If you are prone to a bad back and something like, oh say, stretching really well after finishing a good book could put you in a state of pain for a few days due to pulled muscle.

For the love of all that is good and pure, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT put your bad back remedies (icy hot, water bottle, thermacare patches, etc) in the lowest cabinet under the sink. You wont be able to reach them when you desperately need them. and it will suck.

I'm still barely knitting after my retro adventure into crochet turned out so dismally. I started a pair of plain ribbed socks (noro sock yarn, yum) but they are barely a few rows past the toe. I have a long road trip ahead of me so I need to get a little something on the needles but I just can't decide what. This might finally be the day I make the legwarmers I've been coveting for years. They'd be nice to have in case it gets a little chilly in St. Louis.

I've also still been reading up a storm. I just finished Flyte by Angie Sage this morning. Its the second book in her Septimus Heap series. It was...ok. Not great, not bad. Certainly not as good as the first. The first was clever and charming, being all new and such but this one fell a little short. I expected the characters to be more mature and the plotline a little deeper. I'm not in a hurry to rush out and read the third quite yet.

I'm also almost done with Pride and Prejudice, a book I somehow always put off reading. I have a real love-hate relationship with it. I love the characters; they are charming and witty. However, at the same time, the subject matter (parties, engagements, etc etc) is kind of like listening in on a group of self indulgent women gossiping for several hundred pages. Still...I can't put it down.

Any other suggestions? I have a stack of books on the table awaiting their turn but I'd love to hear what your favorites are!

Posted by fruitychick at 05:02 PM | Permalink

My sister in law is getting married soon (like, really soon). I thought it was closer to the middle of May but, come to find out just a few days ago, its next weekend. Yikes.

And--it has a theme. Hawaiian print.

Needless to say, I was unprepared for the news. Not that I have anything against theme weddings--it isnt that at all. Its that my (loving, caring, almost perfect) husband didnt tell me this until this past weekend.

So the shawl I had made months ago and the dress I had planned to wear were no longer on the books. I had approximately 10 days to make my dress, make munchkins dress and knit something for myself to wear over said new dress. I ordered fabric and made an emergency trip to the yarn store to buy some basic black cotton for a wrap. (do not speak to me of how I shouldnt wear black to a wedding. I hadn't received my fabric yet and couldnt match any other color. You give me 10 days notice and you get me wearing a black wrap.)

Anyway...days of hysteria passed and I eventually found a suitable dress online. I ordered it, it came, I tried it on, it fits, its cute...and. best of all...it matches the original blue shawl I knit ages ago.

Thank goodness. At least now I can stop this madness:

Yes, my friends, that is a crochet hook. I used to exclusively crochet back before I learned to knit. I was looking for a quick pattern and this one seemed to fit the bill. Its The Sweet Pea Shawl, if you are so crochetly inclined. Its an ok pattern but I'm not exactly thrilled with the customer service on this one. I purchased the pattern online and when I downloaded it, it asked for a password. I emailed customer service and received a snide response that it was part of the (lengthy--so lengthy I didnt read it because I was crunched for time and just wanted to print that darn thing out) email I had already received--listed "no less and two times in this very email" (quote from the email I received from them.)

First of all, don't assume I'm going to read your "thanks for purchasing our pattern form letter" Odds are, I'm not going to. Second, when I email with a question, don't send me something snide in return. Third, don't make people put a stupid password in every time they want to look at the pattern they purchased from you. It is annoying.

At least I like the dress and can get back to my new book (The Book Thief).

Posted by fruitychick at 02:21 PM | Permalink

I don't think I've ever really talked about Books here a lot on ye olde blog but I've always been a reader. My graduate school years took a toll on my love of reading. I found the books and articles I read for class fascinating but averaging 7 to 10 hefty nonfiction books a week (in addition to writing papers) for classes really took a toll on my pleasure reading. It was really during those years I developed my love of children's books. Then, it was a necessity--books like The Secret Garden, The Chrnoicles of Narnia, The Neverending Story, and Harry Potter were all I could handle above and beyond my school work.

Times have changed and my book burnout combined with my parent of a young baby exhaustion are starting to wane; I find myself spending more and more time perusing the bookshelves in our home and scouring GoodReads for recommendations for what to read next. I usually read nearly any type of genre from modern novels, classics, science and other nonfiction and a heavy dose of my favorite genre, science fiction.

