picture happy, apparently

This is the Waterlily top from Interweave Knits Spring 2006. Mods: I took a few inches off the bottom, and used a row of purling before the cast off to reduce rolling. I'm still not completely happy with the hem, so I think I might rip it out and re-do it.

Other than that, though, I love this tank! This is probably one of my favorite knitted pieces I've ever made. It used 3 skeins of pricey Colinette Giotto, in colorway Rembrandt. It was from a failed attempt at crochet over a year ago, so I was very pleased to finally be able to use it.

Here's the center front eyelet detail. There are eyelets at the center front and neckline, center back, and both underarms. I love the look they give the sweater: feminine, but not fussy. Overall, this pattern gets a big thumbs up.


Here you can see the damage from a recent trip to a newly discovered yarn store in Centre Hall: the Knitter's Underground. This may be the coolest, quirkiest knitting shop I've ever been to. If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit. Turns out that it's owned by the mother of an art student I had the hots for in my drawing class sophomore year. Small world!

I made it out with 5 skeins of Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted in Platinum, one skein of Noro Silkul (color 109, center), and one skein labeled 'Royal Cotton multicolor' (right) that I can't seem to find on the internet. Total cost? $17.75. I love sales! As you can see, the Royal Cotton is already being used for a One Skein Wonder, from Glampyre.

This is a mistake rib scarf I started recently. I'm using two skeins of Noro Kureyon in color #40. I'm already realizing that I"m going to need a lot more to get it as long as I want. For now, the nice weather here has put this on the backburner.




These three pictures are my booty from the 'I Heart My Craft' swap on Craftster. My partner totally rocks! I got a large knitting tote, accessory pouches, and some beautiful stitch markers. Thanks, dharma_rebel!

That's all for now...

Ballet T-Shirt

Teva Durham's Ballet T-shirt. A very quick knit, using yarn recycled from a thrifted Express sweater.

Here's the stack of sweaters/yarn-to-be that I got at the last Trash to Treasure. I purposely felted three of them, to make purses, and the rest are being unraveled and repurposed. The red & black yarn is what's left over from the Ballet T-shirt. The purple is a cotton/acrylic blend that I'm going to make a tank top out of. Total cost? About $10 for the lot.

And finally, a FO from last summer that I never posted. This is a felted Lopi bag, and the pattern (I think) was from Knit.net. I got the yarn and buttons from my mom's stash. I love this purse!

I have a very exciting FO and some yarn porn coming up later this evening. Stay tuned!

Craft swap etc.

I finished a 'Ballet T-Shirt' from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop over Spring break, but I've been to busy to take a picture yet. It's very pretty...red (which I hardly ever wear), and made from recycled yarn.

In other news, I went to New York City's fabric district over spring break. I have found my sewing mecca! The prices were outrageous on some things, and just looking at the yards and yards of beaded and ornate fabrics made me wish I wasn't still a broke college student. Well, sooner or later, I'll have a big occasion to get really dressed up ;)...and I know exactly where I'm going to get the materials. I <3 NY! I made it out of there with one 3 yard piece of oriental print fabric, for about $10. Not too shabby...

I've been posting a bit recently about the 'I Heart My Craft Swap' over on Craftster.org. Now that my partner Rachel has recieved her gifts, I can post some pics! (Courtesy of her, because I forgot to take pictures before I sent it out. D'oh!)

Here's a knitting bag that incorporates one of Craftster's logos that she likes. The outside is denim, the inside is red and white teeny striped cotton, and the applique is white felt. The inside has long, skinny pockets for knitting needles. It was a relatively easy project, until the very end...when my machine decided that it would not sew through a gazillion layers of fabric and I had to do it all by hand. Fun fun!

This was my brilliant idea for this swap: Rachel makes sock monkeys, so I decided to try to make one, as a portrait of her. Sort of like...a crafting mascot!

Here's a picture of them together, for comparison. I think I did a pretty ok job, seeing as how I was working off of, like, two photos. And it was my first sock monkey ever! Mucho fun. The monkey's shirt, btw, says 'Rachel's sweatshop'...a reference to her craft room! :)

I also included a citrus tea towel for her to use in a knitting needle roll, some wine charms, and one of my trademark bottlecap necklaces. She was very pleased with her package, and I'm so relieved! I always suffer from a bit of craft-worthiness stress during swaps, so I'm glad she liked everything.

