Abracadabra, Presto, KAZAM!!

Utter Clutter, Batman!

Around this time last year we redecorated our living room. The Hubster moved his gargantuan television to the wall above our fireplace to help make a feasible floor plan, and I built melamine shelves in the little niche beside the fireplace to house all of the electronic must-haves that attach to the television. We were delighted for the shelves, save for one aspect. Board game storage was below the shelves and, while we always keep it neat it just made everything look cluttered!

Then, around June last year, the retail store The Hubster works for was doing a HUGE drapery reset. This meant that all of the floor samples were being replaced. Rather than throw these samples away the store decided to hold a silent auction on all of them, with the proceeds going to a children's charity. Ummm...all that fabric? Yeah, I drooled a bit (okay, more than a bit, but I have some pride!) and begged The Hubster to bid on my behalf. He did. We won. I was the proud owner of hundreds of drapery samples. The possibilities were infinite! To date these samples have made a panel for an odd, octagonal window in my bathroom, been shared with, and inspired a living room and dining room redo, for my mother and father; and, now, utilized to hide my tidy yet cluttered board game storage area!

This is REALLY about to happen!

The only problem was how to hang it. We bought a dowel rod, but couldn't figure out how to secure it under the shelf properly so that the brackets didn't show and there was no gap between the shelves and the curtain. This past week The Hubster and I were cleaning at my parents house and I was hanging things in a newly reformatted closet in their guest room. I saw the closet bars and had a EUREKA! moment. I asked my father if just the closet bars and brackets were available for purchase, as they were part of a kit. He wasn't sure, and I went about my cleaning with my brain hard at work planning on finding a time to head to the home improvement store and see what I could find. A few minutes later, bless his heart, he came downstairs and presented me with a package of the coveted closet bars and brackets! They were left over, and he had no use for them. Gee, you think I was excited?

The Hubster, hard at work on
his Honey-Do List!

Yesterday was the first day of The Hubster's first vacation of the year. We're heading to Cincinnati tomorrow morning bright and early for our first childless and petless anniversary trip since June of 1999! WOO-HOO!! Just a quick, weekend jaunt to a baseball game (Go, Reds!) and a nice hotel. We'll be back Monday, and are planning on spending the rest of the week getting some things done around the house that have piled up. You know the things I'm talking about...getting the fireplace cleaned up and the damper closed for summer, fixing squeaky doors and leaky faucets, some painting, and the doozy - moving our outdoor building to a lower location and fixing the floor. After we had an unexpected free day this morning, thanks to thunderstorms and a cancelled ballgame for our youngest kiddo, we decided to go ahead and tackle the curtain project. I headed to the sewing machine to cut and hem the drapery sample to the correct length, and The Hubster got busy cutting the metal bars to length and attaching the brackets under the edge of the shelves.

The whole project, from the gathering phase to the finished product, took about an hour. We're both absolutely tickled with the results, and unbelievably enough we did the entire thing without one loss of temper on either side! Now THAT is proof that it was a truly magical project!!

Abracadabra, Presto, KAZAM!!
Utter Clutter, you have been puttered!!!

Whatcha Workin' On?

Well, first off, I'm still working on my Venetian Vampires scarf. It's been slow going, a lot of frogging, and even a day to dry out after my boxer stole it off the front porch while I was distracted and unwound the skein of yarn all over the front yard...through the mud...around the flower beds...yeah. You get the picture. I'm still pleased with it, though, and hope to make more progress on it this week.

I've got a friend getting married in April, so I've also had to start an afghan for her. Susan, if you're reading this AVERT YOUR EYES, GIRL!! I found this delicious little pattern on Ravelry, and immediately fell in love. It's called Popcorn Delight, by Aurora Suominen, and can also be found on her blog One Crochet Day at a Time. I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in Burgundy, and an I/9 hook, so my squares are coming out a little larger than 12"....about 13.5". I'm thinking 12-15 squares, joined in Priscilla Hewitt's Flat Braid Joining Technique. I have until the end of April to finish this project, but I'm still going to try to crank out a square a day to make it a little easier. If I accomplish that I may even try to add a fancy li'l border around it...we'll see.

