Drago[knit]fly

A couple of you inquired whether I made this pouch based on a tutorial or pattern and if not, if I could provide one. Ask and you shall receive! I've learned so much from tutorials out on the internets, I'm happy I can give back for once. Bear with me, though. This is my first tutorial and creating one is much tougher than I imagined. I give anyone who's created a tutorial tons of credit! I feel obligated to preface this by admitting I'm a trial and error sewer. I make things up as I go along and test things during the sewing process to see if I'm achieving my desired results. Also, I taught myself to sew just playing around on a sewing machine, so I don't always use text book methods. Just wanted come clean before you all jump into this and so you have a little understanding if I did something in a backass way. The pattern works, which is all that matters to me! Because of the versatility of this pattern, my instructions can be used more as guidelines. You can ...

Endpaper Mitts an endpaper mitt & backyard leaves Pattern: Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts Yarn: Louet Gems Pearl in Cranberry & Orange (1 skein each) Needles: US 1 & 2 Addi Turbos Time Knitted: January 28th (somewhat randomly selected date) to February 17th. Comments: These are one of my favorite knits ever. They have a more polished look than any of my other knitted mittens or gloves and are sure to get tons of use. Plus, you can't beat having use of your fingers for dog walking, convenient iPod use, and driving. Woo hoo - we've gots a winner. Now I just need some Anemoi Mittens for the really cold days. Like today, brrr. I felt like a complete weirdo parked in my driveway during this photoshoot. I even tried getting both my hands in the picture with the help of my neck, chin, and the self-timer. I wonder why none of those pics made it to the blog? And for the next installment of 100 things (11-20) Ever wonder if one of your regular blog reads ...

First off, thanks to everyone who offered advice or just sympathized with me on my demi situation. I'm heeding a bit of all your advice--swatching a bit more, and if all goes well with that, I'm going to trust my math and proceed. I'm not thinking of the "doesn't work out" scenario. I think all the extra work will be well worth the trouble because if Demi works out, it will be a classic piece of my wardrobe. Wish me luck as I embark on this scary journey! So, I had these big plans (I always seem to) involving store-bought chocolates and handmade fabric valentines for J. But as we're getting slammed with all these wintery conditions up in New England, I'm home from work today and unable to get to the grocery store (okay, that's a complete lie. I live two blocks from Whole Foods, but it's cold! I've only motivated to go play in the snow with Miles, which doesn't require much motivation. Have you ever played fetch with a black lab puppy in...

Okay, I'm getting a little tired of shushing my inner knitter. After my meticulous, mathematical analysis supported by swatch samples and machine-made sweaters, I determined the exact number of stitches required for my perfect fitting, labor-intensive sweater that is demi. so, why does it look like this? This is Demi atop my "perfect sweater." UPDATE: I just wanted to mention that demi is completely unstretched in this picture. I can stretch it to the size of the sweater without distorting the cables. But I'm worried there won't be much stretch in the finished sweater, unlike the "perfect sweater." I know, I know, the yarn will bloom and I swatched and used math and swatched! And used math! But, but why is it sooo small? surely it can't bloom that much, right? I can block the heck out of it, but I don't want a lacy cabled sweater you can see through. You know what I'm talking about. I don't want to worry about always wearing a brown sh...

Last week I set out to Joann's to purchase a red "carpet" for our Hollywood-themed work event. One of the perks of a career in marketing / communications is getting a chance to dapple in the lighter side of business. I settled on a bolt of red felt, which worked spectacularly. I tried to convince my coworkers that we have an arts and crafts day and create some Valentine's Day decorations to adorn the office, but no one was buying it. I just couldn't resist this. It will make a cute knitting pouch or lining for something... Anyway while at Joann's , I spent some real time digging through the fiber - the first time in years and made some pretty surprising observations . First, a little background. I used to live at Joann's, The Rag Shop, even the Wal-Mart fabric section (don't judge!) and knew the fabrics by heart. Most of my time was devoted to the wall of calico. My main obsession was batik fabric, which I could never find amongst the standard fabric ...

What to talk about today? Knitting or fabric? Knitting or fabric? Knitting? Fabric? Okay, knitting. Last week, I reached a point in my knitting quite foreign to me. I had nothing on the needles. With this freedom brought an uneasiness and insatiable need to find the "right" project. I started with this to keep me occupied while I mulled over my next big project. I was making good headway with this project, loosely following these directions and even using the magical 96 stitches . But I started this project without valuable information. Apparently, the intended owner of the hat has a giant head and was even nicknamed "Domer" in high school (or so J reports). I've been friends with "Domer" for years, how could I miss something like this? Maybe I am in the clouds like J is always saying... Anyway, after trying this on every row or so and making J model every 10 rows or so, the project is on hold indefinitely. J thinks it's too tight and after the fir...