FO Fri - Lagoon Hemlock Ring Blanket

I can hardly believe how fast this project finished up (that is, except for the blocking part!) I was complaining last time, saying it would take forever, and then the edges sucked up all that end yarn! Hehe.

Oh, and then it took me forever to block it, because I'm a lazy procrastinator! I wish I'd added the garter ridge on this blanket, but I started it before the other one. Ah well, just another reason to knit one more for myself! :)



Specs - see this blanket on Ravelry!

• Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Turquoise - 435 (8.75 skeins)
• Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood
• Needles: Knit Picks Nickel Plated Interchangeable needles, US size 9, 5.5mm
• Cast on: October 15th, 2009
• Cast off: June 1, 2010
• Completed: July 5th, 2010
  

On the Road to Spring - Week 4 - postponed!

This was the most intimidating part for me, as I'm kind of obsessive about keeping the lines all straight and together. I kept telling myself that I'd have to accept some mistakes, as they can't all be perfect; but I still procrastinated this step for days! Consequently, I have to take a week and postpone this one's update! I hope you'll all stay tuned with me, ans I try and work through my fears and finish my quilt!

FO Friday - Yet Another Hemlock Ring Blanket

I can't believe I've got another Hemlock Ring to show off this week, as I wasn't planning on posting this one til next week, but such is life!

I really, really enjoyed knitting this blanket, both because I added the traditional garter ridge found in the feather & fan pattern (not found on the original Hemlock pattern,) and because this yarn was like butter to knit with! So soft, and just the right amount of stretch to it. I almost wish I'd made it bigger, but I hate blocking these buggers when they're done - it's always such a chore!

Specs - see this blanket on Ravelry!

• Yarn: Adrienne Vittadini Martina in Sand x8 400grams (actually purchased at Webs)
• Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood
• Needles: Knit Picks Nickel Plated Interchangeable needles, US size 8, 5.mm
• Cast on: December 1st, 2009
• Cast off: February 2010 (blocked at the end of Feb.)

WIP Wednesday - Lagoon Hemlock Ring Blanket

I've been wanting to knit a Hemlock Ring blanket for myself, for what seems like forever... It's a pattern I've knit several times, although not for myself until now! I love it to begin with, but in Malabrigo Silky Merino - it's positively delicious! The turquoise color did transfer a bit more color onto my hands than my Clapotis, ok a LOT more, but I hope since I won't be laundering it often that it will end up being a minor concern about the finished object.

I got a ridiculously good deal on this yarn at Webs, and although I do enjoy supporting the smaller yarn shops - you can't beat a great deal on yummy yarn! And this yarn is soooo yummy! Soft and really enjoyable to knit with, much less the amazing fabric it makes knitted up!

This blanket sat on the needles (is still kinda sitting!) for a long time, but I get bored with this pattern once it starts getting big, plus I got so distracted with gift knits! I just hope I can finish it soon, even though the colder weather is finally starting to leave Chicago, (just wait, it'll snow again! Haha!)

Specs - see this blanket on Ravelry!

• Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Turquoise - 435 (x10 skeins 500gr)
• Pattern: Hemlock Ring Blanket by Jared Flood
• Needles: Knit Picks Nickel Plated Interchangeable needles, US size 9, 5.5mm
• Cast on: October 15th, 2009
• Approximately 65% done - working on it!

On the Road to Spring Quiltalong - Week 2

I wish I had more progress to show off this week (and pics!,) but I've only managed to finish piecing a few more strips (I only have 14 of 20 completed. Bummer!)

Next, I'm onto sewing them all up together to form the top; but, I'm starting to wonder just how long that will take me! Haha! It is a fun project, working with my own fabric though! Just not a quickie project, although what decent sized blanket (handmade, people!) wouldn't take some time and effort to complete.

On the Road to Spring Quiltalong - Week 1

Wow, what a week! I broke half my craft table last Monday night, unfortunately before I'd cut the corduroy squares (but thankfully after I'd managed to get the yardage ironed!) So yeah, it wasn't looking like the easiest week ever, piecing all the strips together on one half my regular work space...

So, I only managed to get 7 strips pieced together so far, but here they are!