Now I need to focus on the craft show coming up in early April. Bottlecaps, bottlecaps, and more bottlecaps...!

more graphic design, less craft

The Nittany Knitters website is up! For the most part, anyway. I have three pages to finish, and a few kinks to work out. I will be completely finishing it tomorrow afternoon. It's simple, but I think it turned out pretty darn cute. I'm very proud of the knit stitches border on the left...I've finally learned how to make repeating designs in Photoshop.

Speaking of Photoshop...now that the logo I created has been shown to the appropriate people (i.e. the Movin' On core), I can post it here:

This logo will be on T-shirts, all kinds of publicity materials, and god only knows what else for Penn State's 12-hour farewell concert. Actual musicians from actual bands that people have actually heard of will each be getting a shirt with my logo on it. I am SO proud!

Now my next project is designing T-shirts for the 2006 ARHS Elections Commission....This should be fun. :)

Right now, craft-wise, I've unraveled two complete sweaters that I bought at T2T, I'm working on three sweaters for myself (I know :-P), and some really awesome stuff for my upcoming swap on Craftster. I'm really intimidated by my swap partner's talent, because I've seen some of the stuff she's sent out in past swaps. Therefore, I am giving the 'I heart my craft' swap 110% percent of my creative energy, and I am very pleased with how everything is coming out. Can't wait to post pics!

A craft endeavor that I forgot to post about, because I forgot to take pictures of it, is a scrapbook that I made for the boy for Valentine's Day. Now, usually, I think that sort of thing is a little silly to give a boyfriend. But this one appreciates my crafty side (I know, he is so a keeper!), so I decided to take a chance and do it. Well. Not only was it the most fun thing I've done in a long time, but he did like it! Now I wish I hadn't forgotten to get pictures of it for this blog. Maybe if he's reading this, though, he'll take some and send them to me...*hinthint* :-D

Wednesday night / Thursday morning

I know I should be working on the knitting website. (And I am.) Plus, now I have a logo to work on, ASAP. But I was issued a challenge today, and I couldn't help myself.

They're for a friend who's working on a fundraiser in one of her classes. She gave me the concepts and I went to town. They're kind of Penn State inside jokes (but how inside can they be with 40,000 students?), and I'll explain them if anyone wants me to.

I really wish I had gotten some formal training in graphic design...I enjoy it so much, and I feel like I could be good at it if I wasn't flying by the seat of my pants.

In other news, the second PSU Trash to Treasure sale was on today, and I got 14 sweaters to unravel. 14!! And how much did I pay? $12, and that's including the 8 or so other shirts and a coat that I got as well. Sweet. I'll post some pictures of the massive pile of yarn-to-be on my bedroom floor sometime soon.

I'm also working on some stuff for a swap over on Craftster, which I'm dying to post about, but I"ll refrain until after I send out.

I just watched the Project Runway reunion (which was funny, but a little tame), and then Project Jay. #1. Jay McCarrol is easily the funniest and most genuine person on television right now. #2. Heidi Klum can shove it up her Victoria's Secret ass, because that dress was AMAZING.

That's all :)

Oh, my god, I'm on the internet!

Check out pictures of my other dancer, Michelle, on the THON website gallery, sporting the THON gear I made for her!

Cape #2.


And here's the silly headband I made to go along with it.

filling you in on the last month or so...

I've finally been inspired to get my act together and take some pictures... Perhaps the following provided a little inspiration?

They were a Valentine's Day surprise from the boy. It's been a long time since anyone sent me flowers...and it completely made my day!

First, let's start out with recent events: THON. Anyone who knows Penn State is familiar with our 48 hour dance marathon to raise money to fight pediatric cancer. Two of my good friends were dancing this year, and I put together care packages for them.


Inside were lots of candy and goodies, with a blue theme (their team was Bada Bing Bada Blue). For each of them, I made a cape to make them easily identifiable on the floor. They had their name and dancer number on the back, and were made of blue sparkly fabric and white glitter felt. Here's Abbey modeling hers.


Here we are together, and she's sporting the THON eye mask I created. What dancing superhero would be complete without one? I didn't honestly expect her to wear it, but she did. :)


By the way, we raised $4,214,748.18 this year. GO STATE! BEAT CANCER!

In other news, I've been extremely delinquent in updating you all on projects. Without further ado, here is my Ribby Cardi (sans zipper):


A cabled hat, based on one from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation:


The hat (based on a design in a book), mitten (designed by yours truly), and scarf (simple 3X3 rib) set I made out of most of the recycled yarn I have left. Still one ball to go, though...


And last but not least, my 'panta' from a Craftster.org pattern. I used a small ball of Manos Del Uruguay left over from some socks that my mom knit a while ago. It is sumptuous and soft, covers up bad hair days, and I want to wear it constantly.


