Sewing Extravaganza

Thank God Joe had to work all weekend because the sewing bug hit me HARD on Sunday! It all started on Friday night; work released us early, so I went home and finished the body and neckline of Labyrinth. The whole point of this was to find out if I had enough/too much of the Ella Rae Bamboo Silk because I knew I was going to WEBS the next day & could get more or return the excess. I found out when I got to WEBS that you can't return sale items, so it was a moot point. Oh, well, no biggie. I got a lot done anyway:

The whole purpose of the trip on Saturday was to go with Karen, Kris, Paula, Peggy, Audrey, and Amy to the Mass Sheep & Wool festival. It was so much fun! The festival's great and all, but I really look forward to going to the little fabric store & WEBS afterwards. I bought a skirt pattern and some fabric from Valley fabrics:

And some CotLin from WEBS to make some of those grocery bag thingies (like an everlasting bagstopper, for instance). I cut the skirt pattern out Sunday morning and it really motivated me to sew some UFO's that were hanging around in my sewing bag.
Like Simplicity 4189, view F:


View C:


And, of course the one that started the whole works, Favorite Things "Cute Skirts" pattern:

I really like this pattern, and am already in the hunt for more fabric to make another one. FYI, it does run closer to RTW sizes, not typical pattern sizes. I didn't realize this until it was too late, so mine is super roomy. But, it's elastic in the back, so it's not going to fall off or anything. ;)

Action Packed Weekend

What a crazy weekend! The craziest part is that I'm NOT tired today. We started Friday night with dinner with Joe's parents, then his mom & I hit the going out of business sale at the local sewing center. Six hundred dollars later, we went home and caught up on our Tivo'd shows. Oh, right, you want to see the haul:

(I obviously borrowed the photo) It's a Janome 1110DX serger, snagged for 1/2 price since I'm on the mailing list! I also got a ton of accessories and notions, but they're still in my trunk, and they're not that exciting anyway. Saturday morning, Rocco and I went to the vet for his shots (he was SO good! The vet asked him if she could see his belly and he rolled over on his back with his legs out so she could rub his tummy. She looked at me a little shocked that he did what she said, but I just shrugged since it happens all the time). Saturday evening I went to Laser Tag with some work people and then watched the Nascar race with Joe. Sunday morning, we got up super early and went to the local Harley Dealer for a fundraiser for the Children's Hospital. Motorcycles everywhere!! This is our third year riding in this, and it was by far the best organized it has ever been. The local and state police did a fantastic job keeping us together and safe. This is my favorite part, riding by the children's hospital and waving to the kids:

After that, we took a power nap and then headed to NYC for the Yankees/Mets game. They got beat (badly), but we still had fun!

That is a LOT for one weekend for me. I can't believe I'm not tired. How is this possible?

MD Sheep & Wool 2008

I am just now finally recovering from the Maryland trip. It's not like we had to fly far, do very much, or exert any energy to speak of, but I was TIRED when we got home. I guess any weekend not spent on the couch watching Food Network counts as "activity" to my body & therefore wears me out. Anyway!
First off, my mom is a little, um, nuts (it's ok if she happens to find the blog; she knows I think she's crazy). We got a suite for the weekend, and within 5 minutes, she had the place fully stocked for a month-long stay:

I took the liberty of stocking the fridge:

Aren't the little beers adorable? I couldn't resist them! The festival was of course amazing. I got to meet Jess from Ravelry:

I tried to get a Stew Leonard's bag picture with a sheep, but in true animal form, she turned her head at the last second:

And, the yarn! My God, the yarn! I love to just go for the "experience" and not necessarily to buy anything, so I ended up buying stuff I could have easily picked up on my lunch break at Creative Fibers. Whatevs, I had fun!
I got some SWTC Bamboo for the CrochetMe Babydoll Top:

Some Lorna's Laces sock yarn (Black Purl to match the Clapotis):

I also got my WEBS sale purchases a week or so ago:

It's Ella Rae Bamboo Silk to make Labyrinth by Wendy Bernard/StitchDiva:
(Stitch Diva Photo)
I started this last night, and Joe commented that everything I am making lately has been purple (28Thirty, Clapotis, the babydoll top, the sock yarn, and now Labyrinth). I didn't even realize it! What can I say, purple makes me happy.

FO: Clapotis!!

I can't express how excited I am about finishing this! I have wanted to make one ever since I learned how to knit, and I even asked for the yarn for a Valentine's Day gift last year for this specific purpose. So, it took me over a year to get motivated to make it; big deal. Do I even need to post details? I will anyway:
Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb, color Black Purl, almost 4 skeins
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony size US 9
Mod's: 3 extra repeats of the straight section
Here is is as a scarf:

As a shawl:

In a sexy pose:


And, as a wrap (my favorite):

In other news, I finally had to just go over to my friend's house to take a picture of her doggie in the sweater I made him because she doesn't "get" the instant gratification knit blog readers require:

Is Oy not the cutest dog ever? I'm not really a dog person, but this one makes me melt like buttah. :)