Thursday, May 31, 2012

Finished Objects

So, I've finished a few things, and promised pictures.  Here's one thing I finished:


How do you like that?  Not the Princess, the dress. :) It turned out really well, and just barely soon enough.  She's almost too big for it now, which is sad.  She may be able to wear it through the summer, and then we'll have to put it away.  Here's something else I made:


This banana pudding is a recipe from Bakerella, and it's easy.  I mean, seriously easy.  Like, in 20 minutes, you're done making it.  You wait 20 minutes or so for it to set up in the fridge, and you dig in.  Make it right before dinner, and by the time you're ready for dessert, it's ready for you.  I've made this 3 times by request from Hubby.  How do you like that?

Here's my latest adventure:


I have ventured into the world of sewing!  I made the Sash with Beaded Fringe from Amy Butler.  The trickiest part was the beaded fringe (go figure).  I couldn't get my zipper foot to work with it (the beads kept getting caught) so I just hand-stitched the ends.  It wasn't too bad really.  Easy pattern and a fast sew.  Here is one more shot for you:

I really like the way it turned out.  And unless I point out the problems with it, you'd never know.  So, I'm not going to.  I'm going to take a lesson from Deborah at Whipstitch, and just say "thank you" if someone complements me on it.  Oh, and one more picture, because I'm a slacker with pictures, and I have to add in this shot of Little Man:


Thursday, May 24, 2012

Giving Up Sleep

The week before last, I had a terrible problem sleeping.  Apparently, I can give up sleep (I averaged about 4 hours for 3 nights) but it really takes its toll.  Last week, I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

This week is somewhat better, although my nights have been later than I'd like.  However, things have been accomplished.  Not always as much as I would like (I'd really like to finish everything, but that's just not possible), but I did get a few things done.  I do have pictures, but for now, here's a list:

The Bella Dress is completed, and Princess is adorable in it.  It's a good thing I finished it now; she's almost too big for it!

The vest from a friend's mom is done.  I still don't know what pattern she used, so I had to make it up.  She also knit the fronts longer than the back, so I had to undo those and redo the armscyes (in case you are wondering, that's the proper name for armholes).  See?  I'm edu-macated. :)

Kidsilk Haze Creation scarf for my friend.  This is a complete surprise for her, and when she picks up her mom's vest, I'm gifting it to her.  By the way, if you haven't made one of these scarves, you should.  Although the price of the yarn is a bit high in comparison to others, they make terrific one skein fast knitting projects.  Start thinking quick and easy Christmas gifts now. :)

That's all for tonight - I'm still working out some issues with the blog, and other things.  Once a few more details are settled, I'll have great news for you.

Friday, May 11, 2012

I *HEART* Crochet

I am loving crochet these days.  I am lining the Bella Dress tomorrow night; I had to call in reinforcements.  My mother is coming over tomorrow to help sew it up.  I should probably block the dress first though.  I guess I'll be doing that in the morning.

I've been making sketches of some pattern ideas, and I think next week I can get started working on the samples.  They should be pretty little things.  The joy of crochet is that it is fairly quick, if you know what you're doing.  I have a drawing, which should make the crochet a little faster.  I've crocheted things before without a sketch, just off the top of my head, but it takes a lot more concentration and focus that I have recently.

This weekend will be completing a vest for a friend's mom.  It shouldn't take that long, but again, takes concentration.  Here's a picture of the pattern:

It's Ann Norling's pattern #27, in case you were wondering.  She wrote it for multiple stitch counts, so you can make each view based on the type of yarn you're using.  If you use a worsted weight, fingering, etc., all you have to know is the number of stitches per inch.  If you know your gauge (there's a word we hear often enough as knitters), you don't have to do anything but follow the directions for that gauge.  I think it's a cool way of writing patterns; it makes substituting yarn far easier than doing all the calculations yourself.  These days, I'm all about ease too.  

Hopefully, the dress will be done on Friday, and Sunday when Princess wears it (yes, I made my daughter a dress for Mother's Day - it's a mother's prerogative), I'll be sure to take lots of pictures.  

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Have fun stormin' the castle!

Think it'll work?  It'll take a miracle.


I have 7 weeks.  Seven weeks and I'm done with my master's degree.  Once that is finished, I will definitely have more free time and less stress.  Hopefully, I will also have more finished projects, more pictures, and time to update things the way I want them.  In the meantime, here's a quick rundown:


1. Bella Dress


It's done, with the exception of lining it.  I have the lining all cut out; I just have to sew it up and stitch it into the dress.  I'm going to try and get that done either this week or next, so the following Sunday, Princess can wear it to church.  I even had enough leftover yarn to make a cutey-patuty headband with a flower.  And a matching button.  


2. Cloudy Day




This hat is about halfway done.  I have trouble picking it up, because it takes so much concentration, and I just don't have enough brain power to go around.


3. Kiama




I know, I know.  I'm stressed, I'm ridiculously busy, and yet I start ANOTHER project.  I needed something simple though, and this one fits the bill.  It's definitely an easy knit right now, and that's what I need.


4. Crochet Slippers




I have the flowers, the slippers, the clip for my hair...just not all together.  The ends need to be woven in on the flowers, and they need to be attached to the slippers and clip.  This weekend should afford the time to get this done, I hope.


As for the other promised news, I PROMISE I'm not trying to string you along.  Once I can get this blog sorted out and it's looking all nice and wonderful, I can write it all out for you.  I know, it's like the promised land for the Israelites - so close and yet so far, and delays keep happening.  This weekend, I'm taking an extra day off work, and even with school work, I should be able to do a few things around the blog and make it nice and pretty.  I may have to wait until next week, when I get my computer back.  It got knocked off the chair (yes, I know - it shouldn't have been there to begin with) and the screen cracked.  It had to be sent for repair, and fortunately I was smart enough to get the extended warranty so it's covered. That being the case, it just has to get back all nice and fixed, and then I'll have all the right tools for the job.  As it is, I'm making do with another computer.  In any event, I hope to have big news next week, but I'd love to give you a preview before then.  We'll see how it goes.  It's going to be a lot of work, but once it's done, it will be worth it.