Let your freak flag fly in Fayetteville

Did I know how today was going to turn out when I woke up this morning? No, and let me tell you why I love that.

I grappled with the option of going out or staying in last night. Of late, it would be pretty typical of me to stay in, grab some knitting and plant on the couch for the rest of the night. But I went out, hung out with a drunk friend and had some pretty eye-opening conversations. So I woke up this morning with big plans to clean and lay low for the entire day, but my best-laid plans went by the wayside and I ended up enjoying all Fayetteville has to offer.

The Farmer's Market started on the square today, so me and the dog baby headed downtown to check out what they had to offer. Suzie apparently did not feel like being an a$$ hole like she usually is, and was super friendly, precious and well-behaved. So much so that I was able to take her to lunch with me, and she sat next to me and shared an order of French fries.

Then I went to the baseball game and watched the Razor-bats (as I cleverly coined today) beat the Kentucky Wildcats (maybe??) 10 to 1. Or at least I think that was the final score, I had a few beers in the sun, and we all know what that does to the memory. Now I get to go hang out with some friends I haven't seen in forever.

What a beautiful day! These days are the reason I live in Fayetteville, and furthermore, are the reason I still love living here. Good people, good food, good baseball and precious pups. I really couldn't ask for more.

CURRENT KNITTING: I started working on the smocking part of my new sun dress. It doesn't look good. 321 cast on stitches and one row of shoddy ribbing after a glass of wine really makes me disappointed about the start I got on the dress. My bible, the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework advises to knit one 3x1 ribbed piece twice the desired width of the complete project. So, without knowing the elasticity of a finished piece of smocking, I measured an already smocked sun dress and based my measurements off of that. So after I did all the math, casted on, and knit that difficult first row, I figured out it was FUBAR-ed and I set it down and went out. We'll repair that later.

I finished a hat for baby Ellie, who I get to see this upcoming weekend. It looks a lot like her hat that I made for her when she was born, in that it is knit in garter stitch with the same line of yarn in a different color. Only this time it isn't going to have a flower on the side. This time, I am including a felt cut out of something, and I am affixing it with embroidery thread and probably some fusing backing.

I am concerned that the hat itself is too short for her noggin, it looks like it might be, and I have no idea how big babies' heads are. Hell, the last hat I made for her I measured on a decorative gourd. I need to borrow someone's baby for measurement, anyone know a 3 month old baby willing to be my guinea pig? You will get to see a photo of the finished product on Ellie. Hopefully she will have a few chances to wear the hat before she outgrows it. I know there isn't really much need for a baby beanie in the California sun.

Stealth

What a busy week I have been having! I have been anything but stealth. I've had plans every night this week, which is extremely different than my "one social event per month" calendar I am used to. Tuesday night's stitch and bitch was exceptionally remarkable. I took my big girl knitting project, the sock, and I hope that impressed a few people. It is working up very quickly, and I need to go ahead and finish it while I am still motivated to make its mate. Check it!

I had to go to stitch and bitch by myself since I know a whole bunch of flaky knitters who didn't want to go, but it is so easy to make friends there, that it didn't really matter. So I got there, pulled out my sock, grabbed a glass of wine and everything fell into place. I hung out with some other girls who are planning on going to Wakarusa (which I bought my parking pass for yesterday...finally) and we did some amazing brainstorming of knitted things that would be useful at a giant hippie music festival. We went through projects like water bottle slings, summer scarves, koozies and landed on knitting ourselves a smocked dress to wear.

Loosely based on a baby's smocked dress in Kristin's Aware Knits book, we are going to knit a smocked banded top, and then the plan is to pick up stitches along the bottom and knit the rest of it to a desired length. We will have to come up with some way to include straps, but as I develop this semi-homemade pattern, I will post some photos or sketches. Look for the completed project next summer (realistically).

My favorite development at stitch and bitch this week was a new project reveal - a stealthly project which I am not at liberty to discuss. I will just post this photo and let you draw your own conclusions.

Hip to be squares

Seriously. I have to get rid of all of this yarn that Eddie's mom gave me. Why oh why did I take so much of it? Sure I could donate it, and I probably will end up doing that at some point, but until then I have big plans for this yarn. My plans involve 100+ squares of mismatched goodness, and a neutral gray border that will hold them all together. Yes, it will be the love child of a knitted afghan and a quilt, and it will be made with all kinds of love by yours truly.

Each square is made to accommodate a 19 sts. = 5.5" gauge and they are knit to be approximately 5.5" high. Not all of them are exact, however, and if there is one thing I have learned from my very limited quilting experience, it is that being off by even a fraction of an inch can throw off your whole project. This will surely come back to exact quilting/knitting revenge on me when I put it all together but I will cross that bridge when I get there -- if ever.

See, I need approximately 143 squares (depending on how off I am on my measurements, I may have to cram a few small squares in there to make everything fit), and right now I have 23. For those of you following along, I am 15 percent of the way complete...with the squares. That isn't including the border I plan on picking up all the way around it. It is okay though, I don't plan on finishing the blanket any time soon, and it is the perfect project for bar knitting since everything is done in straight garter stitch.