Now I just have to convince myself not to start any new projects until I finish these two...as if!

"Whatcha Workin' On?" Wednesday

Remember the "Vampires of Venice" episode of Doctor Who back before the holidays? The one where Amy Pond wore the scarf at the left? (screen cap courtesy of Korina from the Who Knits? Ravelry group) Yeah. Gorgeous, isn't it? I must have one! I even already had the perfect yarn for it: Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock yarn in the colorway "Vampire". Are you freaking kidding me??! The rub? Figuring out the pattern, when there are a decided lack of high definition, close-up screen caps of this object of my desire.

After much discussion and pattern looking-up, I found that the "Frost Flowers" pattern from A Treasure of Knitting Patterns, by Barbara G. Walker seems to be the closest I'll get to the actual pattern.

I had originally cast on back in October, but the holidays got the best of me and I ended up frogging for a little while. This morning I decided it was high time to cast back on, so I grabbed my trusty needles and cast on! I've cast on 40 sts, did 2 rows of moss stitch before starting the lace pattern. I've allowed for 3 stitches in the moss stitch pattern at either side of the scarf. I haven't had a lot of knitting time today...Laundry day, dontcha know...but I did manage to get one lace repeat done. If you want to follow my progress on this, you can find it on my Ravelry projects page here.

Well, that's what I'm working on....what about you?

New Etsy Listing - Trinity Beaded Book Thong

Whether exemplifying the three stages of a woman's life - Maiden, Mother, & Crone - or symbolizing Christianity's Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, & Holy Ghost, the Triquetra holds a long and fascinating power. It is a symbol that calls to me; to be honest it draws me like the proverbial moth to the flame. This crocheted, beaded book thong was created using metallic silver thread. The tail has a few black threads running through it, to match the glass beads in the center of the symbol. One piece of the tail thread is beaded with yet another black glass bead and is flanked top and bottom by two clear beads. The book thong measures 16" (40.64 cm), and the Triquetra symbol is 2.75" square (6.985 cm). The cord is a long, crocheted chain thin enough to fit snugly in the book without causing any misshaping.

This item is available for $7.00 UDS plus shipping at my Etsy store, if you're interested!

Farewell, Old Friend...

Last night my favorite coffee cup left this realm to enter that great kiln in the sky. He did not pass peacefully, but violently. Waiting until I picked him up, full of hot java, to come apart at the handle. The heat of the coffee bouncing off my chest, stomach, and legs was not enough to numb my pain at the loss.

Farewell, Old Friend...I'd say you'd be missed, but after breaking AND burning me? Yeah, don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out, okay?

In crafty-related news, I cast on a new pair of socks for myself Saturday night. Life has been throwing curve balls of the rotten vegetable and fruit variety my way lately, and I've found myself sinking deeper and deeper into the self-pity pool. I figured a new pair of handknit socks would perk me right up, and it certainly is working like a charm! The yarn is very busy...it's Bernat Sox Multi in Crazy Hot...so I had a little difficulty deciding on a pattern. Then I stumbled across RPM, which was published on Knitty in summer of 2006. TA-DA!!! PERFECTION!!!! So late Saturday night I cast on. I've just finished the cuff of sock #2 this morning, so I'm hoping that by Thursday (at the latest!) I'll have a new comfy, soft, pamper-me pair of socks to wear. WIN!!

I've also almost finished with the test-knit of my first design of the year. Only a little overstitching with my trusty Singer is left now, to secure the blanket to the backing. It. Is. Gorgeous. I'm hoping to finish it up this week, and get the write-up for my Etsy store done, as well. Stay tuned for it, I'm really proud of how it turned out!

Omigosh, will it ever SLOW DOWN?

I feel like I'm in a blender right now! My days have been, since school started back, at least 17 hours long. I fall into bed and immediately slip into a coma then I'm back up and at 'em in what feels like 2 minutes. Today was supposed to be a lie-in day for me, but the hubby woke up and hour and a half late for work, causing a nuclear melt-down in the getting ready process. As soon as my feet hit the floor I was dashing about getting his coffee, making sure he had cash/wallet/keys/etc., and trying to calm him. Now he's at work, and I'm wide awake. Sheesh, the things we do for the men we love, eh?

