don't know how much longer...

...i can keep up this pace without going mad. all this crafting work (fun, but there are always parts of some projects that, well, aren't), plus the wedding in 10 days (10 days! eep!), then we move right after that... ohmigosh.

official square count for the august wedding afghan?

76

yeah, baby. it makes me want to start another project. yarn harlot calls it "startitis" and i got it baaaaad. i want to learn new knitting techniques, i want to start my hubby's mittens, heck, i even want to work on his vest. do i want to work on the dreaded-tension-cursed-baby-blanket? heck no.

here's my knitting progress:

i think it'll end up being a little scarflette when it's done. i'll put some metallic fringe on there to match the yarn and i'll start combing the thrift stores for a cute little shawl pin to keep it closed, seeing as i have no idea how to do buttonholes yet.

i finished the flower girl basket!

not bad for my first time flower arranging, though the picture is a little washed out. i started with a plain wicker basket, spray painted it silver, added all the ribbon, bows, and gems, added the little handkerchief, and stuck all the flowers into some styrofoam in the bottom. it helps when you've got high-quality silks to work with.

and the finale of my yarn deconstruction process! (okay, the penultimate part, i guess... there's one more skein drying)

ta-da! that's going to be about 775 yards of sport weight yarn. i'm thinking about doing this pullover on ravelry... of course, it is knitting, and my skills will have to take a major upswing on this one. i wonder if i can find a simple rollneck raglan sleeve pullover that would work with the yarn i've got... short sleeved, of course, with a band of ribbing at the bottom of the sleeve and the body...

i gotta stop posting so late at night. it robs me of my wit.

the countdown begins

16 days until the wedding. i have five seven more projects to do. it was five (pillow, basket, 3 pairs of earrings), but then i made my final trip to the rental place and the "wood arbor" they had us renting for $250 was painted plywood that was so flimsy they have to stake it to the ground so it doesn't blow away. shit, i can make one for about $50 and then sell it after the wedding. and we need something to put the wedding cards in. i shouldn't even count that one, all i have to do is wrap a box and cut a hole in the top.

i made this yesterday; my headpiece for the wedding!

the flowers are my grandmas, from her wedding headpiece about 50 years ago, then i used seed beads and 2 sizes of swarowski bicones to fill in the rest of it. there were a ton more on hers, but i'm more of a delicate gal. i had my hair done today for my bridal photo session and it looked pretty good! i just can't get good pictures at night because the flash washes everything out.

i went shopping with pauraniente yesterday, ostensibly to find something to put wedding cards in, but instead i rescued this guy from the thrift store:

i think he's some sort of giraffe. anyway, technically he's supposed to be a planter but i put my crochet hooks and scissors in there. handy, i thought. i was also going through my cupboard trying to figure out creative ways to store stuff and came up with this idea too:

just an old vase i had lying around and the leftover tiny balls of yarn from projects. i thought the tape measure ribbon was appropriate.

oh yeah, and i made this tonight too:

yep. a giant hat. no, not really, not a giant hat. it's a produce bag for fruit! it just seems silly that we go to all this trouble to use reusable shopping bags and then throw away our efforts by putting our fruit and veggies into plastic bags. i'm not a fanatic about recycling or anything; all i'm saying is sometimes you can't choose your packaging (for your food), and sometimes, you can.

it still needs a drawstring cord, so more photos and a pattern tomorrow. but i'll leave you with an artsy close-up of the yarn; peaches n' cream twist in some colorway i forget, but it reminds me of a cherry candy cane. (why do they make the cherry ones rainbow colored?)

the handmade holiday crusade

oh dear.

well, the handmade-holiday-crusade has begun. i got a late start this year too, and what a year to do it. not only do i have my immediate family to deal with and my two sisters-in-heart, i also suddenly grew five sisters in law and three more brothers and an extra set of parents!

not to mention future-hubby's birthday is in two weeks, our anniversary is the month after christmas, and then there's valentine's day after that.

my mass go-to-gift this year is something vintage, so i pray i can read the pattern correctly. i hate hate HATE dealing with guage in crochet, so i really really hope it's easier that i think it's going to be.

well, back to work. after a batch of crochet today, in between laundry shifts, i hope to get on the sewing machine and get a bunch done.

at least i don't have to worry about spilling the beans for FH's birthday, he already knows, in fact, he picked out his birthday gift - i'm making him a half-zip sweater vest out of thick and thin homespun in greens and golden yellows, backed with, oh, not malabrigo... the other wool... cascade! that's it, dark-green-heather cascade wool. yeah, i'm only about a quarter done. maybe i can get half done today.

oh yeah! almost forgot. check out our engagement photos!
go to www.ovationphotography.net, and on the bottom click the link that says "view my pictures." our password is june26. enjoy!

wedding craftiness!

Woot for wedding crafts!
i know i'm not getting married for about a year, but i go back to school in two weeks, and i'd prefer to have as much done as possible...

so these are the parents candles and the unity candle i decorated with ribbon, spray adhesive (stickiest mess ever), metal bits and some paper... we bought the holders at hobby lobby, but i absolutely love them anyway.

and this is the flower girl basket! i spray-painted the basket silver and wound around bunches of ribbon which i then secured with knots and hot glue (and burned my fingers several times in the process). i sewed the jeweled buttons onto the ribbons and then glued the ribbons onto the basket. mom edged the satin liner, and i'll be sewing LOTS of beads onto the corners, so its not quite finished. at least i didn't draw blood OR break a needle on this project! i'll have to post an update once it's all said and done. sometimes, ya gotta love goodwill and wal-mart (no one will ever know, heh heh heh... well... i suppose they will now...)

i'm also working on the ringbearer's pillow right now, but i need fraycheck to keep the satin from going, and i need to turn in inside out again and round the corners before i stuff it... i'm making progress at least! and i have to finish my [grandma's] headpiece, but that's almost done.

once my dress and veil come in at the store, mom needs to slightly alter those (how i got a dress that fit so perfectly i have no idea...)

and then i need to make programs, invites, and bridesmaid gifts and then i think, i think, wedding craftiness is done.

in case you're curious, colors are ivory and silver (pewter really) accented with green and pink. we plan on having lots of green and pink candy at the reception and stargazer lilies everywhere possible!