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

A little update before bed

I've been so busy with school, Mardi Gras, and personal things that I've quite neglected this blog. I want to say thanks to those of you who left such nice comments! Sorry I don't keep up with the blog better! It's all Ravelry's fault - I've just been knitting, and it's easiest to go update the notes section of the project on my Ravelry project page than to come here and make a new post, etc. I've a few things I'm finishing up and will be posting soon, including the long-awaited Sylvi! I am THISCLOSE to being finished with it, at last. I have a couple of paintings to finish as well, which I'll post. And I am going to start planning a costume for next year's Mardi Gras. I intend to keep up with my progress here. Here is a sleeve from Sylvi to make up for the lack of content lately. It's quite a bit different from the original sleeve.

Newest Knitting Inspiration

Almost forgot to post what's inspiring me now knitwise - Ivko! I'm totally going to make a jacket inspired by this:





Which means I need to learn how to embroider. Yikes. My last attempt at embroidery did not go too well.

Sylvi is ruined

I accidentally felted it. A lot. There's no saving it. I bought new yarn to start over. I am so sad!

Sylvi again!

On Sylvi, I've now finished the right front, blocked the back, and started on the left front. Can't wait to be done with this one. Time to start planning my handmade gifts for Christmas. I don't make things for everyone, some people I buy for as that's what they'd prefer. But there are a few who will get handmade gifts, and I need to start planning for them!

More Sylvi updating

Here's where I am with Sylvi: I've finished the back, and I'm about 60 rows into the right front (but the pic was taken way before that).




If you're familiar with the pattern, you'll notice some changes here: no hood, armscythe instead of raglan shaping, and the A-line is decidedly less A and more C as in curved/waist shaping. Also, the top of the cable is way different, and the front has a curve and an edging of the stitch pattern from Rapunzel. I rarely knit patterns as they are written; I usually make some mods and in this case, major ones. It's not that Sylvi isn't absolutely gorgeous when knit as written, it's that it wouldn't be gorgeous on me, and I also just feel I have to make things my own. And to be honest, I hate raglan shaping because it somehow makes my chest look bigger, which is not a good thing. I decided to do armhole shaping because of that. I feel that the seed stitch front is too plain, but I don't want to put flowers on the front, either, so I came up with my own thing, which may or may not look good. We'll see. I didn't want the hood, and my gauge is really, really off. So I had to add lots of rows, except that instead of just adding rows into the chart like most are doing, I used the hood chart for the upper back, but, it wasn't long enough, so I had to "freestyle" a few rows past that. So my cable is different, too. It's bedtime for me, but I'll post more when I have more to post about. Peace, y'all!

Sylvi Progresses

I thought I'd post a photo of Sylvi, to show my progress. Sylvi is turning out to be quite an annoyance. It's not the fault of the pattern at all, because I really haven't been following it very well. I couldn't get gauge, and I wanted my Sylvi to turn out long, almost hitting my knees, and I didn't want a ton of ease in it. I also didn't like the openness of the fabric with my yarn and the specified needle size. So, I went down a needle size, but stayed with the XS thinking that way I'd lose some ease. And I did. The first time, the sizing seemed ok, but I totally missed the decreases that gave it an A-line shape, as well as somehow getting my cable off center. I had to start over. Now, on my second time, the cable is beautiful!, but somehow, although I'm using the same yarn, needles, and tension, my gauge has changed so much that now I think it's going to be too small. Sigh. My next project is going to be 100% by the book. What a headache.

Nana-nana-nana-nana-dicebag!

I finished Dusty's Batman dicebag, and it is a huge hit - he and all his friends think it's awesome! So yay!



Mardi Gras was fun - we usually go to the FQ, but only during the day; we left at 4pm. We ate chargrilled oysters at Acme (yum!!!! - best part of MG!) and walked around, particularly enjoying the costumes on St. Ann's Street. Got some great pictures!

Oh, I finally learned the named of my favorite flower - odd, as it's been my favorite my entire life, and I see it yearly, since they grow wild here. But I never thought to ask before, since I had my own name for them anyway. My friend Jenny is a plant person and she enlightened me when I was talking about how I want a garden full of them and daffodils (though I don't think they bloom at the same time, also I think daffodils don't grow so well around here as we don't have the cold weather they require, so they apparently get refrigerated). Anyway, it's Lycoris radiata, also called "Hurricane Lilies" and "Spider Lilies" (but not the Spider Lilies I think of when I think of spider lilies).



