Assorted Footwear

It turns out that I am capable of knitting a second sock on my own! We’ll pretend the unexpected holes in the gussets were planned. They did end up in the same place on each side of the sock, so... Not too bad for my first pair. I enjoyed the double pointed needles way more than I expected and am looking forward to using them again in my Seamless Sweater class at Squam this week.  I can’t believe it is finally here!

I also wanted to show off these precious booties I knit for Baby Dane Strunk, who will be joining us in July! I can’t wait to see his little, itty bitty toes in these little, itty bitty booties. I bought the pattern from AbsoluteKnits. It is very easy to follow, and there is no purling, which I really liked. I’m working a second pair using the same Rowan yarn to list in my Etsy shop.

Warrior Dash Complete!

As a followup to my last post, Warrior Dash was awesome!!! We stayed in a beautiful cabin in Mountain City with our friends, the Dicksons and Strunks. To get to the cabin, there were a variety of twists and turns on a very steep climb up the mountain, invoking the occasional ear pop as well as a few nervous giggles and squeals (we’ll pretend those only came from the girls).  Luckily, my husband is an excellent driver (better than Rain Man) and took us safely up and down throughout the weekend.

On the day of the race, we arrived in time to register and see the first wave of Dashers start and finish. We were in the third wave, so we had about an hour and a half to be spectators and enjoy the loud and cheesy announcers at the obstacles in the finish line area. I had butterflies the size of Kirstie Alley in my stomach before the race, although it’s quite possible those were heart palpitations caused by the free Monster energy drink I consumed about an hour earlier. (Thanks to my friends for talking me out of chasing the Monster with a Sugar Free Red Bull. Bad idea all around.)

My husband, Chris, and I ran the entire race together (even though he could have easily left me and finished much sooner – thanks babe). The obstacles were challenging, but all were doable with a little bit of un-ladylike grunting. I was a little disappointed to get soaked so early on in one of the water obstacles because that meant jogging in water-logged tennis shoes and socks for the duration of the race. However, I was surprised when we got to the finish line a lot sooner than I anticipated. Unfortunately, it was not because we were super speedy and all around bad ass (although I like to pretend that I am). A portion of the race, which we believe was about 8/10 of a mile of uphill/downhill running, was removed for reasons we still don’t know.

Here we are before and after the race:

You can’t really see the mud on my red shirt, but I’m pretty sure you can see the difference in the color of Chris’. We all joked later that the Warrior Dash would be an awesome place to film an Orbit gum commercial. Dirty mouth? I’m thinking OxyClean could have some serious material for their product demos as well.

Warrior Dash...or as I like to call it, Dash for the Last 100 Yards

In three short days, my husband, a few close friends, and I will be competing (debatable how much competition I'll be) in the Warrior Dash Southeast in Mountain City, GA.  It's a 3.2-mile run with various muddy obstacles spread throughout.  After a round of P90X and a few weeks of jogging, you'd think I'd be ready.  Eh, not so much.  Today, I finally ran the 3.2-mile distance outside (as in, not on a treadmill) without stopping to walk.  Was I slow as Christmas?  Yes.  Could a 70-year old man run faster than me?  Yes.  (That actually happened at the last 5K I ran. I literally spent the entire 34 minutes trying to pass grandpa and he smoked me all the way to the end.  I wanted to tackle him, but that would just be wrong.)  The important thing is that today I didn't quit, and I ran the full distance (at least that's what I'm telling myself).  Thank you, Sugar Free Red Bull.  I'm really hoping to enjoy the race, although I'm pretty sure I'll pant my way through like Fatty McGee just like I did today.  At least afterwards I'll have a few beers, the company of good friends, and some muddy pictures to share.

Knitting Socks (or, What the hell is a gusset?)

Yesterday, my good friend Jamie and I had a chance to take a sock knitting class at Creative Yarns in Macon. It was a blast, although quite confusing at times (damn gussets). The instructor taught us to knit a toddler sock on larger needles and with heavier weight yarn so that we could learn the techniques and leave with a finished piece. I really doubted my ability to knit an entire sock in one sitting, but Jamie and I both finished ours and they turned out so cute.

This was my first experience with double pointed needles. I’ve only used them once before to knit I-cord, which is nothing like knitting with four at one time. Very awkward at first, but after a few hours, I got the hang of it.

Since one of my classes at Squam requires some experience with DPNs, I’m glad I had the opportunity to do this before I head up north next month .

