Big Mouth Pouch

If you've spent any amount of time looking at quilting / sewing blogs, you've probably heard the Open Wide Zipper Pouch by Anna. I had the pleasure of taking Anna's class at Sewing Summit and told myself that I'd make one one of these days. That day has come. I made a couple pouches to carry my knitting because they look stupid in plastic zippy bags. (No offence to plastic zippy bags. Love you.) 

I detest zippers more than I could ever explain. They are truly heinous and I hate them. Every time I sew with them I get so irate and I just want to chuck it at the wall. This time was no different. BUT, I powered through and I have two giant pouches to show for my anger and swearing! I did break a needle and thought I was going to lose an eye... SERENITY NOW!!!

And me being me, I simply can't follow a pattern as written. I made the pouch bigger than the biggest size offered (I cut the pieces 16" long by 13" high and boxed the corners at 4.75") to easily fit any knitting I'm working on.

I also used double zippers so that they open super extra wide. Hence the name Big Mouth Pouch hehehe :) My mum's going to think the name is very befitting of me... right, Mum?

See? They open up like buckets almost... so good for when I'm digging around in there. And they zip shut with the yarn sticking out of the middle of the bag.

I know, I'm so clever.

And I used fusible fleece on the outer layer so that they can actually stand up instead of flopping over, but without being too stiff or making the layers too thick with batting.

The pouches are made from Denyse Schmidt prints... I think the blue one is from the Richmond collection. The other might be Fancy Free? I've completely lost track of her collections at Joann's. The lining is just some leftover Moda Dottie left over from my Single Girl quilt backing. Might as well put it to use, plus grey goes with pretty much everything.

You've already seen my Array Cowl that's in the orange pouch, but the colourful knitting in the blue pouch is a cowl based on the Leftovers Cowl but instead of leftovers, I'm using a stripey sock yarn. It's just knit in the round as a tube, and will be joined with a kitchener stitch (I started it with a provisional cast on which I'll remove later on). It's something I can knit without looking at... like when I'm laying in bed watching telly. Yes, I knit while laid in bed. You know you want to.

There'll be quilty business happening soon... don't worry, I'm not leaving quilts for knitting anytime soon :)

Array Cowl

I spotted the Array cowl (a free pattern by Shibui Knits) on Pinterest a little while ago, pinned it and figured I'd get to it sometime in the future. But I kept going back and staring at it... and then I found myself at a yarn store this past weekend. Funny how things work out, huh? 

I ended up getting a dark grey worsted merino superwash by Plymouth Yarn and an aqua fingering weight merino by Ella Rae. The superwash is SO soft and squishy... I'm always picky about yarn that I use for anything around my neck especially because I get so irritated by anything even remotely itchy. 

Starting this cowl was slightly aggravating. Not because the pattern's difficult, but because I'm clearly an idiot. I cast the 320 stitches, did a couple of rows, then realised I didn't need to knit the first row. DOH. So I frogged it and cast 320 stitches again... did six rows and then realised I didn't read the first part of the pattern where it said to slip the stitch purlwise with the YARN HELD IN THE BLOODY BACK OMG SO STUPID!!!

Frogged it again, swore a lot, thought about taking up drinking, and finally cast the 320 stitches AGAIN. When I finished the second row, I realised I'd done something wrong somewhere because there was one stitch 'missing'. And wouldn't you know, my booboo was near the beginning of the row. 

Seriously. I am so frakking stupid. I can't even blame drugs for my brain malfunctioning.

I went backwards and undid the stitches, swearing and getting slightly homicidal, fixed my mistake and tadaaaaa! Everything's fine. 

Now, you probably won't have the same problems that I did with this cowl because 1. you probably can read, 2. you're not me. I'm only telling you this because it's just insanely hilarious how idiotic I can be. You're welcome.

Getting Out Of A Funk

Sooooo I've been missing for a little bit, haven't I? Well. I've been in a huge funk. My dad being sick already made me retreat into my head quite a lot, and then I got this terrible infection on my eyelids that just sent my mood hitting rock bottom. Part of it was that I looked completely insane, but mostly it was that the doctors had absolutely no clue what it was or how to treat it. I know it's so trivial, being upset about my eyes when my dad's going through something far more serious, but I've been so depressed about it. And almost nothing makes me depressed!

Just before Thanksgiving it started to get pretty itchy and there were small red splotches on my eyelids. Went to see the doc last week Monday and he figured it was fungal and had me use this shampoo that was supposed to nix it. Nope, kind of burned my skin and made everything really angry and sore. Went back to the doc and he had me make an appointment with an opthamologist. Finally saw him this week and I'm thankful that it's actually gotten better. It wasn't fungal after all (thank goodness because that made me want to peel my eyelids right off)... it's dermatitis and there's no telling what caused it. Yay. More things to panic about in my daily life. 

