Comfort Cable Blanket (continued....)

Yes, I'm still working on it...  At this rate, I might finish it by the end of *next* summer.



And I really wanted to show off how very not-far I'd gotten on it.  (That's a meter stick, by the way.  I think it's high time the US caught up with the rest of the world...)  Don't be tricked by our bench-tables; the table part is only half as wide as a standard picnic table...



I do love working on it, but I wish it was done so I could snuggle under it properly!  (Although I have fallen asleep under it twice already. >.>)

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Angel -  "The Ring"

Hazard Bunny

The office where my parents work has a tradition of giving all the employees gifts for Christmas.  While the gesture is appreciated, the hazard-orange sweatshirt was not.  (The company name has been obscured.)



Of course, as soon as my mother got home, she presented it to me, begging me to do something with it.  Of course, I didn't do anything about it until this weekend, but one awful orange sweatshirt and another kid's Earth Day sweatshirt later...



I had Dexter, the Hazmat Bunny!



Of course, when my mother saw him the next morning, she complained that she couldn't tell his front from his back!  *sigh*  So I added eyes.



I have to say, I'm extremely pleased with how he turned out.  Even though he's hand-sewn, my seams look pretty decent.  I do have an embarrassing mistake confession though; I accidentally cut out two of the same side at first. >.<  Luckily, that orange sweatshirt is Huge!  I also weighted the bunny with a few scoops of plastic pellets, so he feels a bit more solid and bean-bag-y.  The tutorial and pattern are both from Kwoozy.  Now I'm tempted to make a whole army of different types of orange rabbits...  Anyone know any other fun, free patterns?

- Cristy

Currently Listening to: "Love Lockdown" - Kayne West

My First Pair of Socks!

I did it!!  I finally finished the second mate to my Leyburn Sock, and I couldn't be more pleased.  They're perfect for wearing around the house, especially in the summer, when the AC is too high, and I think they'll go well with my boots in autumn and winter.



And, even though I had to force myself to finish them, I've already started looking at more sock patterns and my brother's bugging me for a pair of his own...  *sigh*  We'll see. ^.^

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Royal Pains -  "Keeping the Faith"

Cupcakes = <3

As I mentioned last time, I got to visit the boyfriend this past weekend!  Before I arrived, he promised we'd get to bake something and, since I stumbled this POM Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting recipe a few days ago, it was our first choice.  (POM is a brand of pomegranate juice.)

Neither of us are exactly master bakers, so we decided to avoid deviating from the recipe too much.  We did add 1/3 cup of the juice to the frosting recipe, with the intention of adding color and flavor, but it doesn't seem to have had an effect...  Other than that, everything went surprisingly smoothly!  Even if you don't like pomegranates, I'd give the recipe a try.  So far, everyone who's tried one doesn't taste any pomegranate, but they agree the chocolate is much richer and more moist than normal.

Of course, I came home to find the first blueberries were ripe and, blueberries + cupcake?  Perfection!



Somehow, we ended up with 24 regular and 12 mini cupcakes...  but I'm not complaining!  I would definitely make these again, and try all of the other flavors of POM juice (POM Blueberry, Cherry, Mango, Kiwi, and Nectarine!).

(Pretty blueberry picture for shits and giggles:)



Any ideas for getting more flavor into the icing?  Perhaps concentrated pomegranate juice?

- Cristy

Currently Watching: "The Real Mary Magdalene" on the National Geographic Channel

June Yarn Haul!

As I've mentioned before, reading fashion blogs is a guilty pleasure.  One of them, The Coveted, recently posted a video of a haul of things she bought at a drugstore.  And, considering the amount of yarn I've gotten this past month, I thought I'd do something similar!  (Hopefully mine will be a bit shorter.  10 minutes is looooooong... >.>)

First, everything all at once!



Seriously, I want to make a big pile and dive into it.  So much better than leaf piles...



These three, you've seen before.  The bulky blue and maroon are my handspun wool top ($2 each) and the sport-weight, variegated purple is handspun wool/mohair ($14).



Next, Plymouth Yarn's Galway Highland Heather.  Of course, I recognize Plymouth Yarns, but I've never seen this line.  It reminds me a lot of Cascade 220 Heathers, except a bit cheaper, perhaps.  Best part - It was a just-because gift from the boyfriend!  <3



I've mentioned these earlier as well, but at $22 total, I'm still riding a bit of a high!  (Apologies for the glare, it's been a very North Carolinian summer...)



These, I got last weekend while visiting the boyfriend!  At $44 for the lot, it was a decent deal.  The rainbow-y one to the left seems to be Plymouth Yarn's version of Noro yarn and, at half the price of Noro, I think I already like it!  The shrimpy brown skein is some luxury cotton.  Usually, I don't really care for cotton, but this was in the singles bin and 10% off, so I thought I'd try it.  The two round skeins are Cascade 220 (Yay!), but they're Superwash (YAY!!).  These will definitely become gifts for people who throw gloves in the laundry...  The bright blue is yet more Cascade, but this time, sock yarn!  I had no idea it even existed.  None.  Oh, and the shop is What's Needlin' Ewe, in Mount Airy, NC.  I suggest a visit if you're in the area, if even just to ransack the singles bin. ^.^



And finally, these came from a friend who was selling off some of her stash (at $1 each, I couldn't say no...)  To be honest, some of the labels aren't terrible informative, but the pink is dralon, a silky, high quality acrylic, made in Turkey by Himalaya.  I'll have to Google translate the label though because I don't exactly speak Turkish... The variegated brown is superwash wool (more socks?).  But I'm actually more excited about the solid brown and the giant pile of blues.  The friend I bought these from worked for several companies designing yarn, so I think these may be samples that were never released.  Of course, that means they don't have the yardage on the labels, but look!  Unique! Haha.  What I'll do with denim-colored yarn is beyond me, but I certainly have a ton of it!

