WIP Wednesday & Tax Day Sale!

Since I finished my final Malabrigo March project over the weekend (which I'll blog about this Friday), I decided to start swatching for my next sweater project. Though it's still pretty chilly in these parts, I expect any day now I'll be in need of yet another cropped cardigan, and I just happened to have the yarn and pattern for Marly Bird's Breezy Bolero waiting in the wings. I whipped up my first swatch and discovered that I've become quite the loose knitter, so I'm working on swatch number 2 with slightly smaller needles. Hopefully that'll do the trick and I can cast on soon!

I've also made some major progress on the Destash Constitution Hall Scarf - as you can see, I've started the next phase of striping! I even snuck in a few rows while at the sold out Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds show this past Monday. I know it's slightly off-topic, but I feel the need to write about it because we had front row tickets (which we didn't find out til we arrived at the show). I have never been that close before - once I was in the second row at a Radiohead concert in Colorado, but there was a pretty huge buffer zone between the crowd and the band; on Monday, I was literally inches from Nick Cave. He wears very fancy shoes, incidentally, and two glorious man-rings.

I would have liked to take some more photos, but my phone just isn't up to the task - Nick Cave is way too dynamic, and it's just pure crap at 'action' shots. Below is the best that I was able to do, and to be perfectly honest, I really wouldn't have dared to whip out the ol' cell phone camera when he was any closer to me! I don't know if you've ever seen footage of his performances, but he really gets in your face if you happen to be in the front row (more on that here on my husband's blog) - my friend dubbed our section of the stage the 'charisma vacuum': on either side of the stage, his crazy super-fans were trying desperately to make contact (and he is definitely one to grab hands, make eye contact, and even pull someone up onto the stage to dance). I suppose our small group of introverted folk enjoying the show by looking without touching did serve a purpose; he seemed fine with running back and forth between the super-fans,spending a little time in the charisma vacuum when (I assume) he wasn't in the mood to be grabbed.

At any rate, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and it was totally awesome and worth every penny. But I digress...back to the yarny stuffs!

Tax Day Sale

All patterns in my Ravelry Pattern Store are $4.15 (or less!) in honor of the most dreaded of days in the U.S. (at least for me), tax day. All you have to do is enter "YARNANDTAXES" at checkout or click this link to have the coupon code automatically entered for you. This offer is good now through April 15, 2013!

Thanks for stopping by this week. For more WIP Wednesday inspiration, hop over to the Tami's Amis Blog!

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends, so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks). The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels? I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n

handmade by stefanie

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