Beautiful, no?

Still working on the quilt. Tying is supposed to be quick, but I am finding it very tedious.

I MUST stop getting bored with my knitting projects. Sigh...

How are all these people on Craftster and Ravelry so amazingly creative and talented?!

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!

Drops Sweater Update

Just a note to say that the Drops pullover seems to be going... not too badly. I wasn't sure about this project because the pullover is designed for a yarn with a halo, which I do not have. But the Shadow, while not haloed, is... halo-y. There is a (very small) bit of fuzziness to it which works. The teal color is lovely, and the yarn surprisingly soft, considering how inexpensive it is. I'm almost to the waistband, which is a bit of a dilemma. Do I go out and buy a skein of Paton's in the closest thing to teal I can find? Or do I use something I already have? I've some leftovers in brown, natural, green, gold, and purple. I think I'm going to try to find some teal yarn, because I like the monochromaticness of the photo on the Drops site. Then again, the purple might be cute and Anthropologie-esque.

Projects and FO: Mysteriously Green Slippers

I used to be pretty good about updating on my projects, but I've really been slacking there. It only matters because then I forget what I've going on and what was frustrating me most about a project.

I now know why Rapunzel was given that name (the sweater, not the princess). It is because this sweater is never-ending, just like her hair... well, at least really, really long like her hair. I've restarted it about three times and am getting nowhere. I am beginning to think I really need to choose a different yarn for the sweater. Thing is, can't really afford to buy new yarn right now. So, for now I am calling this sweater "Aurora" after the Sleeping Beauty princess (or Rosie, if you're a Robin McKinley fan like me), since it has been sleeping quite a while. But fear not, fair maidens, for I am determined that this fairy tale shall have a happy ending!

I've been working on an entrelac hat, but it, too, has been discouraging. I love the idea of this hat in this yarn, but seeing it knit up... it's just not working for me. The colors keep trying to pool, the hat itself is too large, and the yarn is too heavy. So I cast it aside, too. I think this is going to be a "loser" project. I don't really know quite what to do with it.

Fortunately for me, Drops Design released this pullover pattern. I didn't have any Kidsilk-like yarn, and again, couldn't buy any, but I did have some Knitpicks Shadow in Snorkel lying around, that was originally going to be for a shawl. I needed a quick-and-easy knit; something to get me motivated on knitting again. Why yes, those ARE size 10 needles. As many projects that I've completed and been not quite satisfied with, I need something that will, hopefully, help me get my knitting mojo back. Fingers crossed!



One thing I did finish on my trip to western Kansas for Christmas was a pair of green Mystery Slippers, from the Yahoo Holiday Mystery Knits group. This pattern was great! I love the finished slippers and have already worn them so much that I've had to shave them once or twice to get rid of pilling. They are warm, cute (although they make my feet look HUGE), and the green color is great. My only complaint is that they get rather loose, and being in 100% wool, can't be dried to tighten them up. (well, I suppose they COULD, since felting does have that effect...)



I also finished a pair of short ankle socks (western Kansas is a long ride) that had been lying around for a bit. They're really not worth posting, since they are just plain gray, from KP Palette, but they are very comfy. I ran out of the gray and had to finish one of them in black. I really love handknit socks, even if I do have to hand wash them.



Earlier in the week, I went out to Hobby Lobby to find some things for my quilt and some buttons for the slippers. I ran across a new magazine called Stitch. It's a publication by Quilt Arts and... wow! Really loving this magazine! There are two skirts I am definitely making, and soon - warm weather will be here in LA before we know it (and by warm, I mean unbearably hot - people around here say Hell is where New Orleanians go to cool off). The cover skirt is my favorite. I am going to have to finish up at least my quilt and the two paintings I am working on before I can even seriously think about these skirts, but it's never too early to look around for fabric. Fabric suggestions, anyone?





