WelshGrl2

.practically perfect.

.how crafty girls create makeshift stitch markers whilst traveling.

Remember the sweater I started knitting before I left for Wales?  Here's the progress I have made so far.

It would be a bit longer but I started over once in order to make a different size.  I also ripped back a bit to do a different cable pattern (I loved the one I intended to start with, but I couldn't convert it to work in a round properly).

In the process of starting this sweater over a few times, something happened to me that happens to every knitter at one time or another: I lost my stitch markers.

After searching the house high and low for paper clips, or other light, round-ish do-dads that could serve as make-shift stitch markers, I decided to make my own out of the little stash of crafty goodies I brought along with me.

Because everyone brings sparkly purple yarn and plastic chandelier pieces from Maya Road with them when they go to Wales, yeah?

I cut a little piece of yarn, tied a crystal in the middle, then tied another knot to create a loop.

Thus:

A pretty, sparkly stitch marker that guides my yarn into tidy cables.

Question: what crazy craft stuff do you bring with you when you travel?

.pretty.

.my creative hero- danny wallace.

Danny Wallace is one of my creative heroes because he comes up with some of the most silly, insane ideas that you could possibly imagine.  Then, instead of telling him self that he'd fall flat on his face and look like a complete moron if he tried to execute one of his ideas.... he just does it.

Like placing an ad in a London newspaper that says "Join Me."

Like deciding to say "Yes" to every question that anybody asks him.  For a year.  

Sometimes the purpose of the project is evident at the start of his adventures, sometimes it shows up later.  Either way, he follows it confidently and genuinely through to the end.  Then when its all over, he writes a book about it.  And sometimes that book is made into a movie.  And some times that movie stars Jim Carey.  (Or more importantly, Zooey Deschanel.)

So, Danny Wallace is one of my creative heroes because he has the confidence and courage to follow through with his creative convictions.

Also, he's a hot English dude with spiky hair and glasses. 

And, he's really funny.

.meet my new bff.

I think Sally Rogers and I should be friends.

She is super funny, a great singer and she always wears a nice, velvety bow in her hair.

I mean, that's the only criteria one needs for selecting a new gal pal, right?

.some things that make me happy right now.

Anglophile Keychains

Old books that want to become something new.

Sparkly jewelry that reminds me of snowy abbeys and elvish metal.

.if i only make one thing this year.

... it will be these crocheted bunny slippers.  Period.

I also want to finish knitting the blanket behind me, knit two pairs of socks, knit a sweater, sew some pillows, create tons of scrapbooks, design wedding invitations and programs, make some jewelry, and make lots and lots of bright and pretty, magical things that want to burst out of my imagination and into my etsy shop.

But I am definitely going to crochet these bunny slippers.  And make little fluffy bunny butt pom-pom tails to put on the heels, and dance around the wood floors of my new abode while the theme songs of my favorite tv shows play, just like I did when I was a little kid.  And then Ashley will either want to cover my face in kisses or run back home to Wales where people act like grown-ups.  But given that he is excited about building a fort in our living room once his Visa comes through and he can move here, I am betting he goes for option one.  That, and he thinks I have pretty hair.

What do you absolutely have to make this year?

.we're engaged.

 

I told you 2010 was going to be huge! ; )

In early 2004, Ashley and I went to visit Tinturn Abbey.  It was our first adventure outside of the Student Village together (though it wasn't a "date") and when little flakes of snow started to fall from an otherwise sunny sky, our day was made magical.
 
On January 17th, Ashley took me back to Tinturn Abbey and proposed to me with a red plastic ring inside the Abbey Chapel. 
 
This time we didn't need snow to make the day magical.
 
(And the red plastic ring was just a joke, by the way.  The diamond one was tucked away in his pocket and the scrolls in the setting remind me of the deliate arches of the Tinturn Abbey windows.)

.craft crazy.

Hello my dearies!

Here are some important things you should know:

• I am leaving for a three week trip to Wales on tuesday evening (squeeee!)
• I have a to do list that is about 100 yards long (which makes it long enough to knit a hat, FYI).
• I have been scheduled for super long shifts at work yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

So given all my current time constraints, last night I came home from work and did the absolute, most sensible and responsible thing possible. 

I started knitting a sweater.

I'm using Kimberly Hamlin's High Neck Cable Sweater pattern

And one of my favorite (and very affordable) yarns: Lion Brand's Cotton Ease in Taupe

I love this yarn so much, I could marry it.  Wait, now I am starting to have some strange fantasies about making out with a taupe sweater wearing Dick Van Dyke.  Or maybe Spike.

ehem.  Moving on.

I've also decided to jazz up the cable portion of the pattern with something a bit more feminine and etherial.  After some extensive Ravelry searching, I've decided to use the cable panel SmarieK Knits designed for her Regina Cable and Bobble Scarf, only I am going to throw in a few extra purl stitches so it will spread out across the front of my sweater more nicely.

SmarieK is a beautiful cable genius, and I am so glad I found her work on Ravelry.

I also plan on making the sleeves a little longer and adding a lovely pink button (that matches the ones on the collar) on the end of each sleeve.  

It's also worth noting that I have attempted this sweater before and it turned out "just a hair too small."  But since I know what I did wrong, I feel cofident in taking this new challenge head on.

Ok, time to get out the suitcases, throw some Dick Van Dyke on Instant Netflix, and start deciding what to pack.

Then maybe just a few more rows before bedtime. : )

.nicolette and paul.

One of my dearest friends is engaged...

...and I am totally jealous of all her gorgeous engagement photos.

Photographer: Alyssa Anne Photography