle than the one we are mostly used to seeing, and I really liked the idea of a collage painting. The birds are borrowed from a cool photo my mom took of some birds on a power line, that I wanted to incorporate into the painting. The flowers are from photos of Dusty's trip to Hawaii; I think his dad took that photo. This was my first attempt at painting flowers, and I think it turned out pretty well. The lace was actually a strip of fabric lace I bought and laid on top of the canvas, and spray painted. I was a bit hasty and didn't spray the middle of the lace as well as I should have, but I still think it came out great. All in all, I am really pleased with this painting and it is going on the wall asap!



On the knitting front, I've been making a dice bag for Dusty, with the Batman symbol on it. I also started working on the Sideways Grande Cloche from Boutique Knits for a bit of mindless knitting, and I'm still working on the Drops Sweater. I got the yarn for Sylvi and it is oh-so-vibrantly purple and lovely!

Today I am going to work on finally getting my quilt sewn, and of course, the daily dose of study. I think we are going to eat at Acme Oyster House for V-day, yumm!

FOs: Verity and St. Vincent Cloche

Yes, I know... I haven't even mentioned these projects on here, and now I'm posting them as FOs. Sorry, I suck.

The St. Vincent Cloche is a free pattern I started on last year. I actually finished it before Christmas, but just now stitched the ribbon down to the hat. This hat was inspired by the hat that Anne Darrow wore in Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. I loved that hat so much. Of course, mine doesn't look much like it, but I still think it turned out well.

This hat is knit and felted. I used Paton's Classic Merino in natural. It took over one skein but well under two. The hat came out HUGE. I am not sure how many times I had to felt it to get the right fit, but it was a lot. After I'd finally gotten the crown to fit my head, I had to cut the brim to make it just the length I wanted (about the length of the inspiration hat). It is waterproof. Very much so. To shape it, I had to wet it, and it took a lot of water to accomplish that. I need to reshape the brim, I think; it looks a bit squished.

I found the ribbon for around one dollar at Michael's. It is Christmas ribbon, white with silvery-gray snowflakes. I machine stitched it onto the hat.





Verity is a project I started and finished last week, in just a couple of days. It's a hat by the super-talented Ysolda Teague. It's available on Ravelry. I had a skein of Malabrigo that I'd bought from someone's stash on Ravelry (it seems all the online stores that sell Malabrigo charge flat-rate shipping and that's usually good for big orders, but I can rarely afford to make large orders, though when I get rich, I am buying so much Malabrigo!). Malabrigo is my very favorite yarn. I love the current trend of slouchy hats. I will probably be wearing them even when the trend ends. This one is really not that slouchy (I made a M), but I like the fit of it. I made the M because I was worried I'd run out of yarn with the L, otherwise I would have liked to do the L hat and M brim. But no worries, I still love the hat! And I didn't have a button lying around, and I really wanted to go ahead and wear the hat, so I found this old (fake) gold brooch whose origins I do not know. It is a little heavy for the hat, but it looks cute imo.




Tomorrow I am going to try to have the nerve to finally sew up my quilt. The Drops sweater is still going - I've finished and blocked the front and have just started the back.

I have become obsessed with Sylvi from Twist Collective. It is so striking! My birthday is next month, and as one of my gifts, I asked for yarn to knit Sylvi. I found a purple color I love, Phantom in Louet Riverstone Chunky. I've read that this yarn is thin for a bulky, but even if it is, that's ok... I think this sweater-coat calls for much more ease than I'd ever need or want. It was also a great price, from WEBS Yarn. So I didn't really splurge in asking for that, as even the Knitpicks' Wool of the Andes Bulky would not have been much cheaper, and they didn't have a purple that I loved. I wish they carried it in the color Hyacinth like their worsted WOTA. LOVE that color so!

I bought both Vogue and IK for Winter 2008 and now I don't think I'm going to knit anything from either. Maybe the Victoria Yoke Pullover from IK; it looks surprisingly good on curvier women.

Anyway, that's it for now! Cheers!

FO: McCall 5584

About that "I haven't been sewing at all comment," I lied on accident without even remembering. I did sew this one thing this summer, in late June/early July.

