At Long Last! The Week 25 Pattern-a-Day Review and some general ramblings

Here's the Week 25 Review of the Knitting Pattern-a-Day Calendar patterns. Yes, I'm late, and should have done this last weekend but my mind was preoccupied. There's a few things going on in my life outside of knitting and sewing, but more on that later.

Monday, June 19 and Tuesday, June 20 -- San Juan Islanders' Sock #2. A cute, colorful sock pattern that I'll probably give a whirl at some point. The Honey Lane Farms yarn sounds heavenly; I may have to try it sometime. Alpaca. . . Mmmmmmm!!

Wednesday, June 21 -- Itsy Bitsy Bikini. This is done on a knitting machine, which I don't have. I'm not certain if I would wear a knitted bikini, or a bikini at all. Or a knitted bathing suit. They don't seem like they'd be very good to swim in, and I'm definitely more of a swimmer than a lounger. (In fact, I don't like lounging on a hot beach at all, and avoid lots of sun exposure.) What is everyone's opinions on knitted bikinis?

Thursday, June 22 -- Marjaana Eyelet Crush Pullover. This is one of those patterns that I would LOVE to know what the finished product looks like *on a person*, and how about a close up of the detailed stitches? I checked Scheafer Yarn's homepage, and they don't have pics either. I can't tell if it would look good or would make me look like a multicolored barrell. Too bad.

Friday, June 23 -- Trio Tote Bag. Kinda cute; I'm so into felted bags that I wonder if I'd ever give this non-felted baby a whirl.

Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25 -- Black Striped Teen Top #3. I like this, even though it is very trendy. If have a shirt I bought at H&M years ago that is similar to this, but that I haven't worn in a while. I'll probably put this aside for a while, and if it doesn't look horrendously dated next year, maybe I'll make it.

I got a couple of books/magazines recently that I'd like to chat about.

I picked up a crafting magazine called Cutting Edge. Has anyone seen this yet? I thought it was a great all-around crafting mag. It showcases a few commercial patterns, but also gives lots of tips on "How to Sew a Roll-Up Shade", how to spruce up thrift store/flea markets find, how to embellish store-bought clothes and shoes, and a cool article on Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching. I thought it was a great inspiration, and ZantiMisterKnit liked it too.

I also finally picked up "Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt" by Megan Nicolay. I wouldn't make everything in this book, but love most of the ideas and am hoping to be inspired to soon go through my too-large pile of shapeless t-shirts and snip away! There are even some "no-sew" projects, for those who are needlephobic.

I also took up the offer for a free introductory issue to Martha Stewart's Blueprint magazine. Ugh. I'll be honest, I am really disappointed in it. It's completely not what I want at this time of my life: another magazine telling me what I should buy. It reminded me of InStyle, except without the celebrity aspect (thankfully!). I just can't get excited about it, and sent back their invoice with a "No, Thank You!" written across it.

I got a good yard sale find: a three-volume knitting book series for $1! And ZantiMisterKnit paid for it. It's from 1980, and isn't as fug as one would think. Oh, there's fug, there's MAJOR FUG, and I hope to post pictures of such fug here, but there is a great stitch dictionary in one of the volumes, and some of the project patterns are really nice too. I can't remember who pubished it, and don't feel like going downstairs to check it out, but if anyone is really interested I'll post that info later.

I also got a Patternworks catalog in the mail, and ordered a wooden swift and a felted turtle kit from them. It's my present to myself for getting the ball rolling on getting a new job. Yup, that's what has had my life so hectic that I can't blog -- I'm going to interviews! It's exciting and scary at the same time. I can't go into a lot of details right now about my current job, but I'll just say it's time for me to move on.

Once I do have a job, I think my present to myself will be one of the nice tweed Jordana Paige knitting bags. Yes, I may buy myself a knitting bag that costs roughly as much as a signature facial at a nice spa on Newbury Street. Why? Because I'm worth it.