Well, it’s been exciting around here, and not necessarily in a good way.

I’ve been helping out with my cousins (and their cousins) a lot. My by-marriage-not-blood aunt’s brother-in-law was on a business trip and collapsed while out for a run. When he was brought to the hospital he was pronounced dead. Thankfully, my aunt’s sister and her two children, both under two years old, were here visiting her parents, so she had her family as support. It was hard on everyone from that branch of the family simply because everything was up in the air. For the past few weeks, I’ve been an emergency babysitter for the family. I absolutely love the kids and am starting to remember how to understand toddlers, but I just wish it had been under happier circumstances.

Because of this, I haven’t left the house much for fear that they might need help and not be able to reach me. And because of that, I’ve gotten a lot of knitting done!

My ball winder came and it has saved my life. I wound all my skeins into pretty little cakes that play nicely with each other. I’m slowly but surely knitting away at the sock yarn blanket. It’s bigger now, but I don’t have any pictures to show for all my work on it.

I also think I’m getting addicted to lace knitting, especially shawls. I started the Aestlight Shawl this past Sunday and am already on the edging. It’s smaller than I would have liked but I really enjoy this pattern and am already planning another. Oh, and the yarn is Malabrigo Sock, so it’s cozycozycozy.

I’ve also been given the task of cataloging the family heirlooms. My grandmother sent a big box of family jewelry home with us a few days ago, all with little notes from my great-aunt explaining the history of the pieces. The girls of the family went through the box and picked out what we wanted, but some of the notes didn’t seem to match up. Mom and I started looking at some of the jewelry that she already had and realized that some of the notes belonged with her stuff. So a few days ago, I built a light box (yay!), grabbed the jewelry, and took pictures of all of them. And now they’re all up on flickr with their notes and who owns them in the descriptions. I feel so accomplished! Some of my favorite pictures:

Top Left is a bit of a mystery, but we think it might be a brooch that was given out at Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.
Top right is half of a belt buckle from the Boxer Rebellion that’s been made into a brooch.
Middle Left is a Georg Jensen brooch from the ’50s. It’s in severe need of a good polishing
Middle Right is a complete mystery, but I’m obsessed with the stone in the middle.
Bottom Left is a pocket watch. The clock face pushes down into the base and the whole thing is smaller than a box of matches.
Bottom Right is a bracelet that is made of city charms from France when my great-great-great? uncle was stationed there with the Navy.

Epic FAIL as a blogger. It’s been what? over a year? Something like that. I feel terribly neglectful toward Color Me Crafty, but my first year at school was very time-consuming and my family insisted on having near-weekly updates from me on another blog. With schoolwork, theatre work, and a blog to update about my daily life, CMC got pushed into a corner.I’m back, though, and hopefully I’ll be better at this whole blogging thing this go-round!

Let’s see… No projects right now. I made the terrible mistake of winding all my yarn into skeins and then ordering a ball winder. Well, the ball winder is on its way and I really don’t want to hand-wind any cakes anymore. What does that mean? It means that I’ve been checking the tracking number for my order obsessively. My ball winder is currently in Southhaven, Mississippi and is supposed to come home on the 25th.

As soon as my new toy arrives, I’ll start knitting again and get some pictures up. I’m thinking about making a light box for photography so that I don’t have to keep using a pillow or waiting until it’s overcast-ish outside.

Craftily,
Mini

Alright, so looking back I realized that it’s been Too Long since I posted any pictures.  A lot has happened since then.

I’ve finished my second sweater, my Lace Ribbon Scarf, and one sock out of a pair.  I’ve also received my spinning kit and roving.  I’ve spun up two of my practice rovings and am growing more confident as I go.

Now, I’ll warn you that my camera’s batteries are being a bit resistant, so these pics are taken with my iCamera on my MacBook.  Forgive the fuzziness, please!

Without further ado, the pictures in the fabulous new WordPress Gallery!

I really like the gallery!  I’ve always struggled with trying to balance pictures of my projects with text.  This is perfect!

And now it’s time for me to get some sleep.  It’s been a long week and I’m exhausted.  Next week’s going to be just as long, if not longer.  And I won’t be able to knit as much.

More later!

So, I’m a member of the infamous Lazy, Stupid, and Godless group on Ravelry.  It’s known to the outside as a misbehaving, foul-language-using, and all-around rabble-rousing group of people.  Within the group though, it’s a pretty closeknit (no pun intended) group of people who run to the aid of one member when he or she is struggling.

Now, one of our members is committing herself to a hardcore diet to get in shape, so as a show of solidarity, LSG Lent was created.  Everyone in the group who wants to is giving something up or taking something on for the duration of the diet.  I’ve joined up, have posted on the thread, and am posting here to make sure I don’t even think about forgetting.

