A Sad Day

by admin Posted on May 18, 2013

We are visiting some of J’s family out of town this weekend. I excitedly packed all the crafty things I was going to do while we were relaxing-knitting, spinning, blogging, etc. Yesterday evening on our way back from dinner I went to get my Trindle out of my purse….and the shaft has snapped. It was most likely from me carelessly packing it in my purse, which was then on the floor of the front passenger seat during out 9 hour drive. One of us most likely stepped on it and snapped it.  

That was the single fear I had when buying the Trindle- the shaft is so thin and light, I was worried about it breaking. Apparently I was right. J thinks he can fix it, although the creator of the Trindle says they have a lifetime warranty. I emailed him to see if this is something that is covered. In the meantime though, no spinning.

Maryland Sheep and Wool was earlier this month. I failed once again at taking photos, but take my word that it was a ton of fun. Nice cool weather this year, and lots of good friends. I am trying to cut back on how much fiber I buy, so this year it was mostly tools. I bought hand cards, a nostepinne, some new arms for my (now defunct) Trindle, and 2lbs of Border Leicester fleece to wash and spin. J also picked out some sock yarn for next years birthday socks. 

I also made another bag for a friend. This one was a barter exchange- she sent me fabric, I sent her one bag made out of it. I LOVE this print. I need to find out where she obtained it, because I want to make more bags from it. This bag is approximately 13″ tall, big enough to fit large shawls or sweaters. 

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That’s all for now. I should be home with more camera access this week, and next week I will take photos of the washing/drying/carding/spinning process with the Border Leicester fleece.

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Not Much Going On

by admin Posted on April 21, 2013

And b ack again. Once a week(ish) is still better than my previous average of once a quarter. Things are getting a bit hectic over the next few weeks- wrapping up the semester, traveling for a wedding and balancing work is going to be difficult at best. The sewing looks like it may be limited to just 2-3 bags a week while I get everything sorted out in my life. Luckily my classes this summer are online, so there’s a bit more flexibility coming my way.

Flexibility is good, considering I signed up to run (and bike and swim) a sprint triathalon this fall. I tried to talk my mother out of doing it, but somehow that plan backfired and next thing I know, I’m registered and bought a bike! The things we do for our parents. This should be really great for us though. It’s giving my mom something to work towards that’s for HER. Not her job, not her family. Something she is doing for her.

This is my bike. It’s not a tri- or road bike, it’s a hybrid/comfort bike. I figure I probably won’t do a whole lot of triathalons, so I might as well get something I enjoy riding at the lake or at home. It’s lacking a kickstand though…has anyone ever had a bike show up without a kickstand? Anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard to get one for it. I got it for $300- not bad, and let’s be honest. Crappier bikes are going for not much less.

The only things I completed this weekend were a custom order project bag for a good friend and a prototype hairpiece for my great-aunt. That hairpiece kills me. It took me 3 tries, and while

it’s workable now, it’s still not perfect. But how do you turn down a great-aunt?!DSC02092DSC02091

 

 

 

 

 

 

The project bag was simple enough- same fabric as a drawstring bag, but this one is 8” with a handle instead of drawstrings. You can also see my new label inside it! I forgot to attach the hang-label to a seam, so I cut it in half and hand sewed it onto the lining. It doesn’t look great though, so next time I’ll make sure to get the tag put in properly!

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That reminds me- do you prefer a hang tag on items, or a sewn in woven label? I’m torn. The hang tags are cheap and nice, but they are too large for a few of my projects, and I worry it might make them look cheap. Thoughts?

This weekend we are taking a trip to a wedding down in GA. This is bad news for my sewing, but good news for my knitting! I hope to have some good progress photos on J’s socks (75% done the second sock!) and maybe even progress on my sweater. We will be staying outside of Atlanta, so there plans to check out the aquarium, meaning we will have then been to both the largest AND second largest aquariums in the world, eating at some delicious restaurants, maybe the Coca-Cola experience, dinner with a rubbernecker (or two) and if my family really loves me, a trip to Stitches South! So hopefully next week we will have a blog full of photos and less full of my rambling.

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Catching Up

by admin Posted on March 28, 2013

While I am proud of myself for becoming a more consistent blogger, it gets frustrating when I find myself with too much to do, and not enough time to do it in. I had planned on getting three blog posts out this week, but then life caught up. I spent two very long days in the field, and another long day in the office. Getting home at 9pm to go to bed, then turning around and getting up at 4:30am to leave was rough. But! Enough whining. I wanted to share with everyone what I made this past weekend.

My first attempt at a box bag. I’ve always thought these bags were adorable, but was too intimated by the obvious skill they required, to make one. Turns out they aren’t really that difficult at all. This was a first run in many, many ways. The bag turned out smaller than I had planned, while the strap turned out much bigger than I expected. It makes the whole thing look a bit disproportionate. But it’s a learning experience, and now I know what to do differently next time!

