Mandi Knits   » Knitting, spinning, crafts, and being a geek.

Happy Independence Day!  I hope you all had a lovely, relaxing holiday.

I had a very quiet day.  My husband worked today, so it was just me and the fuzz-butts hanging out around the houe.  Spent the morning and early afternoon knitting and watching trashy TV.

I finished my first Nanner Sock!  I love it.  I cast on the second one tonight.

I’m really, really itching to cast on a baby sweater though.  I bought this yarn a week or two back at my LYS and it just does not want to live in my stash — it wants to be on the needles now.  It comes with two baby sweater patterns, a pullover and a cardigan, and duckie buttons.  Seriously.  Duckie buttons.  Now you see why I want to knit with it RIGHT NOW.  I’m trying to force myself to finish the second Nanner sock before I start on this though.

Also, I wanted to point out Zero’s Etsy shop.  It was mentioned on the latest episode of Lime & Violet, and when I heard them mention freshwater pearls, I went there to browse.  OH MY GOSH, ya’ll.  If you love freshwater pearls like I do, you need to go check these out.  They’re beautiful.  I ordered two sets.  I also love her shop because she will switch out the size of the ring on the marker for you at no additional cost.  You can get them to fit up to US size 2, 6, 9, or 13 needles.

Anyway, hope you all have a relaxing holiday weekend with lots of picnics and free time to knit! 

Sock Madness 2 begins in one week! I’m really thrilled to be involved in the event. It’s my first time participating in anything like this. For this first round, I’m part of the “Maryland Merino Madness” division (you can see all the divisions here). Next Thursday the first pattern will be mailed out and we’ll be able to get started!

We haven’t had clues specifically as to what the first pattern will be, but we do know that they will start with the easiest pattern of the competition and gradually get harder. We also know that there will be several toe-up socks and that one requires us to buy 20 safety pins to do a Japanese short row heel. (Eeek!?) No doubt this is going to push my knitting abilities to the edge.

So, in preparation for Sock Madness, what have I been doing? No, not knitting socks. Shopping!

My order from Knit Picks came in the mail on Wednesday. First off, I got all the needles I needed to complete a set of 16″ and 24″ circulars in every size from 0 to 3 (including half sizes). I did this specifically so I could (hopefully) knit two at a time for the Sock Madness patterns. I also got one of their needle sizers because the one I had didn’t have half-sizes for 1.5’s and 2.5’s. Then, of course, I had to buy some yarn, just because…

The gold-colored yarn is Gloss in “Serengeti”. It’s a very unusual choice for me color-wise, but I thought that having a neutral solid sock yarn might come in handy for Sock Madness too. The blue and purple yarns are Shadow in “Vineyard Heather” and “Jewels Heather”. Again, these are for Sock Madness because they revealed that one of their patterns calls for 2 coordinating colors of lace weight yarn, and Shadow was one of their recommendations.

As far as online yarn shopping completely unrelated to socks, I also finally ordered a kit to make the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. It seems that particular pattern is a rite of passage for knitters, and I thought it was high time that I gave it a shot. That, and my friend Rachel is expecting her first baby later this month. Hopefully I can knit fast enough so that the baby won’t have outgrown the sweater before it’s finished!

So, our new apartment is still in shambles of half-unpacked-chaos. It’s improved, but still a mess. But ya know, those boxes will be there another day. For now, I’d rather knit.

… ’cause look, they’re totally yarn-enablers:

I’m off to order the new Noro sock yarn (colorway S95) that I’ve been drooling over… *SQUEE*

Thanks soooooo much you guys.

Sunday morning, I got up and drove out to the Factory at Franklin. I forgot how long of a drive it is out there — and it feels even longer.

I went out there this weekend to check out the “Rock Your Stocking” show put on by the Nashville Craft Mafia. I have to say, it was well worth the drive! I got there early and when I walked in, a lot of the vendors were still setting up their booths. I bought a goodie bag– it had a lot of nifty things in it, including a photo wallet, a ring, and a handmade candle. It also had lots of information about all the vendors at the show.

So, on to the fun part — what did I get?

• 3 prints and a necklace (pic) by Samantha Callahan
• an adorable pincushion (pic) by Ashley Fennessey
• 3 handmade soaps and a lip balm (pic) by Allison Fortner
• a hand-dyed silk scarf (pic) by Jennifer Randles
• a fun necklace and pair of earrings (pic) by Michelle Frank
• holiday earrings (pic) by Lori Davis (no website)

Quite a haul, huh? A lot of the things are gifts, but a few are little splurges for myself also.

Before I left, I walked over to Happy Tales, which is the humane shelter/rescue organization that we adopted Gracie from. They have a shop in the Factory at Franklin where they shelter their cats, but all the dogs are fostered in volunteers’ homes. They also have a small store where they sell dog and cat toys, collars, etc. and the money helps the rescue. I’d hoped to purchase some Christmas gifts for Gracie and Gidget there, but it turned out they were closed. I was happy to find, though, that they have a donation box outside the store. So I dropped the last of my cash in there and headed home.

Gidget was quite pleased with my purchases. Or, well… more specifically, she was quite pleased with the tissue paper that my silk scarf had been wrapped in. She tore apart, rolled in, and finally napped on the tissue paper. So much for needing to buy her actual “real” cat toys.

