Finished Object: Raise a Glass

I am SOOO behind on blogging!  Lately, I've been on a crazy finishing kick which I attribute to participating in knit-a-longs and stitch-a-longs.  I think maybe that is the key for me to actually finish things...it keeps me on a schedule and accountable.  It also keeps me from casting on too many things and never finishing them!

Anyways, first up is some embroidery!  I found this crazy cute company, Red Letter Day Stitches, which publishes holiday embroidery patterns.  I am in desperate need of holiday decorations, so  I thought it would be cute to have a spot on a wall where I rotate out different embroidery decorations, based on the season/holiday.  When I found the company, they had just released Raise a Glass, their St. Patrick's Day pattern.  I was totally on board!  Without further ado, here is my finished project!

Once I purchased the pattern, which was only $4, I received a pdf of the instructions and the design.  I think in order to get the picture sizing right, you are supposed to print it out, THEN trace it onto the fabric.  For some reason, I felt the need to skip that step and just traced it from my computer screen, ugh!  My picture ended up just a hair too big to fit nicely in a 6 inch hoop.  Whoops.

I participated in their stitch-a-long, which was nice because as I mentioned at the beginning of this post stitch-a-longs keep me on track.  Well, guess what!  I was wonderfully surprised because I ended up winning a pattern subscription!  How awesome is that?!

Next up is the Bunny Hoop, which was just released today.  Isn't it just too cute to handle?!!  I can't wait to get home to start it!!!!  This time, I'm going to PRINT the pdf first!

Ravellenic Games 2014

This year for the Ravellenic Games I thought I would REALLY try to challenge my knitting quota.  I feel like lately I haven't been finishing many things, so I thought this would be the perfect excuse to kick my knitting up a notch.  I entered into the Hat Halfpipe and WIPs Dancing.  The hat I knit for my husband for Christmas was so well received that I decided to knit him another for the Ravellenic Games.  I settled on Andi Satterlund's An Easy Beanie.  I finished the hat in only 10 days!

Here is the hat right after I finished it.  

...and after a few days of wear, it has stretched out nicely.

The second event I entered, WIPs Dancing, I wanted to finish the Peggy Sue sweater I've been working on. (Sidenote: I'm not sure if you can call it a true Peggy Sue sweater, since I made so many changes.  The only parts that resemble the Peggy Sue are the faux cabled ribbing and the moss stitch button band.  For the raglan construction, I followed Fringe Association's tutorial.)

 I really should have included sewing on grosgrain ribbon and the buttons in my Ravellenics goal, as those still aren't done. 

Here is a close up of the faux cabled ribbing.

I love love love this sweater so far!  I've worn it (sans buttons) a handful of times already.

Wardrobe Architect, Part 3

The past two weeks in the wardrobe architect have been all about color.  First, the assignment was to figure out your color palette.  What colors make you feel most comfortable and confident?  This week, we were assigned to categorize our color palette into neutrals, nearly neutrals and statement colors.

In order to figure out my color palette, I looked through pictures of myself noticing which colors emerge as a theme.  Well, yikes!  I discovered that I really only wear a handful of colors, and I went back through at least 6 years of pictures!  Here is what I came up with.

The neutral colors I usually wear are black, grey, navy blue and tan.  The statement colors I consistently wear are pink and red.  Rarely, I wear turquoise and blue.

On another note, you may have noticed that I just added a new page to the blog!  I have compiled the finished sewn and knit objects I've blogged about onto one page.  I'll be updating the page as I have new finished objects.  You can find the page at the top left, right under the "Lammie Pie" text.

Pom Poms!

I saw this video on Caitlin Ffrench's wonderful blog and just HAD to share!

Hilarious!!

Finished Object: Footies

It feels like it's been an eternity since I've had a finished object, let alone one for myself.  This weekend I decided that I needed to remedy that, STAT!  I knit a pair of footies!  They are a slipper pattern that my grandma always used to make and put in all of our Christmas stockings.  The last pair that I had my dog chewed a huuuuge hole in when she was a puppy.  Since she is almost 3, these are long past due!

The pattern is super simple:

Worsted weight with size 7 needles

CO 32
Knit in 2x2 rib for 30 rows
Knit garter stitch for 30 rows

Sew up the heel (garter stitch end).  Gather the ribbed end for the toe, then sew the ribbing together until you reach the garter stitch.

On another note the website Treehugger has posted a couple good articles about knitting and why it's important.  If you have a few spare minutes, they are great reads!

Why bother knitting a scarf?

Don't stop knitting! It keeps you healthy.

I'm Loving...A Homespun House Podcast

I recently found a new podcast (actually a videocast) that I TOTALLY love!  It's called a Homespun House.  The Ravelry group can be found here.  I love love love to listen to knitting podcasts while I knit and highly recommend this one!

I also am a huge fan of The Knitmore Girls Podcast and have been a regular listener for months, maybe even a year.

Do you listen to any knitting podcasts?  What are your favorites?  I' always open to suggestions!!

Wardrobe Architect Progress, Part 2

Have you been following along with Colette Patterns Wardrobe Architect?  This week we are working on defining our own core style.  I saw the title of the post "Defining a Core Style" and thought "Pffft!  This is easy!"  I soooooo already know my core style.  Every single day of my life (that I leave the house) I wear some version of the following: a skirt, tank top, and a cardigan.

I didn't have to dig too far to find just three examples of this.

One of the activities for the Wardrobe Architect was to list 3-5 words which describe your core style.  The words I came up with are:

Eco-friendly: I like to buy second hand pieces to keep them out of the dumpster and give them a new life!

Feminine: I wear a skirt allllll the time!

Hobbies: Both of my hobbies include making my own clothes (knitting and sewing)

Career: My style has definitely swung more towards the dressy side of the spectrum due to my career. 

The next activity was to find pictures to demonstrate our 3-5 words and parts of our core style.  I didn't actually find pictures for each of the words, but while I was searching I realized that I tend to gravitate more towards pictures of A line/full skirts.  I found this interesting, particularly because most of my wardrobe consists of straight skirts!

Below are some pictures I found which visually demonstrate what I think my core style is.

Grosgrain

Bloglovin

I can't wait for the next installment of the Wardrobe Architect!