Longest scarf in the world

It is about time! I started planning this scarf in October, knitting in November, and finished it Sunday. I wanted a reversible pattern, machine washable wool, and an elegant design with pockets. I finally settled on Berroco's Pure Merino in a raspberry colorway, and bought three balls. Over the next two months, I bought three more. The scarf started as the cabled scarf in Scarf style, but found that it didn't fold up well into pockets. Why pockets? My grandmother has arthritis in her hands and is not able to wear gloves. It's pretty cold in Indiana, so I wanted her to be able to stick her hands in the scarf to keep them warm, and still be able to hold onto her walker.

After scouring every knitting book in Borders one night, I settled on a seed stitch pattern from some purse book (I think it called the pattern "blossom."). Halfway through the first ball, I realized I knit the exact same pattern for my mom last year, and that it curled up on itself horribly. I'm an idiot. But, I was too far along and too time crunched to rip it out. Despite knitting feverishly up through Christmas Eve, I still couldn't finish it. The scarf had to be extra long in order to fold up into pockets, and the stitch was taking me forever. My grandma understood, and it is now on its way to her in time for her birthday. The color will hopefully match her new coat. I should have made her a fleecy Colts one, but who had that kind of forethought in December??



The longest scarf, ever:
Cast on 35 (I think) onto size 9 needles. Any odd number will do.
I did two rows of garter stitch after casting on to give it a bit of an edge.
Row 3: *k1, p1*, k1
Row 4: knit all.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 for an eternity, or until the scarf is about 7 feet long. This took me just shy of five balls of approximately 100 yards each, Pure Merino.
For the pockets, I folded each end up the length of my hand, and seamed the edges.

This is also for 50projects, and fits into the theme of finishing unfinished projects. I didn't get the InStitches-a-long finished in time, though. Whoops. Maybe February.

it's still january!

I moved into my house ten months ago, in late spring. Aside from four tulips, nine bushes and a cubic ton of weeds, there was no landscaping in my yard. So it's understandable that I went a little crazy last fall in the bulb buying department. I started out small- a few daffodils and crocuses here and there. I had a giftcard to Lowe's, so it's like they were free. Towards the end of the season, bulbs went on sale, so I bought more. Then clearance. The ground still hadn't frozen in November, so there I was at Thanksgiving, planting the rest of my bulbs. I lost count as to how many I planted. And what I planted. I saved all of the packaging, but I forget where exactly I planted everything.

This little guy started popping up last week. The grape hyacinths in the backyard sent shoots up in December, and there are several bulbs peeking up in the front yard. I just wish I could remember what all I planted. Hyacinth? Allium? Narcissus?



Someone should tell him it's still January, and spring is still far away.

Valentine's Wreath

Project #2 for 50projects: I had some free time last night so I whipped up this little door wreath. It's cardboard (two layers), scrapbook paper, some sticky letters, and those foamy hearts from the Target Dollar Spot. It matches the paper globes I made last week- the same pink polka dot paper from JoAnn's. Unfortunately, that isn't poor lighting in the photo. My kitchen really is that hideous butter color. Ick. On the upside, my hyacinth and kitchen table match the wreath!

(photo updated 2/13/2009 to replace one that had a busted link)

project uno

Project #1 completed: those little ball ornaments from Martha's Holiday Issue. I've been dying to make them for months, and I finally got around to it. In time for Valentine's Day. Sorry for the bad pictures, but it's hard to focus on little bits of paper dangling from a chandelier.

A second view of the largest ball. For this one, I took "i love you" scrapbook paper, cut thin strips, then cut those in half. So each strip is a little under six inches long. I used an 1/8th inch hole punch and craft brads from JoAnn's. I liked using the 12x12 sheets of paper as opposed to a piece from a Mat Stack because you only have to cut the long skinny strips once, then cut them in half.



This is for the 50 Projects LiveJournal group. The goal is to do 50 craft projects in 2007. I'm just joining, so I'm a few weeks behind. January's theme is to finish unfinished projects. I've been searching for the right paper, brads, and hole punch for several weeks on these. My next unfinished project is my Grandmother's scarf, which should have been done 4 weeks ago for Christmas!!!

My other ideas for 50 projects:
-finishing a Christmas stocking.
-recycling yarn from thrifted sweaters
-dying said yarn with Kool-Aid, etc.
-knit socks
-Coin quilt for my bed

In-Stitches A-long

I'm joining Finny Knits In-Stitches A-long, at least informally. I'm going to make the document duvet cover if I ever get my book from BN.com. I ordered it last Tuesday, and it didn't ship until at least Friday. I'm also getting Apartment Therapy, so hopefully I'll be able to get my house clean and organized.

Steph's scarf

The beginning of Steph's scarf. I didn't get an after shot. It's Malabrigo wool with Katia mirage as the fuzzy stuff. The angora wool turned out far fuzzier than I anticipated, but I loooove the color. The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and is on size 10.5 needles, I think. It's K1P1, but doesn't knit up as quickly as I remember. It should be super warm, if winter ever arrives in Philadelphia.

most exciting thing about the Art Museum

Last week I finally made it to the Gee's Bend exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. No pictures, though, since it's a traveling exhibit. Overall, I was pretty excited to finally see the exhibit, of which I've read quite a bit about online. There were some beautiful colors and patterns that I wanted to capture, but sadly could not.

The best part of my trip to the IMA was the wedding dress exhibit. I tried to get a clear shot of this, but it was difficult given the lighting and height of the mannequins. Each had a wedding dress from a different time period, and a corresponding hairstyle for the period. Each hairstyle is made from paper.







Can you see in the detail? It's white paper, cut and curled!!! It looked so real, or like resin or plastic, but you could see how it moved in the slight breeze. I changed the contrast and color so it would be clearer, but the original lighting was so dim it was hard to get a clear shot.

Crafty Resolutions 2007

I've already decided on my financial resolutions for 2007- mostly, contribute to my IRA before the end of the year crunch, and figure out how to invest in DRiPS. Boring boring, blah blah. Let's talk CRAFTY resolutions!! And this will probably be an on-going, ever-changing list:

1. Make a crafty journal to keep track of things I want to try. I guess this blog counts, since it is a crafty online journal, but maybe a paper copy to jot down ideas and projects, too. I've been keeping del.icio.us bookmarks marked "thingstotry" for a few years now, but I never remember to refer back to it.
2. Finish projects. I see something I'd like to try and go buy all of the materials, but never finish. Case in point- the paper ornaments in MSL's Holiday issue. I had everyone collect Christmas cards for me, and I bought paper punches two months ago but haven't made a single one. I have gotten better with this when buying yarn- only for a concrete project!!
3. Make a quilt. I've long coveted a coin quilt like that at weewonderfuls.com, but I haven't the slightest clue when it comes to making one.
4. Learn to crochet. So I can buy RoxyCraft's patterns :)
5. Craft at work. During lunch, although I so wish I could knit during down time. I think I could bring card supplies or the aforementioned paper ornaments and make them during lunch. I get so inspired while I'm reading craft blogs during the day, but lose motivation on my drive home. This would be a great way to capitalize on that.
6. Get organized! Once my sister moves out of hte craft room, I want to finally finally get organized- ribbon, paper, fabric and all of the stuff I've accumulated in the past 3 years since I started knitting and sewing.

Notice that de-stash is not part of "get organized." I'd like to expand with some basics that I don't already have- hole punches and stamps for card making, some neat fabrics that go with everything, etc.