woooohoooo!

i'm 21!!! i'm 21!!! AHH! this is the last important birthday until i'm 40, which is not nearly as exciting as 21!

i actually considered buying a case of beer at the gas station by my apartment this morning, just because i can. luckily, i didn't do that.

if you're in chico tonight, meet me at the Bear :) i'll be the person with a beer in one hand and some knitting in the other.

variety hour

first, before i forget, i've finished a sock!



it really fits my foot. amazing.



actually having the finished sock almost makes me want to knit the other one. almost. we'll have to see how i feel about that once i've cast on and started the ribbing for sock #2. i actually found the toe grafting to be quite fun. well, fun for sock knitting.

i also bought some yarn. it's life purpose is a secret until june 18th. (let's see if the smart ones know why...)



during a team meeting at work, i could not control the urges i had to doodle. then i doodled this sweater. i'm really starting to like it.



bulky alpaca blend yarn on size 11 needles or something along those lines. it has potential.

i had my first Britex Fabrics experience and i was quite overwhelmed. i don't know what i was thinking when i heard it was a four story shop. maybe something like "oh, that's cool" but in real life it's evokes a "my God, this is what heaven must look like" reaction. I went with my mom and paula and we were all in for a surprise.

Floor 1



bolts upon bolts of every color imaginable. in the center there were tons of designer fabrics and hand-beaded patterns on precious silk. quite impressive, and quite expensive. me = cheap. so i went upstairs.

Floor 2



upholstry fabrics galore. paula didn't know what to do with herself.



up the stairs we went to...

Floor 3

this one made me weak in the knees.



i have never seen so many buttons before. this floor had notions galore. this is where i laid down the plastic. it was worth it.

Floor 4

SALE!!!



everything up there was on sale! unfortunately, my small budget only got me some scraps of the scraps. SF is expensive. bummer.

here's the best news yet. i'm getting a puppy!!!!!!! i've picked her out, she's a long-haired dachshund and she's only two weeks old. i'll bring her home in about 5 weeks.



i'm in love.

finally some knitting content (and sewing too)

i bought some lace/cobweb weight yarn a while ago and i needed to test it out with something small. but what? ah yes, a lace bookmark! i used the "heart" pattern (8 repeats) from knitty.com on size 1 needles and a teeny tiny bookmark pooped out.

i think it's very nice.



it's only 6 inches long and less than two inches wide. i think my mom needs one.

more knitting developments: a sock in the making.



check out that heel!



i can't believe it's coming out foot-shaped. turning the heel is pretty exciting but overall i'm not overjoyed with sock-knitting. i'm only giving it a shot because the yarn harlot convinced me in her latest book. i'll do my best to complete a whole pair, but there are no guarantees. let me know if you know any amputees with one foot who needs a green sock. they may be in luck.

yesterday, this came in the mail.



knitpicks dye your own yarn!!! (two skeins) i bought some kool-aid too and i plan on dying a skein tonight while watching the office reruns.

i'm done with finals which means IT'S SUMMER!!! with my new found freedom i realized that i had some time to spare and opened my yarn closet. after finding nothing interesting on the top layers i began to dig through the underbrush and re-discovered my butterfly yarn. i sat down with my Rowan magazine and a ball of kidsilk haze and worked four repeats of the dress edge.



i'm looking forward to making this dress, even though the KSH is a difficult yarn to work with (i get very mad at it on the p2tog tbl sections). it's just too pretty to pass up.

i get bored easily so i put down butterfly and sat at the sewing machine for a little while.



it's my first quilted card (those other ones were the handywork of the fabulous Paula "so-cute" Tesch). i don't know who i will send this card to, but i do plan on sending it. i think.

there was still more time to craft, so i worked a little on yet another secret project. it was quite an eventful evening.

ah well, lunch break is over. back to work i go...

i swear this is a knitting blog

sew, it happened again. the sewing machine was out and i had a serious need for a short needle case (yes, i've also been considering my need for a double-pointed-needle case as well, but first things first).

it went by quickly this time.



i modified the stitch 'n' bitch pattern to hold the short needles and i added the shell button and used yarn for the tie instead of ribbon. i find it more attractive.



the colors are so full of springtime! fabulous. loves it.

also, this happened.



it's an apron, in case you couldn't figure that out. i'm not even that into cooking. i do make large messes, so perhaps i was thinking of that when i made this. or not. you pick.

paula was my accomplice with all this sewing. we are bad influences on each other. i bought this book.



paula saw this pattern.



then she made these.







i know what you're thinking. you wish you were her friend so she could send you one of these awesome cards. aren't they stunning!?!?

SECRETS REVEALED!

i've been working on a secret project for tracy and it's finished! i'll be putting it in the mail this week.



i hate sewing zippers, and i forced myself to sit down and finish the darn thing. then there was the liner, and i have a new hatred for that. but it's so adorable i've forgiven it momentarily.



turns out, knitted and crocheted bags are way hot right now. i must be a fashion guru. (if you know kyle you'll get that)

i've been working on my first sock. it's growing slowly and i had taken a photo of it but it was accidentally deleted by my fat thumb. wtf thumb, why you in the way like that? i'll take a photo of it later, maybe after my attempt to turn the heel. wish me luck on that. the sock is green by the way, in case you were wondering. whoever you are.

it's late and i'm getting weirdly paranoid.

ciao!