Blossoming...

Not long ago, my sister in law Jessica took on the awesome role of event planner for her sister's baby shower in July.  She is the perfect person to have plan an event.  As a photographer over at jessicaquadraphotography, she has that special eye, plus she already has a great sense of style.  So the fact that she commissioned me to help make the party favors was rather flattering.  The theme is vintage-handmade and she wanted to have the favors be such.  Of course, because the favors will be handmade by me, they won't be vintage, but the textile and color will really bring out the desired feel.  Jessica has chosen knit flower corsages as the favors.  I couldn't love this idea more.  It's so feminine, soft, and I can make them by hand!  Not to mention, with the cotton yarn I've chosen and the colors Jess has chosen, these will have that vintagy style she's looking for!

Of course, this means that I will have to knit and assemble a slew of flowers and leaves (roughly 35 flowers with two leaves each).  Thankfully, my mom has offered to help with the leaves.  This is great because it simplifies the duty, but also because we get to work on this project together, lending a little piece of us to Jennifer's (Jessica's sister's) baby shower.

The pattern I've chosen comes from Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers.  It is the Tea Rose with two large leaves.

This pattern calls for casting on 71 stitches, but to save time, I have edited to pattern to only need 31 stitches cast-on.  I'm also using Lily Sugar and Cream worsted cotton to add the vintage/shabby chic effect.  As for color, Jess sent me a picture of the envelopes being used for the invites and asked for a color similar to the "blossom" pink of the stationary.

Here is what I came up with:

Cute huh?  Now that I've had a look at these photos, I'm thinking that I may try sizing down on my needle to get a tighter fabric.  

Knitty Reading: Knitting Mysteries

I stumbled upon this knitting mystery series (there are several more books in the series, so check 'em out!) and it instantly piqued my interest.  Maybe some summer "beach" reading.

Despite the fact that her aunt was an expert knitter, Kelly Flynn never picked up a pair of knitting needles she liked - until she strolled into House of Lambspun. Now, in the first in a brand-new series, Kelly learns how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind her aunt's murder. The police are convinced that her aunt's death resulted from a burglary gone bad, but for the accountant in Kelly, things just aren't adding up.  -Summary courtesy of goodreads.com

Taking a troop of tourists to Vickie Claymore's alpaca farm doesn't earn knitter Kelly Flynn a warm welcome. Instead she finds Vickie splayed out on her original hand-woven rug, her blood seeping into the design.   -Summary courtesy of goodreads.com

Kelly and Megan could not be happier for their friend Allison Dubois—a young, talented, up-and-coming artist. Invited by a designer to join her New York studio, Allison is about to embark on a new life. But when Kelly and Megan arrive at Allison’s apartment to drive her to the airport, they find her dead on the floor, apparently from an overdose of sleeping pills. The police suspect suicide, but Kelly and Megan aren’t convinced. Soon Kelly discovers that while Allison’s career was on the fast-track, her social life was a mess. A bad news boyfriend, a jealous design student, and a mysterious man named Brian are all prime suspects in Kelly’s book. Now it’s up to Kelly and her crafty friends from the House of Lambspun to unravel this tightly stitched puzzle...  -Summary courtesy of goodreads.com

introducing...the kick-start project!

Later this month I will be running in a road race 10K  in Boulder City, NV called Running with the Devil. The race is only six miles, but the catch is that it's in the torrid Mojave Desert in late June.  The average temperature for that time of year is around 110 degrees.  I'll be running around an 8 min. mile on asphalt.  Ahhh...there's the rub.  Anyhow, I've been preparing for this by getting in my fair share of afternoon runs in the unadulterated calidity.  No easy deal.  When I started however, I needed to kick start my endurance in said heat gradually.  I figured the most effective way to do this was with a short, simple jaunt that will helped to train my body and brain for the challenge.

I've realized that this is how I approach a lot of new changes in routine.  Start small-make it easily doable.  You need to have success right from the start to get you into that positive frame of mind.  Sure.  We all know this already, but when it comes to knitting, this is what a lot of people need.  ESPECIALLY ME.  I have a few WIPs waiting for me in my basket, and though I intend on using my new found time to finish them, I feel that a "kick-start" project is in order!  Enter:  my new blog feature.  

As I browse through knitting patterns in books and online, I'll keep an extra eye peeled for small, simple projects (much like stashbusters) to help kick start any knitters hobby hiatus.  Check back for ideas or send me links to some you may have found that I could post!  

As for my personal kick start project, I've chosen the Summer Belt by Andi Satterlund over at Untangling Knots.  This smart little woven belt is a perfect piece to be paired with denim shorts!

summer vacation is 5 days away...

Hello all!  It's been a while.  I'm sure I could come up with a list of reasons as to why I've been MIA for the last several months, but who has the time??  Nevertheless, I am back and ready to take on the creative blogosphere once again.  I have a lot of WIPs to finish (no, I did not complete the Delancey KAL--I know) and I am still working on Branden's cardigan.  I know.  But, hobbies are that way--there when you need them; patiently waiting when you can't make the time.  Right?  Well, hope everyone is well.  Here's to summer and new creative endeavors!

Cheers!