makin' stuff

Sheesh, it's been a long time since I've done a blog post! I really have been making stuff, I guess I just haven't been making time for blogging!

I finally finished my citron. I used Divine Lace, which is pretty fantastic stuff! The citron however, I don't find quite as fantastic. I find the half circle shape harder to wear than a triangular shawl. I don't like how it won't really scrunch up around my neck. It feels fantastic on, but I'm actually thinking of frogging it and using the yarn for something I like better. It seems silly since I spent weeks knitting it, but it seems even sillier to not wear the thing I made with yarn that I love and frankly was kind of a splurge.

My friend Catherine sent me a link for a purse pattern online and we both thought it'd be a great little spring bag. Last weekend I had 4 days off and I decided to make one! I used some fabric that I picked up at an antique mall (it's not antique fabric, just "vintage"). Because it's drapery weight, I thought it'd be perfect. The only problem is that it's pretty small compared to my Namaste bag that I've been carrying, so its sort of a big leap for me. However, I think it'll be perfect for trips to antique malls or flea markets or places like that where I'm walking for hours and a big bag starts feeling like a sack of potatoes on my shoulder after a while. And it's super cute - I love it!

Over my 4 day weekend, I also warped up my loom and made this rug for the bathroom! I'm not finished with it - I'm going to bind the short edges this weekend. I bought a bunch of cones of bulky weight cotton when the Peaches and Cream place was advertising that they're going out of business. I warped with worsted weight cotton then held three strands of different shades of blues together for the weft. It's still not as thick as I thought it'd be, but I think it'll be ok. I know this picture just makes it look like a placemat, but it's about 24" wide and 36" or so long.

Then a couple weekends back, after seeing this post on tall grass prairie studio, I decided to try my hand at recreating the chevron she did. Because I'm just kind of starting the piecing thing, sometimes I see what people have made and I have to stare at it and figure out how they did it. Then I have to try. I decided to just turn this into a hot pad so it's usable and not sitting alone in my sewing room! it's not exactly like hers, but I think I get the idea and it was a pretty fun way to use scraps!

Huge sale this weekend at JoAnn's!! I'll be heading over soon! I'm going to get some DK weight yarn to make this baby for my niece, and I'd like to recover the benches in my sewing room with some nifty vinyl since Stella, my cat who won't stop peeing on stuff, is living there full time now (and she doesn't pee on anything in there!) Having to take the lint brush to my bench everytime I want to sit down is kind of a drag, so a change needs to be made!

I love parcels!

I don't just love parcels because cool things come in them, it's the box itself that makes me happy - and this one was the best EVER! why? because it had a string tied around it!! It really takes so little to make me happy, but seriously, who does that anymore? I couldn't stop myself from sounding like an idiot in the post office when she brought it out and I said "ooh! it has a string on it! isn't that just how packages ought to be?"

And as per usual for me lately, this box is from Thailand - because I can't stop ordering those little knock off Blythe dolls! This one is blond -although it's nearly apricot in a way. I like it and I'm going to see if I can't do some trimming and washing to make it nicer.

She's a Blybe, but has a CCE style body, which is thinner than any of my others and doesn't turn at the waist. Her hip joints are a little loose and there are some stains on her body, which aren't very noticeable and pretty much what I'd expect for $23!

Oh, other oddities that seem par for the course with these knock off is that sometimes the eyes are a little whacky! for example - the side glancing eyes above are very downward, but the ones below, aren't - I just consider that some extra personality! Again, I didn't pay $150 for a real Blythe, so you take what you get!

Oh, also, you can't tell it from these pictures but her eyelids are blue - not just painted blue, but blue plastic - I can see that her whole eyesocket mech is made of blue plastic. So when I redo her face I'll either work with the blue or paint over it maybe!

And I couldn't resist buying this little outfit for her! I usually make my own clothes, but it was so cute! Ok, next time you see her she'll be all new and beautiful after her mods!