Vacation Time = Craft Time

I got a lot of crafting and shopping in this week. It's great to have a whole week off from work. Enough writing, here's the pictures of my crafting from this week so far.

I started making a new hat on Monday. I know it's not cold outside, quite the opposite, but for some unknown reason I really wanted to make another Scallop Lace Hat. I made one for Joy's friend's mom in England in the same color. Now I want one for myself.

Taking over the coffee table in the living room.

WIP - Scallop Lace Hat

On Tuesday I went to Joann Fabric and found this cool, patriotic fabric. I decided to make a multi-craft top. I crocheted the top portion based on the pattern for the Light 'n' Lively Tank by Lion Brand Yarn. I just winged the bottom portion and I think it's not too bad. There's a zipper on the side. I finished it in time for the Fourth of July!

Americana poplin from Joann Fabrics - it was on clearance!

Front view

Side view with red zipper

Back view

Close-up of the front and button.

Kujo looks a bit sleepy.

On Wednesday, I wore my new top and went with Chris to Joann Fabrics for another round of fun. They are having a sale all week! McCall patterns are on sale - 10 for $10!

New patterns

More new patterns

New fat quarter bundles. Lower right is from AC Moore.

Making new shirts with these pretty fabrics.

Bought more of the apple and pears fabric.
I made a bag with it before, now I'll make more!

More notions and rotary cutters.
I needed new 45mm blades and Fiskars was on sale for 55% off!

Chris and I found this print... um, what would you make out of it? :)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures from my week-long craft time. I'll be posting a short tutorial next time - how to organize your patterns. Until next time!

Very truly yours,

Patti

Downton Abbey and Crafts Night

I just wanted to post a quick update before I start my Downton Abbey, season 2 marathon. :)

On Sunday, Chris and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil's Totem in Boston. Chris bought tickets to celebrate my birthday and it was opening night. It was my first time seeing a Cirque show live... yay! While there I got to show off my new tote that I made a few hours before we left the house.

Our seats at Cirque Du Soleil Totem.

Photo shoot during intermission.

New tote bag I made that day.

 Today I got my zippers in the mail! I ordered 100 assorted 7" zippers. I plan on making a lot of bags and skirts with these babies. Can't wait. Look at the pretty colors!

Zippers from Zip It's Etsy shop.

As for tonight, I will be relaxing in front of the tv with my knitting and crocheting books I borrowed from the library yesterday. I might even knit or crochet. Wait and see!

My reading list and movie for the night.

Sunday Food and Fun

Chris and I went to Empire Garden Restaurant in Chinatown yesterday. That's where my family usually go when we're in Boston on Sunday during lunchtime.

Pot stickers (beef), Har Gow (shrimp), and Siu Mai (pork).

After dim sum we usually stop by the local C-Mart next door to pick up groceries. Today we just used the store as a detour to get to the other side of the block. Next, we pick up boba from Juice Bar. I used to love Thai Iced Tea with boba, now I go for the Taro with boba. At this store they call the boba "pearl".

Taro with pearl (boba).

Chris reading the Chinese newspaper in Juice Bar.

After our trip to Chinatown, we stopped by the HomeGoods store in Allston. We were looking for vases for the tables at our wedding reception, but no luck. I stumbled across my perfect armchair (if I had a house). It's so pretty and the colors are so fun! Alas, with a price tag of $299, it was not meant to be... right now.

I want this armchair! Totally loving it.

After a long day of gallavanting around Boston, I came home and played on my new phone for ages. Then I decided I wanted to crochet a cute dish cloth. I turned to Hulu Plus for my entertainment needs - I settled on a marathon of MTV's Real World San Diego. It was filmed over the summer of 2011. I was actually in San Diego last July. I didn't run into them, but it's fun to think they're running around in the same town as me. It's also sad to realize that they are all younger than me with the oldest cast member being 24 years old and the youngest is 19. I remember a time when they were all real old... remember Real World: LA, San Fran, or the older San Diego seasons? Crazy.

Just saw that I messed up on the dish cloth. Pattern by Lily.

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone had a great Sunday!

Projects Since 2010

Here's a collection of projects I've been working on since 2010. This will fill in some of the time gaps since my last 2010 post. I've dabbled in a little bit of everything.

