WIP Wednesday December!

You know - there are hazards in my crafty work environment. One of the most pervasive hazards is dog farts. The dogs all plop down on the couch next to me when I am knitting or stitching and good lord do they let some gas fly!

Pee-yew! And they just snooze on through like nothing happened. Meanwhile, I am gagging and fanning and trying not to vomit. OSHA would be appalled!

At any rate, I have gotten a bit done on both of my WIPs from last week - my skew sock is coming along slowly. Yesterday, I was working on it while waiting for a doctor's appointment, and it hit me all of the sudden that my sock looks exactly like a wiener warmer! :-o

Hopefully no one thinks I am knitting a shiny, Christmas-y penis pocket.

Here it is:

Next up, my cross stitching project. I was off of work last week and finished up several more panels. This week is back to the grind, so progress has slowed...

I think it looks super cool though:

For those of you interested in the criminal element, here are a couple of the poot perpetrators looking guilty!!

(My niece Beth took this pic - check out her blog at The Pow Wow Factory)

Head on over to Tami's Amis for more WIP Wednesday posts!

 

WIP Wednesday Thanksgiving Edition

Took the week off work, so I'm getting more done on my new cross stitching project than I would otherwise. I am finished with 6 out of 25 panels - woot!

I screwed up the border on 7 about 3 times tonight. So after pulling out all the stitches in one corner for the severaleth (just made that one up) time, I decided to send it to bed early and give it a rest.

Amber and Derek won on DWTS which is cool - whoever thought at the beginning if the season that the big girl would win it all?? Pretty sweet. Also Derek is cute :)

Made a little progress on my Skew sock as well - I would say I'm working heel/gusset, but this pattern is wonky, so I don't exactly know what section I'm working. Apparently I am increasing stitches for the ankle area.

Haven't done any work on the cardi I was working on last week. Maybe soon I will pull out all my hibernating projects and assess where I am with them.

Happy WIP Wednesday and Happy Thanksgivukkah. Shalom :)

Have some crafty projects you're working on and would like to share? Head on over to Tami's Amis and share your crafty blog: http://feedly.com/k/1cuIwAs

I found my inspiration in an old milk crate

So... I haven't posted on here in approximately forever.


I am all the time reading other people's blogs, and I'm doing shit over here, it just doesn't usually seem very blog worthy. At any rate, I feel compelled today to do a WIP Wednesday post. A lot of crafters post their works in progress (WIPs) on Wednesday and share them around.


My efforts from one week to the next usually don't seem like a whole hell of a lot nor anything to write home about, and also, I am kind of a crappy photographer. ALSO - no one reads this blog, but you know what? Whatevs - I feel like posting, so I'm gonna.


I have a couple of projects in hibernation right now, and I'm not going to post photos of them cause they'll probably still look the same in several months as they do right now. I don't keep things in hibernation unless I intend to actually finish them someday - otherwise I just rip the whole thing out. So, they'll get done ... eventually.


So - WIPs - first up, a wool sweater I started about a month ago. I'm not good on finishing large projects, but this one's coming along ok. The yarn is mega soft Yarn Love Anne Shirley in Belgian Chocolat and Sweet Tangerine colorways. The pattern is Eilonwy by Carol Feller. I read Carol's blog here: linky


FYI - I plan to try harder on photos in the future :-o





Next up - Skew socks in a pretty obnoxious Christmas pattern. I am a bit obnoxious about holidays - I love cheesy Christmas socks and sweaters and the whole nine. This yarn is self-striping (which I hardly ever purchase), and I wanted to make the most of the yarn without just doing a plain sock (which I know I would NEVER FINISH). I've had my eye on Skew for a long time, but the lack of sizing scared me. Oh well - I just decided to jump in. I made some FANTASTIC Christmas socks for myself in 2011 out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight
in the comfort and joy colorway. The yarn and pattern were part of a Blue Moon Rockin' Sock Club kit (the pattern was called Joy). Anyway - long story longer - my dogs ATE. MY. SOCKS.


So the Christmas-y Skew socks are for me to try and replace my chewed up Christmas socks. Anyone with some self-striping yarn sitting around in the "I don't know what the hell to do with this, but it was super cute" pile, check out this blog entry - I read this blog regularly (and use Feedly if anyone is looking for a blog reader) - Self-striping sock patterns.


