A Frog on the Blog

Yes, friends, we have our first completely frogged project on the blog. (I don't have many frogged projects, so enjoy gloating this time!) Having run out of yarn for my Hurricane Swap partner, and not being able to buy more, I had to completely rip out the entire thing. *sigh*

From this:













To this:















To this:


*sigh*

Which now means that not only do I have to start over (which would be bad enough), but also that I have to decide whether to find a new pattern or rewrite the one I'd already chosen to work. . .again. I think I'll just switch to my 3's, which now look enormous in comparison to the 1's, and rewrite the original pattern. We'll see.

Not much other knitting going on right now (though I do have some submission ideas in mind), keep an eye out on the sidebar for progress updates!

Till next time,
Sarah

Random Blogthing Monday!

If I were a pizza, I would be. . .

A Cheese Pizza!

Traditional and comforting, you focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty, yet you easily impress others.

What's your pizza personality?

Mmm. . .love the cheesy goodness!

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - I failed 8th Grade Spanish. . .*sigh*

Episode 3

Well, well, well. This week, our designers were challenged to design a womenswear outfit inspired by. . .a dog. (They also had to design an outfit for the dog.) Yada yada yada and twelve great designs later, Katherine is OUT and Angela escapes again. What the hell?!

Here's the winner:

By Uli, Print-y Dress Queen

LOVED IT!!!!! This was my favorite dress, even though I didn't like the cropped jacket. It reminds me of something from Cache. This dress was by far the most wearable thing sent down the runway, and featured a very cool strappy back. Also, the dog's outfit was great! Props to my neighbor Uli from Miami Beach!

Here's the loser:

By Katherine, the Nice Girl

While this definitely wasn't my favorite dress, or the most well-constructed of the group, it's hard to believe that this was out when Angela's monstrosity was in. Besides, I liked Katherine.

Here's the monstrosity:

By Angela, Total Witch

All right, I have to admit that I was on Angela's side for the team challenge last week. The fact that they would have thought of eliminating her instead of Vincent was offensive. After all, she did try to help, and was told, "Stand 3 feet away from me." But, What. The. HECK! was she thinking here? Maybe this outfit was sewn well, but you know what? Just because you can sew 40 yards of pink satin into something that looks like it would cover the Goodyear Blimp when not in use does not make you a good designer. Oh, and Bravo: Good TV or not, it's time for Angela to go bye-bye. Next week is good for me.

Honorable mentions:

By Jeffrey, Musician Wardrober

First thing Jeffrey's made that I actually liked. And the suit on the dog was hilarious. . .

By Michael, Token Black Guy

I'm starting to think that Bravo is being a bit racist, as Michael's designs haven't even been ACKNOWLEDGED as amazing yet. This dress was hugely original and interesting. This guy is amazing. Michael, I'm pulling for you! And I say, you're up for a win soon.

By Keith, Man Who Thinks He is God

Loved the dress, but lose the attitude. It's getting old. Yes, you are some kind of prodigy with the fabrics. Yes, you are blowing the competition away. But that should be enough, don't you think? We don't need to hear about it every week. It's staring us all in the face. Besides, if you'd have just sewn the damn dog a costume, you would have another win under your belt. . .and it's all about winning.

Designs I can't figure out why they escaped the chopping block:

By Vincent, Lunatic at Large

Now, if you're going to accuse Katherine's dress of being uninspired, I'd like to know what you'd call this. It's a black dress, people! And we don't even know if he made the leggings! And what's the deal with Vincent's obsession with bad hats?

By Bradley, Crybaby

Bradley was soooooooooo worried he would have to forfeit due to lack of time. I wouldn't have been sorry if he had. His personality is uninteresting and his style lacks appeal. Yes, the judges loved it, but this outfit screamed "ugly" to me.

By Alison, the Cute Girl

Interesting concept was well-executed and with lovely fabrics, but please! Put a slip on your freaking model so we don't have to watch the static cling with the pantyhose and the skirt! Did that bother anyone besides me?