So keep me in line if you see me slipping!

Until I leave for school, I will get 30 minutes of exercise daily, be it walking around town, walking on the treadmill, doing yoga, whatever.  Once I’m at school, if I want a snack, I’m going to walk myself to Whole Foods and get me some fruits/veggies to munch on.  I WILL NOT buy crappy, processed snack foods from the convenience store because those are terrible for me.  Throughout this whole thing, I will get back to drinking water because I feel so much better when I’ve had enough water and am not dehydrated.

Here’s to reclaiming healthy living.  If you want to join up, and by no means do you have to, come on over to Lazy, Stupid, and Godless, and check out the LSG Lent thread.  It should be pretty close to the top.

Now, I’ve got to go, because I’m walking to the Farmers’ Market!

Well, crap.  I’ve been thinking about trying out spinning for a while.  It’s almost like magic, taking fiber from an animal, twisting it, knitting it, and then wearing it.  Ingenious really.  Well, Molly (aka nerdclub2000 on Ravelry) posted some lovely roving in her Etsy and I started lusting after it immediately.

So I started thinking… how can I get this roving and use it?  Well, I’d need a spindle.  And some roving to practice on.  And when I started looking at all the possibilities, I wanted to spin even more.

I took into consideration all the possibilities that I could get and finally settled on this starter kit from Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber and this roving from Nerdclub2000.  $42.30 total.  I could get that.  It’s not that much.  Plus, I just got paid!  Now, let’s convince Mom that I should get it.

Things went well up until that conversation.  The first time I brought it up, her response was very unresponsive.  She was in clean-the-house mode, even though she wasn’t cleaning the house at the moment I brought it up (I know better than that!).  So I waited a day and asked again.  And I was so overcome with the want of spinning supplies that I agreed to get 15 minutes of “dedicated exercise” every day until I leave for school.

She’s sneaky, that mother of mine.  Oh, well.  I’m going to get to spin!

Well, it’s that time again.  My family and I are trekking halfway across the country for our summer vacation.  What am I doing while we travel?  Knitting of course!

I was worried a little towards the end of last week since I had placed a Knit Picks order for a bundle of yarn.  I was hoping and praying that it would get to the house before we left.  It arrived super-early so I was able to start on a couple new projects.

1. Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty: Yep, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and I must say, this pattern is awesome.  I’m knitting it up in Gloss sockweight and it’s looking gorgeous. I’d love to use the same stitch pattern as a shrug.  I think it’d be very pretty in a white.

2. Short-Sleeve Cable Vest: I was originally going to knit Kepler, a pullover with Celtic knots on the waist and sleeves, but found a pattern I liked better for a short-sleeved cable pullover.  I’m swatching right now and am already two needle sizes up!

3. Clessidra socks:  I’ll be knitting these knee socks up for Knitting Olympics this August.  I’ve joined up on Team Teen and I hope we’ll all be successful!  I still have to swatch for these, but I’m really excited about working on these.

I don’t have much else to say, so I’ll be signing off now.

Heck yes. I CAN KNIT SWEATERS!!! I finished seaming up Mrs. Darcy today and absolutely love it. It’s cozy and cuddly and oh so adorable!
I don’t have a really good close up of the buttons, but they’ve got little swirlies on them. it reminded me of yarn, so I of course HAD to have them! The color is a little off since I was taking the pic on my MacBook. It’s a little more blue and a little less purple, but that’s pretty darn close.

I also got my Mini-Argyle Beret done.

It turned out pretty well. I think I’ll make another one in some different colors because I started off too tight on the pattern and it bunches just a little. The sis has threatened to steal it many times and Mom liked it so much that she took it to show off at a banquet. We were sitting around at the table, Sis leans over to Mom and whispers, “Ooh, ooh, show them what she made!” So Mom digs the beret out of her purse and announces, “She knit this! Isn’t it too cute?!” in only a way that a mother can. I’ll brag on myself a bit, but when we’re at a banquet honoring someone else? That might not be the best time Mom! (love ya, though)

Hmm… What else to report? Oh! Sewing!

I’m making a fleece jacket-y cardigan-y thing in lilac polar fleece. It’s crazy warm and it’s the first clothing piece I’ve really sewn on my own. There were the Rugrats pajama shorts I made in, what 5th grade?, but I’m not counting those. It’s coming along really nicely. I’m putting finishing touches on it and should have it posted by next week.

Life’s pretty crazy around here. I’ve got a summer internship with the drama department at the local university and they’re working me hard. We just started tech runs for the first show of the summer and I’m putting in full days all weekend and pulling morning shifts for shop time so that I can have a break before tech rehearsals. Blah, I’m tired.

Now, I’m going to go work on my fleecey cardi while wearing my Mrs. Darcy!

