Craft Addict

"Everybody got their somethin'...." ~ Nikka Costa

Friday, March 17, 2006


Look at these great vintage tank tops I spotted in a 1973 (the year I was born!) McCall's Needlework and Crafts magazine. I bought a giant box of vintage needlework booklets at a garage sale a couple years ago for $5 and I love looking through them for classic patterns that could be updated for today. It's so trippy to think that someone was knitting one of these tanks before I was even born! I love the blue one in the middle. I'm hoping I can figure out what kind of yarn to substitute for the stuff they used. It's amazing how classic that shape still is considering this pattern is from the groovy 70's and that wasn't exactly a high point in the fashion continuum. Most people my age have some blackmail quality pictures in their collection in which they are smiling into the camera, blissfully unaware of the cruel and unusual fashion disasters their moms subjected them to on picture day. I have a couple of winners myself that involve a plaid disaster of epic proportions. So, it's nice to find out that not everyone in the 70's completely lost their minds.....

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Punkins













I bought the coolest book at Goodwill the other day.... I know, it's the wrong time for punkins and spooky autumn stuff, but how could I resist these cool new crafty projects? These two definitely caught my eye, but there were so many other things I couldn't wait to try. And how could I resist such a bargain? $2.99 for this big fat book that retailed for $19.95 originally! Even if I only made one single thing from it, it would be worth it.

I loved Halloween as a kid. Who wouldn't? Any day that allowed you to amass mountains of candy and dress up like a princess had to be something special. As I got older though, it lost its magic. I was probably about 14 the last year I trick-or-treated and when our friend's dad looked at us and said rudely, "Aren't you a little old for this?" my Halloween spirit was crushed for years to come. But now that I've got a house and neighbors with cute kids that come to our house for treats, the fun of it all comes rushing back every October. I even convinced my holiday-phobic husband to carve pumpkins with me for the last 2 years. I think he especially enjoys our use of power tools to get the designs we want, even if we do find bits of pumpkin all over the kitchen for days after. Though I'm dying for spring, I almost can't wait until I can bust out these great projects.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Posies


The first of my spring posies to pop up. It's so rewarding to see something lovely sprout in your garden after a very long winter and lots of work during autumn planting. I only wish I'd ended up with some purple ones too... they all seem to be yellow so far! It was a lovely day today - sunny & bright, though awfully cold after all. Suits me fine though - I'm content to open the drapes for my sunshine fix, but stay cozy inside with my knitting projects.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Bunny Heads & Tank Top Trim

I've been working on some fun stuff in between busting my ass to fit into my bikini (t-minus two weeks!) and being the best domestic goddess I can be. All that stuff doesn't leave me too much time for knitting, but I find a few minutes here and there when I can.


This is the start of the head of Jess Hutch's free bunny pattern (http://www.jesshutch.com). I used some sport weight yarn and small size 4 double-pointed needles just to practice since that's all I had around at the time. Being a knitting idiot still, I just wanted to see if I could actually follow the pattern. And guess what? I have the top to a little bunny head now! I was sickeningly pleased with myself. It was difficult to knit on such small needles with such fine yarn though, and hubby was sweet enough to go into a yarn shop with me last weekend when we were downtown so I could get the right yarn for the pattern. I wanted pink (of course!) but settled for white so I could make lots of bunnies to give to friends who don't like pink as much as me. I bought the size 8 double-pointed needles I need to make them today, though I'm not sure when I'll find time to make that cute little guy when I have this pink tank top to work on:


This is the trim to the tank top I'm working on from the spring issue of Interweave. I finally finished my swatch last week and started on the bottom trim. The yarn splits easily so it is taking me a long time to make progress. I have to be really careful when I do my yarn overs, not to split the yarn. Otherwise I get funny threads floating around where they don't belong and it looks crappy. I have about 4 of those repeating motifs done and I've got 9 more to go. The pattern had a chart for this part and I got so frustrated trying to read the chart and then knit, that I took an extra hour to scan in the chart, print out a copy, and then hand write the instructions for myself so that I wouldn't have to go back and read the key and chart on every new row of knitting. I know that's kind of cheating, that I should learn to use the chart, but I think this really saves me time and frustration as a new knitter.

I'm also working on a knitting project bag made from a felted thriftstore sweater. Went and picked out fabric for the lining today. Check back for pictures of that project sometime soon.

It's windy and cold here today.... perfect day for sitting in and knitting. And I've got a mocha and Wallace and Gromit to watch! Life is good!