Spring cleaning....summer reading

As the semester draws to a close (insert big sigh of relief), I can now look forward to how I will fill my time this summer. In addition to working (where I have no idea yet) I look forward to getting some "me" time.

As part of my spring cleaning I'm looking over all the knit projects I've started and yet to finish.


There are two Habu projects I started last summer. Then the summer tank I'm currently working on and another tank/tunic I want to do. Since I've come too far to rip them out I must finish them. The jacket will probably take the longest. I'm carrying two strands on size 4's and I've only finished the back. The others will go faster so I can finish sooner. I have to finish something before my new book arrives and I get distracted by all it's loveliness.

And speaking of books...... I'm also looking forward to catching up on some reading. I spent most of my younger days reading mysteries/science fiction. In the past year I've become interested in reading more of the classics. For some time I avoided the classics because I always associated them with school. Being forced to read something always made them less appealing . Now I can read them on my own terms without having to dissect them.

After gathering up some old books and heading to Strands, I walked away with some new additions to my summer reading list. I'm hoping to read all of them.

What's on your summer reading list?

Knit Lust

Have you seen this.....Kim Hargreaves' new book .

3 words ..... To. Die. For!

Magknit Patterns

It's been brought to my attention that Magknits is no longer. All good things must come to an end eventually I guess.

I'm going to work on getting the patterns into pdf form but it may take a little bit of time. This was surely unexpected.

the week in review...

This past week was definitely a busy one...in mostly good ways.

Of course there is always school but luckily Wednesday morning I got a text from Shameka asking if I was going to go see The Yarn Harlot. I hadn't even heard about it. Class ended at 6pm and the event started at 7 so I could make it.


That's a pic of the crowd trying to get free buttons. Knitters and their buttons......

The Harlot and her sock. I didn't stay for the book signing but I did get a chance to ask if she was going to do a Knitting Olympics this year. She promptly replied no but said she'd do it in 2010 for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

This is a pic of the top that I started while I was standing in the crowd. It's always good to travel with knitting. Even though I didn't plan on going, I was fortunately prepared for the occassion.

Thursday I had a final. Every time I say that people say "Isn't it a little early for finals?". Well, we have our finals then we work on our term garments. This one was for draping. Given a picture of a jacket, your muslin, and a dressform, you have 2.5 hrs to make half the jacket. Fun times I tell ya.

Wisely, I had a strategic plan for decompressing afterwords. I treated myself to dinner and a little Pinkberry. I guess they only have stores in LA and NYC so I apologize for those that don't have it when I say that the stuff is magical. Down right magical.



Then I head off to meet Shameka at a after-work party. I stayed there for a bit and then headed to another bar to see an old high school friend that dj's there. His friend happened to take some pictures of me as I was looking at some folks at the other end of the bar. Despite the somber look, I was actually enjoying myself.



Though it may not be clear, I'm wearing my Billie Jacket in the picture.


Friday, I met up with Shameka again to go to The Point for some knit time. I actually saw Carrie there eventhough she didn't see me. I was at a back table and I didn't see her until she was on her way out.

We wrapped up the night with some Thai and a little Pinkberry. I just couldn't resist.

Time flies

It's been a few weeks since my last post. School is madness. Thankfully last week was Spring Break and I got to take some time off. I made it to Culpepper, VA to see my friends and god-son (the commute to DC is crazy...what people have to go through to buy a house....let me tell you!) and then came back to NYC to veg out.

I thought I'd share my pics from my trip to The Met. NYC has so many museums and I thought it'd be a shame not to take advantage of my proximity.

The place is ridiculously huge and there is so much too see. This go around I made it to the Costume Institute exhibit, the Modern Art, and the Africa/Americans exhibit.



This is an absolutely fabulous Rodarte dress!


I got chills when I saw this one! This is one of my favorite Degas drawings. I didn't realize that it was at this museum. I was so excited. (My life is dull....I get my thrills where I can.)




The Africa/Americas exhibit is mostly sculptures and artifacts.







The place is a fountain of inspiration. I'm hoping to get to the Guggenheim and the MoMA soon.

One of these days I'm going to post a pic of my lastest knit which is almost finished. I also want to post about what I'm working on in school. I figure...I don't have much knitting to show but I can show other fashion related stuff.

Other side of the fence

Things are definitely greener at Chez Saun. It's amazing what a change in environment and a little more space will do for your outlook on life.

I wanted to show a few of my new additions. Ther are my new favoritest things. ( I know favoritest is not a word but I like it anyway.)




It's a Method Aroma Ring with the Vanilla Pomme scent. This is the best smelling air freshener I've ever smelt.




Then there is my new French Press. I never knew coffee could be soooooo good. I got it because I wanted to be able to clean my coffee maker better and get rid of the need for paper filters. Cleaning out the coffee grounds is not as easy as with a filter but it's definitely cleaner at the end of the day. And did I forget to add that the coffee tastes better.


Also......I got my mojo back. My knitting mojo that is. It was M.I.A. for a while now. With school under control and a slightly longer commute I've found a real urge to knit. I started by finishing my "Swing Girl" coat. I've been working on this same coat since August. That is a long time.




