Holy Moly!

Look at the great stuff I got from a lovely Unconditional Swapper (from Craftster)! I wished for a embellished wifebeater but I got the PERFECT tank top AND bonus awesome artwork. She stenciled it just for me and even added Mack at the bottom left!! Look at him!

The artwork is made with CD pieces (would you believe it?!) and is FRICKIN' SWEET.

An action shot in bathroom mirror.
I am SO lucky.

Joggin’ for the Noggin

A friend and co-worker of mine in NY was diagnosed with brain cancer in the spring of this year. Her sister and brother-in-law have founded a non-profit organization to raise funds for brain cancer charities through long-distance running events. Please go here to learn more:

www.jogginforthenoggin.org

You can read about Holly (they have blogs!) and make a donation (they'll even send you an awesome water bottle with their running brain logo!).
She's an amazing person and it's a great cause to support. Please, please, take a minute and go check it out!

Swan Dress-in-Progress

So, being the crafty little obsessive-compulsive that I am, I decided to spend one of my off days (today) beginning to work on the Infamous Bjork Swan Dress. (I spent the other nursing a hangover and feeling guilty...but that's another story.)
Anyway--a picture of the materials:

10 yards of white tulle, 4 yards of pale lining material, 2 yards of white jersey, 1 yard of unknown white fabric.
A picture of the work area:



Prowling Craftster I gathered (haha) that the best way to gather tulle was to sew through the layers with long stitches and then pull to gather, pin to your base material, and stitch onto it. You can see the results of that technique on the top of this picture. It did the trick, sort of, but took a long time. The bottom of that picture was done simply holding two layers of tulle against the lining material and hand-making ruffles as I sewed along. Much quicker and rufflier.
Of course, the sewing machine I'm using is a Singer that's about twice as old as I am, and whose bottom bobbin feed is ALL OUT OF WHACK. So I had a lot of issues with pulling and scrunching which, of course, would be much more of a problem if I wasn't going for that sort of thing to begin with.
And half the day's work:

I made about 1/3rd the ruffle-strips that I'll need for the skirt (I think...) and started on the swan's neck (not pictured) before giving up on the sewing machine and throwing in the towel.
I'm insane.

Still procrastinating

In my Googling of "bjork swan dress", I came across these action art figures. Basquiat AND Bjork. Amazing!

Uber-WIP

Yep, still not studying.
Here's a picture of my Ubernatural in progress. It's made of two strands of Cottontots held together (one blue, one white) on #15 denise needles (note how they are used as stitch holders as well. They've changed my life, I tell you!)
I am enjoying how quickly it's knitting up.
My brain is enjoying it too.
My brain: "Any more studying and we'll epithelial-mesenchymal transition you, Sara!" Me: "Ok brain, knitting it is!"
Me and my brain in unison: "Yay!"

I should be studying

But instead, I'm obsessing about how I HAVE to make Bjork's swan dress for halloween.
Just look at it, it's amazing:

Now I can't get my mind back on superoxide dismutases.
And the exam(s) are tomorrow!

A craft run

I did the unthinkable. I went to Michael's. AND A.C. Moore. I was just going to exchange some Clover DPNs, and I ended up buying:
-Two sets of knitting-themed notecards - $1 ea.
-A 2006 calendar of antique maps - $0.89
-1 lb. of yellow acrylic "mill end" yarn - $3.50
-1 lb of black chenille "mill end" yarn - $5
-A Lacis yarn winder - $20 (after 40% coupon)
I've wanted a yarn winder (and a swift too) for the longest time. I've had these lovely hanks of yarn languishing in my phenomenally large stash for lack of winding.
Unfortunately this one (Picture from the Lacis site here) is somewhat...disappointing. I guess I'm used to the relatively high quality-to-price dynamic of most consumer appliances--i.e. I can get a nice working electronic coffee maker that works well and looks nice on a counter for about $15. The yarn winder, with a $35 retail price, is by comparison not a lot for your money. The clamp on this one doesn't seem to work (which is integral to its function, really.) and it looks and feels cheaply made. I know, I know, it's only capitalism and globalization that's making it possible for me to have such high expectations of a $20 machine, and I realize that there's a more limited market for yarn winders, but I'm still disappointed.
This baby's going back.

Consumerism, aaa!

I bought this over the weekend. I'd seen a pattern for a similar sweater with the pockets detail somewhere on the web and fantasized about when I'd get around to knitting it, but for $23 I couldn't even buy the yarn.
I started another sweater. It's going to be a slightly modified Ubernatural from Glampyre. Of course, I didn't find the corrections (or read carefully through the directions, for that matter) before casting on so I had to frog a row or two upon discovering that I was a few stitches short. (I did decide while knitting that there was supposed to be a K as well as the PM between the two YOs in row 2.)
I'm using two strands of Cottontots held together--one white and one blue. Now, before you mock me, I know that sounds like I'm either going to look like a baby boy or a die-hard UNC fan (neither of which, of course, I am) but I think it'll actually make a very nice wearable sweater with the two strands together making a sort of tweedy effect. I'd post pictures but I'm too lazy to go get the camera today.
After all, I should really be catching up on about 12 lectures for school...since I have two exams next Monday...
I should really put myself in a no-knit zone. Which definitely includes knit-blogosphere-ing.

Yellow Baby Sweater- Done!

I put the final touches on my yellow baby sweater today.

Here is it blocking on my armchair.



And being modeled by said armchair.

A close-up of the button I used--this antique (erm, it's at least from the 60's, should I call it retro instead?) mother of pearl surrounded by patterned silver.
The stats:
Yarn: Bernat CottonTots in Sunshine
Needles: #8 and #6 Denise
As I said in a previous post, I combined two patterns--the Baby Ensemble Sweater from my Knitting Know-How booklet, and the Cotton Jacket with Tie Bow from Debbie Bliss' Easy Knits. It's basically just like this and this, but with a shorter body, moss rather than garter border, and a single buton and bow at the neck.
I'm pretty happy with the way it came out--with the exception of the moss stitch at the neck being a little wonky. I like the moss stitch much better as a trim than garter. I really have to get some cute, well-lit babies to pose with my sweaters on. The armchair in fluorescent lighting just isn't showing off my knitting to advantage!

Blogland

Sometimes I think more knitters blog than any other demographic. Sometimes, in fact, I think EVERY knitter out there is blogging. I guess it's the nature of the beast to want to show off all your hard work.
But goshdarnit, I have an exam on Monday (yep. laboring. serious. laboring.) and I just spent the last hour googling and ogling all these wonderful sweaters and shrugs and tanks and shawls.
So I have a message for all the fiber bloggers out there: STOP MAKING SO MANY AMAZING THINGS. IT'S DISTRACTING ME FROM STUDYING.
Thank you.