Wedding Tomorrow

Katie's wedding is tomorrow...and I'm still working on my Maid of Honor speech for tonight.  I've gone through I don't know how many drafts and am thisclose to finishing it.  I think...

 

I'll be back with pictures after the wedding!

Crazy Preparations

There isn't a lot of knitting going on here. Instead, there is an insane amount of last minute preparations for K's wedding on Saturday which is why tonight, we're throwing it all out....and going to have her bachelorette party. Friends & fun - an excellent way to spend the evening!

Camp Loopy Begins

Yarn for my first Camp Loopy 2013 project arrived last week. For project 1, you need to use one-skein project, using a yarn that you have not used before.  I chose the Swan's Island fingering in the Vintage Lilacs colorway.

The skein has 525 yards in it, so I have plenty of pattern options.  I thought about some lovely socks (perhaps with cables?) or a shawl.  I'm doing some traveling at the end of the month, so maybe the shawl is a better idea since those tend to work up faster for me.  Cast on is 6/1 and completed project photos have to be up on 7/1.  I'm interested to see what the other two challenges are going to be.

Are any of you participating?  Have you chosen patterns yet?

PS - Happy Memorial Day!

Blue Skies and Sunshine

I'm headed off on a few adventures in the next few months.  First up, Boise, Idaho next weekend for my friend Katie's wedding.  Whenever I'm there, the sky always looks like this:

 

Let's hope the weather holds for the wedding.  I'm going to take my Peeper Socks along.  I'm close to finishing the foot of the first one.  Perhaps I can knock it out while I'm on the plane.  I'd like to have the pair done before I start my Camp Loopy project.

Postcrossing

Do you like getting mail?  I'd recommend postcrossing.com - which I joined about 6 weeks ago.  So far, I like it! I’ve sent around 10 postcards, have another 5 traveling, and last week I received my first one to me - from Ukraine!

I got another one earlier this week from the US.

Once your sent postcard is received and logged with the ID #, you’re eligible to receive a random postcard from another user - so there is a bit of a delay, but I’m having fun with it so far.  I'll continue to share them as they come rolling in.

My Paper Pumpkin

I joined Stampin Up's new monthly kit called My Paper Pumpkin.  The monthly club ships with everything you need to complete a project.  All you need it your time and adhesive.  I've received two club shipments so far, and I've enjoyed them.

Cards from the kits (March on the left, April on the right). I did modiciations on April to make it a thank you.

While there are a lot of pros, there are also a few cons to the program.  I'm on the fence if I will continue it indefinitely.

Pros:

• Everything you need is in one box.  The My Paper Pumpkin box comes with paper, ink, stamps, and accessories).  All you need to add is adhesive.
• Items are high quality paper - heavier than the normal SU cardstock.
• Die cuts are pre-cut - all you need to do is pop them off the paper.
• It's portable.  I've taken the kits to work and been able to complete them during my lunch hour.
• Variety of paper products that are not found in the regular catalog.
• Automatically delievered to your mailbox each month - with no designing involved.
• ....and it's a surprise project!

Cons:

• Price.  This is a big one for me.  With shipping, the kit comes out to $20/month.  I've received two months so far, and each month only contains 4 cards, coming to $5/card.  I wish it were 6 or 8 cards.  For the products your getting (paper, diecuts, accessories, stamp set, and an ink set) it is a good deal, but I already own most of the ink SU sells.

Right now, that's my only con.  I received notice that May's kit just shipped and I can't wait to see what it looks like.  Overall, if you are new to stamping or don't have a lot of materials already, it's a great deal because it gives you the option to acquire ink and complete a well designed project.  If you're already a SU customer, you'll have to decide if it's worth it for the price.  I'm going to continue for a little while and see.  Perhaps one day there will be an option without the ink? 

Did anyone subscribe?  What did you think?  Is there another paper subscription that you know of and like?

Extra scrapbook paper? Make envelopes

I've slowly been working my way through leftover scrapbook and Stampin Up DSP paper.  While incorporating it into cards is great, it does take a while to work through those leftovers pieces - the ones that no longer have matching paper or stamps.  To help get a handle on the situation, I busted out an old favorite, The Envelope Mill, to put some of those to good use.

The book provides you with three different template sizes and I used the largest (a regular business size envelope) since the paper I was working with was 12"x12".  After you trace and cut, you glue the side flaps together and viola!, you have some of the nicest looking envelopes in the mail.

 

Even if you don't have access to the book, there are plenty of templates online to get you started.  What do you think?  Have you tried it?

Sock Monkeys Cheer Me Up

It's been cold and rainy here for the past few days, and the trees are just starting to get their leaves.  We've had some flooding in the past few weeks, but the ground warmed up enough to handle the extra water. 



One of my local creeks

See how gray it's been?  Luckily, a gift from my pen pal Sharon brightened things up this week:

 

Isn't is cute?  This sock project bag greeted me one day when I came home from work.  The aqua and red color combo is one of my favorites.  Thanks Sharon!

 

This weekend, I've got a few commitments but hope to craft some crafting in.  I bought the Stampin' Up set Sent with Love that was a special this spring that I'd like to try out.  I was going to get another package of the DSP, but it might already have been retired.  Perhaps I'll have a few cards to share next week.

Organize, Organize - get those needles in order

The weather here has finally warmed up which is absolutely lovely, but a little less conducive to knitting with wool in the evenings.  Regardless, I've been making some progress on the Peepers socks.

However today, I want to talk about this:

 

Can you guess what it is?  It's the way I now organize my circular needles.  For a while, I kept them in their original packaging but this eventually stopped working as the plastic packaging ripped or was lost to time and travel.  Then, the needles were hanging on a series of pegs but it just looked and  felt unorganized when I saw them as I walked in the room. 

 

Circular needle storage has been talked at length on blogs and podcasts (Knitting Pipeline mentioned it in an episode this spring).  It's just one of those topics - everyone seems to have their own 'best system.'  You would elicit the same varied reactions from knitters by asking the question, "How do you knit socks?"  There would be an endless combination of answers.  However you manage it, I thought I would share my new favorite system in case you're on the lookout.

I store my books and patterns on the shelves and my dpns reside in a tidy hand sewn role, but circular needles always presented a problem.  Enter my inspiration photos: this one and this one and this one.  Viola!  A tidy, efficient, inexpensive way of organizing the needles.  I used a 3" binder from Staples, two packages of plastic tabs, and one container of clear presentation sheets - all from Staples. 

The sleeves are open at the top, the needles don't fall out and it's a breeze to flip through and find the size that I need.  Everything is pre-labeled so I do not have to spend time looking for a needle gauge (which I never seem to have around anyways).  The only disadvantage to this system would be the fact that it would not possibly travel well. I've grabbed the sizes I need before I leave the house, so it has not been an issue for me.  I left 1 clear pocket at the front to stash needles that need to be sort into the correct size and length sleeve so they are not laying around if I don't have time to sort them.  I also added a needle gauge to the front of the binder by clasping it through the binder rings.

All in all, an excellent system that I would recommend!  How do you store your needles?  Do you have something that works differently or better?  Share below.