There is still a problem though--when do you give up on a book? I try to give each book I read a good faith effort on my part. Its a fine line though--it has to be far enough into the book to get a sense of the characters and plot but not so far that I might as well finish, despite my apathy for the story.

I'm treading those waters right now with The Golden Compass. I don't know what it is--I don't care for the characters, the plot is developing so slowly I am getting bored and I despise the lack of grammar in the characters' speech patterns. I know it is a stylistic point but it is one that I abhor. "I 'ent..." (as in, I aint) is just not a proper way to speak, even if you are a young girl in a fantasy novel.

Page 139. The book is only roughly 400 pages. I think I've given it my all.

Am I wrong? Does the plot pick up? Am I going to be missing out on something great or is it just more of the same? The book was given such great reviews maybe my expectation were just too high. Am I a total quitter?

Posted by fruitychick at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I think I have made approximately 1,430,569 Bobbles. Its a rough estimate though--mainly based on my perceived bobble knitting time.

I'm almost done though--I found a few more colors hiding in the bottom of the kit bag after I thought I was done knitting bobbles. I think it might be some kind of cosmic joke though--no matter how many colors I finish, there will always be more

I'm actually looking forward to the masses of black stockinette ahead of me.

As for the kit I purchased--I must say I'm disappointed. I thought it was a great way to get all the colors together without having to buy an entire skein of each color. However, my kit only contained enough of each color to make about half of the bobbles called for in the pattern. If I finish knitting the bag and attach all the bobbles I have, I'm not sure what I'll do if there aren't enough. I guess I could raid the stash--I have a few colors of cascade I could make some additional bobbles with. Grrr. I'm just mad I paid for a kit to make the bag and the contents weren't enough to actually complete the bag. If I were making kits, I would probably be careful and include a percentage over what was necessary just to be sure.

Posted by fruitychick at 01:53 PM | Permalink

Well, it was exactly near death. And it wasn't exactly me--but this flower headed pin sure felt it.

I was just sewing along and felt a bit of a jolt in the machine. Then I realized I hat sewed right through one of the flower pins on the other side of the armhole. Whew. Glad it wasn't my finger.

As soon as I started sewing cute dresses, my sister hinted that she had some "extra" fabric from something she had made for her daughter who is due in June. And--would I?

Of course I would.

I think this was probably my best sewing yet. Even the button band I added down the back turned out pretty well.

Adorable. Only my sister would request a leopard print dress for a baby girl but I must admit--its freaking adorable.

The Specs--no pattern here--just made it up as I went along. I used one of munchkin's old dresses for a size gauge but I think it turned out a little big anyway. It will probably fit the girl next summer sometime.

Apparently, I"ve been sucked into a fabric buying vortex. Everywhere I go it seems to be on sale... And when you only really have to buy a yard for a whole dress....its hard to pass up.

This should be enough for a summer wardrobe, don't you think?

Posted by fruitychick at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Whew. I have been sewing up a storm. These little dresses for the Munchkin are so quick and easy its addicting! I've made several more--some from patterns and some without. I can tell my skills are already improving. I've invested in a few other tools over the past week--including a rotary cutter and mat, a great pair of gingher scissors and a bias tape maker. Just like with knitting, the right tools sure do make all the difference.

I'm trying to get a full summer wardrobe together for the Munchkin--I'm wondering if I can make it a whole season without buying her a thing! That would certainly be something.

Here is the most recent lineup!

Pink Swirly Dress:

I got this fabric on sale at Hobby Lobby. They really do have great finds there--they never have a big selection but theres always a sale. I think I paid 2.50ish for the yard I bought.

I did use a pattern for this dress--New Look 6613. It couldnt have been easier--I think there are a grand total of 3 pieces to the pattern. I did have to size it down a bit to get it small enough for my Munchkin but the pieces are simple shapes, so it was easy to do. I'm also glad I read a tip over on Craftster (i think) about tracing the pattern pieces on to parchment paper and using that as your pattern. That way you don't have to cut the original so you can use it again in another size. Super helpful for those of us with growing kids!

Pink and Green Polka Dots!

Heres another from the same pattern. I can whip these out in about an hour now--and they are so cute!!