Okay, I know this was a lot of photos this time, but there were so many really good and really what-were-they-thinking designs this episode that I just couldn't resist. Believe it or not, I'm actually limiting myself to posting just these! I'm looking forward to next week's big, dramatic, someone's getting kicked off for breaking the rules episode. Who do you think it will be? And why? And will they still be eliminating on the runway, losing two designers in Episode 4? My guess from the preview clues is that it's a guy, and I'm guessing it's going to be either Keith or Jeffrey. . .either for deliberate sabotage or working after hours. (Although I heard a theory it might be for starting a fistfight!) It won't be Kayne or Robert, as they're seen in the preview discussing the person being offed. Michael, Bradley & Vincent don't seem the type. We'll see in a week! At any rate, this is the second reality TV show this season to have to send someone home for breaking the rules; Last Comic Standing was the first. How stupid can you be?

Here's the list of people that will eventually get eliminated:

Vincent
Angela
Bradley
Bonnie
Robert

Top picks for the final three:

Laura
Kayne
Keith (provided he doesn't get offed next week)
Uli
Michael

Jeffrey and Alison could go either way, I think. We'll just have to see. In the meantime, let the betting begin! Place your vote now. . .

Till next time,
Sarah

Cuddly Hubby!

Which is sorta like Chubby Bunny, only WAY cuter and much less gross. . .

Yes, I did indeed finish the hubby's blanket, and now he can be nice and warm when he takes call overnight at the hospital. This was knit in garter stitch on the bias using US size 19 circular needles. It's composed of four different super-soft acrylic/nylon/rayon blend yarns held together throughout. I love knitting on the bias, because it gives such interest to otherwise mindless knitting! Anyway, the combinations of these yarns is really great; two were nice, fat, furry yarns, one black, one white/black/grey variegated, one was a combination railroad/eyelash yarn, mostly black but with white, black and silver-blue railroad "ties", and the other was a combination of the fat yarn, also white/black/grey variegated, and a black eyelash yarn. This blanket is soooooo soft!! It's also very weighty. I plan to make or reconstruct a pillow-case like bag, with drawstring ties at top for him to carry it to the hospital in. Something manly. . .maybe zebra stripes. (Are zebra stripes manly? I thought it'd go with the color scheme.)

Anyway, so here it is:

Naptime!

Turned out nice and big, didn't it? I guess I'd call it throw size. Maybe a little bigger. Anyway, he likes it, see?


Everyone together now, "Awwwwwwww." Very good!

He told me the texture reminded him of a king's robe. I took that as a good sign of manliness.

Sadly, I think I'm going to have to rip out most of my progress on my Sock Swap pal's sock. (Sorry, Laura!) I bought the type and amount of yarn the pattern called for, and even though my gauge actually has fewer stitches to the inch than the original pattern (which means I'm also rewriting the pattern as I go along), I'm just past the heel and this is how much yarn I have left:


Ooops.

Soooooo. Gonna be undoing the top part of the sock, so this will likely turn into an anklet. (Again. . .sorry, Laura!)

In other news, my brother and "seester's" blog is up, and very cool too, I might add, so everyone go over there and check it out!

We finally got the whole the-receptionist-is-freezing-her-butt-off-so-can-we-please-set-the-thermostat-to-something-other-than-68-degrees thing sorted out. Turns out that the vents in the boss' and assistant's offices were completely shut off, meaning that the air was being diverted elsewhere. . .namely, my desk. The extremely patient and talented building maintenance man is now my superhero. He opened up all their vents, closed mine, and happiness and comfort now reign supreme. At this very moment I am wearing a sleeveless shift dress, without a jacket, and I am Not. Cold. Hooray! (In an ironic turn of events, it is now my boss that is turning the temperature warmer to keep from being frozen out of his own office. . .hehehe. . .) Methinks that Peter is going to be getting a nice big plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies sometime soon. That is, as soon as I get my pots, pans and dishes back into the cabinets. Because right now, this is what it looks like:


But I'm hungry!


Where's the food?


Oh good, it's been shrinkwrapped for freshness!


Need a plate?

In a desperate effort to rid ourselves of the small, roachlike creatures that have taken up residence in our kitchen, we (read: I) emptied every last one of the cabinets, drawers, cupboards, and pantry in order to fog the little buggers out of there. One smelly house and plastic-covered living room later, we are still infested. Ugh. We're going to try caulking up all the little cracks to the places where they hide, and then we'll bug spray everything (no fog this time). Then, bugless or not, those dishes are going back in the cabinets tonight. Guests coming tomorrow! Jonathan's friends from New Jersey and Texas are coming for the weekend; I think they'll be going camping, so that means more knitting time for me! Here's hoping Chad leaves the marijuana at home. . .

