Peasblossom Creations

Destash!

2014-04-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Curtis and I are moving in together! We found an apartment on Queen Anne (about five minutes north of the Space Needle) and we can start moving our stuff in on April 18th.

We have both been going through our things and trying to purge... This means yarn too. If you're interested, or know anyone who might be, take a look at some of the yarn I am willing to part with. If you have any questions or would like to buy some, send me an email knittinsmitten@gmail.com!

Araucania Nature Cotton - $3 each
Regularly retails $14, but on sale for $8ish elsewhere online
Marine (whole skein, unskeined in transit)

Teal (whole skein, unskeined in transit)

Beehive Baby Yarn - $2 for Beehive lot
2 50 g skeins of 100% acrylic sport weight

Light Teal

Cascade 220 Superwash - Whole Cascade 220 Superwash lot for $25 or $3 for anything .75 or greater and $1 for less
Retails for $10.50

Beige (Whole skein, no label)

Bright Blue (.8 skein, no label)

Charcoal (.3 skein, no label)

Dark Red 855 (.75 skein, no label)

Dark Teal (.8 skein, no label)

Heather Brown (partial skein, no label)

Light Blue 897 (whole skein)

Light Brown (whole skein, no label)

Multi-Green 1928 (whole skein, but with a few yards in a separate ball, no label)

Navy (.75 skein, no label)

Neon Pink 829 (whole skein)

Pink 836 (.8 skein, no label)

Red (.8 skein, no label)

Cascade 220 Heathers - Whole Cascade $4.50 each
Retails for $8

Bluestone 4001 (2 whole skeins)

Blue 2404 (2 whole skeins)

Cascade Remnants - Free if you come get them or add them to something else you purchase
Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash

Charcoal (~.5 skein)

Cascade Yarns Pastaza

Black (~.5 skein)

Classic Elite Yarns Miracle - $6 for lot

Pressed Olive 3350 (whole skein and remnant)

Purple (~.5 skein)

Rose (~.5 skein)

**SOLD** ~~Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply - $15 for Fyberspates lot~~
~~Retails for $27.60~~

~~Midnight 309 (~.5 skein)~~
~~(bottom)~~

~~Natural 310 (~.5 skein)~~
~~(top)~~

Louet Gems Fingering Weight - $10 for Louet Gems lot
Retails for $9.95 each

Hot Pink (whole skein, no label)

Light Pink (whole skein, no label)

Navy (whole skein, in two balls, no label)

Knit Picks Capra - $5
Retails for $7.99

Regal (whole skein)

Knit Picks Maeve Hat and Mittens Kit - $20
Kit Retailed for $30

Contains pattern for hat and mittens and 9 skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes
Never been opened

Mirasol Yarn Sulka - $6
Retails for $9.95

Pink 235 (whole skein and remnant)

Patons North America Silk Bamboo - $5
Retails for $9.99

Light Blue 85219

Plymouth Yarn Suri Merino - $3
Retails for $5.50

Natural 100

Rowan Kidsilk Haze - $10 for Rowan Kidsilk lot
Retails for $15 each

Ice (whole skein, no label)

Navy (whole skein, no label)
(top)

Rowan Pure Wool DK - $12 for Rowan Pure Wool DK lot or $5 each
Retails for $8.50

010 Indigo (whole skein)

052 Orchid (2 whole skeins)

Rowan RYC Cashsoft DK - $6
Retails for $9.95

Opulence 521 (1 whole skein)

Sublime Yarns Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK - $2

Froggie 0220 (.75 skein, no label)

Social Media: Brands and Facebook

2014-02-21T21:35:00.002-08:00

As some of you may know, I am in my final quarter of my MLIS program (woohoo!). I didn't coast out of the iSchool by any means; I'm signed up for 12 credits this quarter (in addition to my full-time job and my part-time job) and one of those classes is Strategic Management of Social Media. I've been learning about transitions from traditional marketing and outreach techniques to new, innovative social transmedia. This includes thinking about how to plan and implement a social media strategy, evaluate and reach your desired audience (even determine who your desired audience really should be), create meaningful content that engages consumers, and SOMETHING. You may have noticed that I've ramped up my Twitter presence and have been working to improve my blogs (this one and http://libraryoutloud.blogspot.com). Most of my efforts have been incorporating things that I've been learning. How have I been doing? Do you feel more engaged?

Anyway, one of our assignments is to write about how brands are leveraging Facebook to engage their customers. So here are my thoughts (which are informed primarily by our in-class discussions and lectures and Jeff Bullas' writings on his site). Let me know what you think!

Brands use Facebook in several ways, some more successfully than others. They are working to get their consumers engaged with them on Facebook's platform by trying to get them to post about them on their own walls, write comments and respond to the brand's post, "like" their page, and provide feedback. If you're on Facebook, I'm sure you've seen some of these efforts. They look like this:

Right smack-dab in the middle of your News Feed. But they're offering a deal! You have the opportunity to "Like" their post, comment on that post, even share it on your own wall or on your friends' walls. And it's easy for the consumer.