Here's the first sock in progress (the yarn is a little rough, but it's because it has a metallic strand running through it) - I like them so far :)





Last but NOT least, I have not done cross stitch in forever - probably not since 1990-ish? I recently saw a WIP Wednesday post that BLEW ME AWAY. To the max. Here it is: Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday post that started it all.


I think my brain exploded a little, and then when I followed the link to the pattern and website the sampler same from, my brain exploded a lot, and I think my wallet exploded a little too...


Here is the magical fairy land called Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. So, now fast forward to about 16 days later, and I'm working on one of their samplers. I decided to go with a Christmas sampler, because a) I LOVE HOLIDAYS and b) Halloween is over. I ordered my supplies, but later found out that the fabric will take a while (maybe 3 weeks), so in the interim (because I am super patient n' stuff), I ordered last year's Winter Sampler and all the supplies, and I started on it over the weekend! My first panel SUCKED big time, so I cut it out and started again. It's my first time cross stitching on linen, and I so much appreciate all of the tutorials and photos out there that people posted to help me along my way. Here are some of my faves:


Rosy Little Things (a blog I found during this process and now LOVE)
Mochimochi Land (I have made a few of this designer's knitting patterns and also read her blog)
Mary Beale School of Needlework


And here's my first panel (little warped looking cause it's still on the hoop):





And just because I feel like it, here are a couple of my project bags - the Christmas one was part of a Woolgirl club kit. I'm not sure what crafty person made the bags, but they're pretty awesome! Skew is riding around in this bag.





And my Eilonwy sweater is riding around in a large drawstring kitty cat bag that I bought at Cast-On Cottage. Again, I'm not sure who made it, but it is a fantastic bag. Large, durable, and cute. The inside fabric has all kinds of names of different cat breeds. It looks lumpy cause it has a sweater in it, and, not surprisingly, is also totally covered in cat hair:





OK - that's it for me. Hope I can make another post before 5 years go by.

And in a whole "circle of life" type of thing, I am linking back to the blog that inspired me to cross stitch and blog, and I'm posting my WIP Wednesday post there, too ;)

Tami's Amis WIP Wednesday

WIP WThursday!

That's right - WThursday. It's kind of like Fourthmeal from Taco Bell. I made it up. Well, I didn't make up Fourthmeal, but it *is* made up. You catch my drift, yeah?

So, I finished a scarflet this morning, but I still need to wash and block it so it looks kinda crap right now. Also - buttons. It needs buttons, and I take forever looking for the perfect buttons.

I'm almost done with the Pretty Thing cowl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. I'm using yarn from a local dyer, and I love it. It's a dark-ish red color that's neato. I'm also working on the fiddlehead mitts. It's my first stranded colorwork project, so it's really clunky trying to figure out where the hell to put my hands and the yarn, but it looks awesome so far.

So not interested in posting pics though. Hmmm...here's some I took several days ago. Up there you see the scarflet made out of a variegated Malabrigo yarn that I can't remember the colorway right now. Also, fiddlehead mitts - I'm about to start the thumb gusset and am on the second contrast color. Lastly, you've got the cowl which is almost completed at this point. It's not as radioactively colored as it looks in the photo. I actually already have one project that was started and finished in 2010 - a pair of baby booties for a friend. I made Saartje's baby booties out of Miss Babs sock yarn in the Cleopatra colorway. They look awesome - still need some pesky (and teeny tiny) buttons though.

WIP Wednesday a smidgey early

I can never remember to make these posts on Wednesdays, so let's call it the Weekly WIP (although I am sure it will probably become biweekly then monthly then annually - you catch my drift).

I screwed up on the first sleeve of my February Lady Sweater. It's an easy fix, but I'm just not in the mood for it. I want loud colors and no pile of wool lying in my lap creating sweat. So, I've been reading Paper Towns (just finished it last night - don't like it as much as John Green's other books) and knitting on my Blooming Cotton Scarf cause it's got loud colors and it's not wool.



It's brighter in person. So yep. That's about it.

