Happy Post-Zombie Jesus Day!

This is what I get to see everyday that I take Dragon to work. See? Mountains:D

So not much going on in our household this weekend (or for the past few weeks rather) thus the lack of updates. HOWEVER!!! I have completed some projects, started some new ones, taken a SLEW of pictures and I am here to inflict all of this information upon you.

Behold ye, and tremble in fear.

Purple Jade and Sterling Silver...so pretty!

This is a purple jade pendant with a silver dragon on it, courtesy of Uwajimaya Market in downtown Seattle. I also got some Puchi miniature meals...and they are made of awesome and cute!

Puchi Mini Meals...dangerously addictive.

It was amazing and we will definitely be going again sometime soon. It's so refreshing to finally have a place to go to get the awesome Japanese food that I remember from Japan:)

Now, on to the completed works! First up the infamous crochet orange scarf and knitted hat out of the Orange Slices Merino yarn from Andrea :

Finally completed. Very warm and very bright, they help to keep the dreary Seattle chill away. My favorite part (aside from the yarn) is the edging. It's a crochet braid stitch that looks to be much more complicated than it really is.

Then I splurged a little bit (a whole $6) and bought the Applejack hat pattern from Croshay Designs and proceeded to make two of them. The first is out of the amazing BFL in the ColdSteel colorway from the faboo Andrea .

And what's more, I had so much left over that I decided it needed a scarf to go with it, so I'm currently using the Magic Scarf pattern by Crazy Aunt Purl and still working on it:

Then I used a combo of the Dexter colorway in Merino/Silk blend from Cosmic Fibers Yarn on Etsy and some of the Obsidian Merino/Tencel from Andrea :
I didn't have enough of the Dexter to do more than the hat, so I'm thinking that if I knit a scarf for this one I'll do it strictly out of the Obsidian. And I'm thinking cables:D

Then we have the latest Calorimetry that I'm making for my BFF Dawn down in Alabama out of the most AMAZING chunky baby alpaca yarn! I picked it up from Yarnzilla for a steal and I will definitely be getting more of it because oh...it's so lush! I believe the colorway is called Ember Melange and the photos just do NOT do it justice!

That's my little purple skull cupcake stitch marker from Scary Merry over on Etsy. I adore them:)

And last, but certainly not least, I'm working on yet another scarf, this time using the incredibly gorgeous Her Eyes tencel from Andrea . Again....photos cannot capture how truly beautiful this yarn is, folks.

Those are the new bamboo needles I picked up on Amazon for a steal! I now have no excuse because I now have every size from 0 - 13 in 9" straights and DPNs.

I'm using the Old Shale Pattern, found on Ravelry, and so far, it may not look like much, but I swear, when it's blocked? It's going to be utterly fabulous!

So that's it for now:) I swear it's taken me entirely too long to get this update on here. But I'm sure that after viewing such beautiful yarns, you'll need a rest.

The battle for the water box is on. First Blade...

Then Kratos;)

Until next time;)

XOXO
~Bella

Foggy days, crisp nights.

The last few days have been full o' fog around here and I've been enjoying every minute of it. To my macabre mind, I suppose it's just spooky enough to make it feel more surreal than it might to the average Pacific Northwesterner.

But then, I'm still newly transplanted.

It's a new year, therefore new goals, hassles, irritations and triumphs. We've been getting out and seeing the city more, slowly but surely, and I'm currently dying to get tickets for Cinematic Titanic's first show here in March. In case you don't already know, and I'm sure most of you don't, I'm a huge fan of MST3K. So when CT announced tour dates, you know I'll be in attendance:) See, this is one of the big reasons we moved here in the first place. The opportunities are crazy! Combine that with another Abney Park show next month and you've got a me that's just squirming in her pants to get out and get on with it!

I've been working on a new scarf. I'm using the lovely orange merino I got earlier this month and after searching high and low, I settled on a scarf that's similar to the Circle Crochet Scarf pattern and I fully intended on using that particular pattern. But then, while perusing through my Encyclopedia of Crochet the other day and found the perfect stitch pattern for it.

See, I envisioned this scarf, because of the yarn, looking like little slices of mandarin oranges, so I went with Catherine's Wheel. And yes, it's crochet:

See that gorgeous color? Believe me when I say that the camera does NOT do justice to how lusciously beautiful it is.

And my favorite dyer/spinner extraordinaire is at it again. Look at this: (picture totally taken by Andrea, by the way)

Now, I will admit my ignorance, because I don't know what Black BFL is (the fiber she used for this yarn) but is that not one of the most gorgeous red colorways you've ever seen? Can you imagine a deep violet color? OMG! So pretty!

So naturally, I want some. *laughs* We'll see what happens;) What with working two jobs now, I might be able to keep up my yarn-whore habit! (As it is, I'm totally tempted to have her add the Purple Haze merino she has in her shop. I keep lusting after it. Darn her!!)

