Hello, there...

Hey, friends. It's been a while. I have to admit that life has been pretty full, pretty busy for the past year or so. There have been lots of brides, lots of gowns, lots of flights and lots of fun. When I moved back to New Hampshire just over 2 years ago (can you believe it's been that long?!?!?!?!), I had no idea what direction my life would go, but I couldn't be happier with things as they are right now.

Here's a not-so-brief update:

Work: My job is still the most awesome job I've ever had. I still have the best co-workers and bosses on the planet. Brides are mostly pretty great to work with, although we will always have a few doozies each season. (Just remember, they'll eventually get married.) I even got to go on a buying trip to Chicago where I got to see all sorts of gorgeous (and some not-so-gorgeous) dresses and even help decide which ones we will be carrying in the store next season! As for the alterations department, we're still alive and kicking- we're a fierce bunch and it takes a lot to get us down!

This photo was taken directly below the center of the famous "Bean" in Chicago's Millenium Park. Can you find me? 

Relationship: Things are going really well with "The Professor." In fact, just last weekend, my amazing coworkers flew him up here as a surprise for me- JUST BECAUSE! There was no special occasion, they are simply amazing friends who wanted to do an amazing thing for me. I was truly humbled by the experience- it's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. It was amazing to see my adorable BF, who has officially been my BF for a year as of this Monday, November 5th. How crazy is that? I remember when we started dating, everyone was like, "Yes, he's perfect for you, but you need to find someone just like him who lives in NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!!" I admit, early in the dating process, before he and I had become exclusive, I went onto match.com in search of this elusive man- the one just like the Professor, but who lives up north. On match.com, when viewing a member's profile, there is an option to click a button and "view others like him." I clicked. Here's what I got:

Yup. Denied. And  I have to admit, match.com was right- the Professor is truly unique and truly perfect for me. We've had our ups and downs over the last few months and fighting via Skype is particularly difficult. Fortunately the ups far outweigh the downs and right now we're stronger and happier than ever. I'll be flying down to visit him a week from tonight, actually. Just for funsies, here's a photo of us and the Sailors from Labor Day weekend when he came up for a visit: 

Friends and Family: Since I last posted, McKenzie got married, so that's pretty exciting! She wore a stunning gown by Jenny Packham and I had the pleasure of making her veil (which blew right off her head the minute she stepped out to walk down the aisle. Oh, well. My good friend Jen was recently engaged and I plan to attend her wedding with the Professor. I had the pleasure of helping her find her wedding gown and I also made her veil for her. The wedding is in January and I haven't even begun to think about what I'll wear. My mom has been busy as ever with her adorable German Shepherd dogs and the shutzhund training she does with them. I've even grown to enjoy the pups and even miss them a little when they're gone.

Fashion: I admit that I haven't been blogging much partly because I've been in a strange and new place shopping-wise. I'm perfectly content with everything in my closet and I have no real need for anything. I have great clothes that fit well and are in good shape. I have far too many shoes, but I make a point of wearing them all whenever I can. I love all of my accessories and I really don't see a void anywhere. I'm sure at some point, this phase will end. For now, my bank account is enjoying the break. (It's not that much of a break when all my extra money goes toward airline tickets and rental cars, but whatevs.) I'm still surrounded by fashionable people, so there really is no excuse to blog a little more.

Sewing and knitting: I've been doing a little of both in the last few months. I made a fabulous dress that I wore to McKenzie's wedding in September and I've knit quite a few little projects over the last couple of months. Here are some photos:

This lovely set was intended for my BF's 7-year-old daughter Grace. I actually just put it in the mail with her Halloween goodie bag this past week.

I could hardly knit something for Grace and not make something equivalent for the Professor's 10-year-old son, Owen. These pieces were made using the Appalachian State University colors (the Professor's alma mater and the school Owen wants to attend someday.)

After knitting a cream-colored version of this scarf for Juhree last year, I thought about making one for myself in green. I finally got around to it about a year later. Better late than never, right?

Blogging: I actually HAVE been blogging, just not here. You all know how I've taken over the blog for Madeleine's Daughter and I've really enjoyed doing it. Here are some of my favorite posts:

November 26, 2011
December 29, 2011
February 14, 2012
April 28, 2012

Since the busy alterations season is coming to an end, I'll be getting back into my blogging groove at the store, so if wedding-related posts are your thing, you might want to follow that blog, too! The posts I enjoy writing the most are the "Meet Our Bride" ones. I love seeing the photos from our brides and hearing what they have to say about their experience at the store. It's a great feeling to be a part of such a special time in a person's life.

I'll leave you with a silly photo from "The Sailor's Garden Party" that happened this past spring. I wrote a little about my outfit, but never posted a picture. Here you go:

I hope this is the first of many blog posts to come. I recently became a MacBook Pro owner and I have a feeling that owning a laptop that's a pleasure and not a chore to use will inspire me to write more posts. Time will tell. In the meantime, let me know what you'd like me to write about! Leave a comment! 