It's a little tricky keeping the nap of the corduroy going only in one direction, but the print is a little easier to manage, I'm trying to keep the pattern intact. So, instead of just turning the strips around when I piece them together, I'm assembling them differently. 

Half get the regular treatment of rectangle then square (5 times for each strip,) and the other half start of with a square patch, and then I add the rectangle. I tried to be clever in my construction because I'm so obsessive about details on the back end of finished items (that is to say later, when I'm using them/looking at them!)

Big thanks go to DH, who fixed my craft table for me last night! Yeay!  Here's links to my first post about my quilt, and the inspiration - Randi's Quiltalong.

On the Road to Spring Quiltalong - The Start

I read Randi's blog regularly, so when I caught in my RSS feed that she was organizing a quilt-along I knew I wanted in. And then, the Ravelympics hit me, and I set super high expectations for myself... I think it was a good lesson in juggling my biggest craft priorities right now, and I'm really pleased to share with you my very first quilt ever - and the first progress pictures of it! Yeay! :)

I decided to use the fabric I won in Spoonflower's first contest. The colors weren't quite right (which is odd, because I'd proofed the printed fabric before that, and hadn't made any changes to my pattern file;) and it's been sitting around my craft room ever since. So, when I read how much fabric I'd need for this quilt my mind immediately jumped to the 2 pieces totaling 5yds of my cocoa squiggle stripe print. It was a bold decision, to use only one print fabric, instead of the ten different prints as suggested. But, I have a very good visual brain that helps me to see things in my mind, almost as clear as pictures - and I knew my concept would work. (Not trying to sound arrogant, it was also the novelty of making a quilt with my very own fabric print!)

The keystone to my plan was to keep the neutral squares plain in color, but texture-rich; the chocolate fine wale corduroy works beautifully, and I had about a half-yard of this teal denim. It's smoother than the corduroy, but the color worked so well with my print, and I love a bit of bold contrast thrown into the mix! Plus, only having a tiny amount of the teal gave me a great design challenge of exactly where I'd place the teal squares!

I had to back my own print with muslin, it was too transparent next to the other, thicker fabrics. Good thing I had a bunch of it in my fabric stash! It was a lot of extra work to double the HUNDRED rectangles I'd already cut; but in the end, I think it'll be worth it - when I'm not nit-picking about how I could have made it better - to death!

So, there's my fabric picks (I wanted to photo them all done & cut, but I still need to pre-wash and cut the corduroy.) I haven't quite decided on the backing fabric, but I have a few options (including more of my own cocoa squiggle stripe fabric, yeay!) I'll also need to decide on binding, but I figure I can make both of those decisions a little farther down the road, hahaha!

Ravelympics 2010 - Update

I was so set on not joining in this round of the Ravelympics, but of course I got myself sucked in! And naturally, I had to pick a much bigger project, because I finished so much in 08... 

This time around it was to be a Bauhaus Throw, from Craft; zine's blog. I didn't have the recommended yarn, but I did have a ton of Elann Silken Kydd hanging around since I let the deadline for my Milkweed project lapse without finishing it. 

I had to go up in needle size to get gauge, but that's really nothing new for me. These days, it's only a needle size or two, but when I first started knitting, I had a stranglehold on my yarn, and would regularly go up 4 or more sizes! Tension counts, folks - take it from me!

And, to make it that much more difficult, I decided to dye half of my ivory yarn into a seafoam blue green for the contrast color. Which, really wouldn't have been that hard, except I totally procrastinated it, like entirely! And then, to make matters even more complicated, I managed to dye all 3 skeins a slightly different shade of blue, even though I really tried to get them the same shade. Meh...

So, I'm 25% done, and the Olympics close in 3 days... I don't think I'll make it to get my own gold medal, but I hope I can still finish my new blanket. Even though it's kinda static-ey, it's very soft, and SUPER light weight - so I hope it will be a good knit to have spent time on for my home. 

Better late than never, eh? :)

Buy My Fabric?!?! Yeay!

Today's the day, and I can hardly believe it! Spoonflower's opened a shop, so I can sell my fabric designs, along a gazillion others, which I'm sure is why the site's a little slow. Don't worry, if you want Cocoa Squiggly Stripe, my very first ever repeatable fabric design - you can buy it right now! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am about this, and I can't wait to see how it's used! (Please email me, or you can upload to my Flicker group.)

