Superstitch

Sarafina Stops By

In this weeks episode of Top Design (on Bravo) the designers had to furnish their rooms with garage sale finds. One designer bought an afghan made by a man's grandmother for $25. I watched this episode from my bed, fingers twisted in my very own afghan-in-progress and felt very indignant on behalf of that grandmother.

Elizabeth taught me how to crochet a few weeks ago (oh patient and wise almostwin, what would I do without you?), and I have a newfound appreciation for all the time and effort that went into creating all the afghans strewn across our parents' house. I myself have three afghans all to myself, a purple and white one from my Grandma, a burgundy and gold one from my Granny, and a green and cream one from my mom. Watching their hands fly through the yarn, I always thought crochet would be, well, quick. I have proven myself wrong over and over again through the process of making my very own green/blue/purple  afghan. I vow that I will never again take an afghan for granted. Even the hideous neon ones.

Somehow my afghan, originally intended for a full-sized bed, has come to be nine feet wide. I have no idea how this happened, but suffice it to say the width is now the length, the horizontal stripes now vertical. My huge, monster afghan is very simple, as are my crochet skills, and it is worked entirely in double crochet. It is a hodgepodge of mistakes, mostly. The first few rows travel inwards dramatically because I missed the stitches on the end, and there are noticable holes where I had to change strands, and couldn't figure out exactly how to do it, so I just made it up.

I know that most people haaaate acrylic yarn (and I still don't understand why, yarn-ignoramus that I am) but I'm planning on using this afghan and I have to be able to wash it, so I am using Caron Simply Soft. In country blue, orchid, dark sage, light country blue, dark country blue, and sage.

I saw the colors and just fell in love. They're so dreamy, the light ones almost pearlescent. I'm moving into a house with some friends in August and I'm already planning my entire room around these colors. I've been having daydreams about wall colors, curtains, sheets. I desperately want these wall decals in graphite, they're so lovely. Who wouldn't want a flock of doves soaring towards their window? Actually, I can think of a lot of people (my dad, for instance) but I am not one of them.

Anywho, I'm going to try to keep the blog updated on my progress with the afghan, so I can look back, see how far I've come, and keep motivated. After all, a nine-foot afghan is quite an undertaking.

OOO (because I don't know you well enough for Xs, do I?)
Sarafina

My new and improved tote bag

I am addicted to totebags, almost as much as i'm addicted to notebooks. But of course most totes are boxy and rectangular, not this baby! I've seen purses similar in construction and shape around etsy and other blogs. I really wanted to try it out because i really like the idea of binding the edges and not having to fit the lining into the tote perfectly, this really is an accomodating tote construction.  Of course i had to make it out of my favorite measuring tape fabric, from moda's building blocks.

Its very roomy without being too big to find anything in it. It fits my matching notebook and pencil case, a magazine and still has room for more. Overall i'm very excited with how it turned out. I made a similar one but it must remain hidden until it makes it to its new owner!

Sarafina Says Hello

Hi!

I'm Sarah, Elizabeth's sister. I was going to write a big introductory post about who I am, what I do, and why Liz and I have decided to "co-blog," but now that I'm sitting at my desk after a six-hour drive, all I want to write about is why I made the trip.

I go to a state school far, far away from home (Texas is big), and all I ever want to do is go back. It's not that I don't like school, I actually kind of love it, but I miss doing things that I only get to do at home.

Like cooking in something other than a microwave! I made fantastic Italian Wedding Soup and even though I over-salted it, only Elizabeth complained.

After dropping my younger sister off at the docks for rowing practice, I also got to go shopping with my mom and Liz, sifting through clearance linens, looking for another score. We are in constant pursuit of our next score. Sometimes it feels like a competition: who can get the best deal on the best stuff. My mom is a Craig's List master, so she almost always comes out victorious.

My best friend and little brother, Joseph, and I took a jaunt down to the neighborhood park to swing and attempt some kite-flying (it didn't go well... but we still had fun!). After our big park excursion we did origami (he's an origami savant, I swear) and I watched about .5 seconds of a Star Wars movie with him before tucking him in on the couch and running off to watch Match Point, which I had never seen before.

And nothing feels better after a long day of familial fun than sinking down into a familiar bed, with a brand new book, while a little black dog instinctively finds his place, curled up against your knees.

So this is me, Sarah. Missing home still, but glad to be back in my little corner of campus. I'll be stopping by again soon, next time with projects and more pictures. I can't wait to see how this works out, a new way to keep in touch with my favorite sister, and the rest of the world.

I'll be back soon!

A gift for a knitter

I've been wanting to post more of my sewing projects lately but it seems like they've all been gifts and i have to wait for them to be recieved before i can post them! I made this travel case for my friend Emily, a fellow knitter. It is 12 inches long, 6 inches tall and 6 inches deep. I figure it is just about the right size to hold a small knitting project and all the essentials while you're on vacation. It could also defnitely be used a toiletry case though it is lined in basic cotton which isn't as nice for toiletries as oil cloth or some other kind of plasticy lining would be.