BUT, I'm happy that I can go outside again... I've been cooped up in the house for an eternity. And if I had to leave, I wore my sunnies everywhere. Total rockstar... bumping into things. I still can't wear make-up but that doesn't bother me at all. Just happy that my eyes no longer scare children and small animals. 

Anyhow, while I've been a recluse, I picked an old hobby back up. It's probably not here to stay, but I forgot how lovely it was to sit and knit. I dug around my stash and found a few skeins of yarn to make the hubs a scarf with. The brown reminds me of gingerbread, no? I knit the scarf lengthwise (because I have a 60" needle and it's quicker!) and was going to put a stripe of that greeny-aqua on one side but I soon realised that they were different weights. Doh. I always tuck the yarn info in the centre of the skein but I guess it fell out. Oh well. I've finished it and the hubs is so pleased with his new scarf. It's just a simple stockinette stitch but he's so excited :)

I did make him another scarf out of a heavier yarn in a basket weave pattern. It's much shorter so that he can just tuck the ends into his coat. And also maybe because I ran out of yarn and they don't make it anymore. Ahem.

I've also finished my Mum's quilt (HOORAY!) and am hoping to finish my Cuzco quilt soon. Just deciding what I want to do with the borders... or if I even want one! Oh decisions, decisions.

Anyway, I've decided to stop moping around and no more feeling sorry for myself. My dad's going to continue his treatments later this month, so only good thoughts from here on out.

Knitting... My Old Friend

Hey look! Knitting!

I used to knit like a fiend... all last winter I was knitting like it was going out of style. And then I just kind of stopped. And I haven't picked up knitting needles in what feels like forever. I really should... perhaps after Christmas? Probably not. Sewing's so much quicker. And less aggravating.

I have a friend who's still waiting on some fingerless gloves. I have a fingerless glove completed. Basically I finished one side and hate it with a passion so I have to frog it completely. And that's what's keeping me from diving back into that project. I did finish her beret though. I think I'll mail it to her just to stop her from penciling me onto her Shitlist. Can't risk losing her... it's hard to find sarcastic and witty people to be friends with.

Let's hope I finish the damn fingerless gloves before the turn of the century.

Stars Align

I've finished my wonky star block quilt :) I have to say I really do love these fabrics together. So glad I decided to use them!

Like I said before, the level of wonk on the wonky stars is very low. It's a little difficult for me to embrace whimsy and wonk wholeheartedly... I'm that weirdo that stores all her cans and bottles with the labels facing outward. True story.

Anyhow, the fabrics for the stars are from Heather Bailey's Freshcut, Amy Butler's Charm and Moda Collections For A Cause: Legacy.

For the back I used Tina Given's Treetop Fancy and Heather Bailey Freshcut fabrics. Initially I wanted to just use the latter, but I wasn't sure it if it'd be too much, especially it being a baby quilt and all.

I was going to quilt it in straight lines, then after I did one line, I took the seam ripper to it and stippled it instead. Sometimes the quilt tells you what it wants, you know?

The binding is from Heather Bailey's Bijoux line and I wish I bought more of it because I think it's pretty cute.

It measures 35" by 42" and is currently available at the store SOLD.

P/S: I re-listed a whole bunch of handknit items in the store too. Do go have a look-see :)

Technology Hates Me

My laptop has decided to make me miserable. All my web browsers refuse to work, but thankfully my chat programmes work or I'd be tearing my hair out. I'm not proud of my Internet addiction but I fully admit to it.

So in order to stop myself from going nutty, I have sown even more seeds. Although I'm beginning to think it's much too tedious for me. So I planted half of what I have, and the rest will just be sprinkled on the ground once I'm fairly certain there'll be no more frost. Then again this is New England, so anything can happen.

They're mostly zinnias but I do have some sunflower seeds in there too. Just experimenting to see whether they do better in the soil than on the damp paper towels. Clearly, I have too much time on my hands without the Internet.

I did get some poppy seeds too but those will go straight into the ground. The package instructions were very clear about that. Who am I to defy the package instructions?

Also, I have finished a beret for a friend in Singapore. No, she won't wear it in Singapore. I hope. She told me she wanted a beret for when she goes on business trips, and since she's dark-haired and fair-skinned like me, red's a winner. The colour doesn't come up quite right here... it's a gorgeous, fire engine sort of red. More red, less pink.

I'm now working on armwarmers for her to wear at the office. I used to cover myself in a large shawl or pashmina when I worked in an office in Singapore, so I know full well how bleeding cold it can get. Hoping to get them done over the weekend so I can send them to her soon.

Buzz!