I will post more photos of my stack o'squares as it grows larger, and of course, when the time comes some photos of me putting it together and picking up the border. Until then, challenge your math skills and your patience by starting a scrap blanket of your own. I know that in the end it will be worth it, if not for me then for someone in my family at Christmas ("Of course the blanket was expensive! No, I didn't use the yarn I would have otherwise donated. Yes, you are welcome.") This is all assuming it is done in nine months.

Meanwhile, over on the sock front. I have managed to turn the heel quite nicely on the striped sock, and I am pleased with the progress I have on this "show and tell" piece for knitting club this week. There is nothing like a cozy wool striped sock as the weather starts to change from 12" of snow to blue skies and sunshine! In fact, that's almost what the color pattern reminds me of. These socks will forever be known as "groundhog socks" marking the transition from the icy blues, to the green and orange colors of the spring. Had the winter weather not lasted until the first day of spring, I never would have had the drive to knit some cozy socks. Thanks Puxatawny Phil!

Ideal knitting destinations

UPDATE: It is no longer raining in Fayetteville. It is beautiful and sunny. I wrote this 3 days ago.

So it is still raining in Fayetteville, and after the foot of snow we got on Monday melted (yes, I know it is March), and the three inches of rain we are getting today, I will have to be careful not to get whisked away in the raging river that is flowing outside of my apartment. And though I would like to be at home knitting or napping the day away, there is something peaceful about being at work when the weather is gloomy, knowing that at least I am not wasting a sunny day trapped behind a computer screen.

If today was a Saturday, and I didn't have to work, and I didn't have any other social commitments, I would likely spend the day knitting or doing some sort of craft. Preferably with a drink. So, since I have long finished my work tasks for today, I think I will let my mind slip off into another knitting daydream and visit all of my favorite places to knit and craft.

Right now I should be on my couch, covered in a blanket with my puppy by my side, working on the striped socks. There would likely be a crime show on TV because Law & Order's Dick Wolf made a deal with Cox Communications that a variation of the show must be on at least one channel every hour of every day, and sometimes two channels, especially on holidays.

I could also spend the afternoon anywhere on Dickson Street knitting in a bar. Few things are more hypnotic than straight knitting after several cocktails, plus it is a great conversation starter for meeting other lushes who are spending their early afternoons drinking and not working. Yep, I'm going to be one of those old ladies who sits around sipping wine and crafting hundreds upon thousands of knitted teddy bears for no one. I should just schedule a standing date in 2050 for Hoarders and the 1-800-Got-Junk crew of hotties to show up at my house and free me from my prison of hand made caca. With new 3-D TV, that episode should be really frightening. (Genius Idea: Flat knitted "hoarder" cat to lay around the house, it serves no purpose, but will be made of fun fur and an old button for the eye).

If it wasn't raining and there was a baseball game in town, it might be nice to knit in the outfield of Baum Stadium before the game starts. Knitting outside anywhere is usually very pleasant, but it is nice to have the baseball game going on as a distraction. Oh yeah, don't forget the kettle corns, and the occasional terrifying visit from Ribby the Razorback and the RBI skanks.

Knitting is inherently relaxing so pairing it with a place I love makes it even better. Toss a drink and some good friends in the mix and you have an afternoon well spent, plus you have a hand made garment, as a souvenir. How and where would you spend an ideal afternoon crafting?

Socks

Check your clocks, it’s time to make socks! Not time for frocks, or time for smocks ‘cause the time to make socks is the time that rocks!

I broke into my stash of free yarn from Sarah (thanks again!) to start these cool self-striping socks. Following a pattern in a book I have had since I was young, I cast on 48 stitches using sock weight yarn, and using 2x2 ribbing I started forming the leg part of the sock. Instead of getting a nice wide opening to accommodate my whole giant foot and ankle, I have a small opening fit for golf club, more specifically, a putter. Realistically, I think the width will work fine in the end, especially with the stretchy ribbing, but right now it looks a little blood-flow-blocking tight.

Rest assured, you’ll look like a fox in these cozy striped socks. Or you could put them in a box, secure it with some locks, and take them down the block to your small-footed friend Dave.

Hopefully my socks will also help me gain some street-cred at the next Stitch & Bitch. OK, I know I am a dork.

The next project I am going to start is for my precious niece Elliot. She needs a new knitted garment from her Auntie Jo Jo to model on the baby circuit in Southern California. The front-running project is this sun dress/tank top from Lion Brand, sans the flowers. Those look dumb. I will probably pick up some cute buttons and put them along the chest part.

Have I mentioned I love my dog?

If you're crazy like me, and would rather shop for your dog than yourself, then you know that it is easy to spend a small fortune on dog treats, toys, clothes and food. I have spent so much time and money spoiling my puppy that it is embarrassing, but Suzie needed a dog bed and I wasn't about to deny her of the comfort she deserves. Like I said, I am crazy.

