What a great weekend! We’re a great, crazy bunch. Here’s how the weekend went:

I at some raspberries. Fresh from my mom’s bushes.

We played some cards and ate some yummy food.

We hung around and waited for the fireworks to start (there were 30 of us watching the fireworks).

They were bright.

And a little crazy.

And beautiful.

All these photos taken by me. On my honor. With help from this tutorial.

There were babies.

Adorable, very photogenic babies.

Such cute babies.

There was some intense cardboard boat building.

Some intense boat racing.

A huge crowd to cheer on the boaters.

We don’t actually know who the people in the real boats are. Apparently they thought racing cardboard boats was an oddity worth watching.

There were some prizes. My team won the titanic award. We literally went down in flames.

There was the charity auction. My sleep mask brought in $55. The bottle of Oliver wine that I donated at the last minute brought in $70! The total donation from the auction? $5,600!!!!

And because we’re not fun enough… we had a pinata too!

Whew. I’m exhausted. Click over to the flickr set for more photos.

If you’ll remember, today is my favorite holiday ever. Hopefully in a few days, I’ll give you some photographic proof of this holiday’s awesomeness in the way that my family celebrates it… but I have to remember to take photos. In the meantime, this holiday involves:

• a smattering of my 50 aunts and uncles (on one side)
• A selection of my 59 cousins (on one side) and 12 second cousins (I think that’s the term I want. Second and third always confuse me).
• Tons of food. Including beef from the cows my parents raise (with no chemicals or gross stuff)
• Raspberries. From my mom’s bushes. That means they’re free and all-I-can-pick.
• A boat regatta. Of the cardboard variety. Yup. We really do that.
• Swimming, boating and general frolicking in the best lake ever.

Oh! I almost forgot! I have a contest winner to announce!

Comment number 32 was….

Blogless Angela Noel! She’s been sent an email!

In other news… please everyone be safe with the big fire-exploding-making. Fireworks are not toys. They are fire. Just thought it was worth a review. Um. Yay!

NOooo! This is a knitting blog. Silly.

I’ve started on the dishcloths. A few people suggested the colors that I ended up using - but ultimately, it was my mom who called (after reading that blog post - check it out, there’s a contest goin’ on) and told me that the bride’s maid (what a funny word linguistically… why did I never notice that before?) dresses were going to be brown with little pink accents. I like the combination, but there’s a fine line before one gets into neopolitan ice cream territory (which I’d like to avoid). And so I made the following dishcloths:

They’re not my favorite, but I suspect that’s because I’m not a huge fan of the color combos. Oh well. They’ll do.

I’ve also made another Velvet Oblivion. I make tons of these. So much so that I have a system for naming them. This one, for example is VO version 6.08 (month, year). They’re like my stand-by gift because they’re awesome, decently affordable (I can get 3 out of the ball of Touch Me) and SUPER quick since I’ve long since stopped knitting the furry border - a single round of double crochet just goes soooo fast. These are also like the ONE thing, IMO, that I’ve found as “acceptable use” of eyelash yarn.

It’s difficult to take a photo of yourself with a blindfold on. Here’s a few outakes.

I’ve made this version for a family auction that will occur over the holiday weekend. Benefits go to a great cause (you’ll learn about this later) and I’m sure that my auction item will bring in lots of dollars!

Yay!

And I’ve also made something for me!

($20 bucks says my mom leaves a comment asking for one/a collection)

I didn’t use a pattern for this. I was inspired by Annie’s (Ravelry), but after about 4 different attempts at knitting my own in the past few months, I had to give up on the knitted wire idea. Until… I went to a bead store and got some 28 Gauge silver wire. Tried again. Failed.

So then… I tried some crochet! Yay! It worked! Should I write up a “recipe” for this so you can make your own? Keep in mind that I don’t really know much about crochet… or writing crochet patterns (hence, the “recipe” idea).

