ZOMG

These pillows by GoBuggyGo on Etsy! I cannot think of a more perfect addition to our home than these meat pillows. Educational too! I'm not keen on the "country" print of the fabric but these look simple enough. Or maybe they will do a custom order.

Awesomeness.

Last night in the old apartment. ALMOST all packed. I'm at the point now where I've said "F it," I will just move all the loose bits up little by little.

Watched Fritz Lang's Metropolis at BAM today with live band 3epkano doing the acompaniment. It was a pretty awesome experience - I've only seen the Giorgio Moroder version, with some of the film painted over in red-yellow-green-blue so the original compositions of the band were a little weird at first. The music was beautiful though and having a live band during the movie was a first for me. Question: Why does BAM keep their movie theaters at freezing temperature???

After dinner I went for a late night run. I know I have to move tomorrow but I am also trying to run twice a week and I missed the 2nd time. I would really love a cup of hot tea right now but stupid Keyspan turned off the gas!

Whistle while you work

I need to expand my blog searches because most things I've made lately have been from the Purl Bee. Can't help it - their tutorials are great, informative and easy to follow. Below, two things I'm working on. Not pictured are another lace scarf and tote bag. That's right - four projects at the same time. Helps when I get bored with a project to keep working!

My finished Calla Coasters. I used organic cotton yarn from Knit Picks and the Riviera sampler from Connecting Threads, a partner of Knit Picks. I hate having to order but the price is right. From $15 worth of fabric I can make about 60 coasters! The pattern also calls for some crocheted pieces but try as I might, I could not teach myself. Very frustrating for me since I taught myself to knit pretty easily.

I will enlist the help of Heike, Alex's mom, when she comes to visit.

This is another Elisa Nest Tote I am working on. I made it a little wider than the pattern called for and am doing striped I-cord straps instead of a solid color. I think it will look good. To do the striped I-cord, I had to look up instructions on this blog. It's a pain in the ass because you have to wind the inactive color as you go along so with each stitch, you have to remember to do this. But it is worth it, to make the bag look more interesting. For the next one, the entire bag is going to be striped.

I have a lot of yarn stockpiled now that I have to make use of them. I am going to make a matching hat to go with the handwarmers I made earlier. I also need to make a little belt in garter stitch - I bought a great sundress at J. Crew in bright turquoise that I love but it is pretty sacklike and needs some cinching.

Woo! Back to work. I just finished making sangria and put my chicken wings into a Peruvian marinade. Up next, empanada dough and the filling. Read about it tomorrow on The Itis!

Almost forgot - starting Monday May 4, it is POLAROID WEEK 2009! Any instant cam will do. Check out the Flickr group for more information - I am brushing the dust off my Fuji Instax right after this. Stay tuned!

This is turning into a knitting blog?

These are the finished Daisy Stitch Handwarmers I saw on the Purl Bee. They took a little longer because I stopped for a while to work on other projects. Very fun to make and not as hard as it looks! Don't knit it up too tightly or else you'll have problems with the k3tog.

Almost done with this bag, another project from the Purl Bee - I started this about a week ago and now have only one handle left to knit up. Very quick to do and inspiring for more projects of my own design. I thought I would have a problem with the applied I-cord but it is very simple to do. All you need is a pair of double-pointed needles, fast becoming my favorite knitting tool.

It also employs a basic crocheting technique. I've decided I want to learn to crochet as well - I think it's a good skill to have to add embellishment to projects, and there are some things in crochet that you cannot make with knitting. So la di da.

Nesting

Just in time for the winter season, Alex linked me to this awesome, amazing Flickr set by hansigurumi who is an ace knitter. Mostly sea creatures, she sells patterns on her etsy shop. I can only hope to finish even the simplest one. Here are some of my favorites:

Jellyfish

Fugu (pufferfish, puffed and unpuffed)

Seahorses!

Nautilus :)

Today at Huckleberry Bar, Stevie Rose is having a jewelry trunk show. After that I will head up to Greenpoint to see Deb and friends at the studio sale at Bonbon Oiseau. More details on her blog - she's having a raffle where the proceeds will benefit the Food Bank of NY. Please check it out!