Finding the Groove...

Wow, not only have I *finally* found the time to write a blog, but I also have finished items to talk about in it...WooHOO!! This is the halter top from Stitch n' Bitch: The Happy Hooker. It still needs blocked and I think I will need a new bra..oh gravity and cotton tops, heehee!

Also on display this evening is the lovely 'Wisp' from Knitty. I actually got it finished in time for the wedding and it did wear it on the day, to lots of lovely compliments. The mohair needs a few more wears and washes before it is really soft and wearable but I really love it and the buttons are cool. I have a new thing about buttons...the latest Pari craze!

Here are the things I do when I do have free time...I know, I am nuts. I could be sleeping but no, I am putting gems on my nails. Girl needs help! Was fun tho.

Here are the latest buttons I have got my grubby little paws on. I ordered them from an ebay seller, Obsidian Kitten, who was an absolute pleasure to do business with and sent lovely little business cards and postcards with my little purchase. It is nice to feel pampered and looked after, even if you are only spending a few dollars at that store.

And lastly, my current project (though to be perfectly honest I have been doing very, very little knitting, crochet or anything) are the Baudelaire socks, also from Knitty. I made them a little too long for myself, but love them so much I really don't want to rip them out and start again. The pointy toe is pretty much empty, no toesin there at all. They were perfect however for the plane trip on the way home and helped keep my sanity while I dealt with the whirl wind of the wedding, being pretty sick myself and my mother being in hospital for an operation. All in all, it has been a really draining time of year and I am so looking forward to the end of the semester.

Only 3 weeks to go and then I am an actual, real, original college graduate. My apologies to everyone that I have been neglecting these last few weeks while I have been trying to kepp my everyday life together (my secret pal, I am going to do a special post just about you and your final parcel, as that is what it deserves, no less!). Lastly, I want to thank my lovely DB for encouraging me to blog again. I have nearly given up on the whole thing, but he gently pushed me back towards the things that make me happy and reminded me how wonderful it is to have this onlline community of friends who appreciate my post and who are eagar to share in my small success :) Thank you Kolya! There will be post just for you too, soon!

I have a wee problem

And that problem is a severe case of starter-itis. I started yet another project this weekend and I can feel the urge taking hold in my bones. I decided that I had to have a little crocheted halter top for heading home in a weeks time and decided to bust a little stash at the same time, by using the green cotton I had sitting there. It was originally for a little knitted top, but NO, I don't want to knit, I want instant, lacy, loopy gratification. And I know no better medium to satisfy that urge than crochet, and it can be done while sunbathing on the banks of the Charles River any Saturday :)



Well thank goodness for Stitch n' Bitch. I love this series and go back to these books regularly to find new ideas or patterns or just to feel part of something again, a sense of community in a book. And The Happy Hooker is my summer bible right now. There are so many things I want to make in it right now, I hardly know where to start...except that I have started the lace halter top, so there is a start. I finished about three-quarters of it in one day and learned two new crochet stitches to do it. Super productive day me thinks :)

FO!

The Unicorn Bag as modelled by my beautiful flatmate, whom I believe is plotting to steal it and take it around Europe with her this summer. Will have to watch it closely :) It still needs a button for a flap that secures the openning of the bag, but haven't seen any that I really like or think would suit the overall kitsch-ness of the bag. Great, fun project however and used up lots of mismatching yarns beautifully. I don't like to waste so it is great to have a useful final project out of them. And a good exercise in matching yarn weights to create the right the drape of material. A great article that discusses this is from this seasons issue of the e-zine Crochet Me It is the crochet equivalent to Knitty and is great. This edition is all about reusable, renewable projects and fibers, hence the great article on using up the odd balls in your stash. Check it out!

In other news, I received a lovely suprise in the post earlier in the week from the ever lovely Brooke in the form of a book she had picked up for me, thinking I would find it interesting. It is called 'A Cup of Tea' by Amy Ephron and is a quaint story of love, loyalties and turbulent time in NYC at the start of the American involvement in WW1. Such a darling read, I am nearly finished it already and am feeling sad about it too. I hate it when good books end. Thanks so much Brooke, it was exactly what I needed.