Central Park Hoodie KAL, first meeting!

On Sunday my KAL group had our "first meeting" :).  Our group consists of me, Lindsey, Alex, and Alex's mom!!   I'm very excited about this because this is my first knit OR crocheted adult size sweater---and it is for me!  We met on Sunday, had some lunch, and got to knitting!  Some of us had cast on prior to this first meeting to begin the ribbing--because ribbing can be a bit boring/annoying/blah...  Well, Alex was a bit gung-ho and finished the back of her sweater DURING our first meeting.... :) Way to go ALEX!  You can see her finished pieces in the picture below :).  The rest of us either completed at least all of the ribbing during this first meeting and began the pattern repeats.

Pictured here is Alex and her mom.  I'm so happy that we have Alex's mom on board, we can learn so much from her!!!!  She is a wonderful knitter and it makes me very excited that she decided to join us!  Both Alex and her mom decided to use Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for their sweaters.  Alex's is a purple/red heather color (Claret Heather) and her mom's is a light blue/gray color (Lake Ice Heather)

Lindsey got a good amount of her sweater done. (Notice her stitch markers!! I made those :).  Lindsey is using Caron One Pound in a navy blue color.  I'm also using the Caron One Pound, but in white.  I had a bunch of this yarn in my stash (3 pound in each color) and we figured that since this was our first real big sweater project, it was best to try and use up a stash yarn instead of buying something new :).  A bit plus is that this yarn is machine washable and dry-able!!

From left to right: Alex, me,  and Lindsey.  We are all so proud of our progress on these sweaters!  This was taken at the end of our knitting session!

Finally, here is my progress (by the end of Sunday night) on my sweater!  This is the back.  I'm slightly nervous that this might be too small since this pattern is said to run about 4 inches too small.  I went up a size and got a slightly larger gauge with my yarn than the patter, so I'm hoping that it will be ok.

Our next meeting is on June 19th!  We made an agreement not to have more than the back and two front sides made by this time.  Alex is really knitting this quickly and we thought it would be best to try to stay at a similar pace for this project.  I hope that I can do the back and the fronts by the next meeting!!!  I think I might take this to work with me :) so I can knit on the train!  WOOHOO!!!

Until next time!

FO Friday!

I've noticed a trend across crafty-blogland that a lot of people are using certain days each week to post pictures of their projects.  Specifically WIP Wednesday (work in progress) and FO Friday (finish object).  I figured I should get on this bandwagon and do the same thing myself.  So, today being Friday, I figured it was a good motivation to post.  (I've been a little absent with my posts lately....mostly busy with school and work).

Drum roll please :).  I now present to you all of my recent FINISHED OBJECTS! (In no particular order).

Let's start with two throw pillows made for my friend Kerri and her new husband Bill for their wedding!!  Kerri loves polka dots, so I figured pillows with crocheted bobbles would be perfect!  They are in a neutral color to coordinate with Kerri and Bill's living room.

(Ok, so these aren't finished objects...but they are pictures of Kerri and Bill's wedding.)  Here is the lovely bride and groom and some of the bridal party :).

And here we have Kerri's mom, Kerri, Me, and my mom!  I've known Kerri since we were both very little, so this picture means a lot to me :).

Now back to the FOs!  This is a pair of knit slipper socks that I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  I used Lion Brand Homespun and large-ish needles (size 10? maybe).  They are a great quick present and a GREAT way to use up leftover yarn.  Side note, I hate Homespun....but it worked well for these!!!

This is my first knit wearable!!! It is the Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher.  It took me about 2 weeks to make, but I only knit on the train to and from work....and one night at home to finish it.  I am quite happy with it and VERY excited that it is my first sweater-like object!!!!

Finally, I've been on a "let's redecorate/spruce up my apartment" kick lately.  These are one of my newest additions!  My living room was somewhat lacking in the artwork department....specifically on the wall that goes up my stairs.  Since I love yarn and crocheting and knitting so much, I decided it would be nice to frame some doilies!  I got these frames at Ikea for about $10 each, got the teal paper from Michaels for like $0.20 each or something like that, and I had the crochet thread already.  I made 3 different doilies from patterns in a book I have and from patterns on the web.  They are about 7ish inches in diameter.  The framing area is about 7.5in x 9.5 in (yes, weird I know..most are 8in x 10in hahaha, but Ikea had to be different :)).  I blocked each doily with water, let them dry overnight, and then used a light spray adhesive to make them tacky and place them in the frame.  I'm quite proud of myself!!

I hope to post an entry soon about my apartment improvements :)!  I also will be starting a KAL (knit along) with 2 of my friends and my friend's mom!  We are going to be knitting the Central Park Hoodie, and I'm SOOOOO excited!! Our first meeting is Sunday...woohooooo!! (I'll share a secret...I cast on already and have knit maybe 6 rows of the ribbing...shhhh).

Another Zergling-ini (maybe Zerglini?)

The 6th member of my Zerglini collection will soon be on its way to the state of Washington to meet its new owner :).  I never thought that my interpretation of these creatures would become such a hit when I first started making them last November!  #4 and 5 made it safely to Canada, btw!  Bye-bye spring green/electric green Zerglini!  Safe trip!!!

Lunchtime yarn fun!

Had my first trip to Knitty City today!!! What a wonderful (and friendly) store!!

My Knit Picks order came!!!

YAY!!! I was delighted to come home from work on Friday and find my Knit Picks order waiting at my door!  Even though I have enough yarn to last me a few years (I need to reorganize my stash....maybe in a month or two I will do that and post all of what I own **gulp**), it is always nice to receive some in the mail or buy it in the store or get it as a gift...you get the idea :)!  All of the yarn in the order is sock yarn--which I plan on using to make more Easter eggs...(for next year) :) and I also tried a set of interchangeable needles (which I am loving!!) and some new stitch markers!!!

::Drool!!!::

Mmmmmmm all the yummy yarn!!!!! KP <3!

Felici in "Moonlit"

Felici in "Rainbow"

Stroll Multi in "Meadow"

And Imagination in "Fairy Princess"

"Mermaid Lagoon"

"Pixie Dust"

and "Unicorn"

When I get new yarn it reminds me how far I have come with knitting and crocheting.  I'm not sure if everyone else is like me, but I know that I started out using yarns from craft stores like A.C. Moore and Michaels (which I still use btw because they are quite useful!) and as I got more skilled I advanced to using more "special" yarns.  I love yarn, knitting, and crocheting so much and I'm so excited to use this new yarn!!

Zergling-inis!

The first set of Zergling-inis are on their way to Canada to meet their new owner :).  I really hope that they have a good trip and are happy in Canada :).

I'll miss you guys!!!

Happy Easter

Over the past couple days I knit up a few cute (if I do say so myself) Easter eggs using a pattern from Knitting Today! and some sock yarn :).  They remind me a little bit of the beautiful pisanki (Polish Easter eggs) that my mom has in a basket at home.  I hope to make a few more too! :)  Enjoy this wonderful day.  Happy Easter to anyone that celebrates it!  Hristos voskres!!

The Quarter Stitch--New Orleans, LA

Last weekend I attended the joint conference of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) located in New Orleans, LA.  I enjoyed four days of the conference--attending presentations and meetings, receptions and get-togethers, and I of course visited a local yarn store.  Before I left for NOLA I googled about the different LYS in the area and I discovered that The Quarter Stitch was located in the French Quarter AND was in walking distance from my hotel.  Perfect!!  So on the last day of my trip I decided to do some exploring and wandered into the French Quarter to The Quarter Stitch.

The store is open every day from 11am to 6 pm and I happened to arrive a little before it opened and the woman opening that day was surprised to see someone waiting for her to open the store.  One of my favorite parts was the knitting/needlepoint post that stood outside the store, welcoming customers in. 

It really was beautiful inside--there was a lot of yarn everywhere and it was in all different colors!  The sales woman was nice enough to let me take some photos in the store and I'm very please to share them! The store also has many needlepoint things for sale, but I wasn't allowed to photograph them since they are copyrighted.

My mom remarked that this wall of colorful yarn resembled part of my yarn stash that "lives" in my bedroom :).

Of course after looking at all of this wonderful yarn, I had to buy some!  I decided on two skeins of Malabrigo Rios in the color way 866 Arco Iris that remind me of NOLA and one skein of Colinette Jitterbug in lilac (which is a yarn I never saw before, but apparently is popular).  I'll have pictures of the yarn soon :).  I also purchased a project bag for one of my very dear friends (KnittyLindsey).  At The Quarter Stitch they wrap each purchase--each skein and the project bag in my case--separately in different colored tissue paper and then put them in a clear plastic bag.  The bag has little tissue paper hearts in it and very cute business cards for the store.  It is all tied closed with multi-colored curling ribbon.  This probably was my prettiest yarn purchase to date!!

I also wanted to share some of my general NOLA photographs :).  This is a picture of the view from my hotel.  It shows the Mississippi River and part of the French Quarter Festival that was also going on at the same time as the conference.

This is a picture of Bourbon Street (of course).  It was jam-packed with people.  It was interesting to see people standing in the balconies in the buildings on the street tossing down beads.

There were different musical groups performing all over the French Quarter.  I found it to be really fun to have all different types of live music all around--and boy, did they really draw a crowd!

On my last day I decided to go exploring and visit The Quarter Stitch.  Since I arrived a bit early before the store opened, I just walked around the French Quarter snapping away.  Here is a man who is painting; I just love how much color he uses in his artwork!

This is a picture of the St. Louis Cathedral that is located right near Jackson Square.  It is so beautifully breathtaking to see it in person--massive and white, standing majestically in the French Quarter.

One of my favorite parts of NOLA was the balconies with the beautiful railings.  I just love the detail of the iron work (I think it is iron work....) :).

I also really like the quaint little shops that you find on all of the streets.  The area just seems so small and the entrances to stores are small as well.  I am guessing that is because the buildings are so old :).  I just really liked the set up of this little store.

So overall I enjoyed my extended weekend trip to New Orleans.  The food was delicious (though very rich) and the atmosphere was fun.  I learned a lot at the conference and I'm filled with positive energy--definitely a good boost to get working more on my dissertation!!! (And I can't wait to knit and crochet with my new yarn!!!)

Wine glass charms--Cancer Crushers Fundraiser

On April 30th I will be walking with team Cancer Crushers in the 2011 EIF Revlon Run/Walk For Women in New York City.  Part of my goal in participating in this event is to raise money for cancer research--together we can find a cure for this terrible disease.  As part of my fundraising efforts, I created five sets of wine glass charms.  Each set features a different theme of charms and colored glass beads.  For a donation of $10 you can receive one of the following sets.  

"Stars" is a set of five charms featuring different unique star shapes.  The colors included in this set are red, light blue, green, orange, and purple.  

"Birds" is a set of five charms as well.  Each features a unique bird along with different color beads.  Colors in this set are blue, yellow, green, red, and purple.

"Swirls" is a set of six charms all featuring identical swirly pendants.  The colors included in this set are dark blue, purple, orange, pink, green, and turquoise.

Update 4/5/11--"Swirls" are no longer available! :)

"Hearts" is a set of six charms featuring identical heart charms with engraved details on the front.  Colors contained in this set are teal, light blue, orange, yellow, green, and purple.

"Starfish" is a set of six charms with identical starfish charms.  The colors contained in this set are light blue, red, yellow, green, deep blue, and orange.

To make a donation and receive one of these wine glass charm sets do the following:

• Email me, comment on this blog post, or comment on Craftini Marini's Facebook page and let me know which set you desire.  Once you do this I will place the set on hold.
• Next, make your $10 donation using this website or contact me for paypal information.  
• Once your donation is made, let me know via email or comment that you made your donation and you will get your wine charms.

Thank you for your help in supporting this very worthy cause.  Remember these five sets are first come first serve!!