Stephanie's crafting obsession |
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Knitting, sewing, cross stitching, my life in general.
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Friday, January 31, 2003
Hurrah for personal days!! I took one today just because I've been stressed and I need it. The problem is, I have so many things I would like to get done, that I need about a week of personal days! Anyway, I'm not sure how much knitting I will get done since I have a lot of cleaning to do and a cross stitch to finish up. In the spirit of cleaning, organizing, and de-cluttering, I am listing some yarn on eBay that I will probably never get to in this lifetime. Here is the first round--sock yarn. I finished the orange salsa scarf--no pic, just imagine a long orange caterpillar. Ok, maybe I will post a pic later. I was inspired by my friend Lori and I think I am going to start the Peace Shawl. I have been wanting to do it forever (it's even one of my new years resolutions) and I figure now is as good a time as any! The yarn is a dreamy dark green cashmere that Lori picked up for me in NY. Peace. (0) comments Thursday, January 30, 2003
Lately I have been drooling over the sewn dpn cases that everyone has been making. Since I am design-challenged, I looked everywhere for a pattern but couldn't find anything. Tracy made a fabulous one for Wendy and she was kind enough to write a pattern. She rules!!! Here is the pattern. I think I will try to make one tomorrow. I got my new issue of IK last night. It rules!!!! I want to make just about everything in it. And notice that my smart and talented friend Karen has a pattern in there for a pashmina shrug! (0) comments Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Stephanie's Easy Thai Pasta Salad 1 16oz pkg organic spaghetti 1 cucumber, peeled and diced 1 pkg baked tofu (plain or thai style), diced 1 bottle peanut sauce (I used Whole Foods organic brand) vegetable oil or sesame oil to taste Chopped peanuts and bean sprouts (optional) Place cucumber and tofu into a large bowl. Boil pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Pour pasta in bowl and add as much of the peanut sauce and oil as you want. Toss well and refrigerate for at least an hour. Garnish with chopped peanuts and bean sprouts if desired. (0) comments (0) comments Wanna make some Fuzzy feet?? I have joined the virtual felt-a-long and you can see the page Kate made here. In case you haven't seen it, the pattern is here in knitty. We will begin on Feb. 4th. I think I have the yarn in my stash so I will have to dig it out this weekend. Fun! I love knit bloggers! (0) comments Tuesday, January 28, 2003
(0) comments No knitting to report. I am busy working on some cross stitch for some exchanges. I am thinking ahead to what to make my mom for Mother's day. I made her a purse last year and I know she won't want anything "wintery" in May. I am thinking golf club covers, fixation socks, or a cotton vest or short sleeved sweater. I ordered this pattern and this pattern from onefineyarn today. I'm leaning toward the lace vest because I have some light blue kolibri in my stash (my mom's favorite color). Stashes rule! (0) comments Monday, January 27, 2003
I don't really have any knitting to talk about. Yesterday I did a few rows on the orange salsa scarf and that's about it. I can't decide how long I want to make it or what I will wear it with (other than my black faux leather coat, which I wear about ance a year). Does anyone else think it's weird that they had a Canadian singing "God Bless America" at the Superbowl? (0) comments Sunday, January 26, 2003
You know what I did yesterday? I knit a dishcloth. I'm not sure why I am so drawn to them right now. I used to think they were ugly and useless. I remember my mom having a few and we used to laugh at them. But now I guess I am trying to get "back to basics". I am trying to simplify my life--get rid of clutter, save money, save the environment. So I will save money and the environment by using more hand knit dishcloths/washcloths and less sponges, paper towels, etc. I'm also starting to use organic cotton so that's great for the environment as well. In addition it's somehow very satisfying to make something so practical. Yes, I'm a hippy at heart. :) (although like DH said yesterday, hippies don't get migraines from all the stress at their biotechnology job LOL). (0) comments Saturday, January 25, 2003
Well, I finished a simple dishcloth and the RH headband. Now I am back to focusing on the January socks and cheesylove. Yes, yes, I did want to start another dishcloth last night but I was able to just say no. My friend Lucie in Canada sent me 15 balls of yarn. Acrylic. Each one a different color. I think I see a long stripey scarf in my future. (0) comments Friday, January 24, 2003
