DUUUUUUUUUUUDE.

I'm taking fashion. I'm so happy.

'Ello All...

It has been a while since my last post. Real life has taken over much of my time and I haven't really thought much about knitting or crocheting. BUT! I went on a much much needed yarn crawl a couple of days ago and what made the day sweeter was the arrival of two online yarn orders. So yarn yarn yarn everywhere. That doesn't even include the yarn I boxed up when we reorganized. So I realized, to my delight, that I actually have a stash (albeit a small one). I've always had a project in mind when I buy yarn. I have never actually bought yarn just because. It's evident in the soysilk and sock yarn I bought. I have no idea what to do with three balls of squishy soysilk and I have never knitted a sock in my life. I will get there though, just you watch. ;p

My yarn crawl drawer (OMG! I just saw how dusty it is! Guess what I'm doing this weekend with a Swiffer?) The rest of my yarn is currently unphotographed.

I had started to work on Eunny Jang's Venezia Pullover [Ravelry] but the rising heat and the demands of my baby boy was taking its toll on my concentration. I hate being interrupted when I'm deep into something, so I had to set it aside in favor of something mindless, easy and cooler on the hands and lap. So I chose to knit a top down silk shrug out of the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk [Ravelry] scored on that lovely yarn crawl. It is gorgeous stuff and I would love to work with this yarn as often as possible.

My current project, my sketchbook and currently rereadingThe House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.

Also also, I've been tagged by DreamingKnitter of I Knit My Dreams (Thank you! That was really nice of you to think of me during Bobmas) and I have to tag six other bloggers. Err, I don't really have a lot of contact with other knitters so I tag anyone who reads this blog. ;p (Yeah, the thousands of you)

Anyhoo:

Six Things I Like to Do (In No Particular Order):

1. Take Care of Connor. No, really. It does get tiring and it does get frustrating, but I really do love taking care of my baby. I love rocking him to sleep, feeding him, dressing him, playing with him... etc. I love being his mommy and the drooly smile I get when I do something that makes him happy does funny things to my heart.

Any excuse to show my baby, right? Haha.

2. Draw and paint. I've been drawing for as long as I can remember and painting for more than half my life. My earliest childhood memory is being on the floor with paper and lumber crayons my Dad got from the Sugar Factory he worked for.

3. Design. I went to school for Interior Design and I loved my stay there. I love drafting floor plans, coloring perspectives, sourcing materials and the construction of your ideas etc. I love the process of it, how it changes and how inspiring and expensive it all is. Now I'm getting into Fashion Design on top of Interior and Furniture Design. So I know that my wallet is REALLY in trouble.

4. Knit and Crochet. I think I mentioned it on this blog that I find it amazing that I can take humble materials and manipulate it to form something useful and pretty. This is my own form of meditation or reflection. Every stitch I make is part of an idea brewing in my head. I feel calmer and more sane when I knit or crochet. I also produce more art that way. Yeah, I play with yarn so I don't kill people, I think I saw that on a shirt or something like that.

5. Read. I LOVE books. I love looking at them, smelling them, touching them and most of all, reading them. I'm the kind of person who can't bear to throw books away, no matter how craptastic the writing is. I'm also the kind of person who reads everything from cereal boxes to billboards. That eccentricity drives my husband and siblings crazy, but I can't help it. I can't turn it off and I don't really want to.

6. Shop. From the time I learned how to use a credit card, my parents have called me "Buy-ra" for my compulsive shopping habit. I LOVE buying things. I love buying yarn, books, dvd's, antiques, stuff for the house, stuff for the car, stuff for my baby, makeup, shoes, art materials... anything that makes me take my credit card or cash out of my wallet. I have fortunately learned to curb my obsessive shopping impulses now that I'm married with a baby and a real budget to follow, but I know that monster is still inside this shameless consumer's heart, waiting for me to win the lottery (like that's ever gonna happen. Pffft!)

Good Grief! It's been a while!

I have been so busy with Connor that I have neglected my poor knitting blog *pets knitting blog* Anyhoo, I do have some finished objects to show for. I had to choose very easy projects so I could put them down in a moment's notice when Connor needs something (he's asleep in his swing right now).

So here's what I have to show so far (the rest haven't been photographed):

Silk Granny Square Baby Blanket

Yarn: Amerah (Ravelry) in Lush, 10 balls. I didn't really like working with this yarn, but the results are WORTH it, ohmehgeh.
Pattern: Regular Granny Square. One square per ball of yarn. (I made nine square and used one ball for the edging.)

The Mutant Tiramisu Baby Blanket

Yarn: Cascade Sierra (Ravelry). I looooove this yarn. If I had more money to burn I would buy a whole truck of this in all the colors and bury myself in it (that and Malabrigo). I have some left so I think I'll make a nice cardigan for me to wear on our flight to the Philippines (airports DO get cold).

Pattern: I based it on the Tiramisu Baby Blanket from Posie Gets Cozy. Instead of single crochet stitches that the pattern calls for, I did it in double crochet. Quick quick quick.

In other news, I just bought yarn to make something for myself. I've been looking obsessively at the gorgeous colorwork stuff on Ravelry and I decided to make one for myself. Sooo, I picked Interweave Knits' Venezia Pullover because I'm crazy and I want to make myself crazier. I'm using Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 (Ravelry) in the Rainbow colorway (EQ) and Knitpicks Palette (Ravelry) in Black.

Okee, I have to leave now. Crying baby. Toodles. Mwah!

Back Again After A Long, Long Break

Hello Dear Readers (Uhm, anyone?)