Finishing, Enabling & Indulging Startitis

Tough to photograph:
Black Stockinette Sweater
(Now finished & blocking!)

The biggest news of this week is surely the completion of Tyler's sweater. Having cast on in February, this project has been a slow-burner. I did have to frog & restart it. Modifications have been made. Entire weeks went by when I didn't touch the thing. My hare-brained sleeves 2-at-a-time-while-attached-to-a-sweater-body scheme actually worked. And most importantly, we didn't break up! Not that I was terribly worried about the Sweater Curse - we've been together for 11 years now - but perhaps my delay in knitting Tyler a sweater was due in part to that silly superstition. At any rate, Tyler has a new sweater that fits him perfectly and is exactly the way he wanted it!

Which means, of course, that I can cast on for lots of new projects, right? I mean, I still have holiday knitting to do....and I still have a design that is ready to be published and just needs a model knit...but it's ok to start a few new projects, anyhow, right? RIGHT?

Exhibit A

Oh, it's not? Then you better quit reading this entry, because I recently got my mitts on some Fibre Company Canopy Fingering - yarn I've been coveting since TNNA - and it doesn't want to sit in my stash. It wants to be knit. Immediately. And it wants to become the Botanical Cowl, a free pattern I came across on Ravelry. Now here's the part where things get tricky: my job, on a daily basis, is to tell people about the awesomeness of various yarns and patterns, and how fun it is to spin/crochet/knit/weave. The problem is, I end up convincing myself that I need to purchase said yarn, knit said pattern, or bust out the spinning wheel (I've even started harboring notions of picking up weaving...with all that spare time I have!). Which is all well and good, but then when I go to blog about my knitting/spinning life, I can't very well omit the part where I enabled myself to purchase something from one of my clients - which has happened twice recently!

(So yes, I'm off the clock (it is the weekend, after all), but just know that there is a little overlap going on between Work Life and Normal Life at the moment.)

Exhibit A is this booty from Doodlebug Yarns, the theme of which is "Things I Became Obsessed With After TNNA in Columbus." I'd gotten hooked on Lavishea and Heel at the trade show and decided to indulge my curiousity and obsession with the afore-mentioned Canopy Fingering. And look! Adorable yarn ball stitch markers from Hiya-Hiya! How did those get in there?

You'll have to wait on Exhibit B - that one is still on its way. In the mean time, I should probably share my awesome new tote bag, courtesy of the Busy Beaver Button Company here in Chicago. If you read my last blog entry, you'll recall that I entered this contest and won this rad Oh no! DOOM tote bag....and if you read this blog even a little bit, you probably know that I enter a LOT of contests on a daily/weekly basis, so it's not that I'm necessarily luckier than the average person, but the odds of winning something are greatly increased when you enter 100 contests per month as I typically do. That said, I wasn't any less thrilled to find out I won or see this tote bag in my mail box! Destined to become one of my favorite new projects bags, I've already assigned it to one of my *ahem* newly cast-on projects.

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

Search This Blog