Heart Lace Washcloth Materials: 1 skein Sugar N Cream Cotton (worsted weight) US 6 needles Note: SKP is Slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over Cast on 43 stitsches. Work garter stitch for 4 rows. Row 1: K4, *YO, K2tog, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, SKP, YO, K1; repeat from * to last 3 sts, K3 Row 2: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3 Row 3: K5, *YO, K4tog, YO, K3; repeat from * to end, end last repeat with K5 Row 4: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3 Row 5: K4, *K1, K2tog, YO, K5, YO, SKP, K2; repeat from * to last 3 sts, K3 Row 6: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3 Row 7: K4, *K2tog, YO, K7, YO, SKP, K1; repeat from * last 3 sts, K3 Row 8: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3 Row 9: K3, K2tog, YO, K9, YO, *SL1, K2tog, PSSO, YO, K9, YO; repeat from *, end last repeat with SKP, K3 Row 10: K3, Purl to last 3 stitches, K3 Repeat these 10 rows 4 more times. Work garter stitch for 4 rows. Bind off. (0) comments Thursday, January 23, 2003
I got up early this morning to work out, but I think I'm going to be lazy and just knit for a bit before getting ready for work. Oh well, at least they both relieve stress. Last night while watching The Bachelorette I started a new plain dishcloth in sugar n cream. Mindless knitting for a mindless tv show! Heh. (0) comments Wednesday, January 22, 2003
I almost forgot to blog today! Work is stressing me out, but things are slightly better now. Last night I finished the heart lace dishcloth. I love it! The color is actually more of a real red than what shows in the picture. I also took a picture of the skiier hat, which I love! Oh, I started a headband in Red Heart to match the Seaman's scarf I made (color aran fleck). I'm thinking I might send the set to my friend Dr. Doreen, who just got her PhD in December. I keep changing my mind on what to send her. (0) comments Tuesday, January 21, 2003
(0) comments Let's see.....yesterday I worked on the January socks. They are knitting up quickly since they are short and in sport weight so I am ready to start the heel on both socks. I also started a new washcloth--heart lace in red cotton (for valentine's day, of course). It looks really nice. I've decided my favorite use for these cloths is in the bath--I took an oatmeal bath last night and Ellen's heart cloth was wonderful! I think like others, I will use them as washcloths until they get ratty/stiff and then use them in the kitchen. I also stopped at Michael's yesterday and picked up a few more balls of cotton since they were on sale (as if I'll ever make this many washcloths). (0) comments Monday, January 20, 2003
Last night I finished a chemocap in LB Jiffy (not too fond of this yarn). That makes 3 total and I think that will be it for a while. I just have so many other things that I want to do. (0) comments Sunday, January 19, 2003
Yay! I knit like a maniac this weekend and the skiier hat is completely done. I just washed it and I will post a pic after it's dry. I can't wait for my mom to receive it--it looks so cool. And of course, it will be very warm too! I'm excited because I mailed in my registration for the TKGA conference in Burbank (CA) in March. This will be my first knitting convention of any kind so it should be a blast. I'm taking 2 classes on Sunday--Knitting with Copper Wire and Continental Knitting (if there are still openings, that is). I'm going to drive up on Saturday and spend some time at the market and then later hang out with Karen and Song. How fabulous to have an all-knitting-all-the-time weekend!!! (0) comments Saturday, January 18, 2003
I'm starting to make a little bit of progress on the hat. Here is what it will look like when it's finished. I'm actually doing it in the same colorway since my mom's favorite color is blue. So far I'm up to where the legs end and the body begins, if that makes any sense. Yesterday I ordered a little bit of yarn from elann. Just a few balls of organic cotton and linen/cotton blends for washcloths and 2 balls of emu superwash print for socks. Have a good weekend! (0) comments Friday, January 17, 2003
No exciting knitting news today. Last night I worked on sleeve #1 of cheesylove and finished one of the body ruffles. I think most of this weekend's knitting time will be devoted to the skiier hat. My mom's ski trip is the weekend of Feb 8th. eek! (0) comments Thursday, January 16, 2003
Look at what I received in my knitting exchange. I like it. It's a little hard to see in the scan, but it has 3 hearts on the diagonal. It's so nice to have someone else knit something for me! I've been making quite a few dishcloths, but I haven't kept one for myself. Didn't do any knitting last night but I plan to do a lot tonight while watching must see tv. (0) comments Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Yesterday I got some goodies in the mail--The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville, a skein of koigu, and a skein of the new Opal crocodile (in red). Now, I just skimmed the book (ok, looked at the pictures) and I liked it, but I wasn't enamored with it like everyone else seems to be. I don't want to make one of every single pattern. And I tend to like garter stitch. Oh well, to each his/her own. Maybe I will find it more interesting after I actually read it. The koigu is in fun colors and I'm going to use it to make a pair of baby booties. It took all of my willpower not to cast on the Opal socks immediately LOL. This morning was working on sleeve #1 of Cheesylove and I'm to the point where I finished the increasing. So, I decided I wanted to cast on the body. Holy crap--cast on 504 