These promoted News Feed posts are a lot like standing on the sidewalk and shouting at your customers as they walk past with their friends. It's a bit jarring for the customer and it frequently goes more or less ignored, but sometimes you have something valuable to shout and your customer stops, listens, and, hopefully, engages.

In my opinion, the most successful brands are offering something in return. Sometimes it's a deal or a special offer. Many brands offer exclusive savings or giveaways to consumers who "Like" their page or leave a comment -- some way of visibly proclaiming to all their Facebook connections that they support the brand. Other times, the brand is offer superior, quality content and not just "advertising". They aren't sharing promotions or deals. They are sharing informative content that the consumer finds valuable in some way; it's entertaining or educational. This type of interaction with the consumer creates a more stable relationship than just clicking "Like" (a superficial metric if ever there was one) and if the content really is good, then you'll get repeat consumers who share your content with others.

What do you think? What have been your experiences with brands on Facebook?

Toes in a Pinch? Try a Cinch!

2014-02-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting my Haleakala Socks (while running year end reports for work from home and while everyone else in the country was watching the Super Bowl... go Seahawks!) and I am preparing to sew up the toes.

These are different socks, but the toes end up the same... a couple of live stitches at the very end of the sock!

To finish my socks, I have always grafted the remaining toe stitches together, creating a seamless finished toe. Doing this is a bit of a pain, but it's only for about 20 stitches, so it's never been a big deal. You take those live stitches** (below) and sew them together so there isn't a visible seam.

When you're done, it looks like this:

Knitty.com

So tidy! (Yes, those are two pieces of fabric that have been grafted together, I promise!) The instructions that I've used in the past are HERE. I think they are clear, easy to follow, and have big pictures to help. Once you get the rhythm of grafting, it isn't really all that onerous, but maybe don't try to watch TV and learn how to graft at the same time.

Now, switch gears: it's time for a new school of thought. Kate Atherley of Knitty advocates abandoning grafting for socks and just cinching the remaining toe stitches together. That's right. Says Kate,

Socks ... do not need grafting.

Yes, that's right. I'll say that again. Grafting is unnecessary – indeed, it's actually counterproductive – in sock knitting.

Knitty.com

She goes on to explain that grafting is a lot of work for not a lot of return. There isn't a lot of visual impact at the toe of a sock; why spend all that time? On top of that, when you graft, you get little puckers of extra fabric at the corners that either hang on and bunch up on your toes or require additional work to sew down. Read her article HERE.

Instead, why not try running the the tail of your yarn through those lovely live stitches and simply cinch them together and then weave the end in?

So, I thought I'd give it a try. These Haleakala socks already aren't my favorite -- I'm not a fan of self-striping yarn -- so what could a different toe really hurt? You just thread the tail of your knitting back through the live stitches, pull tight, and then weave in the ends.

My socks! My comfy toes!

Turns out I love it. It took me almost no time at all and they are more comfortable than grafted toes. Sold. I do not anticipate EVER grafting a sock toe again. Thanks Kate!

**Live stitches! These are stitches that you could knit into to keep the project going. If I were to just leave them as they are without weaving in the ends, grafting them together, or cinching them like I did here, the project would unravel.

WIP Party: My Haleakala Socks

2014-02-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

WIP Part Project #5: My Haleakala Socks

These are my first socks ever! Well, sort of. I originally cast on for these so that when my first Cookie A Sock Club shipment arrived, I would have knit at least one pair of socks. But then the first package arrived and I just launched into knitting those socks instead. I got about 3/4 of a sock completed before I set them down last January. Since then, I've knit several pairs of socks, but never picked these back up, in part because I actually misplaced the project for several months...

The pattern is pretty intuitive and easy to memorize. The cable panel only runs down the front of the sock, which I like aesthetically and comfort-wise (I worry that bulky cables will be uncomfortable around my Achilles tendon and ankle), but all of that 2x2 ribbing got a little bit dull. I do like patterns that are repetitive, but that was quite a bit of k2,p2*.

See? Stripes!

Overall, I'm happy with how these turned out. My biggest complaint is that the yarn striped. When I purchased the yarn, I thought that it would be a greeny-black, but the way the yarn was painted it ended up creating black and green stripes. I think this hides the cable pattern and black and green stripes is not something that I would have selected intentionally.

I also tried out a new method for finishing up the toe and I am quite pleased with the results! I'll be posting on that on Monday, February 17th. Stay tuned :)

Now I just have my purple sweater and the blanket for the living room left from the WIP Party!

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignments 8 - 12 - Party Planning (Not), Landing Strip, Media Fast (Not), Project, and Bedroom

2014-01-20T23:31:00.000-08:00

This post starts out pretty negative, but gets better I promise!

