nerdy knitting

it's no secret. i'm a total nerd. i take great pleasure in being a nerd. determining how things work fascinates me. i'm incredibly easily amused, so i'm almost never bored. i love learning new things and absorbing as much information as possible. it's no surprise that this aspect of my life carries over to my knitting.

lately, i haven't had too much time to knit. it's a good problem to have though, because i'm either grading papers (yay, teaching position!) or playing with alfie (yay, puppy!). when attempting to knit, the latter of the two is either paw-ing my arm to play, or is asleep in my lap.... like he is at the moment.

my 'superman ice cream' baby blanket

my concept for a new project: constellation blanket. i'd like to use the pinwheel blanket (pictured at right) as my pattern. i have five skeins of dark blue cascade 220 that i purchased at the yarns & fabrications closing sale, just because i liked the color. (see how far that got me? story of my yarn stash... :)) i also have some glow-in-the-dark yarn that i could duplicate-stitch on top of the finished blanket to create stars and/or galaxies. i think it's a pretty cool idea, but maybe it's just the nerd in me.

almost there

i'm so excited about the progress being made on the dress!

i finally have my dressform at mickey's so i've been able to pin and adjust it better than if i was altering the dress while wearing it... which would probably not be smart.

i made it in a silky fabric that i've had forever. i've had the concept for the dress in my head for awhile too, so i'm just glad to bring it to life. it's butterick 5182 in view "c". i made it in a size 20 for the bottom (that old sizing is going to give me a complex, not gonna lie), and 20 for the top, but i found that i don't quite need that much room "up top." the waist turned out to be quite big as well... i needed the largest size on the pattern due to my hips.

as you can see from the photos, i've only fitted the bodice portion of the dress so far. this is why it looks rather wonky from the waist down. since it's bias-cut, i'm not quite sure how to take it in. it probably won't matter too much, i'm just thinking that maybe if i have it dip in a bit at the small of my back, maybe i can compensate a bit for my derriere... although, if it's bias-cut, it'll probably hug my curves naturally... anyway... i'll figure it out soon. have to -- party's on saturday! :)

feeling productive

this past week, i started and finished shalom as well as cut the pattern pieces and fabric for a dress. i've had the fabric sitting around and have had the concept in my head for quite awhile. when my friend invited our group to a 'formals and 40's' party, it was the perfect opportunity for me to be creative. view 'c' of this pattern.

sidenote: i contemplated wearing my senior prom dress that i also sewed (and that still fit!), but i didn't know if i want to look like a purple princess when i could look a bit more classy and adult-like... ;)

second sidenote: there's nothing but glorified shirts passing themselves off as dresses and matronly jumper-things in the 'special occasion' sections of stores right now... i would think with homecoming occurring not too long after the school-year started, they'd at least have something. can i please just have a happy medium? i'm in style-purgatory here, people!

more booty

let me preface this by saying that i have been finishing projects. i just haven't been so good at taking photos of them. :)

that being said, i know my last post was about yarn goodness... but i have to devote this post to a yarn purchase as well. yarns & fabrication is west chester is going out of business and has everything 10% off until they close at the end of august. of course i couldn't pass it up!

• one skein of malabrigo worsted in 'verde esperanza' for foliage
• six skeins of classic elite's miracle in a dark taupe-y color for lacy dolman
• two skeins cascade 220 in hot pink to join noro taiyo for striped thigh highs
• five skeins cascade 220 in a navy & turquoise mix for st. james
• four skeins universal deluxe chunky in steel gray for shalom

now i have to wind all the hanks... but it's part of the fun and part of the process. my winder is pretty amazing when the yarn decides to cooperate!

booty

well... fabric and yarn booty, that is.

i didn't have my camera last week, but i still wanted to post the wonderful, yummy things i purchased at lambikin's.


3 skeins aslantrends class
















2 skeins noro taiyo















assorted fat quarters
















and my most-loved purchase of the day... a panel for a funky-monkey/sock-monkey book!

banned

i've been watching the 'hoarders'-type shows lately and have begun to feel quite a bit of empathy for the people on the show. i feel that i have gotten myself pretty deep into some excessive retail therapy and have much more stuff than i should.

the reason this blog is posted among my craft posts is that many of the women on the show are crafters. it's kind of funny... and unavoidable when you get yourself so involved in a craft, you accumulate a ton of stuff related to the craft. one who's involved in several crafts sometimes has the luxury of having a devoted craft room for their goods. i have no such luxury at the current time, which may explain my conundrum.

the vast majority of my craft stuff is at jenny's place. i have about five plastic bins of yarn and three plastic bins of fabric, give or take a few odds and ends that that aren't currently in bins. i'm working on projects and finishing projects but there is so much i still have to work on. this is the maximum that i can take.

i'm imposing a craft-buying ban on myself, starting now. nothing craft-related will be purchased to make any new crafts. no craft paraphernalia (spelled that right on the first try!) will be purchased unless it helps me finish a previously purchased project. this will help my wallet and my sanity.

there. it's in writing. hold me to it, would ya? :)

i love a quickie

you're so dirty.... i totally wasn't talking about that... :)
look what i made last night when i couldn't sleep!


'turn a square' hat by jared flood





















it's a little more purple-y than the photos portray... i'm loving it. :)

blocking

currently, i have three projects in need of blocking:

• 'clapotis' in 'simply soft mardi grey'
  
• 'sunday market shawl' in 'punta del este cotton twist'
• 'gail shawl' in 'pagewood farms yukon sock'

i'm still kind of apprehensive about the whole blocking thing. which has led me to delay the actual completion of these projects... i have the eucalan, the rubbery/squishy pads that will serve as my blocking boards, and the rust-proof pins, i just don't know if i'm going to do it right, so i'm nervous.

i'm not sure if i want to block the clapotis... i kind of like the swirl-texture of this one by hawk on ravelry, and i made mine super-long for a similar uber-scarf effect. i think it could work. i suppose for the moment though too that they all pretty much look like jumbled messes... so anything's gotta be better than that, right? :)

PS -- so excited that i finally got the pattern for the 'swirled pearl shawlette'. i've been looking around for it and all of the lys in the area didn't carry it anymore. the 'lacey lamb' in deep teal is looking great and i'm getting more adept at adding the beads to the lacework. i love a challenge!

it's ON!

in an attempt to finish all the partly-knit projects laying around my house, 'operation ufo: search and destroy' is currently underway. ufo = unfinished object, for the non-yarncrafters out there.

projects:
'gail' shawl (warning, pdf file!): completed knitting this week, needs to be blocked
'russian winter' hat: halfway done knitting, after i re-read the directions
'mermanda & mermandrew': will restart once i decide how i want to apply the hair
'mon petit chou': will restart once i get the urge to read another knitting chart

there are more ufo's, unfortunately. these are the projects that are on my priority list though.

i bought a skein of yarn this week because it's a new line that we carry at joann's. it's bamboo ewe by debbie stoller, a bamboo and wool blend. can't wait to make a hat or some wristwarmers with it. :)