stitches--twice!! LOL I misread the pattern and somehow thought the 504 stitches was for the ruffle for the entire body. I almost fainted when I found out I had to do it again. Ruffles are cute but sheesh! :) (0) comments Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Last night I stopped at JoAnn Fabrics because they are having a big yarn sale. While I was there, DH ran into the grocery store to pick up a few things. He came in to get me and I was hunched over in the yarn section digging around--this JoAnns is really disorganized and not very well stocked. He said, "it's weird how happy yarn makes you". Now, he wasn't trying to be mean, it was just an observation. But it's true. To someone who isn't a knitter, it's very odd how excited we can get over this small ball of fiber. Anyhoo, I just picked up a few balls of cotton for dishcloths, a skein of RH for the baby sweater I'm working on, and a circular needle with my 40% off coupon. I am continuing to alternate the skiier hat and cheesylove. I have other things I should be working on, but these are my favorites at the moment. (0) comments Monday, January 13, 2003
Yesterday I made a little bit of progress on the skiier hat and it's looking very cool. I love the way fair isle turns out--I have to stop every couple rows to admire how cute it is! LOL Did you see Cheesylove? It's adorable--that Kate is just too darn talented. ;) I just happened to have some Patons Classic wool in grey in my stash so I just had to start it last night! It's great--I love the ruffles and this is wonderful yarn (I started on one sleeve). I ordered some of the kitten mohair in like a cranberry/wine color. Wheeeeeeeeee! (0) comments Sunday, January 12, 2003
I started on the skiier hat yesterday and I finished the 2 1/2 inch cotton lining. I switched to the wool and the larger needles so now I'm ready to start on the fair isle chart. I also cast on sock #2 of the January socks so I can have both going at the same time. Off to watch football & knit! (0) comments Saturday, January 11, 2003
Didn't do much knitting yesterday. Went to work, came home & fell asleep, went to dinner when DH came home, did a little shopping, came home and watched Iron Chef. What a totally exciting life I lead LOL. We did go to Walmart which was interesting because I haven't been there in months. Would you believe that their knitting needle/crochet hook section is much better stocked than my local Michael's? Anyway, I picked up a crochet hook, a ball of sugar n cream cotton in orange sherbet, and a little pattern book of baby booties. They had some of Lion Brand's fun fur and this was the first time I had seen it. Seems very similar to the salsa I am using right now so I didn't feel any need to buy any. I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I am going to start another project this weekend. The 16 inch addi turbos I ordered finally arrived so I'm going to start on the fair isle hat kit from Bea Ellis Knitwear. My mom's annual ski trip is coming up on Feb 8th and the idea is to finish it so she can wear it then (the design on the hat is of a skiier). (0) comments Friday, January 10, 2003
TGIF! Let's just say it's been a loooong week at work. Why yes, I did start another new project last night. Thanks for asking. I'm making the socks from the month of January in the sock calendar. I'm using some ivory "Norwegian Sport" superwash that I got from elann. I think I may even try to do both socks at the same time (on 2 sets of dpns) so I don't have to worry about SSS. My MIL's birthday is coming up in the beginning of February. I'm trying to decide if I want to knit/crochet something for her, and if so what (that won't take a ton of time). I don't feel like making socks and she already has some knit slippers. I made her a scarf for Christmas, and since she lives in L.A. she doesn't really need a hat or mittens. She wouldn't wear a shawl and probably wouldn't use a felted tote/purse. I'm thinking maybe I will make her a crocheted wire/bead necklace or do the washcloths & nice soap thing. If anyone has any other brilliant ideas, please let me know! Here's wishing you a weekend full of knitting. (0) comments Thursday, January 09, 2003
I finished the Valentine heart washcloth. You can see my pic here and the pattern here. Now to get to bath and body works and pick up some nifty soaps. I will wrap a soap in the washcloth and send it to my mom for valentine's day. The best part--a no calorie gift! I started another chemo cap last night, this time in Lion Brand Jiffy. They have a "San Diego" colorway so of course I just had to buy it. It's white and orange and pink. (0) comments Wednesday, January 08, 2003
Last night I made another crocheted wire & bead bracelet--this one for my friend Jackie. I used some red beads I had lying around (red is her favorite color). I showed her my necklace yesterday and she loved it. She couldn't believe that I hadn't bought it. I also started a new washcloth with some SugarBabies cotton in light purple. It's a pattern from about.com and has a heart design on it--perfect to wrap up with a nice soap and give away for valentine's day. (0) comments Tuesday, January 07, 2003