So yeah, that was rather long.  And if you have any project suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear them!

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Lord of War

Maxi Dress Reconstructed

Oh, the maxi dress...  What you lack in sophistication, you make up in comfort.  At least, until the dress is barely a year old and the elastic's just not working like it used to.  Until recently, I had one such dress.  It was comfortable, especially on lazy, laundry days but eventually, the fear of public embarrassment drove me away.  That is, until I realized all it needed was an easy fix!  One cheap, destroyed belt later, I had straps!



You can probably figure out how it's done, but pictures never hurt!



(The belt came on a sweater that I've long since outgrown and the width helps hide pesky bra straps!)  I put the dress on, marked the spots for straps with safety pins, and attached two pieces of belt to the back.  Put the dress on again, bring the straps forward over your shoulders, and it's easy to figure out how long you want them.  I originally wanted to use the ribbons on the dress, but wasn't sure if they were long enough.  Oh, and I wouldn't suggest using any stretchy material, since it tends to fall off shoulders...



Mmmm, hand-stitching!  (Hey, it's on the inside so I get to be lazy.)

Final step:  Stare wistfully across the pond and appreciate the summer breeze!



Thoughts?

- Cristy

Currently Listening to: "Fireflies" - Owl City

Wool Top bits

I used up all my wool top. :\ Since I just have 2oz of each color, I wanted to play with it a bit and made some over spun, springy stuff.



But really, I never know what to do with bulky yarns, much less bulky art yarns... And when it comes out to a grand total of 17 yds, it's not exactly going to make a funky scarf. ^.^ But I did have some crochet thread on hand and, plied with a single, it's rather pretty!



And, since I liked it so much, I unspun (ugg) the maroon and repeated the whole process. Probably could've gone with a different thread color, but blue was all I had.



I'm thinking fuzzy winter slipper-socks? I might have enough if I use both colors (stripes!). Or I could just sit here and pet them! I <3 wool. ^.^

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Royal Pains - "Spasticity"

Swishy skirt for summer!

(Alliteration entirely intentional)  Clearly, I've been checking New Dress A Day too frequently, but I couldn't be more pleased with my new skirt.

Step 1:  Buy a cheap ($3.95!) men's shirt from Goodwill.  (A large is fine for a skirt, but a dress probably requires at least an XXL or bigger.)  It doesn't need to be pretty; it just needs potential!  And it reminded me of something my grandmother in China would wear. :\



Step 2:  Chop it into little bits!  I tried to preserve the hems and seams, since hand-sewing sucks, but ended up with a simple A-line.  Best part: I get to keep the pocket!



Close up:



It's very, very comfy (yay, rayon!).  If I can get my hands on my dad's sewing machine, I'd like to reinforce it a bit.  (Might tighten the waist as well, to cement the 'high-waisted-feel.)  But right now, I'm more excited about finally finishing my first wearable piece!



What do you think?

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Law & Order: Criminal Intent - "The War at Home"

My longest project is...

...definitely the simplest. ^.^  Seriously, I have these things sitting in a folder in my room for ages and just now got around to cutting them out and baking them.  And by ages, I mean since I was about 9, so a good decade ago...



I'm never quite sure what to do with shrink plastic...  It's a bit too kitschy to pass off as any sort of real jewelry, but they're so close to those laser cut acrylic pieces I love. ^.^



Oh well, I'm definitely happy to have them done, and they look rather nice hanging in the window!

- Cristy

Currently Watching: "Living the Dream" - House, M.D.

Not everyone needs a DeLorean....

Some of us just need a kick-ass bonnet!



Here's the story:

The historic Latta Plantation (in Huntersville, NC) had a Living History day fundraiser this past weekend.  Latta Plantation was built  in the very early 1800s and passed from owner to owner until 1975, when it became a museum exhibiting how life was like in the early 19th century.  As part of the weekend's activities, I was allowed to participate as part of a spinning and knitting demonstration.  Most of the visitors were families with younger children and I have to say, I loved correcting the fathers who were convinced what we were doing was weaving...  But the history was fun too, and we got to eat the food from the kitchen!



Mmmm, amazing croquettes...  They're fried over a fire with about 3 cups total of shredded chicken, green onion, and crumbled bacon all held together with a single egg.  They come out wonderfully crispy on the outside, and they're even better sprinkled with lots of ground pepper.



Of course, there were other activities too, such as games for kids, a traditional southern tea party, and beekeepers.  I loved volunteering there and, if you're interested, they have a list of upcoming events!

Enjoy,

- Cristy

Currently Watching: Jakob the Liar on Hulu.com