SPT: 022808 swapcore

i made a ganomy hat for an awesome girl i never met.
she made me this super rad shirt.
we found each other on stylemob.
pretty awesome, eh?


(this is what she got.)

---current obsession---

Has anyone heard of Kate Nash?
probably the cutest video ever, and @ 33 seconds in she's knitting a scarf!!!!!!!



<3
knitxcore.

TheAbsentKnitter rox....

Because, not only did she send me some awesome stuff:

But, she also put up a sweet tutorial on how to make *awesome* star pillows on her blog:

I made this one with some fabric Dave picked out about 2 months ago. I have a few sewing WIP's laying around and I was apprehensive to start something new, but the pillow went super fast, and I already had everything I needed.

I don't really do any sort of patchwork, and I still flew right through this project. It was a lot of fun watching the star shape up. My only regret is that I may not have stuffed it enough. I can always go back and fix that when I'm feeling ambitous, maybe I'll just toss it in the dryer and see if it fluffs up.

To make one for yourself (or just revel in Karen's awesomeness), check out her blog @ TheAbsentKnitter.

How does your garden grow?

My fabric from PurlSoho came in!!!! I've already pre-washed it and I'm ready to start chopping it up. I never realized the importance of pre-washing until I read Simple Sewing and found out how much it could mess up an FO if you skip it.

I actually finished another sewing project and dyed some yarn, but you'll have to visit my Flickr page to see them. They're both for a swap that I'm not ready to send out yet.

The fabric all the way to the right is the Kokka print that I was drooling over last week. The other two are for something in my kitchen, but I'm not sure what :-)

Mr. Stripey is getting bigger. I should start measuring him, eh? Everything else is taking it's time growing. I planted a bunch of bulbs and some basil this week and I bought a hibiscus tree at Loew's. It has a bunch of buds so I'll get a good pic when it blooms.

<3

knitxcore.

theme dye swap questionnaire

What is/are your favorite fiber/s to knit with? Wool, ol' scratchy wool.

What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Acrylic, and angelina.

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? a couple of years, i'm self-taught ala Stitch and Bitch by debbie stoller.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Intermediate to advanced, I've done a lot and am always willing to branch out.

What's your favorite scent? Anything that smells like food or dirt (i.e. vanilla or patchouli)

Do you have a sweet tooth? Heck yes, epesh for dark choclate.

Favorite candy? Gummies. (bears, fish, worms... u know.)

What other crafts do you like to do? I embroider, sew, decopauge, and just about anything. I just learned how to needle felt.

Do you spin? not yet.

What's your favorite color(s)? I like green, alot. I also love neon color schemes.

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Hats, mostly, but i like to make little whimsies every now and then.

What are you knitting right now?A sock, a Noni Bag, A log cabin blanket, and a cabled scarf. maybe a few dishcloths.

Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Of course! the beauty of a handmade gift is priceless.

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I prefer straight needles but I use circulars when the task calls for it.

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have a ball winder but no swift.

How old is your oldest UFO? Around a year! who says you can't knit a blanket on size 6's.

Is there anything that you collect? Yarn, Mooses, Stuffies, pins.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? I love Noro Pattern books, but they're soooo hard to get your hands on, and of course anything by Cat Bordhi. I really love Crafty Alien's lil' animal patterns too.

What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? none, i love the thrill of the hunt.

When is your birthday? November 9th, imma sexy scorpio.

Finally, what are your four themes?
1. Eighties (think KIDS incorporated!)


2. Crayons (like primary colors)


3. Outdoors (grass and flowers)


4. Granny's Wallpaper (orange & brown, green & gold.... like a 70's kitchen?)

KetcHuP! A week in Photos...

Last Sunday, Midnight Purls and I went to Fiber Arts Studio in Nortfield. We stayed and knit for awhile, we both worked on our current socks. It was alot of fun KIP-ing our WIP's. Of course, we both felt obligated to buy things after staying about an hour. I picked up two skeins of Plymouth Jelli Beanz is a sorta lime green color and Plymouth Handpainted in the same neon inspired color scheme. We also did a sort of *not* online mug exchange. You can't really see the mug, but it says "Eat, Sleep, Knit" ( i believe it's from CafePress.com) and she also got me a skein of SOCKS THAT ROCK! in Lemongrass. I'm so excited to use this yarn!

As we all know, Wednesday was Valentines Day. Dave and I agreed not to buy each other gifts (we were going to go out and eat, but it snowed like crazy!) but I wasn't angry when I came home to flowers, choclate, and a bunch of Burt's Bees stuff on Tuesday night. I cheated too, I had embroidered him some unmentionables and I got him Astronaut Ice Cream from FredFlare. On Wednesday, I made Chicken and Dumplings and we had a cozy night in.

I've been knitting like crazy, I swear! This is all I have to show for it right now. It's the Baby Kimono from MDK. I have, since last night, added a eyelet ruffle and pulled a cute ribbon in and out of the eyelets. When it's all sewn up and cute I'll let you all see the FO. I've been steadily moving along on Dave's sock (Now, re-named as the Ocean Breathes Salty Sock, after a Modest Mouse song that kept playing over in my head while looking at the yarn.). I'm also knitting a piece for a friend's show that's coming up, it's about the art of the protest sign. I've had some troubles with it, so I don't want to jinx it by talking it about too much.

Today, Midnight Purls and I went to the LYS again, and stayed a little bit longer this time. There were a few more people and a lot of fun stuff going on and we got really wrapped up in the excitement of the sale. In fact, so wrapped up that I left my phone there. We chatted about knitting, museums, yarn and what ever other crazy things flew out of my mouth. All wool was 30% off and you got additional discounts on top of that! SO, now my mom is getting the cutest Noni Bag for her B-day! I'm using Cascade Sierra and hoping it gives some depth to my color choices. MP and I were also the proud winners of some sweet door prizes! Such a RAWR-some day! YaY US!