Today we celebrate, nay, go 100% berserk, for college football. It's homecoming for the Grizzlies and every year a parade closes down one of the busiest streets in town for hours. Almost impossible to detour around, you have to connect to the interstate and then pop back into town two blocks away from where you originally were, all because of this silly parade. School spirit is one thing, fanaticism is another.
Unfortunately, this past week I have been sick. I think it started with a sore throat/sinus thing which worsened over the weekend of camping and campfire, added with not enough sleep plus school and work strain. During the week I probably wasn't drinking as much water as I should have been, but now that it's the weekend and I'm doing things leisurely, I'm trying to drink a lot (of water).
I brought my grandma's sewing machine out of retirement (my parents' shed) and started sewing! I found a bunch of shirts at YWCA Secret Seconds for only $1 apiece (score!!) and altered them so they'd fit me. Several fit me already, but the entire experience makes me feel incredibly creative and thrifty. When I wear an item that I've adjusted, I just feel good ^-^ Originally I planned on shooting before and after pics, but these items are mostly just taking in the sides and kind of boring. If I have an outfit that requires a lot of cutting and sewing, I'll definitely post.
I will post update pictures on my afghans soon!!
Happy Weekend!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Hi ho!
Happy Labor Day! This is probably the first year since I was 16 years old and had my first job, that I actually get Labor Day off of work ^-^ Unfortunately, Scott still must work...
This three day weekend has been great and something I could definitely get used to! I was hoping to break out my sewing machine and start some sewing projects, but I'm not sure I'll get to it. I started early this morning on my ode, and have a decent start on it. I still need to finish the first part of Momaday's The Names and write a two-page response to it, as well as think of a powerful story to tell in my Storytelling class tomorrow.
N. Scott Momaday
I miss my old apartment, where I lived by myself and could veg out all day watching The Golden Girls and drinking coffee. Today, however, reminisces those days as I've had the apartment almost completely to myself ^-^ but now I really do need to get cracking on this homework. I did take a break to work on my Granny Square afghan and eat some pretzels. No more slacking!!
If I have time today, I'll take some photos of the dresses I want to alter and maybe even start working on them!
This three day weekend has been great and something I could definitely get used to! I was hoping to break out my sewing machine and start some sewing projects, but I'm not sure I'll get to it. I started early this morning on my ode, and have a decent start on it. I still need to finish the first part of Momaday's The Names and write a two-page response to it, as well as think of a powerful story to tell in my Storytelling class tomorrow.
N. Scott MomadayI miss my old apartment, where I lived by myself and could veg out all day watching The Golden Girls and drinking coffee. Today, however, reminisces those days as I've had the apartment almost completely to myself ^-^ but now I really do need to get cracking on this homework. I did take a break to work on my Granny Square afghan and eat some pretzels. No more slacking!!
If I have time today, I'll take some photos of the dresses I want to alter and maybe even start working on them!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
O boy!
As Hank Hill says, "I'll tell ya what" you can't keep me away from this computer today! Take blogging from a girl for a few months... Well really, here's what happened since first posting this morning:
I tried to write my ode, and couldn't. For hours, and with a lot of web surfing and side tracks, I couldn't produce a worthy poem. Luckily! I checked my email (out of procrastination) and found my poetry prof emailed everyone saying poems aren't due until tomorrow night, thanks to Labor Day!! Hallelujah!! So with this slight extension, I decided to use my time productively and upload photos of yarn projects (since, obviously, doing anything school related at this point is futile, as I have no motivation for it)
So.............
This happens to be the only afghan I've completed thus far! Granted, it's also teeny tiny for a baby so... it still took me a week to complete.
The afghan consists of 24 double crochet blocks sewn together. The yarn I used was Red Heart's Baby Clouds in various colors (the momma wanted to wait until the baby was born to find the gender, so unisex colors all the way! although, now I know I could have used more blue.... ;) ) This pattern is from Crochet Today's May/June 2010 issue.
To tell the truth, I'm not entirely happy with the outcome. It was supposed to be 25 blocks, making a 5x5 square rather than a rectangle. But I goofed, and well, here you go. I also didn't like the yarn so much, as it was hard to see stitches, especially when it came time to sew blocks together. So it ultimately looks uneven and cinched in spots.
Ginormous Granny Square!!!
oh my gosh. I 100% LOVE granny squares!!! Especially gigantic ones where I don't have to change yarn color after only a few minutes of crocheting (with this one, three rows of color requires about half a skein or more!). The great thing about granny squares is you can use up extra yarn, which is exactly why I started this afghan. You can even see in places where I ran out of the "extra" yarn and needed to start with a new color mid-row.
