Finally, some knitting photos!

One of my sisters purchased this yarn for me around Christmastime and looking at the skein, it looked like all of the colors were very muted and dusty (look at the lower pictures, you can see how dusty they look). Once I started knitting with it, I was pleasantly surprised at how vibrant the colors are! The yarn is Patons' Soy Wool Stripes in the Natural Plum colorway. It's squishy and bright, but a little bit itchy. Wool usually doesn't make me itch, so I wonder if it's the soy content. It has been fantastic to knit with though. I've begun making it into a bag that was requested by the aforementioned sister, but I'm beginning to think it would be better served as a baby sweater. Probably not though, since it does have some itch-factor. I was going to try to match up the stripes, but I may give up and just let it be. The pattern is Flutter, from "25 More Bags to Knit," by Emma King.

Sheep Love

I love knitting so so much.
Really.
Three of my four sisters and I are brainstorming on a way to start a sheep farm even though we're spread across three states. We're going to start by individually learning how to spin and dye wool and then someone's got to learn something about animal husbandry. They all vote that I do it. I'm all for it. I would love to be a farmer, but it's going to take us a few years to set up a business plan and get things rolling. Right now it's still a dream... but we all really want to do it.
When I saw THIS today, I was gleeful.
Sheep at the White House?
Yes, please.

Craft Renaissance

As I was wandering around a craft store earlier this week perusing fabric, I had many many flashbacks to childhood. My mother is a pretty darn good seamstress (she will never admit this, so I'll sing her praises). She used to take us fabric and pattern shopping and then made all of our Sunday dresses and special occasion clothes. She seems convinced that we didn't like our homemade clothes, but I recall adoring those dresses. I loved looking through the pattern books and picking out something that I absolutely had to have. Then we would walk around looking at fabric and this is how I learned to judge the quality of fabric by touch. I began by grabbing whatever was prettiest and then my mother would touch it, check it's fiber content and price and teach me how to find the best quality for the best value. I also have good memories of sitting on the floor while my mom was sewing, sorting through her big can of buttons and practicing hand sewing with scraps of fabric and a HUGE needle (so it wouldn't get lost in the carpet). She spent hours in her little sewing closet whipping up dresses, dress-up and play-clothes, and even our swimsuits! My most favorite swimsuit of all time was made by her. Here are some photos of it:

These don't do it complete justice, probably because it was worn constantly and was fading in these pics. It was gold with a rose-pink floral and silvery-green leaves and vines. I recall exactly how it felt between my fingers, the sound it made if you rubbed it against itself and even the smell of the fabric. That's how much I loved this suit. I wore it until all the elastic gave out and my mom made me get rid of it. Sigh, I kinda want it back.

Some of my absolute best memories of childhood have to do with my mother's love of textiles and crafts. She's quite talented. She used to tole-paint, embroider, and numerous other things. She made our quilts, curtains, and tote bags, puppets, and various other things. She gave it up for awhile in the last few years, but she's going back to it too. She's teaching herself how to crochet and knit and is re-embracing her love of quilting. I've always had a fair amount of interest in textiles and crafts, but frequently avoided them because of the cheesiness that has gone hand in hand with these things for so long. I try to avoid cheesiness, to varying results but now that there is a craft renaissance going on, I'm all about it. Crafts are modern and cool again. Hooray!

New Vanities

So... I got a camera. And as we all know, I like taking pictures of myself. Because I'm vain. I'm aware. No need to shout. So... I thought I'd share the love with you. The self-love. The love of all that is me. My other love is doing cool edits to pictures of myself. Because I am my favorite subject. Yup. It's true. The first few here I took in my car when I arrived a little bit too early to a training yesterday. Oh yes, before I forget, one of my brothers-in-law is a professional photographer and he recommended that I get my camera from B&H Photo. They are based in New York and they have great service and good fair prices. I got a ridiculously good deal on my camera, the shipping was fast and I got an extended warranty for a good price. I recommend them! I'm going to start taking pictures of my knitting, my nephews and new baby niece, and my sewing when I start sewing this weekend! I bought patterns and fabric this week... but I've never actually made myself an entire garment before! I'm the queen of small edits and alterations, but I have very very basic sewing skills. I'll track my progress and let you know how it goes!

Because I said I would....

Here are some photos from a recently finished project. I knitted a pacifier clip for my sister as she's about to have baby #3! This was one of the easiest projects I've ever done. I got the pattern from Susan B. Anderson, it's free on her website, which I've linked to on my sidebar under knitting links. The photos were taken with my camera phone and some of the backdrop is my leg and some is a random pillow case, 'cuz that's how I roll.

Rainbow-colored love

When I learned how to knit, I only had one pair of knitting needles. In one size. That's all I needed for my class. I've used these needles to work on the dragon. When I got the pattern for the baby blanket, I bought one set of circular needles and brought my collection up to the grand total of two pairs. For those of you who don't knit, different projects require different sized needles and some patterns call for more than one size. So, as I've recently acquired several fantastic knitting books and have gotten really excited about projects I want to do, I needed to expand my collection. Then I found a website called "Knit Picks." They have some BEAUTIFUL needles and all the various reviews I read online said that they are really great. So I purchased a set - it comes with 9 pairs of needles. And they came today. They really are gorgeous. Much much prettier than any of the pictures. I did a google image search to show you what they look like as I'm still as yet digi-cam free. Here are some of the random photos from the web:

Hands and Feet

I'm knitting a baby blanket... and the poor little dragon has fallen to the wayside. Literally... his little tail is poking out from under my bed. The body is done and even stuffed, he just needs his legs and wings. How sad. The blanket is halfway done though. I think that I'm probably going to knit the same way I read, several books at a time. I currently have 4 books next to my bed. Oh well. I'll finish when I finish.

