Thursday, October 20, 2011

yarn thoughts

I don't really have much new to report. I'm still working away on Estelle and still putting the finishing touches on the halloween costumes. (one sleeve and some elastic and a hem respectively)
I've aslo been searching madly for thy frequent buyers card for my LYS as I want to buy something and I think was close to the reward.
Alas, it is nowhere I have looked. I have a gift certificate to knit picks (and one for my LYS--hence the card search) and I've been thinking about using it for MONTHS and my thought process always goes something like this:
I'm almost done with what I'm knitting, what do I want to knit next?
hmm maybe socks? Yes, but I have a ton of sock yarn in my stash.
Ok but maybe I want more conservative socks. like black maybe. but I never wear black. ok maybe brown?
I really don't need any more new socks, I have a lot of handknit socks, one for every day of the week plus extras.
but I don't have red.
or brown
Man I'm chilly, I should knit myself another sweater.
I already have 6 sweaters that I knit and a few I bought
Well I don't have a red one. I saw a nice sweater that was in red in a book. hmmm what was that book again?
Oh yes, Knits that fit the Sophisticated hoodie Although the stitch pattern would be a pain
I don't have any red socks to wear with it.
Maybe I should just buy some red yarn and make a different sweater.
Maybe I should just knit from my stash.
There is no RED in my stash!
Sadly, this kind of thinking goes on for a while, until I convince myself that I need red yarn. Then I fail to find a pattern I like and a few months later I see all this red yarn in my stash and think--why in the world did I buy all this red yarn?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

picture-less update

Sometimes it is terribly hard to keep this blog updated. Not because I'm not knitting. or sewing. I am, I really am. But rather because I don't have any pictures of what I am working on. And so a month later I still have no pictures, but thought I'd update on my progress. knitting: I cast on for Estelle, which if you don't care to follow the link is a cardigan knit from the top down int eh round with some waist ribbing and feather and fan borders. I'm using the recommended yarn (Lark from Quince and Co) in a purple. I LOVE it. Lark is squishy and it felts well (so be careful). I'm on the first sleeve, which I had started to knit in the wrong sized needle, so had to rip out about 5 inches and start again. I'd have a picture of it except that I have not figured out how to photograph purples in a way that they look true to color. Halloween costumes: This year my daughters have decided after carefully looking at every single pattern book at Joann Fabrics to be: a rock star and an evil ballerina. The evil ballerina was inspired by the section in the pattern books where they mix the adult "hootchie" costumes with the kid costumes. My daughter saw a picture of the Black swan and immediately decided that was the creepiest costume in ANY book and demanded to be that. Basically I'm making a black ballerina costume. Yesterday I finished the tu tu. Which was the last piece for that costume. Imagine 15 yards of tulle cut into strips and tied. The rock star shirt is finished and I hope never ever ever to have to sew with confetti glitter fabric EVER again. It doesn't iron (it melts the glue that holds the confetti on), and it gets your sewing machine needle all globed up. Thankfully the rock star pants are shiny pink fabric, and relatively easy. How great is it that I'll most likely be all done with costumes nearly 2 weeks before the big day! Also no pictures because I think costumes look better ON kids ON halloween. So pictures later. Other than that, I'm just enjoying the nice weather here in Michigan, knowing that when my Estelle Sweater is done, it will be cold enough to wear it!