It's been awhile

Well, it's been a long time since I blogged. I'd day it was because life was busy (it was), my job and thesis take up  more time than expected (they do), or that persistent pet illness keeps putting me through the emotional wringer (it does), but really the biggest reason I haven't blogged? My camera sucked.

You see, after the move, I found myself living in a darker place, with less natural light shining in during the hours I was home, and my poor little point and shoot just couldn't take decent photos. I didn't like having to wait for a sunny weekend to take pictures of my crafty endeavors.

But boy have I been making things!

Knitting is my hobby of choice at the moment (easier to do than needlework or sewing in a dark house), and since I last posted I've learned so much. I even knit socks!

And now, in between vet bills and down payments on a dream vacation, I've saved up enough money and have a new camera! So much better than my old one, and I'm finally starting to learn how to take pictures on manual mode.

So what is pictured above you ask?

Only the spoils from my most expensive yarn shopping day ever! I was in Winnipeg for a conference and to catch up with an old friend. Of course we snuck away from all the science for an afternoon of yarn shopping. We visited Ram Wools Yarn Co-op and Wolseley Wool. Such amazing stores! Friendly people and so many tempting yarns.

What did I buy?

(photo may be dark, but the colours are true)

Clockwise from the top:

- 8 skeins of Ilimani Baby Llama in Sea Green (for my eventual first sweater!)
- Zauberball Crazy!!!! Colour is 1699 Fliederduft
- Tanis Fiber Arts Silver Label Mulberry Silk in Plum
- Handmaiden Fine Yarns Marrakesh in Tourmaline
- Indigodragonfly MCN Sock in "My World is All Askew"

Not cheap, but almost all yarns I had read about online but never met in Ottawa yarn stores.

It feels good to be blogging again. Lots of projects to post!

Moving, moving, moved

Here I am blogging from my new house. We've only been here for three weeks and it already feels like home. Awesome new roommates, awesome home with room for gardening, cooking, hosting dinner parties, and even space for a craft room - if it ever stops being the storage room.

It's been a stressful month though, packing, moving, an-out-of-the-blue job offer, and a very traumatic pet illness and loss in the middle of it all. I'm still kinda blown away by how much my life has changed in such a short time.

No crafting or creating has gotten done yet, it's taken all I've had just to stay sane and meet my most basic obligations. But I thought I'd show you pictures of my smallest stash all packed up. Yup, all of my yarn hobbies (knitting and crocheting) fit into a wine box, with my active projects in a small bag (not pictured). In the top picture I've got my needles on top of my tiny yarn stash, which is on top of my few books and leaflets.

The filled box:

Three lovely yarns that were in lovely balls in my project bag. Then my parent's Goldendoodle came along and decided to cuddle them (when he misses a person he finds and cuddles soft objects that belong to them - usually socks or underwear). He is a very enthusiastic cuddler as you can see. None of the yarn is actually damaged, just tangled. Seems like a visit to the yarn winder at my LYS is in order.

A restrained trip to Fabricland

(Sorry for the picture quality! Not my best work and the light is terrible for re-shooting right now)

I nipped over to Fabricland today to take advantage of their big members sale. Wasn't intending on buying any fabric, but ended up coming home with 2 pieces...which at $3/m and $4/m wasn't remotely a budget-breaker.

My haul (clock-wise from Henry's nose)
- Steam-a-Seam 2, 1/2" width
- glass headed pins (I learned that you can't drop a textbook on a pincushion and expect your pins to stay straight)
- 4/$1 handful of zippers for a mod I want to do to some of my running pants
- quilting foot (ok, not from Fabricland, it was a birthday gift I forgot to blog about)

And of course the two pieces of fabric.

The blue is a cotton stretch mesh that I'm envisioning made into a drape-y pullover to wear over a cream camisole.

The orange print isn't nearly so violently orange irl....more of of a muted rust colour. It's a lovely soft stretch fabric with some spandex in it that has a wonderful drape and feels amazing to the touch. In theory it will be made up into New Look 6648.

Photography was hampered by Henry's absolute fascination with the orange fabric. He kept snuffling it, licking it and growling at me whenever I tried to shoo him away. Little bugger.

If you can't beat 'em, use 'em for scale: