Bridezilla-dom

Has it really been since November?  I guess it has.  December is a busy time in my life between Christmas and year-end work related stuff it just seems like I get caught up in an avalanche.

So here's a bit of a catch up - I missed Christmas.  Or at least I missed Christmas with my family.  Instead, I spent Christmas Eve and Day with Michael's extended family in a two day, three meal, extravaganza!  I managed to only gain 2lbs and drink one entire bottle of wine.  It was really great wine.  Also, Michael referred to him and I as a family for the first time.  I got a bit weepy.  Dorky, bu true.  Overall, a very nice holiday.

Not taking a Christmas vacation from work means that I had vacation time to use - so I took last week off.  I am currently relishing the last few hours of non-work time.  I meant to update this week and boast of all the things I accomplished with my freed up time.  Here is that amazing list:

• purchased yarn for wedding stole and started said knitting project.  I did opt for Jared Flood's Autumn Leaves Stole.  The yarn color isn't showing well due to my lack of photography skills, but it is knitting up beautifully.  I'm especially proud as this is my first attempt at anything even resembling lace work.
• read two book - Heat Wave by "Richard Castle" and the 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Both were quick and fun reads.  Heat Wave was actually much better than I expected considering it's by a fictitious author and came about because of a TV Show.  I was so happy that Michael agreed to read the Love Languages book with me, well first actually. It was actually pretty interesting and I think that the concept - different things/action/words make people feel loved - is good to keep in mind.  Just because Acts of Service make me feel loved doesn't mean that Michael feels the same way.
• cleaning was done.  Goal was basically the whole place - it's only five rooms.  Kitchen and bathroom were actually accomplished, living room was half done as was my craft room.  I give myself a C for effort.  I could have played less Lego Indian Jones 2 on my Wii.
• finally went to the doctor about my sinuses.  Turns out I have a very persistent sinus infection.  I'm on a twice-a-day antibiotic, back on allergy meds, and lots of advil.  I'm not sure if it's medication or that my body is finally like "yep, time to actually get healthy" but I've been exhausted ever since. 
• Also squeezed in the eye doctor and dentist.  Being the vain girl that I am, contact are going to be attempted.  I really don't want to wear glasses in wedding pictures.  I get my trial contacts in a couple of weeks.  We shall see how that goes.
• Super splurged and bought Rosetta Stone Italian 1-5.  I took Italian in College, my mom speaks a dialect, I've always wanted to learn.  Bonus - Michael has promised to attempt to learn as well.  I may secretly install this on his computer. shhhh
• lastly - and what I really thought of when I decided to blog tonight - I went to my very first Bridal Show.  It was...interesting.  I wouldn't call it fun, and to be really frank about 90% of it was pretty boring. However, it did make me realize that I have a lot more done/decided for our wedding that originally thought.  Thank you Pinterest!  It's just big things - dress, Michael's suit, and rings that I haven't managed.  You know, the things that are killer expensive.

So, not too much for a week of no work, but not bad. 

Now, back to this bridal show.  Accomplished - purchased cream pashminas for the bridesmaids and Michael's groomsmaid.  I now wish I had purchased one for myself to because I love those things so much.  The dresses were beautiful and the people wonderfully nice.  But honestly, I think my mom was right - it was for a different type of wedding.  I have no interest in tablescape consultations, since I've got the centerpieces and basics on decorations decided.  A custom made wedding dress is likely more than I'm willing to spend.  I already have people taking pictures.  Michael is in charge of invitations and cake/dessert.  So, while I did enter a few contests to win a dress, money or dinner, I probably wouldn't go to another bridal show unless absolutely necessary.  I was sort of saying this to myself for most of the day.  I felt really bad at the end - like I was just as bad as all those brides on TV but in a more "oh, I'm better because they are spending ridiculous wads of money"  I was being a bridezilla in my own way.  I'm not proud of that.

  

I'd rather be knitting...

than blogging at the moment.  I even took photos and thought about what I'd write...but I just feel like knitting.

So instead of an actually post here is a photo of my progress on the William the Weed Jacket

I'm on to the shoulder decreases (also, her directions for connecting the sleeves...crappy).

Falling leaves...and falling temperatures

Fall is officially here.  Actually I think it's been fall for about a month now, if I got the equinox right, but it has just now started to get cold.  Friday I woke up to frost on my windshield.  I dug out my hats, gloves, and scarves.  It's my favorite time of year!  Not so cold that I am worried about frostbite, but cold enough to want gloves and a hat.

It makes me want to knit.  Thankfully I have lots of projects to keep me busy over the next few months.

First up is the sweater for William.  I'm knitting up the Grow Like a Weed jacket.  The sleeves are done and I'm onto the body.  It will be my first attempt at steeking.  I'm excited and petrified at the same time.  If it starts to unravel I may break down and cry.  I'm knitting it in Cascade Eco + is this dark green/blue color.  It's pretty awesome and I hope to have it done, steeked and blocked by Thanksgiving.  I love Cascade yarns and I was able to pick this up at my new local yarn shop.  Having a shop 2 blocks from work could be very, very dangerous.  Plus the owners is so sweet.  I may have turned into that annoying customer who's always there.  Oh my, I hope that's not the case...

Next I'm on to wedding knitting.  I am trying to make sure that none of my craft projects have to be completed.  I'm thinking of knitting a Clapotis for each of the ladies in our wedding party (two for me, one for Michael).  Looking at how long it has taken some people I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to get three of them done in time.

I also want a shawl for me and not to sound extremely selfish, but I would rather complete mine if I can only get one done.  I've got to narrow it down.  Right now I'm looking at Elise or maybe Autumn Leaves.  Then there's Umaro or this Entrelac shawl (that has gotten really bad reviews for the directions).  I'm really leaning toward the Autumn Leaves.  I love Jared Floods' designs and the leaves pattern seems appropriate for a fall wedding.  Hm...we shall see.

Now I'm off to look at healthy crock pot recipes.  Yep, it's officially Fall!

How the heck...

I want to steal this woman's flowers. Think she'd mind?

Photo Album - Imgur

They are amazing and if I have abilities in that direction I'd do it. Now I'm off to search out a place to purchase them...or directions.

Any ideas?

Progress on all fronts

In knitting news - I have both sleeves done for William the Weed jacket for my nephew.  I'll be starting on the body this weekend.  I'm so excited to try steeking...and so scared at the same time.

Also, I apologize in advance for future posts but suddenly it seems my life has become completely encompassed by wedding planning.  When did I lose my mind?  I never really thought much about wedding related stuff and suddenly it's all that comes to mind.

We have a date - note the new ticker/countdown.  We have the church reserved and now a reception site with caterer.  I'm getting to start thinking about wedding crafts, which is really what I'm looking forward to the most.  I don't want anything excessive but I'm hoping to complete shawls for each bridesmaid (two) and the groomsmaid (one) as well as myself.  If I find the time, I'm going to knit something for the mothers as well but that will be for later.

Also, I'm so stoked for our centerpieces.  The idea is still evolving but Michael thought of the greatest thing that is totally us.  A stack of antique looking books with vines "growing" around them.  We figure we'll start scouring thrift stores, yard sales, and ebay for some deals.

I'm just trying to not get stressed about it all.  This is supposed to be fun right?

Also - progress on the mini goals:

Step 1 - Drink at least 12 cups of water a day - Success

Step 2 - Complete one round of Power 90 - Today was Day 58.  I've been sporadic, but sticking with it.

Step 3 - Each small meals every 2-3 hours (at least 10g protein, no more than 40g carbs) - I'm not sure this is practical for me right now, but I'm trying

Step 4 - Don't eat within 2 hours of going to bed - Success

Step 5 - No more processed grains - So far, so good

Step 6 - At least one fruit or veggie with each meal - Two out of three meals. Progress

Step 7 - Get a minimum of 7 hours sleep. - Working on it still.

Things are happening in my little world.  So far I'm moving in the right direction!

Spilling the Beans

I have a lovely couch.  A beautiful red couch.  I'm extremely proud of my couch.  However, I still sprawl on the floor 80% of the time.  Unfortunately, this gets pretty uncomfortable after a while. It's further my misfortune that a bean bag chair is more college dorm chic than young-professional.  So I went on a quest - to find a floor pillow that didn't remind me of my days back at USF.  That's when I stumbled across a Gumdrop Pillow by Amy Butler, but OUCH, $12 for a pattern to a pillow.  Especially since I could tell by the construction was really just two pieces (the 8 sides, and an octagon covering the central piece).  Um, no thanks. Off I went again to find an alternative.

