more stuff...

So I got out a bunch of unfinished projects this weekend...you know, the bag waiting for handles to be attached, a lining sewn in, something "on the needles" or to be felted...you get my drift, I'm sure. Anyhow, here are the projects.

1. Felted Fibonacci Bag - an ORIGINAL pattern :). I made and felted this bag way back in March, but it has been sitting without handles or a lining. So this weekend I sewed in the lining and made some handles out of an old belt of Steve's...I think it turned out fabulous! I love it! It's made out of Patons Merino.

2. The Re-felt project - I made this brown bag an even longer time ago, and I never felted it. So yesterday it got felted again, and I have to say that Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes is an excellent, excellent yarn for felting. The green is the KnitPicks, and the brown is Patons Merino, and you can really tell a difference.

3. The first knitted DPN project, a mitten - A mitten that is too small for adult hands. Unless you're a carnie maybe.

4. Skullholder from Happy Hooker - Again, I made this way back in March for Steve. He wanted some badass potholders for the new kitchen, so here it is. It's a little goofy, but he likes it, so whatever...

Enjoy!

crazy stitchin' fool...

Okay, let me describe the pictures above...

1) The One Skein Scarf from Happy Hooker. Made of Patons Classic Merino in "That's Pink." I made this a couple of weekends ago and finally remembered to take a picture of it. Granted, the picture was taken in the people wagon on the way to work this morning, but that will just have to do. And yes, that's me. At way too early in the morning.

2) WIP Blanket for Grandma - Grandma is still in the rehab facility after the debacle last spring...not going to get into that, but this is a picture of the blanket I'm making her for her room at the facility. I made it nice and bright because hospital blankets are just ugly and I know Grandma likes bright colors. It's made from regular old Red Heart because I wanted her to be able to wash it in case she spills anything.

3) Sweet Pea Shawl (not pictured) - I began the Sweet Pea Shawl from Happy Hooker last weekend. I'm fond of the finished product, but I am not so fond of making it...this pattern is no fun to me, so we'll see if I actually finish it or just frog it. I purposely made it out of Simply Soft, thinking that if I really liked it, I would buy the suggested Classic Elite Flash.

4) Roman Shade (not pictured, the camera battery was about to die) - almost done, just needs a hem. I made this shade for Steve's bathroom, which was previously devoid of window coverings.

5) My first attempt at knitting with DPNs - what a mess! Actually, it doesn't look too bad in person. The finished product will be some mittens made out of Wool Ease Chunky. The pattern is weird because it requires the use of five needles. I have enough trouble with two, so this will be interesting...stay tuned.

And, I have a yarn shopping list...if anyone wants to do the shopping for me, I would greatly appreciate it...here's my list:

-3 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (any color) for Little Black Top from the first Stitch N' Bitch book
-6 skeins of TLC Cotton Plus in the tangerine-y color for (my third attempt of) Cupcake from Happy Hooker
- Some Shine Sport, Shine Worsted, Andean Treasure (for Shrug-a-Licious), MainLine and some sock yarn from KnitPicks.com
-I also want the Clover needle felting kit too.

Other than that, this past weekend Zora rolled around in a pile of deer poop. I just about had her in the car to take her back to the breeder, but Steve caught me. Darn! Of course I am joking, I still love the puppy even if she's a total turd sometimes and I would never give her away...I put a new picture of her up, too (a "snout shot" as Steve calls it)!

seija hat

This is the Seija Hat of the Seija Set in Happy Hooker. It took me less than two hours to make, which is good because all of my friends are pregnant so I will have to start knocking out these puppies! I'm not planning on making the matching blanket, just the hats.

I made it with Wool Ease, because I thought that might be a little nicer than an all acrylic yarn, but you can still throw it in the washing machine because hey, it's for a kid and kids are gross and get everything dirty. Plus, Wool Ease is pretty soft for wool blend yarn, and is suitable for a baby in my opinion.

The colors I used are Oxford Grey, Blush Heather (light pink) and Rose Heather (dark pink). The only thing I'm concerned about are the lovely little gaps left by the "ch 3" at the beginning of each round...so I started to use "sc 1, ch 2" to make the gap a little smaller.