Mostly I just love the colors! And it's at the point where it covers me waist to leg when I sit on the couch, so it's already keeping me warm ^-^
Since I never have to go through a stitch (except at one corner) I sometimes get lonesome for "ordinary" crocheting, so I started up another afghan:
Knit and Crochet TV sampler afghan
This picture turned out rather dark, but can see I have eight blocks already! Even though I swore off block afghans after the baby afghan, I thought this would be an excellent and beautiful afghan, and that I need suck it up and work on my sewing ability, because someday I want to alter dresses, and I'll need to sew for that. Plus, someday I also want to make a real life Granny Square afghan, not the fake ones that I've been getting away with.
Checkerboard:
This square is way easy and I'll probably make one in every color!
Seascape, Starshine, or something like that:
This one was an absolute bugger!! It doesn't even look like a square, does it? I love the pattern, but it looks like I kept missing a few stitches on the ends, which makes it angled. O well. I think it'll still look nice when it's all said and done.
Granny Square:
Honestly, what sampler afghan is complete without one of these? I'm not too pleased with the color combo, so I'll definitely crochet another one with my darker purple.
Ribbed:
Weird, I didn't take a photo of the yellow rib I have... but I also have a yellow ribbed square. This one is ribbed also, but I decided to shake things up with rows of color! Believe it or not, that's a subtle shade of yellow and not white. The thin rows look white in the photo.
Knitted Square *gasp!
Yes, sigh... I've picked up my knitting needles again. Knit and Crochet TV has both a crochet and knit sampler afghan, and they are both so beautiful. I looked at the knitted patterns, and omg I'm not even going there. So I thought a nice stockinette stitch among all those crocheted squares would neat! Plus, I can handle plain Jane, stockinette!
And I realize I didn't take any photos of the shell squares... which in the picture of all squares are the light and dark purple ones. O well. I'm not too fond of them anyway, but they give a nice diversity to the afghan.
I tried to write my ode, and couldn't. For hours, and with a lot of web surfing and side tracks, I couldn't produce a worthy poem. Luckily! I checked my email (out of procrastination) and found my poetry prof emailed everyone saying poems aren't due until tomorrow night, thanks to Labor Day!! Hallelujah!! So with this slight extension, I decided to use my time productively and upload photos of yarn projects (since, obviously, doing anything school related at this point is futile, as I have no motivation for it)
So.............
Harmony's Baby Afghan
This happens to be the only afghan I've completed thus far! Granted, it's also teeny tiny for a baby so... it still took me a week to complete.The afghan consists of 24 double crochet blocks sewn together. The yarn I used was Red Heart's Baby Clouds in various colors (the momma wanted to wait until the baby was born to find the gender, so unisex colors all the way! although, now I know I could have used more blue.... ;) ) This pattern is from Crochet Today's May/June 2010 issue.
To tell the truth, I'm not entirely happy with the outcome. It was supposed to be 25 blocks, making a 5x5 square rather than a rectangle. But I goofed, and well, here you go. I also didn't like the yarn so much, as it was hard to see stitches, especially when it came time to sew blocks together. So it ultimately looks uneven and cinched in spots.
Ginormous Granny Square!!!
oh my gosh. I 100% LOVE granny squares!!! Especially gigantic ones where I don't have to change yarn color after only a few minutes of crocheting (with this one, three rows of color requires about half a skein or more!). The great thing about granny squares is you can use up extra yarn, which is exactly why I started this afghan. You can even see in places where I ran out of the "extra" yarn and needed to start with a new color mid-row.Mostly I just love the colors! And it's at the point where it covers me waist to leg when I sit on the couch, so it's already keeping me warm ^-^
Since I never have to go through a stitch (except at one corner) I sometimes get lonesome for "ordinary" crocheting, so I started up another afghan:
Knit and Crochet TV sampler afghan
This picture turned out rather dark, but can see I have eight blocks already! Even though I swore off block afghans after the baby afghan, I thought this would be an excellent and beautiful afghan, and that I need suck it up and work on my sewing ability, because someday I want to alter dresses, and I'll need to sew for that. Plus, someday I also want to make a real life Granny Square afghan, not the fake ones that I've been getting away with.Checkerboard:
This square is way easy and I'll probably make one in every color!Seascape, Starshine, or something like that:
This one was an absolute bugger!! It doesn't even look like a square, does it? I love the pattern, but it looks like I kept missing a few stitches on the ends, which makes it angled. O well. I think it'll still look nice when it's all said and done.Granny Square:
Honestly, what sampler afghan is complete without one of these? I'm not too pleased with the color combo, so I'll definitely crochet another one with my darker purple.Ribbed:
Weird, I didn't take a photo of the yellow rib I have... but I also have a yellow ribbed square. This one is ribbed also, but I decided to shake things up with rows of color! Believe it or not, that's a subtle shade of yellow and not white. The thin rows look white in the photo.Knitted Square *gasp!
