Gobble, Gobble

This year I have had a ton of things to be thankful for. As always, I have an awesome husband. For example, he had Wednesday off. I came home from working late and what did I see when I pulled into the driveway? Michael had put up all of our outside Christmas decorations. He also organized our guestroom and pulled out all of our other Christmas decorations. That's just one small example of his awesomeness. There are a million others.

In addition to Michael I am also thankful for the work opportunities that have come my way in the past year. Last December, after being at my current job for 6 1/2 years I figured that any promotions I got would have to come from finding a new job, but a new career pathing program was established. Last January I received a promotion and a 10% raise and the guarantee of eventually being able to move up more.

In the past week and a half I've gotten even more good news. Last week, I was called into my big boss's office. That, no matter how great my work is, always puts fear in my heart. He quickly put me at ease, though, when he asked me to take my current supervisor's place after she retires. Her last day is December 19. I was very surprised and shocked...and over the moon happy, not to mention scared and nervous. I've never been a supervisor before. Given the current economic situation right now I am very surprised that I will also be getting a raise to go along with my new promotion.

Then, last weekend, my father told me that once I get my last student loan paid down to under $5000, he would pay the rest of it! I never expected to hear those words out of my father's mouth. That cuts my remaining amount of time paying F*ing Sallie Mae off in half.

And then this morning I realized exactly how many friends I have. I was on Facebook trying to send Thanksgiving wishes to everyone, but with over 130 people, it was just too daunting. Granted, some of those people on my friend list are aquaintances, but many of them I grew up with or I've learned so many things from and would do anything for.

There's more that I'm thankful for, but it's late and I need to go to bed soon to gather my strength for shopping tomorrow.

In other news, I cooked my first Thanksgiving feast today. I made way too much, but it all turned out so good. I'm quite pleased with my turkey in particilar. Last night when I got home from work, I made a brine with 16 cups water, 1 cup bourbon, 1 cup salt, 2 bay leaves, handful of peppercorns in a big bagand let the turket soak in that until I got up this morning. Then I took it out of it's brine, dried it off, stuffed it with onion, celery, garlic and carrotts, trussed it up, seasoned it with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, slathered it with some softened butter and baked it at 375 degrees for 4 hours. It was so juicy and flavorful!! YUM!!!!

Craft wise I haven't been doing so hot. I just haen't been able to find the time. I get up in the morning knit a few rows, go to work, come home and I usually so tired that I fall asleep before I can get started. It's pretty frustrating. I still haven't gotten that darn bag finished that I making as a Christmas gift. I'm going to make it though, even if I have to pull a few late nights on the weekends. Sleep is overrated, right?

Vote People!

I'm interrupting my slack ass crafting for an important service announcement.

Go Vote!!!!

Even if you don't vote for the candidate I want to win (Go Obama!!), it's important to exercise your right to do so.

Halloween Night Knitting

I have been a bit under the weather the past few days. First with what I believe is/was a sinus infection which is settling into my chest. Since I have asthma I try to be very careful anytime I have congestion in my chest. Anyway, the moral is that I haven't really felt a whole lot like knitting or really much of anything.

Last night was Halloween, though. I love Halloween. I love seeing the kids, handing out treats...everything. I love hearing the comments from the kids when they see that we don't give out candy (except this year I gave out a little). This year's offerings included little plastic bugs and snakes, stickers, play-doh, spider rings, vampire teeth, noise makers and fun size snickers and twix. Given how I felt though, my heart just wasn't in it this year.

Michael and I got our pumpkins set up and our cauldron of goodies and we made ourselves comfortable in our rocking chairs in the front yard as soon as it started getting dark. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. We usually have kids coming by as soon as it gets a little dark. This year it we didn't get our first visitor until almost an hour later than normal. I was bored with the waiting, so I went inside and got my knitting. I had plenty of light from our front door light and it helped keep me warm. I got a fair amout ot of work done sitting there seeing all the little kiddies come by.

My favorite: The kid who was calling out "Trick or Treat, Smell my underpants!"

