The World Needs More Knitted Hedghogs

This post is brought to you by the Hampton Inn, where I'm staying while traveling for work.  I'm really tired but I thought I'd finally blog about this, because I've been keeping him in my bag to give me a smile every now and then!

I took these pictures last week, when it was sunny and nice out - can you tell?  Can we get back to that, please! It seems like the whole Northeast is covered with a cloud.

Anyway, I was thinking of making a few of these in different colors and selling them on Artfire.  Or just keeping them as my hoarde of hedgehogs! (I'm just kidding - a group of hedgehogs is called an array.)

I have the notes for him written up, but I'm thinking of having it tested and selling the pattern - but there are so many free hedgehog patterns out there that do really well, so there's a lot of competition! Maybe free for now?

A Little Color In Rochester

First off, the theme for the Design Along is Garden! So, get on down to this thread and post a photo for the mood board by next Sunday if you want to contribute - it should be a lot of fun.



And speaking of fun (and gardens) - the Lilac festival is in full bloom (excuse the pun) and yesterday W and I braved the rain to go on a triple date and see some of the gorgeous flowers.  Last year, the festival was kind of a downer because warm weather had brought the flowers weeks before, so all we got to view were the remnants of flowers! But this year, some of the blooms had only just begun to open.  If we can overcome this gloomy, rainy weather then things will be gorgeous - of course, I will have moved out by then :(

But here are some photos anyway :)

Design-a-long!

A while back I had this super cool idea - to have something like a knit-a-long (KAL) but based around design! I started a thread in the Budding Designers Group on Ravelry, and the DAL - Design-A-Long was born!

Here's the premise:  Four times a year, I'll post a theme up here and on Ravelry.  If you want to participate, you sign up here or on Ravelry, and post a picture that is related to the theme that inspires you.  After one week, the pictures are compiled and I'll post up a mood board - from that mood board, participants each design and knit an original piece.

The ultimate goal of this is to give new designers a body of work and get used to the design process, and to flex the creativity of established designers.  Unlike other challenges out there, the timeline is a longer one, which means that your work can be as big as you want.

Anyway, if you're interested, drop me a line and check out the group on Ravelry! I'm trying to figure out how to make a button do-hickey thing... and writing the rules.

Also, you can vote for the upcoming theme in this thread.

I'm going to compile a list of participants and try to figure out prizes, graphics, etc.  If anyone wants to donate prizes let me know!

My latest FO! Yay?

I finished my psuedo-mystery project last night, but I'm not very happy with him.  In fact, I'm kind of creeped out.



Is that the point, you may ask?  Uh, well, I guess.  It's supposed to be Pedobear.  I'm thinking of burning him - it's better than having him stare at me all day.  W has offered to take him (like he takes all of my misfit toys.)



Just goes to show what bad embroidery can do, I guess.

May TUSAL

Whoops.  I forgot to post April's post! No prizes for me - oh well.  Maybe extenuating circumstances will allow me to not count that new moon, since I was pretty sick.

I expect my jar to grow quite a bit this month, since I want to finish a few projects but I'm also cleaning out my apartment before the move, and will doubtless find lots of little ORTs to plop in the jar.

The Clock is Winding Down...

I'm a little freaked out that I have a little more than two weeks before I'm outta here, and trying to find an apartment in my new temporary home.  It's very crazy, and I've got a lot of things on my checklist before I move out... besides the regular, school stuff I'm trying to finish up all the food we have in the pantry, and of course, knitting goals.

Number one is the moose puppet for W.  I have a sinking feeling if this isn't done... it will never get done! It will be hard to work together when we're so far apart!

Second is to write up and compile my notes for the Cat Bus.  I barely have them all in one place, and I feel like they're another project that won't survive the move - something will get shuffled around, or misplaced, or accidentally thrown out.

In the spirit of all that makes sense, I've simultaneously cast on two new projects.  One is a doll that's lying in pieces on my counter - It'll be a free pattern, and I'm a little nervous about releasing it.  Well, you'll see.

And the other is an Estonian lace shawl... ette? I haven't decided yet.  I saw a gorgeous pattern on the internet, and decided I wanted half of one.  So this project was conceived... not sure how well it will go, especially considering there's a crochet edging *gulp*.  I'm sure I can design it out.

Anyway, that's what I'm up to... how about you?

Now THIS is Weather!

Today was balmy, warm, and gorgeous.  I spent my break between classes sitting on a comfy couch and eating crummy Mexican food, then I finished this...

... and started this. 

Does anyone else hate that time in between socks? I always try to cast on for the next sock when I finish the first... if I'm not doing two-at-a-time to avoid this madness all together.

Oh, and what's that? Can you see it!?!

Flowers! Horray!

This nice weather lasted for the day... right now, it's pouring and we have a tornado watch.  Yesterday? Rain.  Tomorrow? Rain. I love listening to the sound of rain come through the open window, while I snuggle in a quilt and drink cocoa :)