Travels and Things..

I dyed up these nice blue skeins of yarn that were unraveled from a sweater the other day, and now I'm trying to find a pattern for them. I'm thinking of a shrug or cardi of some sort, but haven't decided yet. It is super soft (merino/angora/rayon blend) and lightweight. There's about 850 yards of it, so I've got a bit to work with.
I'm also making progress on my scarf, but that was thwarted when one of my knitting needles mysteriously vanished from the face of the planet. I don't know how I always manage to lose my nice bamboo knitting needles, but I do..
Even though I haven't been working this summer, I still feel like I've been keeping super busy. In the last few weeks we went to Chicago (to see Josh Ritter with Nate's family) and then to Milwaukee to see John Mayer at Summerfest, shop in the Third Ward, eat lots o' good food, and visit the Grandma & Grandpa C. Here is a shot that Nate's Dad took of me kicking my feet back in an Eames chair at a swanky furniture shop in the Third Ward.

FO: Bold and Bulky Mini Cardi

This is still waiting to dry as I type. I finished it last night at the local Stitch & Bitch, and I love it! It was made with a recycled 50/50 wool/acrylic mix that was mighty soft and very lightweight. I'll get some pics of it on as soon as it dries.
Here's the shell buttons I used:I didn't post any progress pics because I finished it so quickly!
When I first saw the pattern in Stefanie Japel's book Fitted Knits I wasn't immediately sold because of the colors used in the books example, but after seeing Julie's beautiful cardi over at Team Knit using only one color, I was smitten.

In other news, I started another shopping bag with some yarn in the stash. I may rewrite the pattern with this handle instead. It looks a little bit nicer I believe. :)

I also picked up some sale items this weekend that I'm planning on making into a bag of some sort. Maybe I'll write up a pattern?I've also got to update soon on all of the adventures I've been going on lately. I can't believe how busy this summer has been!

Progress in the Garden

Even though we got a late start, everything is coming up so far in the garden. Some things may not get big enough by the time winter comes, but these are some of the things that are doing really well so far:

Thai Basil- Smells D-lish, can't wait to add some to my curry!


Spinach- tastes great.
Cucumbers - Looking good so far

Zucchini- again, going to be used in curry.
And a baby birdie! Don't worry, we won't be eating him. He hangs out in the mulberry tree that is right by the garden.

Fathers Day Trip to Mineral Point

Dad got a sweet new camera lens from all of us girls for Father's day this year, so later in the afternoon, he and I went to Mineral Point to test it out. He and I both brought our cameras, and lots of pics were taken. :)







After walking around for a while, we stopped and got some iced coffee and shared a piece of blueberry crumb cake. Happy Father's Day Dad!

Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Molls!Despite a few tornado warnings and massive flooding back near my hometown, I made it back last weekend to celebrate my sister's birthday and Father's Day. For Molly's birthday, her and I went out bright and early to catch breakfast at the Cooks Room. After each having some chai/coffee and having a slice of the BEST lemon cranberry bread, Nate and I surprised her with a one hour massage. The rest of the day was spent with the rest of the family. Molly wanted to eat Mexican for lunch and then we went to the movies. I think she had a very good time. :)

Recoverd Old Chair Mini Tutorial

Materials Needed:
1. An ugly chair with a removable fabric seat.
2. Pretty fabric or a felted sweater (this is what I used) that is large enough to go around seat cushion.
3. Staple gun / Scissors

Step 1:
Remove seat area by flipping the chair over and unscrewing it from the chair frame.


Step 2:
Lay the seat cover upside down on the fabric you are using and center your seat on the fabric or felted sweater.
Step 3:
Staple the new fabric over the old fabric as evenly as possible making sure it doesn't pucker or bunch.Step 4:
Once the fabric is fully stapled onto the seat, trim your edges and place the seat back on the chair frame. Screw it back in and you are finished!

Gardens, Chicago, and Thrifting

Last weekend my good friend Tony came down for a visit. He just got done with teaching (he's an art teacher at a military academy) and we decided it was a good time for a get-together. I will hopefully have some pictures from our adventures soon, but until then there are these.
We started our little 10' x 10' garden plot over the weekend, and got it planted Sunday afternoon. Here's Nate 'carefully' planting some red pepper seeds.
It is a salsa garden I think. :) We planted spinach, tomatoes, wildflowers, parsley, chives, red peppers, beans, cayenne peppers, jalepenos, and thai basil. Next week we are going to plant squash and cucumbers (in another plot) and also transfer seedlings if any of the seeds in our original plot are too crowded. Hopefully we will have something to show for it at the end of summer! :)

Thrifting was quasi-successful as well this last weekend. I got these little mugs:
And I also picked up a leather camera bag. I know it's a little frumpy, but I'm working on ideas for stenciling it with. It's super durable though, and I was in dire need of a new camera bag.
Tony brought us some wonderful yellow mugs as well, but they are in the dishwasher, so I'll get pics of them soon as well. What a great weekend!