Assignment 8: Get a Get-Together Together (Nope)

During January 31 - February 2 (or somewhere in early February), I'm supposed to be planning a party to celebrate the completion of my January cure. That just isn't going to happen. With two jobs, job interviews, full-time graduate level coursework, my new fitness regime (post coming soon...), and trying to maintain an outward semblance of sanity, I really don't have time to plan a party, let alone host one. So maybe I'll have my get together towards the end of March when I graduate, rather than right before midterms.

Assignment 9: Create a Landing Strip

Sort of like the Outbox is purgatory for things possibly going out of your home, a landing strip is a screen for things coming into your home. Rather than just dumping everything on the kitchen table and letting junk mail, un-needed receipts, your bag, your lunch tupperware, whatever accumulate, you have an organized area right when you come in where things go. Possibly most importantly, once your standard items (coat, keys, purse) get put in their spots, you are supposed to immediately filter the other stuff, like the mail you picked up on the way in. It all sounds terribly grown up and responsible...

Makes getting in the front door with grocery bags tough, but at least I'm not paying for sq. ft in the hallway...

My apartment is quite small and has a *very* narrow entrance. I sort of already have a landing strip; there are a few hooks inside the pantry, which is immediately to the right of the front door when you come in. This is where my keys, coat, and purse are supposed to go. Unfortunately, my pantry has been pretty much unusable because of the disorganization, but this has improved once I got the pantry organized!

Something I don't really have a landing strip for is other miscellaneous stuff. And my boots -- which I wear a lot, particularly during the fall, winter, and spring (anyone else from Seattle?) -- now live in a basket near the living room, which is practically the length of the whole apartment away from the front door. I'm working on getting a spot for them in my closet with the rest of my shoes, but that's even farther away. My mail still gets dumped on the kitchen table, as does anything else that isn't able to be hung up on one of those little hooks. I'm not sure what to do. Do I really need a space for this other stuff? How much other stuff do I really bring into the apartment? Something to think about in the coming weeks, I suppose.

Assignment 10: Try a Media Fast (Nope)

I would so love to do this, but this is totally unrealistic for me right now. The majority of my coursework (I'm studying to become a librarian) is online and with work and everything else, any spare moment that I have, I need to be online and listening to lectures, participating in discussions, or reviewing the reading. Maybe after I graduate, I can disconnect...

Assignment 11: Project Progress

Done! Mom came over and helped me go through the pantry this weekend. We went through all of the food and got rid of what I don't use and what was past date. The hooks that I use for my landing strip are available. The spices are alphabetized. All of my canning stuff is organized at the bottom of the pantry and my vacuum cleaner even has a spot for it now. I feel so relieved when I open the pantry now. I know what's in there and where it is. I can even step into the pantry to get to the stuff that is (organized) at the back and to the left of the closet!

TA-DA!

Who doesn't love alphabetized spices? Shelf-baskets are from the Container Store.

As a bonus, I also changed the light bulbs in the dining area. They are a different color than the rest of the light bulbs (they seem quite a bit brighter and ... whiter? more natural? I don't know) but they are what I have!

And I hung up the birdcage thing. I'm going to get some fake topiary stuff to stick in the bottom.

Birdcage from Molbak's.

Assignment 12: Flowers, Bedroom Cleaning, and Wardrobe Organizing

I washed all the pillows, swapped out the bedding for some lighter, spring blankets, and (thanks to my initial Outbox set up) have a tidy closet and wardrobe. I still want to vacuum, dust, and clean up the stuff that is hidden along the far side of the bed, but I think I'll have time to do that tomorrow. When I think of this area -- something I generally avoid doing -- I think of it as The Crevice. Actually, since I've finished my big January project, I think I will make finishing up the tasks in my bedroom the next project to tackle!

Some of this stuff has already been moved and put away... but not much.

I didn't make it to the store on Sunday (I have leftovers that should get me through the next few days) but when I do, I will be sure to post some more pictures of the flowers I get. The two bundles I got earlier this month are holding up pretty well and are still hanging around the apartment.

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignment 7 - Flowers, Kitchen Organizing & Cleaning, Make a Meal

2014-01-12T21:37:00.000-08:00

I spent pretty much the entire day in the kitchen to finish up this assignment! I got all of the old food out of the fridge, went through the pantry (check out the start of my pantry organization project! Labeled containers!), made dinner and got flowers! I couldn't believe how much old food I had stuffed in the pantry and in the back of the fridge... it feels really good to have all of my Tupperware back.

I was a little disappointed by the flowers at the grocery store this week. Most of them had stickers on them that said "pull by 1/6/2014" but I picked out flowers that seemed pretty fresh. I love how these are so bright and make me think of fireworks.

My flowers from last week were still doing okay, so I got a little vase for them.I think they're cute, like little pom poms!

That's all for tonight; I am totally worn out from my weekend!

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignments 4 - 7 - Playing Catch Up

2014-01-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

I've fallen a bit behind on my January Cure. This week was the first week of the quarter (I'm in my final quarter of library school!) and I really wanted to start school off smoothly so I spent a lot of time getting everything set up and ready. That means that this weekend, I'll be working on schoolwork and catching up on my January Cure!

