Are you ready?

Here it is! The post I've owed for over a month! Speaking of the temporal (mmm, tempura...) my Blog-o-versary has occured since my last entry. It's so nice to have a record of what I've been up to this year. My entries might be slowing but it doesn't mean my craft-love has!

First things first: Anjali and I had a little swap toward the end of the summer and I never shared the haul. Everything was mega-kawaii, even the envelope:

There was an awesome Japanese sewing magazine, some kinako (to make these, mmm) tons of her famous Friday candy and the greatest bobby pins ever made! These things are industrial strength, and they work wonders on my heavy, psuedo-Asian hair.


A close-up of some of the awesome fabric which will come in so handy when I fire up my new, not-just-a-toy sewing machine. Supposedly it's the same machine as the well-reviewed Janome Sew Mini. Anyway, check out those red pencil hair sticks! They could be chopsticks but I was using them to secure scary teacher buns, they're so funny!

Onto the finished objects! I made another tree pillow, this time for my father's wedding. The pattern specs remain the same but this time I used Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky in Forest Green Melange. The crocheted edging is Reynolds Rapture a substantial and slightly shiny yarn. The backing fabric was a total fluke, it was just in my meager fabric stash and saved me a trip to the fabric store. Overall, a lumpy but hopefully charming throw pillow.


Next up, a beret! I feel about beret's the way I did about my Panta last year. I knit it in two days and wore it for a week straight. Knit from very affordable, very effin' lovely angora. The flower is my favorite part, it's the same as this bloom, knit with scraps of RYC Cashsoft Aran and Kidair. This is with the self-timer and candlelight setting on my new camera (which totally RULES):

And a normal one, more representative of the colors. Oh, see my necklace? It's from Emily/the Black Apple and I love it. Her post about vanity is, like her artwork, delicate and frank at the same moment.

Speaking of amazing artisans, this was my birthday present this year! Her name is Scrunchfaced Redhead and she'll be done veddy soon. Also upcoming: chunky winter accessories (multiplying like bunnies these days ) and Eric's cycling Aran.


Oh yeah, Bloom. I forgot to mention her...because she is the plainest sweater vest I e'er did knit. The Felted Tweed is DIVINE but this was my reading knitting, barely anything thinking required. It turned out too long (gauge issues most likely, I couldn't be bothered to check...) and it's folded under in this picture.

Lastly, isn't this the prettiest wine bottle you've every seen? I went to see "Marie Antoinette" today and it was similarly gorgeous. I'm not one for rococo but I still loved the explosion of color and structured silhoutttes. Jason Schwarztman and Kirsten Dunst were quietly enchanting and she was impetuous without a hint of brattiness. The film opened with a scene involving a pug that hit a little too close to home but it was uphill after that.

Until next time,

Cirilia