Old Stuff, New Stuff and Future Stuff

OK, here are the last pictures of my Bad Ass Knittin Bag and the felted bag that I entered in the fair. I promise I'll stop whoring them out now.






I made Michael a hat. It cost me a whole $2. You've got to love a good sale!

Here's a picture of what I'm working on now. It's going to be another felted bag. The body and straps are going to be brown, with a band of the off-white around the top. I'm also thinking about doing some embroidery on it too. That's going to be a christmas present for someone.

And this is going to be my next embroidery/sewing project. It's going to be a late christmas present for my friend Heather, who works for the SC Dept. of Archives and History. She does a lot of disaster recovery and planning for agencies throughout the state.

Just like my knitting bag, Michael is designing the pattern. The design isn't finished, but this is a good idea what it's going to look like. I think the finished design will have fire, a flood and some bugs (and a different font for the Disaster Queen).

Good Things CAN Happen on a Monday. And Hats.

Today I got some good news. I found out around 11:30am from my blog-friend Carrie Penny that the results had been posted for the judging on the SC State Fair website. Screw work I was checking that website to see how I did!

My felted handbag won second place in Any other knitting not listed category.

My Bad Ass Knittin Bag won first in Handbag, Embroidered category. However, I think it was the only entry in that category. I'll still take it and I'm proud! They didn't have to give me anything for either one!


In other news I'm learning how to make hats on double pointed needles. At first I was intimidated and even a little scared/nervous. I mean, those needles are really pointy! What if I poked myself in the eye or made a shish-ka-hubby? It all worked out though.









I'm happy to report that no husbands, cats or dogs wer harmed during the knitting of these hats. Michael says he feels like I'm trying to give Hermione a run for her money knitting hats for the house elves.

New Endeavors

This afternoon Michael picked me up and we went to drop off my fair entries (yay!!) and then he took me out for lunch. I'm glad to have it done with and delivered. Now I want the fair to be over so I can pick the bags up and use them!

I'm currently trying to learn something new. Yesterday, my knitting buddy at work showed me a new method for casting on and how to knit on double pointed needles in the round. I was scared and intimidated to get started last night, but no eyeballs were poked out during the making of my useless practice cylinder. I'm going to practice some more and then I'm going to try a hat. Then once I conquer that, I'm going to figure out socks.

How cool is Martha?

Martha is having a blog contest: http://www.themarthablog.com/2008/09/how-to-create-your-own-blog-let-us-show-you.html#comment-22319

Bad Ass Knittin Bag: DONE!

I got up bright and early Saturday morning to get started on my list of things I wanted to get done. Michael went in to work for a little while so I had a nice quiet house all to myself with no distractions. I watched a few of the tv shows I taped last week while I worked on the baby blanket. After a while I switched to working on my bag. I measured and cut the fabric, put the pockets together, pinned the shoulder straps, ironed everything, sewed the pockets into the lining, started sewing the straps. About halfway through the last strap, my sewing machine did something very strange. Then it stopped. It stopped everything. I'm not really sure what it was doing, but I didn't have the time to figure it out. After fussing a lot, crying a little (or vice versa) I made a trip out to Joanne's and Hobby Lobby, if nothing else but to see If I had any options. I was in no mind to think rationally, so I called Michael almost in tears from Hobby Lobby. My husband has the heart of an angel. He offered to buy a new machine so that I wouldn't stress out anymore than I already was. I got the exact some kind I had before. Now I need to figure out what was going on with the first one so that I can fix it and sell it or something.

Anyway...Here's a picture of the finished embroidery.


Here's the finished outside:

And here's the inside. It has a big pocket with a smaller pocket over it on both sides.

I'm so stinking glad to be done with it! It's not perfect by any means, but it fits my needs and it's washable.

Quick Progress Update...

Just so that no one will think I’m a slacker, I thought I’d do a little update. Sorry, no pictures this time.

Felted bag: I’m still looking for the perfect something to embellish it with. I don’t really want to do any embroidery on it, but I can’t find the perfect button or pin for it. Maybe I’m too picky.

