Confession

I don't really understand when I see knitters saying/writing things like "I almost went a whole month without buying yarn!"

Do they really have such little self-control? Are they trying to be cute?

It doesn't bother me that other knitters amass such large stashes (they can do whatever they please!) but it does boggle the mind a bit. I buy for specific projects, or for vague projects (i.e. "a hat" but a specific pattern has yet to be determined). However, sometimes I don't end up making those things, or I have some yarn leftover, so I do have a small stash from failed initiatives and odds and ends. It will all get used up though. My next few projects will be knit from my little stash - which will encourage me to finally knit a whole pair of adult socks! (I made a pair of baby socks, and one sock for my husband. Unfortunately - or really, "fortunately" - he has two feet so it doesn't do him much good.)

There was one really indulgent purchase that I made. I was still a newish knitter, at a local yarn shop that has unpleasant owners but an amazing selection of yarn and frequent sales. I saw the most beautiful yarn... A blue skein of Fleece Artist. And it was half price! But it was much too fine for me to knit with at that point, so after I paid for it, I lovingly fondled it and then packed it away. It was like a "grown up skein," something to work towards and anticipate. That skein is now an almost-complete shawl and holy hell it was so great to go to my sewing room, get that prized skein that I've been waiting years to knit with, and cast on!

Do you stash? Is there a method to your madness, or do you just buy whatever you like?

New Love

I've been quilting. I love it. It's so wonderful and fun -- the time just flies by! Maybe I'm, cheating by saying I've been quilting -- I've only done a quilt top and a half, but haven't actually gotten to the quilting part yet. My grandmother, quilter extraordinaire, suggested it might be difficult to do without having someone show me how, so I'll be sending my quilt top off to her. It's what I'd describe as picnic-sized, and you'll have a picture soon.

I became addicted to quilting today

I don't want to stop but it's nearly 2 a.m.(!!) so I am making myself quit before I make mistakes. I have a whole quilt top nearly completed - it's all cut and pieced and most of the blocks are sewn into rows. A few remaining rows are pinned and waiting for morning. I might add another row or two, will have to measure it against my bed. This was meant to be a lap quilt.. But I can't stop, so queen-sized it shall be.

Crepe Dress: Fabric

My Crepe dress pattern arrived this week! I've never used a Collette pattern before, but I really like the set-up. The instructions are in a little booklet, and the pattern pieces are folded up and stored in a pocket in the booklet's cover. I'm really pleased that the instructions will be so easy to use; this is a huge improvement from the patterns I've used before - just regular McCalls, Simplicity, Vogue, etc, but the instructions are always printed in tiny type on a huge sheet of paper.

I've also decided on the main fabric for dress. I had a rather unsuccessful look around town, not really expecting to find much cotton at this time of year. I was hoping for a navy shirting fabric with white pinstripes, but I couldn't find any navy! Weird, right? So I decided to branch out from my comfort zone (slightly, only slightly) and I ordered a gorgeous Amy Butler cotton print. Why is it out of my comfort zone? Well, I don't wear any pink at all, and wear very few floral prints. But I'm pretty pleased with this and am excited to receive it:

I'll be looking for a nice light blue for the contrast wraps, to match the accents.

Considering a Sew-Along

I think I'm going to participate in Gertie's Collette Crepe Dress sew-along. It's been a few years since I've sewn a dress, and I'd love to improve my garment knowledge and take advantage of the knowledge shared in a sew-along. Plus, I think the style will suit me. I'd like to make with nice navy shirting cotton, I think.

I'm only hesitating because work has been crazy (I've been working 45-50hr weeks since August) and I haven't been super motivated lately. Maybe this will be the push I need! And I can always bookmark the posts for later..

If you want to join, click the link above for a discount on the dress pattern!

Toys

Little birdie 02
Originally uploaded by loveasaverb

I've been busy sewing toy prototypes. This little birdie is made from a free pattern (I plan to make a whole mobile one day!), but I've made my own bunny, seahorse, and am trying to perfect a little owl. I'll share some more soon, but you can check out my flickr in the meantime!

Sweaterscatterbrain

I have two knitting goals. Saying them outloud (by which I really mean writing them here) will make them real:

1. Finish Jack's sweater before our anniversary (mid-November).
I stopped knitting for months and months. I feel guilty; this was supposed to be done for autumn. The body is done, and sleeves are about half-done. Then I'll have to knit the turtleneck, block everything, and seam the shoulders and sew in the sleeves (clever me, I'm knitting the sleeves in the round to avoid seaming).

2. Cast-on and knit myself a sweater... by the end of the year!
I will not cast on until Jack's sweater is blocking. But I have the yarn and pattern and I'm ready.

brb

Things have been quiet because we got a new condo and are in hardcore renovation mode. I say "we" but my husband is doing most of it as I work full-time. Today we painted the kitchen and living room wall red, and it looks like I got in a fistfight! There are red blotches all over my hands and wrists. The bedroom and bathroom are all painted, as is the sewing/knitting/craft room (yes! that's right!!), and the hardwood floor is ready to be laid down. Stay tuned for actual knitting content.

MySewingCircle.com

I signed up for MySewingCircle.com yesterday. It's a site for sewers that is based on Ravelry. It is still a bit barebones (in particular, the forums need more work and groups would be nice), but so far, so good. It was quite buggy in Firefox (in particulr the date on the projects) but works fine in Chrome.

My username on there is twolemons.

Birthday Birdies

I made this tote bag for my friend Req's birthday gift a few weeks ago. I used some lovely love bird cotton I picked up last fall and made it per my usual tote formula: muslin lining, a deep box shape -- I'm not sure the proper name of the technique and my Googlefu is failing me, but you can find the corners explained in this tutorial. It basically makes the bag three-dimensional rather than just lying flat, and I find it makes a roomier bag. There is also a little pocket inside, made of the bird fabric.

The cotton is very thin, so I added some fusible interfacing to the straps for strength. I only had the lightest interfacing possible -- bought to practive making appliqués -- but it worked well enough. You can see that I added a double line of stitching to each side of the straps. And of course the finishing touch is the decorative stitch around the top of the bag.

I filled the bag with a lovely, sunny bunch of flowers and it made a nice gift!