Oh yeah, and now we are practically smoke-free:


*magical glowing halo effect here*

Four hundred dollars has never made such a difference. Now, to get the bugs OUT and my best friend IN, and my life will be almost perfect.

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - Still no news from Knitty. Like you're surprised.

Random Blogthing Monday!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Hee hee hee. . .

Well? Could you?

Episode 2

Ooooh, ahhhh. . .the ballgown challenge, the celebrity challenge, AND the teamwork challenge, all in one! This week, the contestants were given the opportunity to create a gown to be worn by Miss USA at the Miss Unvierse Pageant. The evening gown portion of the competition counts for 30% of the pageant contestants' overall score! The designers were made to work in teams of two, and Miss USA's favorite 7 designs were chosen to become team leaders. Drama drama drama. . .

Here's the winner:

By Kayne, Pageant Dress Designer & Boutique Owner & Robert, Designer for Mattel

This really was a pretty pageant dress; the picture doesn't do the neckline justice. These guys hand-applied what must have been thousands of rhinestones, resulting in a necklace-like effect. Quote of the episode was Kayne telling Robert, "We bought like, a million rhinestones. We're sewing these on until our fingers bleed."

Here's the loser:

By Malan, Creepiest Person in the Universe, & Katherine, Fashion Designer

Oh. My. Gosh. This was by far the ugliest dress ever made by man. Again, the picture does not show the offensiveness of this dress to its fullest extent. This hideous combination of brown fabric, ruching, and AN UNFINISHED HEM made for a disaster on the runway. As Tim Gunn said, "It looks like a tree log." I'm just glad Malan is out; now we can all breathe a sigh of relief!

I was torn between two favorites:

By Keith, Menswear Designer, & Bradley, Fashion Designer

This was just so pretty! It flowed like a dream when the model walked down the runway. Plus, the fit of this interesting strapless top was amazing. Good job, guys, but Keith, knock it off with the "I'm the best designer in the world" stuff. Although. . .I have to say, I wish MY second dress I'd ever made looked this good!

And:

By Uli, Fashion Designer and Katherine, Fashion Designer

Bravo, you guys seriously need to get better cameras, okay? Okay. This dress was ingenious, and like the one before, looked like the model was walking on a cloud. The construction of three different colors of chiffon was carried out beautifully. Plus, I was excited to see two of my three favorite designers team up!

I'm going to say I have to agree that my least favorite was the tree trunk dress, and as I said before, I'm glad that Malan is gone. I'm also glad this week was not a double elimination challenge, because I think Katherine is going to surprise us later. Vincent, you're two for two on being THIS close to being ousted; my guess is, you're not going to last that much longer. My four favorite contestants this season are Michael, Laura, Keith (three of only five self-taught designers left), and Alison. Good luck, guys!

Well, I guess that about ends my rant for this week, so

Till next time,
Sarah

The Hubster Gets Crafty

Yep, that's right, my husband likes to be crafty with me! Well, sorta. Sometimes. He has good intentions, at least. See, I thought it would be really fun, while we were on vacation, to decorate a tote bag together to use at the beach! (Awww. . .) So, I picked up a denim tote bag and packed a whole bunch of paint pens, then about halfway through the trip pulled it out for "craft time" with the hubby! (Oh and by the way, I had full spousal approval of this plan from the beginning.) This is what we came up with:



Yeah, so I don't recommend paint pens on denim. Hey, the store was out of the canvas totes! Anyway, isn't it cute? It's a submarine, and he drew it!! (Awww. . .) He made the portholes quite big so that I could do iron-on transfer pictures later on.

And. . .that was as far as we got. He did promise that he'd help me finish it when we got home, but that was almost a month ago, and I have a feeling it isn't going to happen. Now the question is, what do I do with this? I really like the way the submarine turned out, but you can hardly see it and it still needs the photos ironed on. I was thinking about hand-embroidering it, a la Wee Wonderfuls, but the paint pen line is so thick I'm not sure that would work. I could go over it in puff paint, to give it some dimension. . .maybe that would work. Ideas, anyone?

