Bookishly Fabulous Crafts

Hello Boys and Girls.

Well, it has been a while since I posted those pictures of my crochet fun in the park.  In the next few days, I will have lots of fun stuff to post.  So please stand by for the following:

1. I'm going to try to make my own blocking board.  I've gotten information from all over the internet, and I'll post helpful links along with an account of the experience.  I hope to get all the materials this afternoon.

2. I'm making a lot of progress on the granny squares for my friend's afghan.  I'm splitting them with my best friend (I'm doing 44, and she's doing 44), and we will put them together in one big chick flick square-joining party.  I plan to take pictures of my squares so far and post them this afternoon or tomorrow.  Maybe I'll even get to block a few!

3. As soon as I get these squares done, I'll probably start on Christmas/Hannukah scarves for gifts.  I think I'll start a knitted one since I feel like I've only gotten to crochet lately with the afghan project.

So you see?  You haven't kept me on your RSS feed reader for nothing!

Technorati Tags: crafts, crochet, knitting, weekend

On Vox: Granny squares, rainbow sheets, and geese, oh my!

My BFF and I are making a granny square afghan for our friend who just moved to Nebraska.  We decided to meet at the NC Art Museum to sit in the grass and crochet.  We also got to watch some geese from a distance.  Here is our afternoon in pictures.

The view from our shady spot.

My awesome rainbow sheet.

Working on a granny square.

BFF working on a granny square.

On my back lookin' at the sky.

Getting dark. Time to go home.

Originally posted on fitbookworm.vox.com

Learn something!

I just got around to reading the September/October edition of Blueprint Magazine, and there is a really cool article with a list of 100 sources for learning all kinds of different things.  I found a book on Art History I plan to read.  Check out the article.  It's available on the Blueprint website.

There is also a spread on Lotta Jansdotter's apartment in Brooklyn in the issue (this article is not available online).  It is absolutely gorgeous!  What else would you expect from her though?
 

Bad knitter!

I was a bad crafter this weekend.  I had grand plans to get lots and lots of my sweater done, but I sat on my deck and read all weekend instead.  It was so lovely outside (as opposed to the oppressive heat we've been having). 

I'm also a bit afraid that the time I spend on Ravelry is taking away from the time I spend actually knitting and crocheting...

Technorati Tags: books, crafts, weekend

Sweater progress.

I've been making slow but steady progress on my $5 in Paris sweater.  I'm really enjoying this pattern.  It is written really well, and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done.  It is a top down knit so the ribbed part shown above is the neck of the sweater. 

Last week while I was knitting this, I watched the new Miss Marple on Mystery! on PBS.  I really enjoyed it, and I hope to catch more episodes of it soon.  It took a little while to get used to a different Miss Marple, but she is great once you can get used to the difference.

Sorry for the sporadic posting.  I am looking for a job as a librarian and planning a wedding at the moment so this blog has to take the back-burner every once in a while.

To all of my readers in the U.S. - Have a lovely Labor Day weekend!  To everyone else, just have a great weekend!

I plan to go see a french film tonight and laze about knitting, crocheting, and reading mysteries all weekend.  Ah, heaven.

Technorati Tags: $5 in paris, crafts, knitting, televison

Back from the beach

Atlantic Ocean
Originally uploaded by Bookishly Fab

Well, I'm back from the beach and wishing I was still there! I keep forgetting to take a picture of my sweater progress during the day when the light is better. I promise I'll post it soon!!

Beach

I'm currently in the Outer Banks enjoying the only weekend I've been able to make it here this summer. Graduate school put a bit of a wrench in my summer plans. I'll post a few pictures when I return to Raleigh. I was hoping to visit a local yarn store - Knitting Addiction - while I was here, but the hours just didn't work out for our plans. I'm sure I'll be back again soon, and I'll post a review of the shop then.

I have made some good progress on the $5 in Paris sweater while I've been on vacation. I've pretty much finished the ribbed neck, and I'll begin the first green stripe soon. It will have the telltale signs of a first sweater, but it's looking good so far. Since I'm using Caron Simply Soft, it's no big deal if it turns out a disaster. I need the practice, and this pattern is a perfect way to start learning sweater knitting.

I'd like to alert readers of the blog through RSS to a page I've added here with my reading list. I've challenged myself to read 50 books in one year, and I'm keeping the list there. You can link to reviews of each book on my personal blog from that page as well.

Have a lovely Saturday evening and Sunday, and I'll be back to post more on Monday.

Technorati Tags: books, crafts, knitting, outer banks, $5 in paris

Ribbit.

Well, I had to frog Ms. Marigold last night. (A non-knitter that ends up here will wonder what the hell I'm talking about, huh?) I wasn't as upset as you might imagine because I knew my first sweater would be a learning experience. I cast on a different pattern that seems easier because I wasn't quite sure what I was doing with Ms. Marigold. I will come back to her soon though.

The pattern I'm trying now is the $5 in Paris top down raglan. It is available free if you want to try it as well. I've done quite a bit on it so far, and I'll post a picture tomorrow when I feel like getting off my duff to get my camera cord.

Technorati Tags: crafts, knitting

Ms. Marigold

I actually convinced myself to start Ms. Marigold after my last post.  I've done just a little of it, and now I'm getting to the part of the pattern that I'm not completely sure of.  Apparently, this is a top down sweater knitting pattern, and I assume the meaning of that term is self-explanatory.  However, I'm unsure if there is something special I need to know about this type of knitting to proceed with the pattern.  I think I'm just going to jump in headfirst and see what happens.  I can always unravel it and start again if I need to.  If anyone reading this blog has any tips for me, I would greatly appreciate them!  Leave them in comments or email me (the link is on the right sidebar), and I will post them for anyone else who might need this help as well.

Technorati Tags: crafts, knitting

Wimp.

I bought the pdf pattern for the Ms. Marigold sweater from Zephyr style a few weeks ago.  I also bought some yarn and an options needle set from Knit Picks.  Everyday I just look at this stuff and put it off again.  I'm scared to start the sweater because it will be my first knitted sweater.  How do I get over my trepidation?  I just need to suck it up and do it!

Technorati Tags: crafts, knitting