What I've Been Knitting: Feb. 2013

Baby Hats!

They're so quick and easy to knit up...I usually end up making them two or three at a time!

This apple hat is an original pattern I created last August for a baby shower where we didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl.  This is the 4th one I've made...they're great for gifts so it doesn't hurt to have one on hand.

The two pink hats are the "paper bag" style where you knit a tube and then thread a ribbon or eyecord through to gather the top.  These are great for using up leftover odds and ends...the one with the purple polka dot ribbon was leftover from a scarf which is why I had to make it so tiny.  It'd be perfect for a brand new baby or doll!  The light pink with the striped ribbon was knit the same way, just slightly a larger size.

She's Crafty

So here's an old bookcase (Target Home Collection circa 2005) in a new location:

To it's left is the door that leads from the Study to my bedroom and you can see the daybed to the right.

My goals was to corral all of my knitting/sewing/craft books and information in this area and also cover the cable outlet that sticks out like a sore thumb on that wall.

Here it is all stocked up:

On top we have my sewing box and new little mannequin pin cushion I got for Christmas.  The first shelf holds all of my more substantial books as well as a pincushion that belonged to my great aunt and I always loved when I was little.

The middle shelf holds my sewing machine which can be pulled out and plugged in for easy use and the bottom shelf has my 2 binders where I organize knitting patterns/inspiration I've printed from online/torn out of magazines.  The three magazine holders on the bottom shelf corral all sorts of odds and ends: 1 contains my knitting magazines, 1 contains the less substantial knitting pattern books (usually sold in the magazine racks on the knitting aisle in Michael's) and the last one has all my inspiration tear sheets/magazines for other types of crafty projects.

I like how it looks full but there is still plenty of room to fit new purchases!

Something Outta Nothing

So apparently my office trash can somehow got lost in my move approximately 21 months ago.  What have I been doing with all my office trash you ask?  Oh you know, just making small little pile on my desk and carrying it to a real trash can every week or so.  Or getting fed up with that and hanging a stylish plastic bag from the knob of my desk drawer.  It annoys me whenever I sit at my desk yet I can never remember to buy one when I'm at Target.

Today I'm off of work and I was going to go to Target to return some stuff and buy a trash can.  But it's pretty windy out and I decided the trash can could wait...again.  Then as I was gathering my recycling a light bulb went off:

I don't have an office trash can, but I do have:

 An empty box and some leftover adhesive shelf paper.

So I set up shop in the living room (yes, that's my purrrty new rug):

And made:

It cost $0 and took approximately 3.5 Dave Matthews Band tracks to make.  Pretty sure that's faster than I could have driven to Target.

New Year's Resolutions

I'm a few days late on this one but I thought I'd post a quick list of my resolutions for 2012.

1) Conquer The Hill Cafe menu.  I go to this restaurant so frequently I think I should expand my palate a little more than the 5 things I usually order.  I think the strict requirements on this one will develop some as I go along...I went to brunch there on the 1st and ordered the Cuban Roast Pork Omelet which I have never had.  It was good and I'm glad I got it.  I also would be willing to try an Eggs Benedict which is not something I would usually consider...the Sausage Gravy Biscuits, however, are not on the list.  So most of the menu, including some things I would never order without this goal...but not EVERYTHING on the menu.  If that makes sense.

2) Knitting goal: finish all of the knitting projects I have started and never finished.  I can think of a few off the top of my head but I know there are more in random knitting bags in my room and just laying in my knitting trunk.  I will post a more detailed listing of the projects once I get everything organized (hopefully this weekend) as well as my progress/completion of each.

3) Make headway on my Unread Library.  This concept is stolen from the blog Pancakes and French Fries but I have had an Unread Library pretty much my whole life.  I don't think I'll be able to read ALL the books I own and haven't read by the end of the year.  But my plan is to spend the entire year reading only books I own and not purchase a single one for myself.  This will probably get hard as it's the 6th of the year and I've already been into a Barnes and Noble where I was tempted to purchase a calendar just so I didn't feel like I was leaving empty handed.  My love of books and my love of shopping makes a bookstore the most tempting place on Earth.  Thus the face that I have an Unread Library in the 1st place...

