...And The Winner Is...

....me! Finally finished what I am now calling The Husband Scarf. A seventy two row pattern that repeated four times!! It's gorgeous and just waiting to be blocked. Will do that tonight and am going to try to whip up his matching hat before Monday. Pictures forthcoming.

Meanwhile, I was in Books-A-Million the other day and picked up this:



and will probably go on and order these two from Amazon:





Neither one are new releases but I like to check things out in the library before I make my purchases since so many books wind up being huge disappointments....from patterns not being written in a logical way to just projects that really look homemade. Not that I'm a whiz kid knitter or seamstress but I figure if I'm spending this much time and money on fabric and yarn, I want my project to look as well made as possible. Plus the fact, I'm kinda past the cutesy age.

I was also browsing around my favorite place and saw this:



the essential "Little Black Dress" and this:



that I want to try to make by spring and this:



by Junior Trends that is just so sexy. Thinking I may just purchase it and then try to deconstruct it so that I can make a pattern and go from there.

Who woulda thought I'd be having this much fun? Friday (school break) can't get here soon enough!

Cheers!

The Amazing Race

Okay, so I've officially decided that next year I will do things much differently than I did this year. I'll do one of two things. I will either A) wear a string of garlic around my neck to ward off any impulse to knit a holiday gift for anyone, ever again or B) just start my holiday knitting in, say, July? Who knew I'd be up against the wall like this? Who knew that the fifth grade teacher would hand out three exams in one week and the husband would decide to do double overtime and the car insurance bills would be due necessitating Mom to pull an extra shift or two, not to mention two open houses for middle schools that Mom and Dad are considering for the fifth grader. Oh, and did I mention the three December deadlines for three seperate journals and an essay deadline for the 31st? Yeah, okay.

So anyway, I've been wanting to upload some pictures of the handbag that I finished, the McCall patterns that I bought for this sweet little skirt that I'm planning to make and the fabric I bought to go with it; been wanting to talk about my plans to go to Philly at the end of the month, to Fabric Row, to do some touching and feeling and buying of more fabric (not to mention my plans to check the yarn shops too); been wanting to upload some sketches I've been working on.....but whose got the time? Right now I've got to finish The Husband Scarf with matching Beanie Cap for the husband who says to the other parents in the pick up line, "Oh yeah, she loves to knit but she never makes anything for me."

By the Bug

....so as I was saying, I've been seriously bit by a creative bug this fall. Not only have I been buying way too many magazines



and way too much yarn and knitting more than I can keep pace with (in terms of photos to show you), I have also been struck with an urge to design my own patterns. For everything. I've been teaching myself to crochet (1/4th of a scarf done !!!) and have turned back to my absolute passion for sewing and designing. Yeah, Spouse added fuel to the fire when he surprised me with a brand new sewing machine for my birthday. Yeah, he's just that kind of guy. I had only said in passing, Gee I would love to have my own sewing machine one day to get back to my sewing and bam! there it was, next to my desk in my wee-little room that I call My Space with a card and a note that reminded me to make something for him too. It's not a Serger, it's not fancy, but it's enough to get me back on track to where I always wanted to be. I've been buying fabric and cutting shears and sketching my little butt off, too.




I have a sketch that I'm working on now for a halter dress in a beautiful fabric that I found almost two years ago and put aside for that One Day. At the middle of the dress, just beneath the breast, is a seed stitch knitted band, cumberbund style, designed to cinch the waist and to add a little sexiness. I'm going to cut the pattern in muslin first, just to make sure I get the right fit and shaping, sew it up and see what I get before I cut the real fabric. What I'm hoping to do is blend the three disciplines in my designs -- sewing, knit, and crochet. I absolutely love clothing that has just that one little added touch that makes it special. A simple blouse can be turned into something entirely different if it has beadwork or some kind of enbroidery or an interesting collar or border. I'm also working on several girly-girl purses. Some for my daughter and some for me during the summer, when you just want a little flirty something, just enough for the wallet, the book, the phone and maybe the planner. I even stumbled on this little joint here, that'll has lots of really nice handles at good prices.

So anyway, that's where I am now, if you've been wondering ....