I can stand on my foot... but still can't drive or wear a regular shoe. I went to the doctor yesterday and he was concerned because any pressure on the top of my foot causes really intense pain. I can stand flat footed and have regained most of my range of movement (walking is still an issue). He says that the x-ray may have missed something and that if things don't improve with physical therapy, I have to get an MRI. Great, just when I thought I was in the clear.

Other than that... I should have some new news for you after the 14th, but I won't mention anything here just yet... just know that it could be really good or kinda disappointing. Cryptic enough for you?

Happy New Year

Follow my lead and don't set any year-long resolutions!

I don't believe in them! I set short-term seasonal goals, they're more manageable and empowering. I'm knitting and limping my way into 2008. Both my knitting and my foot are improving day by day. This will be an excellent year because I'll be 28 this year and 28 is my lucky number.

Have a Lucky New Year!

Not so grouchy...

I'm nearly finished with my first real live knitting project. It's a toy dragon and when I'm done it will hopefully look something like this, except light yellow. The pattern is from Bernat and my friend, Nicole, gave it to me for Christmas. I've finished the body and now I'm working on the legs. I should be done by this weekend. I'll be sure to get pictures when I'm done. On another note, I've added a bunch of new links to my sidebar. They're all knitting links. I'm hooked.

My Most Favorite Thing?

My sister told me that ever since they put their Christmas tree up, my nephew, Boodji, is totally obsessed. If he is home, the tree lights MUST be on. He comes in the room, plugs the lights in, takes off his shoes and puts them under the tree - lining them up perfectly with his other shoes he's stashed under there, and then lays on the couch with his arms behind his head and watches the tree. I love it.

I'm currently in the process of knitting Santa hats for Boodji and Cheeks and I'll post some pictures as soon as I'm done. I've already finished one, I just need to make the pom pom and put it on the end. The boys can hardly wait to wear them.

In other news, I cut myself some bangs last night.

Knitters R Cool Knitters Rule I Heart Knitting

Okay, knitting is GREAT. I really like it. I have one class left and then I will have learned all the basics. My mom asked me what I want for Christmas and I told her more bamboo knitting needles and beautiful yarn.

So, down to business: Ann-Marie, knitting is fantastic; Jon, yes I will teach you knit when we're married, but only if you put out; and Kat, dear Kat, I will start knitting you a man right away.

Things are going alright around here. I miss my friends. A LOT. Work is good, love-life is non-existent except for my top secret long distance love affair with Jonathan Harmon, hair is so-so, skin is Gorgeous if I do say so myself.

In need of a manicure, pedicure, haircut, windfall, man, car wash, and a man. Oh? Did I mention I need want a man?

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving because I really like my extended family. Personally, I don't really like Thanksgiving food. Never have. I really don't like mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, or even turkey. But I am all about pie. Especially pumpkin. If it was up to me, we'd serve sushi, especially delicious eel and lots of pie.

Speaking of family, I'm going back to writing on my other blog (in addition to this one). Mostly because my dear friend Julie taught me an important lesson recently, that just because you've forgiven someone doesn't mean you've healed from the hurts. The other blog is very therapeutic for me. I won't post any links to it from this site, so if you're interested in reading the depths of my soul, drop me a line and I'll send you the link.

It's Official.

I start my class for beginning knitters on Thursday. I'll let you know how it goes.

It Gets Worse...

Tomorrow after work, Big Mama and I are registering for a knitting class at a local yarn store. This place is serious. They sell fair trade yarns, silk, organic cotton yarns, huge looms for rug making, you name it. It's a far cry from your run of the mill craft store full of polyester and acrylic. As embarrassing as it is to admit it, I'm really excited. The instructors at this place are certified through The Knitting Guild Association (can you believe there really is such a thing?). Why does this even matter? I had a hard time focusing at work today because I wanted to be knitting. Or at least perusing the yarn store and daydreaming about handmade sweaters (did I mention it's still in the 90's here?). What am I becoming? Aaahhh!

Whatever. I like it.

Adventures in domestication

Last night I went to a craft store with Big Mama and we left with bags full of yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and how-to books on knitting, crochet, and embroidery. This may not seem outrageous to you... but we grew up being dragged into craft stores by our mother the sewing-fiend and have both had aversions to craft stores for years. We kept teasing each other about turning into our mother and cracking up and saying things like, "Whatever, we make this cool." We're both very interested in textiles. And we're not the only ones. Meme majored in fashion design after BYU phased out the textiles department and both Mojo and Big Mama just bought sewing machines. And I know Reb has knitting needles. Whether or not she uses them is another matter. It's fascinating. And it IS cool. I learned some basic crochet several years ago but never got beyond making simple scarves. Today I knit a hat. I'm really proud of myself. I really like this stuff. We even tossed around the idea today of opening up a shop once we get good enough at it. That would be cool. I'm all for spending my whole day with a ball of yarn or a sewing machine.