{Tons of Updates and FOs}

Hello Folks! I've had a very busy week with it being my first full week of school, yet I've still managed to fit in a bunch of knitting here and there. Small projects only though because they don't require me to think as much. hehe

I started with a few odd skeins in black, white, and two different grays, plus the desire for a new toque. I started with this one here: Really simple stockinette stitch, just with a purl row every time you change colours. It's way fun and I really like it!


Then, knowing I had a ton left over, I went buck wild and did another one:


And the dang skeins from my stash would NOT quit! So I did a head band for ear coverage. This is the first project I've done double thick and it's so warm. I just did the pattern for the head band and then did one purle row, then kept going in the gray you see underneath until I had doubled the width. It turned very easily and I just crocheted with the black to attach the two ends together. Fits great!


I've also had my first foray with Craigslist, and I must say it's only whet my appetite. I bought a standing lamp, which is something I've wanted for a long time for my comfy chair corner. You know the one I just put the stack-o-books- end table with? It's so gotta get a spray paint job, but Mr. Pie says I should wait until it's not 30 degrees F outside anymore, so I'm bummed I'm going to have to live with it being bright brass coloured for a while.


When you guys spray paint lamps, do you also spray the part that the bulb screws in to, or do you leave that bright white? And don't you think it also needs a shade makeover?

Oh, and just so I don't leave you all hanging, I DID find a use for that vase I made last weekend:


It's been nice having a small piece of spring in the house while we're waiting for the next snow storm on Sunday.

{First Week of School}

Is the title enough of an explanation? hehe I'll post some small fo's here soon!

Sarah

{The Rest of The Sweater}

I started out yesterday showing you how I cut off the arm of a Goodwill sweater and covered a glass vase that I wasn't too fond of just by gluing down the edges with my hot glue gun.

The remainder of the sweater went right in to the washing machine and I tried my hand at felting for the first time! When it came out it was a lovely thick fabric, but I hadn't anticipated that it would shrink a lot more length wise than width wise. "No matter," I told myself, and proceeded anyway. I cut from armpit to armpit of the sweater, front and back, only detouring to make the cut outs for the handles. I seamed up the bottom just using a whip stitch, and I had a bag! It was terribly inefficient though because it was so darn wide and not very deep. lol It didn't hold anything, basically! So back to the drawing board. I cut out a piece of burlap for a base for my new bag and Ta-Da!


I added a couple of cute embelishments by crocheting some flowers out of the scrumptious yarn that I won on LizzKnits blog, as well as doing a whip stitch all the way around the cut edges. I am in LOVE with crafting with that yarn!

Isn't the variation in the yarn, beautiful? And I adore how the cool greens and warm greens play off of one another. Paired with the burlap? Too much cute! I don't know if bags like this are super duper my style or anything, but it's super practical - as evidenced by the yarn that now has a home!

I think my dining room drapes might need some burlap added to the bottom of them, but the idea of trying to hem it by hand is kind of intimidating. lol

{Snow, Snow and More Snow}

Edit: On this note, What do you think about my new seasonally-appropriate background? hehe


We had a ton of snow... Again. This time with Mr. Pie not at work until this afternoon, we decided to make a snow man in the front yard! He has button eyes, a carrot nose and is wearing a hat that I knit! hehe Too much fun!

Yesterday I was trapped inside all day too and was feeling remarkably un-knitty. Does that happen to anyone? I just didn't feel like knitting right at the moment. So I went in search of a craft I could do where I had all the materials already (since I couldn't drive anywhere even if I wanted to. lol)

I came up with this: a sweater from my frog pile to cut up, a vase that needed covering, and a glue gun.


and ended up with this:


Without anything to put in it just yet or a place in mind for it, it's hard to know if I like it yet. I do like the vase better than I did, anyway.

Tomorrow I'll show you what I did with the rest of the sweater! Muwahahaha

{An FO To Report}

Yay! I'm done my first fingerless gloves! They are knit with black Elann Incense, which has a little wool and a little silk to give a bit of a sheen to the fiber. They're nice and warm and cozy, but not so warm that I can't wear them in the house. In other words: perfect!

Susie's Reading Mitts

They've even been broken in! I spilled tomato sauce on them while I was in the kitchen this afternoon. lol

I do have one complaint though, and that's with the holes that appear along the thumb increases when you do a M1 increase by picking up the bar between the two stitches. Jenny, if you're out there, I totally lost those links that you gave me to fix this problem! Help! :)

{Ribbon Yarn}

Smiley's Yarns is offering this really pretty ribbon yarn for CHEAP. 66 Yards of Bulky nylon yarn for a buck. Yes, $1. And I think I might like to try to make something out of it.



What do you guys think? Is knitting with Ribbon weird? What kinds of patterns do you do with Nylon ribbon? I think I like Color #13.

{A Quicky On The Side}

I tend to be a very monogamous knitter I think because I don't like a lot of unfinished projects laying around. It's finished results that push me forward and are encouraging to me to knit more, ya know? So with my Hey Teach cardigan looking good but getting monotanous lately, I decided to cast on for these fingerless gloves. Again. This time with some beautiful stash yarn called Elann Incense that has some wool, bamboo and silk in it:

This is glove #1 almost done. I'm super excited about fast these are knitting up and I love this yarn! It's super soft and warm but not too warm, and the stitch definition is just gorgeous. Oh, and this is the first black yarn I've knit with! I definitely could have used a table lamp beside me. The second is cast on and I have it done up to the cuff.

On another note, don't think I haven't noticed that my blogosphere has been all a-twitter and generally being sappy whilst decorating for Valentine's Day. It's not that I'm a total scrooge about the Holiday... I promise. I've just never been that in to either. Maybe it has to do with the gift my first boyfriend gave to me on my first Valentine's Day - a computer programming manual for C++. Yeah, romantic right? I was 15.

But I think the Universe is trying to let me know that it's time to forgive and forget. This is what I found last night:

Clarification: This is a potato! LOL I found it and I ate it!


It's not exactly a Virgin Mary or anything, but it's still pretty cool, right? hehe Hope everyone is having fun getting ready for the V-Day. :)