yarntherapy

um, yikes.....

I knew I had a stash - I just didn't know I had a STASH. Like, stuff I forgot I even had. Stuff I bought when I first started knitting and didn't know what the hell I was doing. Lots of stuff I bought online (damn you, Elann and Webs and your rock-bottom prices!)

Yeah, I decided to tackle the scary craft closet and this is what exploded out (please note that this doesn't include all the fabric and other craft stuff!)

I know it's not as ginormous as some stashes out there, but this was really a surprise to me. Time to get my act together and destash some stuff on Ravelry!

best stuff ever

No craft content today but I just had to plug the best invention since circular needles:

Nic's Sticks by OPI.

They're these totally genius nail polish pens that go on evenly and non-runny and dry in 60 seconds. No joke - I did my nails and was knitting five minutes later.

I started with a pale color (Catch Ya Later!) and like the results so much that I gave a shimmery red a try (Date Night). Awesome. Minor complaints: the color selection isn't great - I usually favor a champagney kind of color and there isn't one here. There is a topcoat for added shine, but you need to be sure that your color is totally dry before you apply it. I did have a couple of chips but since the pen is so portable and easy, it's no biggie to touch up.

Try it. You'll like it.

my new mantra

Not really. It's a little negative for a mantra, don't you think? But considering the month I've had, when I saw this by Cross-stitch ninja on flickr, I knew I needed to make one for myself.

Yeah, remember when this was a knitting blog? And I wrote about knitting and stuff? And then I totally stopped writing? I've been knitting a bunch, it just hasn't been anything I felt like writing about. (and also, some of my current knitting is meant to be gifts for people who read this blog, so.....) I've been craving another creative outlet lately and I glommed on to the sewing and embroidery sites like you wouldn't believe - Subversive Cross-stitch, Sublime Stitching, Feeling Stitchy, Wee Wonderfuls ..... I also got the Alabama Stitch Book and I can't wait to try out the techniques in that book.

So anyway, if any of you are still out there reading (hi all!) you will probably be seeing new and different crafty stuff on this blog. Which is pretty ironic, actually, since the whole reason I leaned how to knit was so that I had a hobby that produced more useful results than yet another cross-stitch on the wall. I wanted to make scarves and sweaters and practical things ...... and now here I am and all I want to do is make another cross-stitch to put on the wall. Hmm.

In my rabid craft blog reading, I came across this cool new site that is going to be a great resource for folks buying used sewing machines - Krista is gathering first-person reviews by people about their machines and their experiences with various models. I'm fortunate enough to own a machine that is highly covetable these days - a Bernina 830 Record, which my grandparents gave me for my high school graduation present. If you want to read my review, and all the other great reviews, click on over to Zigzaggers!

gray sky thoughts

Hmmmm...

just a few random thoughts -

• Jillian's little strapless knit dress from Project Runway's finale episode is the cutest thing EVER. I predict a slew of knock-offs on Ravelry very soon. The gold buttons down the back give a great nod to its Aran-cardigan inspiration.

• Did Brett Favre die while saving kittens from a fire or something? Because really, people .....

• I am doing the Apartment Therapy cure. I am scared.

• Why do toaster ovens have such short electrical cords? Mine is literally two inches too short to reach the nearest outlet.

• I think I want a Roomba.

• I suck at fair isle. (more on that later.)

undecided

so strange - just hours before the primary and I am completely undecided. Also strange - being a Democrat in New York and having your vote actually matter for a change.

I had an interesting talk with my dad about this tonight, which just reminded me how different yet so much the same we are.

Gah. I'd better sleep on it. Maybe I'll post some knitting tomorrow.

Cherie Amour

Cherie Amour
Originally uploaded by laurelann

You know, I'm realizing that the reason I don't post as much as I should is that I love having lots of pictures in my posts and Typepad makes it really annoying to put up photos - it seems to take forever for them to upload and they don't rotate photos that need it, so I find myself just not wanting to deal with it.

(if I'm missing a Typepad trick or two, PLEASE let me know!)

At least I can use the flickr "blog this" function, although this only lets you have one picture in a post. Better than nothing, I guess!

So here is Cherie Amour so far. We had a rough start - the damn swatch took like a year for me to figure out and I had to play with needle size a bunch, and I'm still iffy on the fit. She needs a major, major blocking right now. I think I want to pick up and knit the sleeves from the top down, and I just don't feel like doing the math so we're taking a bit of a break while I tackle my first Fair Isle project. (woohoo - color work!)

