I almost didn't want to share this with other knitters...but it's too good. The shop is on 337 Hastings St W.
And for quilters... they stock Michael Miller fabrics. Not a wide selection and not necessarily cheap ($12.99 per metre? yard?) but I usually buy my fabrics online and it was nice to see and touch the prints.
All you need is love...
The famous gold guy
My haunted hotel - Hotel Chelsea
It was also worth frogging Lizard Ridge!!
It was beautiful... on top. The back was terrible. I was lazy and machine quilted it but the results were less than satisfactory. First of all, the plaid backing fabric magnified any crooked sewing or puckering. Secondly, I did not know any better and used mediocre batting. Since the back was such an eyesore, I decided to re-quilt the project (taking apart the layers and bias) and replace the batting with Warm and Natural cotton batting. Instead of hand-stitching a bunch of straight lines, I decided to piece together the quilt sandwich by sewing buttons at intervals. It took a lot of work but I am finally satisfied and not ashamed of showing you the back!
My 1st queen-sized quilt!
My 1st quilt using machine quilting (and satisfied with it)!
A few weekends ago, I was in NYC for a business trip. Purl Soho was a must-see and I came out of the candy store with these:
I was disappointed by the colors of Amy Butler fabric; they look much nicer online but I still bought some (the pinks, oranges and yellows). And I accidentally discovered Joel Dewberry (the blue ones). His fabrics are awesome! What do you think? As for the brown and green batch, they came in a bundle I just couldn't resist.
I figured if I fell off the wagon, I'd go all out!
In the meantime, I'll leave you with some WIP's:
1) Corazon from Knitty.
2) Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style
3) Baby blanket from yarn leftovers, my own design.
And in return, I got these:
Wah! Stash-enhancement!
Thanks for all those who donated, shared and swapped these goodies. I see with my little eye a chunky scarf, some tweedy arm warmers, tweedy mittens, some wonderful trim, and a hat?
It's great!
However, I made some modifications:
1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months. [I will try to last through the entire year]
2. I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count.
[I will not buy any sock yarn in 2007]2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift. [I will not buy any yarn in 2007, even for gifts]
2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project. [Why, of course!!]
2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time. [I will not buy any yarn in 2007]
3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn. [YAY!!]4. Trading stash is allowed. [YAY!!]
Will-power!!!!
We're lonely no more!!!... so happy together!
1) Purple socks for Sister B (Patons Kroy Winter Eclipse)
You wouldn't believe there was such a headache from such basic socks. For the first sock I experimented using a tubular cast on from Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Knitting Book. It uses a slip stitch method similar to this. The cast-on flared a bit so the second sock, I tried a different tubular cast-on using a folding-over method. Some good tutorials of the method can be found here and here.
The problem? The cast-ons (probably my fault) looked completely different and I ended up with two fraternal socks! So being a perfectionist, I thought of the brilliant idea of ripping out the rib, casting-on with new yarn, re-knitting the rib, then grafting the pieces together. (Note: I've never attempted grafting before this ambitious exercise). What the hell was I thinking?! The grafting looked TERRIBLE. At the end, I ripped out the ribbing and folllowed Gray La Gran's suggestion of picking up the stitches and ribbing toe-up.
Yet another obstacle... I've never tubular cast-off before! Luckily, the Ultimate Vogue Book came in handy and after a few failed attempts, SUCCESS!
The socks are still fraternal. If you look closely at the rib, one sock has the knit "v"s pointing downwards the toe and the other sock has "v"s pointing to the cuff. Oh well, no one's going to look THAT closely at the ribbing???
2) Green/Blue socks for Sister C (Patons Kroy Krazy Stripes)
These went by quickly. I like stripes... it kept me going because I was anxious to reach a new color and the stripes made counting rows easier. The colors more-or-less matched between the socks. *smile*
YAY! The socks aren't lonely any more!
However... my sock yarn inventory is still sitting in the orphan basket, crying "knit me, knit me". Which one should I pick up and save next?
Back Row (from left to right)
- (brown & yellow) Opal Yarn, to become cable socks
- (lavendar & yellow) Opal Yarn Rainforest, to become ribbed socks
- (rose & burgundy) Regia Canadian Colors Ontario, to become...?
- (lavendar and cream) Regia Canadian Colors Quebec, to become Pomatomus
Middle Row (from left to right)
- (multicolored skeins) Koigu Painters Palatte, to become BFF
- (fuschia) Handmaiden/Fleece Artist, to become ...?
- (red) Patons Kroy Paint Box, to become Retro Rib Sock
- (red, orange, cream) Lana Grossa, to become ribbed socks
- (blue specked) Lana Grossa, to become Hedera or Mirabella
Bottom Row (from left to right)
- (red & blue) Regia, to become...?
- (fuschia, orange, purple) Patons Kroy Kool Stripes, to beome Jaywalkers
- (dark blue) Scheepjes Invicta, to become Cable Net
- (light blue) Scheepjes Invicta, to continue Patons Lace Panel Socks
Whew! Looks like I'm all stocked up for next year's Socktoberfest!!!
We're so lonely!
Unfortunately, the cast-on ribbing for Sister B's purple socks is a bit wonky. Has anyone ever tried ripping out the ribbing and re-do it AFTER the entire sock has been done?
It's my birthday and I bought this for myself. Some purchases were made last month but I still would classify them as "birthday presents for myself". :)
It looks less than it really is. I actually bought 13 skeins of Nector Mission Falls Wool (bottom left) and 18 skeins of Denim Mission Falls Wool (bottom right) but I didn't want those to dominate the photo :) The other 4 are sock yarn, which were purely impulse e-purchases. It's been awhile since I finished a pair of socks, lately it's been half-sock-syndrome. I have 2 on the needles which I did not even turn the heel yet.
Sooooooo... I am officially in my 30's (no more 20's + 1!)
Contrary to what many women might feel, I didn't dread turning 30 and I don't mind 31 either. Yes, I am older, but occasionnally I still get carded and still recieve compliments about how "young" I look. Everything is relative and I think our age is reflected from within.
I remember when I was in my early 20's, just fresh out of university, I was a nervous wreck. Insecure, lost, confused, stressed. What career should I persue? What job should I get? How am I going to survive with such crappy pay? How can I save up for a home (with this crappy pay)? Who will I marry? How many kids will I have? What path should I take?... etc.
A decade later, I have a decent job, a mortgage for a closet, a long-distance boyfriend... things didn't work out as my "ideal" but hey, who cares? I feel more at ease with who I am and comfortable with the way my life unravelled. I don't have a house, but it's OK. I am not married, but it's OK. I might not even have kids (ever?) but that's OK. Sh!t happens, why not relish it?
A bit sentimental perhaps, I came across this last year, and I thought I'd share it with you!
This was written by Andy Rooney from CBS 60 Minutes...Andy Rooney says:
As I grow in age, I value women who are over 30 most of all. Here are just a few reasons why:
A woman over 30 will never wake you in the middle of the night to ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.
If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting.
A woman over 30 knows herself well enough to be assured in who she is, what she is, what she wants and from whom. Few women past the age of 30 give a damn what you might think about her or what she's doing.
Women over 30 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you, if they think they can get away with it.
Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.
A woman over 30 has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A younger woman with a man will often ignore even her best friend because she doesn't trust the guy with other women.
Women over 30 couldn't care less if you're attracted to her friends because she knows her friends won't betray her.
Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 30. They always know.
A woman over 30 looks good wearing bright red lipstick. This is not true of younger women.
Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 30 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.
Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one! You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
Yes, we praise women over 30 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed hot woman of 30+, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.
Ladies, I apologize.