Assignment 4: Set Up an Outbox

An Outbox is like purgatory for your apartment. It's a space (or box) dedicated to put things while their fate is being decided; keep or donate/sell? The things in your outbox should stay there for at least a week. The idea is that by placing them in this space, they lose their hold over their owner, allowing them to be disposed of free of guilt or other complicated, material-related emotions. My outbox is going to be mostly full of clothing, I suspect. Yeah, my giraffe t-shirt is super cute and I really like it, but it is too snug under the arms so I don't wear it. Nobody likes pinched armpits.

Anybody want to dibs this size Small giraffe t-shirt from Threadless.com?

My outbox is sort of tucked behind the couch, next to the sofa back table.

Assignment 5: Pick a Project to Cross Off Your List

The pantry. It's happening. I'm going to go through everything in there and organize it. I may need to get more shelves or hooks or something, but no matter the obstacle, by the end of this Cure, it will be organized.

As it is now...

How it will be! Hopefully. Maybe.

Assignment 6: Prep Artwork for Framing & Display

My friends Pete & Britt gave me this awesome frame filled with pictures of Curtis and me (and other friends too!) from their wedding for my birthday in September last year. I'm planning on taking the pictures out and putting them in some other frames that Curtis and I have and making some silhouette art of queen anne's lace or dandelions or something and putting it in the frame. Then I am either going to hang this on the wall above the stairway or at the foot of the stairs to the right of the TV. Pictures later.

Assignment 7: Flowers, Kitchen Organizing & Cleaning, Make a Meal

I am really not looking forward to cleaning out my fridge. What I am looking forward to is a pristine kitchen!

I have to admit, I'm also really looking forward to doing a new flower arrangement this weekend. Today is Saturday, so I won't go to the store until tomorrow, but I'll post pictures of my new arrangement then.

How is your Cure going?

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignment 3 - 10 Mindful Minutes

2014-01-06T23:34:00.003-08:00

You know how at the end of a yoga practice, there are those 10 glorious minutes where you get to just lie there and take a little nap? That's sort of what this reflection was like. Granted, I didn't actually get the vacuuming done (surprise, surprise), but it was still nice to just sit and relax and think very specifically about one small thing.

For today's assignment, we are supposed to just sit somewhere in our apartment where we don't usually sit and think about that space from a new perspective. I sat right in my doorway, looking into my pantry. I actually spent most of it with my eyes closed because looking at it is sort of stressful. If you recall from my Assignment 1 post, it looks like this:

So instead, I imagined how it looked when I moved in and how I would like it to look.

Okay, really, I want it to look like this...

Maybe in a dark wood?

... but given some significant spatial and financial limitations, I think that is perhaps not very realistic.

I would like to get the cleaning supplies organized and the vacuum cleaner out of the way of the shelves. I would like the food to be organized and straightened up. Most importantly, I need to know what is actually in there, get rid of the old food, and make it easier to find what I am looking for. My spices are disorganized and I frequently come home with expensive bottles of spices that I already had or without the spice that I need that I thought was in the pantry, but wasn't. Right now, this space is just barely functional and it makes cooking more challenging.

You can't see it from the picture of my pantry, but the back and left of the closet is stuffed full of sweatshirts and coats and craft supplies (sewing mostly, but I have a light table back there too). To get to them, I have to climb over the pantry area at the front and crawl under all of the coats that are hanging up. It's a mess.

On the plus side, my flowers still look nice!

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignment 2 - Flowers & Floors

2014-01-05T21:03:00.000-08:00

I had three assignments this weekend: buy flowers for the apartment, clean all of the floors, and stock up on cleaning supplies.

1. Buy Flowers
Arranging flowers is not one of my talents. When I have bought flowers in the past, I've always just bought a bunch of tulips and stuffed them in a vase. After reading Apartment Therapy's guide to picking out flowers from the grocery store (available here) I felt inspired. How did I do?

Besides the tips on how to pick fresh flowers from the store, there was also some advice for how to pick out a good combination: pick out the prettiest flowers you can find, something green, and something spiky, edgy, or slightly offbeat. For my main flower, I picked those purple fluffy ones. I thought the colors was really rich and pretty. Those leaves are my something green and the white flowers with all the petals in bunches are my something slightly offbeat. I also liked the white with the purple together, bright and colorful without being too summery.

2. Clean the Floors
Well, I cleaned the floors before Christmas...

I canned instead.

Lemon & Herb Garlic anyone?

I'll vacuum next week. Or at the end of the Cure. It seems like a lot of people prefer to do their floors last anyway. Maybe I'm one of those people?

3. Stock Up on Cleaning Supplies
I already had just about everything that I need, but I bought a scrub brush to scour my tub and some of Mrs. Meyer's surface scrub. I've never used her surface scrub, but I like her all-purpose cleaner, so I'll give it a shot.

