It's a Super Short Post...With Pictures!

WiP: Wedding Socks

My shawl, she is blocked! I love it soooooooo much! I"ll make sure to get some better pictures later, but I figured you may as well see it as it was drying! :)

And, I found these beauties at Safeway the other day! I LOVE peonies!!

They've bloomed a lot more since I've taken this picture, too:

Not much else going on. Excited for the weekend so that I can start sewing table runners - I've finally finished the tidy-up that has been going on since January!

Hope all is well.

Katie =^..^=

95% Complete

WiP Wedding socks (that's right, folks, ONE WiP right now!)
Hibernating: Calligraphy Cardigan (to be picked up next)
Planned for the spinning wheel: Finish the white lambswool on there currently and fly with the brown wool I spun way back when. Then, the next braid of the Dragonfly Dyewerx I've had for a long time, which then will become fingerless mitts of some description.
Planned for knitting: Secret project; boot cuffs for a friend. 

Phew! I finished my wedding shawl!! Well, the knitting and the weaving in of the ends is complete - I still need to block out the edging. But I did put it into a bath last night, and it opened up beautifully~! Before the long weekend, I was at 9 repeats, and I knew I wanted to make it larger. So I have ended up with 11 blooms and then the finishing edge, and it looks fantastic!

Friday evening Saturday day Monday night!

It's going to take a lot of patience to block this shawl, so I will have to resoak it and block. But I need some supplies - like blocking wires and pins - before I do so. As you can see, the pattern opened up a lot from when I was knitting it.

This is the Blooming Stitch Shawl by Mary R. White in Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk, a fingering weight yarn that is an 85/15 merino/silk blend. I used my Chiaogoo 4.5mm (US 7) needles. It worked up in just over a month (started April 12, 2014). I beaded the very last stitch in the middle of each bloom before working down to through the decreases. This is nice and airy but has a nice weight to it. Cannot wait to wear it on my wedding day!

I am also very glad to have it finished, because I can now work on other knitting projects, and a couple things that have been nagging at my brain to get them off of paper and made from yarn. So keep your eyes peeled for some very different items soon!

In other news, I'm also working on the rest of the stuff that needs to happen for the wedding. Like, airing/dewrinkling the obit we're using for table runners:

These are all used obi from Etsy sellers. They're hung over the pony wall for the second floor of my home. They are the correct width, and only a few need any treatment to make them "more" like a table runner. They are an eclectic bunch, and the middle tables of the sets of three are going to have Indonesian batik runners, but I think that it'll be charming! At least, that's what I'm hoping!

So, watch for a bit more sewing over the next few weeks as I get everything there settled up.

Katie =^..^=

Here is a Picture of a Cake to Show I'm Still Alive

WiP: Wedding Shawl, wedding socks

 

Yes, this cake is what you think it is - and it was Dallas's birthday cake! Sooooo tasty! Made by Cakeworks out of  Calgary, AB. I'll definitely be going back at some point!

This weekend is the Victoria Day Long weekend in Canada, and it is supposed to rain, which is perfect for me - I want to sit down, pop some movies in, and hopefully get through the remaining 4 repeats on my shawl. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

What are you up to this weekend, if you're in Canada?

Katie =^..^=

They Were Itty-Bitty, Tweeny-Weeny Cross Stitches that She Did for the First Time in Years!

WiP: Wedding socks, wedding shawl
FOs: Nada

That's right. I wanted a complete change of pace, so I started a cross stitch. The funny thing is, I switched from cross stitch to knitting when I first started university because, a) I had screwed up a pattern sooooo badly that there isn't really any way to recover it without unpicking the whole thing. b) I thought that knitting would involve less counting! (Yes, I heard that sniggering. I just wasn't it enough at that point, apparently! hah)

 

This is officially the first cross-stitching I've done in about 5 years. That, my friends, is about 100 stitches over two hours. And that is my index finger...This project, in which every last inch is stitched...Is going to take awhile. But that's OK. This is currently a zen project, without a deadline, so I can work on it as much or as little as I want. And that's what I needed more than anything. Still, I'm not used to 18 count Aida fabric, which is what this is - generally I work on 14 count, so this nearly feels like petty point to me (although I know it isn't)!

 

And these, which I'm super happy with right now, are my wedding socks. I love the yarn (Sweet Georgia Sock in Summer Dusk). But I can't wait to have them finished, either, so that I can start carrying around stock items to knit while I walk! (Like, mittens...And dare I say...baby sweaters...??)

That's what I've been working on right now! We're down to the crunch, and I'm moving as quickly as I can on my wedding shawl - I'm probably about 60% done at this time - I have 7/10-12 repeats complete at this time, so we'll see what I'm sitting at when I complete the 8th repeat (required)...I'm leaning towards something with at least 12 repeats, though, since it still looks too small right now! I'm also trying to estimate how large it will be once I complete the 8th repeat, since even though I'm not wearing it until after the ceremony, I don't want it to interfere too much with my dress. haha

Anyway! Debates. We're under 2.5 months, which I know is going to fly by! Wish me luck!

Katie =^..^=