This, though, is something we did complete together:



He made the table from scratch; I drew out the design for the lighthouse, and together we smashed up the tiles and glued them on. I grouted (here's a helpful hint: don't grout at three in the morning, or you may decide it's okay to go to bed and "wipe off the excess grout in the morning"), he scraped all the dried-like-concrete grout off the tiles, and we painted together. A nice piece of custom glass finished it off, and now we have this great, one-of-a-kind, made-it-together coffee table! Yay for husbands being crafty!

In other news, the mail has been fantabulous lately! Look at all my goodies!

Fist, my Needlemaster set:



I love this set other than the hideous color of the outside:



Then, not one, but TWO magazines from my magazine swap partner (Thanks, Belinda! You're the best!):



There are some great patterns in here I can't wait to try, like:



Or:



On the knitting front, I am THIS close to finishing the hubby's blanket, which he is loving! Also, I've had several more design ideas I'm really excited about. Does anyone have any information about knitting filet lace? This is similar to crochet filet, worked in open/closed mesh squares, only knitted. Can't seem to find anything on Google, still waiting to hear back from the one person I found who teaches a class on this subject.

Here's an update on my sock for the Hurricane Swap (in black & white to keep it myseterious):



Apparently it's huge sale week at Joann's! Looky looky:



All these for only $2.10. Yep, that's $0.30 apiece! Sis, you want a scarf? This stuff is super soft!!!

One last thing before I go! Single friends out there, have you ever felt like people were looking down on you because you aren't seeing anyone? Ever felt pressure to get married? Ever had anyone say something tacky to you about being single? Someone is writing a book about these things, so go voice your opinion and get yourself in a book! Go on, you know you want to!

Allright, now that's really all. . .

Till next time,
Sarah

Random Blogthing Monday!

Ok, ok, I couldn't resist:

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Hee hee. . .I'm so glad I was Fozzie! Fozzie was always my fave. . .(and why do I suddenly have the urge to drive to Orlando and go see Muppet Vision?)

Till next time,
Sarah

Fabric Hoarding Day

Well, today was certainly a productive day. . .listed a whole bunch of stuff on eBay today (see sidebar), and had a little trip to the fabric store:



No, that's not all for me. Well, it is. . .but this was purchased to make quilts with. I think there's about a hundred and twenty-five yards in that shot, maybe a little more, and I paid around $150 for all of it. Apparently JoAnn's is getting ready to stock some new fabric, so all of their clearance fabric was an extra 70% off. I didn't pay more than $1.20/yd for anything, and since some of the fabric was originally priced at $6.99/yd, I got an amazing discount! I found some really great, camp-themed stuff for the kiddos, too. I hope this idea turns out as well as I want it to. . .but mostly I just hope I can get done with all of them on time! With my best friend (who is also crafty, thank the good Lord!) moving into town, I have a feeling I'll be recruiting me some help soon. Yay!

Got my wedding album yesterday and it is gor-ge-ous! My photographer surprised me by upgrading me to the big-ass album, free of charge, presumably for all my troubles. It's one of the new, collage-style albums that looks more like a coffee table book than a wedding album. You can view my album to see what I'm talking about here. Anyway, I'm happy to have it and I think they're happy to be rid of me!

Oh, I also picked this up at the fabric store (this stuff is for me):



Some really beautiful red, brown & cream gauze fabric and Simplicity #4595 for a tiered skirt. This will look something like a broomstick skirt, except more fitted. The pattern gives the skirt an elastic waist, but since I can never bring myself to stick to the rules 100%, I'm going to be adding a waistband and an invisible side zipper. All this for around $8.00! So there will be some sewing going on in the near future.

I would post something on the knitting WIPs, but one of them is for a "secret" pal who unfortunately already knows who she is, and the other is my hubby's blanket. . .but that's so close to being finished I think I will just wait until I am! Cute, snuggly pictures coming soon. . .

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - I found out it could be up to two months before I even know if Knitty is going to reject me! Oh, the suspense!

Crafty Stuff on eBay!

Hey guys, just wanted to point everyone's attention to the changes that have been made to my sidebar. If you take a peek to the right of the screen, you'll now see that there are not only cool links to other crafty people or interesting sites, updates on my Quilts for Campers progress, but now there are also links to my shop, where you can find cool stuff like this for sale,

and also links for my current eBay auctions. Right now I'm selling off my whole collection of teddy bear supplies (I used to be a teddy bear artist), and some nifty art papers & cards. Take a peek and check it out! There are some good deals over there. Later on this week I'll be listing a few pairs of hand-embellished overalls, so keep an eye out! (Been cleaning out that guest closet so my best friend has somewhere to put her clothes & stuff. . .)

