F.S.A.R.L.B.P.

F.S.A.R.L.B.P:

For Shame, A Really Long Blog Post

July and August disappeared.  I don't know what happened, but they are gone.  Many things happened though, so at least I have lots to talk about!

Starting off slow, I covered some canisters with wrapping paper (it will have its own post soon!) and set them around my house.  They're decorative and practical. Afterwards I hung shelves in my bedroom to throw everything onto expand my "dresser" space.

After that I spent most of July knitting a sweater.  Well, only about two weeks really- its for my year old nephew!  It's acrylic, soft, and washable, a definite must for any kid in my family!

(And no, of course I didn't take pictures of it with the sleeves and my sister lives 9 hours away!  Sigh- I'll post them as soon as its cold enough to stuff him in it!)

Why did I knit it in two weeks?  Because my sister, nephew, and aunt came to visit me for four days!  Had a great time hanging out, going to the zoo and shopping.  That's them at the zoo!  A note to everyone- don't leave the zoo at 4:30 on a weekday, Houston traffic is AWFUL at 5!

In the beginning of August I found some awesome yarn on clearance- its beautiful, and impossible to make anything but socks with it!  This is one of the lacy swatches I tried.  Sigh- finding the perfect pattern for varigated yarns is a challenge.  I'm determined to make something with it- probably stockings, but maybe cushions.  Ideas are welcome!

Didn't have all that much time to play with it since we went to GenCon!  Months ago the Man decided I was going with him and his friend so I braced myself for four days of doing nothing but playing board games.  Finally I demanded we look at all the events- I figured it was a con, there would at least be costume contests and vendors.  I'm so glad we looked- there are a whole series of events for spouses and the guest speaker for spouse events was Toni Carr, author of Knits for Nerds!  She is an amazing friendly person and not at all what I imagined- her book has made me fall in love with knitting all over again!

(There are so many projects in this book- check it out on Ravelry to see them! Best purchase ever.)

Another lucky break- I didn't have to spend all my time gaming, GenCon had an open crafting room where crafters of all ilk could use donated supplies and spend time with people who shared their passions.  I got to meet so many different ladies, in an amazing arrange of ages and skills, that I am determined to not dislike any craft- I even picked up a class in tatting while there!  I think I'll go after spinning next- the fiber arts call to me.

Of course, it was a con.  There were lots of people dressed up in every genre imaginable, an enormous dealer's room with artists and authors as well as celebrities and craftspeople.  There really was no available space in there, including the walkways.  So many people were in that room the first day that I fled to the craft room- buying new dice first.  A girl has to have her priorities, after all!  Plus, it gave me a great excuse to knit my first dice bag!  Well, the first one I have made.  I gave it a ruffle and an icord string.  Amusingly enough, I knit the icord while attending a lecture discussing the first crusade.  Gotta love portable crafts!

(Awful picture, need more dice to fill out the bag! And the dice are all teal and purple shades . . . shame on me!)

We had to come home eventually and I'm onto more and more things- the projects this week are a circle skirt (sewn) for myself and some Who-mitts.  What are Who-mitts?  Check back later for the full story and (hopefully) a pattern to make your own!