It has a high wide neck and overlaps slightly like a double breasted jacket. Hopefully I'll be able to get some better pictures this weekend. Sunlight is so limited but thankfully spring it right around the corner.

I also got some ideas for some new summer tees that I plan to work on during my spring break. A whole week of nothing but knitting. I can't wait.

Quick update

Hola mis amigas y amigos!

Thanks for all of your condolences and complements on my sewing.

School is pushing along. This semester the focus is on designing jackets and pants. Now that I've got the hang of this school thing again, I'm not as stressed..... so far. I also got a little part-time job as a computer lab monitor. It will give me a chance to catch up on blog reading and I can even knit a little.

Right now I'm packing up my apartment for my move to a new apartment on Monday. Once this is done I think my opinion of NYC will be much better.

I'll be without internet for a week so I wanted to give a quick update on my latest finished project.


(The pic is sideways and a little blurry. Sorry about that.)

I finally finished the Morning Glory Shawl for Mamacita. She loves it. It was a well written pattern but this is one of those projects that require your attention to insure you don't mess up. As far as shawls go, if you willing to put in the time, this is a nice one to try. It's a nice lace that doesn't give you that homely look. I picked a lighter weight (sport/dk) yarn from Brooks Farm but if I were to make it again I'd choose a true dk weight to give it a little more weight.

And guess what I got in the mail.....



I think someone is trying to make sure I get some time to knit. I have to put it off until June since I'm in class but when I do go I'll be ready. I look forward to the uninterrupted knitting. I wouldn't even mind being on a jury. I just don't want to be on a super long case. This is NYC and they tend to have some of the longest strangest cases around.

I have to get back to packing. See ya on the flip side.

Laying low

I had these great hopes for how I was going to spend my break. Lots of knitting, sewing, and blogging. But of course things never turn out as planned. Instead I've been laying low and dealing with my issues. My apartment issues continue to rear their ugly little head so I'm trying to find a new apartment without much luck. (Do you know anyone in NYC with a good apartment to rent?) Then my aunt's health took a turn for the worse and I had to go back to Detroit for her funeral. The little time I did have I spent trying to keep my mind off of things.

I didn't get much knitting in. I couldn't maintain the concentration levels for that. Instead I spent much of my time sewing. Strangely enough, sewing doesn't take as much concentration as knitting. I guess because I've been doing it longer.

The first thing I made was a jean jacket.Then I made 2 dresses.

Also made a 2 pairs of skinny jeans (yes, I've caved to the skinny jean phenomenon) and a pair of straight leg jeans. I came up with a signature star pattern for my skinny jeans. It's the same star I use in my blog header and wear on a pendant. It's actually the adinkra symbol Nsorama.
Lastly I made this jean dress. All the other dresses were from patterns but this one I altered. I added the detailing at the the neck line and made puff sleeves. The neckline and sleeve cuffs are made with a pleated detail.

After working with all the denim my fingers were constantly blue. It actually reminded me of my freshman year of college when I was obsessed with denim. I would even paint my nails a denim blue color to match. It was pretty much all I wore until I hit my khaki phase in my sophomore year.

Classes start back Monday and I'm looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. I'm going to spend my last few school free hours doing some knitting.

That reminds me. I forgot to mention the books that I'm in have finally hit the shelves. I'm sure most of you have seen them already but if you haven't, check them out.


I have 2 dress patterns in this one

and a cowl neck nursing sweater in the other.

A Whirlwind holiday

Whew! It's been crazy but good crazy. I did my crazy whirlwind holiday travels again this year.... Chicago to Cleveland to Detroit to Cleveland to Chicago and back to NYC tomorrow. I got to see both sides of my family, do a heck of a lot of eating, and sneak in some sleep and craftyness.

Although I didn't finish it in time, I did present my mother with her half-finished Morning Glory Shawl. The pattern is from Knitspot which I first saw at Rhinebeck. I'm using Acero from Brooks Farm.

This year's Christmas/Kwanzaa craft were matchbook notepads. Large sheets of scrapbooking paper are glued to thicker paper, cut, scored, and folded. Then you glue in half of a Post-it pad.

I also worked on a punch needle ornament kit that Mamacita had and the annual family puzzle.




Fun times were had by all. I hope your holidays were festive. Happy New Year. I can wait to see what everyone gets into this year.

Finally it's over!!!

The semester finally ended yesterday!!!! Yipee! I've never worked so hard for a degree in my life.

Here is a pic of my term project dress I made for draping class. For those that don't know what draping means, you start with muslin and you "drape" (Place, pin, cut, etc) it on the dress form to make the garment you want. You then take the muslin, make a pattern, and then make the real dress.



This is this my dress for flat pattern class. Flat pattern requires taking the measurements of your dressform and creating patterns from them. This dress will actually fit me since I picked a dressform that was my size (for the most part). It looks cuter on than on the dressform.


I'm officially on break until the end of January so you'll be hearing a lot more from me. I have a little time to knit and sew some clothes and most importantly.....SLEEP.