what spare time?

Things have been crazy around here, between work and crafting and the imminent departure of two of my closest friends. So, here's a little sum up in pictures.

Ariel's going away party:



Cassandra's going away party:



My new sewing machine, on my new sewing table:





My progress on that pesky Ravelympics project that I'm most likely not going to finish before the Olympics end:



The Doctor thinks it's cuddly.

and sew it goes

Because a couple of my closest friends are moving in the next couple of weeks, just before my birthday comes around, I ended up having an "un-birthday" party this weekend. We went candlepin bowling and played pool and had yummy cake and talked and laughed and had a generally good time.

And look what my lovely ladies got me for my birthday:



It's a sewing box and sewing tools! You might be asking why. Well, last week I bought a sewing machine. It's still in its box, sitting on my living room floor, while I wait for the table I need to set it up on, but I hope to start using it sometime soon.

And here's a look at what was inside the sewing box as well:



Thank you so much, ladies!

I did do some knitting on my Ravelympics project this weekend, but not enough to really show any progress. But I also did some sewing at a friend's house and made this cute little bag. It still needs a drawstring, but I love the fabrics.



And a slightly trippy picture looking down at the inside of the bag:



The instructions for the bag come from this tutorial. I want to make a few more!

let the games begin

Thank you, everyone, for all of your lovely feedback on the Doctor! He's already become a part of the apartment. The best moment, though, was at Knitsmiths last week, when the guy from the video store walked by and, entirely out of context, saw the doll and exclaimed, "Oh my God, that's David Tennant! That's so awesome!" He totally made my day.

I was, of course, one of the people crazy enough to join the Ravelympics. It's a knitting event through Ravelry, in which we try to knit a challenging object or objects between the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. So they started early this morning--8 am here was 8 pm Beijing time--and I've been knitting most of the day. I joined Team TARDIS, of course, and, amusingly enough, the Sci-Fi channel decided to make it a special day for us by showing a Doctor Who marathon today.

And here's the project I cast on for the Ravelympics this morning:



It's the Hemlock Ring blanket by brooklyntweed. It's being done in Cascade 220, and it's supposed to be a wedding gift for a wedding this fall. And hopefully, I will finish it in the next seventeen days!

Oh, and my Doctor joined me for my day of Doctor Who watching as well...



He's a big fan of my rocking chair.

The Doctor is in; or, yes, I knit my very own David Tennant

This has been the year of Doctor Who around this apartment, both watching and knitting (as well as crushing on David Tennant). When I finished knitting the TARDIS a few months back, I mentioned offhand to a few people that it made me tempted to knit my own huggable Doctor Who. And, once you get that kind of bug of an idea in your head, it's very difficult not to go through with it.

And this was the result.



Pattern: Doctor Who (the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant), a self-designed improvisation with roots in a number of patterns
Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in beige, colonial blue, and burgundy; Red Heart Classic in white and dark brown; Lion Brand Wool Ease in pink heather; Berroco Chinchilla in brown, all on size 6 needles
Comments: I'm exceedingly pleased with how it turned out.



I chose to do the blue suit; it's my favorite. There's a burgundy tie (which is actually tied in a tie knot, though it's impossible to see) and, of course, I included the glasses. These were the closest I could find to the Doctor's glasses--I got them through the American Girl store.



And then, of course, there were the sneakers.

The real Doctor's:



And my Doctor's:



Plus the sideburns!



The embroidery on the face lacks the charm of the Tennant, but I'm still really pleased with it overall. And now I have a Doctor Who I can hug. :)

(Though if anyone would like to get me the real Doctor, I do have a birthday coming up next month, and that would be an ideal present... ;)

a most satisfying project

Sometimes it doesn't take more than a simple pattern and a lovely yarn to help you remember why you love knitting.



This yarn had been sitting in my stash for a couple of months, and I picked it up last week when I wanted a project that didn't require any planning. And less than a week later, this is the result:



Pattern: Linen Stitch Scarf
Yarn: Mirasol Hacho, 2 skeins, on size 8 needles
Notes: This yarn comes in some glorious variegated colorways and I love both them, and the twist on the yarn. Linen stitch is really simple, but I love the woven texture it produces and how it brings out the colors in the yarn.



I think this is going to get a lot of use next winter.

Oh, and look what arrived in my mailbox yesterday:



More pretties to play with! (Though, it's official, the yarn diet starts now, after this splurge.)

purple leaves

Another project with Rhinebeck yarn finished!



Pattern: Embossed Leaves, from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra Solid Colors in Crocus, 2 skeins, on US 2.5 needles
Notes: Started out on size 2 needles, but soon realized the socks would be too tight, so I went up to 2.5. These would have been finished a few days earlier, except disaster struck just as I was about to pull through the stitches on the toe of the second sock. Luckily, Ariel came to the rescue, and I was able to finish the second sock yesterday. I really enjoyed using this yarn and I love the color!



And a detail of the socks...

on the muggiest day of summer, I finish leg warmers

When I first started working where I do last summer, I knit myself up a quick, simply functional pair of leg warmers because of how cold my office is. This year I decided I wanted to make myself some pretty ones that I actually liked. And here is the result:



Pattern: Mosey, from Knitty
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino in Peacock, 3 skeins, on size 7 circular needles
Notes: I made the large size, but I think I could have gotten away with the small. I really liked the narrow cable band--it came out very pretty.



The first picture is truer to the color of the yarn. I seem to be very taken with blue-greens right now!