the first official sewing project

it all started with the harlot! i sat behind this lady person at the reading. she was knittin' on a sock or some similar small project and her project bag was super cute. i asked her where she got it and stuff. the ones i saw in the shop she mentioned were cute but note quite what i was hankering for. having seen all the luscious fabrics at purl patchwork i decided i would make one my-very-own-self. never mind that i have no idea really how to sew or don't have a machine. well, i have one but it doesn't work. or so i thought!

the original plan was to go to yoga with jess. i of course altered that plan because i wanted to get crafty. we were to head to the point and stitch it up. the point is a hop and skip away from purl soho so we would just pop in, grab a yard or two and head to her place to sew or not sew.

then i got the sick. sometimes you eat things that have aliens in them and the aliens take over your body and don't let you leave the house. even if for the first time ever you were not only on time but early to meet your buddy ol'pal that you haven't seen in like a long time and had a crafty day planned.

i got dressed. i packed a bag. i went outside. i walked a block. i walked that block again on my way back into my apt. and there i stayed folks! i was totally disappointed. cause who knows when i would have had another day off and jess would have a day off too and we both weren't busy and sad face. i pouted in my apt. every time i thought i could try to sneak past the aliens and go out- i was proven wrong.

at a point i finally accepted i couldn't leave but would not accept the fact that i couldn't sew.

but i have no fabric!-

well, there was the half yard left from the lining i hand stitched into kristy's pouchy i crocheted her for our bday...(we have the same bday)

yea but i have no machine!

well, you do have the machine your grandma gave you that you never could figure out how to work in the deep deep bottom of the closet...

yea but! i have no manual! how will i get that thing to work?

well, you do have that endless resource of information on the ravelry forums...

(way more efficient that the www btw)

fine! i'll try it. i will make an absolute mess and hurt myself getting the thing outta the closet and it won't work. ravelers will tell me my machine is broke and i dunno how to sew and give up and just buy the bag it's waaaay less trouble.

i got the machine out with minimal damage to myself and the apartment.

a raveler answered my plea quite promptly and it turns out i just had the machine threaded wrong.

and so , the sewing machine was in proper functioning order. and from my attempt at starting a scrapbook i already had a rotary cutter and self-healing mat...

i found a super simple project on kathryn ivy's blog and decided to practice. and only 2 hours and much cursing and a few pin pricks later...

after that exercise i became an expert on that particular method of construction and altered the measurements to stitch up my very own iphone cozy

exhausting.

Stitches East - the first

this weekend past was stitches east in baltimore, md. my first attendance to this great gathering i had heard so much-ehem, read so much about.

We (being me and the not-yet-husband) drove out thursday night to hit up the market floor first thing friday morning. i was hoping to snag an addi click if they were magically available there. or at least get a peak at a sample. the Skacel guy said the release date was being pushed for quality control. it's okay, i'll wait. i rather they get the design right than release them with a bunch of defects. i have experienced a full plethora of issues with my Knitpicks Harmony Options. time to upgrade.

i was warned to be careful. make a budget, bring a list and walk the entire floor quickly before making any major purchases. i armed myself with a print out of my rav queue and stash so i don't get stuff i already have similar and i could focus on projects in mind and not just buy random amounts of yarn aimlessly.

surprisingly enough i didn't go crazy with he yarn shopping. i have a modest stash and a modest budget and i guess i was too realistic about how much i could knit ever. i was like, overwhelmed. there was so much yarn! of some many kinds. i knew of some of the hot items that i should probably snag. but i didn't really have a use for them like Malabrigo sock, or lisa souza yarns ... there were bags of noro half off and i have been pondering the noro striped scarf (one of the original viral knits i think. i know i found out about it from brooklyntweed and yarnharlot) but i just left that bag there. another issue is space. where would i keep this all in my tiny NYC apt?

i regret not grabbing a Knitter's Block though. if for nothing else than to save on shipping it to myself later. i just didn't have an immediate use for it so i figured i would wait. it's just something i need eventually to complete my knitter's arsenal of supplies.

i made up in quality what i didn't grab in quantity. i took my sweet ass time picking out some Quivik from windy valley musk ox. i had first seen them at rhinebeck and didn't take pen! (long story) so i was determined this time around.

i hardly took any pictures. just snapped a couple baby sweaters because they were too adorable not to.