Renegade Craft Fair Recap

I've been remiss in posting about Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. All of the car nonsense kind of distracted me last week - but it's time to return to my regularly scheduled blogging.

I'm sure it's no surprise to learn that I had a modest budget for Renegade this year, but I think I made my dollars count. As always, there were lots of cool things I'd like to have purchased - lovely-smelling soaps, nifty ceramics, and some really cool terrariums (there were two vendors of terrariums this year - and very few items with birds on them, now that I think of it. Way to go, Portlandia!).

Everything I purchased fit perfectly in this wee canvas tote bag, which I bought from Alysson at The Sweatshop of Love. Her mom hand-stamps them, and it's absolutely perfect for taking a sock project on-the-go....which brings us to item #2: my annual Rhino Fluff purchase!

Last year, you may recall the amazing blue skein of silky sock yarn I purchased from Rhino Fluff. This past May, that skein of yarn became a Pogona Shawl - the perfect project to show off the lovely hand-dyed variation in the skein (which reminds me...I need to take some better photos of said shawl!)

I was psyched when I saw the Rhino Fluff booth, even though I knew it would be bad news for my budget! When I spied this rich tobacco-colored skein of yarn, there was no way I could talk myself out of buying it. I'm weak-willed when it comes to yarn - especially if it's superwash sock. I have no idea what this yarn wants to be (YET!), but I'm certain I won't wait so long before I knit it this time around.

Finally, my search for the perfect birthday present for my Dad ended: once I saw this Chicago Dog T-shirt, I knew I'd found what I'd been looking for. Every time my parents come to visit, we make sure to grab a hot dog somewhere. The first year they came up to Chicago, we spent half a day taking mass transit to Superdawg (and it was worth it!). The last time they visited, we went to a place over in Lincoln Park whose name escapes me (not Wiener's Circle). This year? We'll be in line at Hot Doug's at 10 AM on a Saturday morning (I haven't informed them of this yet, but it's gonna happen!).

Besides Renegade and The Great Car Debacle, last weekend was also filled with tasty food and beer. We headed to the German American Festival in Lincoln Square on Saturday afternoon for litres of beer - the best way I know to welcome autumn. On Sunday, we headed to the farmer's market by our house to get delicious crepes for breakfast and some fresh veggies for dinner. I still haven't gotten over the novelty of having weekends off again - I'm sold on the concept! Tyler is enjoying having the occasional weekend day off himself - his new work schedule has been giving him Sundays off lately, and we find it to be quite agreeable!

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

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