Entrelac Scarf!

Two things quickly:
First, today I started this little pretty, it is going to be a scarf eventually. It has been good knitting while I watch episodes of frontline on the PBS website. They have all of the past few years' episodes online! I'm loving how the yarn is working up as well. Yum! This is the yarn I was spinning from a few posts ago. It is single-ply light worsted weight yarn and I spun about 450 yards worth of it.
Secondly, I am in DIRE need of a haircut! I'm beginning to look like Cousin It, and it is starting to get hot here. I think I am going to get 3-4 inches cut off, and get it totally thinned out. I have SUPER thick hair and it is actually starting to make my neck hurt when I wear it up for any amount of time. Who knows, maybe I'll cut it really short. I've been known to do that in the past. :)
As you can probably tell, I was too lazy to bust out the nice camera tonight and instead I took the shots with my webcam. Sorry folks! :P

DIY Watercolor Wedding Invites - Simple Tutorial

Seeing as it is the beginning of wedding season, I thought I would post a tutorial for the wedding invites that I made for my wedding last summer. They are extremely easy to make and ended up saving us a ton of money!
Here is the finished product:Materials Needed:
-Sturdy Cardstock for the back of the invite. (the green background paper in my invites)
-Vellum for the invite information. (you can use any color or style of paper, as long as you can print on it)
-Watercolor paper (heavy weight- 140lb)
-Watercolor paints and brush. (Prang or Crayola work fine)
-A stamp that matches the theme for your wedding.
-'Sticky-doos'- Those 3-d cushions with stickies on both sides of them.
-Scotch Tape.
-Raffia.
-Envelopes to match your color scheme.

Step 1:
Cut your cardstock to size (make sure it will fit in the envelopes you got!) using a paper-cutter and print out your invite information on the vellum using your printer. I printed six per page, so I didn't need that much vellum. Then just affix the vellum to the cardstock using plain old scotch tape. Make sure your tape isn't larger than the stamp you are using or you will see it in the finished invite.
Step 2:
Get out your watercolors, watercolor paper, brushes, stamp and water. Mix your paint really thick and paint it onto your stamp like shown. Make sure not to let the stamp get too waterlogged or your image will be distorted. Fill your whole sheet with as many as you will need leaving a little space between them. Make sure the stamped images are completely dry before moving on to the next step. You can use a blowdryer to quicken the drying.
Step 3:
Paint in your design! Don't get too detailed with this, just have fun and experiment until you find a combination of colors you like. Make sure each layer of color is completely dry before you paint the next layer. Watercolor has a tendency to 'bleed' colors together if the previous layer is at all damp.Step 4:
After the stamped and painted images are dry, cut them out. Also take your raffia and make little 'ties' with it. These will go behind the watercolor flowers.
Step 5:
Assemble your flowers! Use your Sticky-doos to give the flower some 3-dimensionality and tape the raffia bowties to the center to hold it down.
Step 6:
Stick on the flowers! You are now finished - you may wallow in your creativity!If you would like to post about this tutorial on your website or blog, please include a link back to this entry. Hope you like it!
Also, if you have any questions, just leave a comment!
:)

Handspun Yarns, Armwarmers, and a Scarf, OH MY!

What a better time to start making warm things than the start of summer? Oh wait. I think I'm just trying to make up for all of the crafting I didn't get done during the school year...
These are both merino wool:

I really like the top one, I was trying to get some bolder colors with my dyes. The second one reminds me of my wardrobe. It is all of the colors of the clothes I currently own.
I'm also going to take some nice pictures of these armwarmers and write up a pattern for y'all by the end of next week. Here they are in all of their glory:

Also made this week is this scarf I whipped up using scrap and recycled yarns. I think I'm going to make a few more of these as I've got a bunch of bulky yarn scraps lying around and taking up space. Do you like the colors? I think they are a bit manly for myself. I think this one is going to get put in the Etsy shop.

I've also started working out again (well I should say working out on a regular basis - it was hit and miss this semester) and I got a new video which is kicking my butt. I'm so sore!! I usually just do cardio, but this is a strength-cardio-ab circuit with no breaks. Ouch. Hopefully the soreness will wear off soon so I can stop walking around the house like an old lady. :)

New Items AND Happy Birthday Bo & Rascal!

I've been crafting up a storm the last few days in effort to bulk up my Etsy shop!
Here are some of the results:
Two crocheted button cuffs -- these are made from scrap yarns I had lying around the house and random buttons. They are really lightweight and cute. :)I've also been painting some little wood blocks with acrylics. I think they would be super cute in a kids room or any small space that needs to be brightened up.

Yesterday was Bobo and Rascal's first birthday!! Nate and I made them mini catfood cakes and had a nice relaxed night at home. Here is a picture of our happy little kitties ( who aren't that little anymore!) Happy Birthday!!
Thats it for now, I've been relaxing and taking full advantage of the fact that my semester is over. :)
More later!
--Cassie