I peeked at the Cure's agenda for tomorrow (calendar PDF here) and it looks like tomorrow is going to be pretty light in terms of workload. Maybe I'll vacuum then... Or try to get a jump on my schoolwork since tomorrow is the first day of my last quarter!

Apartment Therapy January Cure: Assignment 1 - Make a Project List

2014-01-02T13:23:00.001-08:00

Okay. Every few months, Apartment Therapy does a "cure" program that helps guide you through updating your apartment's look, organization, or clutter in some way and ends with a party. I have signed up the last three? four? times and wussed out. I've been too busy, too cheap, too tired, or fallen too far behind on the program and given up, but NOT THIS TIME.

So, here it goes.

Date: Thursday, January 2
Today's Assignment: Create a Project List

Trouble Spots by Room
Highlighted problems are the ones I'm going to focus on fixing for this cure.

Hallway
- Nowhere to put stuff down when I come in
----- Solution: Apartment Therapy calls this a landing strip. I don't know. My apartment is tiny and the entryway is virtually nonexistent. I'm not sure how practical dedicating already limited space to a landing strip really is.
- Hall closet/pantry is a total disaster
----- Solution: This is the big one. I'm just going to have to go through everything. Organize the craft stuff that is stored in the way back and go through all of the food. I am really tired of this storage area not being usable. I suppose I could also take the packaging off of the wire shelves on the door.


The closet extends several feet to the left as well and is even harder to get to.

Kitchen
- Cupboards and drawers are unorganized
----- Solution: Organize cupboards. Throw out/donate food that is either old or I am never going to use. Tupperware drawer especially needs attention.
- Fridge and freezer need to be emptied, cleaned, and reorganized
----- Solution: Throw out old food, wash containers, wipe out fridge and freezer. Restock as necessary.
- Tea collection needs to be organized
----- Solution: I need to get some nice containers for my loose leaf tea. Dust the shelves. Make labels for the tea. This has been on the mental to-do list for ages.
- Get hook for birdcage thing
----- Solution: Go to the grocery store and buy one of those sticky 3M hooks so I can hang up the birdcage topiary thing. Even though this is low-priority, it is so easy it will probably get done. We hope.

Dining Room
- Shelves underneath bar could be more organized
----- Solution: This is an "if-I-have-time" project. I need to go through my cookbooks and the small appliances that are stored here and figure out if there are better places for things or things I can get rid of. Also, I have a small shelf full of books on tape under here.. maybe a new home? It might also be nice to get a curtain or something to cover this area up... This area just isn't very nice to look at.
- Burned out light-bulbs
----- Solution: Replace light bulbs. There are two out in the overhead lighting.

Living Room
- Cable box needs to be set up
----- Solution: Get help moving shelves so I can actually plug the cable box in.
- Wires need to be organized
----- Solution: Get help moving shelves so I can actually organize the wires. This can be done at the same time that I get the cable box set up.
- Burned out light bulb
----- Solution: Replace light bulb. There is one out in the sofa back table lamp.
- Christmas stuff needs to be put away
----- Solution: For the decorations I need to buy some storage tubs (x3 for garlands, x1 for decorations and ornaments) and presents and stuff from my parents' house need to get put away.

Staircase
- Hang new frame from Pete & Britt
----- Solution: Make the paper art to go in the frame. Then I will need help actually hanging the frame.

Bedroom
- All the stuff on the far side of the room that is hidden by the bed...
----- Solution: Go through it and either put away or give away. There isn't that much really...And getting a new, sturdier and nicer bedside table would be fantastic. It's a really narrow space so I'll need to do some serious hunting to find something that will work.

Stuffed animals, iPad, clothes for Goodwill... Just needs tidying! A new bedside table would be nice too...

- Hang wooden art thing above bed
----- Solution: Get picture hanging stuff (hooks and wire and nails) and get help hanging it.

That thing is currently perched on top of the bed frame.

- Do something about plants
----- Solution: Get the plants back from Mom and try not to kill them. Get a new plant for the small round container.

Bathroom
- Shelves could stand to be reorganized.
------ Go through shelves and throw out what I don't need or use and tidy up.

Eh, good enough... This project is on the long list.

Porch
- Tear out dead plants (dead from natural causes; I didn't kill these. They are annuals, I swear!)
----- Solution: I'm going to wait until it is warmer. It's cold outside. Then tear out the plants and see if Mom will help me pick out and plant new ones for spring.

To sum up, I want to organize the pantry, replace the light bulbs, hang up some art, and get the entertainment center fully functional and organized. Okay? Okay!

Wanna play along? Sign up for the cure HERE.

WIP Party: My Pirouette Socks

2013-12-31T08:10:00.000-08:00

WIP Party Project #4: My Pirouette Socks

Frogged. Totally and completely ripped out.

Before

After

The more I thought about this project, the less I wanted to work on it. The yarn kept splitting and the pattern required more attention to shift the stitches around the foot and ankle than I wanted to give to a frustrating yarn. I might try this pattern again with a different yarn, but I am not sure if I will ever use this yarn. On top of it being splitty to begin with, it did not frog very tidily. It is pretty kinked and looks like it will be even more challenging to work with than it was originally.

