Victoria

Here she is, thanks to Robin for taking the pictures tonight:
Yarn used: Debbie Bliss Cathay - 4 balls on #5 needles.
Supplies needed: 2 Gap tanks and a half slip

Victoria is a mixture of crochet and knit (more knit than crochet). I was going to sew a lining in, but my mother suggested that I just use a half slip underneath, and it worked out just fine as you can see. It also gives me the option of using other color tank tops and slips for different contrasts. I'm working on a pattern for this so please be patient.

I blocked my Minimalist Cardigan on Monday night when I got home and it was dry this morning so I was able to start putting it together today (I'm halfway done). Hopefully I'll have it done by tomorrow, if not Friday. I plan to have pics up by the weekend.

In sewing news, I ironed(fabric & pattern) and cut out NL 6648. Here's the fabric I'm using. (it's so nice to be able to download pictures again. heehee!!)

This post is short tonight, I'm in the middle of making muffins for a co-worker's birthday tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a great week!! =)

So, how was your weekend?

Friday night I went to Joann Fabrics and got stupid. I've decided that I want to try and make my fall wardrobe. There was a sale on Butterick patterns, so let's just say I went to town. This is what I bought:
I plan on making this the way it is, and also altering it to make it longer so I can wear it as a dress. I like View A and C.
I love the dress on this pattern.

I love both style of this dress pattern. I'm thinking of doing View B first.

B4985
I saw this pattern earlier in the summer and even had it in my hand at one point. When I saw Sheila's version, I knew then I had to have it.

I also like the views on all 3 of these dresses but will probably make B and C. I love the sleeves on View C.

I also purchased these 2 New Look patterns.

6648
Robin made this and I thought that it was really pretty, and would look good on me. I want to make View A and C. View A is the one in Blue that the model is wearing and C is the Cream color wrap version.

6828
I really like the black dress but I want to add a few inches to it I think and add the sleeves on like the shirt version.

Joann's also had 30% off on suiting material, so I bought fabric for these 2 patterns, Butterick B5104 (View A & E), Simplicity 4097 (The dress) and the New Look 6648, the pattern shown above. I also bought lining for Butterick 4188 but might wait now till next spring to make it since cooler weather should be on it's way. As you can guess, I'm in fall mode.

Saturday was errand and hangout day with Mom. We left the house at 10am and got back by 2pm. I then did yard work. PSE&G(electric and gas company) had guys out a few months ago trimming the trees back so they wouldn't get into the electrical lines, but I don't think they did a good job. I had a lot of trimming to do and there's branches that were either too thick or I couldn't reach, so I told my mother to call them again.

I finally got home after food shopping around 9:45pm. I was beat. I wanted to soak my feet, but I just didn't have the energy, so I did 2 loads of laundry and went to bed.

Yesterday I did more laundry(I swear I think it never ends. There's always dirty clothes). I also washed fabric and cut out view A for New Look #6648. From there I sorted through my patterns, put them in a container and then put the rest of the fabric I had in bags in another empty container I had. Around midday I took a nap, but not before I got a few pages of New Moon in. I then got up and made 2 dinners. One for last night and one for tonight.

To finish out my night, I played beauty salon. I gave myself a pedicure and got to use my new ped egg. If you don't have one, you should buy one. That thing is awesome, I also washed my hair and sat under my dryer, which by the way gave me a chance to do some knitting.

I'm happy to say that I bound off the sleeves for the minimalist cardigan today at lunch. I have a lot of blocking and finishing to do. I might try to do that first thing tonight so I can finally put these garments together. I also plan to iron the pattern and the fabrics that need ironing. Layout and cut my fabric. If there's time, I'll start sewing. I'm hoping to have pictures up sometime this week. My lovely husband borrowed my cable, so I can't download pictures on to my computer. Right now it's sitting in one of his buddy trucks.

Gotta get going, but I hope you all have a great day/week!!

Wow!! It's Been A While

but I'm still crafting, and staying busy. Now I know that the majority of you crafty bloggers are involved with the ravelympics. I on the other hand decided not to participate in the festivities because quite frankly, I have too many projects on the needles right now. In stead, I like Saun decided to see if I could finish a few projects I already had started. To my surprise, I think I am doing pretty well.

