http://www.zappos.com/hunter-hunter-original-iris

http://www.zappos.com/hunter-hunter-original-iris

After getting completely drenched today in the lovely rain that NJ/NY is getting, I decided to get myself a pair of rain boots. I have pretty large feet for a girl (size 12), but after discussing with other women who have these boots, we came to the conclusion that they run large--about 1 size large. SOOOOOOO, I ordered an 11 AND they are purple!

:) Hopefully they work out so I can go splashing in puddles!

Duct-Tape Dress Form #1 - Threads

Duct-Tape Dress Form #1 - Threads

This is a pretty cool idea!

Beauty is all around!

Every rainy day has bright cheery moments. This little rose was sticking out from behind a fence. I must return with my camera. I love the raindrops on it!

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!