[ mood meter -- cheery ]
hello, my lovelies, please excuse my recent absence! i have been busy moving and unpacking, which hasn't left a whole lot of time for knitting and blogging :-) i'm -still- unpacking (not my favorite chore in the world) but i will have some knitting news and pix for you real soon. promise!
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
look at jordi 2 :-)
giiiirrrrrrrrllll, i'm on a roll with these bags! i made another one tonight with the top half of the skirt that i used for jordi 1. it's slouchier than i'd like it to be (probably cuz i didn't use...what's it called?...interfacing). it's a bit bigger than i want too. but if i had cut the sides to make it narrower, the pockets would be gone and i love pockets. granted, these pockets are probably not very functional on the bag, but they're still cool. i wish this skirt had back pockets. but never fear. the khaki skirt that's next to go under the needle has back pockets. i'll have to decide how to handle those. at any rate i think it'd be best to make a purse like jordi 2 out of the skirt or pants of a "skinny minnie." i had more junk in my trunk when this skirt fit :-)
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
this is the square bottomed lined bag, otherwise known as the jordi bag. found the tutorial/pattern and decided i HAD to make this as my first sewing machine project. turned out okay. not bad for someone who hasn't so much as touched a sewing machine in about 16 years. you can see that i've already put my stuff in it so it's ready to go to work with me tomorrow. i used a denim patchwork skirt that was too big, and the lining material i got at wal-mart for like $2/yard. i'm gonna go back sometime soon and check the remnants bin to see what other goodies they have in there.
Friday, August 13, 2004
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MZUNDERCOVER!
[ mood meter -- HAPPY ]
that's right, kids, mzundercover is 29 today. i love birthdays, anybody's birthday, but mine especially. i'm blessed and grateful to mark another year and i pray that i, my family, friends and loved ones continue to be safe, prosperous, happy and healthy. amen.
now. some of you may be wondering what JWJ gave me as a present. well wonder no more! i was good and i didn't snoop all around the house while he was gone on business this week :-) once he gave it to me i found out that it was pretty much right under my nose the whole time...in the hall closet! shame on me for not knowing, but i promised i wouldn't look so i had to keep my word. hell, your word is all ya got! okay okay i won't keep you in suspense any longer. look at my new toy:
man oh man. next week i'm off to the fabric dept at wal-mart. i already have a couple of too-big skirts (one denim, one khaki) that i've been wanting to turn into nice tote bags. then there's that needle holder in the stitch n bitch book i wanna make. who knows what's next?
i'm reminded of my great-auntie who's no longer with us. she sewed and crocheted. i actually taught myself to crochet because by the time i figured out i wanted to learn, her eyesight was bad and she couldn't teach me. so now i'm gonna learn to sew in honor of her. take it easy, auntie, love you!
that's right, kids, mzundercover is 29 today. i love birthdays, anybody's birthday, but mine especially. i'm blessed and grateful to mark another year and i pray that i, my family, friends and loved ones continue to be safe, prosperous, happy and healthy. amen.
now. some of you may be wondering what JWJ gave me as a present. well wonder no more! i was good and i didn't snoop all around the house while he was gone on business this week :-) once he gave it to me i found out that it was pretty much right under my nose the whole time...in the hall closet! shame on me for not knowing, but i promised i wouldn't look so i had to keep my word. hell, your word is all ya got! okay okay i won't keep you in suspense any longer. look at my new toy:
man oh man. next week i'm off to the fabric dept at wal-mart. i already have a couple of too-big skirts (one denim, one khaki) that i've been wanting to turn into nice tote bags. then there's that needle holder in the stitch n bitch book i wanna make. who knows what's next?
i'm reminded of my great-auntie who's no longer with us. she sewed and crocheted. i actually taught myself to crochet because by the time i figured out i wanted to learn, her eyesight was bad and she couldn't teach me. so now i'm gonna learn to sew in honor of her. take it easy, auntie, love you!
Monday, August 09, 2004
long time no pix
i -have- been knitting, i swear i have. here's pix to prove it!
here's a shot of maya's hat so far. this is to match maya's mittens. i'm planning for this to be one of those long stocking caps, the kind that are kinda shaped like a cone. i will put a nice floofy pompom on the end of it.
check out the progress i'm making on my sox! this is my first time using real, pure-dee sock yarn. i'm using regia ringel. it's self-patterning, which i think is very neat. too bad i didn't think up the idea of self-patterning sock yarn. i'd be a millionairess ;-) anyhoo, i'm using this online class to make these sox. so far so good! can't wait to wear 'em!
Friday, August 06, 2004
yarn dream
[ mood meter -- TGIF ]
so JWJ woke me up at some crazy time this morning.
"baby, what's wrong? you okay?"
