fabric/crochet circle scarf!

wow.  i did it again.  dropped the ball on blogging.  for the record, i manage a good amount of blogging for my work over with Fifth House Ensemble!

anyways, in my defense (again...) i was in a wedding in august and moved apartments.  i can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to be living on my own.  i loved my roommates, and still do, but i finally live in my very own apartment.  a super cute little studio in rogers park.  i'm in love with everything about it...the neighborhood, the building, the apartment, the location, everything.  it's definitely a 100% upgrade from my situation in uptown.

anyways, i've got a new FO & WIP to share with you!  allyson at the sweatshop of love put out a tutorial for a crochet/fabric infinity scarf pattern.  i got super excited to make myself a notre dame scarf with the pattern, and while allyson can't support my choice in colors/teams (look, she's a michigan fan), she totally supported my project on the twitters!  thanks, allyson!  we'll just not talk about it...or saturday's game...which almost killed me.

anyways, here it is!

Go Irish!

And here's the next one.  I may or may not be obsessed with this rainbow yarn. 

Another FO! Window Pane Scarf!

I bought this yarn from my momma's & my favorite LYS in Indy back when I was home for 2 weeks in May.  Ok, fine.  My momma bought it for me.  One skein for me to make something for my cousin Megan, and one for me to make something for me :).

I finished Megan's window pane scarf a while ago...I just haven't gotten in mailed yet.  Her birthday was this week, though, so I think I should probably get it sent...

The middle picture was taken with flash & is more true to the color of this yarn.  Anyone who knows me (and my cousin), knows that everything I own is blue.

FO: Giant Granny Afghan!

Bailey Dog loves the blanket :)

I can't believe I'm becoming a once-a-month-blogger.  How embarrassing...


For the record, however, I've been doing lots of blogging/blog managing with my new job as Operations and Marketing Director over on the Fifth House Ensemble website/blog.  (5HE is a chamber ensemble located in Chicago that specializes in innovative and mixed media performances.)

In the mean time, I finished my second adult sized blanket!  This Giant Granny Square afghan is my wedding gift for my second BFF whose wedding I'm in this summer.  Her wedding isn't until August, but her shower was a couple of weeks ago back in our hometown-Indy.  Since she and her fiance live in Brooklyn, and the wedding is in Cleveland, and they are asking for gifts to be mailed instead of brought to the wedding, I decided (with approval from the bride) to get the afghan finished & give it to her at her shower.  (Also, then I didn't have to be crocheting a giant afghan in the middle of the sweltering summer in my non-AC apartment...)  It actually worked out wonderfully...she mailed all of her shower gifts back to NYC and was able to use the blanket for soft packing.

Also.  She loved it.  We both teared up a little when she opened it.  It is TRULY an amazing feeling...giving something you have hand made with love & devotion to someone who is one of your closest friends in the world who really loves and appreciates your work.

Me, August Bride, May Bride

I used 3 skeins of Caron One Pound yarn...it's not super soft to begin with, but HOLY COW when it's washed, it is unreal soft!  And a J/10 hook.  I decided to treat myself to a Tulip ETIMO hook for the last 1/3 of the blanket.  It was TOTALLY worth it.  I'm in love, and I hope to purchase more of these hooks in the VERY NEAR FUTURE.

Wedding Crochet & New Yarn!

I finished 2, count them TWO, more projects last night for the wedding this weekend.  The first was the ripple shawl I made to keep me warm while bridesmaid-ing.  My dress is strapless AND cocktail length (and super pretty!), so there's a pretty good chance I'll get chilly in the cathedral style church or at the reception.  I used Caron's Simply Soft, an I/9 hook, and the Sarah London Ripple Chevron pattern (modified in length & width for my purposes).  I used three colors: purple, turquoise, and a really light cream.  I alternated them 2P, 1T, 2C, 1P, 2T, 1C three times to make some cool stripes.

in progress last night on my parents' porch

finished & folded!

My mom and I went to Oberlin, OH this past weekend to visit my Grandma.  When I agreed to go, I said "ONLY IF THERE'S A YARN STORE IN OBERLIN!"  This was my first trip back to Oberlin (where my mom grew up) since I learned to knit & crochet; and yes, I still would have gone had they not had a yarn store.  Luckily though, Oberlin has a LYS!  It's a generations old Furniture & Floor Covering store that the current owners brought yarn into.  The front half of the store is FULL of yarn & notions & stuffs, and the back half is floor covers, etc.  Pretty awesome!  I got some Sidar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK weight yarn in light blue, turquoise, and bright peach.  It's 80% bamboo & 20% wool and SUPER SOFT.  Sure it's "baby" yarn, but I fell in love with its texture and the colors, so whatever!  It was my first time crocheting with bamboo yarn, too.  I loved every step of this scarf. 

It took me a while to figure out exactly what to do with it, but I knew I wanted a springy, open weave scarf.  I finally remembered a pattern I had seen on the CRAFT blog for a Window Pane Scarf.  Perfection.  I used my H/8 hook for this guy.  I plan on wearing this one with my dress for the rehearsal dinner on Friday. 

And last but not least, mom and I visited our favorite Indy LYS last night.  We got some yarn for family members for some super secret projects.  But I love the yarn so much, I have to share it!

FO!!! Granny Square Afghan!!

I did it, guys!  I finally finished the granny square afghan I was making for one of my BFF's wedding gift!  AND I finished it with 12 days to go!  So I mailed it to the beautiful couple yesterday!  It took me months.  I got the yarn in October and started knitting squares.  Then I learned to crochet.  And then I learned to granny.  So I switched to granny squares.  And then I took lots of breaks from working on the blanket.  But, here it is!

Second Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 4

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?
Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

This is gonna be a quick one because I'm headed off to tech/first preview...

This one's easy!  Last fall, I knitted my mom a headband with some BEAUTIFUL Malabrigo.  And then for Christmas...a pair of handwarmers with the rest of the yarn.  And I KNOW she wears them, because whenever she comes to Chicago, she brings them with her and wears them!  Hooray!  And these are special because they were at the beginning of my Yarn Phase 2 (phase 1 being just garter stitching for months, phase 2 being when I finally learned to purl, and phase 3 being crochet), and one of the first things I made with the purl stitch in them. 

Me modeling said headband.

mitts!

Momma with her headband in the Grand/State Red Line station!

Wordless Wednesday, a little late

Yarn for sale!

It's been another busy week here on Sheridan Road.  My BEST FRIEND EVER was in town last week & we saw some shows, ate lots of food, did some shopping & some touristy things, and just had a generally WONDERFUL time.  I've been kinda feeling down lately, so getting some loving from someone who loves me as much as I KNOW he does was MUCH NEEDED.

Part of that shopping was getting yarn from my FAVORITE yarn store EVER:  Loopy Yarns.  This super special yarn I bought?  To make things for the Etsy shop I've decided to open.  That's right.  After MONTHS of people telling me I should, I've decided to bite the bullet!  But I have to make stuff first, so that's on the agenda this week. 

I spent all of last week hooking up a ton of washcloths to send to a friend of mine back in Indy to sell at her home/garden store.  I'll be mailing those tomorrow!

washcloths for sale!

Soap Sock for sale!

Lastly, I found this awesome give away on twitter.  The Knit Purl Gurl is giving away some of Lion Brand Yarn's Cotton Bamboo yarn, which I have been DYING to try.  So hopefully my name gets drawn from the millions of comments I'm leaving.  If I do win, be sure that the yarn will be put towards more Etsy shop projects! 

Wordless Wednesday: FO Roommate's Birthday Circle Scarf