About Me

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Illinois, United States
I am a band director at five private schools in Kankakee. Music is a big part of my life, but knitting and crafting are right up there too. I own a ridiculous stash of yarn, which I am slowly using... and replacing with better yarn... I tend to knit and crochet a lot, in class, out of class, while watching tv, while driving, pretty much constantly. I have been involved with crochet romantically for 15 years, and involved with knitting for 11 years. They sometimes get jealous of each other. I think its funny. Along with knitting and crocheting, I quilt, spin (drop spindle) and design patterns!!

Sunday, February 03, 2008

some other things




I saw this pattern and fell in love with it. It calls for a solid color and then where I used pinkit actually calls for multiple colors.

I liked how it turned out though. It wasnt difficult but it took longer than any of the hats I've made before, tiny needles, and brand new yarn I treated myself to ordered online. This is a keeper.











Made for the fundraiser and sold pretty fast.












also made for the fundraiser and sold on the first day...













and same with this hat. these three hats are made from the same two skeins of yarn, actually a yarn designed by Vanna White. and it's probably one I plan on purchasing again.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

i completely forgot

Phish called me last night and asked me this

'If I go to Walmart and buy some yarn to match the scarve you made me, will you make me a hat to match?'



hes awesome

Christmas gifts

So along with the fundraiser, I also had some big plans for gifts.

My boyfriend is.. how do I put this lightly.... obsessed with spiderman. I decided to take a huge leap off a building and make him something to do with spiderman.

It took over... oh god, had to be over 60 hours. I got my wisdom teeth pulled, and that was the majority of the time over christmas break, that I worked on it. In between him coming over and taking care of me. I'd be on the couch and be working on it, and then hed ring the doorbell and since i was on so many drugs my parents would start walking to answer the door.
In which occasion i would motion for them to hide the blanket in a frenzy. it was pretty great.

this would by my second kitty who wouldnt leave me alone the entire time i was working on it...

This is the finished project. The pattern I went off of called for crochetted stripes going from the center to the points, but I didnt really like that idea and decided not to.



Its now draped over his couch here in Charleston.


The next gift I decided on was for my best friend up in Berwyn.
See one of the songs thats kinda a tradition for us is rock lobster. Especially in came the narwhal.

so to go along with that whole idea, i finally found a lobster pattern, http://dirigo.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/free-pattern-toy-lobster/
and i went nuts, it was simple, and yet doesnt really look it. I apperently made it before the pattern was rewritten so my tails a little shorter but she loved it.















Pats mom asked if I could knit his sister a hat and scarf. It was actually brought up at Christmas dinner, and I had started a scarf and she was interested. So i finished knitting the scarf and made the hat and got it to her just in time.



For Christmas my friend louie bought me one of the greatest books in the history of books, 'Not Tonight Darling I'm Knitting' and I'm still working on reading it. LOVE IT!






I also started sewing a buncha lot. I went to Borders while I was waiting for my brother to get outta a doctors appointment..... BAD IDEA!!! i ended up spending a few much needed bucks on sewing books.
'Plush You' by Kristen Rask, which is an amazing book on just all these projects others have made and some patterns, and 'The Cute Book' by Aranzi Aronzo, which is a book on felt mascots.

so I decided to expand my crafts.
this is Amy the amoeba. Random yes, fun yes, something absolutely new? yeaasasas












ELEPHANT!
With polka dots.....











Me and Amy during a face mask party, aka liz came over and wanted to sleep over, working in the hat for Colleen









Believe it or not theres more.... I just dont have the pictures on this computer yet>....

Been a while

So its been a pretty hectic holiday, and I'm finally able to tone down the crafts. Good thing too, my hands have never been so sore.

The fraturnity I'm in, KKPSI, a music service fratunity, decided that they wanted to have a fundraiser after Christmas break. See I knit constantly, during business meetings, when I'm watching tv, when I should be practicing, when I should be doing homework... and they know it. So since I have a stockpile of projects that dont have a home, they decided, why not. So I brought a few of my FO's back to school with me.

A few hats and some scarves. The presidents mom was the other person who contributed her crochetted scarves to the event. She had about 22 scarves, and in the end I donated about 22 hats and scarves, a few matching sets.

We were stationed in Coleman, which is the language building here at Eastern, and were set up for Tues, Weds, Thurs, and Fri.

The first day we sold over a hundred dollars worth, the second day we sold out of all the hats, so I was able to knit a couple more in time for them to seel out within the day again. The third day we were moved to the other side of the building, and sold nothing. The last day we almost sold out.

while we were selling everything for pretty cheap, since they figured that these are all college students, hats were 10. scarves were 15, and if they wanted a set it would be 20.
the total of all that was sold was 420.
which surprised us all

but the greatest thing that happened of all is what the fraturnity decided.

I am newly a percussion education major. For a year and a half I was working as a clarinet educaiton major, and it just wasnt working out for me. I've played clarinet for over 10 years, but it just wasnt working as my major. I've been in a few percussion ensembles and marched WGI with Americanos in 2006, and it was just something I came to college wanting to do. long story short I wimped out and went to clarinet.

so now that I changed my emphasis, I need to buy mallets and music, the rents don't necessarily understand the need for different mallets so they dont relaly want to pay for it. I was left in a pickle of a situation. I brought it up to Kappa, and this is what was decided.

Half of all the profits from the fundraiser would go to me.

I was in shock cause i wasnt even asking for that, I was just... in awe...

I recieved a check for 211 this week, and I almost passed out. (then again I was suffering from the flu, and had passed out earlier that day LOL)

so that is going to the much needed mallet pile.

I have pictures from that fundraiser
PhotobucketThats Alice Scott and I working the table.
PhotobucketAlice and I, notice me starting a new hat? I had three hours before my first class, we sold outta hats, and it was also nice that the buyers saw it really was all handmade.

Scooter looking at me knitting, he seemed to be interested in what I was doing.







He finally decided he wanted to see and ask what I was doing. CHECK!







This is that hat that I finished within the few hours, and as soon as I left someone bought it.












I also made one more hat that same day to try and up the buisiness



Thats it for the fundraiser!