Craftini has been at it again!!

Sooooooo, I'm taking the big exams associated with getting my PhD on October 22--you get two chances to pass, and if you don't, you can't get your PhD.  No stress there, right? Well, of course being a "good graduate student" I've been studying for them and taking breaks to crochet/knit/sew and clean!

Some recent sewing projects include a purse that I made from an old pair of jeans and a little stuffed owl!

I also taught myself how to cable when knitting.  I started two scarves--the greenish one I started first (night before purple one) because the purple one required size 19 needles which I didn't think I had.  (Side note, I bought them and then found I had a pair hiding at home...oh well :)).  The purple scarf--Mega Cabled Scarf from Stitch DC blog--is made from Cascade Magnum which is a super bulky yarn and went super fast!  I think it supposedly takes like 4-6 hours to complete if you just work continuously, but since I've been studying/working/etc it took me two days :).  I don't have a finished picture at the moment, but that will come!!  The green scarf is the Amy scarf and is being knitted in Berroco Vintage.

I also completed a very special blanket, but I'll post about that later after I give it to the intended person :).

I've started compiling my holiday 2010 gift list--I really just want to work on projects now and not study.....not such a good plan I know.  No worries, I won't be doing that--I'm a good student! :)  In fact, I've tried to convince myself not to do any sort of crafting starting October 1st until the 22nd when my test is done.  That might not work, but I will definitely keep it to a minimum!

Champagne Fizz Hat - Knitting Daily

Champagne Fizz Hat - Knitting Daily

This is a pattern that I do not think I will ever be knitting. Just came across it, just had to share it!

NJ Sheep and Wool Festival

Today Chris, my friend and fellow knitter/crocheter/sewer/etc Lindsey, and I went to the NJ Sheep and Wool Festival.  This was the first time any of us went, and wow was it fun!  There were sheep everywhere!  There were sheep sheering events, judging competitions, spinning and knitting classes, food, music, and YARN!!!!  We all took a class to teach us how to spin our own yarn on a drop spindle.  The spindle was made from a dowel rod, 2 CDs, a hook, and a rubber piece to keep it all together--so simple, but so cool!

I did get a bunch of nice yarn!  Some beautiful Alpaca that I plan on making into the "Fetching" fingerless gloves, some hand painted wool boucle, and two kinds of roving (one for mittens and one to try and spin myself!).

I loved the sheep (even though they were pooping and peeing everywhere lol).  I wish I could have taken photos of them all day :).

Definitely looking forward to going back next year! (And maybe I'll come home with a sheep!)

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Sunset

We've had some very beautiful sunsets lately in New Jersey.  I was lucky enough to capture a few shots of one of the last ones (from my bathroom window).

And in a side note, driving back up from Florida, we drove into a LOT of storms.  Here's a few of the coolest pictures!

AMAZING Granny Rectangle Blanket

I fell in love with Lion Brand's Amazing yarn.  I love the way the colors look, I like how soft it is, and I like that it is made with wool (almost 50% wool) yet it is machine washable!  I had started gathering skeins of "Wildflower" months ago....I think I actually posted about the first 4 here.  Since then I've been buying a few skeins at a time with this blanket in mind.  I ended up with 20 purchased skeins of yarn.  As I started this blanket, I had an issue with one of the skeins--lots of fiber was unspun and it was kind of gross.  I contacted Lion Brand and they ended up sending me a free skein.  So in total I had 21 skeins for this blanket and I used just about all 21.

Here are some pictures from my project!

Florida Vacation

In the beginning of August I went on a road trip to Naples, Florida.  It was so much fun!  I hadn't been to florida in about 20 years, so it was really nice to see it through the eyes of an adult (as opposed to a 6/7 year old hehee).  Of course, I found a LYS and decided to see what kinds of yummy yarn they had!  (I decided that yarn is the best souvenir for me!  Not only is it so fun to buy, but I can make something beautiful that will last for long time.)  I found Knitting with Nancy!!!  The store was really nice and there were a bunch of helpful people working there.  I ended up picking out three new yarns!

