Kid's Cardigan

Finished (well, pretty much.... Need to weave in ends and pick buttons...) with the cardigan. I think it looks pretty good.

New project

I am starting another project. This time it is from Vogue Patterns (number 2064) here is the link: http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v2064-products-4262.php?page_id=311

Everything is coming along very nicely... well, except for the fact that I sewed the darts on the wrong side of the fabric, and sewed the wrong sides together. I'm going to have to tear it out. I have a feeling it will take forever. That's alright, though.. It'll look great when I'm done.

Well

The world didn't end. Hooray! The Doctor saved us, yet again!


In other news-

the world didn't end. Is it wrong that I'm mildly disappointed? Probably. But on the plus side, it means that I can do more crafting... nothing wrong with that, eh?

Also, look at what I sketched today on the ole Ipad:

New temptations

Wouldn't it be wonderful to do exactly what you wanted to do in life? How does one even begin to know what they want to do, though? I'm almost thirty and I'm still trying to figure this out... I'm well beyond the point of, "when I grow up." There is no more 'up' to grow.

Something that I've considered (for no small amount of time, mind you) is to write a blog. But, and I'm sure you've all heard this before, I have no idea where to get started. I could write a blog about my crafting. I could write a blog reviewing things (art, music, a technique, etc.). I could write a blog about how to do something... I have no idea, really... or rather, I have too many ideas.

I suppose an excellent way to do this is to note all of the blogs that I really enjoy and read on a regular basis. Most of them are DIY sorts of blogs that I return to for inspiration. For example, for drafting/ sewing help (in general) I found a lovely site called http://www.ikatbag.com/ which has been a lot of fun to read and I love her projects. She has a lot of illustrations that I find to be helpful and nice to work with.

Another example: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/ All sorts of wonderful here. SO MANY PROJECTS!!! I can't even begin to try them all (which might be a goal in and of itself.) A lot of trendy things to try, but a lot of practical things as well...

One of my favorites is a long-term goal sort of thing: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ A lot of fantastic recommendations for simplified, eco-friendly living. Something I think we can all get behind. I wish that I had the sort of dedication and drive to do /every/ single thing that she does. It's inspirational and difficult (or so I imagine).

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ is a site that I just recently discovered. There are links to EVERYTHING.

Perhaps at the very least, I can write a blog about art projects and new discoveries. Perhaps, next year, I can try to do some sort of art project a day. Even a small one.

For now, I leave you with a coffee cup that I want to either buy or make myself (as soon as I figure out the technique...)

Commissioned

to knit! Fantastic! Granted, it's someone that I know and it's a quick little project, but it's still nice to have been hired to do something that I love to do... (oh, is that what it feels like? Feels great... just so you know.)

So, I'm making a kid's cardigan for my friend's friend's daughter. First time that I've made something for a kid... and I'm hoping that I'm doing it correctly. It looks pretty good so far. The pattern is a top-down raglan (which is very easy to knit.) The yarn is Plymouth Encore Worsted. It's a blue/green mix. An acrylic/ wool blend. It's not what I would have chosen, but I didn't, so it is. ^_^

It's not entirely disagreable to work with, but I did have a devil of a time trying to get it to pull from the center correctly. When it gets knotted, it is not terribly amusing to try to fix.

I've almost finished the body of the cardigan. I'll need to pick up stitches for the button band and I still need to work the sleeves. I've decided to knit them in the round as opposed to flat (so much simpler in the round).

Edit: here is a picture. Yes, it is horrible (having been taken by the ipad), but it is a picture!

Huzzah!

I am finished with my coat! It looks great. I would post pictures of it, but the lighting is terrible and it is night. Tomorrow is another day, however. ^_^ I'm quite pleased with how it turned out and feel like I'm getting much better at this sewing thing. Now, it's just a matter of practicing more and more and getting bolder in what I want to try to do.

One step closer

to finishing my coat. I hate sewing buttons. and I still have 14 left... blech. Other than that, everything is going swimmingly. All of the buttonholes, though, are complete. Tomorrow will be the day to finish, methinks.... and then, pictures!!

Buttons were purchased at the Button Emporium (downtown Portland)- they have absolutely /every/ kind of button you could possibly hope for. http://www.buttonemporium.com/ is the website. Check it out. They only seem to have a small sampling online of all the buttons in store, but it was pretty impressive.

The owner was very nice and helped me pick out buttons. It was one of those nice moments, where the customer wasn't smothered with unwanted help, but was helped only when I asked for it. Always a bonus.

So close!

Getting closer to finishing my coat! It looks pretty amazing (pictures will be forthcoming) and I'm quite pleased with my color choices and my growing skills as a seamstress. The next step will be trying to develop my own pattern. What I would like to do is create an Avenger-themed wardrobe.. probably with an emphasis on Black Widow, Hawkeye, and (of course Loki) because those are the most similar to my color palettes anyway.

Also, I did some painting throughout the week. It was so nice to be able to do something like that again. It's been a while. I'm most pleased with my Raven painting. Unfortunately, you can't really see all of the brush strokes or variation in color...