I LOVE this yarn - Berocco Jasper - a super soft merino that comes in gorgeous colorways. I just could not resist this green/purple combo. The colors are really consistent and have tended to stripe instead of pool, which I mostly like but am a little afraid that horizontal stripes may not be the best look. We'll see.

The pattern is a little iffy - I think the sizing is really funky and not consistent with the swatch, and the chart problems have been well documented elsewhere. That said, I like the idea and I think when I've done the blocking I'll really like the end result.

hell has frozen...

.... and pigs are flying.

I found a sock pattern that I think I want to make.

Oh dear.

My christmas hat

  My christmas hat 
  Originally uploaded by laurelann

Hey, look - I actually made something!

This is my new hat, which coordinates beautifully with my new coat. Nearly 20 years in NYC and I finally clued in to the fact that if your legs are cold, get a LONG coat! So now I am toasty and warm. I seriously love this coat, it feels like I'm wearing a sleeping bag!

The hat - pattern is Yarn Harlot's Unoriginal Hat, yarn is the scrumptious Sheep Two from Sheep Shop Yarn Co. I think these are my new favorite yarns! I had my buddy Michael as my Secret Santa giftee at work, so I got him a couple of skeins of this yarn in turquoises, and I just had to get this one since it matched my coat. I also have some of their Sheep Three, which is a DK weight silk/wool blend and I think it is destined to be a Clapotis. I'm not usually a big fan of variegated yarns but between these yarns and the Berocco Jasper that I'm using for Cherie Amour, I'm becoming a convert.

The hat is a super quick and fun knit - I cranked it out over the Christmas weekend. Some people are finding it a tad long depending on their yarn - I eliminated two rows in the second repeat and it fits perfectly. And it's so WARM!

happy new year.....

.......finally!

I hate to say it, but I am so so so happy that the holidays are over. They were slightly traumatic for a variety of reasons and it took a while to recover from it all, but I'm finally feeling a little more like myself again!

The best part of my Christmas - I was too lame to add the button to my sidebar, but I did take the Handmade Pledge. Most of what I bought was from Etsy, craft fairs, or uncommongoods.com, which isn't technically within the rules, but is a very cool site that does carry lots of handmade and fair trade goods, and allows you to donate to various non-profits when you order. OK, dad did get the groovy wireless weather station from Brookstone, but I knew he would love and use it, so the spirit of gifting was intact there. He's getting a scarf soon, too :-)

Shopping from these amazing artists was so great because there was such a sense of personal connection with every transaction. The emails and notes and sweet little free gifts were such a change from the craziness of a normal holiday shopping season.

Shoutouts to a few of my favorite etsy sellers - Bread and Badger (cool etched glass), Tiddlywinks (sweet handmade stuffed animals), jdryerart (retro art prints), Paloma's Nest (gorgeous unglazed pottery and ornaments), and Bijoujuju (neato graphic pendants). I also picked up some calendars from a graphic artist I've been following for a while, JHill Design. Read her blog, Places I've Never Been. So very cool.

Knitting is happening. I've been really unhappy with my photos recently so I'm going to try to upgrade my setup (not my camera, I like it just fine. I just need to find a place with better light!) I'm through the hard stuff on Cherie Amour, I think, and I'm trying to line up my next few projects. I have some specific knitting goals for 2008, so we'll see how that goes!

new knitty!

Ooooh, pretty!

Lots of good stuff this issue, and a minimum of sock patterns. (no offense to all you crazy sock knitters, but I've mentioned before how little I am interested in knitting socks, so to me an abundance of sock patterns is a waste of valuable pattern space.)

Though I'm not interested in knitting socks, I do love sock yarn - the colors are always amazing and I love the springy texture. There are two patterns here that use sock yarns in other ways: Abotanicity, a sweater by Cassie Rovitti of Tubey fame, which features Trekking XXL in a cute pullover that sadly will probably not work on my body, and Jeanie, a "hanging cable" wrap that made me stop breathing when I saw it. It has cables and dropped stitches and all kinds of fun stuff. Someone on Ravelry called it "Clapotis, all grown up." I totally agree and I cannot wait to make it!

Remember that leftover full skein of Tilli Tomas Pure & Simple I had left over from my SKB? Yeah, that one. I was going to sell it for a little cash, but them I saw the pattern for Square Cake, which calls for exactly one skein of Tilli Tomas Disco Lights. So I'll be making that one for sure - either for myself or as a Christmas gift for my friend Carol, depending on when I get it done.

Still knitting handwarmers (the sale got postponed, so I have more time, yay) and still in a fight with Cherie Amour.