And I swear to you, I did make the One Skein Scarf, I just continue to forget to grab it when I'm running out the door...tomorrow, I promise!

vrooooom...

There is an event in southeastern Michigan that is both loved and hated. Yes folks, I am speaking of the Woodward Dream Cruise.

I have to say that I tend to be more on the dislike side. I'm glad I don't live in one of the eight communities that the Dream Cruise hits, because then I would hate it even more.

This event is not fun. And I like cars. I go to car shows regularly. I watch car TV shows. I know a little bit about cars. So why would I hate this event?

One, there are too many people.
Two, people drive their minivans and '98 Camaros down Woodward.
Three, there are too many people.
Four, people are dumb when they're in a large group.
Five, you can't even look at the cars.

There are too many drunk jackasses at this event and I have to say, I thought the touch of having off-duty strippers from the Flight Club handing out lapdance coupons was really nice.

Anyhow, I was told last year that we would not be returning to the event. Naturally, I was happy, only to be told that we are going this Thursday to the WDC, before it starts.

I'll complain about it later, I'm sure.

gettin' my knit on...

I kicked knitting's ass this weekend.

Many of my friends and colleagues know that knitting and I have had a rocky relationship. But, being a glutton for punsihment and believing all of those cathartic, "one day knitting just clicked" success stories, I just had to try and succeed at it. Yeah, I know the basic knit and purl and could make something that resembled a scarf, but my ribbing was horrendous and don't even think about asking me to make a cable.

Well, Steve and I made a trip to Menard's this weekend and I bought the first Stitch n' Bitch knitting book. I gotta say, reading this book just makes you want to knit. Debbie Stoller's writing is very revealing of the fact that she has a longstanding passion for knitting...and it is a great book to learn by- I cabled on my first try!!! The crochet Stitch n' Bitch (The Happy Hooker) book doesn't exude as much passion, but I digress- I ribbed and cabled this weekend...and it actually looks like ribbing and cabling.

I am most proud of this cabled swatch. It's a mere 3.5" square, but I cannot stop looking at it and admiring it. I even brought it to work with me today and it is to the left of me. I pick it up every once in a while and just look at it with a smile on my face. I brought the ribbing swatch with me too, and while I am happy about this little piece, nothing can compare to this cable.

Yeah, I'm a nerd.

In other fiber news, I started and almost finished the One Skein Scarf from Happy Hooker. I will post pics tomorrow when it was done. I made it with the recommended yarn, Patons Classic Wool Merino, in That's Pink. I think I might feel like a rock star wearing it, because it's so long and skinny!

Steve and I also traveled to the Brighton Art Fair this weekend and this fiber guild had a booth! There was a lady spinning alpaca, a woman crocheting, another knitting and one woman needle felting! I felt an immediate bond with these ladies and immediately spent about fifteen minutes walking through their booth and stealing, er, borrowing some of their ideas and filing them in my brain. There was also a woman selling felted bags, which were priced anywhere from $80-$115 a pop...yikes! Maybe I should think about this some more... :)

Tonight I am finishing the aforementioned scarf and cutting fabric for a window panel for Steve's bathroom. I think it is high time the neighbors stop getting a load of the goods!

i'm not a wino, i'm a why yes!

I was so set on starting some new projects last night, but I drank a bottle of wine instead. A whole bottle. By myself.

Yes, I am a dumbass.

I was just sitting in the garage with Zora, flipping through a book and I decided I'd like to sip on a glass of wine. Well two hours and one bottle later, I was in bed asleep.

I don't really drink that much, I'l have 2-3 beers a week, usually...and that's being generous. Drinking is so stupid, especially for someone like me with no tolerance. I always feel dumb after I drink. It's really not enjoyable, it makes you fat and kills all productivity.

Anyhow, enough beating myself up over this- my favorite co-worker Dan is puzzled as to why I feel so bad, but we're talking about a guy who could have been an extra in Old School :)

I love my bike

One thing I like to do besides crocheting, knitting, sewing, etc. is to go biking. I don't do it nearly as much as I should though, even though I got a new bike back in April/May.