  I just love these fabrics! I'm a big fan of pink, orange and brown, and those colors definitely dominate my huge fabric stash.

I should have another sewing project to post in a few days, but of course i have to wait til it gets to its recipient!

Lots o things

First I want to let ya'll know that my sister is going to be writing some entries for my lovely blog. I dont know if y'all have noticed but i'm a pretty horrible writer, i pretty much just show what i'm working on and thats about it. Sarah will probably introduce herself in the next few days, but just so ya'll know, she's an awesome emboiderer, crocheter and she just started sewing. I haven't convinced her to knit yet, but i will dammit!

Okay, moving on to the pictures!

Heres where i'm at with Venezia, i know, it doesn't look much further than the last picture, but this is slooow going. I'm ok with that, i'm not going to be able to wear it until next fall anyway, might as well make the fairisleing fun last!

The "ugly" side of fair isle

I'm not real pleased with the wrong side of this sweater so far, i just cant seem to make my wrong side look as nice and neat as i think it should. Oh well, noone will see that but me..... oh wait, and all 15 people who read this! If you see me in this sweater, pretend you dont know that then inside is a mess!

And finally, my swatch for knitty's thermal, I really couldnt capture the awesome color of the pumpkin gloss. The knitpicks website does a better job than me. I cast on and about 4 inches in. This is going to join Venezia in the long wip group. I cant wait to have it done though, the yarn is great and i really love how thin and light it feels.

Thats all for now, stay tuned for my lovely sister Sarah!

At last, Venezia has begun...

...and its beautiful! I cast on for this on sunday night, and here is where i'm at as of monday night. I've completed the invisible, folded hem, more trouble than its worth i think, but we'll see. I am LOVING the colorwork and how the design is developing. Even though this will take me until next fall, i know i will stay interested, just to see the brocade pattern emerge.

As you can see, i strayed from Eunny's color choices, i wrote more about that here, and i cant wait to see how it looks in sweater form. Anyone else knitting this? How are you feeling about the length? I think this may be a bit short on me since i'm extremely tall. My row gague is off by about 1.5 rows per 4 inches so maybe that will help me add a tiny bit of length.

In other knitting news, i finished the body of Wicked over the weekend. One sleeve left and i will be able to ship it off to my sister. Hopefully she'll get to wear it a few times before it warms up. I'm also about to begin on the little red riding hood from Domiknitrix for a friend. We are doing a little swap, hoodie for her, nice new vinyl knitting tote for me!

Ya'll, this quilt is going to ROCK!

Okay, so in a fit of sleeplessness i decided that i would start my freshcut/fleamarket quilt! I decided to use Heather Bailey's free quilt pattern made especially for her fabrics. Is that dorky, too matchy matchy? I cant help it, i really love the pattern! I'm also loving the way the fabrics look together. It might be a little bit too bright and pink for some people's taste, but not me, deep down i'm a four year old girl! This quilt is going to be this seasons "pretty" quilt. Of course this quilt is going to take a lot longer. I'm a fan of strip piecing to keep things moving but this quilt uses a ton of different strip widths and lengths that doesn't lend itself to quick cutting and piecing. But its ok, it can be slow as long as its pretty!

So i've stalled on the organization front. I had really good intentions but.... i just cant make myself finish right now, maybe next week! For now all i want to do is knit and work on this quilt!

   Another fun spring project, new pony tail holders. I cant leave the house without a pony tail holder. These are just made with the fabric covered button kits from hancocks. All you need is the kit, a 2 inch square a fabric and a plain elastic. And now my boring pony tail isn't quite as boring. I really love these fabric covered buttons and i'm trying to dream up a hundred other ways to use them, they're just so easy and satisfying to make!

One last shot of the quilt block, just because, well i'm obsessed!

Mission Organization: It Begins...

I'm in love, and its name is Expedit! Today I bought the very big brother to the bookshelf i bought a couple of weeks ago. It is 6ft by 6ft with 25 compartments.  I was hoping to have more of my craft room cleaned up and put together tonight but this beast took quite a while to lug up the stairs, get it together, and then squeeze it into place. The bookshelf is 72.5 inches wide and the wall i put it on is 74.5 inches wide!

  I got this super fun, old fashioned candy jar this weekend too, and of course all of the fun valentine's themed candy. It will sit on my new shelf somewhere and help decorate my pink and brown craft room! (can you see the red, pink and white candy corn? love it!)

Knitting updates,
* wicked, i'm almost done with the first sleeve
* deep v vest, i haven't ripped it apart yet, yet
* danica, 1.5 balls down, 1.5 balls to go
* spring cardigan, no progress
* new projects, am considering knitty's thermal