I can't believe I almost forgot to post this. Here is the costume I made for work. I work at a very popular retail store that sells its brand-name ornaments, and for the ornament premiere, we pick an ornament and dress as that ornament. I chose the Leg Lamp from the film Christmas Story, and made my costume using some poly satin from Hancock fabrics and this pattern, M5584. I also found earrings made from real little light bulbs, and decorated the head dress. The beads are from Mardi Gras (never thought MG beads would actually come in handy). Fishnet thigh-highs, of course, completed this costume. This swingy dress, once finished, made me feel so like a flapper that I had to embellish on that end - thus the headband with a big, fat Christmas light bulb and gold pipe cleaner "electricity" wrapped onto it. The dress was very unflattering, but since it was supposed to be a lampshade, that was ok. Everyone thought it was a great costume, and someone even bought an ornament because of it - score! I'm posting the review at PR, so if you want to know more details, just click the link after I edit this post to include it.

Anyway, here are the pics! I probably didn't need to post so many, but oh well.

Me, the Leg Lamp. Yes, I did get many "I'm turning you on" and "I'm yanking your chain" comments!






ETA: Link to review on PR

Oh yeah, also, sleeves on Serrano are done and blocked. Next comes the seaming. It will probably be a hellish ordeal, as seaming always is, but I will survive it. Then the collar and adding a zipper, and I will finally be done with this sweater!

And, finally, I don't normally talk about anything other than crafting on here, but I wanted to mention that my friend Dave Yaden's album, "Bear Me Up," just came out on iTunes. Please check it out - "Down the Line" is particularly amazing and catchy! Dave is immensely talented, so don't miss out!

Finished Object: Gretel

I finished Gretel! Thank goodness, for I needed a finished object. I'm not sure how happy I am with it - the yarn (Malabrigo) couldn't be nicer, the pattern is so well written, and the hat itself is lovely... but I am still unsure of how wearable it is for me. I made the slouchy version, and I'm afraid that it may be TOO slouchy.

These pictures were taken on my camera phone, and seriously suck. Hopefully, better photos to come, when I get batteries for my digital cam and after the hat has finished blocking.




Now I've been struck by the desire to finish the long forgotten Sideways Spencer, but I've lost my place! I have no idea what to do there now and hope I don't have to do anything drastic, like start over. Ugh. I really want to finish one of my sweaters now!

V8386 "Muslin"

Well, I've finished the muslin for V8386, and now I'm trying to decide whether it's wearable, and whether to use my fabulous Gorgeous Things' print for the real thing. I took a couple of pictures and would love to hear what you think!




So, should I go for it?

FO: BWOF Wrap Skirt 3-2007

I've had this one done for awhile, but yes, am just now getting around to posting it. It's the wrap skirt from the March 2007 Burda World of Fashion (THE reason I wanted this issue to begin with). As usual, pictures here, details on the PR review. The lilac skirt isn't quite finished. It still needs a zipper. And I don't have any tops that I like with either skirt, so I will have to find or make something that will look nice. I've worn the turquoise skirt a couple of times with the top in the pictures and it goes ok, but I'm not satisfied, though I did get compliments (oh joy! hehe).

The usual disclaimer about the more awful than usual photos. These pictures couldn't have turned out worse if I'd purposely tried to make myself look ugly and overweight in them. And I'm not a junkie; the band-aid is from the blood test I'd had that day (everything turned out fine).






Now, on to other things. I haven't been totally lazy. I've been decoupaging boxes with Mod-podge, scrapbook paper, and ribbon. I did a scrapbook paper box (which turned out to barely hold the 12" scrapbook paper pages I like, since it's apparently exactly 12" itself, what were they thinking? the paper gets stuck) and a card organizer. I LOVE how they turned out, and will post about them soon, when I find my mysteriously missing digital camera (where's Nancy Drew when ya need her)?

Speaking of Nancy Drew, I saw the movie and loved it. Go see it just for the great clothes! Also, the movie itself was cute and I loved how Nancy didn't change to fit in - an important message, I think. Especially if you've got it all together as she does! ;-) One of the dresses I fell absolutely in love with (ok, I fell in love with all of them, but one of them I really want to make), so I've been on a pattern hunt. Here are a couple of pics of it (the best I could find, though I couldn't find any of the bottom). It appears to be A-line with princess seams, a square-ish neckline, and an empire waist. Pattern suggestions, anyone?




I also saw Transformers, and, while it offered no fashion inspiration, it was a great movie (then again, I'm a Transformers fan, so I could be biased).

Sorry I haven't updated more recently. There just hasn't been that much to post about. I've been reading C. S. Lewis, Anne McCaffery, and Wicked, and I have a huge reading list to finish. I've got plenty of great fabrics to work on, but not lots of time to work. Especially since I've been trying to get lots of reading in, working, and still trying to get some knitting accomplished, too. But a friend I've known since elementary is getting married in early August, and I want to have the Vogue 8386 dress done in time to wear to the wedding (if I like it and decide it's appropriate when complete). I've got to get past some major fear that, for some reason, this dress isn't going to turn out well for me. I am not sure why I feel so certain there's going to be a problem, but yeah. I've read all the PR reviews on the dress, and I think all of them recommend the dress, but I'm still getting warning signs. Regardless, I'm cutting out for a muslin today. I gotta get started on the thing if I'm going to have it done in time for the wedding.