My new bike is a 2005 Novara Forza flatbar road bike with Shimano Sora componentry and fancy Shimano wheels that I think Steve wants even though his road bike is way, way fancier than mine. It's got a carbon fiber front fork, aluminum frame, a seat of which my arse is way to big for and the best set of index shifters, which in my opinion, are the best things to ever happen to bicycles. It's also got blessedly flat handles and wider-than-normal tires...no racing handles or spaghetti thin tires for me...I'm too shaky! I love this bike. For you yarn addicts out there, I love this bike like I love visiting yarn stores and just touching stuff. Don't deny yourself...you know you do it too!

Sadly, I think I have only put just over 100 miles on this bike, and I think 99 of said miles were cruised in Wisconsin. I like biking so much better when I visit Wisconsin- it's such a bike-friendly state. The roads are safer and more people in general bike in the Badger state.

Today I am going to the local thrift stores during my lunch break. I've decided it's high time I tried to recycle some sweaters into yarn. I've been wanting to do this for ages. I'm mainly going to look for wool, silk and cashmere.

Projects I'm working on:
Adding my recycled belt handles to the felted Fibonacci bag I made in March...still figuring out how I want to do this.
Starting a Fat Bottom Bag for Debbie for her birthday
A sweater destroying mission
Curtain for Steve's bathroom window (which I need to do this upcoming weekend)
Three knitted (maybe) baby blankets
Learn how to not make my knitted projects look like pieces of flaming turd.

Sorry about use of the word "turd." It's gross, I know. I say it about 384, 295 times a day. I guess it's better than saying shit though. Oops, I just said shit. I have to go put a quarter in my very full swear jar now.

my space

MySpace.com makes me feel so good about myself. Really, it does. Mainly because I'm not on MySpace.

On the suggestion of my very hip co-worker, I went to MySpace.com and searched for people I went to high school with...man, there are a lot of people that I know, people I was friends with, that are on that friggin' site. They look like they're having lots of fun (?). Apparently one person I went to high school with is now an underwear model and by the looks of her site, is quite proud of it! Hell, if I had a body like hers, I would probably take some pictures in my Hanes. :)

Steven and Billy, who are from Wisconsin and Virginia, respectfully, found people they knew too, so I guess MySpace is good for things other than arranging dates with minors and posting naughty pictures of yourself.

I wish there was a way I could drop a line to some of the people I know on MySpace without actually joining...because there is no way I am doing that. I guess I just wouldn't want people to look up a Colleen MySpace page and think, "hey, no big surprise there...she turned out pretty normal!"

Besides, if by the small chance there is someone I went to high school with who thinks I became a covert operations spy, a famous designer, a member of the social elite or a hermit writer who lives in the remote hills of Dakota (North or South, but I'm not telling), I'm not going to take that vision away from them- I'm just not that mean!

happy birthday to me...

My birthday was this Saturday (the 5th). It was a pretty good day, despite the fact that I am now closer to 30 every day...tick tock.

Anyhow, for my birthday, Steve and I are going to Las Vegas sometime before December. I'm excited! I know it will be fun...it specified on the trip itinerary (created by Steve himself) that the most important and obvious activity that would take place in Sin City is freak-watching. I told Steve that I will have to make sure I'm careful because I can be a little loud sometimes...he, of course didn't have to say anything but, "well, duh...yeah." I do love me some good freak watching, and there are only two places on Earth to do it- Vegas and Ypsilanti.

If anyone has any good suggestions on what to do in Vegas, let me know. Please leave out suggestions like, "Celine Dion," "get married" (ahemmm...Christine), and "Star Trek museum."

Anyhow, on to crochet. The past two weeks I was Steve-less and it was just me and Zora. Naturally, I did a lot of crocheting. I'm pleased to say that I made my first doily. However, can some of those thread purists out there can maybe tell me if a doily made from size 3 thread is really a doily? This "doily" is really supposed to be a coaster, but you have to start somewhere and I was getting a migraine working with bedspread cotton. As always, sorry for the crappy picture.