{Really, Very, Tired}

It has been a very tumultuous weekend for me with the loss of a friendship. This process has drained me emotionally down to my very core and I'm finding that it has even stifled my creative crafting juices. Apparently I just want to wallow in yuckiness right now, probably because I'm just so dang tired.

I do have some fun posts planned, but for tonight I must bid you Adieu.

Magazines and Booklets for Sale

Hi all! I met a new friend today and I'm so excited!! Dawn is so super nice and we've connected on many things, but most important of all: She's a knitter! I have a knitting REAL LIFE friend! Woo hoo!

We were going through a bunch of her old knitting magazines and things and she's asked me to find new homes for the ones she'll no longer be using. Here's the Ravelry Thread (need a login).

*$30 including shipping for all 9 magazines and 17 booklets.*

Magazines:

Vogue knitting: $5.50 each or $15 for all three including US shipping.
Winter '93 - '94
Winter '91 - 92
Spring/Summer '94


Other Magazines: $4.50 for one, $2 for each additional one including US shipping.
Fashion Knitting issue 84 August 1996
Fashion Knitting No. 85 October 1996 (x2)
Knitter's No. 55 Summer 1999
Knit 'n Style Issue 111 February 2001
Interweave Knits Summer 1998


**Booklets** : $2.00 for the first one, $1.00 for each additional.

Women's Knits (size 40-52) Volume 102
Women's Knits (size 40-52) Volume 103


Brunswick "Fashions For All Seasons" Volume 847 1984
Brunswick "Town & Country" Volume 875 1987Brunswick "Super Quick Vests" Vol 853
Red Heart Coats & Clark "The Big Thing in Sweaters" No. 313 1985
Beehive "Country Gentlemen" No. 459 1984
Leisure Arts "Quick to knit Lace Panel Vest" No. 476 1986][10][Leisure Arts "Dream Knits" No. 868
Lion Brand Yarns "Classic and Multi-Color Pullover & Vest" Mary Maxim "Starlette Fashions Book II"
Bernat Book No 512 1983
Bernat Book No 709 1990
Bernat Book No.1427 "Family Denims"
Berroco "Holiday" Brochure #188 1999
Berroco Style 704 1986

{Scrappy Scarf Finished}

I finally had enough scraps to make a scrappy scarf and in this process i've learned that i like crocheting scarves a lot better than knitting them because it's SO much faster. I guess this means I'll need more than one hook? lol . Here's my finished product, unblocked.

Hey - I got my hair cut today, too! It's sorta messy here, but I'm

sure I'll post another eventually.

I've received tons of compliments on this one so far! It was done super random and I left all the ties where i switched yarns for an extra deconstructed kind of detail. Even Mr Pie likes it!

mmmmmm warm

Ah HA!

I finally came across my inspiration for the long necklaces organizer here over at Chris, Erin and Jayce. Direct Link here: http://chrisanderinkeith.blogspot.com/2010/02/diy-long-necklaces-managed.html . I love her Blog, you should totally check it out. :)

Meanwhile, winter drags on here in Southwest Virginia and I'm hitting my stride finally at school. We had a fabulous weekend with my In-laws, who drove down and spent the weekend at the state park where we were married. Much fun was had by all.

Mr. Pie playing with his niece, who is wearing the

Monster Hat I dyed and knit for her!

I also have another FO to report, but need some sun to get a decent picture, so I'll put that up asap. :)

My Second Spray Paint Project

I'm a pretty lucky girl for many reasons, but the one reason I'm going to focus on for this post is all the beautiful hand-me-down jewelry I've received from my Mom and my Grandma. When Grandma passed there was a ton of jewelry to go around and I got a lot of very beautiful vintagey looking necklaces that I SO did not appreciate that many years ago, and they got put away in little velvety boxes and kept for sentimental reasons.

Well, recently my jewelry situation was driving me nuts because since I've been back in school and not at work at all I wear almost zero jewelry. I started going through all the little boxes to find things to give away and was just drooling over the gorgeousness that I had stashed away!! My new no tangles solution?