I found a blog post where she created her own pattern, but she just linked to another DIY tutorial for a Moroccan Pouf.  The original blogger was surprised that the tutorial didn't mention the Amy Butler pattern.  It's not like Ms. Butler invented the idea.  It's a style of pillow that's been around for a while, and anyone who doesn't mind the math can do it themselves.  It's about geometry.

Anyway - here's what I did step by step to get my lovely Moroccan Pouf (which sounds much better than a Gumdrop Pillow, and no in the least dorm room-esque).

I found fabric that I loved at Joann Fabrics on sale, and bean bag filing half-off at Shopko - Score!

I created the pattern on poster board.  Then end goal was to make two house shapes, connect them on the bottom edge and Viola - I have an outline of my pattern.  I couldn't follow the DIY directions exactly as finding a 36" piece of poster board was impossible and folding poster board seems silly.

I measured out 18 inches on a piece of poster board, this would be half the length of my patter piece.  Then four strips with a  width of five inches.(My side B).  Put the sort sides of my "houses" at 7 inches (making my Pouf 14 inches tall).  And Viola - a house with a really tall roof.

At first I was going to put the houses together - floor to floor- and create one pattern piece.  This was a bit unwieldy though, and would require more cuts than simply folding the fabric in half a few times and using the half pattern.  So I opted for that instead.  I measured 40 inches, just over the full length of my end piece, and folded it over so I had a doubled 40 inch piece.  I folded again, so I have a four think 20 inch length of fabric.  Once more fold, this one from the side, and I had a 20 inch length that was about 23 inches wide.

This allowed me to law the pattern pieces next to each other and only have to cut out two shapes to come up with 8 total pieces.

I laid out my pieces to make sure I hadn't botched anything too badly. Then is was simply sewing my pieces together.  That part was easy.  It took about two hours total at this point.  I left a 3 inch gap on the bottom to put in the filling.  I figured this part would be quick...I was wrong.

Filling was a pain.
And made me realize that I should have opted for fiberfill.  The 4 inches was way too small and pouring beans - much harder than expected.  Filling this stupid thing took about an hour. And a full bag of beans.  Way more than I expected too.

Plus I think the final look would be better.



I'm still pretty dang happy with the final product - behold the Moroccan Pouf!

   

I will probably add the octagon to cover the middle, but maybe not.  :)  I'm feeling pretty good with it just as it is!

Ah Fall

I love fall, so I'm greatly enjoying my calendar stating that it's currently November first. Fall is the perfect season - it's not hot and humid, making me feel sticky and like a part of the unwashed masses, like in summer. Winter is blindingly cold, I have a perpetual runny nose thanks to my reaction to being cold (doctor told me that was the cause, I'm still doubtful).

The most glorious part of fall though is Halloween and all the joy that comes leading up to it. Lucky for me M enjoys this particular holiday as much as I do. We were going to try out a haunted forest but pumpkin carving took us longer than M expected. Instead we went for the corn maze at night. We managed to navigate both sections of the maze in just over an hours (1 hour 12 minutes to be exact). It was a blast, except for those young whipper snappers who couldn't seem to understand that if you go through the corn it ruins the maze. Bah, kids these days.

Anyway, one of M's favorite fall activities is pumpkin carving. It's a big deal in his book and is planned months in advance. Really, he talks about it all summer as the pumpkins grown, worrying and fretting that there won't be enough pumpkins for everyone that comes to the pumpkin carving party. There were plenty, but he lamented that the pumpkins weren't larger.

Between the worrying though he took the time to teach me the fine art of pumpkin carving, the proper way (according to M). Carving what I always thought of as elaborate is not actually as difficult are I originally thought. There are so many stencils and directions on the web that will be much more clear than me, as a mere novice, can provide.

I attempted to use a stencil, but I neglected to consider that my pumpkin was still a bit damp from wiping off the stray pumpkin innards. About a quarter of the way through outlining my stencil started to disintegrate. This was not a complete disaster, but did require me to free hand the outline of the design onto the pumpkin. It didn't turn out perfectly but I was impressed with the final product.

On a side note, I decided to treat myself this halloween weekend. No homework was done all night. Instead I knit and watched appropriate documentaries about haunted houses.


