Happy New Year, Changes & Crafting

Happy New Year!  Geez, I didn't realize until now that I have been AWOL from my blog for almost an entire year.  So many changes have taken place since my last post, such as moving (which I'm sure you all know is a pain in the ass!) and also the creation of a new life.  My boyfriend and I were deliriously happy when we found out that I was pregnant.  I already have a beautiful 10 year old daughter, and now a tiny addition to our family.   

The expected due date for our baby boy is June 8th, 2009.  Ever since finding out the news, I have not been working. One reason being the fact that my job was physically strenuous.  So, you would think that with all this time on my hands, that I have been crafting up a storm!  Well, not quite.  Up until a month ago, I've had THE worst 'morning' sickness ever.  Morning sickness my butt - it's more like all day sickness!  I did get a couple of knitting projects in, which I'll be sure to post very soon.  Now that the worst is over and I have finally been inspired to start working on new projects and ideas that I've had in mind.  

Last week, I signed up to join a Craftster Twilight Swap.  Yeah, I'm one of those that got suckered into the whole Twilight phenomena and am a huge fan now.  Laugh all you want, ha.  Surprisingly, I thought the Twilight saga books made very good reading material for me.  I swear to you, I had such a hard time putting them down. I constantly needed my fix! Anyways, I have been brainstorming ideas as to what I'm going to make for my partner.  I think I'm set now, as far as knowing what her package will consist of.  Time to buy a few supplies today. You would think I had all the materials with my non-stop growing stash, but nope. It's ok, now I have an excuse to go to Michael's craft store... *Evil laugh*  
I'm excited to finally get the ball rolling.  Updates soon to come! 

Irish Hiking Crazy!

I joined a KAL on Ravelry and have been knitting up a storm of Irish Hiking Scarf Armwarmers. It is a very quick and easy pattern. Instant gratification I tell ya! You can find the excellent tutorial here. This first pair was knit with Red Heart Fleck. I didn't quite enjoy knitting with this yarn as it seemed a bit squeaky and rough on my fingers. Another thing that I did not like about this pair is the fit. They were a tad loose - thanks to my lack of mattress stitching skills. This was actually the first time I have ever mattress stitched anything. Ah well. At least I know what not to do in next time. I threw these in the washer and dryer a few days after they were knit and they feel a lot better now. Very comfy and warm.



This second pair was knit with Patons Classic Wool Merino. I love this yarn.



Last but not least, is this red pair knit again with Patons Classic Wool Merino. They got the finishing touches (stitched up) today. Now they are ready to be given away to a co-worker of mine. She specifically requested a red pair, and here they are. I honestly didn't think that I would like these gloves in this color, but when my sister tried them on (my hand model below) I got the sudden urge to knit myself a pair of these too!

Trip to J-Town

I made a little trip today to Japantown on the Westside. First stop was the bookstore and then the supermarket. I left happily with these:

Pocky (chocolate covered biscuit sticks), Calpico, stickers and a craft book.




Calpico. Good stuff. Sweet, a bit tangy, and milky in appearance - however as far as texture, not so much. What makes it even better is Hello Kitty on the packaging label. Yes I know it's a marketing tactic - and a pretty darn good one at that. How could you not purchase such a cute looking beverage? It looks like even Hello Kitty likes Calpico. =0)

Rilakkuma stickers. Aren't these cute? I picked them up for Kiddo. She recently got two awards at school and I thought these would be a nice gesture to show how proud of her I am. In addition to the stickers, I promised that I would take her to a nearby bookstore over the weekend to pick up a book of her choice.

Last but not least, a new craft book. I'm so excited that I found this! I hit up the bookstore and found the only copy of this Rilakkuma (aka Relax Bear) craft book. It has patterns and directions on how to knit, crochet and embroider cute little Rilakkuma items. I really need to get the ball rolling and learn how to crochet!
IBSN 9784391134568

Japanese Craft Books

I thought it would be fun and maybe helpful (to those of you who are just as obsessed as I am!) to share my small yet quickly growing collection of craft books. =D Pardon some of the pictures. They didn't turn out as crisp as I'd like. I know, time for a new camera.

This one is Amigurumi Collection Vol. 2. It is a Japanese pattern book .
ISBN 4309266703


Next is a felt book with directions on how to make miniature desserts, flowers, toys and other miscellaneous projects. ISBN 4391131153

This one is Cotton & Paint 2006 Vol. 23.
I love the variety of craft projects Cotton & Paint has to offer from patchwork, sewing, woodcrafts, jewelry, knitting and crochet.


Here is another Cotton & Paint. This is one is the 2007 Vol. 27 issue.


This one is ISBN 4529041174 Felt Mascots Book.


Felt flowers. IBSN427746193


Last but not least, another mascots book... but a bit of an unusual find. Instead of the felt or yarn mascots that we typically see, these little guys are made of pipe cleaners! I have yet to try any of the projects from this book but it sure is fun to look at. IBSN 4834719731

Happy Feet

Yesterday I made a trip to Stitch Cafe in Valley Village to pick up some sock yarn for my next project. This yarn store is so freaking cool! The staff is beyond helpful and friendly, the atmosphere warm and cozy. Beautiful yarns everywhere and a good selection of books and accessories.

I ended up purchasing two pretty skeins of Happy Feet. Happy Feet is a great new sock yarn from Plymouth Yarns. It's 90% superwash merino and 10% Nylon with 192 yards in 50 g skeins with a gauge of 8sts=1" on US 2 (fingering weight). So far, so good. I cannot believe how soft this stuff is!

I am attempting the Lake Park Fingerless Gloves.

Craft Night

*Sorry about the funky looking picture (edited for confidentiality). Hey, you never know!

A co-worker of mine hosted "Craft Night" at her house last Thursday. Lots of food, wine, stitching and b*tching = a ton of fun! Many new faces. In fact, I was the outsider since every other female there new each other. What one thing did they all have in common? They are burlesque dancers. After grazing, drinking and b*itching, it was on to the stitching - except I was the only one knitting (phew - what a tongue twister!). Yes, each and every one of her guests were stitching, but not that kind. They were actually sewing. Putting together their beautiful, unique and elaborate costumes. Man, these girls are really creative! It was pretty cool to see what goes on behind the scenes.

On top of that, I taught my co-worker how to knit. Another success. :)
She has a Dr. Seuss number coming up and has hopes to knit a gigantic red and white striped scarf. That should be interesting!

All in all, it was a blast.

New Reads!

I finally received my copies of Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitters Handbook and Stitch 'N Bitch Nation by Debbie Stroller. I have been wanting these books for some time, then finally broke down and purchased them on Amazon. I'm still in the beginning of the first book but so far, so good. I can't wait to work on some of the projects listed.

As a side note, I also received a copy of Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. I heard that the entire series is really fun and interesting. Yay for reading, lol!