I wish I had some exciting excuse for being offline for so long, but really I have nothing. literally. 2010 has not been a very crafty year for me so far. between my arm hurting too much to knit and regular life stuff getting in the way, there just hasn't been much time. I was feeling a little down about this, especially with all my yarn mocking me from their shelves, but now I don't mind so much. I love what I've made, or am working on, so far. I'm just going to consider this a little slow down.

my arm has been acting up for a little while now. a couple of weeks ago I tried to finish a sweater and just after a few rounds in the sleeves my wrist was on fire. I honestly think the culprit was this cowl I knit in january. I probably should have taken my time with it but that malabrigo silky merino was just calling out to me. the yarn was a gift from stef and I had to put it to use right away. straight up stockinette on 4mm needles, I love you but I hate you. no, I love you. the pain is almost worth it. this cowl is so cuddly and I love the shimmer in the yarn.

oh wait, maybe it was the other super long stockinette scarf/cowl I was knitting at the same time. this time with some malabrigo in natural and shokay in azure with 5.5mm needles. I started this over christmas as a way to stashbust and for something to do in car rides. I may even love this one more, it's that snuggly.

after a few weeks of doing nothing craft wise, I started up a new schedule for myself. I've been sewing a little bit each day, usually in the morning with some tea and npr. I love it, it feels like a little treat before I have to jump into the minutiae of the everyday. a little bit each day and I finally have all the rows for my next quilt pieced. now I just need to figure out how and if I want to appliqué some circles and how big of a border to make.

Posted by bitter purl at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I may have a ton of sweaters and scarves in my drawers, but I'm severely lacking clothes. a while ago I cleaned out my closet of things that didn't fit, were worn out, or I just didn't wear. it felt great to make some space in my room, but I never replaced anything I gave away! I pretty much have about 4 shirts on heavy rotation. I think it's time to remedy that.

I don't' have much of a "plan" for my summer sewing or new wardrobe (what you would call a swap). I'm just going for patterns and fabrics that excite me and hoping that everything will come together in the end. if it doesn't, then at least I have a bunch of cute pieces and ACTUAL clothes to wear! a plan would be too limiting for me right now; I don't want to lose the excitement of sewing because of rigid rules.

I've basically lost my knitting mojo the last few months. I haven't seen a pattern that makes my heart pitter-patter (really, all I've seen is more of the same in the knitting mags the last few seasons) and my yarn stash feels like more of a burden than a pile of fun these days (look for a destash soon). I've been carrying a ball of yarn and some needles for the last two weeks, waiting for inspiration to strike. nothing yet. I almost don't want to bother, which is a really weird feeling. you know it's bad when you go on a 20+ hour car ride (twice) and you don't even think about casting something on.

I'm stocked up on sewing patterns though, so I see a lot of skirts, tops, and some dresses in my future. there's almost more patterns than time really. I need to figure out a way to make the washing and cutting of fabrics more efficient. I don't have a dedicated sewing space, I basically take over the kitchen table with my machine and cutting mat. I'm looking for a table though, so cross your fingers I can find something soon (I'm sort of looking for a table and ottoman that's in weekend sewing if you have any tips).

before I get to more clothes though, I've declared this weekend my bag crafting weekend. there are so many cute patterns out there and I want to make them all. I figure even if I don't keep every bag, I know some friends of mine will appreciate them (ie I've been getting some very strong hints lately).

what are your crafting weekend plans? and what have you been obsessed with lately?

Posted by bitter purl at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)