What's Happenin??

Knitting plain stockinette stitch socks does not make for very interesting blog posts, does it?

Oh well, that's all I'm really knitting right now! I do have plans, though. The boyfriend wants a sweater vest, and I am happy to make him one! I still have to get the yarn, but once I start that, I think my blog spots will hopefully get more interesting!

Besides knitting those socks, I've been spending time playing with my new phone!

I love it so much. It's a Samsung Seek from Boost Mobile, and I like it SOOOO much better than the phone I used to have, which sucked! It's so fancy! It has a touch screen and all kinds of fun stuff. I know it's not the fanciest phone out there, but I usually have pretty crummy phones, so I'm very pleased!

PS, did you notice my zebra print nails?

I painted them myself, and they make me happy!

There is talk around the house that we might put Christmas Decorations up today! We won't have the tree yet (we get live trees, so we wait a little longer so they aren't all brown and crispy on Christmas day!), but I'll take some pictures of our cute christmasy house to show you guys!

Have fun today!

But I haven't even finished eating all of my Halloween candy!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving! The food, the family, the love, the fact that we all come together to give thanks for every blessing that God as bestowed upon us! I have to much to be thankful for: a great family, the love of my life, all my friends, a great job, and the fact that I have a roof over my head and food to eat (which I plan on eating a lot of tomorrow!)

At this very moment, I'm thankful for Starbucks Iced White Mocha's and hand knit socks!

Since it's been getting colder around these parts, my toes have been freezing, and I need more knitted socks! The yarn is Colinette Jitterbug in "Dusk", and I have no pattern. I started with casting on 10 stitches (I think) with a Turkish Cast-on, and increased to 60 stitches. I'm not sure yet which heel I'm gonna use, either my good ol' No Wrap Short-Row Heel, or a toe-up Gusset Heel (PDF).

I hope all of you have a fantastic and wonderful day tomorrow, and I give thanks for all of you!

Random Catch-up!

Wow, July? July is the last time I posted on my blog? I'm a blog-loser. Please forgive me, any left-over followers I may have! I have a couple of things to show you, though! I thought I'd have a bunch of finished projects to share, but I really don't! What have I been doing with myself? Haha. Here's a couple:

Amy's Instant Oatmeal:

Pattern: Oatmeal by Jane Richmond

Yarn: Plymouth Encore Chunky, 4 balls in color #240

Needles: US Size 11

Amy picked out the pattern and the yarn for this sweater, and it took me only 4 days to make, gotta love that! I think it turned out super cute, but I have yet to get a picture of Amy wearing it.

My Rebel Scum-bag:

yes, I know I'm a nerd.

Pattern: Felted Skull Knitting Tote by Adrian Bizilia

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool, 2.5 balls in "Natural Mix", and Cascade 220, 0.5 balls in some red color.

Needles: US size 13

I had some yarn in my stash that I wanted to make a felted bag out of, and the pattern I picked had a skull on it, but I wasn't feeling the Skull motif, so I charted my own. I love it! It made a decent sized purse, and knitted up real quick-like. Here's the link to the chart I made if anyone cares.

Amy's Fake Isle:

Amy was in the yarn store the other day and picked up a hat on the class table and said "Make me this!" So, I did.

Pattern: XOXO Cap by Anne Lecrivain-Cozzoli

Yarn: 1 skein Cascade 220 in color #4192 and 1 ball of Noro Kureyon in color #240

Needles: US Size 8

Hot Water Bottle Cozy:

I have a hot water bottle that I use in bed to keep my toes warm when It's cold outside, but the rubbery texture is not really nice to feel with your feet, so thus, a hot water bottle cozy!

Pattern: I wrote up a recipe for making one, here's the Rav link.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky, 1 skein in color #M62 (I think)

Needles: I don't remember... maybe 11's?

Fuzzy Feet:

I don't know how long ago I made these, probably sometime last year! I lost them quite soon after I made them, and just found them the other day! Yay! I do remember that I knit them in one sitting! I'd like to make another pair in a more exciting color.

Pattern: Fuzzy Feet

Yarn: Cascade 220, 1 skein in color #8555

Needles: US Size 10.5

That's all I've got as far as knitting things to show ya'll. I'm working on a bunch of different stuff right now, but I can't really show you any of it, because they are mostly Christmas presents! I'm so excited for the Christmas season to start, I can't wait for Christmas music, movies, and all the other warm fuzzies that make me think of Christmas!

I'll leave you with a video of my best buddy:

Some FOs

I've been doing some more sewing! Check out my new Jammies:

Cute huh? I got the fabric and pattern at Joann's. I figured pajama pants were a good jumping off point for future garment projects.

Also, I finished Ari!

Ignore the fact that the dog has a messy face...

I think I like it, I'm going to wear it to work today and see how I like wearing it. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet...

I loved the pattern though, it was well written, and I think I'm going to be knitting more Berroco patterns in the future! Here are the specs for those interested:

Yarn: Berroco Weekend, 4 skeins in Navy

Needles: US Size 8 and 7

It was a quick knit, too. From start to finish it took me 13 days! Sweet.

Alright, that's all for now, I've got to go get ready for work! See ya!

Alright Zippers, we can be friends again...

Zippers have always thwarted my sewing attempts with them, but today I thought I would give it another shot. Armed with this tutorial, a bunch of scraps of fabric, and a couple of zippers salvaged from failed projects and ugly purses, I made these:

Aren't they cute???

