Knot My Best

So, I made my first friendship bracelet since, oh I don't know, 1994?  You guys, this shit is way harder than I remember!  But then, I was never particularly skilled in this area.

Aye, Treasure, ARGH!

I decided to dig for pirate's treasure, which could possibly be a key, skull, ring, hook, coin, necklace, pearl, or crown.  It's more difficult than you might think and my finger hurt for three days afterward.

Let's DO THIS!

Am I done yet?

I see it, I see it!

Ah, yes, now I remember why I hate archaeology.

FINALLY!

Lots o' Stitchery

Today's bargain-basement find is 1979's The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery written by Mildred Graves Ryan and illustrated by Marta Cone for $3 (thanks, Al!).  It touches on crocheting, embroidering, knitting, macramé, rugmaking, sewing, and tatting.  The knitting chapter alone is 200 pages!

Peter Bradley Adams - I Cannot Settle Down

Here is music from Peter Bradley Adams featuring Molly Parden.  I like the laid-back atmosphere of this collaboration in a 1968 Airstream trailer and the beautiful harmony.

Tift Merritt - Mixtapes

I love Tift Merritt and I love mixtapes.  Win-win!

Sssnake Style

I felt like wearing my new hot coral dress today just for the hell of it.  And then I decided to try my Mamaw's vintage 1970s adjustable, skinny, black metal mesh snake belt with gold details and red rhinestone eyes (whoosh, that's a mouthful), just because.  Heck, I could even make it a necklace if I felt so inclined!  I love finding family leftovers.  I feel closer to Mamaw by wearing it.

I've also been enjoying my simplistic gold snake ring from Charlotte Russe.  I'm not a big fan of actual snakes, although I'd rank them above spiders, but in accessory form, they're quite lovely.  

Damn, I should better moisturize my hands.

Coincidentally, I was wearing this ring when driving to my friend Julie's house a few weeks ago to watch True Blood (the summer guilty pleasure I mostly watch for the hot Swede) and accidentally ran over a black snake.  Then, on the show, there was a snake sacrifice.  Weird.  I worried briefly that it might have been an omen, but I'm not particularly superstitious.  I did find something about Navajo snake taboos with #23 "Do not run over a snake in your car or you will have a bad life."  I'll also take this moment to point out that 23 is my birth date and lucky number.  But you can't trust the Internet, right?  Right??

Aforementioned hot Swede.

Savage Little Fairies

I find the work of Tessa Farmer creepily fascinating.  Farmer, a London-based artist, creates miniature sculptures of savage little fairies from organic materials.  The fairies are no more than 1 cm tall.

Lost Things

A short stop-motion film called "Lost Things" by Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths starring Alison Sudol and the music of A Fine Frenzy.  It makes me smile. :)

Knitting of the past.  A scarf I made for a friend, January 2010.

Spiral Tube Socks

I did a very bad thing.  It's well-known in the knit/crochet community that you should buy the necessary amount of yarn at one time and place to insure it's all from the same dye lot.  Well, I got sucked in by pretty yarn with a cute name and bought only one skein...and now I need another one.  Crap!  I realized this shortly after I bought the yarn, and often you can find another skein from the same dye lot in the store's bin if you're quick about it.  However, there was only one skein of Grape Gum Ball and I bought it.

The dreaded dpns.

I wanted something pretty with which to try my hand at double pointed needles.  Until now, I've accomplished my knitting in the round with circular needles and the magic loop method.  Some people don't like dpns because it's too many needles or they end up with ladders at the joins.  Mostly, I just wanted to see if I could do it.

I really did fear that I might accidentally stab myself in the eye, but after several inches of knitting, I got the hang of it.  And only twice did I get confused by all of the needles and tug on the wrong one, pulling it right off the stitches.  That involved quickly sliding the needle back through the row of loops and utilizing a crochet hook.  Phew!

I followed Patons' "Spiral Tube Socks" pattern (available for free after registration).  Granted, a tube sock isn't as difficult as a traditional sock because it has no heel, but still, I'm pretty proud of myself.  Now, I just have to find another skein of this yarn and knit another sock that will most likely look different as a result of different dye lots.  Whatever, the socks are only for me. :)

My puppy's the cutest!

The Boyfriend Tee

I'd like to give a shout-out to my favorite t-shirt.  I love it so much, I own it in 5 different colors.  Behold The Boyfriend Tee by Mossimo.

For whatever reason, the shirt is now marketed as Juniors Pocket Tee.  Normally, I greatly dislike superfluous embellishments, but the useless mini pocket on this shirt doesn't bother me.  Seriously, go get yourself some at Target and thank me later. :)

I flove this idea!  CountryHome suggests using a vintage apron as a storage caddy.  Brilliant!  I always covet pretty aprons in antique stores and flea markets but know I would never muck them up by wearing them to cook/bake.  The only hard part might be finding an apron with enough pockets to make it worthy of storage.

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow

Just so you know, you should be aware of The Civil Wars.  I like how they say "holler" in the song "Barton Hollow."  That's how 'dem folks in Tennessee say it. :)

Claeys Root Beer Candies

I've been eating Claeys "root beer" flavored old-fashioned sugared hard candies for about 3 days straight and am actually surprised that I haven't made myself sick.  They're quite yummy and available in nine other flavors.  Someone, please tell me what "horehound"  flavored candy tastes like.  I'm curious, but not enough to be a guinea pig.

Ask And You Shall Receive

As previously mentioned, my parents asked that I make a toilet paper roll cover for their bathroom, patterns of which are not readily available.  My Dad's advice was, "You can do it, Em.  Be creative!"  Somehow I don't exactly see myself flexing my creativity muscles by designing a TP roll cover.  Plus, I'm still learning this knitting-in-the-round business.  I am not a master.  So, after much frustration, I finally found something decent by Anonymous Linda who uses a mini-cable pattern to fit a standard size roll.

The key here is the words "standard size."  Using TLC Essentials yarn in "serene" (what the hell kind of yarn color name is that?), I knit a TP roll cover that was too small.  Oops.  What's that they say?  "Never assume; you'll make an ass (out of ) u (and) me."  Or in this case, the toilet paper and me.  It's one-ply tissue, but I suppose it's the 1000 sheets that pushes it over the standard edge. Obviously, adjustments were needed.  Gah, why must there be so much math in knitting?!  I figured that the main difference would be in diameter rather than height, so I added the necessary number of cast-on stitches appropriate for the cabling pattern and the extra length.

When the second cover threatened being too short again, I pretty much said "Eff this shit!  I am NOT doing this a third time!"  It was time for some blocking.  I covered the TP roll with plastic wrap and tape, wet my cover, and stretched it over the roll.  TA DA!