"yeah, what are you talking about?"
he starts laughing. "you were whimpering and twitching in your sleep." he proceeds to imitate me.
i start laughing too because i remember the dream i was having.
to give you a bit of background, we planted some vegetables in the garden. spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes and corn. last week we discovered that every single ear of corn was *poof* gone. luckily, we had picked and eaten one a few days before this disturbing discovery. at first we thought it was animals, but he's convinced that it was a person. there was not a single ear, or husk or anything left. the vandal didn't touch anything else, just the corn, which was very good and sweet. damn the thief!
anyway, i dreamed that for some reason, my 53-gallon bin of yarn was outside near the garden. one night, i was leaning out of the kitchen window and saw a silhouette of a man pawing through my stash. so i yelled at him to get out of there. he ran off, but came back later, and i yelled at him again, this time threatening to "blow his brains out" if i catch him in my yard again. JWJ and i cracked up at this crazy dream and promptly went back to sleep.
so JWJ woke me up at some crazy time this morning.
"baby, what's wrong? you okay?"
"yeah, what are you talking about?"
he starts laughing. "you were whimpering and twitching in your sleep." he proceeds to imitate me.
i start laughing too because i remember the dream i was having.
to give you a bit of background, we planted some vegetables in the garden. spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes and corn. last week we discovered that every single ear of corn was *poof* gone. luckily, we had picked and eaten one a few days before this disturbing discovery. at first we thought it was animals, but he's convinced that it was a person. there was not a single ear, or husk or anything left. the vandal didn't touch anything else, just the corn, which was very good and sweet. damn the thief!
anyway, i dreamed that for some reason, my 53-gallon bin of yarn was outside near the garden. one night, i was leaning out of the kitchen window and saw a silhouette of a man pawing through my stash. so i yelled at him to get out of there. he ran off, but came back later, and i yelled at him again, this time threatening to "blow his brains out" if i catch him in my yard again. JWJ and i cracked up at this crazy dream and promptly went back to sleep.
spare a ball of sock yarn, ma'am?
please, if you can help me out, that would be SO cool. i'll pay shipping and/or send you a ball of something neat from my stash! [note to self: this is also what you get for getting stuff from the clearance bins -- who knew that i couldn't make a complete pair of sox with only one ball of yarn?! oh well, live & learn.]
specifically, what i'm looking for is:
1 ball of regia jacquard [color 5294 -- this has white, gray, tan, pink, light blue and yellow.]
1 ball of lane cervinia forever jacquard [color 20 -- this has red, black, gray and white. this would make nice pair of sox for an OSU Buckeyes fan!]
thanks much!
birthday countdown: 7 days
JWJ and i were talking and he says, "did i tell you i got your birthday gift?"
"yeah. what is it?"
"i told you i'm not telling."
now at this point i'm thinking to myself, "then why'd you bring it up?" but instead i asked...
"give me one clue."
he thinks for a second and says, "it was damn expensive."
oh yeah, that narrows it down.
"was it on my amazon wish list?
"i'm not saying anything else."
"is it in the house somewhere?"
he says nothing.
"well, i'll look for it next week while you're gone."
"i'm gonna lock in it my car and take the keys."
oh....well....alrighty then.
guess i'll be waiting until next friday!
specifically, what i'm looking for is:
thanks much!
birthday countdown: 7 days
JWJ and i were talking and he says, "did i tell you i got your birthday gift?"
"yeah. what is it?"
"i told you i'm not telling."
now at this point i'm thinking to myself, "then why'd you bring it up?" but instead i asked...
"give me one clue."
he thinks for a second and says, "it was damn expensive."
oh yeah, that narrows it down.
"was it on my amazon wish list?
"i'm not saying anything else."
"is it in the house somewhere?"
he says nothing.
"well, i'll look for it next week while you're gone."
"i'm gonna lock in it my car and take the keys."
oh....well....alrighty then.
guess i'll be waiting until next friday!
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
necessary evil of working with yarn
[ mood meter -- hungry ]
your comments, please!
yo. i've mentioned this before. yesterday. i hate swatching. i'm doing it though and i'm trying to like it, but it's hard. i really want to get my sox started! i know. i'm SO impatient.
i looked up "swatching" in google and came up with this list of tips that's helping me through this crucial step.
but now i have questions so i hope y'all will weigh in with your experiences:
what do you do with your swatch when you've finished it? (do you wash and dry it as you would the finished garment, and then calculate your gauge? or do you figure out your gauge, then rip it out and start knitting the "real thing"?)
do you buy an extra ball/hank/skein of yarn so you have enough for swatching?
do you make a single swatch using different needles so that you can compare just one fabric as opposed to 2 or more? the basic ribbed sock class i'm following suggests swatching for 2-3" with the size needles recommended for your yarn (in this case i'm using dpns so i'm knitting every row to get st st). then i'm supposed to do something called a "poke test." if my fabric fails i'm to purl a row then knit another 2-3" with bigger or smaller needles and continue in this manner until my fabric "passes" the poke test (should i grade on a curve? haha)
read more about the joys of swatching!
your comments, please!
yo. i've mentioned this before. yesterday. i hate swatching. i'm doing it though and i'm trying to like it, but it's hard. i really want to get my sox started! i know. i'm SO impatient.
i looked up "swatching" in google and came up with this list of tips that's helping me through this crucial step.
but now i have questions so i hope y'all will weigh in with your experiences:
read more about the joys of swatching!
