Slip a Stitch, Karma's a B-

-ig and influential factor in all of our lives. That's definitely what I meant. Gosh, get your mind out of the gutter.

I can feel Autumn approaching. I can feel it. I realize that it's possible I could be hallucinating from the extreme Texas heat, but I'm going to take the positive route and believe that nature is changing in my favor. When I'm in class and decidedly avoiding any additional participation than what is necessary, I daydream about falling leaves... And then I snap back to reality and notice that in my imaginings I've been staring at a classmate's dandruff slowly drifting down to the floor. Ew.

It seems like I haven't been working on much, but, upon reflection, I have actually made quite a few things (I am a marvelous thing factory. I do things, I create things, I destroy all things that get in my way, etc). Besides making copious amounts of coffee, and drinking it with almost an almost indecent regularity, I've been sewing, knitting, and generally avoiding the pathway of my fellow classmate's dandruff gently wafting through the air conditioned breeze.

But enough about dandruff and coffee, we're here to talk about things.

The first thing I made was a creepy (or cute, if you're into the devil) bunny with mismatched button eyes made out of green fabric with black polka dots. I don't have a photo, but, trust me, it was literally a cuddly Satan.

My next projects (please note that, although this is a perfect blog, completely free of inaccuracies, I may or may not be recalling the projects in the proper order of production) were two dresses for my sisters Victoria and Hannah. A while back, I was given some bags full of random fabric pieces, and I managed to create both dresses completely out of those fragments! Being a remarkably professional photographer, I can tell you that I most definitely did not rush around after my morning study session to find these items and make them look as if they hadn't been squished in a closet. I also didn't take one single picture of each and declare it "good enough". That's just not how we do it here on ATBOTBS (what an acronym).

During one of my many weekly adventures down at our house in Dripping Springs, I discovered a skein of Lion Brand Fettucini that had just been ignored and shoved into the school closet's craft box. Made  out of 100% undetermined materials, I had to use it to make a project that looks like its maker was 100% unsure of what to create. Thus, in an afternoon, the Banana Basket was born. 

I'm also working on a pair of beautifully detailed Coffee Cantata socks, but I apparently lost the entire project somewhere. I have no idea how that happened, or where the heck it is, but some field mouse is probably overjoyed at the prospect of a cabled, socky, dinner. Mouse: 1. Katherine: 0.

Because the sock has proven elusive to me, I've started creating a pattern. That's right, I'm getting creative again (*Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared plays ominously in the background*)! It's in the early stages of fabulousness, but it's getting there, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

I'm Not Dead, Just Tired

I finished my spring classes! YES! I'm super happy to be enjoying a small break before the summer session, even if I have been kinda sick the entire time (*cough* thanks, Mom *cough*).

I'm relieved to be finished with my biology class, because my professor wasn't particularly nice. At all. Currently, all unfriendly and unpleasant professors I've had have been women, which is a disheartening trend to observe. I'm hopeful that my experiences have been based on chance and aren't an accurate representation of my future time in the workplace.

I've essentially finished the Ginny Cardigan, lacking only buttons, pockets, and seams, but I haven't felt any inclination to do anything with it, so it's been set aside for a bit. I occasionally look at it and think, "Oh, I should work on that," but then I go and make scones with coffee or something.
Speaking of coffee, I have gotten into this terrible habit of making a cup, taking one glorious sip, and then leaving it on the table for five hours while I work on other things. WHY DO I DO THIS?!? I like coffee.

Oh, crap. I just realized I'm continuing the habit right now as I type, because my coffee is still on the other side of the room. One second, I'm going to go get it.

Okay, everything's good now. Crisis averted!

Remember that gorgeous lace crocheted shawl that I started working on back when I was a fetus? No?? Oh. Well, I COMPLETED IT! I'm actually very happy that I made it, because I was using an ivory hook from Grandmother, and I wanted it to continue being used to create things, rather than being locked away in a box somewhere.

My, my, look at that lovely toe. Foot fetish people, this is for you.

I made a sort-of impulse buy (sort-of, in that it was only vaguely premeditated) on Friday, and I got a blanket's worth of Bernat Blanket Yarn (blanket pattern here). It's not for me, and I have to finish it before my first summer class begins on the 30th, so I'm not sure why I thought making it was such a brilliant idea!
Thankfully, I'm good at meeting deadlines, and if I somehow don't, I can always use a later date, although it wouldn't be as smashingly impressive.

I also joined the Pokemon Go crowd this week and made a character. I'm pretty pleased, and I can see why the game became such a widespread success!

Cinco De Mayo??

Hello again, you lovely people.

