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So I'm now done with the heel on sock two, and am merrily working my way through the foot again, after the frogging all the way back to the ankle because of missing two stitches. *shakes head*

However, other projects are well on the way! I completed a new bodice for one of the bumblebees at faire (otherwise known as the Guild of St George, their livery is all gold and black), a bodice and skirt combination, plus I'm currently doing some hand work on my latest bodice.

Since January I've lost 28 pounds. While this is a wonderful thing, it means most of my garb just doesn't fit, and the renaissance festival begins this weekend! So I'm currently having to do a little work to get things done! I've put together a bodice for myself that's got a separate stomacher, and I'm hand-sewing the eyelets, so it's slow going... Stick the awl in, stitch around 8 times, stick it back in, stitch around another 8 times... It's stronger than using grommets and looks far more period, but that doesn't mean it isn't a bit annoying. :)

I've also got someone else's bodice begun. It's going to be made somewhat similar to a Moresca, in that I'll have side lacing as well as front/back lacing, so my friend can adjust it at will. *whew* :)

So while I have no pix (I've been bad this week), I've got a bunch of projects in UFO state... And next week, even more! I'll be handspinning flax at the festival, plus finishing off that sock, plus a touch of silk spinning, plus more garb, plus... Oh heck. I've got a lot of stuff. ;)

Two steps forward, two steps back...

So I was doing really well on that sock... I had gotten all the way through the heel, short-row garter stitch, and I was just starting on the instep when... I realized that I'd left two extra stitches on the instep, meaning I just had to frog the entire heel back. *headdesk*. Alas, I heard them going rip-it, rip-it, as I frogged back all the way to the ankle again. So I literally took two steps forward and two back, and we're now back to the point that I showed the other day. *sigh*

However, I've got another project I've been working on (as well as garb for the festival that I was a silly goober who forgot to take pictures of), and my living room looks so much better for it!



That, my friends, is new dressing for my day-bed/couch! My couch in my living room is actually a day-bed I've had since I was a teen. Like a goober, I once more forgot to take before pictures, but for those of you who have seen my living room before, it's a real change!

Oh wait. I *do* have a before picture, just not of the couch itself, but of an entrelac shawl I made last year. But you'll get the idea from looking at the couch behind me at the time:



So you can see, I've not only made the new futon cover itself, but also recovered all of the pillows! This is the same fabric I used for my curtains that I put up a few months ago... Or you could say that the curtains were used for this! Last year there was a store that discontinued this pattern of curtains, so I bought as many as I could at the time, and three curtains were sacrificed to the scissors for the purpose of covering my couch! :)

Well, the main red section matches my curtains. The gold lattice pattern is a decorator fabric that Jo-Anns had in the remnant section.

Quite frankly, my couch was back in the 80's and needed an update. So several pillows and a couch cover later, I've got a new look in my living room! :)

Seriously, I need to get back to taking more before and after pix. :)

I laugh in the face of progress...

Well, with how things have been at work (staying really late every night), progress has been slow and I've not gotten any pix lately.

However, I'm amused. I'm at the exact same spot I was when I took this picture:



So that's what you're getting today. :)

Not posted in too many days...

Okay, so I actually finished the sock last week and started on sock #2... But haven't had time to take many pix!

But for the first sock, I did a little pattern-munging. Instead of doing a smooth toe, I decided to continue the pattern all the way through the toe!





Yeah, this will not be a sock I go walking around with for long walks, as the pattern might cause my toe to go ape... But I love how it looks! :)

Sock number 2 is duly started... Although somewhere in here I need to work on my spinning for the "travel" theme... But Sock 2 is actually about double the length it is in the picture now:



However, I also need to put both the knitting and the spinning down for a little while at home... I can keep working on it at work, but at home I need to work on garb! I am performing at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in less than a month, and I've been so good at losing weight this year (26 pounds since January) that I'm falling into my garb! Renaissance Bodices are supposed to be able to support you without a bra, and I'm getting to the point where I'm going to need one! So that's something I've got to work on, along with a bodice for a friend of mine who's also at least going to be a patron, along with the garb I'm sewing for Hengrave Hall... Although at least i'm getting paid for that last one. :)

I'm sure I'll have some pictures of that last one in a few days, but in the meantime I also created not only garb but pillow covers over the weekend for the pillows in my living room. I need to re-vamp my living room with the new covers for the couch and pillows. At least two of the pillows were done over the weekend, but I've still got plenty to go! Regular pillowcases, shams, and the like! And then there's the papasan cover... :)

Okay, so I've got a lot to do! :)

One sock almost done!

Unfortunately, I've completely neglected to take pictures lately.

Only thing left to do on the one sock is a kitchner graft to the sole. Everything else is done. I even modified the pattern so that the gumdrops continue down the top of the toe and taper the way they do at the top of the sock. I've cast on the second sock at this point, but haven't gotten much farther than that yet.

I've actually been getting more silk spinning done lately on my bosworth spindle... Namely because we've been having more meetings at work lately, and spinning is more palatable to some of the higher-ups in my company than knitting. Spinning just looks like I'm fidgeting (which I am, but more productive), while knitting looks like I'm not paying attention (which I am, but try telling that to someone who's never done it).

I'm going to have to work on other things soon, though. Like garb. I've lost a lot of weight recently, and what that means is lots of garb doesn't fit anymore. I've got a few choice pieces that kinda fit (I might need to wear a bra underneath some of them, because the bodice isn't enough support anymore), and skirts aren't necessary, but the vast majority of my outfits are a little on the big side right now...

I've also got to finish a bodice for a friend of mine... I duct taped her last month for a bodice pattern (google duct tape bodice pattern for an explanation), and I should actually finish it before faire starts, don't you think? :)