*Shrug*

This weeks project was very much unplanned.  I was shopping my way through JoAnn's and found a set of Speed Stix on clearance for $3.  They usally retail at the same store for $10.99, so at 3 bucks they were begging to be adopted.  If you're not familiar with Speed Stix, they are an insanely large set of knitting needles. (US size 50 to be exact.)  Here's a picture: 

I threw in that bottle of nail polish to help give you a size reference. Suprisingly enough, they're not heavy for their size and are actually quite comfortable to use.  And because they're so big, the knitting goes really fast too.  I used 3 strands of Lionbrand Woolease solids to make this shrug.  It looks terrible on a hanger but is really cute when you have it on.  I'm not agile enough to hold my phone at arm's length and get a decent picture while it's on my body, so this photo will have to suffice. 

I sat down and watched 2 movies and had the last stitch fastened off about 10 minutes after the second flick finished.  The only change I'd make is that I'd cast on a few more stitches so that I'd get longer "sleeves".  These hit just about elbow length, and I'd prefer them a little longer.  If you'd like to try the pattern for yourself click here.  It is from lionbrand's website, so you will need to register in order to view the directions.  The pattern name is Cocoon Shrug.

 

Socktastic!

Well there it is.  Incredibly ill-fitting, with a horrendously ugly pointy toe section, a whole and complete sock made by me.  The very first one.

There will not be a match created for this one, but I now understand the basic construction for the various parts in a sock pattern, so the lonely fella has served his purpose. I can split the stitches for the heel section and I've also figured out that I need to learn kitchener's stitch for a flat toe.  I purposely choose a yarn and needles which were much too big for the pattern, just so I could SEE the stitches in order to learn what I was doing.  I look forward to working with much thinner (and tinier, more frustrating) sock yarn for a pair that will actually fit.

Couldn't resist

I saw an article on Yahoo this afternoon about this woman who takes clothes she finds for $1 and re-works them. It was too neat not to share. 

Here's the Yahoo article:
http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/60/turn-ugly-dresses-into-nice-ones-for-1.html

And here's the blog:
http://newdressaday.wordpress.com/

A craft blog...now with crafts!

Week 2 of crafting a new me went equally as well as the first.  I'm another pound lighter, even having downed several scrumptious Ghiradelli chocolate squares filled with carmel at Nick's company outing this weekend. (Soooo worth breaking the rules....) And this week I even managed to fit in some jewlery making.  I apologize for the photo quality. Black jewelry on a black stand is a little hard to capture. And well...shiny things don't get along well with flash.

Just a simple chain of S-links with black cube beads.  I had made the bracelet earlier, but finally took the time to complete the set with a necklace and earrings.  All the links and findings on all the pieces were formed one at a time by yours truly. In total, it probably took 6-8 hours to finish this set.

I also managed to put together this bracelet and earring combination. The drops were formed using head-pins and Jolee's 6 mm bicone beads.  I used crimp beads to hold the drops in place on memory wire to form the bracelet.

Crafting me

Week 1 of my new healthy living program went amazingly well. It's true there were a couple of rough spots, but I stuck with it and I ended up losing 1 pound my first week. (Well, 1 according to the crummy, mostly accurate scale in the bathroom, and 2 according to the wii fit balance board.)

The biggest challenge for me is eating breakfast. I get up very early for work and I'm one of those people who just isn't a morning person.  I sleep until the last possible second, throw some clothes on, take a glance in the mirror to see if I'm somewhat presentable, and then I'm out the door. This whole process usually lasts under 10 minutes, so there's really no option to cook something in that time. I've been rooting around the internet for items to eat that are healthy, quick to grab, and have the ability to be eaten while driving. My best find so far:  Banana Blueberry Muffins. 

I'm going to continue crafting a new me, so who knows if any of my other projects will get worked on this week, but if anything I'll post a new recipe for you next week. Until then...

Plugging along

The past week has been all about working on projects I've started but have yet to finish.  Still, nothing is finished, but I did make a bunch of progress on numerous items.  I very nearly have one sock finished.  I also worked on the yellow knit throw blanket, a pair of earrings and a matching necklace, a black crocheted jacket that I started a YEAR ago which I found in the craft closet when looking for supplies for the earrings, another batch of lipbalm, and a bunch of game tokens that I'm making out of shrinky-dinks.

This week will probably be more of the same. Nick and I are attempting to start a new healthy-living diet and exercise thing-a-ma-jig this week. So if we don't kill each other from lack of food and general crabbiness about having to work out I won't have the energy to start anything new. I'm being hopeful.