A few days ago my little sister asked me to make her a camera pouch for her fat Lomo camera. She wanted it in grey and black, and striped. Easy enough, but my sister is very particular about things, so putting my own creative spin on it was going to be tough.

I came up with this:

(The colours are a tad off because I took the pictures at night. Not smart, but I was anxious to show it to her. FYI, the colours in the top picture are more accurate.)

I told her I was going to put a button and some embroidery on it, and she balked at the idea. Turns out, she really liked what I did. Which goes to show, little sisters need to just shut up and trust their big sisters sometimes. Give me an Amen people.

Honestly, I'm delighted that my sisters actually ask me to make them things. I'm currently working on a phone sock / pouch for my other sister, and I'm doing an argyle pattern on it. Just because she's poncy and posh.

Meet Otto the Owl

I finally finished Otto the Owl! He's definitely a little cutie... My favourite bit are his ears. I love how they just stick up like that. And even though I think his bum's a tiny bit wonky, I need to get over it. According to the hubs, I'm insane and I imagine imperfections. Bah.

Otto will be packed and on his way to Singapore to live with my niece, Lea, very soon. I hope she likes him!

Things That Make You Go Aww

Earlier this month, my hub's cousin's baby boy finally arrived to greet us. So I felt the need to knit him tiny, little things. They seriously make my womb weep.
    Slightly less sweet, I spied one of our toilet paper rolls sporting a little heart in its middle. I thought that was cute. Like I've said before, I'm easily amused. Side note: I'd originally wanted to make these toilet paper holders for sale at the store, but everyone who's seen it kind of looks at me quizzically. And by everyone, I mean my mum-in-law. I think they're cute and having grown up with them in Singapore, they're perfectly normal to me. I might do a couple and see what happens though.

The Tie Is On The Needles

I started the hub's stripey tie last night, and I must say I quite like it. The green doesn't show up quite right on the picture... it's really a deeper olive than that.

I'm working on a sweater right now too, and about to cast on the owl for my niece in Singapore. I had to find a nice un-scratchy, non-wool yarn to use because I don't want it to be uncomfortable for her to hold the owl doll. A year-round humidity level of 90% can get pretty icky pretty fast.

Then again I'd like the snow to stop already. It's time for spring please.

Must. Knit. Now.

I've no kids as yet, but I adore looking through knits for kids. I have friends and cousins who've popped out babies, so when I feel the need to make something itty bitty, I always have someone to give them to. Lately I've been obsessed by Lucinda Guy's books, specifically And So To Bed... because the patterns are just too adorable for words. In an ideal world, I'd knit every bloody thing in the book, but I'm trying to stay sane and just pick a couple. There's a cute little dress I'd like to make for my cousin's daughter, as well as this gorgeous owl named Otto.
  And this Roost Blanket makes me want to have a baby just so I can knit this and keep it.
  Ms. Lucinda Guy -- What are you doing to me!

Why Am I Not Surprised

My dear hubs is a sad bunny today. We went back to Raven Used Books to finally purchase the copy of Clarissa he's wanted for months. And it was gone. Of course. Why wouldn't it be gone? The poor boy moped around the shop for eons searching for the book, just in case it'd been misplaced. Nooope.

Then we had amazing Mexican food and yummy chocolate chip cookies (what a combo!), and the pain was lessened somewhat. No, no pictures of the food -- I was halfway through my second fish taco before the thought even entered my mind. I'm smooth like that.

I have been commissioned by the hubs to knit him a tie. Yeah, a tie. At the yarn store he pulled out this really horrid orange yarn. Thankfully since we've been married, I've drilled into his head that 99% of the time, listening to the wife is the right course of action. And so, when I'm done knitting, he'll end up with a sort of cerulean blue and olive green striped tie. I hope I have it done by Easter because his mum will pee her pants laughing.

Coming Soon

I was about to update the shop with a couple of ruffle scarves I made but upon studying the pictures, I think they curl a wee bit too much. So I'm blocking them and they'll hopefully be up in a day or so.

Here's the before pictures...

Will have the after pictures soon!

Easily Amused

The hubs asked why I got to bed so late last night. The reason was that I was so excited about turning the heel of my first pair of socks that I couldn't put it down. I know, I'm very easily amused, and proud of it.
    But back to the knitting... I turned my first heel! By myself! Plus I had to rewrite the pattern because the one I chose to follow stopped making sense (but of course) so I had to do a bit of math.
    They're so long because they'll be knee socks when they're done. Which makes perfect sense since I hardly wear any other kind of sock, even if I'm wearing shoes and not boots. And due to my tiny ankles and feet, I had to shape the calf, so they look quite odd when not being worn. I actually started to knit the socks because my mum-in-law informed me she'd like to learn to knit socks and would I be so kind as to learn how to so I could teach her. But she's deathly afraid of knitting in the round, so wish me luck.