A Brilliant Ikea...

I paid a visit to the Sunrise Ikea before leaving south Florida (that's a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but I can sum it up in one word: Hellhole!!!) and snagged some goodies. Among them was this lovely herb garden container, which I filled today:

pretty little green things!

Clockwise from top left, we have lavendar, large-leaf basil, chocolate mint, lettuce-leaf basil, rosemary, and sweet basil. I like basil a lot! I use it quite a bit to make fresh pesto. Yummy! Plus, it smells unbelievable! And since this lovely little collection is inside instead of on the porch, my whole sitting room is going to smell delicious - and I can't wait!

Loads of knitting is going on at my place these days. I'm trying to finish a dress, a sweater and half a pair of socks before the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Till next time,
Sarah

Rusted Root!

I finished my Rusted Root a couple of weeks back, and have been too lazy to take photos until this morning:

Look, there are green things here now!

I love my back porch!

I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 3 skeins for the Small size. I thought it might be knitting up a little too tightly at first, but now that it's finished I love how it turned out! Get all the gritty details here.

I'm also currently test knitting a design by Jennifer Hansen for Stitch Diva Studios. It's a sweater, and it'll be out for the fall line.

100% Cashmere by Jade Sapphire

It's coming along nicely and is going to be just gorgeous! One of the things I love about working for SDS is getting to use these wonderful luxury yarns that I'd never choose to afford for myself. This stuff is just amazing! It's also eerily similar to the 4-ply mongolian cashmere that Sarah's Yarns carries.

I'm also working on a sooper-secret project for an upcoming book by Cherry Tree Hill Yarns! Here's a tiny peek:

Shhhh, don't tell anyone I let you see!

That's it for now!

Till next time,
Sarah

They Do. . .

This past week has been a whirl of activity, preparing for my oldest brother's wedding on Friday. Here's a shot of the happy couple:

Cutting the Cake

And what did I wear, you ask? Why, this:

6 yards of silk dupioni!

I designed it myself! I wanted a super-full skirt (over 300" inches at the circumference), with a satin cumberbund at the waist and neckline. The back slopes sharply from the neck to the small of the back, attaching to the cumberbund. Finished the whole thing off with these, this and a 10-inch black satin bow worn aside my parted, chignoned hair. Only about 4 days from start to finish - I was surprised I could pull it off without a pattern! I haven't worked with fabric in a long time. I may have to start doing it more often. . .hmmm. . .summer dresses, anyone?

Till next time,
Sarah

Angularities!

Originally featured in Magknits, April 2008.

Knit with sock yarn, these lovely armwarmers will keep you warm in style, while munching up those leftover skeins! As seen here, they use 1 skein of Lang Jawoll and 1/2 skein of Tess Super Socks & Baby - but you could use any odds and ends you might have lying around! In total, you'll need about 400 yards for the pair.

Buy the 3-page PDF for only $1.00!

Till next time,
Sarah

Making Progress...

Here are the "after" shots, as promised (I haven't hung any pictures yet, and there aren't any window treatments, but you get the idea):

The doggies approve!

The sitting room - adjacent and attached to the living room.

The living room looking into the sitting room.

The craft room. It's pink!

The stash! I saved the best for last. : )

Till next time,
Sarah