Ravelympcs

On your mark, get set......


Yes, it's time for the Ravelympics again. This year, I'm entering the Short-Track Shawl event, for two separate teams. For Team Squint Squad (for Bones fans), I'm doing the Angela Montenegro Traveling Woman shawl -- in the gorgeous blue that makes me think of a tropical Pacific Island. For Team Woolpack (a local yarn shop) I'm doing Damson (if at first you don't succeed) in that springy yellow (purchased at The Woolpack of course).

Cast on is Friday night during the opening ceremony.

What Is It?

I love to watch the TV show "Ask This Old House" -- especially the "what is it" segment where the guys bring in weird tools/gadgets and the others try to guess what it is. Here's my entry......


What is it? A hot water bottle cover? Giant tissue holder? Pajama bag? No, no, and no.

It was supposed to be a box bag for my knitting.......but the interfacing I used was too thick and I couldn't easily do the folding/seaming to get the required shape. The zipper and lining don't look too bad......it's just a shame that I can't think of anything to do with it.


Spurred on this [lack of] success, I practiced another zipper installation.....this one is just OK. Don't like seeing the zip ends (memo to self -- use long zippers and cut them).....and the zipper itself it too close to the top. But the lining is fine! I guess I could use this for stitch markers/holders, small rulers, etc.


I already have the fabric picked out for the next episode of bmom - Bag Lady.

Monday -- Starting Over

Monday seems like a good day to start something new.....or, in this case, start someone over.

I'm participating in the 10 Shawls in 2010 project and started my first - Andrea's Shawl. I particularly loved the edging lace. I finished the entire body and only had the top edging to do when I realized I wouldn't have enough yarn to complete the project. I set it aside, hoping a miracle would occur (it didn't). I considered using using another color for the top -- but knew that wouldn't work either.......so rrr-iiii-ppppp.......out it all came. I will make this shawl (time for stash diving). And now I need another project for this yarn.

Sewing -- Using a Pattern

It's been a long time since I actually used a pattern to sew anything. But I really wanted a new bag and this one seemed like it would work (look at Lily Beth). I didn't want to buy any supplies, so I used fabric and notions I had on hand (except for the button....I had to run out and get a cover-your-own button). I'm really happy with how it came out. The lining is a little wonky, but who sees that? And the button isn't a secure enough closure to use this as an everyday purse....so I might use it for knitting or other stuff. But the top stitching came out great.

And I really like the overall size. A notebook will fit in.

Fails

I seem to be having a stretch in which my projects are just fails. Perhaps not worthy of one of the blogs I follow -- Craft Fail -- but still not good. I recently started a Damson Shawl and while I wasn't loving the yarn/project combination, continued along.....until I reached the lace portion and saw that the eyelets didn't line up. Hmmmm...checked online and all the pictures I saw were fine...so I had to conclude that it was me. Somehow I'd either missed a stitch or had misplaced a marker. Then I saw that others using this yarn for their Damsons had run out. So here we have my before and after pics.


Not content with merely failing at a craft project, I moved on to dinner. We like to make our own pizzas using refrigerated store-bought dough (whole wheat -- I'm sure it's healthier). The dough comes in a good-sized blob that you roll out into a 12-inch circle. I've done this many times. Well, sometimes things just don't work out....and we ended up with this amoeba shape that gave new meaning to thick crust. Sigh. It's no wonder why I don't cook.

Self-Gifting

I gave myself a present this year (well, last year now)......actually buying something that I did not need. Pretty stitch markers. From Pancake and Lulu on etsy. These are just so much fun to use.



And they make me forget about the recent knitting fails I've had......

Christmas Reveal - Part I

The first of my two Christmas knitting projects was an Ishbel Shawl for my niece. This was the second Ishbel I've made -- it's a fun pattern and I really like the results. [The two Ishbel shawls and one Ishbel beret might have given that away already.] This one is the smaller shawlette size -- about 36 inches wide by 18 inches long -- using Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn.