OH.MY.GOODNESS.

I'm SOOOO excited! The emails just came out for the Knitty 2007 calendar contest, and I'M IN! I can't share my winning picture yet, so you'll have to be patient, but the wait is worth it! I will tease you by saying that the picture would be a pefect shot for my birthday month... yay! yay! yay! If you know me, there's a good chance that you'll receive a Knitty Calendar for Christmas!

Since I can't share the winning shot, I will share this:



Peas and carrots sock yarn from Yarnmonster. I took this pic before i wove in the ends. This was my first ever toe-up sock with a short-row heel using the magic loop method. I love the magic loop, toe-up, and short-row heels....

yay! for socks, YAY! for knitting calendars!

SOCKTOBERFEST!

I'm excited to sign up for socktoberfest! I just started knitting socks this spring, and I love it. Especially when I found out that my parents would love hand-made socks as gifts!

While I'm super excited, my productivity may be a bit low this October. I still have the my big bag project going on and some wedding gifts to finish up.

Being new to blogging, I'm also having trouble putting the Socktoberfest button on my side bar. They have such great buttons this year, so I'll just share mine in post (don't try clicking on it, nothing happens!).



Here's the OFFICIAL WEBSITE !
Sock on!

the good, the bad, and the ugly...

First the good - I have a box o' bags! It's just 11, would have been 14, but there were three mishaps (see below for the latest trauma!)...



The bad - The bags don't have zippers yet! Look at the picture. Not one bag will zip. I always avoid the zippers until the last minute. I know that it doesn't take that long to put in a zipper, and usually I like the change of pace, but I can never bring myself to put in zippers until it's time to give the bags away.

now - the ugly - I checked on my last load of bags while they were in the washer, and this is what I found:



Don't worry if the picture looks fuzzy and out of focus. It wasn't meant to be pretty. I was a bit bummed when I saw this because this was one of the color combinations that I was really excited about. A bit of advice: PROTECT YOUR KNITTED ITEMS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FELTING PROCESS. You know, when the knit is still loose and can get caught on the washer and SHRED! Usually I put my bags in a pillow case to start the process. They don't always stay in the case, but I think they stay long enought to shrink a bit. As a result, when they escape the bag they aren't in danger of shredding.

And finally a fun shot from my office. It's my little chicks n' hens window garden!



Good Night!

a surprise is in the works!

I can't provide many specifics during this post because I'm working on a !surprise! for a wedding. But I'm so excited that I wanted to give a sneak peak...

This is what I had accomplished by the end of Grey's Anatomy last night, but then I just couldn't stop...


Can you guess what it is? There's still a lot more work to be done, but I don't think I can post any more pictures or else the cat will be out of the bag (see last picture of the day). I have a vision for this surprise, but it's going to require a lot of modifications from a pattern I found. The modifications will be worth it, but I'm just hoping that there isn't a lot of frogging in the process.

Speaking of cats, look at what I saw out my window over the weekend! This cat was out and about long enough for me to take this fun picture:

Have a great day!

Winter Foliage tags and cards

In getting ready for the big craft fair this November, I created Winter Foliage tags to attach to my items. I also created some Winter Foliage stationary, mainly cards. I'm not sure if I want to sell the cards or just use them as my own personal stationary...





For both items, I used a photograph of a dried Allium flower. Alliums are a related to onions and the ornamental varieties are beautiful in gardens. This picture captures the essence of Winter Foliage - the grace of plant scaffolding that's most visible when the living foliage has dried or fallen. For example, I love the silhouette of dried Queen Anne's Lace and would like to use them to create more tags and cards. There's so much inspiration to be fond on brisk fall or winter walks!

Felting and Swatching

I was super crafty this morning. Probably because the weather was a bit dreary, which was perfect for staying inside. First, some felting:



As you can see, there was an imposter ball of non-felting gray yarn in my stash... So unfortunately, two of my bags didn't felt, but I did add three more finished bags to my pile. My goal is to make about 30 bags for a craft fair that's happening in November. Right now I'm at 11 minus the 2 duds, so that's 9... 21 to go!

I also did some swatching this morning for a present I'm working on. I can reveal much about the present, but I'm happy with the swatches!





Can you guess what the brown and blue is supposed to be?!?! I made up the pattern, so I'm hoping the design is clear.

Now back to grading papers...

Boston Knit-Out

The Boston Knit-Out & Crochet Too will take place this Sunday, Sept. 24th
Time: 12-4
Location: Boston Common

Check out the official website for more details!