My First-Ever-For-Real Knit Gift!

Ah, the joy of being given a handknit! While I do have friends that are crafty, and have been known to receive the occasional handmade gift, I have never known any other knitters, and therefore have never been on the receiving end of the knitting spectrum.

UNTIL TODAY!

Just look at what my fabulous seester sent me in the mail!


What has to be the most adorable clutch of all time. . .

But wait! There's more. . .


What a pretty package!

Not only did I get this fabulous clutch, but it was filled with goodies! A trio of lip glosses, some yummy body butter, and a super-cool Mickey sticker dispenser! Did I win the mail lottery or what?


I <3 the mismatched buttons! *swoon*

The inside has what I can only assume is handsewn lining in a gorgeous plaid! The buttons were a clever departure from the pattern for the addition of an optional strap.


Ribbon straps! In two different colors, no less! I can't decide which one I like more. : )

Now for the real shocker: this was my seester's first knitting project ever! I love that she added her own design element with the straps. Any woman who can look at a knitting pattern and think, "I can improve on that" is definitely a girl after my own heart! One of the things I'm looking forward to with being published is seeing how different people interpret my pattern with their own unique ideas. (That is, assuming someone actually decides to use my pattern. It would kind of be a letdown if no one wanted to make one of my handbags!)

Anyway, I am completely in love with this gift! Hopefully it is the first of many more handmade gifts to come. : )

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - I converted another unsuspecting person into a knitter! *insert maniacal laughter here*

A Soapbox and a Convertible

After spending an hour and a half last night trying NOT to throw the laptop out the window, I think we are finally virus free. I'll tell you what, folks: when you're running three virus scanning software programs and you still have 20+ extraneous applications running under your screenname, you know you have a problem. I finally decided to get crazy and manually delete the offending programs out of the computer's registry. This is, of course, extremely risky because if you get it wrong, well. . .let's just say that Best Buy has some great deals on new computers right now. However, apparently I didn't delete anything crucial, because after a complete restart, the thing is running lightning-fast, and none of the previous applications are present. Yay!

So that was my soapbox for the day, here's photos of the completed Convertible:


This is the longshot view.

This thing took forever! I have to say, lace is not my favorite. I'm not a huge fan of charting or counting stitches, unless it's for intarsia. At the very least, it doesn't make for mindless knitting. Give me stockinette, a simple two or three-row stitch pattern, or cabling any day over lace this complicated. Ugh.


Here's the closeup.

I was proud of the way this project turned out; I made the cufflinks out of mother-of-pearl buttons and pink crystals, but unfortunately, wrapped them before I remembered to take a photo. Ooops.

I've only got one "real" project on the needles right now, a Christmas surprise. I might show a tiny glimpse of it here later. You'll notice that the Queue has been shortened considerably, as I've recently decided to focus my energy more onto design work. If things go well there, I might add a few projects back to the list; otherwise, I'm trying to de-stress.

Till next time,
Sarah

As Promised. . .

Some photos from the game!


Here's the hubby, grilling away and being oh, so manly!



Here's me, eating the yummy sausage-on-a-stick, and not being manly at all.

I'm considering our tailgating party a huge success, even though it was about a million degrees outside and the smoke from the grill kept blowing right in our faces. Jonathan proved to be a grillmeister extraordinaire, and got a huge kick out of being asked by some people a few cars down how to make everything work properly. Can we say, "Ego boost?"


Here we are inside the stadium. I think we were about 3 rows from the very back! Still fun, though. . .

I've decided I enjoy football a lot more live than on TV. The endless chatter and statistics of the announcers on TV always bugs the heck outta me; that and the cheesy theme music and pathetic overuse of sound effects. One thing I really liked was how they made use of the JumboTron while the game is being played. The whole game is shown live, just as you would see it on TV. (You can see it in the photo above.) They also show replays, which was great for me, because I must have missed at least three great plays completely, due to watching the wrong guy "carry the ball!" Those fakeouts got me every time. The replays are also loads of fun on the questionable calls; 70,000+ people booing at the refs!


And finally, here's the KC Chiefs getting beat. . .

I guess that's all I have to show for now. I finally downloaded my pics of Jenni's Convertible, so maybe I'll post those sometime in the next couple of days. (Perhaps she will be generous enough to send her seester a photo of herself wearing it?)

Till next time,
Sarah

Gettin' Published, Bay-Bee!!!!

What's that? Has one of my patterns been chosen to be published in a magazine, you ask?

WHY, YES INDEEDY!

My partially-felted handbag will be appearing in the February or March issue of MagKnits. Thanks to my MIL for providing the fabulous yarn and needles, and my best friend Laury for modeling (and putting up with my artistic direction during the photography session)!

As this marks the first time one of my patterns has been chosen for publication, naturally I am extremely excited, even more so because this was only my second attempt at being published! I am still hoping that my first pattern submission (a kimono for Knitty) will be chosen for publication when I resubmit in January, as the editor suggested I do. So I guess things are looking bright for my design career!

Meanwhile, my husband and I enjoyed the Dophins/Chiefs game on Sunday, even though the Chiefs lost. Jonathan's trying to convince me that I would make a great cheerleader; I think "doofus of the football field" would be more appropriate. I guess the prep classes are for people like me. It would certainly be a great motivation to go to the gym, so I might just give it a shot. If for no other reason, it would be fun to say I had once auditioned to be an NFL cheerleader.

Tailgating pictures later!

Till next time,
Sarah

It's the Most Wonderful Time. . .

Of My Year!

Yep, Christmas is just around the corner, and those of you who are also knitters know what that means: time to kick those needles into high gear! As you'll note on the sidebar, the Queue is getting longer and longer. I have several projects planned for friends and family; some of them will by necessity be "Mystery Projects," so as not to spoil the fun, but I think I'll safely be able to demonstrate progress on a few of them. I'm quite excited about making up a yoga bag, inspired by the one shown in Lion Brand's new catalog, Page 6. It will be in a variegated blue yarn with bits of sparkle throughout, stitched nice & tightly in this stitch pattern. (My new favey, I think! Pretty from both sides!) Also, I'll be doing a matching set of scarves, a hat for my nephew, and a few other odds and ends. Add to that list a need to finish reknitting my kimono by January 5 for submission to Knitty's Spring Issue, and obviously, I'm going to be keeping busy.

Here's the item of the day:


3-D Cookie Cutters from Williams Sonoma! I'm SO getting me some of these...

Photo updates coming...sometime. There's a lot going on this week: medical dinner tonight, Into The Woods on Friday (1st time in a theater in a year and a half....that's a record for me!), Wayfest all day Saturday, then the Big Game on Sunday! I'm really excited about attending my first-ever NFL game with the hubby! We're planning a simple tailgating "party" before the game...gotta do it right, people! Wish us luck with the portable grill/cooler thingy!

Till next time,
Sarah

Go Chiefs!

I'm Still Alive!

Yep, still here! Just finished updating the sidebar, so check that out for current progress. I've got pictures of a new finished object and a WIP that I'm hoping to post sometime this weekend!

My brother's & seester's birthday box didn't get stolen out of the mail! Phew! (Always insure your packages, people! Especially the boxes that have gifts...that you marked "Happy Birthdays" on. Yes, especially those. Even if the postal worker forgets to offer it to you. Because otherwise, you will live in FEAR for 4-5 days. So, take heed.)

While you're waiting for the next fabulous post, here's something to entertain yourselves with in the meantime. Enjoy!

Till next time,
Sarah