14 days and counting. . .(but I've already had 2 dreams that they rejected me. . .)

Till next time,
Sarah

Let the Season begin!

No, not the holiday season. . . Season 3 of Project Runway started last night! Therefore, it is officially time to begin Thursday posts about who won, who deserved to have won, and who should have gotten the boot. (Yeah. . .this will likely be happening every Thursday from now on, so if you didn't watch the show on Wednesday, read someone else's blog on Thursdays.) So, without further adieu:

The challenge for Episode 1 was to design a garment out of materials found in each of the designers' Atlas apartments. They could not use any materials they brought with them, but were allowed to completely hack to pieces anything else they could find. Which they did. Bedsheets, matresses, curtains, chandeliers, wall hangings, chaise lounges, barstools, kitchen utensils, food items. . .nothing was safe from the designers' fast-filling laundry bags. (And, unfortunately for said designers, their apartments were still in the same sad condition when they returned for sleep at 1 AM later that night!)

Here's the winner:

By Keith, Menswear DesignerBedsheets & Duvet Buttons

Here's the loser:

By Stacey, Marketing ExecutiveBedsheets, Shower Curtain, Chandelier(I LOVED this!!!! Poor Stacey.)

Here's who I think should have won:

By Michael, Fashion DesignerCoffee Filters(COFFEE FILTERS, PEOPLE! Anybody wanna explain to me how some dress made out of FABRIC is more innovative than a very cool gown out of COFFEE FILTERS???? This was, after all, the INNOVATION challenge. . .Tim Gunn even suggested to Keith that he add some more elements to his outfit to make it look less fabric-y. Nice dress, but innovative? We think not.)

Here's who, beyond a shadow of a doubt, should have lost:

By Vincent, Crazy ManiacFabric, Stuff, and a BASKET HAT(. . .you know what, the picture just says it all. . .)

I'm sure the rest of you are looking forward to the rest of the season just as much as I am. If you, like myself, are a diehard fan, post a link to your site and we'll blog the season together!

Go look at my shop already! Now! And buy something, too!

Till next time,

Sarah

What purse are you?

Apparently I am a BCBG Black Leather Clutch

"You're a modern, urban chick who's more than a little tough (Well, as tough as you can be while carrying a purse) Black leather is like your denim - goes good with everything You'd even wear it to work, if you could get away with it"

What Handbag Are You?

By the way, the store is coming along; go look at my stitch markers! I'm having problems with integrating Paypal with Blogger, but hopefully soon you'll be able to purchase directly from that site.

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - 12 days and counting on not being rejected by Knitty! Whoo hoo! (Trying to keep a positive spin on things, so even if I do get rejected, I'll be able to say, "Hey, at least they had to think about it for X amount of days!")

Vacation Pictures and BIG NEWS!

(. . .but not that kind of news. . .)

Well, I have been extremely crafty this week! Not only did I finish my husband's socks, which he loves:



but I also finished my vacation scrapbook! I decided to scan in the pages and share with all. . .mostly so my brother and sis-in-law can see them, but the rest of you might find it interesting, too. : ) So here goes:



















Whew! Glad I got that crossed off the to-do list. Isn't it always harder to scrapbook something months after the fact? (Which reminds me. . .I still don't have my wedding album! Don't even get me started, people. . .*grumble grumble grumble*)

Also, I chose and purchased sock yarn and a pattern for my swap pal, so I'll be starting on that soon as well.

I finally broke down this weekend and decided to try my hand at making stitch markers. It went so well I decided to open up a shop just to sell them! This is so much fun and ADDICTING! The shop should be open sometime in the coming week. . .keep an eye out here for updates.

But the biggest news of the week would have to be:

1) I finally submitted my pattern for consderation at Knitty. Keep your fingers crossed, everyone! No news is good news!

2) MY BEST FRIEND FROM TEXAS IS MOVING HERE IN AUGUST!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Can we all tell I'm a wee bit excited about this?) Yay yay yay!!!!

Well, with all of that said, I will leave you again for a fews days (or until my shop is open!)

Till next time,
Sarah