There are just too many other things I am excited about knitting and too many other yarns that will be pleasant to work with to continue this pair of socks.

WIP Party: My Ernie Socks

2013-12-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

WIP Party Project #3: My Ernie Socks

These are from the 2013 Cookie A Sock Club! Every other month, sock designer Cookie A mails you two sock patterns, a skein of lovely sock yarn to make one of the patterns, and two cookie recipes. I received this pattern in the first shipment around February. I knit up the first pair of socks in the skein I received and got a significant amount done on this pair in the second pattern, but then the next Cookie A package arrived in the mail... Originally, I wanted to knit at least one pair of socks per shipment before the next package arrived so I put these down and started the next pair. And never picked them back up. (And the other pair of socks is still on my needles...)

But I've picked them up again and now they're done!

This was a fun, quick pattern. I think the stitches got a little lost in the dark, variegated yarn, so if I make these again, I'll probably do them in a solid or semi-solid yarn that is a brighter color.

WIP Party: The Bird Mittens for My Grandma

2013-12-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

WIP Party Project #2: The Bird Mittens for My Grandma

Just like the vest for Jack, these gloves were given to my grandmother Christmas 2012. I got really close to finishing them, but after missing that deadline, felt frustrated and discouraged.

I am pleased to announce that they are now completely finished and delivered! The knitting is done, they've been blocked, and the ends are woven in.

WIP Party: The Sweater Vest for Grandpa Jack

2013-12-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

WIP Party Project #1: The Sweater Vest for Grandpa Jack

My friend Elizabeth recently informed me that I had been working on this project since before we'd met. Since I technically gave this vest to my grandpa last Christmas (with every intention of finishing it in January 2013) and this is my oldest WIP, I figured this was a good place to start.

I think part of the reason why I didn't get this all the way done is I was so frustrated that I'd missed Christmas. I didn't make the deadline so it was like it had been extended indefinitely. The other part was picking up the stitches for the v-neck.


A nearly completed vest... without the v-neck.

I'm not very confident when it comes to picking up a lot of stitches around the edge. I get very wrapped up in prepping for even distribution and it makes the project much more daunting than it really is. That added to decreasing the point of the v-neck caused for a big ol' WIP-delay. I've never made a collar or a knit mitered corner before and was reluctant to get started.


http://newstitchaday.com/how-to-knit-the-eyelet-mitered-corner-stitch/

This WIP Party was just the kick in the pants I needed to just finish it. Without further ado, I present to you, The Sweater Vest for Grandpa Jack, starring: Jack!

WIP Party!

2013-11-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

Maybe you're the perfect knitter who finishes everything they starts and even weaves in the ends as soon as you're done knitting.

Maybe you don't have any works-in-progress (WIP) that have been "in progress" (read: sitting in your knitting basket for at least three months without being touched) for ages with little to no actual progress being made.

If you are, then bully for you.

I am NOT one of those knitters. I try to be. It's cost-effective -- if you've ever bought new needles for a new project because the size you needed was holding a WIP, then you know what I'm talking about, space-efficient, and you actually get stuff done. I just get too excited about new projects or something comes up. Is anyone else panicking about Christmas knitting?

So I've decided. Enough is enough. I am going to complete or frog* every WIP currently on my needles before starting something new. At the start of this WIP Party, I had 7 projects on my needles. From oldest to newest:

The Sweater Vest for Grandpa Jack:

Cast on July, 2010. Frogged November 18, 2011.

Cast on August, 2012.

The Blanket for Curtis/Living Room:


Cast on March 23, 2011.

The Bird Mittens for My Grandma:

Cast on November 11, 2012

My Haleakala Socks:

Cast on January, 2013.

These have actually been lost (found just today!) since about April, 2013.

My Ernie Socks:

Cast on March 12, 2013.

My Pirouette Socks:

Cast on April 14, 2013. I think these are heading for the frogger...

My Pretty Sweater in Purple:

Cast on September, 2013.

So, here I go! Anyone care to join me in my WIP Party? Feel free to post links to your WIPs (and their completion!) in the comments below.

*What's frogging? Frogging is when you take a project off your needles, unravel it, and either start over or use the yarn for something else. You rip all that hard work out (and sometimes your heart goes right along with it). It's called "frogging" because you "rip it, rip it, rip it" and that sounds like "ribbit, ribbit, ribbit". And because "frogging" is cuter than "tearing out your soul one row at a time".

Apartment Therapy Style Cure: Day 2 (Weekend)

2013-08-06T23:55:00.001-07:00

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117157676/peace-queen-annes-lace-looking-glass?ref=col_view

The weekend's assignment is to go out (or online if you're busy) and get some inspiration photos. In all their glory...

http://pinterest.com/kristinemarie54/style-cure-august-2013/

https://www.etsy.com/listing/97858571/set-of-three-seed-head-candle-lights?ref=col_view

I'll probably keep adding to this pin board through out the project, but this is what I've got now. You'll notice that there is jewelry and other non-home stuff on this board too. I figured I'd just pin anything that I liked and liked the idea of my apartment having a similar feel.