Made a blanket for my friend's baby girl - 10.17.2010

Bailey's blanket: Wool Eater Blanket

Marram Hat, made for Max - 2.21.2011

Close-up of stitches

Slouchy Hat - 3.7.2011

Created a Bruins square, my own creation - 5.23.2011

I was cutting up t-shirts to celebrate the Bruins's win -  5.28.2011
You can make one of your own - directions here.

A little beer pong action

More cut-up tees. This one I designed myself -  6.10.2011

Close-up of braid details

Finished knitting my first top, but didn't sew it together yet - November 2011

Amigurumi Santa - 12.6.2011

Designed my Kindle's cover - 12.27.2011
Artwork from this blog. Custom cover made at M-Edge.

Inside of cover

Bird's Nest Throw Blanket

I made a blanket over a year ago for my then boyfriend. It was his Christmas present. I was going to block the blanket, but never did. It was in my possession when we broke up. I guess I'll have to gift this blanket somehow. Future blanket for a friend?

The pattern is by Lion Brand Yarns. It's called Bird's Nest Baby Throw. I just kept going and it's a bit bigger than a baby's blanket, but smaller than a full size adult blanket. I was thinking of adding some more rows to the ends to make it long enough for a twin size bed.

Crocheted Lap Blanket - WIP

I've been working on this blanket on and off for the past 3 months. It's almost done - I'm currently weaving in the loose yarn ends. It's going to take forever... I'll post a picture when it's finally finished.

This pattern is from Crochet Today! magazine, Jan/Feb 2011 edition. You can also find the pattern online. It is called Snuggle Afghan.

Granny Square close-up

Half of the blanket on ottoman. 

Blog Updates

Hello, it's been a while. A real long while. Two years long really. Over the past few days I've been adding older posts to this blog. I've been transferring entries from my WordPress blog - Mile a Minute. I definitely learned a lesson from that little debacle.

The last few years of my life has gone by so fast. Here's a quick update. I got engaged in December 2011. My fiance, Chris, and I are currently getting ready for our July wedding. It's coming up really quick, but I believe it will all be fine in the end.

I've been working on a lot of different craft projects - knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, embroidering, and sewing. I bounce around from project to project. It's a wonder I get anything done.

I've been sewing lately and I'm currently finishing up a crocheted lap blanket. I can't wait to get the pictures up some time this week. So stay tuned!

Kujo sleeping with his paws on Phidan's bum. Love these boys.

Crocheted Baby Sweater Photos

Hello! I'm back with pictures of the finished product.

I just love the simple design of the sweater.

Close up.

I hope my friend likes it. I'm making a bunch of other baby related stuff for her. For now I'm going to work on a pretty lace project.

Crocheted Baby Sweater

So I started a new project. I'm not sure how big newborns are in size. This might be a problem since I'm crocheting a newborn sweater, but I crochet pretty tight. I knew in the back of my head that I should have gone one hook size up. Grr. Well, I'll make this my practice run and in the future I'll look up the right age to size dimensions.

Here's the link to the pattern: http://bundlesoflove.org/CrochetedBabySweater

On Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crocheted-baby-sweater

I will be posting pictures up but I have older pictures I need to get out from the back log of sorting through and posting up:

1. Picture from last summer.
2. Pictures from winter.
3. New pictures I took recently of Kujo.

My goal for today is to get my photos organized and up-to-date so I can feel better about myself. =)

Crazy Talk?

Okay, this might sound crazy, but I want to move posts from my WordPress site back to this blog. I don't think there's an easy way to do it other than by copying and pasting them one at a time, but I want to do it. Crazy? Maybe I need a reality check.

Tomorrow's Saturday. I will begin my crochet and knitting journey again. Oh this is just exciting but a bit scary since I haven't really touched my hook in a very long time. Wish me luck!

There Goes My Year...

I haven't posted anything new in a very long time. Where did the months go? I have no clue. All I've been doing is work, taking care of Kujo, studying for my Fundamentals of Engineering exam, and visiting my mom or my boyfriend every other week. I have about 4 or 5 crochet/knit projects on hold. They might be there for another week. My FE exam is this Saturday. After that's over I'll have my life back.

That means I get to crochet every night if I want to. Yay! I miss checking up on my favorite crochet/knit websites and blogs (see the list on the lower right corner). I have a huge yarn stash to get rid of before I move. Maybe I'll take a picture of everything after I move so I can show you the craziness that's living under my bed and in my closet.