The quilt top is entirely sewn together, and now I need to do the quilting. So far I love how it looks (it has been covering my bed for the past few days), but the real challenges are coming up now. Wish me luck!

Also, Brisingr has gotten much better. It took almost a hundred pages to get me really interested, but this book is really easy reading, so that's not too bad actually. I'm enjoying reading the book now.

Last, I re-arranged my sidebar by craft, rather than by year as I had it before, though past projects are still separated by year. Is this an improvement? Please let me know! I have little time to work on things such as my blog's format, but I know how irritating a poorly set-up web page can be. I'd like to have it look nice, but I honestly just don't know how.

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans was a very good movie. It had the advantage of being only an hour and a half, which was nice in this era of needlessly long movies. I have probably ranted about this before, but: yes, some stories (such as LOTR) take two or three hours to tell. SOME, not ALL. Most movies do not need to be two hours or two and a half long! Thank you, Underworld writers, for making a great movie that was not needlessly long.

That said, the writers of the A Song of Ice and Fire TV show that is in pre-production for HBO can take as long as they need or like to tell the story, so long as the tell it RIGHT. I have never been excited about a TV show before... but YES!

2 FOs: Serrano and Goddess Halloween Costume M4954

So, I've been a busy little bumblebee, and though most of that has been with school and work, I did manage to finally finish Serrano and make a Halloween costume as well. So, here's that stuff.

M4954:
For Halloween, I was attending a party that was (months ago) originally supposed to be a toga party. The theme changed to just plain ol' costume party, but as I already had the stuff for this, I stuck to it. It's a Roman/Greek/Egyptian "goddess costume," in quotes because I doubt the design could be much less historically accurate. At any rate, it was cuter than a toga because I look awful in a toga. I didn't do white because there wasn't any cheap white satin at Hancock fabrics, and this lavender stuff was cheap. I wore this to two parties and made it the day of the first one. I did all the cutting one day and then all the sewing the day of the party. It took most of the day, but I finished in time and that's that. Excuse these pictures, they were taken after the party when I actually thought to take a picture, so I look like crap. Really like crap. In fact, I can't believe I am posting such bad photos on the internet, and I will probably regret it someday. And I can't even blame it on being drunk.





As always, there is a review for this at PatternReview.

Serrano:
This thing took for-ev-er and two days. Mainly because I quit knitting for almost a year, and only haphazardly picked it back up a couple of months ago. Then, I couldn't find the zipper I wanted (and never did), and I couldn't decide what else to do with it because, as it turns out, a plain black cardigan is just not me. So I crocheted an edging (out of gray I was using for a pair of socks, which will now be finished in leftover black) and made an applique out of interfacing,(note to self: always check the interfacing before buying - make certain it is fusible! This is the second time I have bought the wrong kind of interfacing), scraps from my Leg Lamp costume, and a scrap of quilting cotton. I added a button on the applique, too, from God-knows what project that I probably didn't finish, but hopefully will someday. Then I painstakingly hand-stitched it on there (and let me tell you, my hand-stitching is a fright. Martha Stewart would have a stroke if she saw it. Actually, does she sew? I know she's Martha Stewart and all, but do you think she sews stuff by hand?). I chose a fleur-de-lys because I realized I live in south La and had nothing with fleur-de-lys on it, and I think you get arrested for that here. Or at least mobbed.

So, without further adieu, the pictures! The usual disclaimer of how un-photogenic I am, but my boyfriend took these and he wasn't going to stand there all day taking photos till we got one I liked, since that probably would have taken hours.





And finally, a photo of Dusty's Halloween costume. Can you guess who he is?

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!

Zombie-fied Return

Ok, so I am not really a zombie, but since it's been nearly a year since I have posted here,(good Lord, where does the time go?!) and nearly that long since I've done any knitting, it is like being a zombie, so that's what I am. A knitting, sewing, blogging zombie.

I know, I know what you're thinking right now. "Crystal! We're so glad you're back! What on earth have you been doing?"

Well... um. Grad school. Working. Reading. A bit of drawing, a wonderful, loverly bit of painting. Learning that, surprisingly, life goes on without knitting (so long as I have books). An exciting, surprisingly fun summer trip with my mother to Graceland. But mostly school.

