procrastiknitter

fabric!

2005-05-13T21:15:00.000-04:00

Went to the fabric store today, and got a bunch of fabric to make purses. I have two yards of denim, which will be the outside, and five different prints for lining.

I'm probably going to use this tutorial from Craftster-- I already have D-rings, which is handy. Also, there's a bead store on Randolph Road I want to check out, since I want to make stitch markers, and the only eye pins they had at A.C. Moore were silver, and that's a bit nicer than I really need for stitch markers. I might get some for jewelry findings, though.

maryland, my maryland

2005-05-07T20:36:00.000-04:00

Okay, that was *fun*. We got there later in the day than I'd been hoping to, but we still got to spend a *lot* of time walking around the main exhibition hall and most of the smaller barns. The barns with actual sheep in them were a little too stinky to be fun, so we steered clear of those for the most part. But lambs! And bunnies! And 60,000 like-minded fiber nerds!

The thing I did not fully understand about the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is how freaking *huge* it is. Oh my god, there was so much stuff. I was seriously paralyzed with indecision for a while there.

Not *that* long, though.

From left to right: two undyed silk caps, a scarf kit from Shelridge Farm for this really cool reversible cabled scarf, two balls of hand-dyed wool (which is spinning up kind of slubby, but still very nice), and some absolutely gorgeous alpaca/merino/silk blend. It's all set out on top of my Kiri shawl, which got a *lot* more compliments than I was expecting. Since I wasn't, actually, expecting *any*. Here's a closer look at the Kiri:

The woman running the Hunt Valley Cashmere booth asked me if I'd be willing to knit another Kiri for her to use as a sample. Which, omg, YES. Mmmm, cashmere. Shira had some sort of a religious experience at that booth, and I very nearly did too.

If I can, I'm going to try to go back tomorrow. Apparently, some vendors will discount things at the festival winds down, and I might be able to pick up some bargains.

2005-04-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

I do actually intend to keep updating this thing; it's just that I've been doing very little knitting lately, and no spinning due to lack of anything to spin. But MS&W's coming up, and I plan to get all sorts of exciting things there. Maybe even a wheel!

wuh-oh

2005-04-16T23:14:00.000-04:00

It occurs to me that I have no buttons for my sweater. Crap. What are good places to buy buttons? Should I wait until I can go to the fabric store at home?

plus and also

2005-04-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

Crafters, stand in awe of my friend Neal. His creativity and resourcefulness stand as an example to us all. Why, you ask?

Not *too* impressive, on first glance, I'll grant you. But look closer.

That red zippered thing under the seat? A case for Neal's iPod. And below it, a pair of speakers. Yes, that's right: this bike has a sound system. It is the coolest fucking thing I've seen all week, guys. Never before has electrical tape been put to so noble, creative, and dare I say, crafty a use.

oh, harold

2005-04-15T14:59:00.000-04:00

Pictures were promised, and here pictures are. First, we have the concept art for the sweater I'm currently working on, a bottoms-up raglan of my own design named Harold.

As you can see, my Photoshop skillz are mad indeed. I totally need one of those tablet thingies that my friends who draw fanart use, because those things are *amazing.*

Anyway. Next, you can see progress thus far on the back and sides, which I'm knitting in one piece because seaming blows.

I stopped short of the length it'll ultimately be, because the yarn was frogged from Harold mk. 1 and I need to be careful not to run out at an inopportune moment. So I'm knitting the sleeves now, and then I can figure out how much I'll have left for the back and yoke.

So that's Harold. The color's off in the pictures-- it's too blue in the actual photos, and too purple in the concept art. The actual color is somewhere between the two, much closer to the crayon from which Harold takes its name. I should probably be done in another week or so, and then will have the excitement off the button vs. zipper dilemma.

the rundown

2005-04-13T14:05:00.000-04:00

Okay, just so this blog has some actual *content*, a quick summary: I'm Holli, college student in Amish country, native of the D.C. area. I've been knitting for a year and a half, spinning since September, and a fiber snob already-- the learning curve, she is steep. When I'm at home, I sew, sketch, and occasionally bead, but most of my good craft stuff is in boxes in my parents' basement these days.

On the needles right now:

Two pairs of socks in Knitpicks yarns, one for my sister and one for me. I have one sock from each pair finished, and the other halfway done.

My second try at a sweater in purple Peruvian Highland Wool from elann (the first one grew too much in the wash, and defeated all attempts at blocking). I'm calling it Harold, because it is exactly that purple crayon shade.

A to-be-felted blue-and-green pencil case for my other sister, in yarn that used to be a deeply horrifying sweater of my dad's.

Recently completed: a mini Kiri, two non-matching socks, and a whole lot of spinning. Pictures forthcoming.

testing, testing

2005-04-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

one, two, three