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 I have wanted to share this project for a while, but hadn’t gotten around to getting a photo of it. This is a quillow I made for my stepdaughter at Christmas. It’s made with Disney princess fabric- the main princesses on the pink side, and Cinderella on the blue side. She loved it, and immediately put it on her bed to use at night. I love quillows. They are such an easy project to make, and convenient for families who travel a lot (such as ours). I still have the quillow I made myself 15 years ago! Sidenote: I can’t believe I made it 15 years ago. Wow.

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I also finished a wallet to match the purse I made a few weeks ago. I really, really love this fabric. I love vintage images, and the romanticism in the fabric is so sweet. The wallet turned out pretty well. I’m still working on some problem issues with them, but it’s getting better. Next up: A Star Trek wallet for myself!

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 This weekend will probably be a knitting/ spinning weekend. We are heading up to the lake, and trying to bring all the sewing supplies gets to be a hassle. I may take up fabric to cut, but that will be it. I also need to get to work on my final! paper for my first graduate level class. That’s not terrifying at all. Plus put together a presentation on it, to give in three weeks. Luckily, there will be no fieldwork for a while, so hopefully I can divide my time between crafting and schooling a bit more evenly.

Oh, I almost forgot the most exciting news of all! My new project tags came in! I love the way they look. I ordered them  off etsy. The shipping was pricey, but it was really worth it. They are a bit large, though. I need to find smaller tags for items like the wallet and smaller bags.

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Feeling a Bit Overwhelmed

by admin Posted on March 21, 2013

Some days I feel like I will never finish this sock pattern. I am about to finish knitting a sock in this pattern for the fourth time, but resulting in only two completed socks. I still have two more to go in this pattern. It’s to the point where I almost don’t need to look at the chart for this, and that’s saying something. It’s not a completely straightforward chart for me.

J’s first sock finally has the toe grafted and is all set to be blocked. I’m casting on his second sock tonight. My goal is to get this finished by mid-April. That is going to take some dedication on my part, and some monogamous knitting. I can’t wait to get back to my poor sweater. It’s been ignored for months while I try and get these socks sorted out. After this pair, I still need to start his 2013 Birthday socks. He won’t be getting those until August at this rate.

I’m still working on bags for Rock Solid Designs. I need to focus on items that branch out past knitters, initially. I need to build a solid customer base around here, and I’m not entirely sure how to do that. I’m in the process of applying for doing business under a fictitious name, then I have to complete the tax paperwork. I want to apply for Jubilee Day this summer and have a booth there, but logistically I just don’t think I can get all the legal side taken care of and crank out enough product to have a decent looking booth in time. I don’t need to turn in the application until May, so I guess I’ll just keep working on things and see if life aligns enough to let me take advantage of this opportunity.

In the meantime, I have now ordered labels for my handmade items, and business cards are in the works! I still need to finish tweaking the website, and update some items (the knitting patterns will be moving over there shortly). It’s a lot of work, but I’m excited to be doing it. I’m also still working on classes this spring. I’m a bit stressed that work is going to cause a huge conflict, causing me to either beg my professors to let me work out an alternative plan, or take an incomplete and finish the courses over the summer. I really do not want to do either, and would rather just finish this semester up without a hitch. I knew getting into this there could be conflicts with work, however at the time there were no extended out of town jobs in the works for us. I’m trying not to stress about it until I hear something definite, but it’s hard.

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Birthdays and Bags

by admin Posted on March 17, 2013

About 3 years ago, a close friend of mine decided to try her hand at knitting. We were living in different areas at the time, so it wasn’t my influence that encouraged her. She has been progressing very well with her knitting lately. When I think about it, I try to send her a yarn or knitting related gift. I saw a pin on pinterest the other day of a knitting emergency box, and immediately thought it would be great. It’s not expensive or time-consuming, but it is super cute. Thoughts?

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Of course, I want one for myself, but why would I put yarn into a box for myself? It’s not like I already have an unhealthy collection, and I doubt J would let me display a case of yarn on the wall. Although, if I did one in our living room colors…

My other project lately is working on bags for my business. It has officially moved over to www.rock-solid-designs.com Anyway, I wrapped up a prototype for a padded project bag today.

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Later this week I want to try my hand at a padded box bag, and padded spindle bag.  I’m also going to work on a wallet to match this purse I made last week.

In the meantime, my knitting is still all J’s socks, all the time. I’m starting to really wonder if I will get this thing done in time for his birthday in May. 

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So Much Time…

by admin Posted on March 6, 2013

And yet I have gotten so little done this week. 

I am currently dividing my time between working full-time and taking classes for my Master’s program part-time in the evenings. This week is spring break- a week I have been looking forward to for months now. I planned out all the things I would get made, all the housework I would get done, and the baking. Oh, the baking I would do.

Unfortunately, none of that seems to have happened. Oh I got some things done. I am finally caught up on laundry (for a day), and we got floors mopped and couches cleaned and vacuumed. my craft area has been organized for the first time in weeks, and I have gone to bed at a reasonable hour, but my crafting doesn’t seem to be benefiting from this extra time at all. It seems I’m convinced that spring break days have more hours than normal days. Apparently that’s not true? Hm. Someone needs to work on that for me.