Also, I got some ink for my favorite fountain pen, and I think I might dig in and do some writing if I can settle my brain and body enough to do it.

The Green book led me to wanting some poetry in my life. So, I've been listening to the Writer's Almanac podcasts, and I picked up Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass and Billy Collins's The Art of Drowning - the name of that one really appeals to me. Makes me think of The Piano and The Awakening - two stories that have always captivated me. Also bought a book of Poe's poetry. Bill and I are planning on reading poems to eachother at night instead of watching lame TV too late too often.

I am feeling kind of crummy today and in no mood to do any public speaking which is what is on the menu for this afternoon. Would rather go home and crawl up in a ball. My head aches.

Blue blue electric blue

Well orange actually.

In honor of a recent spate of water-hating, I am changing the color of my blog to the soothing color of orange juice. Water has been grossing me out lately. I usually drink gallons of it per day. Instead, I have been drinking Kool Aid and OJ. I have a fondness for the two ends of the OJ spectrum but not much love for anything in between.

I dig super cold OJ made from concentrated slime and poured over ice after you shake the hell out of it. I used to just scoop the concentrated frozen stuff out of the container and eat it when I was a kid. That fills me with nausea just thinking about it right now.

And I also love love love fresh squeezed. I don't have a juicer though, and that junk beez expensive.

In the world of knitting, I have been doing lots. Finished my first-ever sweater, and it's actually really cute. Also made a few pairs of crazy cabled socks, a capelet, bunches of cute slippers for Christmas presents (which I forgot to take pictures of before giving away), an annoyingly more complicated than I thought it would be Valentine's gift. I also finished up some of the hibernating projects from the closet - finished the mermaid gloves and monster slippers. Still have a couple of lingering hibernators, but I am in no mood to mess with them at the mo.

Right now I am working on the Blooming Cotton Scarf in its fiery red incarnation. It's kind of like the Ballband dishcloth from Mason Dixon Knitting with the colorwork done all with slipped stitches. Of course, the back of the scarf is gonna look like crap but whatevs.

Also working on a February Lady Sweater like everyone else. Mine is in a semi-solid deep bluish colorway from Dream in Color. I haven't taken any pictures of either of them. Maybe that will be my project for next Wednesday's W.I.P.

Workin on some stuff

This is the current state of the snake scarf I am working on. I have 20 stripes, and I am working my way toward 33. I will then begin the head. I finished the clutch and liner I am going to felt. Totally not feeling like making the strap, but I also can't think of what I want to cast on next. What I need to do is finish a couple of unfinished and neglected projects that are stuffed in the closet but not feelin that either. And now I have two more projects to sew up and felt. ugh I hate the finishing steps.

Current projects take 1

Current progress on a purse kit from pick up sticks. I'm all about the kits lately for some reason. Anyway this will end up getting felted and having these other 2 colors used as a stripey inside.

Pleasantly Unpleasant?

The tiny voice in the back of my mind is reminding me that I didn't finish my dad's tie. It is vexing me somewhat although I did block it, so I did do SOMETHING with it. It's all nice and neatly pinned down and dry....I just need to line it and get it away from me. I'm sick of looking at it.

I am also totally sick of looking at the mermaid outfit I started for Amelia several months ago (June, I think maybe). And I haven't even looked at it in a long while. I stuffed it in the closet and haven't given it much thought, but I really want to be done with it. There's a loooooong way to go on it though :(

And it's not a fast-moving project with lots of different stuff to do to keep me interested. It's a LONG area of the same ol' shit over and over and over. But it's ever so slightly too complex to do in a social setting.

ANYWAY - I'm more excited about the fact that I worked on my dragon scarf today. It's fun to work on, because it's not mindless, changes some on almost every row, and it looks neat.

I may get sick of the red color eventually, but at least the pattern is interesting. It would be even more interesting visually if it were variegated but then it would probably look lame when I got done with it. I'm sure everyone but me is getting sick of seeing these incremental pictures, but I'm so amazed by the coolness of the pattern, I'm going to keep posting them.



