Yarn Over

The Final Farewell

2006-08-20T20:23:00.000-04:00

After only a dozen posts, I must abandon this blog. I haven't the time to update it, and my crafting progress has been so lacking there truly isn't much to update anyone on to begin with. Thanks for everybody who stopped by checked out my site... I will continue to read blogs long past my attempts at posting in one. :)

Everybody take care...

"I don't know if you can hear me... I'm feeling down and can't think clearly. But even though it's complicated, we've got time to start again..."
-"Start Again" by Death Cab for Cutie

Points of Interest...

2006-07-24T18:11:00.000-04:00

I swear I'm going to get kicked out of every blogring I belong to for not posting often enough... Where does the time go? A month has gone by since my last post and I haven't made much progress in the world of sewing. I have, however, sold some of the purses I previously posted pictures of, and began a felting class with one of my awesome coworkers at the salon. I taught her to knit just a week ago, and now we're working on totes - it's very exciting. I've never felted anything before, and one of our clients at the salon is the one teaching the class... Funny how these things work.

Now my boss wants to learn to knit, so I promised her I'd bring some supplies to work on Tuesday and we'd have a lunch break knit session. Hopefully she picks it up as well as Shawna did - that girl shocked me. It's been fun being the one teaching, rather than learning for a change. I've had a blast working on my felting project even though we've only had one class so far too... I'm way ahead of schedule because I can't help but keep working on it! I'll post some pictures of the final project when I'm done.

Last weekend was also Tigers' weekend for the Phelan family - every summer we pack up and head to Detroit for a Tigers game and some fun. This year they changed our night game to an afternoon game, which was a bummer, but we still had a good time. The Tigers lost (they lose every time we go to watch them it seems like!) but this year that's out of the ordinary for them so it wasn't too bad. Matt came with us again this year and bought me a cute teddy bear with a Detroit sweatshirt and a bracelet that looks like a piece of a baseball... He's a sweetie.

Cosmetology school is drawing ever closer... My first day is September 19th, and I cannot wait to move into my new apartment. East Lansing, here I come!

Off Subject

2006-06-28T07:34:00.000-04:00

Off to East Lansing today for an interview that could get me into the Douglas J Aveda Institute- the best cosmetology school in Michigan. Wish me luck!! (I'll need it!)

Pictures, pictures.

2006-06-14T22:41:00.000-04:00

I've been busy crafting lately... Almost finished with a sweater-coat style project made with Lion Brand Thick n' Quick yarn (gray), and just starting a Debbie Bliss shrug sweater with Lion Brand Microspun yarn (black). Lots of acryllic, I know... So unlike me! I'm also trying to find time for Blue Sky Alpaca socks... So many projects and so little time.

I've also been sewing quite a bit, and have managed to come up with a fair amount of neck tie purses. Here's the family so far:

And there you have it, folks. The fruits of my labors of the last few weeks. More pictures coming soon of semi-finished and finished sweaters, (and hopefully socks as well!!)

'Till next time, everybody take care...

First in Awhile...

2006-06-04T07:06:00.000-04:00

My, my... How time flies in the summer. I've been working hard every week to save up my money for school. It was touch and go there for a bit... I think I had a whopping $25 in my bank account. (Yay for college!!) But now I'm doing better. Working at the salon has been a great change for me... I've already had my hair cut twice and dyed once for free, and apparently next Thursday my head is becoming a science experiment for a new dye technique. I think there may be some red streaks involved. We'll see I suppose.

There has been knitting progress, however, no pictures as of late. I also need to get my butt into gear on the purse sewing, as it has now been confirmed by my boss that I may sell them at the salon. She even went so far as to decline my offer for a percentage of the sales!

So, work, work, work, busy, busy... I do love my friends though, and I've had plenty of good nights with them since being home. Last night was a huge "Mexican Fiesta" with some awesome people I haven't seen since my graduation party. We've also had a beach outing, a BBQ, and one of my close friends made a decision to transfer to CMU so now I have a roomie! Things are going very well for me, but alas, not much time to blog these days. I promise, more pictures coming soon!

Blue Sky Alpaca sock #1

2006-05-18T11:22:00.000-04:00

I have completed my first sock!

This is probably my third attempt at sock making, but something always seemed to go wrong in the past... But this time I was able to finish it without a hitch. (Well... without a hitch is a pretty big lie. I had lots of issues, but in the end they came out alright.)

Here it is in all it's glory:
I'm so proud. A whole sock, and it even fits right!!

Now if only I had the motivation to finish the other one... I'd love to have time to knit but my time has been devoted to a lot of sewing lately. I'm making purses out of neck ties to sell at the end of the summer during sidewalk sales here in town... But I need to finish some up ASAP because my Dad has a couple people interested in getting some at his work. I'll have to post some pictures of those when I have some more time... I've already completed 2 purses and I'm off for some more sewing.

Oh and P.S.- Yes Dana, I used your bed for the yarn pictures I posted. Way to take one for the team!!

This is me frustrated.

2006-05-09T21:15:00.000-04:00

Mom's sweater yarn still MIA, and I'm leaving college tomorrow - permanently. This is going to take some serious effort to sort out. I am going to lose it.

Good Listener

2006-05-05T09:08:00.000-04:00

Just a note: Emily rocks my socks for listening to all of my knitting gab. Especially during finals week when I receive this in the mail:

Oh the glory of alpaca!

It's too bad my mom's sweater yarn didn't show up yet... I would've liked to start working on that, but on the other hand it's probably good it didn't. I need to study for exams.