Look at how useful they are!

This first one I made to hold various purse items; like hand cream, my foldy hairbrush thing, makeup, a nail file, hand sanitizer, chapstick, etc.

The next one is for knitting notions. A tape measure, yarn needles, stitch markers, stitch holders, blah blah blah...

And last but not least was one for my mom:

Now I'm keeping my eye open for anything I can steal a zipper from...

I've also sewn a couple more totes! One for my mom and another for my sister. Here's my mom's, modeled by her and our adorable doggie:

She's really not a purse dog, but she obliged for my photo shoot :)

And when I gave my sister hers, she promptly stuffed it full and headed off to the beach with it.

Now, I know that this is technically a knitting blog, and I have been knitting! I started Ari by Berroco last week, and it;s going super fast!

I already have the back and both fronts done, and about half of one sleeve. I'm using the recommended yarn, Berroco Weekend. I love this yarn, and I think it's going to be a nice summery, wearable sweater!

Well that's all for now, I'll catch ya'll on the flip side!

You can do it, too!!! :)

I made myself a tote bag for my knitting the other day, and i was so proud of myself, I made another!

And I took pictures as I did it so I could make a tutorial for anyone who wants to make one, too! There are a lot of pics, so get ready!

You'll need:

1/2 yard of fabric for outside of bag and 1/2 yard of fabric for lining (Mine was from the Freebird collection from Moda fabric, plus some solid yellow for lining)

Step 1: Cut 2 pieces of fabric 34" wide by 15" (one of each)
2 pieces of Outer fabric 4" by 24" (for straps)
1 piece of lining fabric 15" by 5" (for pocket)

Step 2: Make the straps!

Fold strap fabric in half longways with right sides facing, and sew down long side. Repeat on other strap!

Turn straps right side-out, and press flat, making sure the seam runs along the center of the straps.

Sew down the sides of the straps 1/4" in from the edge on both sides, and then 1/4" in from first line of stitches.

Ta-da! Finished straps. Alright, let's move on.

Step 3: Make a pocket!

Take piece of fabric cut for pocket, and turn in the edges 1/4", pressing as you go. Turn down one long side twice (for top of the pocket. Sew edges down. It should look like this:

Take your large piece of lining fabric (the one that's 34"x15"), and fold it in half. Lay it out and pin the pocket into the center, like so (make sure you only pin through the top layer!!):

Unfold lining fabric and Sew pocket down along side edges and bottom edge, then sew a line down the center of the pocket to divide it in half:

Step 4: Make the bags!

Take your large pieces for the body of the bag (the 34"x15" piece of outer fabric and the 34"x15" piece of lining with pocket attatched) and fold them in half with the right sides facing, the pocket should be on the inside for the lining piece. Start at the top and sew down one side and along the bottom, until you reach the fold. Do this on both pieces!

IMPORTANT!!! : Leave a hole about 3" in the center bottom of the lining fabric:

Or you could just be cool like me and forget to leave a hole, and then use your seam-ripper to open it back up...


Step 5: Make the Gussets!

Fold out the corners on the bottom of the bags like so:

Measure 1.5" from the top, and draw a line:

Pin it down so it doesn't shift! Repeat on each corner (2 for each piece)

Sew along those lines, and cut of the extra:

(From now on, I forgot to take pictures, d'oh! But don't worry, we're almost done!)

Step 6: Join the Outer and Inner pieces!

Take the inner bag, and turn it right side- out. Take your straps, and pin them to the lining fabric at the top, making sure the side without the seam is facing up:

Mine are about 5" in from the sides.

Put the lining bag with the straps attatched into the outer bag (which should still be inside-out):

Make sure you line up the seams on the sides.

Now, sew along the top of the bag, from one side all the way around to the other, sewing straps in place as you go:

Now using that hole that we left in the lining fabric, turn the whole thing inside-out! Press the top to make it nice and even, and top-stitch around the whole thing. (I did 2 lines of top-stitching so it matched the straps.)

And voila, your bag is done! Yay!!!!

Stuff it full of goodies and celebrate!

I hope I didn't forget anything! But if something doesn't make sense, please let me know!

It's a good thing I'm good at knitting...

...because I fail as a seamstress! I love to sew, but man do I suck at it!

While away this weekend I bought some fabric because I've had a project in mind for a while for a skirt that I wanted to sew. Well what happens when you don't buy enough fabric and you and Bias tape do not get along? Failure.

I was attempting to make a Domesticated Skirt, which I have been admiring for a long time, and that didn't work out. But, I think I've figured out what my problem is! Every time I sew something, I have a couple of moments throughout the project where I say to myself "I don't have to do that, really. It's just an extra step, I think it will work out okay if I don't." Every time that thought pops into my head I should just ignore it, and do things the right way, instead of cutting corners. I do need to pin things out. I do need to press my seams as I go. I do need to follow the step-by-step instructions instead of just thinking that I know what I'm doing. It's a humbling experience, I tell ya!

So with the fabric I salvaged from the skirt, I made a few bags, a project I'm much more comfortable with! First up I made a shopping bag, using this tutorial.

Cute, huh? It folds up nice and small so I can keep it in my purse and pull it out at stores. There was still a bit of fabric left so I made a little drawstring project bag:

I didn't really do any knitting this weekend, and I'm feeling uninspired. My current projects are not wowing me, so maybe I'll keep on the sewing kick for a while until my knitting mojo comes back. Who knows?