Huh?

I was waiting for UPS yesterday, I knew that I had a package arriving from fabric.com and was looking forward to getting that big box of fabric-y goodness. I ordered some oil cloth and Insul-Bright so that I could make some of the Lunch Bags from the amazing book with the that title.

After dinner the UPS guy finally pulled up in front of our house. He didn't ring the door bell or do anything to alert me that he had been there (thanks guy) but I saw the truck. And then, on the doorstep, was this:
What in the world? Where is my box of fabric?

Turns out, they ship the oil cloth on bolts. I kind of feel bad, because this order (1/2 yard each of 2 designs of oil cloth, 2 yards of insul-bright batting, and 1 1/2 yards each of two different types of knit fabric, and some shirting) only cost me $30, no shipping costs. I'm not sure fabric.com made any money on me, because this must have cost a lot to ship.

I love it all, and I also got a bias strip maker! The cherry design on the oil cloth is a lot larger than I thought it would be, I thought it was tiny cherries- oops. But I just need it for sandwich wrap linings, so it doesn't really matter. I LOVE the pink slub rayon knit, so we'll have to see how that sews up. The burnt-orange looking rayon knit is kind of a weird fabric, I think it might end up kind of hot and yucky to wear, but the idea is to try all the fabrics I can to see how I like sewing them.

Now I just need to find some time to sew. This week marks the halfway point of my first class at Lesley. I need to get to work on my mid-term paper. It's due tomorrow!

Happy crafter :)

Nothing makes me feel happier than when I see a picture on facebook with a baby laying on a quilt that I made :)

Also - my friends have some really cute kids.

Testing...

I set up email posting- I'm checking to see if this works.

Just a little update...

So I created this blog to tell you all about my crafty endeavors. Why haven't I posted lately?

Well, there have been no crafty endeavors. (Unless you count buying a lot of yarn and fabric- I still seem to be doing that okay.)

I started a Master's degree, and while the class (just one at a time) doesn't take up ALL my time, they take up enough of my time that I haven't knit or sewn a stitch in ages. I did get a walking foot for my machine, so I hope to try some quilting and hemming and see if that helps me out.

I did start skating lessons again, and am still posting about those on my livejournal.

Finishing up, in the middle, just starting

I finished my Cusp socks. I am LOVING! Cookie A's Knit. Sock. Love. book. I've never made so many projects from the same book before. This pattern is pretty unique because it starts on the back of the leg and wraps around to the front. The gusset is totally different from any I've ever done- the decreases are incorporated into the pattern, not at the sides like all the other ones. (After you have decreased enough, you then have to start adding stitches back in to make up for the pattern decreases.)

The yarn is one of my favorites- Wollmeise 80/20 in "Neptun". I actually have another skein of this yarn (this one came in a grab bag, that one I had bought a few years earlier). I can't decide if I want to try to sell it, or just hold onto it to pet lovingly for being so pretty.

So what am I in the middle of?

Well, the first Cookie A sock club packet came and it is as awesome as I thought it would be. I'm not going to post details until next month, as there are still some people who haven't received their yarn yet. There were 2 sock patterns, 2 cookie recipes, and a skein of yarn. I'm one cuff into one of the socks, and I really like it. The yarn isn't really my style, but it's neat to break out of my box. And it is expensive- I would never have bought it for myself!

Also in the middle- the sock yarn blanket. I don't have a picture, but this weekend I wove in a bunch of ends, and added about 8 squares. It's getting bigger... this thing will take me at least another year though, I'm sure.

What's starting up? My Masters :)

I'm doing an M.Ed. in Mathematics Education through Lesley University.

My first course starts this week. The assignment technically doesn't begin until Monday, but it was posted Friday, so I'm spending the weekend getting started. I like to be ahead of the game, because I can really be a procrastinator if I don't. (There is just no middle ground.) I'm very nervous about this because a) my only online course in college didn't go so well, but that was very independent study, and this is very forum oriented, b) I haven't taken a class since the spring of 2004 (it's 2011! How did that happen), c) I'm not a teacher... and that will make some of this tough.