In other news. It looks like texture wins for the upcoming sock design - for those of you who wanted lace or colorwork, keep in mind that this tutorial/design will definitely be adaptable for your own colorwork/lace - trust me - it’s just that in this case, the finished product will be texture. I’ve got some swatching ideas comin’ up… I’ll post an “intro” post and step one after the holiday.

(Check out my contest.)

It seems as though people are pretty evenly split with the whole “what should I design for you as a series of tutorials” with a lot of people being intrigued by the quilt-inspired scarf.. and socks.

Now… If I’m going to do socks, that’s going to be a big, long process because at the same time, I’m going to include excel tutorials for those wanting to write their own sock patterns.  Yea.  I’m probably too ambitious.  But what can you do?

So… since the sock will be a series of posts… that may infact stretch a few weeks, I think I’ll do the scarf along the way (I think I too am intrigued by this idea).

But first…

I need to know what kind of socks you want me to design.

So… leave a comment…

Do you want: Colorwork?  Lace?  Or textural?  Let me know and I’ll do some swatching over the holiday.

Or good blogging. (See contest below!)

Man. I have been totally absent lately. There are two big reasons for this. The first is that I’m working on lots of secret stuff. And I can’t do progress shots for various reasons. I’ve got a graduation gift for the sister, a blog reader, in the works. Another present for a friend who also reads this blog. (Actually, both of these can be viewed on Ravelry for those interested). Gifting. Reason number one for boring blog death.

Reason number two? Designing.

First… I’ve got this super, awesome fantastic sock pattern that I’m designing for the Three Irish Girls new and exciting sock club. It’s a really, really great design that I’m super proud of - inspired by some of Cat Bordhi’s ideas… with a twist, of course. Hahaha. That’s funny. Anyway, so that’s a secret for a few more weeks.

And then I’ve got 2 other designs mostly worked up. One is a great anthropologie inspired scarf, and another is a non-sock pattern requiring two skeins of sock yarn (because we all have tons of that around).

Reason number 3 for blog death? Lack of photos. I hate blogging without photographic content. I feel it’s boring. Here’s an arbitrary photo of silliness just to add some visual interest.

And then… Of course, there’s this big project that my knitting group and I are starting to think about… and of course that has to be a secret until we get all the kinks worked out! Oh. And lets not forget that I’m going to be test knitting for both Huan-Hua and Kalani! So many secrets!

I had to get your interest somehow. Photos work. That’s like design 101.

So what can I blog about? Well… I guess two things… and we’ll make it a contest just for fun. Winner gets a custom dyed sock blank in the colors you specify (if you so wish - I can also surprise you) and a copy of my BASKE mitten pattern and maybe a few other exciting things. How can you enter this contest? In the comments below, do one of the two options (or both, in two separate comments for double the chances)!

1. I’ve got to make some dishcloths for a wedding shower present. There is no dishcloth like the Ballband pattern and so that’s going to be the pattern I use (unless you can convince me otherwise). I have no idea about colors though. I feel like I did the rainbow thing really well last year… Name a few color combinations that would work well together.
2. I think it’s about time for a free pattern. But what should it be? Pick one of the following options and explain why you want that one: A). A sock pattern. B). An argyle hat pattern. or C). a quilting inspired scarf pattern. In any case, I’ll document for ya’ll step by step what the design process is so that you can follow along and maybe learn a few things (keep in mind I’m no designing expert - but I do think I’m getting better).

Ps. How cool is this?

Pps.  I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner on my favorite day of the year.

Hi! My name is Nicole and I suck at sewing (and the crappy photography doesn’t help).

Anyway. I was inspired/jealous/peer-pressured/whatever by my knitting friend’s fabulous infinity dress. And I wanted to make one too. So I stopped at Jo-ann’s and bought some knit fabric (polyester, yuk) to make my own.

