Expensive Shit You Can Make: The Scarf Edition

Man, am I glad I am crafty. Damn. I pity the fool who runs out to buy these.

I never would have known about these scarves if they weren't featured in Juice this week.

A fucking garter stitch scarf. For $198.

I have to say that I'm disappointed that they didn't incorporate this into a DIY feature (which they've been doing more of lately) and shown readers how simple it would be to make this themselves. This is, basically, every knitter's first project (myself included).
Even the patchwork scarf does not impress me. Seriously, go to Goodwill. Pick out 6 or 7 sweaters, cut them out, sew them together. Add fringe. There. You just saved yourself $400.

Where have I seen this before?
Anthropologie, $138.

Oh yeah.

1x1 rib, anyone?
Loro Piana Cashmere Sciarpina Scarf, $320
Yeah, it's cashmere. Big deal.

Do yourselves (and the world) a favor, people. Stop letting companies exploit 3rd world laborers and selling it to you for half of your paycheck. Yarn stores have never been so accessible! Shit, there's just about one for every suburban strip mall in America, isn't there?

What happens in Vegas leaves me missing George even more :(

I'm back! I bet you didn't even know I was gone, right?

I stowed Bowie away with the neighbors and flew out to Las Vegas this weekend to see George. He is doing freelance editing work for the UFC right now and I miss him terribly. As much as I wanted to bring a project with me to work on, I've always been freaked out by the idea of my knitting being confiscated by security, and since all of my current projects are kind of large, I said eff it and brought along a book instead. As a result, I am missing all of my WIP's TERRIBLY (even you, knucks), and can't wait to get back to some knitting tonight while watching I Love New York with Bowie on my lap!

The trip was fantastic though, I didn't realize how long it has been since George and I have been able to dine well and just relax, what with us see-sawing so much this year with our job situations. He was the happiest that I have seen him in months and I can not WAIT to go back again!

Some highlights:


Saturday was the only day we did anything tourist-y, we spent the morning at Fashion Show Mall and then had the Mirage's Champagne Brunch. OMG YUM. They were low on vegetarian options, even lower on vegan options (sorry George!) but what we could eat was totally delicious and they were very generous with the mimosa refills. We swung by the Beatles Revolution Lounge afterward for a quick photo.


Saturday night we went out with George's coworkers, and one of them knew a member of Mandalay Bay's Foundation Room so we were able to get in. I didn't know, but I guess it's kind of a big deal. It's totally members only, and you go right to the top of the hotel in a private elevator, and the inside looks a little bit like an Old Spice commercial, with a huge roaring fireplace and beautiful people lounging about. But there's this balcony that overlooks the whole city, totally amazing. I felt a bit bad when I told George I wanted to leave at 12:30 but realizing I had to be at the airport in 4 hours, and then going straight to work from the airport kind of stressed me out.


But seriously, is this not like the best view ever? I just wanted to look at it the whole time I was there!

My knits. My knits my knits my knits.

V-Neck Pullover, Fitted Knits: Slowly making my way through the 10 inches of waist ribbing. Ughh shoot me know. But it's pretty, and I actually enjoy knitting with Vanna's Choice. When (if!) I bust my stash, I think I'll want to buy every color for striped hats, scarves, etc. Also, the pattern is pretty fantastic.


Big Blue Beret: Finished! Also, I'm wearing it right now. Actually I kind of haven't taken it off of my head since I finished it Tuesday night, but since George took my PowerShot to Las Vegas with him, photographing myself wearing it with my Rebel is kind of hard :/ I am in love with this hat. Great pattern! Oh, and I used yarn from my stash - I think both colors were Wool Ease.


Knucks: nearly complete. Just a bit more thumb shaping, then it is onto the cuff of the 2nd glove. I'm saying a prayer that I don't run out of yarn first. I really can't decide whether I like knitting gloves from the fingers down or vice versa. One thing I do have an opinion on is Rowan Tapestry - it kinda sucks to knit with but looks and feels so pretty, so it is kind of worth it in the end. I keep putting this project back on the shelf though, since George is in Las Vegas and is not exactly begging for wool accessories right now.

Only 30 crafting days until Christmas

I had taken my normal vacation from knitting, what with the blistering summer and my newfound love of sewing, but the quick temperature change snapped me right back into it. So far, my biggest knitting-related disaster is that my Shedir has gone missing....I've searched high and low and I know it will probably turn up somewhere, but damn. That hat was kind of my pride and joy.

Anywho, I've kind of sort of decided to start my Christmas knitting. I really don't want to make 4 identical projects in different colors for my girls, as I get terribly bored with repetition and don't handle it well. So I think I'm going to do a few easy stashbusters, then do a kind of white elephant exchange where my girls can steal the gifts away from each other until everybody's happy and has something. First up, is the garter stitch scarf from Scarf Style. You know, the one knit in garter stitch with the stripes that self-fringes. Aww yeah. But I'd also like to make see mi knit's knitted bangles (one for each girl, hopefully), a singlet style shopping bag, and a heating pad from 99 Ways to Cut, Sew & Deck Out Your Denim....I think it'd be adorable to put all the goodies inside each girls' bag, and I can make most of these things with stuff I have lying around.

Blogging Again

Here I am with my very own blog. I've gotten really tired of my Myspace blog and its limited capabilities, so I'm really looking forward to getting down and dirty with my new one.

I have zillions of WIP's and I really hope to use this as motivation to finish them, which in turn will motivate me to pick up my SLR and post photos (see the trickle down effect? more productivity all around!)