My friend is having a baby, but she doesn't know if it's a boy or girl. I plan on making a blanket, hat, sweater, and booties set for her. I'm thinking the color green. I love green and purple. I have some baby yarn in that color but not enough for all those items I listed. Hm. I really don't want to go yarn shopping. I've been very good for the past 3 months on not buying new yarn.

Well here's to a new start. I'll write back if I start crocheting. =)

Back in the game

Okay, I'm back to crocheting and knitting! With over $500 worth of yarn stashed around my apartment, I better be doing something with it. I am 99% done with a crocheted hat/scarf combo that I made for my mom to sell. I'm currently working on a knitted slouchy hat. The pattern is lovely and I can't wait to finish it. I've never knitted a hat before. It's looking good so far.

Back to tv and knitting! Kujo's just been staring me down all day.

Keeping Track of Books

Okay, I have a confession to make. I used to have a spreadsheet of all the books I own. I was keeping up with it until May when I went to Thailand. It seems that after Thailand I pretty much stopped doing everything that I used to do for better or worse. I'm not on facebook 24/7 anymore and I barely update my photos. I still tweet, but less often. I used to crochet like a fiend, but now I can't find the energy to do so. I used to blog all the time, now I update maybe once a month.

Part of it has something to do with starting a full-time job and getting a puppy. I can't blame Kujo for my laziness. It's just me. I got sick of the internet after experiencing Thailand for a month essentially without it. Maybe I have less to say? Nah, I doubt it. I just don't feel like typing it all out right now.

About that spreadsheet... I need to find it and update it soon. I have way too many books that I haven't kept track of.

And I'm Back

Okay, so I finally found something worth making. I am making a blanket for Project Linus. Yay! I chose a pink and white color scheme and it's coming out really good. It's really easy to make. I'll post some pictures after I get my online life (facebook photo albums) in order. So bear with me!

No Motivation to Crochet

Man, I have no clue what's wrong with me. I haven't touch yarn in over 3 months. Eh. I can't seem to get myself back into it. It's probably because I have no inspiration. Nothing to make me go... "I really want to make that!" Well, I subscribed to Crochet Today! magazine today. Hopefully that will kick start my yarn obsession again.

Spring Break Crochet

I've been crocheting a lot during Spring Break. I finished three Starburst Hotpads. I made two green ones and one pink one (for my mom). I also started working on a pattern that I got from Lion Brand: Light 'n' Lively Tank. I'm almost done with it and it's coming out great so far. I might be posting up a picture soon... Oh yea, I also finished another slouchy hat, same pattern as before. I didn't have time to embellish it yet, but I like the simplicity of it.

Interview with the HR Director

I felt like writing "Interview with the Vampire," you know, similar to word association, that whole "Interview with" just made me want to add the rest. I've never seen the movie from beginning to end, but I might have to do that eventually. Okay, I'm rambling. Moving on.

The HR Director contacted me this morning around 10:30 am. She was very pleasant to talk to on the phone. Oh boy was I nervous. This is the beginning of my life after college. My first job. (Well, my first real post-college job... I've been on co-ops and had about 7 or 8 jobs so far.) We talked about the Engineering Development Program, my salary, relocating, and other random questions that happen to pop into my head. I'm a people person and I love to talk and find out about someone. That's probably why I get along with a lot of people.

My advices to people who are currently looking for a job:

1. Go to career fairs and NETWORK!!! - That's how I got my first interview.
2. Brush up on your interviewing techniques and phone etiquette.
3. Research the company.
4. Send handwritten Thank You notes - Thanks Solange for the info!
5. Last but not least - Be open and honest. Be yourself!

I'm heading back to Boston tomorrow morning so I can write 100 invitation envelopes by hand for the Advancement Office. =)  I can't wait to relax in Boston. I'll catch up on my reading then. I've been crocheting up a storm. I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

Getting Ready for Spring!

I've been slow on the crochet front lately. My Capstone project's been picking up and things were hectic. Now that presentations are over I have more time to read and crochet. Here are my latest creations and WIPs.

A new headband

Four Leaf Clover by Pam Gillette

Itty Bitty Shamrock by Pam Gillette

Marshmallow Bunny by CopperScaleDragon
PDF download is on the left side of the blog.

I'm making the marshmallow bunny for my old roommate, Alyssa. She had a love affair with stale peeps. I plan on putting two of them together and then stuffing it with fiberfill.