Bad Ass Knittin Bag: It’s all done, but the sewing. I’ve been procrastinating more than I need to on this one. My deadline for delivering it for the fair is next week and I’m still not really sure how I want to put it together. I usually have things planned out to the slightest variance. This whole flying by the seat of my pants thing is exciting and nerve-wracking.

Baby blankets: The blanket that I was knitting back in July (#1) has finally been completely completed. I finished weaving the ends in on Sunday. The blanket I’m currently working on (#2) is halfway there. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it will be completed before the baby is here. I’m just missing by a couple of days though.

Other that that, I’m trying to figure out what I’ll do next. I have several baby projects I’d like to do. Maybe try my hand at some little hats. I’d love to find a simple sweater pattern to knit for myself. First I’ll have to save some money to pay the small fortune it will cost to buy that much good yarn. I also want to do another embroidery project similar to my knitting bag. Only time will tell what I actually end up doing.

Bad Ass Knittin Bag Part 4 and Other Crafty Endeavors

First of all, I've done some crafty shopping. The floss is for my knitting bag, then there are 3 skeins of recycled silk yarn and a skein of lavender alpaca. I got the silk from In the Loop in Columbia and the alpaca from The Needler in Lexington. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my one lonely skein of alpaca, but I have grand plans for the silk. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's gorgeous in real life.

Since having to cut out the lettering on my knitting bag, I've been working on my knitting again. This is a picture of it before I cast off the body of the bag and sewed it all up. You can still see how big it is before felting.

And this is what it looked like after felting. I still need to add a little button or something to it and it will be done. One project crossed off my list.

Since the knitting is done and I was no longer disgusted with my having to rip out the work on my embroidery I started working on the Bad Ass Knittin Bag again. I chose 3 different shades of green fading from dark to light. So far so good.

I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Bad Ass Knittin Bag Part 3

When I started working on my bag Friday, this is what it looked like:



When I got finished working on it Friday, this is what it looked like:



So this is what I've been workng on:



If you're wondering, no I didn't mistakenly put those first 2 pictures out of order. I wish that was the case. Very frustrated, very disappointed that I had to rip all of that work out. When I went to move my hoops and looked back at my work I realized that the metallic thread I was using just wasn't working the way I wanted and I wasn't happy with how it was looking. I think I could lave probably fixed part of the problem, but I didn't want to chance it and not have the time to do something else.

Note to self: I don't think metallic thread was meant for that kind of satin stitch.

So, as you can see, I've been knitting this weekend. I've been kind of sick over having to rip out all that work and just couldn't face looking at my embroidery again without a short break. I've gotten some good work done on my knitting. And, even better, I've discovered that knitting and purling the "right" way have now become habit for me.

Tommow, back to the embroidery.

Mmmmm...Pie!

I tried something new for supper last night. A recipe I got from a friend at work for tomato pie. Of all the things you can make into pies, who would ever think that tomatoes would be one of the yummiest? Not all that healthy, but yummy still. I'm sure it can be made more healthy though. Maybe next time.

The recipe:

1 pie crust, baked according to package instructions (I used Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish)
4 medium-large tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1 package bacon
fresh basil
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup shredded mozarella
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Seed and slice tomatoes. Lay slices on a paper towel lined pan and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Cut bacon into pieces and brown.
In a separate bowl, mix together the mayonaise and cheeses.
After the pie crust and the bacon has cooled, assemble the pie.
Layer half the tomatoes on bottom of pie crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add a few basil leaves. Sprinkle with half the bacon. After all the tomatoes and bacon have been used, spread the mayonaise and cheese mixture over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes or uintil the top of the pie is golden brown.
Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Slice and enjoy! Serves about 6.

I wish I had thought to take a picture before we demolished it.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

I love the SC State Fair. I always have. Most likely I always will. The fair always brings back good memories of my childhood and a story about my brother as a child that never fails to make me laugh and embarrass him. I love the exhibits, the animals, the crowds, the food…Everything! But now that I’m older I can appreciate parts of it more. The exhibits especially. I know exactly how much work and artistry go into so much more of it now.