It might be worth mentioning that I won Spoonflower's first ever contest with this design, way back last year! (It feels like so much longer, somehow...lol) I have a recent print of this, on their new fabrics, and they look a lot better than a print run I did a few months back - so I'll try and get pics of the new stuff, for those who need to see the print on real fabric before they buy!

Feature Friday - EmilyMe

I first saw this fabric over at True Up (a great fabric & sewing blog!) I knew I wanted it, but I wanted to decide what to make with it before I bought any - so I knew just how much to purchase! That's always tricky when you fall in love with a fabric. For whatever it's worth, I like a quantity of 3 yds. It's enough to make a knee length skirt (even with some pre-shrinking with cotton,) and plenty of Home dec items, and I guess that's what I enjoy sewing the most.

Rachel was very good about communicating with me, even though we're a half a world away - literally! She's 12 hours ahead of me, so I thought her communication was better than most, considering her time zone! She quickly gave me a private listing for my 3 yds, but I had to wait while it was in transit to me! It was a hard wait, because I really love this print! Check out the selvedge - it's in Thai, and I think it's so beautiful.

It actually came a bit quicker than I expected, for as far as it was coming from! That's always a good thing, though. I haven't made all of my design decisions about my skirt yet, so I think I'll sew a muslin first; this fabric is just too limited to play around with, design wise. There's only 20 yds of it anywhere, and less than 5yds available through EmilyMe on Etsy. I don't want to cut something wrong, and then hate myself for it! Hahaha!

I also received a package of buttons with my order, and aren't they pretty? I know I'll have to save them for something really special, they're chunky, shiny and awesome! I love getting freebies with my Etsy orders, and I really liked sending them out, back when I was selling. Do you guys like getting a little something extra when you buy handmade? Is it an expectation, or a hope?

If you missed the link above, here's her shop!

Decor8 Mood Board Contest Entry!

I was totally inspired by the latest Decor8 challenge - the Amy Butler Mood Board! Picking one of Amy's newest fabrics to design a room around - what a dream challenge! Admittedly my style is a bit more modern than hers, but I think the bright colors she's used pop wonderfully off interesting textures in neutrals (or pseudo-neutrals,) in both fabrics and wood. I hope you like my entry, and I really hope I do well, the prizes are awesome! Hehe. The items I've chosen do range from the very affordable to the very pricey, but I like the mix of serious and playful. I hope you do, too!

The title of my room is Lime Martini living room with a twist. The twist is the office, because who doesn't have real living to do in their living room?!?!?!? Bills, a laptop, sticky notes and pens - real living is so much messier than design magazines would lead us to believe! I didn't use actual paint chips, they vary so much from market to market, so I just went for color blocks instead. Also, the drapes are like my dream drapes... silver velvet casual pleat drapes with a wide band of turquoise silk dupioni at the bottom. I haven't been able to find them anywhere, much less the fabric to make them, but am still planning on sewing them up myself someday...

Here's my list of resources -

• Petrie Sofa Espresso - Crate & Barrel 1,459$
• Liege Desk Wenge - DWR 2,600$
• Elements Reversible Bookcase Epsresso (x2) - Crate & Barrel 179$ each
• Sakura Area Rug Light Blue/Gold - Home Decorators 69$-1,499$
• Parsons Storage Coffee Table White - West Elm 249$
  
• Eames Aluminum Side Chair Powder Blue - DWR 1,529.10$
• Windowpane Chair Green - CB2 79.95$
• Nelson Saucer Pendant Lamp - DWR 300$
• Ponzio Table Lamp - Crate & Barrel 149$
  
• Bauhaus Arc Lamp Olivine - CB2 199$
  
• Tessuto Throw Blanket Olivine - CB2 39.95$
• Cardigan Pillow Ivory - Crate & Barrel 24.95$
• Gallery Tray White - Crate & Barrel 19.95$

It was so much fun pulling together these items, and dreaming up the paint colors & drapes! I may have to do more design work soon, but it's so much harder when it's in your own house! Hahaha! I hope I do well, this is the first contest I've been interested in for a while!!!