I was not as successful and I would have hoped. The dress involves ONE seam. One. Sewed. Seam. And I couldn’t even get it right. Here’s my timeline of the project (not a recommended avenue for your own dress):

1. Cut straps. Say to self “there’s tons of extra fabric at the end. I’ll be able to make a skirt, no problem.
2. Cut waist band. Wish really hard that there was some sort of direction in the “recipe” for how thick the waistband should be (clearly, my first attempt, 4 inches was too wide). Otherwise, the recipe was very helpful.
3. Hold up the remaining rectangle shape. Think to self “Hmm. this is going to be a short skirt. This might be a problem.” Consider the possibility that the other large chunk of “leftovers” might be the skirt section and then dismiss this possibility upon closer examination. Decide to continue without serious concern.
4. Make the rectangle more rounded, hoping to preserve as much length as possible. Decide that instead of cutting a hole in the skirt, a slit would preserve the most length in all directions. Cut a slit large enough to go around hips.
5. Step into skirt (to make sure the slit is wide enough) and consider again the fact that this is turning out to be a bit risque.
6. Remember Huan-Hua’s advice and attempt to pin all the pieces together, all the way around the waist.
7. Begin sewing. Curse the long straps (that get in the way). Have general frustration.
8. Finish the seam, hold up the dress, right side facing… and see 3 giant spaces where the seam did not go where it was supposed to and there are giant gaps.
9. Attempt 8 times (or so) to close these gaps, in the process shortening the skirt by milimeters each time. Finally decide that 2 of these gaps are now small enough that they are not important, particularly when the straps can be wrapped such that the seams essentially disappear.
10. Try on dress, realize that it shows a LOT of leg. Like a lot. Also realize that I may be a bit too… busty to wear the dress low enough to cover leg without sacrificing support and side coverage.
11. “Grrr.”
12. Decide to call it a learning experience and not obsess, move on to next project.
13. Just before closing out the firefox tab of the recipe, read that this dress could be worn as a top. Genius.
14. Decide that next time, I will make the straps wider (for less revealing side boobage) and double check the width of the fabric before I buy so that I can be sure the skirt will be long enough.

Here’s another photo, this time of the back.

*sigh.

My dad just called me, laughing hysterically.  This is how the conversation went:

Me: Hi dad.

Dad: What happens when a cat eats a ball of yarn?

Me: It gets a really bad hairball?

Dad: No.  It has mittens! *laughs*

Dad: Isn’t that funny?

Me: No.  It’s terrible actually.

Dad: No.  It’s funny.

Me: No it’s not.  It’s terrible.  It barely even makes sense.

Dad: Nuh uh.  It’s funny.  I bet you tell it to someone within 24 hours.

So there you have it.  I guess I told a lot of people.

The more important thing:  Is it in the “Father’s Manual” to tell lame jokes?  What’s the protocol to get that chapter amended?

I went home for the holiday weekend and my mom and I spent a few hours garage-saling (a word I made up just now, verb; shopping at garage and yard sales). I had some great finds! The best? Check this out:

I got a pair of these - and the best part is that they rock back and forth. I would guess they’re from the 30s

or 40s at least and they’re super solid, in great, sturdy shape. My parent’s were pretty jealous and threatened t

o steal them. Why am I so excited? What do

I plan to do with them? Well, I think I’m going to knit new covers for them. Annie Modesitt has a pattern that is sort of like what I want to do - you can see to the left. I’m not a fan of the pattern itself. The instant I saw these chairs, I instantly thought of an Interweave Knits pattern that features lots of cabling designs and a gorgeous natural look. I’m not sure when I’ll ever have a pair of finished chairs… but I think there’s some good potential in these chairs. Check out the IK version (different chair):

I got a few other good finds: Some neat retro pyrex, and… a ton of sweaters! There’s a university back home that does a huge garage sale of all the stuff the students leave behind. I got a bunch of sweaters to felt for different projects, and a few to take apart for the yarn. The best was a hand-knit Irish Aran sweater. It was on the top of the pile after I’d walked away - I saw it and almost killed 3 people trying to grab it.