Gracie-dogger went bananas over the “Fishy Kisses” lip blam I got. She spent half the afternoon trying to get in my face to sniff my Roasted Coffee Bean -scented lips. LOL.

Anyway.

Between doing some shopping on Saturday and then going to the craft show on Sunday, I’ve put a fairly good dent (finally) in my Christmas shopping. Whew! I never used to be such a procrastinator, but the last couple years I have been terrible with the last-minute shopping. I need to double-check my list, but I think I’m pretty much done now except for some things I want to order online (because I’m sick of dealing with the crowds at the store).

How are you all doing with your holiday shopping?

Look!!

Goodies from Craft Leftovers arrived yesterday! Unfortunately, I didn’t get too much of a chance to play with my new stuff because last night was a hectic night. Hmph. Look at those buttons though! And that fabric! *Squee!*

Also in the mail yesterday, I got some more goodies from Sublime Stitching. I swear this is going to be my last order for a while. Really! I have plenty to work on for a while: I got a banner, two tea towels, an apron, and t-shirt stabilizer so I can work on embroidering some Onesies (gifts for my cousin who is expecting a new baby in December). That should be enough to keep me busy for quite a while!

In the spare time that I did have last night, I worked on my Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf. I really love it. It’s knit as a tube on circular needles, so it’s going to be double-thickness. It’s going to be so warm and cozy! I’ll post photos of my progress later.

The craft studio is also really coming along. I loaded my new cabinet-cubes in there yesterday:

When I took the photo, they were still empty. I started loading scrapbooking and sewing supplies into them after I snapped the photo, and they’re working quite well. I have one more cabinet (a 2-drawer unit) that’s on it’s way still. (Actually UPS tracking says it’s being delivered today! Hooray!)

I also was viciously attacked by my sewing dummy yesterday. I was trying to get it all adjusted to my size. When I was doing the height-adjustment, I loosened it too far, and the pipe slid down with a crash and pinched the side of my finger. I have a lovely blood blister! My mother says that it was probably retaliating for being called “dummy” all the time. So I’ve decided to give it a name: Adnama (my name, backwards).

Yup. I’m a dork.

Damn you, JoAnn Fabrics!

First it was the dressmaker’s dummy and the Ott lights! Now this!

It’s as if they’ve read my mind. Two weeks in a row, they’ve put the items topping my studio wishlist on sale for “can’t-pass-this-up” prices.

Don’t they know we have a wedding to pay for in 25 days!? They taunt me with their sales fliers. Evil, evil Joann’s. And I think my mother is in cahoots with them — because she called me to tell me the dressmaker’s dummy was on sale, and again she called me last night to tell me about the cutting table! It’s a conspiracy, I tell you!

Let’s see… folding cutting table, normally $99.99… on sale for $54.99… and I have a 40% off coupon that’s good through 9/15. Can I (or should I) really pass up a $100 cutting table for under $35?! Hehe.

I’m a shopaholic. I admit it. (That’s the first step…) I particularly love shopping online. Amazon, eBay, small independent shops… I love ‘em all.

Due to my online-shopping addiction, the last week or so has been very good for mail. I’ve gotten lots and lots of crafty goodies delivered to my doorstep.

Just look at that haul (in the picture)! That was only one day this week. The UPS and USPS man have been kind enough to surprise me every day this week with more fun projects to start. Heehee.

I’ve ordered a ridiculous amount of things from Sublime Stitching recently. It started with a beginner kit and a few patterns, and has quickly escalated to a collection of over 20 patterns and assorted things to embroider on (tea towels, aprons, a banner, etc…) Who knew embroidery could be this fun?!

I finished my first embroidery project last night, actually (will post photos later) and I picked up some baby onesies to embroider next (gift for my cousin). I just have to wait till I can get some t-shirt stabilizer so I can work on them.

Then there was a package from Pattern Works. Bet you can’t guess what that yarn is for…?
Ok yah, you guessed it. It’s for a Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf. Yah, I’m a total goober, but I had to have one! The yarn, for those who might be curious, is Encore Worsted in ‘Butternut’ and ‘Burnt Sienna’. Now I just have to pick up a circular needle to knit it on (I never seem to have the right size! *sigh*).

Let’s see… what else?

Oh, I got a price tagging gun (from eBay). It’s the type that you can attach hang-tags with. I’m planning to put that to good use when (if) I get my Etsy shop up and running.

JoAnn’s is having a sale on Singer dressmaker’s dummies. I’ve been wanting one forever. (I even did the whole duct tape dummy-thing in the past.) They have the real deal on sale for $99 and if you hunt around online, you’ll be able to find a free shipping coupon-code too. Needless to say, I finally have my dummy on order! I can’t wait for it to get here. I already know the first garment I want to sew and fit to it!

I also finally went out and bought a thread rack last night. I was so pleased to finally get one of these. It’s such a little thing, but it’s really more efficient. I was keeping my thread in two different plastic bins. The problem was, I couldn’t really see the colors I have AND those bins took up space on shelving. Now I can much more easily see the colors of thread I have AND I can put those bins to better use for holding other sewing/crafting doo-dads.

So anyway: JoAnn’s has dressmaker’s dummies on sale for $99. Sublime Stitching is having a 10% off everything sale. So GO SHOP! Have fun!