WIPs
Birthday weekend!
I turned 26 on Friday and I had a super-fun day/date night with my Bear. We hung out in the down town, got some pizza and rented We’re the Millers (hilarious, by the way). Other than Friday, I basically knitted all weekend! Hooray!
Earlier last week I went a little crazy on the yarns and got me some pretty Debbie Bliss felted tweeds, ShiBui sock and some MadelineTosh Vintage. Mmmmmm….
Knitting some swatches (pattern submission central)
Working on a handsome hat for Bear since the last one got accidentally washed. I’ll post a pattern for this one once it’s done. Pretty simple and classy rib hat out of MadTosh Vintage.
Fun (if not a little late) news: I just had my second pattern published in Knitscene Summer 2014! They named it the “Krypton Hat” and it’s looking pretty great! I’ll have a follow up post in a bit in that one. Check it out on Ravelry In the meantime!
Temporary Failures Drive Success
As you may or may not know, I have been on one serious knit pattern submission kick. Most recently, I sent away my Dana Leigh Cardigan (DLC) for consideration. Unfortunately it was not one of the chosen ones for the collection up for jury but I won’t be letting that get me down. The plan is to work and re-work the pattern so it turns into something so perfectly fabulous it will have to be chosen somewhere! Great plan, right? I thought so, too.
Don’t worry, I know that my designs don’t suck just because they don’t fit into a collection for one reason or another, I’m not that silly. It’s a temporary failure that will lead to success down the road. As long as I learn from the feedback I get from publishers and collection curators, I can’t lose. In the meantime, I’ve got this gal telling me to knit, knit, knit!
Check back this week, I’ll be posting a couple of free hat patterns to get your creative juices flowing. Free patterns will include a simple ribbed beanie with the sleekest decreases ever and a cute knit hat with simple stranded hearts. Adorable!
I’ve got to go for now, this little lady needs me to crochet her a sunhat for the warming weather!
Gettin’ shit done!
I like to write things down. I like to make sketches, lists, stories, notes. I like to use pencils. Sometimes I don’t know what to write or draw and I could use a little push. For this dilemma, I present to you: motivational pencils!
When I get stuck I just look at what’s in my hand and I get shit done.
I got these bad boys the other day and brought them to my BFF Chelsea’s house for a great night of crafting fun!
Check out what she’s working on over at Needles Thread and Love!
Been a while…
Ok, here for you all to read is my obligatory “long time, no see” post before I really start getting back into this thing. It’s already March but that’s alright, I’m starting a new year! Tons of things are new this year so far and it ain’t no joke! For you, a list:
- New house (Alpaca Ranch!)
- New car (Saab Waagon)
- New (sort of) job
- New Boyfriend (YEAH!!!)
- Only two cats (down from four, lost two in the break up)
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about all of these changes, it’s almost overwhelming when I think about it all at once. Allow me to elaborate on the most relevant of points. My new house is a little itty bitty studio on a very large property that just so happens to be my local alpaca (sprinkled with llama and guanaco) ranch. It’s completely gorgeous on it’s own but it certainly doesn’t hurt seeing a few of my favorite camelid at every turn. This little treasure is about 15 minutes from town in any direction with is pretty cool and also not at times (like when I just need yogurt for my grapenuts) which brings me to my next piece of change: the car! I sold poor Betsy the Volvo and traded up (don’t tell her) to a Saab Wagon named Helga. She’s Scandinavian and she’s a beauty AND a beast, she hauls it up my 6 mile hill. She’s a delight and might I suggest to any of you who have not yet learned to drive a manual vehicle, get ye to a practice lot! Totally awesome and worth it.
Ok, we’re skipping the job thing cause I’m not sure about that one yet… I’ll keep you updated, don’t worry. Now for the cats, I’ve got boogers-for-brains Skadi and my baby girl Freyja. They were my favorite and I’m happy with the split (I got the cuter ones). Frey wants to go outside so I’ll have to work up the courage to trust she won’t get eaten by a mountain lion when I do let her outside. She’s a real panther herself so I really should just let her outside… Skadi on the other hand, will be staying with me for her entire life. She’s a little barnacle and I’m her whale. She won’t be moving out, going to college, having grown up experiences in the outside world; she just can’t handle the pressure. She’s a darling creature who needs special attention and I’m willing to give it to her.
New Boyfriend!! He is seriously so awesome, I can’t even handle it. He’s a smarty pants dreamboat with a great sense of humor and a cute butt. What more can a girl ask for? He’s also, coincidentally, a hat model. He’s mine but feel free to oogle at those dreamy handmade hats on his head, I’ll be updating with a pattern for the hat on the top left, it has really awesome decreases.
More to come, I’m really actually going to blog this year! So many crafts n things to talk about!
Works In Purgatory
When I start referring to projects as WIPs or works in progress it seems to take me twice as long as if I had just stuck to calling them “that green hat” or “this super awesome turquoise mermaid scarf.” I guess I’m just a sucker for conveniently compact titles. What can I say? So, here’s a sneaky preview of a few things I’m working on.
Alright, for this first one I know I’m a little late seeing as Gramma’s birthday was April 6th, but I’ve only even had the yarn for a week or so. Work with me here. The swatch knit up so nice, very pretty colors with a subtle variegation. I like it when the colors don’t change so sharply. I hope these don’t take me toooo long, they’re way over due. And this yarn is definitely a new favorite, so dreamy!
This beautiful red is destined to be a slip stitch (maybe cabled, it won’t make up its mind) hat for James’ auntie. Call it a super late hostess gift. We want to visit them again soon, the last visit was so much fun. Her house is beautiful and I want to be sure to make her something just as nice. She loves red, so there’s a start. I can’t wait to see how the color shades knit up.
This indisputably Irish shade of green is machine washable and will soon be a crochet hat for James’ mom. She works hard so she deserves something made with love 🙂
dinomeg 