It's been nearly 5 months since my last post. First of all, how did that happen?? Second, it's finals week and... Yeah, that's how.

I did vend another booth, and this time I shared the space with Dewberry Creek Farms. I've also been keeping up with my knitting; very slowly, but I'm still making progress. 

One of my professors banned my knitting in her class after approving it on the previous class day, which was unfortunate, yet somehow I've managed to knit an entire cardigan! Well... Almost. I've still got to add pockets and sew the underarms and block it and-

Like I said, it's basically done!

I love the curious looks that I get whenever I take out my knitting or crocheting in a public place. It's so fun, because it gives me an excuse to get something done while I'm also being marked 'present' and possibly introducing the idea that maybe knitting isn't just for old ladies. The conversations that have begun in my classes just because I've gotten out my needles have been wonderful to observe, and my psychology professor even used my craft as an example in his lecture.

Maybe this weekend, as I pretend to study, I'll be able to finish the cardigan and start on something new.

I've been thinking of picking up sewing again; I even bought a few (read: way too many) patterns to practice on.

A Happy Little Doily

I've done it again. 

I have played Yarn Chicken... AND LOST.

This is why we weigh skeins of yarn to find out the yardage.

This is why we check gauge.

Remember that *cough* painfully pink *cough* doily I started on my birthday? Yeah, I messed up. Although it isn't as bad as I've made it sound- just as long as you don't know what pattern I used. }:-)

I was crocheting the last few rounds of this accursed doily when I realized that I definitely did not have enough thread to complete it, and by that time, I was already committed to the project. For a split second, I imagined unraveling the entire thing. The hours I had spent slouching over it in a corner when I should have been interacting socially would be meaningless; the days I spent looking at it and thinking, "I would very much like to burn this pink atrocity," would be wasted. No, I could certainly not dispose of the thing. I WAS going to finish it, and nothing as trivial as a mere lack of sufficient supplies could stop me.

So, I pulled a Bob Ross and made my happy little accident into a 3 pineapple-d doily rather than... whatever it was supposed to be that I'm not telling you about.

My, my. Doesn't that look intentional? ;)

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR

Hello, again, all of you lovely people! I'm writing this post quickly before I finish packing for my family trip to Belize. 

The end of 2016 was a very hectic period for me, and it consisted of  Christmas parties, Christmas itself, and birthdays galore. The New Year has been just the same with a New Year's Eve party (I sound like I'm a party animal, don't I? Well, I can assure you that I'm definitely not; I love sleep too much), my parent's wedding anniversary, and, yesterday, my 18th birthday.

I haven't been working on that many projects since my classes ended because I was feeling rather burnt-out, and my hands were aching from the constant repetitive motions. Still, despite being weary of creating things, I managed to knit my friend a Christmas hat- of which I don't have a picture, oddly enough.

On my birthday, I started making a bright pink doily for the same friend's birthday  present. It's from a free vintage pattern, and I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Sometime before Christmas, I started a Ginny Cardigan for myself, on which I have knitted about 3 1/2 inches. I really like the yarn that I chose for it, a Knit Picks' Tweed DK. It's soft, and I think that it'll be comfortable to wear.

Now that I'm nearly packed and ready for the trip tomorrow, I just hope that my hook and needles won't be confiscated as I board the boat to Central America. XD

Seriously, though.

TMD 2016

Hello, all you lovely people!

As most of you probably know, last weekend was the 33rd annual Texian Market Days in Richmond, Texas at the George Ranch Historical Park. Emily and I had a blast (even in those few moments when the crowd thinned and it got quiet enough for us to realize how little caffeine we had consumed that day ;P )!

The vendor in the booth next to us, Curt Locklear, is an author, and he plays the banjo and the guitar. Emily and I are occasionally musically inclined (read: we put our headphones in and have dance parties by ourselves because we're cool like that), so we sang a few songs with him. Despite being a bit nerve-wracking, it really was fun!

From the left: Mr. Locklear, a marvelously attractive hat rack, Katherine, and Emily.

Besides taking this picture, our sister Jennifer recorded a video of one of the songs we sang:Amazing Grace.

Just Monkeying Around

I craft in class. It's fact, and it's also a nice ice-breaker, because (so far) no one in my classes have any idea what I'm doing (NEITHER DO I).

Last week, one of my classmates asked me what kinds of animals I could make. I haven't yet encountered an animal that wasn't on the internet already, so I told him that I could make pretty much anything. He then asked me to make him a monkey, which I have now done.

I've got to tell you, it was immensely satisfying to see a full grown man light up over a stuffed animal.

You can get the free pattern here: Chinese New Year Monkey pattern by Stephanie Jessica Lau.