I've been better about updating the wedding blog- and let's be real, that's where most of my energy is centered lately. But I've been crafting a fair bit these past few weeks since the move, as well.
Progress is slow and steady on the baby blanket. I've finished 6.5 repeats, and more importantly I finally am at the point where I don't need the pattern at all. I have finally memorized all six different stitch patterns, and their repeat lengths, and can knit blissfully away on the metro and around the house without relying on the pattern! I am almost done with the second ball of yarn, and it's getting big enough that I have to stuff it in my backpack or a separate bag now, in order to knit during my commute. The baby is due in late May. If I were trying to knit a full 14 repeats, I'd be worried! But this blanket is already coming out so large that I think I'm over half done already. As long as I fit in some serious knitting time over the next few weeks, I should be able to gift it well in advance of the baby's arrival.
In between working on the blanket, I have been remembering that crazy challenge I signed up for, pre-engagement. I (in my infinite wisdom) thought it would be cool to sign up for the sweater-a-month challenge that flew around Ravelry after the Ravelympics and National Knit a Sweater month in November. Why I thought I could knit twelve sweaters in a year, when I average one or two, is pure delusion. But the least I could do is try and at least knit on a single sweater! Like ... maybe the one I started during NaKniSweMo (November). I was already working on the sleeves, two at a time, at the end of November. So I picked it up again, and am now... still not done with the sleeves. In my defense, I really am working on the sleeve caps! I thought I would be able to finish them this weekend, and possibly even start seaming it together, but my optimism was (as always) misplaced. My major work stoppage this weekend was really the fault of the move. It took me some serious searching to find the last ball of yarn for the sweater- it was separated from the project at some point, and was mixing it up with my wool blend yarns in my shelving unit. Living the high life, I tell you! Now that it's been reunited with the rest of the balls of yarn, in sweater form, I am hoping that I may finally get the darn thing done and sewn together by next week.
Of course, now it's April. It's unlikely it will be cold enough for me to wear the sweater more than once or twice before next fall. But hey- knitters are not about instant gratification! It's all about the sweater you'll be able to wear next year. Or you know, possibly the year after that. Once this great big green thing is done, though, all the next half-finished sweaters on my list are summer-weight. I might even finish one before the wedding, and they're forced into November retirement.
But I doubt it.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Endpaper Mitts, v2
I finally finished my second pair of Endpaper Mitts on Sunday. They were nearly finished for at least a month- sometimes my finishing skills are lacking in timeliness. At least the quality is good when I get around to it! My live-in-photographer took the photos, and can I just say it's fantastic to have someone around to take daylight shots? What a sweetheart.
It would figure I would finally finish these, a holiday and birthday gift, only once the weather has turned and it's 70 degrees out. Details. What you can barely see in these photos? Tee shirt and shorts!! Hurray for spring.
It would figure I would finally finish these, a holiday and birthday gift, only once the weather has turned and it's 70 degrees out. Details. What you can barely see in these photos? Tee shirt and shorts!! Hurray for spring.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
The biggest perk
The biggest perk of moving in with the love of my life is that I am going to have a sewing room again!
Well, ok. The biggest perk is probably having him around all the time, and getting to snuggle on the sofa in the evening, and having more than one bathroom in the house for the first time in years (we have FOUR!). But besides that, the best of all is having a sewing room.
I have had a room of my own for crafting a few times since moving out of my parents (where I did not have my own craft room, but Mom sure did- and she shared). In Bloomington I had a second bedroom, which was used as both a study for writing during the semester, and a craft room when school was out of session. I made my cosplay costume there, sewing into the wee hours of my summer vacation. I had a sewing machine, my Rocketeer, and we purred through school breaks with internet radio blasting from my desktop computer and my crappy computer speakers.
When I moved back to Maryland, I had a two bedroom apartment in Rockville. And again, it was a combined study/craft room. But for some reason I didn't sew much in that apartment. I had an incredibly long commute, and hardly any money to waste, so I cooked dinner and ate while watching a movie most nights. I did knit quite a bit throughout that time period. And I was heavily in the throes of my World of Warcraft addiction then, so I was in the second bedroom all the time on weekends and late at night, but I was mostly playing on the computer. It wasn't a fully functional craft room, I suppose.