A few years ago, actually, more like 6 or 7 years ago, I entered a pair of embroidered pillowcases in the fair. I did better than I expected: Second place in my category. I’m still proud of that. I even have a tattoo that was inspired by that design.

And then I stopped embroidering.

Now that I’m back into my craftiness I’m thinking about entering again. If I did, I’d enter my Badass Knittin Bag and the felted bag that I’m also working on. I have to make up my mind by August 29. Any item I entered would have to be completed by October 1. I worry that if I did enter an item I’m still working on that it would take the fun out of it for me. Not only that, but when I’m faced with a deadline I have to meet I tend to procrastinate.

I hate making decisions.

Bad Ass Knittin Bag Part 2

I love my bag and its not even close to being done. I'm making good progress. I've got the skull done and half of the knitting needles. Once I get the embroidery done I'm going to take a break from it and work on my knitting some more.

I just love it! The colors, the shapes. I almost wish I could snap my fingers and it be embroidered and sewn together. But then again, I don't want to miss out on doing any of it. I'd like to say I try not to talk too much abut it, but I'd be wrong. Hopefully my coworkers aren't too terribly tired of seeing me show off my work. I'm just so darn excited about it!!!!!

Bad Ass Knittin Bag Part 1

I started the work on my bad ass knittin bag this weekend!! Friday I pre-washed the fabric, Saturday I ironed it and cut out the outside of the bag, and then I put my husband to work.

Here he is making his blog debut. He's transferring the pattern onto my fabric.


This is what the pattern looks like before I started work.



And here it is after a little longer than a day of work.



Damn this thing called work that interrupts my embroidering and knitting!

Frustration

I’m frustrated with my knitting. It’s making me feel stupid. You see, I just discovered a couple days ago that I’m making the knit stitch and the purl stitch wrong. Oddly enough I did them both so wrong that they look right. Now, after over 6 months I’m having to go back and learn how to do it the right way, which means unlearning it the wrong way. Which sucks great big, huge, hairy donkey balls. I’ve discovered that the wrong way has much more economical motions than the right way. The right way just seems so wrong to me now even though it’s not. I’ve been making myself do it properly though. I want to make nice stuff so I have to do it the right way. Before I discovered my issue my knitting had become a thoughtless escape. It was easy, I didn’t have to think about it. But now I do. So I’ve been procrastinating. My procrastination has given me the opportunity to catch up on my trashy romance novel reading, though.

Projects, Project Everywhere

For once in my life I got money for my birthday earlier this month. Usually I spend any money I get for gifts for groceries or something else I need. This year I decided that I needed more yarn and supplies for projects.

I got this Friday night at Michaels. The blue yarn is going to be a felted bag. I'm not sure about the other yet. It was on sale and I couldn't resist it. I also got another size of circular needles for knitting the bag and transfer paper to transfer an embroidery design onto another project.

I got this Saturday morning at a little store called Fabric 101 on the other side of creation from me in Pontiac near Sand Hills. If anyone in SC reads this they have a really nice selection of great quality fabrics. This is going to be for my "Bad Ass Knitting Bag" that I'm making as well as embroidering.

So yeah, if you're keeping track that's 3 projects I've got started/planned: Baby Blanket #2, felted bag and the knitting bag. At least I won't be bored anytime in the near future.

Holy Crap, It's Hot!

In case you didn't know, knitting a blanket in July is not particularly a great idea. That's just my observation for the day, so take it as you will.

I have three (three!) more rows and I'm done.

Baby Blankets for Everyone!

Last weekend I started my biggest knitting project to date: a baby blanket.

I went to Michaels and got the yarn. Lots of pinks and purples and even some green for another splash of color.


I had chosen a pattern earlier. I'm using the pattern for the Big Bad Baby Blanket in the Stitch n Bitch book.