On the knitting front, I stopped working on Rapunzel. For now. I think it's coming out way too large, and it seems the only way to fix it is going to be redoing it. Fortunately, I was still on the back, but I was nearly finished with it. All that SEED STITCH, too, ugh! And it's not going to be a matter of changing needles or yarns, because my gauge was spot on. No, I'll have to figure out how to size the pattern down, I guess. Argh! So I'm working on Josephine from IK, instead. Some yarn has gone missing for a Chez Plum project I intended to start instead, so I had no choice. I can't figure out where it went! Maybe it's with the camera. And I don't have much yarn here to choose from. :-( But I am loving Josie, in a lovely lilac Microspun (yes I know it will probably pill and won't block). It's soft and really pretty, and since the lace pattern is simple, it will be ok.

FO (?): Simplicity 4076: Wrap Top

So I finished this about a week ago, but have been hesitating on calling it "finished" because it's a little too tight. I mean, it's pretty tight, and I like to wear my clothes fitted, but I think this one might be too much, if ya know what I mean. I've decided to wear it a couple of times and see what I think. I left big seam allowances, so I can make it looser if I'd like. I love the fabric, and it was only $1.99. I love this pattern - it's so easy, and the results are great! Link to the review at PR is here.

As usual, the quality of these pictures is poor. I had to take them in the mirror with no flash, so I apologize for the blurriness!





Also, I've been meaning to post these for a bit, but had been too lazy to upload pictures from my camera until tonight. I didn't use a mirror for these but had to turn off the flash, and I haven't figured out how to get a clear picture of small objects yet, so I apologize for the quality of these pics as well! These are earrings I received from Susan of Sulu-design! The black ones I had ordered for graduation, but they never arrived, so she kindly sent me another pair and two extra pairs, all of which I LOVE. The pink and black are just perfect to match the fabric I got to make the Vogue dress for. I really appreciate the great service and beautiful earrings, thank you so much, Susan! I didn't get to wear the graduation earrings for graduation, but I've gotten a lot of wear out of them since then!






She's got some more great designs in her Etsy shop. I particularly like these three pairs.

Sewing FO: Simplicity 4076

You may wonder why I am making two separate posts in a row instead of just putting all of my fos together in one big post. I thought it would be easier to keep up with if I do a separate entry per fo instead of just lumping them all together as I've been doing.

Anyway, I also made Simplicity 4076 just a couple of days ago. What a great pattern this was! So easy, and I am really happy with the two tops I got out of it. That's right, two! The muslin actually turned out wearable, and that never happens for me! I think this top looks very RTW, even with my less-than-stellar finishing. I was very careful with the finishing, as I've finally grasped the "it's your hobby, what's your hurry" frame of mind, but still I am not great at it yet, so although it's improved, it's by no means perfect. But I've worn one of the tops already, and I am extremely pleased!




Here's the link to the review on PR.

Sewing FO: Simplicity 4118

I finally had an opportunity to post some pictures of my recent sewing fos. I finished Simplicity 4118, on which I've been working for quite a while.

The fabric used is a cotton Amy Butler print. I love this fabric SO MUCH! I don't know how I feel about it for this dress, though... but I hope to get more and make a fabulous bag! I had to do ALOT of work to get this dress to even look ok on me, but I still don't know if I will be getting much wear out of it. Anyway, here's the dress.



Here is the link to my review of the pattern on PR if you'd like to read more about it!

FO - VK Twist Top

Wow, what a quick knit this was! I finished this thing so quickly, I didn't even have a chance to blog about it.

Project details:

Pattern: From VK Spring/Summer 2005, Twist Top
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Bubble Gum, ~2 3/4 ball
Needles: Size 6 from the Boye IC
Mods: Not one

This was sooo easy to make, and I really love the finished product! It hasn't been blocked yet, but I just couldn't wait to show y'all. I'll post another pic or two after it's blocked and dried.

