Starsky, fin

At long last, I have completed every last bit of work on my Starsky. It is my new favorite sweater, as all newly finished sweaters tend to be.




I have nothing but praise for the pattern and the yarn. The pattern was written very clearly, and I don't think it really deserves an 'extraspicy' rating from Knitty. If you're thinking about doing a Starsky, I say go for it! I found it very straightforward and fun. I used the yarn called for in the pattern, Knitpicks Sierra, in colorway 'Cinnamon.' It is soft and warm, and I was able to join skeins by felting the ends together. Less ends to weave in is always good!

The only modification I made was to increase the length by about 2.5". That little extra made it come out just perfect for my taller-than-average frame.

As with all FO's, I am eagerly looking forward to my next knitting project. I have to finish a few swap packages first, but then I have my eye on an adorable cotton cardigan for a friend's baby.

That's the news for now...stay tuned for some swap packages coming soon!

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!

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?