A beautiful sock yarn called Santa Fe:

Some Zen by Berroco that happened to be on sale :) and who can resist a sale???

And Mochi Plus--which came with a free knitting pattern!!!!

:)

Under the Sea

I mentioned in my last post that I had been working on a secret project!  Well here it is!  My friend commissioned me to make a baby blanket for her friend who was expecting her first baby.  While the parents decided to not know the sex of the baby, the theme of the nursery was going to be under the sea.  I came up with this design using the "Soft Waves" pattern by Jan Eaton and free handing all of the sea creatures.  The baby was born quite recently--a healthy boy!!

Hope you like the blanket!

I really want to make a sweater...

Obviously, as the title says, I really want to make a sweater, specifically for myself.  And I think that I would like to knit it.  I'm still looking for the right pattern for me to use...it has to be something some what simple (since I'm a less advanced knitter than I am crocheter) and it needs to be pretty and fun looking.  I would like something with a simple cable, I think--though I've yet to even try cables, I've read about them and they seem not so bad.  [Maybe I need to make a little ipod cozy or something to try it first.]

Oh, and not to worry, ye people of blog-dome!  I have been crocheting, WILDLY!  I just can't post about it yet, since it is a secret!  ;).  As soon as said secret is delivered to said secret party, I will post about it and share pictures and all sorts of wonderful goodies!  [NOTE: for those of you that are ravelry friends, be sure to check out my project page....the most recent project is the one I'm working on!!!]

After I finish this project, I need to make two other baby blankets!  Sheesh I'm busy!  My mom has so many teacher friends that are having babies, it is incredible!  I really want to work on the blanket I started for myself, ummmm 2 years ago!  It is so simple, and it is double stranded, yet I'm only like 50% done!  Here is that project.  I originally started it in like June of 2008, but it was HUGE--like HUGE hahah, and I had to frog it, then I restarted it New Years of 2009....and I'm still only half way done. I just want to finish it so that I have a blanket of my own to snuggle under!!!

Here is the original

Yeah, hi, that's way too big hahaha.  ANYWAY, I need to work on that.  I just can't wait to do a whole bunch of crafting!!  I have some paintings to make too--I'm thinking "plaid" made using painters tape and diluted paints, but we'll see!

I've been working a lot, so that's kept me busy, but I LOVE IT!  I have to switch my schedule a bit, but that's ok!! This summer has been way better than last summer so far!

OH, and I'll be going to Florida in like 2 weeks, so I *need* to decide on a project or two to take with me!!!

<3

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday was the 4th of July, happy birthday America!  I started my day with a surprise visit from the Coopers!  I used to babysit for these girls when they were 1.5 years old and 1 month old respectively.  They ended up moving out of town years ago and I don't get to see them as often as I like.  You can imagine how happy I was to get a call from them that they were in the area!  I hopped right over to Starbucks and had a lovely visit (though it was too short).  Hopefully I will see them in August :).

After that, I went with my mom to the cemetery to plant flowers on my grandparent's grave and my dads.  Yesterday would have been my Dziadzia's birthday (grandfather), so we always plant flowers and visit.  That was followed by our annual 4th of July hot dog at the Hot Grill....mmmmmmmmmm that was yummy!

After that, I went to the Clifton High School Stadium to hear the Clifton Community Band play as well as see the fireworks!  It was definitely a lovely way to spend the 4th.  I was way excited to try and take some fireworks pictures!  You can see my entire set on flickr.  But here are some of the highlights!

My Garden

My vegetable garden is at my Mom's house, but we both take care of it--I weed and she waters, and we both enjoy it!  Decided to take some photos because the fruits of our labor, or should I say vegetables, are really starting!

We have peas, cucumbers, tomatoes (cherry and "early girl"), jalapeno peppers, and strawberries :).  We've already enjoyed a few cherry tomatoes, so I really can't wait to see how everything else turns out!

Mmmmm cherry tomatoes!

Jalapeno peppers!!!

Peas!!! (These I started from seeds in my apartment!!)

The first strawberry!

And the cucumbers!