"But," you say, "something must have encouraged you to blog again. After all, this is a knitting/crafting blog."

And you are correct! I picked up the needles again and started back on Serrano. I'm shaping the second sleeve. I originally put this down because it seemed to be taking soooo long, and now I can't imagine how I ever thought that. I feel like my needles are on fire! Hopefully I will finish that soon.

I haven't been sewing at all. I am still on a hiatus from it for now, since clothing wasn't going too well for me anyway, and I just didn't have room to keep up with all that stuff. It will have to wait a bit until I am in a place where I won't be moving any more for a long while, and have room to spread stuff out. Just like my scrapbooking stuff. But.... I am planning and buying fabrics for a patchwork quilt, inspired by this Urban Outfitters quilt and this quilt for Michael Miller fabric. I want the squares from the UO quilt, with the bird/leaf thingy from the MM quilt. I think it will be pretty darned pretty. I am one of those people who always associated quilts with grannies until recently. Now I am dying to make one, and it's not because I'm old. You heard it here first, quilts are cool! (I know it's been hinted at for a while now, but no one has actually come out and said it until now).

Anyway, so what's the rule for quilting? Do you need a theme? Or can you just put together any fabrics you like? I really, really hope it's the latter...

Seranno progress and my next project

I am now knitting the back armholes of Serrano. I am doing so well! I have not been perfectly monogamous in my projects but I have mostly worked only on Serrano. (by the way, anyone have any idea why, when typing on my laptop, sometimes the cursor just skips to somewhere else entirely and I end up writing in the wrong sentence? it is like accidental madlibs or something except madlibs are totally awesome and funny and this is annoying). Anyway, I just have to finish the back and sleeves, do some blocking and some finishing, and find a zipper. I plan on doing one of those 2 way zippers instead of hooks and eyes because it's annoying to mess with those things.

I've been swatching for Eunny's Venezia sweater. I loved this to begin with, and after spending a long time deciding on colors and thinking of some modifications, I love it even more now. I am going to knit it in 2 colors only - a bright pink and a light pink - and I also want to add a v-neck, maybe a collar too, and make it into a cardigan similar to an anthropologie design I've been admiring. It's the Jacquard Jacket under Cardigans if my link doesn't work (I can never get links to this site to work). I would really love to hear any advice or ideas about this since I know I will need to add a steek but don't know exactly how to do that (add stitches, yes, but how many? etc) so any help would be sooo appreciated! Also, look at the photo on the model - if you zoom in, the sweater has what looks like a tattoo on the arm! How cool is that?! I am going to do that, too.

Edit: Ok, the link doesn't work. Here's one picture of the jacket:



I need to start sewing again too. I had quit because I felt bad sewing, having projects never turn out right, and then feeling like I wasted time, money, and good fabric. Also I really don't have too much time. But really I am wasting the fabric all the same if I already have it and don't use it. So I am going to try to make a top or something soon.

New IK is up!

And you can find it right here.

What do I think about this issue? I know you won't rest until you know MY opinions. ;-)

It looks pretty darn good to me! I do miss the redhead, though. But I adore the Bettie Paige looking model. Here are the patterns I liked best, along with the ones I may knit (no, they're not always the same thing).

Alicia Tabard (why no bonus photos for this?) - I love it! It makes me think "knitter's Miss America" what with the diagonal cable and all, hehe. I think it's very cute, but I doubt I'll knit it.

Henley Perfected - I think this is my favorite pattern in the issue. I love the lace! I will be tempted to knit it. But I really think the model's expression sucks. She does not look like she is happy wearing that super cute sweater! Maybe she realizes the color isn't the best for her. ;-)

Sweater Girl Pullover - Who won't like this one? It's so classic. I'm betting this one will be popular.

Colette Pullover - Really cute design, and I can't decide if the pattern is Transformers or kitties... but either way, awesome! This looks pretty Anthropologie-esque to me.

Celtic Tote - I love this! A must-knit for me!

Ivy League Vest - I always love Eunny's designs. I love this vest! It's so cute and timeless.

El Sol Pullover - I really love the neckline of this pullover.

Farrow Rib Cardigan - I love the texture on this cardi! A really cute design, too.

