The Price of Dillentantism

... is that you rarely finish projects, and therefore have little to blog about. Also, I've been battling a case of the Blahs-Blehs-Blues, which tends to sap one's enthusiasm for most things.

Mostly what I've been doing in the last week or so is a little embroidery, a little sewing, and a whole lot of starting knitting projects. Ravelry really ought to come with a warning label:

Bearing down on me like a vicious tornado is the deadline for Sockapalooza. Naturally, knowing that I should be working on Deadline Knitting only makes me want to do Anything Else. Like sewing a new bag!

I made this from Nancy's extremely fantastic tutorial. I love that it is reversible, allowing me to show off both pretty fabrics. I made the handles shorter than she instructed and included a flannel inner liner in place of interfacing. This latter nifty tip I learned from Amy Karol's book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing. Really, if you have any interest in learning to sew, or already love to sew, you need to run out and buy this book. It is so lovely and inspiring and really full of helpful information.

I swear, in my next post, there will be knitting.

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Link-o-Rama!

- Sulafaye has posted what may be the Ultimate Variegated Sock Pattern!
- Have you heard about Pandora Radio? It's the brainchild of the Music Genome Project. You tell them your favorite song or artist and, through some sort of computer magic, they create a radio station that will play music that has similar characteristics.
- This looks like a delicious and easy refrigerator pickles recipe. If anyone has a similar recipe for sour and garlicky pickles, please let me know!
- Cutest baby booties ever.
- I want to make this sweater right this minute. Must ... finish ... sockpal ... socks!

Falling in Love Again

... with Rib and Cables, and Cider Moon. I hope my sock pal loves them, too!

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Link-o-Rama!

* Cleveland-area crafters! Have you heard about Shannon Okey's craft studio Stitch Cleveland? It looks to be an awesome resource for every sort of fiber-y, fabric-y love. I signed up for the Katherine Shaughnessy crewel class on July 14th. Squee!
* How cute is this pencil case? You have to get excited about any tutorial that instructs you to use a hacksaw.
* Look at this GORGEOUS cotton that Yarnbee and her friend dyed with Rit Dye!
* Jen's Parade of Beautiful FO's continues with her cute Coachella.
* How could I be so late to the Craft Lit party? This podcast is so fantastic.
* Hungry for some authentic Tex-Mex and Southern fare? Or just want to look at pretty pictures of it? Pop over to Homesick Texan. Your cardiologist will thank me. Do not miss the post on cream gravy, food of the gods.

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Thanks, everyone, for the nice compliments on my yarn! I love me an afternoon of Kool-Aid dyeing. It's starting to become a nice little summer tradition!

Shameless Copying

Thanks everyone for the kind wishes about my silly injury. Learn from me ... if you are working with unpleasant materials at a tight gauge, work slowly. It's much better now. After some Kool-Aid dyeing (a favorite summer activity), I am now back to frenzied sock knitting.

I saw Kris's beautiful stockinette socks with the cuff from Anna's Giotto pattern and could not stop thinking about them. I recalled that one of you even scored the exact yarn that she is using (Fleece Artist Merino Sock in Rose Garden) in my stash sale. What to do, what to do?

On Sunday, feeling rather grumpy, I sat down and watched some Knitty Gritty I had saved on the DVR. I finally saw the fabulous episode with Scout! This greatly improved my mood and inspired me to pull out the Kool-Aid and yarn and "play mad scientist," as she put it. A few hours later, I had some pink, green, yellow and white yarn of my very own.

Yesterday, I couldn't resist casting it on. It's pooling a bit, but not in an ugly way. The cuff! So pretty! (That Anna. She's a genius.)

Here's the other skein I dyed. This is Knit Picks Bare Worsted, and I think that it will become fingerless gloves or a hat, perhaps. Or another pair of Cabled Footies.

I was very happy with this one, as I think I figured out a recipe for a nice turquoise color. Yay!

At the risk of sounding a little corny, this post sums up one of the things about the knitbloggy community that I love the most -- being inspired by all the amazing knitters and dyers I've come to know!

Timeline of an Injury

2:14 pm: "Yay! A crocheted jute bowl! My hands are a little tired, but that was pretty easy."
4:38 pm: "Hmmm. What's that tingling?"
6:20 pm: "Ok, so my right hand is a little sore."
7:51 pm: (picking up Sockapalooza sock) "Ouch. Maybe I'll read."

Next day, 8:23 am: "(whimper)"

How 'bout some Flickr favorites? Can you tell I am having a little infatuation with turquoise and pink?


1. Wendetasche aussen, 2. spring palette..., 3. koigu gelato., 4. gnome, 5. Climbing vine Messenger, 6. Embroidered tea cozy, 7. virgen de guadalupe, 8. girlfriends skirt, 9. fabricbuttons, 10. over, 11. DSC00672, 12. AB apron 2, 13. Talk to Strangers, 14. Koigu Bits, 15. Vintage children's sewing machine, 16. more new fabrics, 17. Blue Doorway, Lyme Regis, 18. pinkpopsicle, 19. thrift score: metal kitchen, 20. turquoise and pink, 21. rosa hyllan, 22. Pink & Turquoise, 23. vintage hot pink, turquoise and green piggy bank, 24. wip -- giant granny, 25. My hutch, 26. the first signs of summer...., 27. Peaks & Valleys, 28. Old Schoolhouse/Church/Masonic Hall, 29. Little Birdie Bookmark, 30. blueberry ice cream handspun, 31. Vintage Pillowcases, 32. Steam Rising, 33. Buttons (May 15), 34. purple obsession, 35. what do you mean no javelins?!, 36. peonies

And Even More Crochet!

Clearly, I cannot get enough of crocheting round things.

Pattern: Little Bowls, from the Crochet to Go deck
Fiber: Sugar n' Cream cotton for the one on the left, 3 ply jute garden twine for the one on the right
Hooks: Size F for the cotton bowl, size G for the jute bowl

The key with these little bowls is very tight gauge. The cotton bowl really needed a smaller hook. The jute one turned out to be pretty sturdy. Granted, it wasn't exactly a relaxing crafting experience, but it was fun in its way. The jute would make nice coasters, too.

I also finished up another crochet project, which is blocking.

More details later, but for now I will only say that it's part of my devious plot to convince Ashley to start crocheting.

You all had some great ideas for the crocheted circles from yesterday. Kim probably wins the prize for "most unlikely" with bikini top and knee pads. I really liked Stephanie's idea to seam them together and stiffen them with cork between the layers. This would have the added benefit of allowing them to be used as hot pads. For now, the circles will remain one of those "enjoy the process" projects.

Link-o-Rama!
* I am really enjoying seeing all the book recommendations on Minty's and Lolly's blogs. My to-read pile is going to be totteringly tall!
* Speaking of books, I am practically biting my nails waiting for my pre-ordered copy of Amy Karol's book, Bend the Rules Sewing. (And the new Harry Potter, too, of course!) And Alicia Paulson announced on Posie Gets Cozy that she is working on a book, due to hit the shelves in fall 2008. ::swoon::
* Have you seen Scout's new colorways? Amazing!
* It must be summer, because I am itching to knit socks. Nona's astounding Sidewinders are about to be cast on, in spite of having three others on the needles. After seeing Sulafaye's finished ones, how could I resist?

By the way, I got my Ravelry invite last week. If you're there too, look for me! I chose the surprising name of "affiknitty."

In the Mood

... for crochet ...

... in circles, in ice cream colors ...

... which were originally intended to be coasters, but turned out too big. And floppy. They remind me a little of fabric yo-yos, so I thought I'd make a bunch of them. What I'll do with them then, I haven't a clue. Table runner? Throw blanket? Line the backs with fabric? We'll see!

Tenho Jeito

Pattern: Perfect Periwinkle Turtleneck Tube Vest by Stefanie Japel in Fitted Knits
Yarn: Every last bit of 2 skeins of Cascade 220 Wool
Needles: 3.75mm (US5) Addi Turbos
Thoughts: Many.

In Brazilian Portuguese, there's an expression ... jeito or jeitinho. If you have jeito, it more or less means that you're clever and resourceful. When I was in high school in Brazil, I had a friend whose rocket for the science fair landed in the neighborhood behind the school. He found it in the hands of a little kid, who insisted that the rocket was his but gamely offered to sell it to my friend. That kid had jeito.

A jeitinho is your resourceful and clever solution. Yesterday, as I was finishing up this tank, I was deeply engaged in working a jeitinho. I made the smallest size, which called for 2 skeins of yarn. In trying to make it as long as possible with just the two skeins, I ran out of yarn before finishing my bind off. Aarrggh! I had tried the sweater on, though, and felt that the neck was a little longer than it needed to be. So I unravelled from the cast-on edge back about 4 rows or so and then cast off with a size N crochet hook. That made the neck edge a little ruffly, but at least it goes over my head. And I had enough yarn to finish my bind-off.

Valuable lessons learned: unravelling from the cast-on edge is a major PITA!

I am still contemplating undoing the bind off at the bottom and adding some more ribbing in a coordinating color, probably espresso brown. What do you all think?