Oh! And I haven't forgotten the backlog of stitch patterns of the day. I'm still doing them, I've just gotten caught up in other things. Hopefully over the next week, I'll get them all photo'd and uploaded and let you all know what I'm doing!

Game's on, have to run:)

XOXO
Bella

Knit-geek, ahoy!

I received a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble for Christmas from my employer and I've been sitting on it, patiently plotting, trying to decide what I want to use it on.

I've had my eye on Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby for a while, but kept hem-hawing around picking it up because I couldn't justify buying it when I was still a n00b to the knitting scene. Well, I finally decided to get it and it's just gorgeous. I adore Victorian lace and have wanted to try it for myself. I'm still intimidated all to hell, but there is such a variation of different types of lace patterns that I really can't see myself NOT using it. I'll definitely be starting small, though. *laughs*

I also picked up The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns by Sterling Publishing Co. from the bargain bin. At a little over $14, it was a steal! It is chock full of fabulous stitch patterns that I can already see myself making use of! So, so happy with it:)

As for the other books, they're not knitting related, but for anyone who's interested in how eclectic I can be:

Death, A Life by George Pendle,

and three of the The Element Encyclopedias:

Secret Signs & Symbols,

Ghosts and Hauntings,

and Birthdays.

I finished up the two Calorimetry scarves for the baristas, already given Dinah's to her tonight! She was quite excited that I hadn't forgotten:) Good. Girl needs something bright to wear because she's such a perky person anyway. Thursday we're going to swing by and give the other one to my punk-girl. She should love it too.

I've discovered that as much as I love buying yarn and knitting for myself, I also really seem to enjoy knitting for others too, if for no other reason than to see the joy on their faces when they get that hand-knit item. They truly appreciate it.

I'm still knitting away on the kitten paw scarf and I've been toying with the idea of making a skull motif scarf or shawl out of the "After the Fire" yarn I got from Andrea. It's such a darkly beautiful yarn....I dunno! Suggestions are welcome on what I should make of it! If I knew how, I'd make a pair of stockings, honestly, but I don't trust myself to make them look right. *laughs* I'd love to make it into a pair of the skull stockings over on the Victorian free patterns website I saw earlier today.

In any event, I'm going to go back to watching The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning. Why yes, I watch Disney movies. My brother works there. I'm...er...supporting him;)

XOXO
Bella

December 1st!

I can't believe that the year is almost over! 6 months ago, I was sitting in my living room in Texas wondering where my path would lead...and here we are in Washington!

I'm going to reserve my "thankful for" list until the end of the year, and am, instead focusing on getting my knitting done! There is a NIN concert next Sunday in Portland that we have tickets for, and I am determined to have my coppertop scarf done by then. I also need to make another calorimetry head scarf done before Sunday rolls around (it's supposed to be quite chilly that day!)

Later this month, we're going to celebrate our anniversary by going to see the Pacific Northwest Ballet's 25th anniversary production of The Nutcracker, and later that night, we're going to a Saloon in town (in full Steampunk gear *grins*) for The Steampunk Cabaret show!

I've been playing with ideas for Christmas goodies that I plan on giving out, and I think I've settled on some chocolate dipped cake bites (courtesy of Bakerella at her blog) because they look delicious AND unique enough to give out:)

I have to make some traditional cookies as well this year because my Omi mentioned that she won't be making cookies this year. *sad face* So instead, I'm going to send some to her for a change:) It should be a nice little surprise for her!

I'm currently amused by My Dragon driving himself nuts trying to answer my question of "Who is your favorite James Bond villain?" Poor thing can't decide. *wicked grin*

In other news, we had a relatively successful Thanksgiving with the exception of the cornish hens. They didn't turn out as well as I hoped, but that is partially my fault because I decided to try a new recipe on a holiday. *laughs* So from here on out, no new recipes on a holiay WITHOUT pre-testing them a few days in advance.

Lesson learned.

And because this wouldn't be a proper post without some sort of picture, I present something from another Etsy girl that I am totally addicted to:

This picture doesn't do them justice, so I'm going to borrow the ones directly from her shop!
Voila:


These adorable little confections are by Jillian and can be found at her Etsy shop WeeOnes and she has the most amazing stitchmarkers! If you're looking for something whimsical and new, a little different and a lot amazing, check out her shop! I have to admit, I'm a bit bummed that the sushi stitch markers she had up aren't there anymore *pout* but I wonder if I can cajole her into creating more? I'd looove to have some sushi stitch markers!

In any event, I'm going to step away from the computer for a bit, since I've been tied to it all day! And then....dun dun DUN! It's Heroes Monday:D

XOXO
~Bella

What'd I say?

I said I'd post them as soon as I had them uploaded;)




So there you have it;) The leaf lace scarf that I'm working on in the faboo Coppertop Tencel!