I should stick to knitting...

For Christmas I got a serger and some new patterns. Today I took both for a test ride.

This is Jalie 2910. It hasn't been hemmed yet, I'm trying to decide if I should hem it, or throw it away. I don't think it looks too bad- but it has issues. I wouldn't buy it in a store for one. The top is too big, and the bottom just a bit too small (but I don't think it looks too tight...) The torso is also too long, and the back too wide, so it bunches

I am not even sure HOW to go about hemming it due to so many layers of fabric in the front... I'm thinking about just copping out and doing a rolled hem. I asked Kevin how he thinks I should hem the sleeves, and he said "as close as possible to what they are at" - it is the perfect long sleeve length right now, isn't it. Yeah- this is supposed to be a 3-quarter length sleeve! Apparently I'm way little.

So what do you think? Is it a keeper?

What's a knitter to do?

Leaving work in a blizzard but no scarf or hat? Reach into the knitting bag, surely something in there will keep you warm!

This picture is me when I got home yesterday.

And this is the finished scarf! I LOVE knitpicks Chroma yarn. It's exactly like Crystal Palace's Mochi yarn, except I don't hate it, it didn't fall apart, and it didn't turn my fingers blue!

Cruise Round Up: Jan 7 Fun Day at Sea

Man, we took a long vacation... I'm still recapping it and the month is almost over. (Also- totally ready to go on another cruise now!)

This was our 2nd sea day, and it was a very nice day. My favorite sea day was the non-sea day before San Juan, but this day was a good one too.

We started the day by going to the Lido deck for breakfast. They have a good variety, and were never very crowded when we were up there. Then we headed to our first trivia of the day: "Earth Trivia", which Kevin played while I knitted. I finally got used to the boat well enough that reading charts was not a problem, and so I made good progress knitting during this sea day.

After Earth Trivia, we stayed in the Victoriana lounge for a towel folding class, where I continued to knit, and Kevin made animals. (I also ran back to the room to grab the camera. For "lido deck people" a high cabin is probably convenient, but for us the Riviera deck worked out great- easy disembarkation at ports, super easy coming back home for the night, and really close to all the places we went during the day.)

Towel folding went very well, about the same as it was on spirit, except Kevin got to sit up on the stage where there was a lot of space, rather than sit in the seats where it was tough to fold the towels. Only negative- the Victoriana smelled of sewage. No where else did, though, so it wasn't a problem for the rest of the day.

After towel folding there was a bingo game that was absolutely packed. I knitted through it, but Rachel played. Sadly, she was not the winner.

From there we went to Comedy trivia, which was all quotes, and as usual Kevin did really well. (Missed 3, he thinks. But the guy who won got them all.)

After that we went to see a little magician show, which seemed to be designed to appeal to kids, but he didn't seem to be some one who was used to performing for kids. Just the way he spoke to them- I think one kid went running to her Mom when he told her to shut up!

Next was lunch on the Lido. Anyone following along with the blogs will not be shocked to hear I ate Indian again. Still too salty... Kevin had something from Fish and Chips, and then I went through the chocolate buffet, which I actually wasn't that impressed with :(

Since we decided to go to lunch, we missed name that tune trivia :( and then we went to Turbo Trivia. We got there as the first question was being asked, but the host let Kevin go up on stage to play- I stayed in the chairs and knit. The adults did very badly on turbo trivia and it was soon down to a large group of Canadian children, who pretty much just traveled as a pack for all the question-! Turbo Trivia doesn't work as well when no one will go out on their own!

After Turbo trivia we had planned to go to the Napkin folding demo but there was a dance class, and I wanted to be able to say that I had done one of the dance classes. This one was Austin Powers, which is not my favorite at all, but it was still fun to do. It was neat to try to dance on the stage- and difficult to do so in my shoes, which were very sticky. The choreography was simple and cute. It was kind of fun. I think I'd do a different style next time.