Yes, your eyes are certainly not deceiving you: that is a chop stick hung from the back of the closet door by some yarn. Classy right? But it kept them from knotting and it was free.

Well I fell across a beautiful idea on one of the many beautiful blogs I visit daily and decided I was on the hunt for a large old picture frame. Enter this beauty last week as my first Salvation army home decorating find:


It's big alright, about 16"x20" and the price tag said $3.50. We don't have half off days I don't think, or I would have gone in on that day. hehe It was dirty and really not my style, but it wasn't going to stay that way. I spray painted the frame with the same bronze spray paint as my previous lamp project and used spray adhesive I had around the house to adhere some burlap to the back of that cardboard masterpiece. Soon after giving some picture hanging hooks a quick light spray, I had this hanging on my wall!


Awesome, right?? The frame actualy has some cute details at the corners:


I'm seriously proud of this guy and I love how it came out. All for about ohhh... Three and a half bucks. I could really get used to this kind of stylish organization.

Hopefully next time you hear from me it'll be with some knitting updates, but I really don't have much going in that arena at all at the moment. Here's to hopin'!

Oy Yoy Yoy

What a week! I think I've survived the school week from Hell. lol Nothing difficult, just multiple days in a row of more than 14 hours a day at school, plus the one hour commute each way and it pooped me OUT. I got almost zero knitting done, except for a couple of lines on my Modern Log Blanket.

But as of this morning, I have completed a small project. It's especially exciting because it's my first spray painting project combined with my first Craigslist project!!

Here's my before:

A much needed standing lamp, even on a swing arm like I was hoping for, but as you might have guessed the bright brass colour does not work with my decor. Total cost from Craigslist: $20 (plus an hour of driving around after getting lost trying to find dude's house. lol) Totally worth it!

After:

Now it's the perfect lighting for the comfiest chair in the house! I used a Rust-Oleum spray paint in a bronzy colour and spray painted the whole thing. Then, I had every intention of recovering the lamp shade with some muslin overlapped with burlap then some brown ribbon trim but I managed to completely destroy the lamp shade while I was trying to rip off that pleated white fabric. I tore huge holes in that cheap plastic stuff. lol So this is a $15 black shade that I bought new and I love how it looks!

So that means the total cost of this light was $35. Still not too bad. :)

I have another neat crafty project coming up too! I'm excited to show you guys this one: my *second* spray paint project!

{A Stash Project}

In an effort to use more of what's in my stash I cast on a with some recycled yarn that I've had around for a while - a bulky tan and cream angora blend and the very bulky cream acrylic I used to make Mr. Pie's socks.


I just sorta started knitting in a moss stitch to see how it looked and I really liked it! So I kept going, not really knowing what I was knitting. The fabric it was making was VERY thick and bulky and I loved it!


As I was going, I decided that it would look great with my new horn buttons that my mom bought me for Christmas! So I ask myself... what's big and bulky and has buttons?

A cowl!

And believe it or not, this is the best picture I could get of it in the mirror ON me. lol

Yes, I'm wearing long underwear and no makeup.
It's Sunday morning.

So my stash-busting is well underway and I am thoroughly enjoying it. My Hey Teach! cardigan is still sitting around and since it's also made of stash yarn I should probably get going on it too, it just hasn't been inspiring me lately. I promise I won't start another big project though until that one is done. I so do not want to be that kind of kniter that has 10 UFO's floating around; I think it would drive me bonkers and stress me out. lol

Hope everyone is having a lovely Valentine's Day! Mr. Pie and I will be cooking up a fancy meal tonight and spending the evening together, which is the best day ever as far as I'm concerned.

{More New Yarn}

I've had a hankering lately for new yarn, but with my stash overflowing, I didn't want to spend the money. The hats I posted yesterday took care of some stash and I started another project today that will be of stash yarn too! So yesterday when I found this 60% off Coupon for one item at Michael's, I got really excited! Here's what I bought:


I got it for about $3.50! Fisherman's Wool! I have heard a lot about this yarn in the dying circles so maybe I'll try that, or maybe I'll leave it natural, I'm not sure. I sense some socks from this skein, I think.

{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. :)