Paulie the hibernating cardigan

I haven’t touched my Paulie cardigan in over a year. Here’s where I was in early 2013:

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The going was slow, as anyone who has tried to make a larger object with thin yarn knows, and a bit monotonous — knit a row, purl a row, knit a row, purl a row, etc. — but my desire for a sweater that I have knitted myself is still there, especially as we’re beginning to get into slightly cooler weather. So the Paulie cardigan was again picked up, and in just a couple of weeks I’ve gotten a good bit farther:

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The edges are curly but it should fit once it’s straightened out and the button band is added. I feel like once the body of the sweater is done, the rest will be a breeze; the sleeves should progress a lot faster since the rows will be so much shorter. Exciting!

In other news, I’ve been doing a bit of wedding planning. While overwhelming with all of the things I need to do, I have lots of support from both of our families. We’re working on securing the dates and locations for everything and have already got ideas for everything else.

Also, our dog Zero has been doing really well except for the night last week when we had a very loud and long thunderstorm (we usually get gentle rain that doesn’t last very long). She would not leave my lap and was shaking, poor thing.

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She’s back to her normal healthy and happy self and loves cuddles:

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Work has been going pretty well — I’ve made a good friend and am getting my work done on time. There’s a bit of burnout due to how busy we are, but I make sure to take a day off every once in a while to recharge.

That’s really about it for now — thanks for stopping by! I’ll try to continue diligently working on both the Paulie cardigan and also my garter stitch striped blanket. I’ve been looking for some things to crochet, too! Well, see you later!

knit a blanket

Actually, don’t. Blankets take SOOOOOO long to knit! You guys warned me when I bought the yarn for my latest blanket, but did I listen? Noooo. Should I have? Yes! Here’s my slow progress:

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It looks very nice so far, very simple and cozy. But it’s so much slower than crochet! Part of that is undoubtably due to the fact that I’ve been lazy with the crafting lately — it’s hard to pick up the needles when you’re exhausted from work, trying to spend time with friends, and planning a wedding (not to mention it’s so hot here that it turns knitting into sauna time). Part of it is also that my hands get tired and I quit before I can finish a whole skein of yarn. I’m on skein 6 of 15, not counting any border I might want to do. Here are the colors I have left:

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These skeins of yarn are happily hibernating in my antique bread box that my parents got me in Arkansas:

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Both the yarn and the blanket fit nicely inside the box, which is sitting beside my armchair for easy access:

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Well, that’s unfortunately all of the yarny updates I have. I’m hoping to get motivated to pick up either of my 2 hibernating sweaters so that I’ll have something handmade to wear this winter, but we’ll see. As always, thanks for stopping by!

sewing scissors acquisition

My parents and I went to one of my favorite antique malls yesterday up in Charlotte, NC. They got me a fantastic vintage 9″ pink Pyrex pie plate and also some [presumably] vintage sewing scissors!

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I don’t know exactly how old they are but they look awesome and they’re REALLY sharp.

Something about having pretty crochet/knitting tools just makes the whole process just a tad more indulgent (kind of like a really expensive and luxurious skein of yarn), don’t you think?

What are some of your special tools? Have any antique hooks or needles, or maybe a really cool measuring tape? Let me know in the comments, and as always, thanks for stopping by!

guess what?!?!

I’m engaged!

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Chris asked me after over 4 years of dating! Despite a few bumps in the road along the way we have a great relationship and I look forward to spending my life with my best friend. Honestly I’m still a bit shocked — I’m not sure what else to say so I’ll leave it at that for now. 😀

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working on something

It’s been pretty slow on the crafting front here lately, but I do have something to share!

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It’s my first knitted blanket, and it’s simple garter stitch. I got the inspiration from the Colorblock Bias Blanket by Purl Soho, but I’m not doing the diagonal stripes, just regular stripes. The colors are the ones shown in this post — it’s the KnitPicks comfy worsted. Boy howdy is it soft!

It’s going pretty slowly, as is expected from a knitted blanket versus a crocheted one, but I’m enjoying the easy repitition. It looks like it’ll be a perfect size for my cozy chair. Can’t decide if I want to do a border or not with the darkest gray… I’ll need to learn how to pick up stitches from the side of something; is it easy? I could always crochet the edging if it’s too hard to knit…

Well that’s all I’ve got for today! I hope ya’ll are doing well, and thanks for stopping by!