More later

Oh, wow! I haven’t updated in forever! Well, thankfully now I’ll have some time since TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY!! I’m done with school, apart from an hour and a half that I have to go tomorrow to talk about Hamlet. So exciting.

Let’s see… What’s happened in my life lately? Monday was the annual Drama awards. I won one of three Best Actress awards for my role in the fall play. And then I got surprised with the big one: I got the Outstanding Thespian Award! It goes to one senior drama student who has been committed to the program for a long time, both on stage and behind the scenes. And it comes with a $350 scholarship, which is certainly nice.

Hmm… I’m graduating with high honors (3.5 – 3.99 GPA) so I now have a silver tassel, but since I’m a National Merit Finalist, I get a gold one to wear instead (which I get Tuesday). Oh! And today during lunch, I was inducted into the French National Honor Society in the charter chapter at my school. I get fancy cords to wear at graduation.

Speaking of graduation, I’ve got to take the sides in on my robe. It’s disgustingly big and gives no shape whatsoever. I can’t stand that. And it’s shorter than I expected too.

I’m in the process of making “commemorative” Thespian Troupe stoles with the comedy and tragedy masks and our troupe number on them. We were told we couldn’t wear them at graduation because they were handmade and by the time we asked, we didn’t have time to order legit cords from ITS. So now I’m still making them, but if they wear them at graduation, it’s not my fault! I’ve got seven left to make for those who wanted one.

Ok! Time for crafts!!!

KNITTING:

Da Socks:

They’re almost done! This is a picture from about an inch after I turned the heel. It’s much longer now and the boy better be darn happy with them!

I really did enjoy this pattern. It’s really easy and hides extra rows in the cabling really well. Once you figure out the pattern, it’s as easy as pie.

Da Darcy:

That’s right! Almost all the Mrs. Darcy pieces are finished! This cardi went superquick. There were a few little things in the pattern that were a bit hard to decipher, but it was a lovely pattern and I hope it turns out really well. I’m on the sleeves now and have yet to block anything, but it’s going very well and I can’t wait until it’s all done!

Da Argyle Hat

I love this pattern too! This hat is so much fun and so sturdy and I think it’s going to keep me so warm next year. I’ve been searching for something argyle (I was thinking knee socks for a while), but I absolutely adore this hat and think it’s perfect. Oh, and I can count off one of my “fearless knitting” goals! I knit with 2 colors!!

I’m sure I’ll post more later. and like I said, sorry for being so abysmally distant the past, I dunno, month? It was really pathetic

School days?  12, I think.  That’s right: 12 days until my last day of school. Miracle of Miracles, I’m almost done!

What’s brought this on?  At midnight last night, I got home from a wonderful 2 1/2 day trip to Evanston & Northwestern.  I LOVE IT.  It’s beautiful and reminds me of home (except for the cold) and it’s funky and fun and there’s always something to do AND I CAN WALK EVERYWHERE.  And it’s flat and their costume department is organized and you could fit our entire theatre complex into their scene shop!  I can’t wait.

Can I go now? Pretty please?

Ah, Friday’s here.  This weekend’s gonna be great.  My sister’s Odyssey of the Mind team will be traveling to the state tournament and since I missed the regionals, I’m making the trek with the family too.  And since most of the day will be “hurry up and wait,” I’ll get plenty of crafty time!

What will be coming with me, you ask?

• Well, certainly my cross-stitch, which is getting particularly close to being done with.  I’ve got most of the main pattern finished (Santa, his sleigh, reindeer, etc) and am now working on all the little decorative things around the outside.
• The Boyfriend Socks, which are coming along nicely.  I’m really pleased with the pattern, though I do wish the boy had chosen a color other than black, for Pete’s sake.
• Provided I pick up some more needles, I’ll be taking my yarn for the beret.  This means I’ll have to make a stop by the LYS, but I’ve got no problem with that at all.
• Mrs. Darcy may be coming with me.  I haven’t decided yet.

Yep, that’s right!  Mrs. Darcy has been started!  Well, started as in, I’ve cast on and am knitting the first row and hoping that my sizing modifications will pay off.  Please work.  Please, knitting gods, I gauge swatched!  I switched needles two different times before I got gauge, but I DID get gauge!

In other news, prom is in a week and I think I’m going to have to sew a matching tie for the boyfriend.  Good grief, the things I do for him *head shake*  Ah well.  Green is such a hard color to match, so it’s probably going to be easier for me just to sew one that for us to try to track one down.  I’ll find a tie no one wears and deconstruct it to try to figure out how the heck to sew a tie.

Anyway, my throat is feeling a bit scratchy and I’m a little stuffed up in the sinuses, so I think I’d better go and get some rest so that I can properly cheer the team on to nationals!

Mini