Talia Vest

Pattern:Talia Vest by SweaterBabe

Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn! in colorway #60 Aubergine


Needles: Used a US size 6 needle instead of 8... 8 would've been huge, even though I swear I checked gauge twice before I started (and bothering to check it at all is quite worth bragging about for me).

It might be a little snug -- maybe I should have used 7s -- but it still fits fine other than a little bit of curving of the button band. And because the bottom hemline is scalloped due to the lace, the curving button band kind of almost fits with it.

Overall, I'm pleased. I think I'll actually wear this, imagine that.



No, you don't see the edge of a doorknob in this picture. You just see how the body is shaped and the overall look of it.



I adore these buttons. I just got them at Joann's, 90 cents for two. I think they work well with the vest, but have enough detail to be more than just plain buttons.

This and that

Been a bit busy lately. Finished Cultural Anthropology for Summer A, this week started Magic, Ritual & Belief for Summer B. It looks to be a much better -- and possibly more challenging simply because it's actually involved -- class than Cultural Anthropology was.

Blocked Talia and it grew enough to my liking. Still need buttons for it.

Yosemite needs a sleeve and buttons to be finished.

Visited Orlando for a few days and got to see Alex and my baby.

Just so you know my puppy isn't always a dopey couch potato:






Been on a strange Harry Potter kick lately. Re-read the sixth book, am a few chapters away from finishing the seventh. The only two that I haven't read upwards of a dozen times.

Hopefully this coming week I will be a bit more knitty and a bit less busy otherwise.

Back on track

Last night I decided I was going to finish the projects I had on the needles. Finished the neckline edging of Talia, going to block in a bit. Not really sure how to block acrylic, but I suppose I'll give it a google.

Went to Michael's with my mother today and glanced down the yarn aisle. Found exactly what I wanted for Yosemite. After searching several LYS and online, I found it in Michael's.

Loops & Threads Snuggly Wuggly is only $3.99 for a skein of 446 yards. And because it's a baby sport yarn, it's soft and manages to almost perfectly catch the extremely complicated gauge of Yosemite. You have no idea how many yarns I've pulled out of the stash to try to gauge this thing.

I got this pretty green, kind of an understated version of the color as the pattern is more of a everyday type feel to it rather than HEY LOOK I'M KNITTED AND BRIGHT.



I like the stitch definition this yarn gives. It's halfway between subtle and firm.



For those of you keeping track of my life on the financial front, thanks for commenting and showing that you care. It means the world to me. Alex and I will be fine, we're both out scrounging for jobs and he's filing for financial aid and looking around for scholarships and grants and loans to go back to school for nursing.

Hope all you guys are doing okay on the financial front. This whole ordeal has definitely made me look at the broader picture of just how many people are unemployed and in trouble at any given point.

rain, traveling, and a whole lot of productivity

My job is outside. So when it rains, we close up. And when there are torrential downpours for a week straight, we don't even bother opening.

So no work Thursday and Friday meant I got bored enough to paint my room.



Green!



Considering I've had white walls for the entire 18 1/2 years I've lived in this room, green is a nice change. It feels like an actual room now.

Other than knit -- which I'm already doing four days a week -- I don't know what to do with myself, so it better quit raining here soon.

Sunday I drove down to college town to visit my friends. Stayed until a few hours ago today, so it was a nice visit.

And, oh look! In between the sleeping a ton, cuddling up with Alex, and partying... I managed to almost finish my Talia vest:



Since this photo was taken, I finished the edging on the other sleeve. Just needs the neckline edging, blocking, and some buttons. Hurrah. I hope it stretches a bit when I block it... while knitting I tried to account for the fact that my boobs are a bit bigger than most girls who are my waist/torso size, but at the moment it's still a bit snug.

Somehow every time my camera enters that apartment, I end up with a slew of Hiroki pictures. One of the cutest of the bunch:



One of these days I should learn to take good pictures like the rest of the knitting world. Forgive me, after years of art school I have blocked out as much of the inner artist as possible.