I think I need a hand model...

Dear Shayne,

I know I've said before that I need a head model to model the hats that I make, but now I think I also need a hand model. I have a really hard time taking photos of my hands... especially both of them.

Yes, yes... there's self-timer. But really... if I can't take a decent photo while the camera is in my hands, why should I expect it to do a stellar job all by itself?

For now, I give up. Here are some crappy photos of some awesome fingerless mitts:


I got this yarn at a wonderful little yarn store in SF called Art Fibers. The yarn is called "Bitty Bunz" (hee hee) and you can read more about it on their site right here (where they have also taken better photos of it).

It's a gorgeous soft, fluffy angora blend. Mmmmmmm!

Here is the photo that I tried to take to show off the yarn itself. I pretty much failed. Oh, well. At least you can see how fuzzy it is. Fuuuzzzy!


You'll have to take my word for it: these mitts are de-lish!!

love,
kelly

Yet another dishcloth

Dear Shayne,

Despite not actually being a dishcloth user, I have been making a few lately. Don't know why -- I guess the square just called to me.

This one is from the book Mason-Dixon Knitting (by the gals at this blog of the same name... two friends write to one another across the miles about the things that they make. What a fantastic idea!)

At any rate, it seems like every knitter has made one of these things but me, so I took the plunge:


(I also went ahead and took the required shot of "Dishcloth hanging on faucet" even though no dishcloth will never actually hang over my faucet. I guess I was looking for a departure from "Lookie! Here's a square!")

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a big Cleveland Browns (yes, that's football) fan. Their colors are orange and brown.... so this dishcloth says "Go, Browns!" with every single scrub. Yay!

Meanwhile, it seems like it came out huge, although comparisons to a store-bought dishcloth (thanks, Jan, for bringing that in!) indicate that it's within the realm of "normal." It's a little over 11" square. The pattern says it should be 9.25" square, sooo... seems big. I'll send it off to my favorite dishcloth user and get her opinion before proceeding with any others.

Watch this spot for more exciting, up-to-the-moment Dishcloth News. Whee.

love,
kelly

Most. Boring. Post. EVER.

Dear Shayne,

I feel compelled to update the blog with crafty content, so here is what I made this past weekend.

A dishcloth.


Whee. Hoo.

Actually... perhaps if I used dishcloths, this post would be exciting to me. But I don't -- I prefer sponges. However, I have friends and family who love, love, LOVE them, so they make a very good gifts. For me, they make a good mindless travel knit.

It's so basic and small and yet still takes a couple of hours for me to make one. Perhaps I should take up crochet -- I hear that it's faster. In the meantime, I'll make knit squares for loved ones to wash their dishes with. Thrills a minute, eh?

I am soooo close to finishing my black angora fingerless mitts, though. That will be exciting! Of course, I probably won't be able to get a very good photo of them (since they're black) (and I'm a crappy photographer) AND pictures won't really do them justice because the best part about this is how soft they are (seriously. so soft.) So that post will probably be as boring as this one. Sigh.

How's crafts on your end of the country, sister?

love,
kelly

A Crafty Little Shop(pe)

Dear Shayne,

No crafts to report on my end of the country, but I wanted to tell you about the cutest little crafty shop (er, "shoppe") I recently found (via design*sponge -- if you don't read that blog, you should!)

It's called The Curiosity Shoppe -- they have loads of crafty/crafted items there and it looks like their home page is bird-themed right now, which should have you in feathered heaven. Tweet tweet!

I ordered a few sweet little items from them, including this tote bag, which perfectly represents our youngest cat, Biscuit:


He's orange, a total nut, and really enjoys chewing on things, so this... this really fits the bill. I've got to either laugh or cry about that little brat's path of destruction and I've decided to laugh. (Remind me that I said that the next time I'm crying about something he's chewed up, wouldja?)

I particularly want to recommend this shop/pe because everything in my order was individually wrapped when it arrived! It was like getting presents! I can't tell you how fun that was... even though I knew what I had ordered, the joy of unwrapping made the entire event very... "Oooh! For MEEE?"

Great products, great service, fast shipping, and the awesome present-getting sensation to boot. What a fun shopping experience!

love,
kelly