I've been fairly decent about keeping the blog updated with my book reviews as I finish reading, thanks entirely to Goodreads' blogger interface. It makes it a one-click update and, let's face it, that is really handy! Speaking of which, if you have a Goodreads account make sure and friend me! Along the crafty lines, however? Yeah, I get a major fail on that one. So let's get you up to date!

I've managed to finish very few projects this summer. See the title of this post for the explanation. I've created a next pattern in my Hogwarts House fingerless mitt collection, R is for Ravenclaw. The mitts have been test knit, but I've yet to write out the pattern. Perhaps some rainy day...



My first portable project that I took with me to my youngest's nightly football practices is finished. I knit a pair of Bellatrix socks in Hufflepuff yarn, which was absolutely delightful! The socks aren't too bad, either ;)

I'm also working on a secret project. Well, secret from the hubby, anyways. Remember that quilt I was making for my youngest's bed? Well, my hubby adores it. He's been dropping hints for month about how he'd love to have one of his own. Cue the proverbial light bulb over the head. I'm making him his very own quilt for Christmas. It's been a problematic project. I can only work on it when 1. He's at work; and 2. I've got free time at home. See the problem? Because of that I picked out a super simple pattern, Victoriana Quilters' Easy Beginner's Rail Fence. Today, since I'm up anyways, I actually get to start sewing the 6 1/2" squares together to form the 12" squares!

Well, that's about it for me! Time is of the essence, and I hear the coffee pot and the sewing machine both calling for me!!

Christmas in July?

Yes, it's a real thing. For a crafter on a budget, at least. July rolls around, and with it an internal clock with an alarm set to what I refer to as "panic mode".

Every crafter knows this alarm. It always hits early in July. You'll wake up one morning, roll over, and then the bells and whistles sound. You sit up in bed, eyes wide, pulse racing, and think to yourself "Oh crap, Oh Crap, OH CRAP! I only have 5 months to get stuff made for EVERYONE!! What am I going to make for the kid's teacher? The mail delivery person? My Mom? EGADS, what about my MIL?! I'm never going to please HER!!" And, thus, it begins. The rabid internet searches for patterns, digging through the stash to see what you have versus what you need to have, and (finally, yet always much later than you wanted) the actual starting of the crafting.

Me? I've done the searches and the stash stock. That leaves the digging in and getting started. I've got a new pattern being test knit on my needles right now (want a sneak peek?), then I'll be getting started. I woke up this morning and saw a massive influx of queuing in my friends' activity tab on Ravelry, so I'm guessing that my panic alarm was a tad bit early this year. I can't help but feel a little excited by this...maybe that means that THIS year will be the year that I actually manage to accomplish everything I need to! As for the rest of you crafters out there? I hope that your Christmas in July is filled with luck and prosperity this year.

Hugs & plenty of chocolate~

Jenn

Last week in crafts...

Well, you all already saw that I finished my Anastasia socks.

I also managed to get quite a bit of work done on my quilt!

I got the nine-patch squares attached to the center strip, the center strip that connects the square halves together sewn, cut & pressed, AND got 6 squares completely assembled. I'm hoping to find time this week to, at the very least, finish assembling the squares. The dream would be for me to also get the squares connected into strips, but I don't know if that can happen or not.

I finished the sweater that I was working on, and found a little time to play around and take my first stab at making some note cards!

Not too bad for a first try, huh? Okay, I'm off for now. I've got a TON to get done around this house before this afternoon, and I've yet to figure out how to blog and clean at the same time.

Have a great Monday!

Last week in crafts...

I accomplished quite a bit, for no more time than I had to actually work on things.

First I finished the first of my Anastasia socks. I'm using Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight in

Purple Spice. It's a lovely yarn to work with; it doesn't split and slides easily on my needles. I'll be making baby booties for a friend of mine who had a beautiful baby girl on November 30th with the leftovers, which I'm finding is great motivation to ward off SSS (Second Sock Syndrome).