There’s a ton of wool in it - I already took it apart and balled it. If I had a scale, I’d weigh it to get an idea of how much there is… but I know it’s a lot!

And finally, I got some old knitting and crocheting booklets. Follow the jump for more photos and some smarmy comments.

These are some baby blanket patterns from a booklet dated 1941. I love these patterns!

Pretty sure this baby is pooping. Right now.

Let’s forget for a minute that these are toilet paper covers and are inherently absurd. Can we also discuss the absurdity of such dolled-up, elegant southern belles spending their days hiding toilet paper rolls?

These are garments are… interesting.

Ok. The best part of these sweaters? The discription:

“Classic.”

Who needs a duck sweater?

This kid looks like a tool. I don’t know what else to say.

I don’t even know what to say about these two.

I actually really like this motif!

I promised you another FO post… and here it is. And by “it” I mean the big blanket of foreverness. Finished.

It took me so, so, so long.

Seriously. I started this blanket almost a two years ago. This blanket and I have been through a lot together. We knit through my last summer as an undergrad, my senior year at IU and the 72 page thesis I wrote (not at the same time, obviously). I knit on this blanket when I broke up with my ex-boyfriend (that was when I introduced the color green, actually), when we got back together, and then, when we broke up again, this time for real. This blanket was near when freaked out about graduate school, the start of two other blankets (but no finish), and the many times this past year when I was frustrated beyond belief. Oh, and let’s not forget the summer of mold-hell. As I knitted the i-cord BO (yes, i-cord BO, about 24 feet of i-cord), I actually almost cried I was so sad to be done with it. If the i-cord didn’t look so gosh dang-nice, I might have taken another year just to finish that one.

I don’t really have a lot of specifics on this one. All the yarn (except the orange) is KP Wool of the Andes. The orange is Arucania Nature Wool. I knit the blanket on size 7 needles (6 for the border). I have no idea how much yarn it took, but I guess about 45 balls (I’ll weigh the thing one of these days). I also don’t remember the exact colors - but it was most, if not all of the blues available that summer and some white.

Here’s another photo:

Whew.

And now, I’m itching to start another blanket.  The only question is - which one?

I finished the Sunrise Circle Jacket. Or at least as finished as it’s going to be in awhile. Right now, It’s only got two buttons/button loops, but in a few months, I’ll change that. I’m in the process of losing weight and I don’t want to add the other buttons until I’m closer to my goal weight/the fit I want. And this isn’t a silly little diet/fad or what not. I’ve actually lost 7 or 8 pounds (imprecise scale) so far… anyway… Yay for this sweater!

Oh, yea, there was supposed to be a great story with this post. Ummm ok. Here goes:

There once was this knitter (me) who knit an awesome sweater in like 8 days (seen above). She seamed this sweater, promptly tried it on and thought it was too small. Specifically, she was concerned about the stretching in the arms. Frustrated, she decided to continue the sweater and then give said sweater to her younger sister for her upcoming birthday. Generous yes, but what can you do?

A few days later, this knitter brought her sweater to her fantastic knitting group. She explained her concerns and the gifting decision, something she was obviously sad to admit to have to do. Finally, she tried on the sweater and became overwhelmed with the overwhelming chorus of - “oh, you should keep it!” “I think it fits just fine” and “I’m sure blocking will help.” Our knitter left this knitting group torn between the trust of this group, and the love of her sister.

A week later, her sister came for a birthday visit. The knitter kindly and nonchalantly (noncommittally might be a better word) asked her sister to try on the partly-hemmed sweater. And to her disgust, the purply color clashed with her sister’s skin tone like no other color known to man.

Rejoice! The sweater remains with the knitter (and blocked to a much better fit).

(You can see the details on the Ravelry page.)  OH.  And I have another FO - but I’m not going to blog it until I get some photos next weekend.