More Scarflets

Turns out the scarflet is super popular! I have had multiple requests for them including one from my fellow blogger, Nancy of f8hasit. I am waiting on a coworker to help make the wooden stakes that hold the scarf in place, but in the meantime, I've been busy knitting up these suckers. Here are two more, the top one for Nancy, the next for my friend Michelle.

If you like the pattern and want to knit one for yourself or a friend, the original post can be found here.

I'm pretty sure the pattern is right, but I've never been good at that type of thing. I usually just knit (or sew) and then the garment either turns out or it doesn't. If someone wants to know how I did it, I can't always explain. If you find a flaw in my pattern, feel free to contact me and let me know. 

What I love about this scarflet is that it's interesting, but not too bulky AND you can use either the wooden stake or a brooch or pretty much anything to hold it in place. Or you can use nothing, just wrap the scarflet around yourself and go! I've even had a request for a neckwarmer version that's literally just a tube. I'll hopefully finish that one by Monday and post a picture shortly thereafter. And then I'm retiring this pattern for at least a few months. I'm flattered so many people like it, but it's time to move on to something else!  

It's knitwear time...

QUICK REMINDER: Don't forget to leave up to three comments on Monday's Giveaway Post! I'm extending the comment deadline through Sunday and I'll announce the winner on Monday.

Ok, I can deny it no longer- fall has arrived. Today I was chilled to the bone in the thin dress I wore. I believed the weather reports that it would be a warm day. It was sunny, yes, but warm? Not quite. I've been doing a bit of knitting lately and that is pretty much the one deciding indicator of the cold seasons arrival. First was this knit stocking for my friend Brance:

He loved it and I have to admit, it did come out pretty nicely. The pattern was for a single color, but I decided to add the contrast color and the pom-pom to make it all a little more fun and Christmas-y. It was a big hit. Of course, it may have been the bag of mini snickers bars that I dumped into it that caused the squeal of joy.

As for more wearable pieces, I've knit dozens of things for as many people. The first garment I ever knit was my senior year in college with a friend. We were so silly back then and decided to knit a sweater for one of our professors. She knit the front, I knit the back and we each knit a sleeve. Did I mention we knew absolutely NOTHING about knitting when we started the project? It was the most lop-sided, poorly constructed sweater I've ever seen. But our professor was a trooper and he wore it dutifully every week or so for the rest of our final winter of college. The following year, we heard he'd purchased some new sweaters. Anyway, every since then I've loved knitting things for people- sweaters, mittens, hats, scarves- I love it all. If I see a pattern that just works for someone, I have to make it for them. Other times I just want to try out a new pattern and someone gets to benefit from my experiment. This past week I made this "scarflet" for my friend Jen. Why? Just because.

You all saw a little sneak peek of the finished product a few posts ago with this picture:

I'll bet you didn't expect a scarf to come out of that image, right? Well, what you see is the making of the mahogany stake that holds the scarflet in place. I'm calling it a scarflet (mini-scarf, if you will), for lack of a better term. I thought a pretty little piece of wood to poke through the stitches would hold the scarflet in place nicely. What do you think?

The knitting pattern itself it really quite easy. It would be pretty simple to make the scarf full length as well. For all of you knitters out there, here is the basic pattern:

Materials:

2 balls chunky yarn in whatever color you prefer

1 pair size 11 needles

Cable needle

Crochet hook (to weave in ends)

2 stitch markers

Stitch abbreviations:

K-knit

P-purl

SS-Seed stitch (K1,P1 alternately)

CF- Cable to front

CB- Cable to back

Cast on 6 sts. Place marker. Continue casting on 28 more sts. Place 2nd marker. Cast on 6 more sts. Total cast on sts should be 40.

Row 1 (odd rows): SS6, P4, K8, P4, K8, P4, SS6  

Row 2 (even rows): SS6, K4, P8, K4, P8, K4, SS6

Rows 3 & 4: repeat rows 1 & 2

Row 5: CABLE ROW- SS6, P4, CF8, P4, CB8, P4, SS6

Rows 6-8: repeat rows 2-4

Repeat rows 1-8 until the scarf measures your desired length. My scarflet measures about 38 inches. A full length scarf should measure the same as your fingertip to fingertip or about 60+ inches, depending on how tall you are. Bind off and weave in/trim ends. Voila! Simple, right?

If you prefer a scarf that is not quite as bulky, simply use thinner yarn like worsted or fingering and smaller needles, for example size 6. The pattern will remain the same, but the scarf will be narrower and have smaller stitches.

Leave a comment and tell me about your home knitting, crocheting, sewing or crafting projects. And don't forget to comment on Monday's Giveaway Post. I'm extending the comment deadline to Sunday and I'll announce the winner on Monday.