late breaking news...

tune in (or record) this coming monday (1/29) at 11:30 am as Sarah, Dayna, and I appear on the show "Uncommon Threads" on HGTV. i'm nervous! the trip and filming process was so much sensory overload, i have no idea how the show will look when it airs. It may be cheesy, it might not make any sense. I really hope I didn't make any stupid mistakes in explaining how to dye wool!

I really meant to post this earlier, when we found out that the show was being aired on HGTV. (It was supposed to be on DIY, a channel that i don't even get!) If you want to catch it in re-runs it is episode #220 "Starry Night". (full directions and photos available on the website.) First I dye roving to match the colors of Van Gogh's famous painting. Then Sarah and Dayna use needle felting and beading techniques to recreate the masterpiece in wool. Then Allison sews and embroiders the cute little bag i'm holding in this picture. Sometime in March/April will be our second episode "Message in a Bag" (#258).

I've been recording and watching the other episodes all week. Its really surreal to see them and think "I was on that set. i sat in that seat." And in my mind i can hear the director say "more energy!!" A few days ago was the "Crafty Helper" episode that Marisa, Jennifer, and Caro (members of the Austin Glitterati). I totally couldn't get over thinking "We were having dinner together the night before. weird!!"

finished: Turtleneck Shrug

It is finished and worn. Several times, actually. It is a strange, and slightly ridiculous item of clothing. Despite that, i'm immensely pleased with it. It does exactly what you think and expect it will do: keep your arms warm. Its great for the wishy-washy weather that can't decide whether or not its actually winter. People at work gave it a strange look at first glance, but then decided it was cool.

Details
Pattern: Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style.
Yarn: my own handspun wool/angora. Roving came from "Spinning-a-Dream" (website down, unfortunately).
Modifications: different gauge, diff needles, diff # of stitches. Also tinked with the shaping of the shoulder because I do not have wispy little upper arms like that cute Interweave Press model!

One arm is softer than the other. Even though the two skeins had the same gauge, one had a much nicer angora halo than the other. I'm sure its noticeable to me only. I don't care anyway. If it were perfect, it would be sold at Wal-Mart. That's my motto. Its a variation on what my quilting friends say: "Only Allah is perfect".

Sabine says that angora yarn makes the BEST pillow!

Starsky is done, but the collar needs to be re-blocked. And i have to figure out whether i'm making the belt or not.

angora goodness

Starsky is very, very almost done. Since the collar is knit onto the fronts and back together, it is too clunky to be a good travel project right now. My fingers were itching to start a new project....

It's the Turtleneck Shrug from Scarf Style. The yarn is wool/angora that i spun ages ago. The photo is my lame attempt to capture the delicious angora halo. *droooool*

know some really unique knitters?

This email just came from Lorelei, the producer of our Uncommon Threads episodes. She is working on Knitty Gritty right now, and looking for some special knitters. please pass it along if you know someone who would be interested.

***KNITTY GRITTY one hour special seeks stories***

CALL FOR KNITTERS - January 2007

Screen Door Entertainment's TV show Knitty Gritty is looking for unique
knitting groups, individuals, or events to profile in an upcoming one-hour
special for the DIY Network. We are looking in the Los Angeles area AND
NATIONWIDE!!!! We'll be taping this special throughout 2007, and we'll come
to you.

We're searching for knitters or groups with a "story" or extra-special
quality. For example: unlikely knitters such as a sports team/league or a
group of Harley bikers, actors who knit on the set or bands who knit
backstage, groups who knit in unusual places such as a pub or baseball
stadium, someone who has knit a car cozy or something incredibly unusual or
large, someone who incorporates knitting with art projects, people who knit
for a purpose/cause (whether for charity with a great story behind it, or
for a nontraditional cause such as knitting graffiti taggers, etc), a
knitter with a personal human interest story, or anything else along these
lines that may come to mind.

If you have any leads for us - even if it's just something you've heard of
or you're not sure if it would work- please send me an e-mail with as much
info as you can provide, as soon as you can. We'd love to hear more and
could really use your help in finding these stories to make this one hour
special, well... special!

Please feel free to repost this (anywhere you can - on myspace, your blog,
or to a mailing list).

Thank you so much for your help! :)

Please send leads to:

Lorelei at LPlotczyk at sdetv.com
or
Joy at JWingard at sdetv.com

finished: girly baby quilt

its really, truly, completely done! I snapped this picture before putting it in the washer yesterday because i had a nagging fear that it would get ruined. it didn't. Now its washed, signed, and ready to go in the mail. I hope she likes it!

maybe i should knit that cat bed now.

In our house we have:
- 1 double-bedded cat castle
- 1 ikea cat tent
- 1 human bed
- 2 office chairs
- 4 padded dining room chairs
- a couch
- a comfy armchair
- 1 persian carpet
- pile of dirty laundry
- pile of clean laundry
- several closets full of clothes

On most days the cats are content to sleep on any of these things. Or they might be found napping in other ingenious places - like above the fridge.

Unless i'm blocking something. If the blocking board is out, this is where they will always sleep:

Block & Roll

the fronts of Starsky are finished and drying on the blocking pad.

the sleeves were finished in june 2006 (but not blocked yet).

the back is 3/4 done and won't take much longer, because i decided to scrap the "banana leaf" pattern on the back and knit it plain. i'm bored with this sweater and I really didn't like knitting that stitch pattern. I'm feeling needy and want instant(er) gratification. I decided that I would rather have a plain back on a finished sweater than have it languish in the UFO pile for another 6 months.

This yarn (debbie bliss merino aran) seemed a little rough and stiff while I was working with it. I was hoping that blocking would soften it up, and #(*%&% it did! The blocked pieces aren't even dry yet, but they feel completely different than the unblocked pieces. i'm very pleased. one of these years i'll learn to wash swatches before starting a project. probably not gonna be 2007. maybe next year.

finished: Party Dress

wonder of wonders, the dress was finished (mostly) ontime!! i wore it to the Nutcracker 3/4 hemmed, 1/4 safety pinned on saturday. I did finish hemming and stitching everything in time for our big New Year's Eve Soiree.

I thought it should have a little more volume under the skirt, to get more of a 50's vintage feel. There's a costume shop very close to our house, but they closed early yesterday for the holiday. Luckily, there is a thrift store accross the street. i stopped in and found an old bridesmaid dress for $8.50. I cut the crinoline out of that and wore it under the skirt to make it a bit more flouncy.

Ms G's dress turned out awesome as well. She even made a matching bag out of leftover fabric! Since our dress patterns were originally from 1952, we had fun hamming it up with cocktails and gloves.