Dog beds are ridiculously expensive if you have a dog over 10 pounds, and even in my craziness I have to draw the line somewhere when I spend money on animals. So, with a little inspiration from Molly Mutt and some old laundry bags from my summer camp days, I was able to craft these adorable dog beds for my adorable dog.

I helped my mom clean out all of my stuff from their garage, and I found several canvas laundry bags and a mesh laundry bag that I used at summer camp. Given the purging mood I was in that day, I could have just thrown them out with the other Goodwill stuff, but I thought they were too cute not to be repurposed.

After Christmas, I learned how to use my sewing machine to make t-shirt quilts (after I salvaged a bunch of those from the garage as well), so I took my newfound ability to sew in a straight line and I applied it to making some dog beds.

First I cut the laundry bags along the seams, making the top and bottom panels of the beds. Then I cut strips of upholstery fabric in 5.5" widths. These strips served as the sides of the beds. The upholstery fabric was my only expense, and it was on sale for $5/yd. After I sewed all the pieces together, and rigged up the corner to look presentable, I sewed a zipper (acquired for free after an afternoon in the Van Buren, AR quilt shop) in one of the seams on the short side.

The zipper was super difficult, and I probably shouldn't have picked a coat zipper that comes apart over a sturdy dress/pillow zipper that will stay stuck together at the bottom. Either way, it is just a dog bed, and if your dog is like Suzie, then she will just eventually tear it up to bury her ball in it anyway.

After all of your pieces are sewn together, and the zipper is sewn in along the seam, you are essentially left with a zippered pillow case that you can fill with whatever you have lying around the house. I used my mesh laundry bag as a catch all for all the pieces inside the floral dog bed shell, so I threw sewing scraps, old t-shirts, sweat shirts and towels in there and placed it inside the shell, fluffed it around, and voila! Extra cheap dog bed for one precious pup.

For filling, you could even use old pillows or those knitting projects that just didn't quite turn out as you hoped. I threw an afghan in there I made out of homespun cotton candy pink yarn -- God I was tired of looking at that pink beast. The best part about these beds is that if they are soiled, you can open them up, take them apart and wash every piece of it -- very hygienic for you and your doggy. Check out how much Suzie loves her new beds!

The best "stock the bar" party this immediate side of the Mississippi

For the past several months, Allison and I have been planning this couples shower for our recently-engaged former roommate Brady. I'm not a fan of anything extra girly, so a traditional wedding shower was pretty much not going to happen on my watch, and because every one likes free booze, a "stock the bar" party seemed to fit the bill. Since Allison is planning her own wedding, and since I am perpetually broke, we both wanted to do the party on the cheap -- so we got crafty. Taking a break from most of my knitting works in progress, I spent the past few weeks gathering crafty things and creating stuff for the party. In the end, I think we had a pretty fun night, and aside from the cuddle-raping (more later) the night was a success. Here's how we did it.

The Barnes family was very gracious, and let us have the party at their family's cabin on the Mississippi river. Venue = free, and not to mention precious and relaxing.

I designed the invitations myself and was able to find a printer in town to print them professionally. Sure, I could have gone to the Kinko's in my work parking lot, but that would have been too convenient. Plus I would have had to cut them myself. Overall, Invitations = $40 including postage and envelopes.

We put BYOB on the invitations, because if there is one thing I know about the Arkansas Delta, it's that people there can put away some booze. I can barely afford beers for myself some weekends, so they needed to bring their own. We provided a little booze in the form of a signature cocktail - sweet tea vodka, lemonade and water. Cost of cocktail = $26 for booze (split between me and Allison), $20 for pretty drink dispenser. I don't know if I will ever use the drink dispenser again, but maybe I can sell it to someone who is having a party. Check out the paper flowers by the drink, I made those!

Since we had the party during dinner time, we felt like we needed to provide food for our guests. Originally the plan was to cook out, but Allison and I decided against that, and chose to make taco soup and chili. Those are much easier to make in bulk, and it was perfect since it turned out to be rainy night. I went to Sam's and spent $80 on chili stuff, candy, dip, chips and desserts. I still have a lot left over and I don't plan on going grocery shopping all this week. Not too shabby for food for dinner for 40 people, and a week's worth of food for me.

I spent probably another $15 on odds and ends for the party, like plates, cups, mason jars and a new ladle. That brings the grand total to $168 spent on the bash, not including my gifts, but I would have bought those if I wasn't hosting the party, so they aren't really relevant to adding up the costs. I don't want to seem like I am really hung up on the cost of the party, because I would do anything to throw a fun party for my besties, but I also love finding a good deal, and any chance I can use to get crafty, I want to take it!

Aaaaaaand back to the cuddle raping... Around 3 a.m. Brady's cousin crawls into bed with me and drunkenly tries to cuddle with me. After a quick cussing out courtesy of yours truly, I think he sat up, realized I was not the person he was supposed to be cuddling with, and quietly slips out of the room. A shady ending to an otherwise perfect evening!