I have done nothing but knit this past week. While the notion is with me I need to get it done, otherwise I'll procrastinate like nobody's business! The good news is that I'm 3/4 of the way through with it. It's been so exciting! (yep, I'm a nerd) It's been my first pattern that I've had to pay attention to rather than making it up as I went. It's also been my first time using circular needles.

Here's a picture of the whole thing so far. I'm sorry to say that this picture does not do it justice at all. I should have found a better place to lay it out other than my kitchen table I guess.


This is a picture of the middle of it which shows the actual pattern. It looks like four blocks with a border around the whole thing.


I've had off of work since Wednesday afternoon and it's pretty much been all knitting all the time around here. Now that I've had the idea that this blanket might become my standard baby gift and I feel ambitious, pregnant women are coming out of the woodworks! I know 4 people due between October-December. I think I have the gumption to finish this one and one more before I need a big break so I can finally get to work on my Bad Ass Knittin Bag.

Antique Store Finds

I love antique stores/malls! Unfortunately, my favorite one closed recently and now I have to find a new favorite.

In the past, I haven't had much luck finding any embroidered items that were in good condition. I am now happy to report that I have found an antique store that has shelves of embroidered pillowcases, towels, table cloths, etc. Beautiful stuff! Of course I had to come home with a pair of pillow cases and a table topper... They may or may not be gifted to others, but I had to bring them home with me!

This is a pair of pillowcases, They're white with the palest blue embroidery.

And here's the table topper. I couldn't get a better picture.

Apologies

Someone posted a comment on my last post and when I tried to publish it, I'm guessing I hit delete instead because now it's not showing up. My greatest apologies and thank you. I remember the comment, but not who sent it.

Finished objects

Really, I haven't been that productive this week, I just finally got some pictures off of my camera.

Here's the finished 3D picture/shadow box for my father for Father's Day. Now that I'm finished with it and I look at it, I see so much I could have done to make it look better and more finished.


Here's a dish cloth I've been working on. It's almost finished. I knit it on sixe 6 needles in a seed stitch.



I had a wedding las weekend and I had this sweater to wear over a black halter dress. It was a little blah as is, so I decided to embroider some pink flowers on it. The bonus? I have at least one other outfit I can wear it with!

I think I've made some nice progress on my list in my last post.

Future Projects

I need to make a list of things I want to try or learn so I won't forget anything:


In no particular order...

1. Baby bibs and burps cloths

2. Finish 3D shadow box

3. Knit dish cloths and scrubbies

4. Embroidered Roller Derby Shirt for Misty

5. Embroidered knitting bag

6. Learn to knit in the round/on circular needles

7. Embroidered sweater

8. Learn to sew clothing items

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure I'll have more swimming around in my head soon.

Pillowcases finished!

Finally! A picture of my pillowcases. They've been finished for a couple weeks, I just hadn't taken the opportunity to get them washed and ironed.

Decorated /Painted Picture Frames

I tried something new recently.

A good friend of mine and former co-worker invited me to her wedding shower last weekend. I knew I'd but her something from her registry, but I also wanted to get her something a little more personal. When I got married in 2002, at the shower that she and my other co-workers threw for me, she gave me a picture frame that said "Wedding of the Year" around the frame. Talicia (the co-worker now getting married) said that if she ever got married she was going to need a frame that said "Wedding of the Century." So I made one for her.

I bought 3 unfinished shadow boxes/picture frames, some acryllic paint, foam brushes, cheap small paint brushes, clear glass flat bottom marbles, decoupage medium and some craft glue.

I painted the frame.

While I let the frame dry, I cut out the letters I wanted and decoupaged them to the bottoms of the marbles.

Then I glued the marbles to the frame.

It turned out much cuter in person.

The second one I did turned out perfectly!

I painted the frame in dark purple and then a lighter purple around the edges.

After the base coat dried, I taped the sides and I taped a border stripe.

After the stripes dried, I sealed it and glued on some paper flowers that I got from the scrapbook section of Michael's.

That one is going to make a fantastic birthday present for a friend. I almost wish I could keep it!