In my opinion, the gussets are by far the hardest part. First, you have to learn what the heck a gusset is (and if you’re lucky, Jamie circles it very neatly for you on the picture on your instruction sheet). Then you have to pick up stitches from the heel. “Pick up” sounds like a relatively simple movement to perform – not so much. Nevertheless, I’ll spare you the details on how to knit a sock (mostly because there’s no way I could begin to explain it in anything that resembled intelligent English, if I could explain it at all).

So this morning I decided if I was to remember anything of what I learned yesterday (which was a lot), I should probably start on the second sock immediately. So I’ve cast on and knit about 3 or 4 rows. I’m hoping that isn’t the end of the story for this cute little pair! More to come on the fate of sock #2…

I have a couple of other projects I want to show, but since they’re gifts for a special someone I’m going to have to wait until they’ve been gifted to show them off…stand by.

Squam Art Workshops

I’ve been reading craft-related blogs for at least a year or two now, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read about Squam Art Workshops. I never really thought much of it. It seemed like a great time to unwind in a beautiful lakeside setting with other crafters, but I never really considered going.

Until this year.

They held a textile-focused session last year that was a big hit and decided to offer it again this year. For some reason, I felt compelled to read more about it. The more I read, the more I felt compelled to attend. So, I’m thrilled to say that I will be attended the spring 2010 session and I just CANNOT wait until June!

There are five half-day sessions to fill with classes of your choice. I was lucky that even though I registered a bit late in the game, I still received my first choices for all sessions. I’m going to be taking the following 4 courses (one of them is two half-day sessions):

• “Basic Patternmaking: Skirt” taught by Cal Patch
• “Seamless Sweater” taught by Jared Flood
• “Learn to Knit a Baby Sweater” taught by Megan Ingman
• “Stylizing Your Patterns” taught by Cal Patch

There are events planned for each night to include a Ravelry meet-up, art fair, performance by Jonatha Brooke, and talks with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Jenny Doh.

I’m so excited to spend 3 solid days doing exactly what I love with other people that get exactly why I love it! Not to mention the beautiful scenery and great food I keep reading about…

More to come on this when I return from the workshop.

Because I'm too wordy for Twitter

If I had a dollar for every first post I’d written in my head for this blog, I could buy a really, really nice handbag. But I’ve struggled since I signed up for this account over a year ago with three questions. First, what if no one reads it? Second, what if people DO read it? Third, what if I run out of things to say? (I can hear my family laughing at #3 from here.) But, insecurities and questions aside, I stumbled upon the following quote the other day, and I’ve decided that it’s worth my time to put some of my thoughts and ideas out there and see where it leads me.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium... the world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” - Martha Graham

My primary intention for this blog is to chronicle my crafty ventures in and love for sewing, knitting, machine embroidery, and textile design as well as my handmade business that I started last year, StellaKit Designs. However, if you follow this blog, the chances are good that you’ll also read about other aspects of my life that are important to me, such as my family, my dogs, food, exercise, books, music, movies, and grammar (feel free to correct mine).

Just a little bit of background info about me. I was born and raised in Brunswick, Georgia and now live in middle Georgia. I have two loving and supportive parents who provided me with a childhood that I will treasure forever, and now as an adult I’m proud to call them two of my best friends. I have one very talented, creative, and world-traveling sister who is going to conquer the world one building at a time. While attending Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, I studied technical communication (which sort of explains my love for grammar). At Mercer, I was blessed to meet the love of my life, Chris, who I married in 2005. He has been my greatest supporter and cheerleader to pursue many of my crafty dreams. With him came two more wonderful parents who have welcomed me into their lives as if I was their own. Not sure how a girl could be so lucky .

As for my attempts at living a crafty and creative life, I started sewing and machine embroidering in 2007 and learned to knit in 2008. I’ve always loved graphic design, so my love for textile design just grew from there. My initial reason for learning to sew was to decorate our new home with handmade curtains and pillows. However, I quickly learned that despite having no children of my own yet, I really love to make children’s clothes and accessories. I work full time, so my crafty endeavors take place after hours and on weekends, and I’m lucky to have a great space in our home (thanks to the hubby and his garage full of tools) to work on my projects.

It’s important for me to note that while I don’t believe that what I’m doing is revolutionary or changing the world in some drastic or permanent way, I do believe that it’s important that we all find something that fulfills us and we are passionate about in order to be happier and more productive people. When I’ve finished making something with my own hands, I feel a combination of joy, calm, and confidence. Have you found this to be true for you as well?