Check it out--my wip/ufo list is magically down to 8! Last night I finished my exchange item, ripped the peace fleece sock, and ripped the cabled washcloth. DH looked over at me in disbelief--"are you ripping that out??" I'm glad that one thing I've learned to accept is that it's OK to rip something out and put the yarn away until you decide what will be the perfect project for it. I was very inspired by Jenanne's blog and her crocheted jewelry yesterday. She was nice enough to post instructions so of course I had to run to Michael's last night to get supplies to try it for myself. Here's my first attempt, which is pretty cute (although the colors don't show up well there). I also made a more delicate necklace using some smaller blue glass beads. I was thinking about giving it away, but then it just happened to perfectly match what I'm wearing today so yup, I have it on! (0) comments Monday, January 06, 2003
Hmmm...I thought I was going to reduce my number of wips/ufos for the new year? I just started #11 last night--a cabled dishcloth in Sugar 'n Cream cotton. Oh well, the exchange item is almost done and I'm still planning to rip a project or 2. I bought a pair of stretchy black gloves at the 99 cent store and yesterday I was playing around with adding some eyelash yarn to the edges. It looks pretty darn cute, but you have figure out a way to make the cast off edge very stretchy. I am thinking about breaking my no-yarn-buying resolution (suprise, suprise) by purchasing some of that organic cotton from elann. My justification is that it's good for the enviroment! Good one! Heh. (0) comments Sunday, January 05, 2003
Well, I already cast on my Sirdar snowflake pullover. This yarn is a bit of a pain to work with--it's fuzzy so the stitches are hard to see and it's quite inelastic. But the resulting fabric is so light and soft that I think it's worth it. Today is a day of football (we won't even talk about the demise of the Packers, it's too traumatizing) so I plan to knit knit knit. I have so many fun projects going that I don't even know what to work on! (0) comments Saturday, January 04, 2003
Fiber overload! I was having so much fun working away on my suprise exchange item and the baby aran sweater when two boxes arrived from here. I love this place! Most of their prices are about half what my LYS charges. I got 2 skeins of salsa in orange and 2 skeins in ice blue for scarves. I cast on an orange one for me immediately. I got one skein of Noro silk garden in a great purpley colorway to make the hat on Kate's site. Last but not least, 10 skeins of Snowflake chunky in pale yellow. I will make a sweater for me and possibly look like bigbird, but I will love it anyway and it will be soooo soft and cuddly!! I am definitely back in the knitting mood! Yay! (0) comments Friday, January 03, 2003
Finally, some FO pics (although they aren't terribly exciting). Here is the seaman's scarf from Red heart, here are the plain dishcloths, here are the pocketbook slippers in Encore, and here is my very favorite hat made from Snowflake magic chunky. (0) comments Last night I worked on something for a knit exchange. I suppose I should keep it a secret in case the recipient reads this blog! I was feeling guilty yesterday because I already broke my new years resolution by ordering some yarn (great deal!) from elann. Then in the mail I received a $50 check (Christmas money) from my grandmother and that's exactly how much I spent. So I feel better now--I didn't break my resolution after all. Tee hee. (0) comments Thursday, January 02, 2003
Well, I finished the pocketbook slippers (yay) so I will wash them and put them with my "gift stash". I started feeling like working on something with cables so I finally dug out the orange aran cardigan. I am in love with it so I think I should really continue on. The only probelm is that it's fairly complicated (for me anyway) so I can only work on it when I'm awake and can concentrate. Needless to say, I did about 4 rows and then put it down. Oh well. My cousin is having a baby this year and I've been debating--should I make a sweater, a blanket, booties.....Then I paged through Knitting for Baby and just had to immediately cast on that adorable little aran sweater. I am using the RH leftover from the seaman's scarf (color aran fleck). Too cute. I am making approximately the 6 month size. (0) comments Wednesday, January 01, 2003
Happy New Year! I am pretty happy with myself for tackling my wips & ufos. Today I plan to finish the pocketbook slippers and I think I will frog the peace fleece socks. I still can't decide if I want to frog the orange aran cardigan or go ahead with it. I'm thinking about starting something new today, but I'm not sure what. Maybe something lace or maybe the January socks from the sock calendar. I can't decide if I think New Year's resolutions are a good idea or totally stupid. I guess there's nothing wrong with taking stock of your life and making plans for improvement, right? Since one of my bigger resolutions is to stop spending, that affects my yarn shopping. That's ok cuz my stash is huge and I still have an order on the way from red bird knits. Otherwise it's just the usual things: continue my new exercise plan, eat better, etc. (0) comments |
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