I spent the majority of my crafting time over the past week quilting. I have 35 squares left to finish on Bradley's twin-size quilt for his bedroom redo. I managed to get 140 nine patch squares cut, stripped, sewn together, and pressed. I've still got to square them up, which I hope to get to later today.

My current on-going project is "Scrappy". This is an affectionately

named rectangular granny square afghan that I'm working all my bits of leftover worsted weight yarn into. It seems that the majority of my yarn basket is taken up by these little, tiny balls of yarn that just really aren't enough to do anything with, so as I run into them I'll be adding them to Scrappy until he is as big as I like. Then, if I have any let, I'll start on Scrappy II!

Last, but not least, was cast on yesterday. I cast on and got to about the 60% mark on a Presto Chango baby sweater. I'm using Caron Simply Soft Heather in Truffle Heather for it, and it is coming out gorgeous! I've got the right front and sleeve left to finish of the main body, and also have to do the front flap and sew the buttons on. The best part? I've only got about 4 hours in this sweater, and will have less than 8 in it when it's complete! I LOVE projects like that, how about you?

Okay, that sums up what I got done last week. This week? Well, my goals are to

1. cast on Anastasia sock #2 and get to the halfway point on it
2. finish Presto Chango
3. get all of the remaining 35 squares assembled, squared up, and pressed for Bradley's quilt.

Now I just have to keep the Real Life Monster from rearing it's ugly head and keeping me from my fiber!

H is for Hufflepuff

Well, it's upon us folks - another summer of Harry Potter. What could be better, you ask? Nothing comes to mind.

To start off the summer right, I've designed some Hufflepuff themed gauntlets for the HPKCHC that I'm participating in on Ravelry. It's loads of fun, and has been a real boost for me in the imagination department!

Without further ado, I present for your knitting pleasure my pattern for "H is for Hufflepuff". I hope you enjoy, and if you find any mistakes please let me know!

H is for Hufflepuff PDF file

Supplies

1 skein Caron Simply Soft in Sunshine

1 skein Caron simply Soft in Black

1 set of US5 (3.75 mm) DPNs

Yarn needle

Stitch markers

Gauge

5 stitches and 6 rows per inch (2.54 cm)

Chart

Instructions

Cast on 40 stitches using the long-tail method, place a stitch marker, and join in

the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Work 6 rows in (k2, p2) ribbing.

Knit 10 rows in Sunshine (MC).

Knit 2 rows in Black (CC).

Knit 3 rows in MC.

Knit 2 rows in CC.

Work the chart, being sure to keep the stitches loose and twisting

the yarn every 5 to 6 stitches when working the center "H" area.

Knit 2 rows CC.

Knit 3 rows MC.

Left Thumb Gusset

Knit 7 sts in CC, place marker, m1, k1, m1, place marker, knit the remaining

stitches.

Knit 1 row in CC.

*Knit 7 sts in MC, place marker, m1, knit to next marker, m1, slip marker, knit the

remaining stitches.

Knit 1 row in MC.**

Repeat from * to ** until you have 13 stitches between the two markers.

On the next round, k7 in MC, slip 13 gusset stitches onto waste yarn, cast on 1

stitch, knit the remaining stitches.

Knit 2 rows in MC.

Right Thumb Gusset

Knit 32 sts in CC, place marker, m1, k1, m1, place marker, knit the remaining

stitches.

Knit 1 row in CC.

*Knit 32 sts in MC, place marker, m1, knit to next marker, m1, slip marker, knit

the remaining stitches.

Knit 1 row in MC.**

Repeat from * to ** until you have 13 stitches between the two markers.

On the next round, k7 in MC, slip 13 gusset stitches onto waste yarn, cast on 1

stitch, knit the remaining stitches.

Knit 3 rows in MC.

Work 6 rounds in (k2, p2) ribbing.

Bind off loosely.

Thumb

Place the stitches from the waste yarn back onto the DPNs, distributing them

evenly and picking up one stitch where one was cast on.

Knit 1 round in MC.

With MC, k2tog, k10, k2tog. (12 sts)

Knit 1 round in MC.

Work 6 rounds of (k2, p2) ribbing.

Bind off loosely.

Weave in all ends and block lightly if desired.

