Finished quilt to be auctioned off next weekend:
And finished knitted thing which was knit sans pattern. The pattern was only available in a book that contained no other patterns I liked, so I faked it with pretty good results:
And now I am just stuck waiting to find out if I've gotten into grad school or not. Fingers Crossed!!
Aren't you tired of those excuses? Me too. So....... I've been busy! And I hate typepad so I either have to convert to wordpress or just stop writing entirely. We'll see. Anyhoo, my job is giving me stomach aches and my hips are falling apart so I'm not to keen on the conversion details at the moment. Oh, and I'm trying to get into grad school, so there's that too.
But there's craft finished objects! The Octopi Hat is complete! Forgive the yellow pictures, but the lighting in that bathroom is awful right now. Can you see the octopi? Aren't they lovely? Yeah....I think so too.
But the real mutha of a project has been the (bloody, bastard of a) quilt I am making for the Tibetan Society Auction in November. A word of advice to budding quilters out there - FAUX SILK IS NEVER, EVER A GOOD IDEA. But its finished except for the binding which will be this weekend and hopefully it will make them a bit of money, though probably nowhere near the sweat equity I put into it. That doesn't matter though b/c it will be FINISHED AND OUT OF MY HANDS! Huzzah!
What color binding do you think? Black? Hmmmmm.........
Typepad has been making me crazy lately and I'm looking in switching over to another platform, but in the mean time I've been extremely busy! Yes, with work and school and the ridiculous number of dental appointments I am currently entertaining, it's been hectic. But I have managed to squeeze out a bit of progress on the knit and sew front.
J's Norwegian Star Ear Flap Hat is finished! I forgot how much I liked color work that's not in a teeny tiny gauge. SO much so that I learned how to make these:
Christmas Tree Ornaments! Fast and easy and more of them to come.
The color work thing made me so happy that I spent a whole night planning my own color work hat. It will be beret or tam style in charcoal with variegated pink octopi! See?
If parties are interested, I can publish the chart for others. Right now it's just for one other color, but it would be very easy to make it for multiple colors. FUN! What kid doesn't need an octopus on their sweater, I ask you? Also, there has been quilting....
and more quilting (sorry for the blurry pic but I am both lazy and busy and that doesn't bode well for a re-shoot).
This just needs some hand stitching on the applique and then it too will be finished.
Finally, on a more somber note, a Jemima update:
Oh Jemima. not only are you STILL missing a sleeve but you are enormous!!
What have you been eating? Can sweaters eat yardage and gain sizes?
Has Jemima been neglected for so long that, like SkyNet, she has gained consciousness and awakened?
Oh Jey-Jey, what will we do with you? I don't want to put you in the failure bin with Tree Jacket (though she patiently sits there and waits) but I don't see many other options.
Sigh.....
And that's what's up.
How in holy hell do you seam up a raglan sleeve to the armhole of a knitted sweater??
I can seam anything else, except this. I can't get it to look right.
HATE THIS.
Yesterday was my birthday (32) and I just wanted to thank everyone for the awesome gifts!
Always on the quilting front, Bea came through with some excellent supplies and a cute, simple Amy Butler kit.
My friend Rachael also went the awesome craft route with two books I desperately wanted (thanks again!)
Josh, of course, got me exactly what I wanted - an Orla Kiely bag and flowers!!
My mom got me a couple of cool books, a top and a ton fo gift certificates to my favorite lunch places!
And, last but certainly not least, my Dad got me this truly awesome and amazing antique sewing box that even has tiny hidden drawers (I'll never tell where)!! This thing is sooooo cooooool! I love it!!!
Thanks again everyone!!!
Oh, knitting.....what happened? We were moving along at a good clip. I felt like you really "got" me. We spent our evenings caught in each other's embrace. Our days were spent dreaming of when we would finally reunite. Work spent plotting our next experience together. It was good. REALLY GOOD. But now, disinterest has set in. Ennui has prevailed. I feel our relationship is but a shell of what it once was. Sure, I still think..."maybe tonight will be different" but it never is. It's just endless, soporific stockinette. I even tried to spice things up by introducing a little lace into the mix, but, alas, even that proved fruitless.
Maybe I just need a summer fling. Something different. A break from the monotony. Will you still love me in the fall if I have my summer flings? Will you? Will you Jemima? And you Lace? Sigh....I think it's just a risk I'll have to take.
Knitting, meet Quilting. Quilting, Knitting. I'm sorry Knitting, but Quilting is bringing Sock Monkeys to the table - SOCK MONKEYS! This is what I'm talking about!
And velveteen, OH THE VELVETEEN!! Quilting has the softest, velvet touch.
And Knitting, did I mention how low-maintenance Quilting is right now? I mean sure, she has a temper and can be totally impossible at times, but most of the time there's no back and forth with gauge and winding, etc. etc. Hell, I bought the velveteen pre-cut!
I don't know what the future has in store for us, Knitting, but if you love something set it free, if it comes back it was truly yours to begin with. Right, Sting?
Look what I got in the mail today! Its my HSKS 4 Package!! I just have to thank Capella Monoceros aka Alice for this awesome package! She really outdid herself with this one. Alice, this was totally worth the wait!!
First, here's an over all shot:
Impressive, no? Now let's look at it, section by section. First, the yarn:
Yes folks, that is enough for 2, yes 2 pairs of socks. And that Baby Ull is crazy soft stuff, no joke!
Now, on to the homemade bag and stitch markers:
What a perfect little project bag and yes people, 2 sets of stitch markers! Love it! But wait, there's more:
A Fiber Trends pattern, these seriously excellent DP needle holders (how did you know my Dp's were in a state?) and.....wait for it.......the beautiful Harmony DP needles in size 3 (perfect size)!
But that's not all, then there were the extras!
We have peppermints, peppermint hand soap, a moleskine-esque journal, blue and silver pens (Go Ravenclaw), decadent chocolates, a tape measure where you pull a camel's tail and some of the most delicious smelling tea I have ever smelled (strawberry guava).
Thank you so very much Capella Monoceros aka Alice! This was a phenomenal kit and you've done your bit to restore my faith in humanity! This was just perfect. I had had a very hard week and this made everything OK again.
Look, a Finished Object! It's been a long time since we're seen one of those. This is the Cascading Fuschias Market Bag by Noni. I've knit the medium size in Cascade 220, Color 9446. The flowers are knit in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in Aubergine, Spice and Blue Blood Red. Yay.
Hi there. Long time no speak, eh? Yeah, I know. That's my fault really. I've been busy. Doing what you may ask? Well, I decided my life was in no way hectic enough so I took another job as the part-time pastry chef at a small cafe here in Mt. P called The Square Onion. It's not much, just a couple of days a week, but it keeps me on my toes. Otherwise, it's just been business as usual here. Pretty boring really. I am working on Noni's Cascading Fuschias Bag, as you can see:
Oh, and I made a very yummy poached pear tart, filled with vanilla almond diplomat cream in a chocolate lined shortbread crust. Very tasty. Deadly, really. See? It's a bit beige in the photo, but trust me when I say it isn't beige in flavor.
I should have more to say someday in the future, when I am not so bloody exhausted. Until then, I leave you with the promise of more pastry to come and maybe even some sort of particularly witty commentary on something relevant. Maybe. Probably not, actually but dare to dream.
Finish the back panel of Jemima.....check!
Sew an obscene number of Buck-A-Block squares (as I was horribly behind on them)......check!
Plan a delicious and well deserved Valentine's Day mini break someplace lovely (like here)......check!
See, I do get things done....sometimes.
See you after V-Day!