Once I had a roommate again, I lost my "free" second bedroom, and had to go back to crafting in a smaller space. I did have my sewing machine set up in our large living room area, near the kitchen table, and I sewed a few gifts there. But again, I was mostly knitting on the sofa while watching tv and videos. You don't need nearly as much space for knitting as you do for sewing and paper crafts. And then of course I moved to Arlington... to an efficiency apartment. It's a bit entertaining to me that I got much more into quilting ONLY after I lived in a teensy space where in order to quilt I had to clear away the kitchen table- and then I had to put it away again in order to cook dinner!
Now, finally, I have the best of all worlds. I live in a house, with the sweetest man I know. We have FOUR BATHROOMS- seriously people, that's amazing. And the biggest perk is definitely having a room to craft. I can't wait to get it set up and take some photos, to show off the new space. My furniture is moving in next Sunday! In the meantime, I've been spending loads of time thinking about how to organize my space. I need to fit a sofa, my computer desk (to be used as a sewing machine desk, actually), my large cube storage-bookcase thing, and a few more bookcases. I also have a bunch of plastic bins and other random things that need to fit in somehow. It's not a tiny room, but that's a lot! I've been checking out a bunch of blogs to get ideas on how to make the space most effective, and most inspiring for my various crafts. I have hardly any fabric stash yet, but I foresee that will change as I continue on the quilting path. And I still have more yarn than Stitch DC Georgetown. Hmm. Here's some of the inspiration I've been finding!
Well, ok. The biggest perk is probably having him around all the time, and getting to snuggle on the sofa in the evening, and having more than one bathroom in the house for the first time in years (we have FOUR!). But besides that, the best of all is having a sewing room.
I have had a room of my own for crafting a few times since moving out of my parents (where I did not have my own craft room, but Mom sure did- and she shared). In Bloomington I had a second bedroom, which was used as both a study for writing during the semester, and a craft room when school was out of session. I made my cosplay costume there, sewing into the wee hours of my summer vacation. I had a sewing machine, my Rocketeer, and we purred through school breaks with internet radio blasting from my desktop computer and my crappy computer speakers.
When I moved back to Maryland, I had a two bedroom apartment in Rockville. And again, it was a combined study/craft room. But for some reason I didn't sew much in that apartment. I had an incredibly long commute, and hardly any money to waste, so I cooked dinner and ate while watching a movie most nights. I did knit quite a bit throughout that time period. And I was heavily in the throes of my World of Warcraft addiction then, so I was in the second bedroom all the time on weekends and late at night, but I was mostly playing on the computer. It wasn't a fully functional craft room, I suppose.
Once I had a roommate again, I lost my "free" second bedroom, and had to go back to crafting in a smaller space. I did have my sewing machine set up in our large living room area, near the kitchen table, and I sewed a few gifts there. But again, I was mostly knitting on the sofa while watching tv and videos. You don't need nearly as much space for knitting as you do for sewing and paper crafts. And then of course I moved to Arlington... to an efficiency apartment. It's a bit entertaining to me that I got much more into quilting ONLY after I lived in a teensy space where in order to quilt I had to clear away the kitchen table- and then I had to put it away again in order to cook dinner!
Now, finally, I have the best of all worlds. I live in a house, with the sweetest man I know. We have FOUR BATHROOMS- seriously people, that's amazing. And the biggest perk is definitely having a room to craft. I can't wait to get it set up and take some photos, to show off the new space. My furniture is moving in next Sunday! In the meantime, I've been spending loads of time thinking about how to organize my space. I need to fit a sofa, my computer desk (to be used as a sewing machine desk, actually), my large cube storage-bookcase thing, and a few more bookcases. I also have a bunch of plastic bins and other random things that need to fit in somehow. It's not a tiny room, but that's a lot! I've been checking out a bunch of blogs to get ideas on how to make the space most effective, and most inspiring for my various crafts. I have hardly any fabric stash yet, but I foresee that will change as I continue on the quilting path. And I still have more yarn than Stitch DC Georgetown. Hmm. Here's some of the inspiration I've been finding!
Friday, March 06, 2009
Craft's March is Make Do and Mend Month
Craft Magazine, or rather Craft Online (since magazine is now defunct, sadly), is doing a theme for March. Make Do and Mend Month! This recession is surely affecting us all. I am not quite ready to re-sign for another 3 months (or 6, or 9) of the Wardrobe Refashion challenge. For one, there's that minor point that I just bought a wedding gown, which doesn't fit in with the refashion-nothing-new ethic. And for another, half my clothes don't fit and the other half are getting worn to shreds. So I think I need some lee-way to buy a few more suits and things.