Gathered Pullover - Love it! This is a must knit if I see that it looks nice on busty girls (I'm worried about the cables being RIGHT THERE, ya know?). There's that disgruntled model again.

Rosemary's Swing Jacket - I adore this... I really, really wish I had the type of figure that could pull it off. It is so, so cute.

All in all, a great issue!

Btw, things are still going well with Serrano. I've got about 1.5" left to knit before I get to the armhole shaping, I think. That's really good, considering that it's knit in one piece thus far.

Also, I got some samples from Artfibers to swatch. I got some Sylph and some Andromeda. I knit up the Andromeda, and oh my, is this yarn wonderfully soft! And so, so beautifully drapey! GIMME! :-D

Also, it was so cold today! I wore Gretel out, and got a nice compliment. That was cool, and the hat is nice and warm. Yay!

Thinkin' about new projects

So, of course I have a million wips, but as always, I am thinking about new projects.

One thing I really want is a Twinkle Shopping Tunic, except in fine (fingering or sport at the most) gauge bamboo or some other fine yarn with equal drape. I have no idea how to go about doing that, but I think it would look nice. Nicer, for my body type, than a chunky wool yarn, and a fine gauge bamboo would be a million times more wearable in this climate than chunky wool. Anyone know of a pattern similar to this? I imagine the change in gauge would be far too drastic for the Twinkle pattern to work.

I'm also still thinking about a Tilted Duster, and since the yarn I'm considering for it is at home, I will only think about it till Dec. :-)

I want an Estella, and but for lack of yarn and money for yarn, would be knitting it now.

I also want a Peasant Cap (warning: PDF!), but have the same hindrance as for Estella.

And of course, the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, for which I do have yarn, but am one ball short, sadly (if anyone wants to get rid of a ball of Rowan Felted Tweed in cocoa, lemme know). I really wanted to knit it in rage, but it's pretty lucky that I have even the cocoa color. My LYS never had the rage to begin with, had only the cocoa left, and I got it before the TYC pattern was released (the reason for my being 1 ball short).

I think before I get to the TYC, if I can, I will be attemping to knit Venezia by Eunny Jang. I saw a couple of modifications that make me even more in love with this sweater, and all I want is to get everything out of the way and work on it. I'm going to do it in only 2 colors (dark gray + light pink? dark brown + light pink?) and make it with a v-neck instead of a boat neck. The original is lovely, but as I've never done much fair isle, I don't know about managing so many colors, and a v-neck will look better on me, I'm hoping.

Oh, and I want to make that braided scarf that's on the cover of a VK.

Ok, there are a lot more, but those are the main ones.

Regarding Serrano (I know y'all are dying to hear how it's coming along):

I think this sweater is re-teaching me project monogamy. I've been working only on this sweater, and it is going by so much more quickly than I expected because of it! I have hardly even had knitting time, so I haven't gotten much farther than my last update; actually I'm now on the waist increases. But still, thinking on how slowly it normally takes me to finish a sweater, I'm doing very well. :-) Still having a bit of trouble with the whole shaping and keeping the lace pattern looking neat thing, but again, hopefully it won't be obvious to anyone but me. That's all I'm going for here. A sweater that fits well and doesn't look like someone who doesn't know what the heck they're doing made it (although that's pretty much the case - when it comes to lace, I don't really know what I'm doing, even with a stitch pattern as easy as this). I'm surprised at my ability to work on this so devotedly. The pattern is beautiful, but while KP Palette is a nice "workhorse" yarn, it is not very soft, so there's no "OMG I LOVE WORKING WITH THIS YARN OMG!!" like I get with Malabrigo, Swish Superwash, or the Merino Cable I'm using for Rapunzel. And it's black, so there's no "OoOoOo... purdy colorz! Me likey!" that I get with particularly lovely/exciting colorways. And the gauge is small, so there's no "OMG I can't believe I am almost done already!" feeling. But I am still really enjoying this knit. And that is saying something about this pattern!

Oh yeah, also! I have really warmed up to the Gretel hat I knit, and now I am starting to like the way it looks on me! This is great! I think I just needed to get used to the look of a slouchy hat. I had this same reaction to the 2 slouchy hats I knit before (the Pithy hats). I never really gave them a chance, and left them at my mom's, thinking I'd never wear them. Now I wish I had them here, so I could see whether I'd like them as well! When I go home at Christmas, I am going to find out. So thanks, y'all, for the compliments on Gretel. I think y'all are the ones who changed my mind on that matter.