Excuse the over stylized image...I'm a little Photoshop-happy tonight. :-D

One more thing...Penn State now has an official knitting club, the Nittany Knitters. And guess who volunteered to be the webmaster? :-D Here's a link; there's nothing up yet, but I plan on having the basic site design done by the end of this week.

Ciao!

Manolo strikes again!

This is sort of indirectly crafty. Forgive me for straying.

I've been reading Manolo's shoe blog for a short while and it never ceases to make me laugh. Today's entry was no exception, as he ripped into the contestants on my favorite show, Project Runway.

I have to say that I agree with him on every single count. Btw, if you're not watching this show, you seriously don't know what you're missing.

New FO

Instead of working on all the half-finished stuff that I have lying around, I obviously had to start something brand new on Sunday afternoon. I finished it Monday evening, and I'm really happy with it. I realize that it's a mostly ornamental accessory, but I am in love with it nonetheless.

Please excuse the bizarre pose...I figure it's better to be ridiculous intentionally than unintentionally. :)

Pattern : $6
Buttons: 3 @ $2 each
Yarn: 100% wool from a $4 thrifted XXL J. Crew sweater. I still have a ton left over!
TOTAL COST: $16
Not bad, considering Urban Outfitters would probably charge upwards of $50 for something like this...

Now I need to find something else to do with all the unraveled wool I have left. I was extremely proud of myself for mastering 'un-knitting' an entire sweater. The yarn is a bit fuzzy, but I think it adds charm. You just can't beat the mountains of yarn that came out of that sweater for that price.

There's another Trash to Treasure (Penn State's student thrift store, and where I got the original sweater) coming up in 2 weeks, and I can't wait. I'm hoping to stock up on some more sweaters to mutilate. Mu hahahaha....

all the news that's fit to print

Back from my one month hiatus (too much time spent relaxing over break...not enough time posting), with a new address, and some new crafty stuff to share!

I've been a busy girl. For now, though, all I have pictures of is the dress that I made last semester. Here's me and my favorite graduate...doesn't he look handsome? :)

Unfortunately, because it was freezing at graduation, I didn't get any full body shots without a coat on. But, the dress was very well recieved, so I consider it a resounding success.

Other things I'll be showing you soon: my almost-completed Ribby Cardi, my barely-started cabled/ribbed hoodie, and an Unbiased that I may frog later in favor of today's pattern of the day.

I'll try to post some pictures later this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow at the latest. Hooray for three day weekends!

Knitting Pattern of the Day: Sunburst Sling Bag...which is on its way to me as we speak!!

Finished! :)

I just ironed the last of three hems on my dress, and I finished my shrug earlier this afternoon, so my outfit is COMPLETE! I'll post pictures in a week or so.

For now, I'm getting into high gear on Christmas stuff.

Despite my six impending finals in the next four days, life is very, very good. :)

dress and shrug update

Very exciting news: my dress is almost complete! I've been working on it every chance I get, and now all I have left is hemming. That'll be easy, but time-consuming and very tedious.

The dress has three layers: the black lining, the green satin underdress ($2/yd at Jomar), the printed sheer overdress ($1.96/yd on clearance at JoAnn's. Can you believe it??), plus the black satin cuff and straps ($3/yd at Jomar). All in all, I estimate that I spent $15.00 on this dress, including all of the notions and the pattern itself. Not too shabby!

I'd forgotten how much I love making formal dresses. :) The lining is boned, which helps the garment retain its shape. It's McCalls 2954, and I give this pattern two thumbs up. Easy to follow, and with beautiful results.

Although I wanted to keep it a surprise, the boy's already seen it so I can post a picture (or two) just for you, my faithful reader. :)

I've also made great progress on my Anthropologie-Inspired Shrug. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn while binding off the bottom, so I need to get another ball. A *whole* ball, just for 8" of binding off and 5 rows of 1x1 ribbing on both sleeves...breaks my heart. I'll use the rest of it for a hat and mittens, or something.


So the sleeves are on scrap yarn and not finished yet, and there's a cable needle hanging from the back...but I still think it's gonna look great. :) It's not too bulky, and it makes the dress look a little less formal and very winter-y. I'll be sure to post some more pictures after graduation.

I've been saving this fabric for years, for something really special, and I'm glad I did. I know I'll probably be a little dressy for the occasion, but I don't care. It is a hugely important day for the boy, and he deserves the best...I plan on at least looking the part. :)

Let me know what you think...I have two main questions:
1) Should I leave the hem as long as possible, or take it up to knee-length?
2) What do you think of the shrug? Too cutesy? Too short? Or just right?

