Now that I made the reversible tote bag, I’m a little over this one, but it was still a nice way to get into sewing bags. I spent a ton of time on this bag, mainly because 1) I’m not so good yet at sewing straight and 2) I work slowly when I’m confused. Still, I think this came out reasonably adorable for a first effort.

Side 1. I didn't notice until just now that both sides have the same pattern in the same place on the top row.

Side 2.

I used the same pattern for both sides of the inner bag.

I made a(nother) bag. Since I didn’t post the first one I completed, you could be forgiven for wondering what I’m blathering about, but this is actually the second bag that I’ve sewn and finished. The first one is a cute little patchwork drawstring bag. And is also reversible. I think it’s pretty smart to keep making two bags at a time. In between, I started another bag, but I haven’t been able to find the perfect fabric for the other side of it, and so it remains unfinished.

Please forgive the weird cell phone photos that I took. They somehow introduced an icky-looking shadow that does not really exist on my bag (thank goodness)! I know that it would look better if I’d pressed it, but I was short on time, and as soon as I finished it, I had to dash out of my house for a knitting bar crawl. I know, I know. I lead a tough life.

I made the bag according to this very awesome tutorial. The only thing that had me scratching my head was when I tried to figure out how to pinch the corners, but eventually, I understood what she meant.

Edited to add better photos.

I somehow decided that I needed to learn how to sew. The exact why is now fuzzy, but once this idea got into my head, there was no getting it back out. I pored over sewing machine specifications and reviews, and then promptly forgot everything when I went to the new Jo-ann’s in Paramus. No worries. I let the nice saleslady give me her best pitch on everything that they had, and then scanned item barcodes and checked reviews and prices on Amazon when her back was turned. I left the store with an adorable pink sewing machine, which I have named Rizzo and I so far love. This love is so deep and true that I am willing to admit that any crooked stitches that I produce while using Rizzo are entirely my fault.

So I am practicing my stitching one day at a time, and have so far made Porkchop two new bibs. She is under strict orders not to soil them with any unnecessary baby fluids, and so far she hasn’t. Good Porkchop.

Never fear, I have not abandoned my new love of crochet. I actually crocheted a nifty little pincushion for myself. I’d always wanted to crochet a toy, and now I’ve killed two birds with one stone.

Can you tell that I really love my Android phone?

Making this was actually super fun, and I’ve already made all the parts for two more of these babies, although I’m not sure when I’ll get around to putting them together. A tiny, sweet grandmother in my knitting group suggested that I crochet a voodoo doll next, and I’m not going to lie: I am totally tempted.

Dear world, you may want to stay on my good side. Seriously.
Love,
Nicole

Where have I been? If you’re visiting this blog, then you will most likely be pleased to know I have been making stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. I’ve been really productive this year, and it’s kind of freaking me out.

I didn’t end up giving out most of the hats I made for Christmas (there’s always this year), but I sure did make a ton of them. I even improvised a couple of patterns, and I may revisit them later when I get the urge to make hats again.

Then I made a sweater and a hat for my Porkchop. The sweater was a little iffy, as many of my virgin efforts tend to be, but it’s still kind of badass.

I knitted my boyfriend an awesome, anatomically correct human heart for Valentine’s Day, and although I wanted to learn how to needle felt to put on realistic looking veins, he thanked me and told me that it was creepy enough already. We now use it to throw at one another when either of us is being ridiculous.

I finally learned to crochet for real, and am in the process of making two blankets; one is a pretty simple spiral baby blanket, and the other is a pretty simple afghan that’s made out of several gazillion squares. I’ve delayed the big payoff for simple gratification, and am currently working on the spiral blanket.

The following posts will highlight various things I’ve done in 2011.

All in all, not bad for something I started after work on Tuesday

For the past few weeks, I’ve been watching Eureka as I knit. I tend to watch comedies (or really mindless dramas) when I’m knitting, because they require less attention on my part. I started a new hat today, and I’m feeling a wee bit victorious, since it’s stranded knitting, a style that I haven’t done before. I was finding it surprisingly easy, and really enjoying how fast this hat was going. I said was, because I ran out of Eureka episodes to watch, and switched to Damages. I spent the first half of the first episode watching intently and knitting on autopilot, and now have been unraveling my work for the next hour. Note to self: serious drama and Fair Isle knitting do not mix.

I read the season arcs/spoilers on the wiki, because I suspected that this show was too mean for me. I’m pretty sure it is. Ever character on that show is vile, and I don’t care enough about them to overlook it. I did see that the 5 most recent episodes of Eureka are available on Hulu, so I will catch up and then watch the remaining episodes there.

I watched this video the first time I made a hat with a pompom. I found these women hilarious and, even better, they taught me how to use my pompom maker, which was sadly lacking in instructions. I watched this video again tonight when I went to make a pompom for a new hat I finished. Perhaps because it wasn’t 2 am and I wasn’t coming off the high of finishing a hat that actually fit my head (as opposed to this monstrosity), I found the video a lot less entertaining this time around. Still, Hatapalooza 2010, or whatever I’m calling this thing, is going pretty well. I may actually finish all the hats I intend to make!

I’ve finished 3 projects in the last 10 days. How? By picking them carefully. The first was actually a pair of socks that I’d been working on for a month. The fastest I’ve ever made a pair of socks is 6 days, and while I liked the way they came out, I would have gone nuts if I had to try to replicate that pace approximately 8 times in a month and a half. So my idea from my last post, that I’d do socks for everybody for Christmas, has gone far, far away. Instead, I hit upon something fun and easy: hats! I love hats, and the other two projects that I recently finished were both hats. The great thing about hats is that there is a ton of variety and changing fabrics and colors can really renew your interest in the category of hats as a whole. Plus, I’ve received 3 (two credible) requests for hats recently, so I know that they’re useful and appreciated.

Because hats are faster and easier to make, I’ve expanded my list, and now have about 12 people for whom I’d like to make hats. That means I need to make tracks, because Christmas is just over a month away. I’ll have to up the pace I’ve been keeping to make this happen. Whee!