I have been working slowly on J’s sock. The heel has been turned, and I am now working on the gusset. I did get one bag sewn and listed for sale on my website, but that is it. Work has stepped up so much this week that by the time I get home, I need something brainless to do. 

I do want to share something exciting. This past weekend was mine and J’s first wedding anniversary. We decided that each year, we will exchange traditional gifts. My gift to J was a print of the original Star Trek Enterprise, shaped out of quotes from the show. 

His gift to me? He has been secretly scanning all of my knitting magazines. Every single one of them. I have been collecting magazines from two subscriptions for 5 years now, plus random older issues or different companies here and there from swaps. It must be about 40 or 50 magazines, and each one takes him two hours to do. How amazingly sweet is that gift?! I knew I chose well. ;)

This weekend we are heading once again to the lake. Spinning has been seriously ignored by me lately, so my plan is to only take spinning and knitting with me this weekend. No homework, no sewing, just yarny stuff. 

What activities do you look forward to when you get extra time off?

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Late Valentines

by admin Posted on March 2, 2013

J and I have a Valentine’s tradition. Every year, I buy nothing, and every year, he makes me chocolate covered raspberries. This has been our tradition every year that we have been in the same time zone (mailing these would get messy). The one rule he has is that I am not allowed to help. I can supervise, since baking isn’t his forte, but I am not allowed to lift one finger. Twist my arm, darling.

Here are some photos from his delicious gift.

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Now, off to eat my delicious raspberries!

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Actual Knitting Content

by admin Posted on February 24, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve posted knitting content. Honestly, It’s been a while since I’ve knit.  Between work, grad school, and trying to get Rock Solid Designs up and running and semi-viable as a company, I have barely had a second to relax!  This post will be a review of knitting I have completed over the past two months. 

Remember the Viper Pilot socks I was working on for J? Yeah. After 3 attempts and two different needles sizes, I gave up and told him I was keeping them for myself. I couldn’t handle ripping half a sock out a third time. That’s just demoralizing. So, here is the first sock of my new pair:

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Not the best pictures, but you get the idea. At least the sock fits someone now. But because I love J oh so much…I promised I would still knit him the sock. So we went digging through my stash, and found a yarn that would work better with a larger needle size. These are coming along quite nicely.

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Here is the start of his sock. Going along much smoother, thank goodness. I like the color of this yarn. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but it’s a subtle gradient from dark blue to dark green-blue. 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to get a sweater knit before winter ends, but it doesn’t look like it will get done. I haven’t even worked on this since Christmas. I LOVE this sweater, and I LOVE this yarn. It’s an Opulent Raglan knit with Madtosh DK yarn. I wish I had more time to work on this, because it’s done nothing wrong. It deserves to be loved.

 

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Hopefully I will have time to work on her once spring break starts for my classes next week. 

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Keeping Busy

by admin Posted on February 16, 2013

It’s been pretty busy here lately. I’ve been working on building up some inventory for the yoga bags to sell at a local studio, plus easing in to making other types of bags and purses as they are ordered. This has sadly left very little time for much else. I have been slowly working on J’s birthday socks from LAST year. I haven’t even thought about birthday socks for this year yet. I’m just trying to make it through the next few weeks with my sanity in tact! 

I was hoping to post progress photos of my knitting, but I was running around all day teaching classes and mailing packages, that I missed the good daylight. I’ll get photos and post them tomorrow, so you can see that I have actually gotten SOMETHING done with yarn.

Last week I ran a contest- once my facebook page reached 35 likes, I gave away a handmade wallet. This pattern was absolutely adorable, and so easy to follow. I really wish I could have kept it for myself. Alas, it was not meant to be, and it was mailed off to the winner this past Thursday. 

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Owl Wallet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I wrapped up a drawstring project bag for an internet friend. The fabric is one I bought two years ago when I visited J in Okinawa. It’s absolutely beautiful, but I’ve been hesitant to do anything with the fabric because what if I try something, and it doesn’t live up to the awesomeness of the fabric or the memories it holds?! 

I think this bag lived up to the fabric. I love the coordination of the drawstring and lining color- it matches the flowers scattered through the pattern. This fabric was a joy to work with. In fact, I’m thinking of making a matching purse. 

 

 

DSC02037My mother also recently gave me her serger on “long-term loan.” I am finally going to take the time this weekend to learn how to use it. I’m excited- while the items I make are nice as-is, being able to serge the seams/hems will add a nice professional touch to everything. Plus I’m going to attempt a pair of jeans here soon, and it would be great to finish the edges off on those.  I’m running a contest on the facebook page- name the serger, and be entered to win 20% off a purchase from my business! It can be anything I make- yoga bags, purses, wallets, or drawstring bags. 

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Now with added Yoga Bags!

by admin Posted on January 20, 2013

Hey everyone! Just a quick post to let everyone know that I have decided to start selling yoga mat bags through my new website under the Yoga Bags link.

I will have ready to purchase bags for sale on a regular basis, plus photos of fabric choices for custom bags. Most will be drawstring bags with a pocket on the front, although I can make ones with a zipper in them instead. 

Check them out, and if you want to go ahead and order a custom one, let me know!

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