I should not be allowed to go to Joann's. Ever.

I went back to JoAnn's tonight...the $1 sale was still going on...and I bought 40 yards of fabric. I should be good for the year now, right?

I'll try to post pics tomorrow.

I've had very little time to craft. But, I've finally made some progress on Starsky! It appears lunch breaks at work are good for more than surfing the internet! All the main pieces are sewn together and it looks great. Now all I have to do is finish the belt (56/65 in. completed thus far), knit the collar, and make belt loops. Piece of cake! :-P

By the way, the more I knit with Knitpicks Sierra, the more I want to dive headfirst into a swimming pool full of it. It's not the nicest yarn I've ever used, but it has grown on me big time over the course of this sweater.

I never met a fabric sale I didn't like...

Apologies in advance for the phone camera shots. Not only did my nice camera's battery die, but it also started to snow as soon as I went outside for some nice picture-taking light. But I perservered. Read on...

The gods were truly smiling upon me yesterday. I went with my mother for our once-or-twice-weekly trip to Joann Fabric yesterday, and they were having an un-advertised special on their clearance fabric. EVERYTHING was $1/yd. Needless to say, I went a little crazy.

3 yds: skirt for work? I love how this looks a little like tattoos.

6 yds: skirt / blazer set for work. It's blue and brown, in case you can't tell.

5 panels: skirt? dress? wall hanging? It's a nice bottomweight type fabric with a hint of stretch. The fact that it's in panels will be a challenge. Each panel consists of the flower that you see, on a gray background. Each flower is about two feet by three feet.

Almost 3 yds: summer shirt

3 yds: overlay for a formal black dress. Organza + beading = love.

I started blocking my Starsky, at long last. I'm just taking the two front pieces off of my highly technical bloacking board (*ahem*foam core board*ahem*), and pinning the back on. I'm hoping to have a FO for you guys soon!

Here's a sneak peak at one of the items in my swap package for raina.storms. I hope to send out tomorrow!

I have been somewhat remiss in posting recently, and for that I apologize. I'm trying to be a better blogger...

However, the reason why I haven't had any posts recently is twofold. First, I'm working on three swap packages that I want to keep semi-secret until my partners recieve their goodies. There's the January Jamboree IYP 5 Swap with the lovely raina.storms, a personal swap with Karin (!!), and a personal swap with Craftster user chloeiscrazy.

Chloeiscrazy sent me an awesome stenciled t-shirt and fabric headbands. I sent her package out aeons ago, and it still hasn't arrived. I am beginning to suspect that it disappeared somewhere between here and Canada. Thusly, I'm working on a replacement package for her. I can reveal that she's getting a purse and some Blythe dresses from me. Pictures soon, I hope!

The second reason why I've been a bad blogger is this cryptic image:

I am working on a Large Surprise. Only, I don't get to decide when I am giving it to the recipient. They do. But they don't know it. I am actually very nervous about giving this gift, and I'm sort of on the verge of not giving it at all. It is a large undertaking, and I will finish it regardless, and I know I will have a home for it if I do opt not to gift it. Confused yet? Pictures coming...well...whenever my recipient dictates that the time is right for me to gift this gift, if in fact I do gift it at all.

In other news, I have some terrific linkage for you today. As a former photography junkie, I am pleased as punch to point you in the direction of my cousin Elizabeth's photography gallery. Just more proof that arty runs in the family.

Oh, I did finally cut my hair..about three weeks ago now.

Before:

After:

I do sort of miss my long hair, exclusively for ponytail-related reasons, and I am unfortunately once again a slave to my blowdryer, but overall I like it a lot! Even the boy, who professes to have a preference for long hair, admitted that it's pretty cute. :-D

In closing, I just wanted to say how nice it is to have garnered a small following for my silly little blog. I find writing here very fulfilling, and I'm so glad to share it with you all. Ciao, bellas!

Hello, 2007...

My New Year's resolution: discipline. Basically, there are several areas of my life that I feel I could improve with a little willpower, self-control, and some general stick-to-it-iveness. I.e. reigning in spending, exercising more, eating better, finishing the things I start... And in that vein, my first project of 2007 is FINISHING STARSKY. I've started on the (never-ending) belt, and I'm hoping to block all the finished sweater pieces tonight.

I received a few Amazon.com gift certificates for Christmas, and I had a happy little crafty shopping spree. I ended up with a subscription to Craft, a subscription to Interweave Knits, Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life by Kathy Cano Murillo, and the 2007 Stuff on My Cat page-a-day calendar. Nothing chases away the Monday office blues like a cat covered in Post-Its.

See? I bet you feel better already.

I had picked up the first issue of Craft at Joann's a while back, and I'm absolutely hooked. The projects inside are just so *different* from what you'd get from an ordinary craft magazine. There's an excellent screenprinting tutorial in the first issue. I've had the equipment for it for a while now, but no decent instructions. I sense some awesome shirts in my future...

Speaking of shirt-y goodness, any suggestions on a good fabric paint to use for stenciling shirts? I've had some great luck with freezer paper stencils, but I am severly limited by crappy paint. Share the wisdom, if you've got it!

Btw, I am loving my new blog layout. It just looks so much...cleaner! One thing I'm having trouble with, though, is the header. I'd love to remove the text and put a picture up there, but I'm having a terrible time with it. Any Bloggers wanna help me out?