Let me know what you think :-)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/116079210/sugar-bowl-jar-aqua?ref=col_view

I'm also planning on updating my bedroom. Maybe not so much updating it as finishing it...

Apartment Therapy Style Cure: Day 1

2013-08-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy I can't even remember the last time I posted here. (Apparently it was April. And then before that October...) I am still working full-time at Nordstrom and have accepted a second, part-time job as a librarian at a retirement community and I am in my last year of library school. I'm also trying to have some semblance of a social life... This past month has been especially challenging because of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. Very exciting, but also means increased stress and increased workload for the reporting team. I am really looking forward to a morning where I wake up and the first thing I do *isn't* log onto my computer.

As a treat for myself and to help make my apartment a little more filled in and finished, I've signed up for Apartment Therapy's Style Cure. Apartment Therapy is a neat little website full of great ideas for your home, whether a teeny tiny apartment or three bedroom house. Every once in a while, they do these "Cures" that are essentially month-long intensives that help you focus on one or two problems in your home and fix them. Last January, the Cure was focused on de-cluttering and organizing your home. I was busy moving then and some of the steps were out of my budget so participating didn't really work out. This Cure has to do with finishing up those unfinished areas and working towards a unified style in your home. I'm looking forward to coming home to a more put-together space.

Each day, there is a new post from Apartment Therapy with instructions on what to do that day (or that weekend). Day 1 was pretty easy. I just had to fill out a little "style quiz". While some of the questions seemed a bit silly and I left blank (favorite restaurant?) I get that they were on there to help hone in on what style I really like best. I thought the most useful questions were focused on what rooms I already liked best. Anyway, here's the quiz and my answers:

List your favorite in each category: (This part was tough! I don't really have favorites...)

Actor: George Clooney?
Actress:
Artist:
Writer: Connie Willis? Guy Gavriel Kay? Neil Gaiman? Jane Austen?
Music: Singer-song writer?
Restaurant: New places! Gastropubs especially.
Automobile: Classic Bentley (Or, you know, anything from the first half of the twentieth-century that probably comes with a chauffeur...)
Movie or TV Show: Downton Abbey? Buffy the Vampire Slayer? American Beauty? Bridget Jones' Diary? Pride and Prejudice? Dr. Who?
Clothing:
Furniture:

Choose three words to describe your personal style.

Clean lines, feminine & occasionally floral, classic

Think back over all the homes you've lived in. Which rooms would you choose as your favorites and how would you describe them?

The basement in Walla Walla: cozy, organized, everything went together, distinct spaces, room to entertain, tidy, no "junk" just hanging out

Whom do you consider a role model? What three adjectives describe the qualities that you admire in this person?

Kate Middleton? Put together, Classy, Infinitely presentable

Every home as areas that are "just right". Which three spots or things in your home do you feel are beautiful and feel proud of, right now, as is?

Couch, sofa back table, votive candle holder, and mirror
Porch (but maybe needs lights?)

A month from now, at the end of the Style Cure, how would you like your friends to describe your home?

Put-together and classy, but not stuffy and too formal. I still want people to feel like they can sit on the furniture.

I'll work on getting some Before pictures up here as well. Looks like I'll be doing some cleaning...

Allergies

2013-04-19T10:17:00.001-07:00

Allergies are terrible awful things to have. Right now, tree pollen is wreaking havoc on my upper respiratory system and I'm coughing what feels like non-stop. My throat is super raw from coughing all last night -- I don't think I fell asleep until sometime after 3am -- and it is apparently such a hostile environment in my sinuses that it feels like my throat and my face are trying to flee by crawling out of my ears.

Ugh.

Cookie A & Elizabeth

2013-04-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a lovely evening spent with Elizabeth -- fellow librarian and knitting conspirator -- and I am exhausted! Our Cookie A packages arrived this week so we got together to open them and cast on for our new socks. I'm pretty excited... I'll have another post about the Cookie A sock club and April's shipment coming soon, but for now, good night!

Here I Am

2013-04-07T10:46:00.001-07:00

It has been a doozy of a few months. I've gone on a vacation to Disneyland, taken a quarter off from library school, been ill, broke up with Curtis, moved to a new city, started knitting socks, got back together with Curtis, got promoted, started working out (Jillian Michaels), joined a co-ed soccer team, had my debit card information stolen by some butthead in the UK, and have seriously started considering a career change from corporate information management and analytics type jobs to public librarianship. My life has been topsy turvy and not always in the fun, colorful way that makes you think of chaotic circus routines involving sequins and somersaults (though maybe it does...)

So here I am, on Capitol Hill, in my bed on a rainy Sunday, thinking about getting some tea and how exactly I want to start revamping my Library Out Loud blog and how long I think it would take me to finish knitting my socks (four hours?).

My first pair of socks ever!