I finished knitting the Nepal Vest from Katia and I even hit a road block along the way. The original back panel piece I started with didn't color coordinate well with the front two pieces so I had to go with a different colorway. I now only have to block the pieces, put them together, tassle (which I'm still not sure about) and then I'm done. I'm also done knitting my version of the VS dress. I finished knitting it on Thursday, and it looks great. I still have to make the lining but that shouldn't be hard. I'm going with a black lining as I went back to the Gap and I didn't have too many choices on the selection of tank tops they had. I'll have pics up soon. I still need to work on the other sizes too. I started working on the sleeves for the minimalist cardi again. The sleeves are halfway done. I want to cast off by the end of the week and get the sweater put together. After that I have plans for the baby overalls and baby jacket with moss-stitch edging. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In sewing news, I'm at a stand still right now but I'm hoping to cut the pieces out for the dress and vest/top by next week finally. I've been so slow in getting this done. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day.

As fall is just around the corner, I've been starting to put my focus more on designing more as it is an aspect of knitting that I've been fiddling with but don't really concentrate on. My day job is really busy and there is so much going on that I don't get too many chances to sit down, create and practice. I'm definitely going to have to change that, by carving time out/planning a schedule that can fit it in to my week. Weekends, would be an opportune time, but I tend to be busy with family obligations then too. I'll just have to see and make it work I guess.

I received my issues of Vogue Knitting and Interweave Knits in the mail. I have only skimmed through them, but they look good. I also picked up an issue of Knitscene. That looked really good also, so I'll be given my take on them soon.

I also visited two new online knitting magazines. The first one is Knotions. All the patterns are free. I haven't knitted anything from it yet, but they look pretty good. The articles aren't bad either. If you haven't checked it out yet, go by and visit. I think this is a site to bookmark and keep an eye on for the future.

The second magazine is Twist Collective. An amazing designer came up with an awesome concept (Kate Gilbert) and she told a few other amazing designers, and the magazine was born. The patterns are timelessly beautiful. Of course the patterns aren't free, but who cares, I'd put a dollar or two out for Ysolda, Cookie A and Pam Allen just to name a few any day.

So, have any of you gotten hooked on the Twilight Series yet? I purchased book one and four since I could get them on sale last week. I wanted to see what the hype was all about. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed. I started reading Twilight late Thursday night and finished it over the weekend. I could not put the book down. Knitting even took a back seat to this book. I don't want to give anything away, but if you haven't read the book/started the series, you need to. It's a beautiful story. I can't wait to read Stephanie Meyer's second book New Moon. I'll be picking up my copy by the weekend.

That's it for now, but I hope to have pictures up soon. Have a great week

Lazy Sunday!!

So I know it's been a week. But it was a busy one. Thanks for the comment on which fabric I should use. I was kind of leaning toward the red fabric, so I've decided to make the dress in both fabrics. I bought lining, zippers, and interfacing yesterday. I plan on cutting everything out soon.

I was looking through one of my Victoria Secret Sale Catalogs and saw this crochet dress.

I thought to myself, I could make my own version mixing both crochet and knit. I went a bought a tank top from the Gap, pulled out this purple yarn from my stash and got busy. I started Wednesday night and this is what I have so far. What do you think? I plan on doing a post on how I did everything in case anyone want to make one. I'm thinking about lining the skirt portion with a tan fabric, accenting with tan satin ribbon and I'm going to go back to the Gap and get a tan tank top to go underneath the purple one.I swear I look awful in this picture. I've gained 10 pounds and need to get rid of them quick. It's disgusting.

Here's a peek at the blanket I made last weekend. I didn't get a chance to make the matching pillow so, I'm doing that some time today. I got the back of the vest I started last week done, and started on one of the front panels. I hope to have knitting progress pictures up by tomorrow.

I hate to post and run, but I'm meeting Lisa for afternoon brunch, sewing, and knitting. I made the Martha Stewart blueberry muffins again this morning to take with me.

Gotta go. I hope all of you are having a great weekend. As Adrienne says,

Toodles!!

Do you ever feel like you're doing a lot but not accomplishing anything? Well, that's how I was feeling last night. I have at least 4 projects on needles and I'm not finishing anything and I'm also getting bored ( I think that's why I barely knit anything last week). So, what's a girl to do? Start another project that you know you can finish quickly. This is Number 17 from Katia #51. The yarn is Nepal: 72% acrylic and 27% wool. Each piece of the garment is knit with a different colorway of yarn.I started knitting the back this morning on the way to work. I'm already done one ball, and a little over half of the back is done. Now, that's what I call progress. It's mindless knitting, and I can watch television doing it. I'm also happy because I'm getting a jump on my fall wardrobe. This should look good with pants and long skirts. These are the other two colorways that I will be using to complete the vest. I'm hoping it turns out okay with the colors I picked.

I am up to casting on for the left sleeve on the baby jacket.
In sewing news, I'm picking out my next projects. As I said yesterday, I'm planning on making this, Butterick B4188, View A. I think it can stand alone with a tank top underneath and hopefully can transition into the fall with a long sleeve fitted tee. What do you think?
I also want to make a skirt as this will give me practice working with my new zipper foot. This pattern is New Look 6433. I'm going to use this tan cotton quilting fabric as a lining. I 'm hoping it will give a nice color contrast to the chocolate. I need a little help on this one. Here is pattern 6348. Which fabric to you like better?

If I use the red fabric, I can make a cocktail version of this dress with this fabric.Well, I'm getting ready to go and make a meditation blanket and pillow tonight if I'm not too tired. Tomorrow, I have yard work to do over at my mom's and on Sunday, I have a birthday party to go to for my girlfriend's son.What do you have planned for the weekend?

Have a good one.

The goodness of it all

How is everybody doing? I'm just great!! Thank you so much for all the lovely comments you left about the wedding pictures. I have enjoyed every single one.

Last Sunday, I caught the 40% off sale at Fabric Warehouse and got all of this lovely goodness (Sheila, you know this is for you). These aren't the greatest shots but you can at least get the picture.

Joann Fabrics was having a $1.99 sale on Butterick patterns this past weekend . I really went for this pattern B4188. I thought it would be perfect for the red fabric above with the black flowers. I only have 1 yard of it. I'm doing view A which is the top in blue. I have this really cute black skirt that I think will go really well with it.

So you know you can't go to a pattern sale and just buy one pattern, so I also got these.

I also got this New Look pattern.

When I purchased my sewing machine (back in the early 90's), Sew and Vac gave me a zipper foot that actually was not for my machine, and I've been trying to make it work. It's okay in a pinch but let's just say after breaking 3 needles this past week, I got a little tired. So, last week I found these.

A set of 4 industrial feet on ebay(for only $10), and hooray for me, I made my first ever ebay purchase. The left footed one (2nd one in from the left) looks like it's going to work. I tried it on yesterday, and it looks like a perfect fit. The test will be of course when I have to sew another zipper in. I think I might try a skirt next or maybe I'll make myself another pouch as that would go a little quicker.

In knitting news, I casted on for the sleeves for the minimalist cardi. So far so good. I also am almost up to the bib part of the baby overalls, and I casted on for the left front of the baby jacket last night. I didn't do much knitting last week. I think I really just didn't feel like it. I did do some reading though for spiritual enlightenment. It was pretty good. I also started doing this again. I was amazed on how I just picked it up again with no trouble. I had forgotten how nice and soothing it was to spin.

On Sunday morning I woke up and made these.

It's the blueberry recipe from Martha Stewart's (love her) baking book. All I can say is FABULOUS!!! They are so dense you can only eat one, even though you want more. It's all blueberry goodness!! I want to make zucchini muffins next. I had them a couple of times from this cafe near my hairdresser's. I figure they can't be hard to make so I might try that next. I also made this potato salad. It was an experiment that turned out very well. If you're interested in the recipe, I'll post it. Let me know. What are you up to?

The Wedding

You are cordially invited. Enjoy!!
















































The photographer had left by the time I changed into my knitted dress. My girlfriend has a picture of me in it and I'm waiting for her to send me a copy of it. Thank you for stopping by.