Last thing (I think!): When perusing Louisa Harding books online (love her designs!), I saw this one picture and I really like the model they chose for it. She is really gorgeous, but she doesn't look like a model (imho, and a good thing - I feel some times like modern "model" beauty is the only kind we really appreciate now, seeing this girl as a model reminds me that we don't only appreciate that kind of beauty - although she is very lovely, but maybe you'll get what I mean).

Serrano progress

Yeap, I started Serrano, as all my projects were really discouraging me to the point of frustration. Unfortunately, that trend is continuing somewhat into this project as well. I'm past the waist shaping, and have 3 problems. One was with the waist shaping - keeping the pattern while doing the shaping was very hard, and I am not sure I accomplished it too well. It's knit all in one piece, so you have to interrupt the shaping in order to do the decreases, and as I am not a lace knitter, I don't really know how to do this too well. So let's hope it looks ok. Before that, there was even another problem. Very early in the pattern, I apparently accidentally put in some random yarn overs in places they don't belong, and didn't notice it until now. So... yeah. Third problem. One front side of my Serrano has the lace edging extending to the front bands. The other side... not so much. I didn't have room for a final repeat, so there are several stitches between the lace pattern and my front bands. I hope the asymmetry of the lace on the fronts doesn't end up looking poorly. None of this is the fault of the pattern, I'm sure. I've seen lots of lovely Serranos on Ravelry, and no knitters who complained of any pattern problems. So please don't think I am criticizing the pattern! I am certainly not the world's best knitter. In fact, I'd say I'm a pretty poor knitter, as is evidenced by my lack of flawlessly executed FOs. I'm knitting this in black Palette from KnitPicks. It is strange... none of the other colors of Palette I have are scratchy in the least, but this one is rather scratchy and is definitely going to need some conditioner or something. Serrano is going surprisingly quickly for a cardigan with a lace pattern, knit in fingering weight yarn.

Sooo... something else is on my mind. I read a lot of people talking about how they are "process knitters." I'm not sure I understand the idea of this. Process knitter as opposed to... what? I don't want to offend anyone, and maybe I'm mistaking the idea of the terminology, but to me "process knitter" sounds a bit redundant (not sure that's the word I want, but it'll do for now). Why would one knit, if she or he didn't enjoy the knitting process? I mean, have you ever heard anyone say "I hate everything about knitting and it really bores me, but I'm going to knit this sweater"? Or scarf. Or hat. Or whatever. Even if you love gorgeous hand knits, you're not going to stick with knitting if you don't enjoy doing it. I've known plenty of people who were entranced by the idea of being able to knit their own items, and then turned off by the actual knitting of said items. If you don't enjoy knitting, you're not going to want to put hours and hours into a project, no matter how much you want that sweater or hat. If you're knitting, I think it's pretty automatically understood that you must enjoy the process of it, or you wouldn't do it. Am I wrong? :-)

Boxes and boxes

Well, ok, only two boxes. And a couple of pillowcases. That's all I have to show today... but it is, I assume, preferable to the complete absence of posting that's been going on around here lately, and also to posting without pictures at all.

So, I know what you're thinking - boxes are boring. Sure, they're good for keeping crap in, but they're boring. Well, I thought so too, until I discovered this wonderful stuff called Mod-Podge (or is it Modge-Podge? I don't know). Now I think boxes are wicked cool (even if saying "wicked cool" isn't wicked cool anymore), or at least can be after applying a gallon of this stuff and some scrapbook paper.

Actually, for these projects I used Mod-Podge (which will be abbreviated as MP if I mention it again), scrapbook paper, paint, ribbon, and fabric. It was mucho fun, although it stank to high heaven!