On the other hand, my mending pile just keeps growing and growing. There's the suit that needs a button on the pants, and is otherwise completely wearable. Another suit that needs the pants re-lined- though the jacket may be worn enough that it's time to just heave it, I have a hard time giving up my favorite well-fitting suit! A pair of pants I bought that had a terribly done hem which came out, completely, the very first time I wore them. A piece of the hem thread came undone and was literally pulled out from under me in an elevator door, as the elevator went downstairs so did the thread!
So this month sounds like a lovely time to catch up on these things, and get my sewing pile down a little while actually increasing my wardrobe. My handknit socks are all still in fine condition, but it's a good month to read up on darning and get a darning egg, too.
I have plenty of fabric to be sewing skirts and easy tops, and I have patterns for some really adorable little projects. Plus the Storm at Sea quilt that I desperately want to finish so I can display it in my brand new sewing room. As both of my machines (still) need servicing, in the meantime I'm going to get out those hand sewing needles and fix some hems. Sew some buttons. You know- make do and mend.
On the other hand, my mending pile just keeps growing and growing. There's the suit that needs a button on the pants, and is otherwise completely wearable. Another suit that needs the pants re-lined- though the jacket may be worn enough that it's time to just heave it, I have a hard time giving up my favorite well-fitting suit! A pair of pants I bought that had a terribly done hem which came out, completely, the very first time I wore them. A piece of the hem thread came undone and was literally pulled out from under me in an elevator door, as the elevator went downstairs so did the thread!
So this month sounds like a lovely time to catch up on these things, and get my sewing pile down a little while actually increasing my wardrobe. My handknit socks are all still in fine condition, but it's a good month to read up on darning and get a darning egg, too.
I have plenty of fabric to be sewing skirts and easy tops, and I have patterns for some really adorable little projects. Plus the Storm at Sea quilt that I desperately want to finish so I can display it in my brand new sewing room. As both of my machines (still) need servicing, in the meantime I'm going to get out those hand sewing needles and fix some hems. Sew some buttons. You know- make do and mend.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Caps for the Win
As usual, I scored tickets to the Caps game through my lovely company. And as usual, I brought some knitting for the occasion.
You can see I am zooming along on one of my upcoming baby gifts- at the game I had completed two diamonds, but I'm actually done with three already.
I came down to Raleigh this weekend for a visit with the parents. We fit in a bit of crafting, and are going through my mom's old quilting magazines to pull out neat patterns. And I have been knitting. But the real purpose of the visit was wedding dress shopping- and we were all done in 2.5 hours of shopping! Easy peasy. I won't blog about the dress, since I'm enough of a traditionalist that I don't want G to see it or really know what it's like. But I can tell you about my veil process soon! I purchased a pattern already (Vogue patterns on super sale at JoAnn's... mm...) and I have delicate tulle in ivory to match the dress. Oops, now I guess you know I'm not wearing white. Not that this should be a surprise to anyone- I'm pasty. Pasty people do not look good in brilliant white gowns. Now that I know what the dress is, however, I can finally think about a wedding shawl. Do I want to knit a wedding shawl? Would I wear it with the dress style I chose? Would it look silly with a veil, or should I use it as a veil?
If we have a final date, and a booked venue for the wedding, maybe then I can think about these things. In the meantime, I need to get cracking on that baby gift. Only three months before the little one is due!
You can see I am zooming along on one of my upcoming baby gifts- at the game I had completed two diamonds, but I'm actually done with three already.
I came down to Raleigh this weekend for a visit with the parents. We fit in a bit of crafting, and are going through my mom's old quilting magazines to pull out neat patterns. And I have been knitting. But the real purpose of the visit was wedding dress shopping- and we were all done in 2.5 hours of shopping! Easy peasy. I won't blog about the dress, since I'm enough of a traditionalist that I don't want G to see it or really know what it's like. But I can tell you about my veil process soon! I purchased a pattern already (Vogue patterns on super sale at JoAnn's... mm...) and I have delicate tulle in ivory to match the dress. Oops, now I guess you know I'm not wearing white. Not that this should be a surprise to anyone- I'm pasty. Pasty people do not look good in brilliant white gowns. Now that I know what the dress is, however, I can finally think about a wedding shawl. Do I want to knit a wedding shawl? Would I wear it with the dress style I chose? Would it look silly with a veil, or should I use it as a veil?
If we have a final date, and a booked venue for the wedding, maybe then I can think about these things. In the meantime, I need to get cracking on that baby gift. Only three months before the little one is due!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
