Wow! That was fast! Today is Stitchify’s 1st Blogiversary. I have posted 104 times in the past year, for an average of 1 post every 3.5 days! That’s crazy! I was very diligent when I first started ;). You kind readers have given me 212 comments. Thank you!
To celebrate, I am doing a giveaway of this sweet, brimmed hat that I crocheted. Just submit a comment to this post, and I will pick a winner on Monday, using a random number generator.
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope that today is just one of 365 that are filled with love for you this year.
Purl Bee has posted a fascinating tutorial on an alternative method of binding off which promises to be neater and looser than the conventional method. !Que bueno! Click the pic to check it out.
This makes me want to research a better foundation chain for crochet. The first row is always so taunt and doesn’t play nicely with the other rows.
I recently splurged $25 on the most gorgeous knitting “magazine” I have ever seen. It’s more like a book that you might even display on your coffee table. The photography is stunning and the patterns are lust-worthy. It’s Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine, and this issue is Number 43.
My sweet Great Aunt Bettie gave me a gift certificate to the local yarn store, and I’m going to use it to purchase the yarn for one of these patterns. I think Astral is my favorite. I love the chiffon roses and trim around the collar. It calls for Rowan 4 Ply Cotton.
I really like this one too, Geno, but I would want to lengthen the sleeves. It calls for the same yarn as Astral. I prefer it in white, like below. Pink is pretty, but I never wear it.
I love this one too. But I’m afraid that maybe it’s her shirt that makes it work.
Which do you prefer? I am kind of considering making Geno, but with the sleeves of Astral, and Astral’s chiffon embellishments. However, I’m sure that model is super skinny, and if even she can’t button the bottom buttons, how on Earth would a luscious girl like me button them? It makes me afraid that there is no waist shaping in the pattern.
If I had more money than brains I would buy every issue ever printed of this magazine. I love just looking at it!
This is just the cutest thing I have ever seen. I love how his wings button shut for night-night time! Click here for the pattern shop, which includes a bunch of other adorable plush, or click the pic to go directly to the pattern for the bat.
Threads magazine online posted a great list of 20 Ways to Improve Your Sewing. Check it out by clicking the pic!
Thanks to Amy for the tip!
Whip Up posted a list of the best free knitting patterns on the web. I’ve made items from four of these patterns and want to make more! Click the picture to go to the article.
I am excited to show you the results of our hard work over the past few weeks. As you know, we had an office in the front of our house. We removed the two interior walls, creating a new dining room! The house actually was configured in this way when Andy bought it 12 years ago. He was 19 and wanted to have as many roommates as possible, to chip in with the mortgage. So he had the two walls put up, and voila! – another bedroom.
As you could tell from the photos below, our little living room was adorable, but *small*. I don’t know what got into me, but I suddenly got the urge to do some major nesting at home, and I set my heart on this project. It was our marriage anniversary, but Andy kindly complied, and this was the gift we gave each other. The first weekend was spent on demo, the next week on spackling and painting, and the next week on painting two coats of paint (Behr Canyon Cloud).
In the mean time I had lots of fun doing some online shopping for the drapes and the hardware (see earlier post for details), which I thought was essential to tie the two rooms together. Last weekend we majorly scored on a display rug that was 50% off at Crate and Barrel. It was hanging on a rack and have never been stepped on! Then we went to the West Elm store and scored on another rug for the living room at 20% off. We are super pumped about them!
So, time for the big reveal… excuse the cell phone pictures, but that’s what I’m working with at the moment….drum roll, please….
Before
After!
YAY! It’s a huge difference. I’m so happy about it. And I’m so happy with the deals we got, including our dining set from Craigslist. Yippie! I know the wall in the dining room looks really bare right now, but my mom and aunt are photographers, and I have plenty of stuff I can hang. I am waiting for the delivery of a mirror that I bought. It’s going to go right in the middle. Then I’ll decide what to flank it with.
And I would really like to get this lamp from Pottery Barn. Sorry, no official website pictures or links, it appears to be in-store only:
And finally, these Ingrid candlestick holders from Crate & Barrel. The ones on the table in the pictures are on loan from Susan and Rainer.
I could go on and on with a console, side tables, etcetera… But I’m finished spending money for right now.
The best part of all is that Aunt Susan and Uncle Rainer came over for Dungeness crab last night. We had a lovely time in our new space. <3