Then we went up near the casino bar to prepare for trivia and I knit for a while. The other half of TEAM AWESOME! showed up and we played Super Duper Trivia. We did quite awesomely, and came in third overall- for having missed the first day, we kicked ass, placing over people who played all 3 days. If only we had known our teammates the first day!

After that, there was Beatles trivia, which I opted out of to knit. Thank goodness I did, because I only knew one answer (The Ed Sullivan show). The second 10 questions were teeny tiny clips of Beatles covers, and you had to name the song. Not only did I not recognize any of the covers, I hadn't even heard of most of the songs!

Then Kevin and I went back to the room and watched Animaniacs on the DVD. yeah- not a cruise activity, but we always get new cartoons to watch on vacation. I'm pretty sure I ended up taking a nap around here too. We got all ready for for formal night, poured some drinks and got ready to go out.

Then we went to the International Lounge and played Quiddler (would you be shocked to know that I knitted) and saw the family friendly comedy act. It was mostly funny, he spent A LOT of the time picking on a lady whose date left to answer a telephone call. I don't really remember any of the jokes... or even the general topic. So he didn't leave much of an impression on me.

This was the second formal night and once again dinner was very very slow. Very slow. What a bummer- we loved our waiters the first cruise, but this one was a disappointment.

For the appetizer, we wanted 2 escargot to share among the table, and this was lost in translation. I asked for "2 escargot for us to share" and the waiter looked confused. So I said "2 for the table", and he said "oh yes, 2 for everybody", which I thought meant he understood...but we all weren't too sure what would come out. We each ordered another appetizer (and we had previously only ever gotten 1 thing each- so surely the concept of sharing was understood?), and our meals.

The escargot comes out and we each get one. (So that's 4) and then we all started cracking up wondering whether we'd all be getting a second escargot ( "two for everybody!") as well as our normal appetizer. Thankfully, we did not. The escargot were not as good as I remembered them (and I've had them since in Omaha too...) I actually liked the stuff mushrooms more (they taste very similar) and usually I'm not a mushroom fan. I really enjoyed my penne appetizer.

For my meal I ordered the Chateaubriand and really did not care for it- I barely ate any, if I recall correctly. For dessert I got the baked Alaska and it's definitely overrated. I'd rather just get a scoop of ice cream.

That night was the Ticket to Ride show. I guess the show is okay, but it really just showed me I'm not a Beatles fan (as if trivia didn't tell me that...) There were neat effects, but mostly it was just really long. And the band was WAY too loud. And some of the "acts" to it were a bit too non-sequitur for me. Not my favorite show. The dancing was pretty good though.

Pointelle done!

I started these socks last month and they knit up fast- but I got distracted and kept knitting other things...

This is another sock from Cookie A's Knit.Sock.Love. That book is fabulous and every knitter should own it.

In other knitting news, I started a striped scarf with 2 colors of knitpicks Chroma yarn. This is the kind of scarf where 2 different self-striping yarns will make the scarf look like I put a lot of effort into the pattern, but really it's nothing at all. Also- worsted weight yarn is amazing. I've done like a foot of knitting in an evening. That's just not possible with the yarn I normally use. And size 8 needles just feel HUGE.

In other craft news, I got 2 sewing books today: One Yard Wonders (not too impressed) and The Bag Making Bible (looks interesting). I need to just find some time to sit down and use up some fabric- but I keep getting distracted by knitting.

Oh, and the yarn I overdyed looks fantastic. Dad's socks are next on the docket- though if the sock club subscription comes in I'll get distracted for sure!

Baby Quilt...

My friend Sarah had her baby earlier this month. I was a bit late on the baby quilt, but it is finished and in the mail. I really like this one!

The binding is wavy- I can't seem to get it perfect, but I figure an imperfect quilt is more likely to be used.

And the back- I did stitch in/by the ditch for the design, it is pretty subtle on the back due to white thread.

Just thought this one was kind of cute- getting it folded for shipping...