If I did it again, I'd use a different yarn. Not because I didn't like the Cotton Ease, in fact, I really like it. But this top feels quite heavy. Ideally (for me), this top should be in a lighter yarn with better drape. I would like to see it in a sport or even fingering weight yarn. But I'm no good at rewriting patterns so drastically, so I used what I had, and am still very happy with it. It will probably be too warm for summer in La, but it will do fine for spring... though it's currently 50 F and too cool outdoors for me to wear short sleeves. At least I won't regret the time it'll take to dry!




BTW... not to be crude, but the spot is on the mirror... not on the crotch of my pants. Just wanted to make sure that was clear! ;-)

About Time! (Gatsby Girl FO)

So the Gatsby Girl is done, and I don't think I've been happier with a finished item yet. Seriously, I really am happy with this knit. In theory, this sweater should not have been very flattering on me, but, though IRL it may be less flattering than in these pictures, I still think it is really flattering, especially for a sweater.

Project specs:

Pattern: Gatsby Girl from IK Fall 2006
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, color: watery (I think)
Needles: size 2 and 3 from the Boye set
Mods: Long sleeves instead of 3/4

I lengthened the sleeves, not because I didn't like the look of the 3/4 sleeve, but because my yarn has so much alpaca in it that I knew it was going to be a very warm sweater, and I felt that it would be more wearable and practical with longer sleeves. I don't like the look quite as much, but I am very happy with it. Many thanks to Jodi Green, the pattern creator, for helping me figure out the numbers for lengthening the sleeves.

The pattern was wonderfully written, easy to follow, and easy in itself without being boring... although the 1x1 rib sleeves were taxing at the end. In retrospect, I would have done a cable on the sleeves or maybe lace, just to make the sleeves more exciting.

The yarn is not something I would have chosen for this project if the ladies at the yarn store I visited had not suggested it and let me knit up a swatch in the store. I was shocked, because I thought the tweed would be too busy for this sweater, but I think it worked up beautifully. I do love the Felted Tweed, and already have obtained another sweater's worth. The fabric is lovely, the yardage is great, and it's nice to work with. The sweater is a little itchy, though. I don't think I'll be able to wear it without a shirt underneath.

The buttons are a little special to me. Someone gave me her great-grandmother's collection of buttons, and boy, do I love buttons. Especially old buttons. I like to think about what they were on before, but for these delicate little pearls, I just couldn't decide their history. I only found 4 of them, thought I could have sworn I had 6, which is the amount the pattern calls for. So, I mixed them with 3 rhinestone buttons I had, alternating every other button, and got the button holes crocheted, then found the other 2 pearls. Sigh. I like the mix a lot, though, and don't care enough to change it. I couldn't get a good picture of the buttons, too bad!

The color is really odd. When I bought it, I was convinced it was a greeny-teal color, but after months of looking at it, it looks totally green to me now, with only a bluish tint. Also, the lighting may have something to do with it... but I swear in the yarn store it was much more teal! I think the color's off in the pictures, anyway.

As usual, the pictures suck. I was able to get one decent one with the self timer on my camera, but none of the rest of those came out, so I did a couple in front of the mirror. Anyway, hope you like!






Edited to add: Link to Rowan Felted Tweed. I used the color "Watery."

FOs - Mardi Gras Gloves and Ribbon Purse

I figured since I'd be down south for Mardi Gras, and had that fabulous Mardi Gras Lorna's Laces, I should make a pair of gloves to wear to the parades. They weren't done in time, and it turned out too warm for gloves my entire vacation, but I am happy about them anyway. I could not find a pattern for fingering weight gloves anywhere, so I did these with no pattern! My first non-pattern project (aside from a couple of hats). I love the way the LL pooled... anything better could have been called a self striping yarn!




I've had this idea in my head for longer than I've known how to sew... a purse made of ribbons woven together. I was disappointed to find on Craftster that my idea wasn't original, and had already been executed better than I could have done, but I decided to make one anyway. I was actually going to follow the tutorial, but I didn't have enough of the ribbon, and Michael's was out, so I just wove the ribbons together, sewed it, put interfacing on, folded it in half, and sewed it together. I made the lining in the same way (minus the weaving, of course), from a fat quarter, but added pockets. It was really fun, and I ADORE how it turned out! I flatter myself enough to say it looks almost store bought!

FOs! (Bet ya didn't even know I was working on them)

I have two FOs to show ya! First, I test knit for Sylvie's Cactus Mittenettes. I love this pattern, and these gloves! They are SO EASY. SO QUICK. And I don't even have to say "SO CUTE," because you will see that shortly! I knit these in less than a weekend (really, less than 2 hrs/mitt, I think), in worsted Plymouth Galway, some green color I had lying around. The green is actually much brighter than the picture. I really recommend this pattern; I think it will make great last minute gifts, and not to mention very nice for those balls of splurge yarn! The Galway was a little scratchy, but softened up nicely after a soak in hair conditioner. I probably have half a ball left... definitely enough for another pair. My non-knitting roommate admired them, and I think I may whip her up a pair. Anyway, on with the pics! Please excuse the poor quality, as I took these with my camera phone... my digicam needs batteries.