*DISCLAIMER: My camera is malfunctioning so any pictures are actually from M's friend or his sister.*

Sudsy

As a girlfriend, I'm never entirely sure what is appropriate to give M's parents as gifts. I wonder if this is common sense to most people? Hm, well let me make a few excuses. I'm from the West coast, but am dating a life-long Midwestern. His mother finds many things I do quite strange. I eat funny foods (Caprese salad, Yum!) Also, my family doesn't really do gifts except for holidays, and birthdays if we actually remember. Gifts just aren't our thing. So imagine my surprise when M's mom gave me a Christmas present - follow that with my embarrassment that I hadn't brought a gift for her. Now that we're all up to speed, our craft will begin.

M's mom has a hard time with perfumes, smelly lotions, and most feminine bath products. So while wandering the aisle of the local Micheal's I saw a kit for making soap. I took that as my inspiration.

I opted not to make lye soap, as the process is more than I have time for at the moment. That leaves the melt and pour variety. It's a pretty basic process.

What you'll need:
Soap Base - I used glycerin this time
A spouted/pourable container - medium measuring cups work well
Soap Mold
(optional)
Essential Oil in desired scent
Coloring agent (food coloring works just fine, in small amounts)

Step 1 - cut up your soap base. (I used glycerin)
Step 2 - melt the soap base.
Step 3 - mix in scent and color
Step 4 - pour in mold
Step 5 - let cool

For the soap molds, you can use just about anything that is leak proof and won't be damaged from holding a very warm liquid. I've found a bunch of fun ice cube trays that would work. But you can also find molds designed specifically for soap. I found some in celtic knot patter that I think M's Irish-and-proud mother would like.

There are a couple of handy tricks I wish someone had told me before I made my first patch of soap a few years ago. The soap will occasionally be hard to remove from the mold. This is not an issue with a silicon or other "soft" mold, but the standard plastic ones have problems. One solution is to spray the mold with cooking oil. I am not a fan of this solution because it leaves an oily film on the soap, and if it's a gift you can't exactly wash the soap. Also, the oil will usually bead up on the plastic and look like bubbles on the pattern side of the soap. Instead I put my soap in the fridge. This not only helps it come out of the mold, but also cools it faster so I can do layers or other fun designs. The being cold makes the soap contract slightly, and harden, so it's easier to pop it out of the mold.

The other piece of advice would be to tap the molds just after pouring the melted soap. This will help to get the bubbles out and make for a cleaner mold.

I used some red dye, to make a pink layer. M's mom is into red, but I was worried that the amount of dye I would need to use to make the soap a real red would also dye M's mom pink, and possibly irritate her sensitive skin. However, to make it a bit more interesting I decided to put in layers. This is simple, and pretty intuitive. Just fill the mold part way, then allow to cool. Melt more soap but dye a contrasting color, or don't dye it at all. Viola, you have layers. My only caution here is to not make the second layer soap too hot as it will melt the initial layer as you pour.

It was a nice break from studying, which has taken over my life as usual. Okay, now I'm off to edit articles....and hopefully sleep.

Let's Get Crafty

School started last week, I moved the week before, and this week I start a new job. It's a busy month. I've only knit a few inches on my Something Red cardigan. I whipped up a couple of dish cloths, because apparently mine have decided to hide during the great migration(s) of 2008. This is my second move in 6 months so many things have wandered to places unknown. The iron, can opener, and the cord to my Mp3 player are all on the MIA list. Heck, I may have "downsized" them when I left my last place. Ah well, things only take up space in my new studio apartment.

While I haven't been knitting I was rather crafty. One of the items that was downsized was my dresser. Actually, due to a broken drawer and weight it was deemed unworthy, not big enough, and just plain ugly. Really, what do you expect for $13 from Goodwill, and hey 2 years of use for $13 isn't too bad. Anyway, a new dresser was purchased, this time from St. Vincent de Paul and since M has a vehicle that will hold more than my lil car, I was able to upgrade to a tall dresser.

Of course the plain wood stain, along with scratches, water stains etc, were not for me. I spent my Labor Day weekend sanding and painting to my heart's content. It is now a fun shade of dark blue (trim) with white panels and drawers.

Pictures to come when M arrives with said dressser. I'm stoked to finally have my clothing not in complete disarray. it makes keeping the place clean much harder.