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i just went on an online yarn shopping spree. the original idea was to buy some yarn for the poncho i am making trav's cousin, but i got a bit crazy. this is one of the yarns i bought: recycled rayon/cotton sari yarn. i have no idea what i'm going to use it for. but it's so pretty, i just wanted to see what it looked like in person. i'm sure i'll think of something to make with it!

i started the baby hat and i'm about half done. i used the pakucho cotton i had left over from the first baby hat i made. i'm worried that a plain off-white hat is kind of boring for mamas and baby, but there's something about the simplicity of this yarn that i like for baby clothes. anyway, i'm not into pastels for babies and i wouldn't know what other colors to use to match a baby's wardrobe. i hope little smudge likes it. i ended up ripping the cotton candy hat; i had only done like one line and it wasn't worth transferring it to other needles or a stitch holder.

slacker knitter seeks advice

we saw "wallace and gromit" last weekend. i think gromit wins the award for "world's cutest knitter."

i haven't done any knitting at all lately. i think it's largely because of battlestar galactica. when i'm home and have free time all i wanna do is watch battlestar galactica, and i don't want to be distracted by knitting while i watch it. i think i've been watching it a bit too much though, because i had a dream of being attacked by a cylon.

anyhoo, now i have to get cracking. i promised my friend liza an umbilical cord hat for her upcoming bundle of joy, thinking i had until february when she's due. but i just found out her shower is in a week and a half, and i suppose i should really have it done by then, huh? i hope i have enough yarn in my stash.

i think i'm going to have to rip apart my cotton candy hat a second time to free up the needles for the umbilical cord hat. it's not that big a deal because i only have like a half inch done, but still i don't like to do that. anyone have any ideas on how to save the hat? it's on a 16in size 10 circular needle.

after that, i have to get going on a christmas present for travis' cousin. his family does a "secret santa" thing where each person draws a name and only buys a present for that one person, saving much money and pointless gift giving. i drew his cousin, and i think she'd really like an elegant wrap/wide scarf. i'd also like to add a strategically placed button or buttons so that it can be fastened to make it like a cape or poncho, you know? i got some great ideas at the 2005 d.c. knit-out and crochet last weekend. i want to use mostly black and/or shades of brown, with a little bit of accent color, and use several different textures of yarn. one possibility i've been considering is black soy silk and/or bamboo with recycled sari yarn. but, if i do it in browns and neutrals, i have some really cool coconut husk buttons i brought back from hawaii that would look great. i have to get my butt over to a yarn store and see what catches my eye.

more fiber art

these are two pieces of 2-D fiber art by an artist named chad alan. they were part of a larger installation displayed at the 2004 artomatic show in dc. the pieces were made using various scraps of fabric, thread, and yarn sewn and stitched together. i would have bought more, but i couldn't afford them. i had to pick the two i absolutely could not live without. they are two of my most prized possessions.

i discovered another amazing fiber artist today; her name is agata olek. check out the photos of her wearable sculptures on her website. isn't that crocheted wedding dress amazing? i came across her work because she did some crocheted set pieces for a dance performance that my friend jon was involved in.

i personally haven't been knitting much this week. i'm still working on my cotton candy hat, take two. i did put up our halloween decorations, not that it took very long. it's just a ceramic jack o lantern, a hanging skeleton, and some stringy spider web stuff on the porch. we still have to go get our pumpkin. halloween is my favorite holiday, i can't wait!

check out the new link on vegan yarns

moira of fake sheep has done a great job putting together this page on vegan yarn. i'm using it to put my christmas list together!

crafty bastards

yesterday was the crafty bastards crafts show in adams morgan. there were tons of great crafts from duct tape ipod covers to silk screened tees (my favorite was one that said "nobody puts baby in the corner") to knitted skull and crossbones bags. here's the squished penny trav got for his collection, isn't that awesome?

plus, there was live music and
some really fabulous breakdancers.

i bought two things, a rag rug and a bag (see below), both pink. after that, i put myself under a pink moratorium, and since nothing that wasn't pink really tempted me, i got out of there without doing any more damage.

the bag is really well made out of corduroy, with a cute embroidered birdy. it even has a nice lining of pale pink cotton with white polka dots. it's by wonderland Q.

i didn't buy anything knitted or crocheted, on the principle that if i really wanted those items i'd teach myself to make them. but i did get a lot of knitting inspiration.

i really don't understand how anyone can make any money selling stuff they knit. they were selling scarves for like $25. with the amount of time it takes me to knit a scarf, i'd be making like $2 an hour. not that i was planning on selling my knitting anyway, i just hope these girls are faster knitters than i am.

p.s. speaking of pink... i finished the cotton candy hat i was making but i ended up ripping it apart. (is there some "in" knitting word for this i don't know yet?) it was too loose. i don't think my swatch was accurate compared to the final product. i'm going to re-do it with 66 stitches instead of 80.