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
like ice cube said...
[ mood meter -- wound up ]
[ what i'm listenin' to -- amel larrieux "bravebird" ]
today was a good day. not sure why, exactly. i was operating on only about 3 hours' sleep. work was slow. but i had a dance lesson this evening that i was looking forward to all day. that was so much fun!
9 days until my birthday!
i made dinner reservations at the melting pot for next saturday night, even though my 29th birthday is next friday (yes, friday the 13th). the lady i made the reservations with asked if we were celebrating anything special and i told her we're celebrating my birthday. she's like, "well you shouldn't be making your own dinner reservation!" then she said to tell my boyfriend that if he wants to plan anything special as a surprise to give the restaurant a call. so i called him to let him know and he says, "well i already got your present."
[ what i'm listenin' to -- amel larrieux "bravebird" ]
today was a good day. not sure why, exactly. i was operating on only about 3 hours' sleep. work was slow. but i had a dance lesson this evening that i was looking forward to all day. that was so much fun!
9 days until my birthday!
i made dinner reservations at the melting pot for next saturday night, even though my 29th birthday is next friday (yes, friday the 13th). the lady i made the reservations with asked if we were celebrating anything special and i told her we're celebrating my birthday. she's like, "well you shouldn't be making your own dinner reservation!" then she said to tell my boyfriend that if he wants to plan anything special as a surprise to give the restaurant a call. so i called him to let him know and he says, "well i already got your present."
"what is it?"
"i'm not telling you."
"c'mon, give me a clue!"
"no."
"please?"
"no."
sigh. "okayfine."
maybe i'll "find" it next week when he's out of town for work :-) i'm not nosy, just curious. that's my story and i'm stickin' with it!
on the needles
i discovered this online class for basic ribbed socks and i'm trying it out. i'm swatching now. i'm using regia sock yarn and size 2 needles. i don't care for swatching (my usual method is to cast on and wing it) but there's a formula to follow and to do it correctly, you need to know your gauge. so i'm swatching away. i wonder if i'll have to go up in needle size. usually i end up going 1 or 2 sizes bigger. we'll see how it goes.
the sorting hat says...
Sunday, August 01, 2004
new favorite yarn store
[ mood meter -- tired]
[ what i'm listenin' to -- jimmy reid "india"]
i just got hip to a new-to-me yarn store yesterday. it's called the yarn shop and it's in columbus, ohio. actually i went there once before but it was years ago and i was in a hurry so i didn't spend more than about1.5 minutes in there. anyway, one of my best friends and i went there yesterday and had a -great- time. we are both fairly new to knitting (been doing it less than a year) and needed help finding appropriate yarn for patterns. the ladies there were very friendly and helpful. they had so many different yarns, books, patterns, even knitted/crocheted items for sale! we were like kids in a candy store! turns out that i didn't even buy yarn for a sweater i want to make; i raided the binsin the clearance section instead :-) i got about 5 balls of regia sock yarn (can i make a pair of socks from one ball of this stuff?) and about 6 balls of some lovely soft pink yarn called solero. got this for $2/ball. now you see why i LOVE clearance bins! i think i'll use this to make some pretty pink socks for my nieces. and maybe a pair for me!
[ what i'm listenin' to -- jimmy reid "india"]
i just got hip to a new-to-me yarn store yesterday. it's called the yarn shop and it's in columbus, ohio. actually i went there once before but it was years ago and i was in a hurry so i didn't spend more than about1.5 minutes in there. anyway, one of my best friends and i went there yesterday and had a -great- time. we are both fairly new to knitting (been doing it less than a year) and needed help finding appropriate yarn for patterns. the ladies there were very friendly and helpful. they had so many different yarns, books, patterns, even knitted/crocheted items for sale! we were like kids in a candy store! turns out that i didn't even buy yarn for a sweater i want to make; i raided the binsin the clearance section instead :-) i got about 5 balls of regia sock yarn (can i make a pair of socks from one ball of this stuff?) and about 6 balls of some lovely soft pink yarn called solero. got this for $2/ball. now you see why i LOVE clearance bins! i think i'll use this to make some pretty pink socks for my nieces. and maybe a pair for me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)