Here are some pictures:

The first box was a 12"x12" scrapbook paper box from Michael's. Now, in case you don't scrap, most of the scrapbooks I've seen come in a size for 12"x12" sheets of paper. That's right, the sheets of paper are exactly 12"x12". The box? Also exactly 12"x12". Anyone see a problem here? Anyway, I failed to realize this info until after the fact, and it's ok, because I have other crap in the box besides 12"x12" scrapbook paper (considering that I left most of my scrapping stuff at home). But just to let people know, the papers don't really fit. But for a box this pretty, who cares?!




After I finished the box, I wanted to do another. It was such fun! It just so happened that I got a free card organizer from Hallmark - handy, but oh so BLAND. I don't know if you've realized this about me, but I'm not a big fan of neutrals. They are boring! So, so boring. So, when I got this free card organizer that was (what else?) beige and white, ugh!, I thought I'd liven it up a bit. So, I used leftovers from the previous projects to make this:







I finally also accepted that my beloved comforter, the wonderful Van Gogh print, was wearing quite thin. I decided to get a new one. Then, inspired by some throw pillows I'd seen online, I painted pillowcases to match. I was going to do throw pillows, but it just seemed like too much trouble, as I would have had to make them, or make covers for a couple of throw pillows I found. I probably will do one soon, though, if I can ever find fabric paint in the colors I wanted to use for the throw pillow. I used sparkly fabric paint and some cheap beige (ugh, that color again!) pillowcases I found for around $3 (for a set of 2) at Kmart. I think the results were pretty fun, but here, you can judge for yourself!




And on the bed with the new comforter set:




Now, for updates on projects. In knitting, I'm currently still working on Josephine, but it's going slowly. For sewing, I've almost finished the "muslin" for V8386, of which I will have to get opinions before I use my fabulous pink, black, and white print from Gorgeous Things on it. I can't decide if the dress is going to flatter me or not. I thought it would, as I do have a very nice semi-formal dress in a similar style that I think is very flattering on me, but I'm not sure about this one. It will definitely need something under it, too, as the fabric (a cheap pink knit from the $1 fabric table at Walmart) is very thin. But you'll see in a few days.

Also, I updated some of my projects on Ravelry. I now have posted (not very good) photos of most my wips, as well as photos of all my fos (which have been on there for awhile). I do love this site - it is really great at keeping me organized and helping me remember what I'm working on, as well as what I want to do. I wish there was a sewing site like this - PR is really great, but it would be so wonderful to have a feature where I could post my projects I'm working on, as well as pictures of my stash and patterns I want to use them for. Just sublime. But don't think I'm putting down PR at all - I love it, too! I use my "pattern catalog" feature for keeping in mind what I want to do in what fabric, for now, but without fabric pics.

I really want to make a pair of peacock feather earrings. Any tips on how to go about doing so? I am dying for some, but how would you attach the peacock feathers to the earring hook thingys?

As this is really a hobby journal for me, and reading is a great hobby of mine, I'll talk a little about that, too. I just finished reading The Demon Under the Microscope today. This book has had me captivated, and is part of the reason progress on all my projects has been slow, even on a geologic time scale. It's a non-fiction book about the discovery and short reign of sulfa drugs, and it was just great. It took me much longer than most books do to read, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I give it an A++++!! I've not had much time for pleasure reading (yes, this is what I read for pleasure, along with many other things) any way, since I've had to read for class so much, but I think the next book on my list will be The Secret Life of Germs. I'm wary of this one, hoping it's not just another book that tells you to scrub everything and never let a bacterium into your house. Overzealous cleaning is as bad as no cleaning at all. I also have some Tolkien I haven't yet read, and am sorely tempted to wait until after reading one or two of those to start on Germs. Another couple of books I just finished are The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life and We Thought You Would Be Prettier: True Tales of the Dorkiest Girl Alive. Both very funny books, although I have to argue that Laurie Notaro cannot be "dorkiest girl alive," as I hold that title at present. ;-) I hope to get my hands on her other books. Yes, I know I'm reading them out of order, but the books are kinda random in themselves, so I don't think it matters too much.

Assuming anyone still even reads this thing, I'm very sorry I haven't been keeping up with your blogs, or mine either, for that matter. I'm just so busy getting into the swing of things with grad school. I can't promise I'll do better, but I hope to at least post more often, and I'll try to catch up to my blog reads now and then.

Now I think I will dub this post "officially longest post ever!!"