The next FO is a hat I started awhile back. It's a pattern made up by a member of LJ's Knitting community, and the pattern can be found here (scroll down to the comments to find it). I used a random yarn found at Goodwill, it had no label but I'm fairly sure it's 100% acrylic. The color is very pretty, and it was $.50, so I had to get it. I wanted to make the hat longer than in the pattern, but I started worrying that I wouldn't have enough, so I didn't. Turns out I had plenty left to do a few more rows, but oh well. It covers my ears if I pull down hard enough, and the yarn is not very warm anyway. I'm happy with it. It's nice for cool, but not cold, days, and for bad hair days as well. If I knit another, it will be in a nice, warm yarn, and I will make sure it covers my ears. I'd love another, but knitting the dream swatch for 18 or 19 inches on size 2 needles seemed to take FOREVER, which is why I started this nearly the day the pattern was posted, and just now finished it. As usual, please forgive the lack of makeup.


Also, anyone want to get rid of their copy of the Nov 2003 Spring IK? Hehe. I really want to knit the Remembering Honey sweater in there!

In the sewing news, I got this pattern. It reminds me of the Kara Janx Kimono Dress. If only it had the fantastic sleeves! Now to find fabric to get that look!

FO: Pomatomus SOCKS

Yes, that's right. I knit socks. Pomatomus socks, to be exact. I'd planned on knitting these for a long darned time, but kept putting it off for bigger projects, and the whole idea of "what's the point in spending all that time knitting socks when you can buy a pack for $5?" Learning we were going to Kansas (a very, very cold area, if you ask me), made me think that nice, warm, thick socks might be nice... and I did already have the yarn. Since we drove there, I had plenty of time to work on them, but I didn't manage to finish when I wanted, although I did finish them on the trip. They are the last FO of 2006.

I was originally going to knit them in some Knitpicks' Palette in a lavender color I got on a whim, for socks, but with no pattern in mind. I started on them in that yarn, decided I'd rather have oceany Pomatomus (-i?), so got some Cervinia Calzetteria in the color Capri. Very pretty, and very oceany. I love how this yarn knit up in this pattern.

I LOVED this pattern! I'm not sure whether I've ever actually said I'd knit a pattern again, but this one I WILL. It was fun, I love, love, love the "scales" and have thought to use them in other projects. The only downside is that, as written, the socks are too big around for my size 5 US feet. I should have foreseen this, but didn't think about it until I was pretty far into the first sock, hoped it would come out ok, and kept going. And it did come out ok. They make good, comfy lounging socks, but I doubt I could wear them under shoes, except maybe my cowboy boots. They will be good for very cold weather, in which I need to layer socks, if ever that occurs. Next time, I think I'll try size 1 needles.

So here are some pictures (probably more than post about a finished pair of socks really needs):






Dusty liked these and wanted a pair of socks (plain ones, not Pomatomus - too girly for him). This is a big thing, since he's never really wanted me to knit anything for him before. He asked for black or grey, so I got this:

It's a charcoal grey color, with some specks of white in it. And it feels very nice! I hope the two balls will be enough. Now I need to find a sock pattern for men, in fingering weight. Any recommendations?

I also found this vintage pattern:

Isn't it great? I see it in some kind of stretchy, satiny fabric... what do you suggest?

I've got to start making up some of these wonderful patterns I have. If only I had more time and space!

I also got the pattern for Eunny Jang's Anemoi mittens. I can't decide on a yarn or a color, though I am dying to make these. After Dusty's socks, I may start on these.

I know I'm not supposed to be starting on new projects, but I HAVE been putting a lot of time toward Gatsby Girl, and I think that counts for something. I'm getting close to finishing the front... but then there will be two sleeves to go. After that, it's back to the Sideways Spencer, and I'm going to dig out the Rebecca Apricot Jacket, since it will be warmer then, and a cotton jacket will be more suitable. But I've been dying to try fair isle... so the mittens will come soon!

One of my Christmas gifts was C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. I'm currently reading the second, and I love it thus far. Yay! :-)

I also added Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge to my knitting library. Yay! I have very few knitting books, but I really want to get all of hers. I've thought all the ones I've seen were really interesting.