There were a few accessories that didn't make it into the final room, I may post them if anyone is interested. (Cheaper, more room "fluff" than furniture.) Thanks for looking!

Cardstock Calender

There was really no reason I put this project off for so long. (It's Patricia's template, available over at A Little Hut.) I bought it back last year, just before January, and only got about half-way through it before I put it down and let it languish. It wasn't hard, but I let it get buried under a few other things on my craft table, and didn't think about it again for a while.

Now that it's June, I thought to myself that it might be really nice if I actually finished it, and was able to enjoy it on my wall*! So, I finished the last bunch of cuts, punched holes at the tops of each page, and got to work on a hanger to mount it on the wall. I used a plain old dry cleaner hanger (which is weird, cuz I haven't gotten anything dry cleaned in recent memory!)

The only thing left to decide was what fabric or paper to use behind each month's "window." Of course that was easier said than done, but I narrowed it down to 4 fabric scraps - one in aqua wool gabardine, one in teal silk charmeuse, one in silver silk dupioni and one in purple minky. I really liked another blogger's version of this calender, although for the life of me I can't seem to dig up the link. She used a piece of orange wool felt the same size as the calender page, and I thought it was so simple and bold. I wish I could figure out where I saw it...

*I actually finished this last month, but didn't get the pictures taken and uploaded to Flickr until today. What can I say, I'm a lazy blogger!

Life's a Beach!

For a while, I've wanted to add more easy project tutorials here - but I've really fallen short of that goal this year. Life gets in the way of our best laid plans, but it's easier to go with the flow than to try and swim against the current, right? With that in mind, I designed these beach candlescapes. They can be used for special occasions, everyday home décor - or just to get a slice of the beach in a busy, busy world. (I'm sure you could do even more with them, and I'd love to see what you guys come up with!)

Materials:

• Glass container(s)
• Sand, any desired color
• Seashells
• Candle(s)

Start by cleaning your glass container(s,) inside and out. Fill with sand, between 1/5 and 1/3 of the container's height. This is just a guideline, feel free to play around with what makes you happy about your beach! Use as little or as much as pleases you with your container & sand combination.

I knew that I wouldn't have very much extra space around my votive candle, so I used the smallest seashells I had, and placed them around the edge of the container - sort of rocking them into the sand a bit. Once again, play around with the shell sizes and colors that you like most; and don't feel bad if you change your mind later, the materials (except the candle if you've used it up,) can all be reused!

Once you're happy with the placement of the shells, add the candle. I needed to clean my container up at this point, I got fingerprints all over it! LOL If you don't use glass cleaner, a bit of rubbing alcohol on a rag will do the trick, too. Light your candle, being careful not to burn your fingers, and enjoy!

The sand and tall container would also be great as an incense holder. Although, I'm sure you crafty lads & lasses will come up with even more uses, and I'd love to see them!!!

The New & Improved Modern Home

It used to be, when you described a home's décor as being "modern" you might have also inferred some more negative connotations, like sparse, cold or impersonal. Stark spaces, with minimal amounts of furniture and dressings, even though the rooms might be very large.



Nowadays, modern home décor is taking a turn for the diverse, and I absolutely love the trend. Modern doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to be. This kind of thinking might be different for some people, but for your personal style - you should be able to take the attributes you like about different kinds of style, and incorporate them into a design that satisfies you completely. For some that might just be French country, with no other influences. But for more and more people, and the commercial market is picking up on this trend, modern means what they want it to, and not anything they don't. Warm colors are being mixed with cool metals, and modern spaces are filled with useful accessories and pops of color - a collection of vases grouped together, instead of just one.

Modern can be so many things, even cozy! It doesn't have to be spare and completely geometric with only clean, straight lines. I love adding organic elements to modern design, to me, they make it even more fresh. Undulating lines work beautifully with clean straight ones; they contrast in such a way that makes them both more interesting to look at. And, they don't compete with each other the way some modern design can, they're supposed to be different!

Color palettes are getting more complex each season, home dec designers are trying bold new colors together in exciting ways, and many different textures are popping up in unexpected ways. Monochromatic rooms are even gaining more popularity, and the tones and textures that are so crucial to actually pulling off such a bold design choice are becoming more available everywhere.