I'm still alive...

but real life has attacked full force this week. Baseball games, puppy training, household chores (most of which have been ignored) - I don't know which way to turn first!

On the craft front, I found out Sunday afternoon that I had to have an afghan done for a wedding shower on May 16th. That's ample time; however, I've joined the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup on Ravelry, and the first day of classes is Friday! I can't have such a huge project on my plate with this starting, which means that I have until Thursday night/Friday morning to crank this thing out. I chose the Kitties in a Row afghan, by Beverly A. Qualheim. It's a fast one, to be sure. The pattern repeat is simple enough that I don't have to keep referencing it, and I don't have to focus my energy on counting - rows OR stitches. I started on it Sunday night, and am now around 35% on it, though I haven't been home much to work on it. Fingers crossed that I can get it done!

Here's a close-up pic of the kittehs. Can you see them?












I'm also working on Herringbone Slouch, by CanarySanctuary. These are my "Oh, wow, ANOTHER baseball game" project, as they're more portable and warm-weather friendly than the afghan. I'm almost halfway through the second one, and can't wait to cast them off and get them blocked!








I also just realized that I didn't post my weekly weight loss on Monday! I was only down .2 pounds from last week - but, hey, a loss is a loss!! I'm a little better than that now, so as long as I keep going down I'm pleased.

Time to go for now, though - laundry is calling and then I have to get back on the crochet wagon.

Hugs & chocolate~

Jenn

F-list <3!

I mentioned in this post about a week ago that I was making some stuff for an f-list giveaway on my LiveJournal account. Today is the day that I posted the giveaway, and that post is f-locked, but I thought I'd post here and show-off, er, I mean share what I made for them!

The core group of my f-list, including myself, are Twilight fans. It went without saying that the giveaway would be Twilight related this time around, what with the DVD coming out on March 21st. So I made a set of Twilight themed dishcloths, and threw in a Jasper bookmark and a little Tribble that I knit out of scrap yarn. There is a red apple, or forbidden fruit, that is the mark of the series as a whole. A white "Two Hearts as One", to symbolize Edward and the heart that he gave her. A turquoise swan for Bella, which is pretty self-explanatory as that is her last name. Lastly, I made a tan "Get A Clue" to represent Jacob, or at least his more beastly side. It wouldn't be a Twilight giveaway without touching on that infamous love triangle!

Well, that pretty much sums up my week in crafting. I'm torn between what to start next, a pair of socks, a hat, or some armwarmers. I'm debating right now, as all will come in handy soon when baseball practice starts for my 9-yo. Our oldest is taking a break from baseball this year, as he has just started his first job, so my time on the field will be cut a bit, but I'll still need some warm woolies until Spring finds its groove!

My Op Top!

I finished my Op Top hat. It was a great pattern, and only took me 3 days to complete - and that's with very little knitting time. If you're wanting to ease into Fair Isle knitting I would highly recommend this pattern to you.

Anyway, enough chatter, check out my hat!



Next on the list is a little surprise for my LJ flist, at least for the Twilight lovers on it. If you're interested in being the one to score the goods you have to be the first to comment to the finished item post (which will be a friends only post), so head on over to http://jennbrad52.livejournal.com/ and friend me before I finish the project. You probably have until the end of the week, then I'll be done with the project and making the post.

What's this? A non-weight related post!

I've been working on Monkeys this week. Socks that is, from this pattern that was featured on knitty.com. I used Sock Love yarn - spun & dyed by my dear friend the Craftborg. Alright, that takes care of all of the credits, I think... so onto the socks!

I am lovin' these babies - they are snuggly, soft, warm and absolutely made of WIN!







I've now cast on the Op Hat, a pattern I got on Ravelry. I'm using Knit Picks Swish DK in Hollyberry and Maple Leaf, and a set of US/5 16" Knit Picks Harmony circulars.

I'm not overly thrilled with the yarn at this point. On my monitor the Maple Leaf looked to be a lovely orange that would offset the Hollyberry. In reality? It is red. Very red. Cherry red. It doesn't look bad, in fact it's very interesting. I just had my heart set on orange and burgundy...