Yes, sigh... I've picked up my knitting needles again. Knit and Crochet TV has both a crochet and knit sampler afghan, and they are both so beautiful. I looked at the knitted patterns, and omg I'm not even going there. So I thought a nice stockinette stitch among all those crocheted squares would neat! Plus, I can handle plain Jane, stockinette!And I realize I didn't take any photos of the shell squares... which in the picture of all squares are the light and dark purple ones. O well. I'm not too fond of them anyway, but they give a nice diversity to the afghan.
Believe it or not, I'm still crocheting away at the brown and cream striped afghan that I started months ago...actually I'm not "crocheting away" per se, as I haven't looked at in since June. But I haven't given up on it yet!!
That's all for today. From now on, I'd like to get in the habit of posting everyday, but not necessarily about crochet.
Happy Sunday!
That's all for today. From now on, I'd like to get in the habit of posting everyday, but not necessarily about crochet.
Happy Sunday!
Ohisashiburi desu ne!!
It's been a long time! (at least in my head) Honestly, for a while blogging was a bit unappealing to me, partially because I was without an internet connection for a few months. But I was also undergoing a bunch of stress from moving into a new apartment and trying to shake off the old landlord (who I had a scary dream about last night...something to do with a past due bill... *shudder). Recently, however, my faith in blogging has been somewhat restored as I reread over my past entries and found them to be, surprisingly, interesting. I like the fact that I recorded my projects with pictures and tribulations. Boy, do I have a ton of pictures to upload of my new projects! I will get on that this weekend, as I have a nice and long three-day weekend! (unfortunately, even though I have Monday off from both work and school, I have to work Saturday >=P )
Also, I found such a cool blog, New Dress A Day and not only has it repeaked my interest in sewing, but I love the blogger's dialogue to her readers. She takes garments found at garage sales or thrift stores and tweaks them on her sewing machine so they fit and are fashionable once again. If a fabric was initially well-made, then it seems like the most just thing to keep it in action rather than simply throw it away. The great thing about New Dress A Day, is that she makes it seem so simple to alter garments, with lots of photos and descriptions of what alterations she made, and the reasoning. Once I find a bit more free time, I'm definitely going to alter some things! I already have a few pieces in mind =)
I took this photo one late night with my boyfriend, during a lively session of bubble-blowing. The soapy water (in Tupperware) was sitting on top of this business card from Mariposa Studio in Missoula. I like the bubbles over the image.
I'm not going to lie, another reason why I decided to blog this morning was to help get my creative juices moving, as I need to write an ode to an everyday subject, and submit it to my poetry professor by seven pm tonight, so it can be reviewed, critiqued, and discussed with my classmates on Tuesday evening. Gah. My in-class ode was to my crochet hook, but it didn't look very promising as a real poem.
Brr!! It's chilly today! The five day forecast said this weekend was supposed to be in the 80*s!! More like the mid 60*s with a chilly breeze. Well, it looks like my roommate is getting busy moving his new bed in today, so I better start my day officially (with outside clothes. And I should probably brush my hair too). Today I'm driving to my parents house to wash clothes, and grab/drop a few things off. Hopefully I'll find inspiration there to write an ode. And read the first half of N. Scott Momaday's The Names for Native American literature.
Jaa ne!!
Also, I found such a cool blog, New Dress A Day and not only has it repeaked my interest in sewing, but I love the blogger's dialogue to her readers. She takes garments found at garage sales or thrift stores and tweaks them on her sewing machine so they fit and are fashionable once again. If a fabric was initially well-made, then it seems like the most just thing to keep it in action rather than simply throw it away. The great thing about New Dress A Day, is that she makes it seem so simple to alter garments, with lots of photos and descriptions of what alterations she made, and the reasoning. Once I find a bit more free time, I'm definitely going to alter some things! I already have a few pieces in mind =)
I took this photo one late night with my boyfriend, during a lively session of bubble-blowing. The soapy water (in Tupperware) was sitting on top of this business card from Mariposa Studio in Missoula. I like the bubbles over the image. I'm not going to lie, another reason why I decided to blog this morning was to help get my creative juices moving, as I need to write an ode to an everyday subject, and submit it to my poetry professor by seven pm tonight, so it can be reviewed, critiqued, and discussed with my classmates on Tuesday evening. Gah. My in-class ode was to my crochet hook, but it didn't look very promising as a real poem.
Brr!! It's chilly today! The five day forecast said this weekend was supposed to be in the 80*s!! More like the mid 60*s with a chilly breeze. Well, it looks like my roommate is getting busy moving his new bed in today, so I better start my day officially (with outside clothes. And I should probably brush my hair too). Today I'm driving to my parents house to wash clothes, and grab/drop a few things off. Hopefully I'll find inspiration there to write an ode. And read the first half of N. Scott Momaday's The Names for Native American literature.
Jaa ne!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)