On another note (see entry title), I forced myself to watch Day of the Woman (better known as I Spit on Your Grave) last night. I was left actually liking it. I don't know why. The acting for the first 20 minutes or so was absolutely appalling. After that, the shocking scenes apparently shocked some talent into all involved. My only complaint would be that the "second half" or revenge part of the movie was not violent or vindictive enough for me. And the interspersed sex / revenge parts were morally and ethically confusing, and I still don't know 100% what I think about it.

BUT - the lead character CHOSE all of her actions in the later parts of the movie, and that makes it less blurry morally for me. I also picked up on some things that I don't know if they were intentional or not that amused me...

In one part, she is pointing a gun at a scuzz and he says she asked for it (the typical yadda yadda about her clothes or whatever), and she puts the gun down and seems instantly sweet to him and asks wouldn't he like a hot bath...

The hot bath leads to one of the best scenes in the movie - one of the only scenes that felt like sweet justice. So, I think at the point of his "blaming the victim," she decided that shooting the guy was letting him off too easy.

OK - that's enough. I watched it.

My blood pressure is going up lately, I think. I need to chill.

Got a lot done kind of weekend

I accomplished tons this weekend knitwise. And I got my new phone, so I'm taking more pictures - yay! And my phone seems to take (somewhat) better pictures than my camera so yay again. I finished knitting the wallet and stashed it away to weave in the ends, sew up the seam, felt and sew in the zipper. All of that stuff won't take too long. I will probably get it ready to felt during the week and felt it this coming weekend. Also finished the knitting part on the wristband. Now I need to study the graphic I'm planning on putting on it. I think instead of double stitching, I will use embroidery floss and just wing it. I did the wristband on double points, so no seam to sew up - just a couple of ends to weave in.

I cast on two new projects...

One is a purse kit from Pick Up Sticks! - I am working on the blue version. The gold/green version in the pictures is even too retro for my tastes.

I also started on the dragon scarf from Morehouse Farm Merino - it is seriously badass looking already. I have already done three little dragon "spikes." I am making it in the red version (called "Huff" on the website). Here's a sample...



I am really thrilled with the results so far. When I first read the directions, I had some serious misgivings and some doubt as to whether I could pull it off, but it's really not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be - just a lot of counting and concentrating. It's not something I can multitask on. The multitask project will be the aforementioned purse which has long stretches of stockinette. I didn't take a picture, because it's just a rectangle of baby blue stockinette stitch right now - not very thrilling.

Oh yeah - I also put the face on my teddy bear:



The evil Mountain Dew "game fuel" that almost made me vomit and incited really weird dreams can be seen in the background there.

I wish I didn't have to work today, I am in a knitting groove, and that's all I want to do. I want to make more dragon spikes!!

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Mostly finished projects

I actually did something!! I have been working on a wallet - I'm about halfway done, also been working on a wristband for Jesse - bout halfway done with the plan wristband - still brainstorming about the picture I'm going to try to duplicate stitch onto it...

Anyway - Dad's tie is all pinned and blocked out downstairs to keep cats off of it, but I still have to cut out the liner and sew it on.

Finished the Condom Critter from Naughty Needles completely. The legs are the drawstring to a pouch inside the critter and there's a pocket on the front.
100% DONE =)





Also stuffed & sewed up the pieces of the teddy bear from Debbie Bliss Simply Baby.





I bought some black felt for the nose and eyes, but the black hardly shows up on the deep brown color, so all I have left to do is to buy a smidge of a tan-colored felt and slap those on there. Less than 5 minutes of work left on it. So, I'm calling it complete.

Y A Y for doing the finishing bits. I suck at it.

Now I just need to vacuum.

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Drop Stitch Scarf

Drop stitch scarf from a kit I got in a grab bag a few weeks back. I posted a pic of the wound yarn.

Currently working on a teddy bear pattern from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss and the condom critter pattern from Naughty Needles. Finished the body and lining and feet/drawstring, now I just need to stuff it and sew it up and add eyeballs. Batting was silly expensive at the store, so I might just use some polyfill I had in the closet.

I am in a cranky ass mood today for whatever reason, so ugh.

At work on Thursday, a student who appreciated my help gave me two free Braves tickets to be used at any game I choose. Pretty sweet.

Oh yeah - and I bought a business card holder for my new business cards from an Etsy shop. There's some really snazzy stuff on here, but, of course, I like mine the bestest.