Unrelated, but exciting: We (mom, Andrea, and I) just recieved 8 30-gallon Tupperware tubs full of yarn!! Our first job over winter break is sorting it all among the three of us. :-D *drool drool drool*

New Knitty

There's an update on the way of my dress and shrug...but I have no pictures yet. It's surprisingly difficult to get a picture wearing a full length dress all by one's self. Later tonight, maybe? :)

In the meantime...Winter Knitty is up!! I'm absolutely thrilled with this issue. It's the first time in a while that I've been moved to try more than one or two of the patterns. Here are some of my favorites:
- Knecklace: I have a partial skein of Manos [left over from Hot Lava Cardigan] that is yearning to become a knecklace.
- Namaste Yoga Mat Bag: Now, IF I decided to actually use my yoga mat and IF I made it all the way to the White building for a yoga class, this would totally be the bag I'd use.
- Tempting II: This is a sister pattern to a sweater I've already knitted (seventh picture down). I had a lot of fun with the first one, and I'm considering starting this new one sometime in the spring.
- Tubey Sweater: very cute.
- Blanche-Neige Jacket: This is a very (dare I say it?) 'grown-up' piece that might be good to have when I go out and get a real job. It's cashmere...which is good, because cashmere is lovely and awesome, but bad because it's most likely pricey. We'll see.
- Urban Rustic Gloves: I've been looking for a funky glove pattern for a while now and I think this might be the perfect one. I'm hoping that the wool yarn from the sweater I unraveled ages ago will be of a comparable gauge so I can start these ASAP!

Dress Progress

I took this picture when I was installing the zipper. This is the first time in my decade of sewing experience that I've *ever* hand basted a zipper before sewing it in. Usually I'm too damn impatient, but I'm very concerned with how this dress will look when I'm done, so I took the extra time.

I also managed to cut a hole in the back of the overdress as I was just about to put the whole thing together....GRRR! With some quick thinking, I put on a barely noticeable patch, saving myself the monumental time and frustration of re-cutting and re-assembling the pieces. I was very pleased with myself for salvaging a pretty bad mistake.

Once the zipper was in, I tried it on and it fits perfectly. For once, the dress looks exactly as I pictured it before I started sewing it. I cannot *wait* to wear it! I still need to hem all three layers, put in the facing, and add straps. There's no reason I won't be able to finish it in time.

Unnecessary Accessory
I don't know if this will even look right, but I'm making myself an Anthropologie-Inspired Shrug in Wool-Ease Chunky. It's actually a dark gray heather, much darker than it appears in the picture. Even if it doesn't end up going with the dress, I think I'll have other opportunities to wear it.

Liesel Scarf
Sadly enough, this was the best picture I could get of it. :-P

I finished this scarf while I was on Thanksgiving break, but didn't get to block it until I got back up to school. The damp State College weather has since furled it up again, but I'm happy with the results. The scarf is light and airy, but surprisingly warm. And the color, which I wasn't sure of in the beginning, has grown on me.

text-only update

The craft show last week went really well. Unfortunately, I'm a doofus and forgot to take any pictures of my booth. It was a neat setup, though...My mom surprised me with a blown glass mannequin head to display hats, and it was too cute for words.
I should make a pretty decent chunk of change right before the holidays, which is always nice. Of course I ended up spending some of my hard-earned cash on items from the other booths, but as you know, counterproductivity is my middle name. ;)
My mom and sister each contributed some knitted items this year, namely some lopi hats, sari yarn hats, and purses. They were very popular and we sold quite a few. I got rid of almost 2 dozen pairs of earrings, plus a bunch of necklaces and bracelets. All in all, it was another good show.

Christmas is approaching rapidly, and as such, I've started planning some crafty gifts for a few people on my list. Due to their sensitive nature, I can't post any pictures here (though I'm itching to do so!) Today I made up a pattern and then cast on something cute and cable-y for one of my good college buddies. I'm also in the beginning planning stages of a sewing project for someone special. Unfortunately, the fabric choices here aren't stellar...[don't worry, you'll laugh later. ;)]...so I have to wait till I get home to start that one.

In the meantime, my dress for the upcoming graduation is coming along really well. I've got the lining and main dress completely put together, and I'm in the process of assembling the overdress. I'd forgotten what a pain in the ass sheer fabric can be! I'd post pics, but (and I know this is silly) I kind of want it to be a surprise.
On a more personal note, I'm astonished by how quickly the end of the semester has crept up on me. There's a flood of mixed emotions right now, but I have faith, and that will get me through. :)