Pink Shirred Dress:

I started this one back on the old machine but finally got around to putting some straps on it today. Now that I look at it hanging up, the straps are a touch uneven but I can fix that in a jiffy.

Blue Stripe Shirred Dress:

This one is still unfinished. I put a few lines of shirring in the other day but, in my zeal of how well my new machine works, I ended up pulling the elastic a little too tight and the dress became too small. So, I just ripped out the elastic and I'll give it another go during naptime. Isnt the cute little decorative stitch adorable? My new machine doesnt have a ton of decorative stuff but it has a few like this one that I'm sure I'll use to add some detail to dresses.

Knitting? Do you believe I've actually been knitting a bit too? I dont have pictures but I'm only one color away from completing all the bobbles for the Bobbles Bobbles Everywhere Bag by Noni. It doesnt look like much--just a ziploc of little mini swatches at the moment but I'll take the obligatory before and afters during the felting process.

So much crafting, so little time!

Posted by fruitychick at 10:51 AM | Permalink

The options were really endless.

Hey Baby, How you doin'?
Yo, Baby, Wassup?
etc, etc.

Meet my new machine:

The Baby Lock Creative Pro. My old machine (a cheapo walmart brother) died on me the other day and, with a stack of fabric and more patterns than I know what to do with, I had to replace it. At first I went to Hancock Fabric to look at their selection and it was minimal--I did buy a machine but after they gave me a hassle about returning a non-functional pair of scissors I had bought three days before (and had the receipt), I returned the machine right then.

Off to the sewing center I went and I am sure glad I did. The people were super nice and helped me find just the machine. I even got to chat with the repair guy about the problems he saw in the various machines. On his recommendation, I decided on the brand then the saleswoman helped narrow it down on the features I wanted.

I've had it all afternon now and have already cranked out a wee red dress:

See the button on the back? How CUTE IS THAT?

My sewing looks pretty crappy here...I had to do some "adjustments" to get the dress to fit the munchkin, so there were some seams that I inexpertly ripped out. I also, apparently, need to learn to trim my ends more closely.

I'm sure I'll improve on the next 10 dresses I have planned :) The machine sewed like a dream and I couldnt believe how easy the buttonhole feature was. Seriously--snap the actual button into part of the presser foot and it will make a perfectly tailored button hole with one touch of a button. I love it!

Anyway, I think she likes it, though it was hard to tell. It looks extra smashing with the striped pants underneath, no?

Posted by fruitychick at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

After seeing some great sewing projects popping up around blogland--mainly this super cute dress Knittens made for her little one--I just had to get my sewing stuff out.

First, I whipped up this little top for the Munch using this tutorial (link also from Knittens). It turned out cute but much smaller than I wanted. Good thing I have a neice due this summer! This will fit her perfectly as a dress!

After that, I follwed Knitten's link to this Craftster thread on how to turn a men'sbutton down shirt into a toddler dress. The Mr. wears most of his button downs into the ground but I still have a large stash of them in my closet from when I worked in a "fancy dress up" office. I left that job and those shirts have been marinating in the closet for ages. I've meant to donate them to goodwill or the like but never got around to it....

but now! They have a purpose!

The Front:

The Back:

The hem looks a little wonky in the pictures but its really (surprisingly) straight.

I totally love it! The little sleeves...but buttons down the back...

Too Cute!

Unfortunately, it is a little....big.

Oh well. It will fit later this summer, I'm sure.

It didnt take me long to remember how much I hate having all the little threads pile up around the sewing machine, so I whipped up a little eensy weensy bag to hang on the front of the machine:

And the cute pinchusion from Last Minute Pathwork and Quilted Gifts:

I omitted the embroidery along the seems and added a button top and bottom to cover how my corners didnt line up. I love it!

What--you came for knitting? Well...I haven't done much lately. I've been doing some plugging away at all my current WIPs but I'm getting dragged down in the muck and mire of having too many things going at once. I'm nearly done with my Dove Shawl though--tonight is Knit Nite, so maybe I'll finish up there!

I did go to the Dallas Fort Worth Fiber Fest on Friday. It was great to see some local Vendors and I picked up a few things--mainly patterns but it was sadly very small. Maybe I'm just spoiled at having lived 15 minutes away from the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for so many years. I'll continue to go to the Dallas Fiber Fest to support it though--maybe it will continue to grow!

Posted by fruitychick at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)