Amsterdam Mitts

2012-10-20T20:12:00.001-07:00

This summer I went to the Netherlands with a study abroad trip for library school. We stayed in Amsterdam, Mons (a little town in Belgium), and Rotterdam and I took a side trip to London! Since this was a class, we actually had homework... and one of our assignments was a reflection project. We could do pretty much anything as long as it was made easily available to the entire program and somehow tied in with our trip and our experience with the Dutch Designs excursion.

So I designed and knit a pair of "Delftwear" mittens (inspired by Delftware) and made a blog about the project. :) If you're interested, check it out here...

Kristine's Delfwear Fingerless Mittens

Delftwear Mittens

Prehensile Lips and Golf Club Covers

2012-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Did you know that giraffes have prehensile lips?

Feeding a giraffe at the Woodland Park Zoo!

You think I'm kidding, but according to the zoo official, their tongues are prehensile too. And you thought picking up marbles with your toes was cool.

In other news, I finished the golf club covers for Daddy just in time for his big tournament in Illinois (maybe? maybe somewhere else?).

Daddy!

All covers are cuffed for extra durability and have ribbed necks to stretch over the head of the club, but stay tight enough to keep the cover on during transit. The number of stripes corresponds to the number of the club. I fussed with the stripes so they lined up properly (need help with your stripes? Check out this video: LINK) and I made my first pom-pom!

Spring Cleaning?

2012-04-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

It's finally stopped being completely miserable in Seattle! The sun is shining; the sky is bright and blue; it is even warmer than 50 degrees. Curtis has been hard at work planting things in our urban garden (read: the 8 square feet of porch we have and part of the living room is covered in pots and dirt). He's already got beets sprouting and tomatoes, peas, thyme, chamomile, basil, and green onions are on their way! I'm hoping that next year we'll do some carrots too.


Alyssa went to Thailand and hung out with sleepy tigers.

My best friend Alyssa is graduating this May and until she figures out exactly what she's going to be doing (working, living, sleeping, eating, you know, basics) she's moving in with Curtis and me. I've already got the closet planned (Curtis and I are going to Home Depot later today to get all the stuff we need like support arms and.. screws.. I don't know what else yet) and I'm working on cleaning everything up so there is somewhere for her to land. She's going to be sleeping in my office so I need to get my school and craft stuff put away so she can actually move in. We're even getting a futon so when she's not sleeping on it, the room can be a hang out/work spot too.

What all of this really means is I've spent about three hours organizing my yarn and craft supplies (and I'm nowhere near done yet). I've updated my Ravelry stash page with photos and accurate information and I'm bagging, re-bagging, and de-bagging my yarn as per my new yarn strategy. I can't find my memory card for my little point and shoot camera (boo) so I've been using my new iPhone I got for Christmas (thank you Daddy!) to take pictures and I'm pretty impressed with the images it produces. I'm doing this the slow, more difficult way of course so it's taking me forever but it's nice seeing and touching all my pretty yarn! I'm hoping to get all of the yarn into one bin (plus the WIP (WIP = Work In Progress) basket)... but we'll see if that actually pans out.

ETA: Two bins required.

Accomplished!

2012-03-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

It's Monday night, day one of spring quarter and I feel so accomplished! I've read one article, listened to two lectures, printed two more articles to read tomorrow on the bus, and emailed my group for the projects for LIS 530. And I'm going to bed before 10:30am. Hah Hah! This semester will be organized and non-procastinating.

My APR for Nordstrom is tomorrow morning too. Hopefully that will go well! :-) I think I do a great job and I haven't received any feedback to the contrary...

Not accomplished = knitted golf club covers for Daddy. I MUST finish those this weekend! Determination!

Spring Break is So Close!

2012-03-04T11:16:00.001-08:00

Phew! I'm finally in the home stretch for winter quarter. I just submitted my last assignment for LIS 560 (Instruction Training Strategies) and all I have left to do is one more small assignment for LIS 520 (Information Resources, Services, and Collections) and finish up our group project and then it's spring break 24/7!

I promised my dad a set of golf club covers and I'm getting close to finishing the set up. They have a cuff at the bottom to help them last a little longer too. They sure are goofy looking though...

I'll try to get some pictures of them on the clubs once he has the set. They look less goofy on the clubs...

The 3 iron is completely done (on the right) and the 2 just needs some maintenance. I've almost finished knitting the 4 and then I have two hybrid covers (1 and 3) to knit in purple and gold. The only problem is the jog in my colorwork on the 2 iron...

When you knit in the round, you get a jog in your colorwork if you don't take preventative action!

This is a pretty common problem with colorwork knitted in the round, but I don't know what to do about it yet. I'm thinking that I'm going to ask my friend Elizabeth who does a lot of colorwork what I should do to repair this... I suspect it's going to be some fancy embroidery. I might also go into Serial Knitters in Kirkland to see what the ladies there have to say. Once I have a plan of attack, I'll post what I end up doing here (maybe with some instructional photos?). :-)