All hail the idiot queen.

2006-05-04T08:29:00.000-04:00

I am the supreme idot of all the lands.

This morning I got up at 6:15 to shower and review some information for my 8 AM Art History final. I walked to the art building, was the first one there at about 7:50 and sat down to wait for everyone else to arrive.

10 minutes later when no one else had shown up, I started to panic.

Yeah. My test is at 1:00 this afternoon. Nice.

Words of Wisdom for the Day

2006-05-02T21:49:00.000-04:00

"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you cannot change; kiss slowly, play hard, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything, and have no regrets; life is too short to be anything but happy."

My two best knitting friends at school (Dana and Britt) and me.

That's all for today... No knitting until my new yarn shows up from Knit Happens.

Hello, Blogosphere.

2006-05-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

Wow.

Today has been interesting, to say the least. It started with the cold shower this morning (ah, dormitory living, how I love thee.) and continued on through my last day of English, History, and Science here at Hillsdale. All that's left is my final Philosophy class, and 5 finals. "I can do this," I keep telling myself. I'm not so sure I believe it sometimes.

It's not all bad, at least the campus is beautiful.

I can't wait to move on to Central Michigan University next fall though... but between now and then is a summer of relaxation, reconnecting with my boyfriend, and of course, a job. How else is one expected to beef up their yarn stash?

The last three summers (and over Christmas break this year) I have been a sandwich artist at Cormack's Deli in Petoskey. Yeah, see that "now hiring, apply in person" advertisement? That would be my fault. Because after promising them for months I would return this summer, I was offered a job that would pay more and would keep me from coming home smelling like deli meats and pickles. And, the weak person that I am, I accepted. The Cormack's were always kind to me, and as my first job *ever* it wasn't so bad. But this summer I'm going to be a receptionist at a salon.

And I'll admit it, I'm nervous as hell. If I screw up appointment scheduling, literally every stylist in that place will be looking to gouge my eyes out with their pick teeth. How's that for pressure?

Anyway, between the thoughts of my new job and the finals I have coming up, my stress level has skyrocketed. I can't even knit until my new yarn shows up for my mom's sweater either, since everything else is already packed in my car waiting for the final trip home from college this semester. I need some serious knitting therapy, and fast.

As a substitute, I've been browsing the world of knitting blogs today and was struck with the realization: One can be made famous through knitting/writing about it. Stephanie Pearl McPhee for example, more widely known as the "yarn harlot". Or Anne and Kay from Mason-Dixon Knitting. Both recently came out with books, and have even been on tours to yarn shops doing book-signings.

I have to admit: I have new idols. My knitting blog is less than a week old, and there are thousands of blogs like my own out there. But these women are widely known for their musings. They have regular readers. I can't help but aspire to that kind of knitting greatness, though it's more than likely such a goal will never be achieved.

But more than anything, I want to own a yarn store/art gallery. Is that strange? Do college students usually have such goals as this? It seems odd, really, to crave such an existence. And yet I do.

Until then, my sporatic knitting bursts will have to do. So much schoolwork, so little time to knit. *Sigh.*

Yarn Whore

2006-04-29T22:03:00.000-04:00

I can't deny it... I am a yarn whore. Knit Happens has become my addiction over the last few days. The sales are amazing... Right now I am coveting Blue Sky Sportweight yarn... It's 100% Alpaca which means it's incredibly soft and warm.

Can you imagine the amazingly fun socks that could come out of this? I'm so tempted to buy... Except for that minor fact that I am a college student with $70 to my name right now. (And yes, some of that needs to buy gas to get me home next week.)

But these sales will not last forever, and alas, I cannot convince myself it is worthwhile to shell out twice as much that I could be paying right now for the same yarn.

I mean, really. I'll be selling my books back in less than a week, and that should give me a good $100. Can I really pass up the opportunity to make cozy alpaca socks at such a great price? Especially when I was hoping to crank out a pair not only for myself, but quite possibly for my boyfriend, Dad, and Mom as well?

I am so tempted... So very tempted.

Casting On

2006-04-29T09:13:00.000-04:00

Well, I've decided to make a triumphant return to blogging - this time centered on knitting.

I was taught to knit in highschool by my friend Claire who thrust needles and yarn into my hands at 1 in the morning some random Saturday. I picked it up fairly quickly, and spent a few hours that night getting down the basics. It took me months to finish my first scarf; partly because it was slow going for me as a beginner, and partly because my perfectionist side came out in full force in my projects.

Anyone who has knit probably started with a scarf. And their scarf probably varied in width at different points based on the stitch tension. I spent hours unravelling and re-knitting my first project to eliminate this problem, and my solution was to knit as tight as I possible could.

Luckily, I've grown out of that phase. I still have streaks of perfectionism in my knitting but I am able to "go with the flow" pretty well now. One thing that probably will never change, however, is that I am obsessed.

I'm still a beginner by most standards, (I still can't knit cables or too many other fancy patterns!) but I have picked up quite a few things as I've gone. I am in the process of finishing my first sweater, and I've learned to use double points for making socks and hats and mittens. (I owe all of these things to my boyfriend's mother, who picked up where Claire left off to teach me pretty much everything I know about knitting and sewing.)

This blog is pretty much going to chronicle my adventures in knitting, along with the occasional unrelated post and/or rant. I'm really a crafty girl at heart, so you might see some of my Tie Purses and photography come and go on here as well.

Thanks for visiting! I hope to see some of my old blogger friends around!