I like to chalk this brave new world of home décor up to curiosity. It might have killed the cat, but how can you ever know for sure what you think or feel about design until you start experimenting with what works for you? You can't! And, lots of designers and retailers catering to wildly varied design appetites means lots of options to choose from. How awesome, right?

What does modern mean to you? How would you describe your home décor style as? And, would or do you incorporate modern elements? What makes it your style? (Sorry for the barrage, I've had home design on the brain for a few weeks, and I'm really interested in other people's perspectives!)

Plum Squashy Leather Bag

When I first saw this bag in the Boden's catalog, I really liked it. I wanted to get a project bag to go to Stitches with, and it was going to take 2 weeks to get here from the UK. So I went shopping, and didn't really find anything I liked. It's fall, and I didn't see any interesting colors. Only one turquoise bag, and I didn't care for the trim. (I did find a gorgeous t-shirt at J. crew though, violet with a velvet griffon on it - love it!)

Anyway, after the fruitless shopping trip I decided to look over the catalog again, and I just couldn't get over the Squashy bag. Vibrant colors, supple butter-soft leather and tons of room on the inside made this the perfect knitting project bag for me. I ordered it Friday, by Sunday it was backordered, and I had it by the following Saturday (with free shipping, to boot!) I'd highly recommend Boden's, I found them through Alicia's blog; and I know I'll be ordering more from them. It's UK sizing, so I'm a little scared of screwing up pants sizing; but they have the most gorgeous clothing. Elegant and classic, but trendy too, just not in an immature way - just what I'm looking for.

*Special thoughts go out to Alicia, who's dog unexpectedly passed away this week. Audrey was such a sweet girl, even though I never met her. We in blogland will miss her terribly, though not nearly as much as Alicia and Andy. My thoughts are with you two during these tough times.

BlogHer Con... and a Book?!?!?

I went to the second day of the BlogHer conference this weekend, at Navy Pier; and had a really great time. I met some new friends, went to some awesome talks, and got a whole bunch of free swag (score!) It was a lot of fun, but it left me super exhausted. I'd hoped to write up this post after I got home Saturday, and it's Monday now! LOL

I started with the breakfast talk on artificial intelligence, which was a bit less sci-fi than I was expecting. The speakers did touch on our universal fear of both technology and the unknown, but didn't really expand more on that. One commenter wondered what was to be done about how Google indexes pages, after her reproductive rights blog was indexed as porn, and blocked in India. Internet censorship is an issue that's very important to me, as I'd be very disappointed and angry if I couldn't voice what I think here.

Next, I went to a talk on turning your blog into a book; which was particularly interesting to me right now, as I'm putting together projects and writing one! I was hesitant to announce it here, for all the world to see, somehow it felt safer when I was just bouncing ideas off my family. Surprisingly, I think it might be easier than I was expecting, not in that it won't be a lot of work; but that I have more options in this the age of self-publishing. For those of you who might be curious, my book is about using materials on hand for home decoration. And before you go and lump me into the "thrift-craft won't look good in my home" category, I'm focusing on getting high-end results with quick & simple projects. Luxurious home items made from recycled and repurposed materials - is the feel I want to impart, although I'll admit trying to come up with titles has me stumped. They all sound so silly when I say them out loud. LOL

After lunch I caught the craft-blogging talk, although I'll confess it was mostly stuff I've read/heard/learned myself already. Don't under-price your work, it harms the market and you. Come up with a story to "hook" your buyer, so they can't not buy it. Experiment with photography to come up with your own style. I knew I should have stood up & asked where the panel thought craft-blogging might evolve into, or go next; but I had a headache starting, and so I left a few minutes early and missed meeting Amy Sedaris and Natalie Zee-Drieu. Oh well, I'm sure I'll go again next year, it was a lot of fun! (Oh, and I was a lazy bum-ass blogger and didn't take any pictures. Something about how many women were whipping out digital SLR's made me want to appreciate the conference in my own way, with my visual memory. Google for pics, there was lots of ladies taking tons of pictures!)

ETA: I just realized my header's been down for more than a week, the domain I had it sitting on expired. Ack!