4) I also want to continue my "try new Richmond things" resolution from last year.  I attended a lot of festivals, tried new restaurants, and even made my money's worth of my VMFA membership.  I want to continue this year by making the measurable goal to do at least one NEW "Richmond thing" I've never done every month.  It can be a new exhibit, a new restaurant, a new festival, a new museum, pretty much anything!  I already have a few ideas including some small local bookstores I've been dying to go into...hmm, should those wait for 2012??

Linen Luxury

So this weekend I got a lovely early birthday present from los padres...it's this IKEA armoire I'd been wanting for the bathroom to serve as a linen closet! I was excited enough about the armoire itself since it would mean I could actually keep towels in the bathroom instead of carrying one in from my bedroom everyday.  As a bonus, the shelves can hold all the random bathroom stuff that has remained unpacked in my room for the past...ohhh, 4 months! But not only is it be incredibly functional, it's style compliments the bathroom and claw foot tub perfectly...

So on Friday evening the parents delivered it to me. I was too distracted by studying for a Calculus test to get too excited. Then Saturday I was busy with work, taking the test, napping, and then a few errands! While out and about I stopped in Hobby Lobby (more affectionately referred to as Hob Lob) and picked up this hot little number for 50% of $19.99.

Could this scream Ellen's bathroom any louder? It's black and white, says "Paris", depicts a claw foot tub, and was on sale! Well, truth be told...I was still unsure how I'd like it once I got it home. But as soon as I saw it against that Tiffany blue wall I was SOLD.  The combination makes me love the artwork AND the color of the walls even more. Now I'm starting to get excited about this whole bathroom makeover.

At some point on Sunday afternoon I checked in on Ben's assembly progress and it was right at the point where the backing gets nailed on. I looked at the subtly stripped background and it looked...blah. Too bad it couldn't have some sort of unexpected surprise that would really stand out when you opened the doors to get a towel. But wait! I have the perfect black and white gift wrap! I can already imagine just how amazing it will look with that as the backing. Thank goodness for the One Spot at Target and my proclivity to purchase things I love without quite knowing what to do with them yet. (Yes, I bought gift wrap with no intention of using it to wrap presents. )  Here's what the pattern looks like:

The 1st attempt to affix the wrapping paper to the backing was made with Mod Podge and foam brushes. This failed. You pretty much get one try to put down the paper and it is nearly impossibly to avoid wrinkling the paper/getting air bubbles trapped.  After two attempts with the Mod Podge I was left with this...

...and then quickly moved on to plan B: cut two pieces of wrapping paper the proper length, match the pattern down the middle by looking at the wrong-side of the paper (luckily the paper was very thin and the design showed through well enough to make wrong-side matching possible), tape the seam together with packing tape making one large piece of gift wrap. Next, we just wrapped the backing up like a present taping the paper around the perimeter of the back (wall-facing) side of the armoire back:

Then came the moment of truth. We flipped it over and voila!

(If I were doing this again I would probably verify the design was matched up down the middle before actually taping it to the backing...but thank goodness I got lucky!)

Then it was as easy as finishing assembling the armoire according to instructions.

Here it is in all it's glory:

The pattern does not capture well on camera (try not to look at it too hard or you'll get a headache!) but it looks really cool in person (just like the above close-up photo of the pattern).

Then came the fun part: filling it up!

I already had the black fabric bins purchased from Family Dollar near Grandma's house in August. They were $5 for a 3 pack of either size. I originally bought them for another use but they didn't work out and are perfect in this space instead.  I also used a hanging sweater rack I had leftover from my apartment closet to hold towels and eventually sheets (once I get around to putting them in there...).  I'd really like if it were black too but I can't argue with free! 
I have a few more small things planned for this space but I am loving how it's turning out so far.