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.
2 Angel Food Cakes
2 dozen Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream frosting
1 large Vanilla Cake with Dark Chocolate Buttercream frosting
1 large Chocolate Éclair Cake
1 large Lemon Daffodil Cake
2 trays Double Chocolate Brownies: one w/ Butterfinger topping and one without
1 tray Lemon Squares
and finally
4 - 50 piece trays of assorted brownie/cheesecake/dessert "bites"
Now I'm sleepy.
So Typepad is FINALLY behaving and I can post the picture I promised you the other day. Here is what I have of Jemima so far:
It might not look like much, but my goal is to make this project very process oriented rather then product oriented. No racing to the finish line on this one. Just the slow, methodical process of knitting, with zero stress. So far, so good.
I also just finished buying all of the goodies for my HSKS 4 partner's kit. I even bought the fabric for the bag! Now I just have to figure out how to sew it all up and I'll be all set! My mystery friend is going to get a HUGE package though. I just kept picking up cute little things and then when I finally gathered everything all together, I realized that I may have gone a bit overboard! I have a tendency to do that with all of the swaps though. My Secret Pal packages were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself! I hope she likes everything!
Well, I am one sleeve away from finishing Tree Jacket and all I can say is UGH! It looks terrible on me. It fits, oh it fits, don't get me wrong but in quite a tragic way. Rachael suggested that I block now and then re-try on to see if the blocking helps, but I don't know. I am pretty sure that I may have to frog, frogfrog it all away and start over at the bust line. Some day....
I think I just really need to knit something successful right now that isn't as massive a project as a long sleeved sweater. So, while my next project was to be the Jemima Sweater (that dear, patient Rachael and I were to knit together) I think I need to knit this instead. But I won't knit it in silk. No, I'm thinking about cotton (for those balmy, sultry SC summers). Actually, I'm thinking CPY Cotton Flamme in this color (see below) Pretty, no? Wish me luck. As of late, my knitting mojo has failed me, so I need all the luck I can get.
Well, I have been frantically trying to finish one final present for someone who I am 99.7% sure does not read this. In case they do, I only have this to say: "Hey! Look at the insane thing I made you! Ain't it purty?" Otherwise, this thing, this craft, this monstrosity snowballed from a simple idea into a project that was a bit over my head. But I faked it 'til I made it and this is the result of my labor:
It doesn't look like much, but I promise you it is 5 feet of blood, sweat and tears in addition to multiple pin pricks.
On a MUCH happier note, my friend Rachael sent me a lovely xmas present that I opened early and it is BEAUTIFUL! The pattern for Hanami, the beads, the teeniest crochet hook in the known universe, some delicious yarn - Buttercream by Yarn Chef, and one of her famous, homemade project bags!
Now, if only the presents I ordered her 3 weeks ago would hurry up and bloody well get here! Grrr! I haven't forgotten you Rachael, Baby! There's something lovely coming for you!
She is blocking now and hopefully, I can sew her up tonight. Yay!
Also, our garage door is completely off track and the cable has come uncoiled from the right cable drum.
This happened at 6:30 am today. This is not a good way to wake up. Any ideas?
So, the real reason I have been AWOL for so long has been a sneaky, creeping, mild depression. I just didn't have it in me to write, knit, sew, etc. It just wasn't there. The whole ugliness has been rounded off by my having to leave the bakery. I don't get to professionally make pretty cupcakes, fruit tarts or eclairs anymore.
Why did I quit? Well, at the time I made the decision, I had convinced myself it was b/c the bakery job was awful. And honestly, it wasn't great. I did spend most of my time asking people if they wanted their loaves "sliced or whole" which is only one step up from asking "do you want fries with that?".
But really, I had to quit b/c after working 8-9 hours at the bakery, I could barely move my legs anymore. My hips would scream and bite at me all night long. You should see the Mt. Rushmore of pillows I have at my hip-propping disposal! And not just the "too mild to consider surgery at this juncture" hip, but my "fixed through the miracle of surgery" hip as well. Double teamed by my own joints! The nerve of them.
Anyhoo, so all of these things, and the questions they raise (ie: what do you do when you figured out your passion in life and are too bloody crippled to pursue it?) have been seriously bumming me out lately.
All of that, and I hated my hair. OOH, have I been hating my hair. I made the mistake of growing it out, b/c I wanted to feel French (long story) and it was just heavy and long and I am CONVINCED it made my ass look fat. That's how much I hated my hair.
Well, NO MORE!
Which would you prefer, the out of focus but you get the idea photo or the dying of ennui with great hair photo? Well, ok, you get both:
Look at that hair, man! I feel freakin' fantastic (despite my expression in the second photo). Its amazing what a haircut can do!
